Hello Night Crawlers, welcome to Vol. 25 of The Nocturnal: Midnight Snack, a weekly recap of anything I found “shareable” over the last 7 days. And oops! I’m BEYOND late because I’m in Tokyo and misinterpreted the time difference and thought I had like 12 more hours to write this week’s edition. My apologies. Anyway, back to Tokyo. It’s only been two days, but so far we’ve been to 5 different neighborhoods and it’s NOT at all the kitschy slash futuristic slash rainbow electronic slash coquette cyber-punk city I envisioned. It’s actually pretty low-key…and very quiet! And stylistically, oversized black and grey are the prime color palette here. I’m honestly not sure why the American-perception of Tokyo is so wildly different than its actuality, but so far that’s the case. Food is killer, though, and the city still has a vibe…just a different vibe than I expected. I’ll keep you updated on my findings!
Now, let’s get into this week’s recs for what to See, Listen, Talk, Taste, & Shop:
See: The Look That Brought Back Gucci
I’ll be honest that I have NOT been a fan of Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci… that is, until NOW. These floor skimming trenches he sent down the runway for S/S ‘25 have me SOLD on his ability to take one of my formerly favorite labels (in the Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele eras) back into a front-runner position. I must have one of these coats!!! Completely impractical and kind of gross to wear in NYC, especially out on the streets (I did step on a dead rat once in the rain), but still so dramatically dreamy!
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Did you like his new collection?
Listen: Pop’s New Cool-Girl: Sam Short
I never thought I’d find my next great pop girlie via a business friend of my hub, but when one of his advisors told us about his daughter’s emerging career, I had to check her out! And the artist in question, Sam Short, is SO GOOD, so here we are!!! Currently opening for Zara Larsson on her North American tour, which I’m SO excited we get to catch next month, Sam’s music is sexy and fun with a playful edge.
My two favorite songs right now:
Talk: Can we Really Run Out of Time?
Dude I have been STRUGGLING to keep up with my day job work, my side passions, this newsletter, and travel lately, but according to Elle Sundberg’s 168 hour week logic, I should have BEYOND enough time to do all the things.
I’m going to make a conscious effort this week to map out all that I do and find where the time lags are, as I’ve always been a big proponent that we all have enough time. The excuse “I don’t have time to read” or “I don’t have time to workout” has always irked me, because we’re ALL busy. It’s just what you choose to minimize vs. maximize. Minimize scrolling, you’ll have that 30 mins to do yoga, etc. But last week at a charity event, a CEO speaking mentioned she does NOT have time to read anymore between running her family and the business, and honestly, this seems like it could be true?? At least based on my weekend which has me behind on all the important things (this newsletter, blowing my hair out, etc!). Let’s review next week after we all assess our day to day breakdowns.
Taste: Two Hot Spots for Delicious Japanese Beef
Most of you who know me IRL know that “beef” is my favorite food. If I have to get more specific it would be ground beef, especially hamburgers, but I’m pretty welcoming to all cuts of red meat. So, while venturing out here in Tokyo, I was SUPER excited to try one of their hopping hamburger joints. I usually have TERRIBLE luck finding good burgers abroad (do NOT try a burger in Italy or Paris lol, total vom), but, since Japan is esteemed for beef, I was willing to give it a try. And I’m so happy we did! We wandered to Whoopi Goldburger, which I’ll admit we chose mostly because of the funny name, and had the best burger I’ve had outside of America to date. Yes, I’m partial to the burger homeland, but this cool little hole in the wall, decked out with skater stickers and Supreme bathroom art, DELIVERED.
That same night, clearly on a red meat kick, we went to an insanely good Wagyu Omakase dinner at what so far has been the most lively restaurant crowd in Tokyo to date at Yakiniku Jumbo Shirokane. Different cuts of some of the most buttery, tasty meat I’ve ever had were grilled up right at our table, some dipped in raw egg after, which was an extra-delicious combination I hadn’t tried before. If you make it over to Tokyo this restaurant is a MUST visit 1) because the food is bomb and 2) the boisterous atmosphere will make you feel right at home. Based on the super quiet fine dining spots we’ve ventured to here so far, Americans and Europeans are WAY LOUDER in public spaces than the rest of the world.
Shop: A Wish-List Look for My New Shoes!!!
One of my favorite shoe brands, Larroude, let me pick some new shoes and I CANNOT WAIT to style them!!!
the SHOES, which seem like they were pluck from Cher Horowtiz’s closet:
Outfit 1:
Obviously paired with sheer black tights (Calzedonia tights are an affordable favorite here)
Outfit 2:
White Tank (this one via David Koma)
Frame Le Palazzo Light Denim Wide Leg Jeans
Alright I’m late for a visit to the Fish Market fam!!! very excited about this, tbh.
Now go to bed, Vampires! See you next Sunday ;)
xoxo
Christina
I felt the same way about Tokyo, although that’s why I fell in love with it! So much contrast within one city, and so unexpectedly restorative and calm, to boot. My hunch is a lot of Japanese culture takes place “underground,” at night, and way up high in its skyscrapers. It’s a vertical city, meaning you can find bars, restaurants and shopping all the way up an elevator (unlike America where everything seems to happen on one the ground floor, loudly, in public view). Hard to crack as a visitor though, good luck and write a recap here when you’re back pretty please!!