blog – Shoes & Sashimi

Pieces of Me

Published on August 22, 2016December 29, 2016 by Lauren Nakagawa34 Comments

There are many pieces that make us whole, so when I first came across Pieces of Me on Instagram, I really was intrigued by how they mix personality with wearable merchandise. Picking one trait that sums me up in a nutshell was tough actually, but I chose the Confident symbol.

The cuff’s description: “With a strong and bold center, confident people never waver on who they are.” Sold. That’s me. I’m a go getter, I’m terribly stubborn, and I’m very confident in listening to my intuition, because it’s never really failed me.

I used to not be very confident in myself, but when you finally grow into your own skin you realize that you’re capable and a lot stronger than you thought. In Los Angeles, I had to be confident enough to run an entire Department myself, whether it was Wardrobe Styling for International commercials or an Editorial Shoot on the fly, I did it well in a very male dominated industry. And I did it by myself, no assistants no nothing. Every shoot I’d be on, crew would yell “Where’s Wardrobe Dept?” You’re lookin’ at it.

And when I left LA last year to pursue Shoes and Sashimi full time, I was confident that I would slowly but surely make this venture succeed. And it has. It’s not easy by any means, but I’m sure thankful that I trusted my gut because there are so many things I have in store for this blog.

What’s your dominant trait? How do you stay empowered?

If you would like to wear your trait on your sleeve (or wrist) you can pick your own cuff from Pieces of Me here. Using “Lauren10” will save you 10% at checkout.

Pieces of Me

M.Gemi x Goop

Published on August 11, 2016August 12, 2016 by Lauren Nakagawa15 Comments

You all know I love my M.Gemi shoes. I wear one of them on my Instagram feed at least once a week it seems. They’re one of my absolute favorite brands to wear (and work with) but overall they’re just beautifully crafted and so amazingly comfortable. I have literally walked miles in my Stellatos without a single complaint from my feet.

M.Gemi has become a part of my weekly wardrobe, I wear them so often and they’re definitely part of my lifestyle. From running around town for errands, to dressing up jeans for coffee and dinner, M.Gemi takes me everywhere. Which brings me to Goop. If you are a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, then you know about her lifestyle site. I personally am not a fan of she herself, however I do like that Goop is a one stop shop type of deal that promotes quality, often times green, and trusted products that cover all lifestyle needs.

M.Gemi and Goop launches their capsule collection today and I wanted to share their new styles for you. There’s something for everyone, a sneaker, heel, flat, and sandal. I personally love the pointed toe flat.

As always, thank you for reading. If you have any questions regarding M.Gemi as a company or how the sizes fit, I’d be happy to help.

*You can also shop my M.Gemi Style Page where you can find my favorites year round (new customers get $40 off automatically at checkout when you go through my page.)

M.Gemi x Goop

My Style Page

Game of Chrome // Public Desire

Published on June 30, 2016July 22, 2016 by Lauren Nakagawa23 Comments

I’m still flipping out over the Game of Thrones finale, anyone else a die hard fan? In the spirit of all things metal, chrome, and armor, I’ve been wearing these boots by Public Desire non stop. Public Desire has now launched from across the pond to the U.S and I’m really excited because their shoes are the most affordable, faux leather styles that are actually insanely comfortable.

I can walk a mile in these little booties, and if Cersei or Daenerys were here in modern day, I’m sure they’d be a fan as well :D

Hope you’re having a great week, can you believe the month of June is almost to a close? Time flies I tell ya.

All outfit photos shot by Rachel Radcliffe

The Darla Boots: Public Desire

Jacket: Lulus

Boxed Roses: Palepetals.com use code “shoesandsashimi” for 15% off an order

Staying Local with April May Jewelry

Published on November 10, 2015July 11, 2016 by Lauren Nakagawa9 Comments

Hi all, hope your week is off to a good start. I recently sat down for coffee with local jewelry designer April May in Oakland, CA after I found her metal pieces on Instagram. Be sure to follow her @Aprilmayjewelry :D It’s fun to meet cool people in your neighborhood and April is just that. She makes all her pieces by hand and you can definitely check her booths out if you’re ever planning on going to SF’s Treasure Island Flea Market.

If you’ve been seeing my Instagram feed, you’d see that I wore April’s bangles a lot around town, I don’t really think I took them off for the most part mainly because they’re just so easy to wear. And you can too, just enter our contest at the bottom of the page and April will send you your own necklace and bangles to wear about :) Remember, the more ways you enter the better luck you’ll have.

Contest runs for one week and will be notified by email at random.

Good luck and thanks for reading!

Lauren

FullSizeRender 36 — April’s best seller’s which you can win: Enter with the link at the bottom of this page.

Flatlay with InStyle, Sam Edelman, and April May.

Took my bangles to coffee at Maiden Lane’s Iron Horse Coffee Bar, they make a mean dirty chai.

