I come to you with a special Fukubukuro post. Translated as "lucky bag," this is a traditional Japanese event where on the first day of January, stores put their products in a bag and have different denominations such as $50 or $100. The products inside are at least double the worth of the price you pay (i.e $50 = $100+ value). The catch is that the buyer doesn't know the contents of the bag until after the purchase. Most people are like, "why would you pay a good amount of money for something you don't know what you're getting and may not like in the end?" Well, I think that's the excitement of the tradition: not knowing what you're getting! Plus, even if you don't care for some of the items, they can end up as gifts for another occasion :).
Living in Hawaii, we are exposed to many different traditions and cultures. We are really lucky to be able to experience them as well, which is why we get to have Fukubukuro! They only did Fukubukuro at Ala Moana, our biggest mall on Oahu, and the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki. Mind you, not all stores participate, but there's always a list of stores posted a few weeks beforehand. Many high-end stores like to participate, such as Gucci and Neiman Marcus. I was only able to get the Spiral Girl bag, which I'm happy about, but I did want to try to get my hands on a different bag like Michael Kors or Kate Spade, but the lines were ridiculously long. Nevertheless, I think Spiral Girl always does great bags (they are a Japanese brand to begin with!) and I usually like most of the things that I get. They only had $50 bags this year. Last year, they had options because I had gotten a $100 bag. To see what I got last year, you can click here!
Anyways, let's get into what I got!
Fake Swoosh (Wesley): This was a kind of interesting one. The shirt has an athletic style to it, which suits the emblem. It is a heavier feeling cotton top. I'm not sure how I would wear this one...probably with just some black skinny jeans and perhaps a patterned throw-over of some sort, preferably floral. I would like to attempt to do a look-book with these pieces. If I'm able to coordinate these pieces well enough, I'll definitely post!
Black Sheer Semi-Overlay White Tank: When I first saw this piece, it immediately made me think of one of my friends in Japan! I felt like this was her style or I've seen her wear something similar before hehe. I could always pair this with denim, which is my go-to basically every day, but I'd like to try something different. I have a few ideas that I would like to try out with this later on.
Off-Shoulder Sweet Dress: My initial reaction when I see dresses is a slight cringe. Dresses have never really been my thing. It's not that I hate them, but I always prefer separates. I did try this on and it did look cute. I have to be in a bit of a girly mood to wear it though hehe. I would simply pair this with black opaque tights and my platform MJ from Vince Camuto. Just simple and sweet.
Sleeve-tie Tee w/ Neon Green Inset: I didn't know that I had to tie the top ends of the sleeve until I tried it on! Taking it out of the package, I thought it was some sort of weird 3/4 long sleeve lol. The great thing about a lot of Japanese clothing is that it comes with something to wear underneath because of their conservative culture. To be honest, this actually became my favorite piece from this bag. I have the perfect coordinate in mind too for it. It utilizes a pair of shorts that I bought last year in April, but have never worn ><. But hey, I found something to match it now!
Blue Spaghetti Bodycon: This was definitely not my favorite because I would never wear a bodycon dress. I don't think I have the body for it, and that's fine by me lol. If you see my previous Fukubukuro post, I received the exact same dress, but in a bright salmon color. I think I ended up selling that at Plato's Closet or donating it. I really have no use for this unfortunately :(.
Overall, I think it was a great Fukubukuro! 4/5 is not a bad score and the value was marked at $150+, so it doesn't make me feel bad at all. I wish we had a summer Fukubukuro as well like in Japan. Perhaps with the success and excitement from this year, it might catch on as a semi-annual event.
Thank you for reading and see you in the next post!
- Lauren
On me, I think it's maybe mid-thigh length? I need to try it on again hehe.
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