Current favorites in my bathroom: Hairpins and a fun ring. All I need is some polish by Butter London. — Current favorites in my bathroom: April’s handmade hairpins and her fun ring. All I need is some polish by Butter London.

Contest: Enter Here

That’s A Wrap

Published on November 5, 2015July 11, 2016 by Lauren Nakagawa4 Comments

It’s been a while, hope you’re all well and thank you for being patient as I’ve been a little behind lately here. However you can always find me on Instagram to see what I’m up to each day! I’m happy to finally release two of my projects that I’ve been Department Head on, a commercial for Nongshim USA featuring Ki Hong Lee (The Maze Runner franchise) shot in Los Angeles and the November Issue of Diablo Magazine on stands currently, shot in Oakland, CA.

Fun Fact: It took 14hours to shoot this 30 second commercial in the Hollywood Hills. As per usual, I was the only female on an all male film crew.

Ki Hong Lee for Nongshim USA: Watch the commercial here >> Full Commercial

Fun Fact: Lena Ahn is wearing a Hye Park & Lune Baseball Tee. Ki Hong is wearing Marc Jacobs.

And that’s a wrap. Hope you enjoyed, this specifically airs overseas on all networks in Seoul and Hong Kong, however you can watch it on Youtube of course. >> Full Commercial

Soon after I got back from LA, Diablo Magazine called to have me style their November Issue and I happily signed on because it marks my first editorial shoot in the Bay Area. The Food and Wine Issue is an important one because let’s be honest, I love to eat and what’s most fitting is that we shot the whole thing in Oakland, just minutes away from where I grew up. Be sure to pick up a copy, on news stands, grocery stores, and Barnes and Noble in Northern CA. Cheers!

Behind the Scenes with Model Hannah Tokuno for Stars Management. Fun Fact: Hannah is wearing an Ulla Johnson dress, pulled from local boutique Shop McMullen.

We shot this set at Pican Restaurant in Oakland. Photographer: Norma Cordova

Last Look: Hannah wearing BCBGeneration. — Hannah wearing BCBGeneration.

Final Edit: Hannah wearing an Ulla Johnson dress and Cate & Chloe layered necklace (my own.)

As always, thanks for reading and keeping pace with me.

You can always find me on Instagram for daily snaps. @shoes_and_sashimi

Playing Catch Up

Published on October 16, 2015July 11, 2016 by Lauren Nakagawa15 Comments

Hi All,

I’ve been caught up lately which may explain the lag in blogging, however it’s been filled with all good things that have needed my full attention. One of them wrapping a successful editorial shoot for Diablo Magazine, I styled their November Issue on news stands in a week or so. You may have seen a glimpse of BTS on Instagram, and I will be posting the full story when it comes out. It’s good to be back in the game, especially shooting in the Bay Area. With that, revamping my credits list and styling portfolio has taken much of my focus. I’m not a newbie when it comes to shopping my portfolio around to agencies, and I’m now reminded again how hard it is to become represented, but if it’s one thing I’m good at it’s being stubborn and persistent. LA is a slaughterhouse when it comes to agencies, it seems SF is no different for whatever reason…send good jujus please :D

What else..oh, I turned 29…and I was so consumed with styling the editorial 48hrs before my birthday that I almost did indeed forget that I was turning a year older. I had an amazing dinner at The Progress in SF thanks to @Twelfthknight with our two friends, a lovely double date with good food, drinks, and laughter is all this girl needs :) Thank you again.

If you’ve been seeing on Instagram lately, @Twelfthknight and I took the fur baby to Pacifica last weekend for a day trip to find some relaxing ocean air. If you’ve never been it’s a really foggy, but quaint beach town north of the Peninsula. We came, we saw, and we ate a ridiculously good Italian sandwich from Colombos Delicatessen. You’d also think I’d wear a more beach friendly outfit than this crop top and high waisted shorts number, but hey, whatchya gonna do. NorCal beach towns are quite different than SoCal beach towns and my growing monochrome wardrobe is still getting acclimated for these times :D

Thanks for reading and catching up with me. I look forward to sharing behind the scenes photos of my recent shoots when I get permission, including the commercial with you soon.

~ Lauren

Instagram x Twitter

What I Wore:

Crop Top: Banana Republic

Shorts: FInders Keepers the Label

Gladiators: Loeffler Randall

Sunnies: Lulu’s

All outfit photos taken by @Twelfthknight

Easy Breezy: The Culotte Trend

Published on September 9, 2015July 11, 2016 by Lauren Nakagawa7 Comments

I feel like the culottes get a lot of negative press. Why? Because a lot of people are confused by them. Culottes can’t make up their mind if they’re pants or a skirt (depending on the fabric) and the length is always tricky depending on body type. Believe it or not, culottes were first worn by men during the Middle Ages. Flash forward to current day, and they’re some what of the “it” trend, who knew :D

I was approached by eShakti to try their custom services recently and they created these amazingly tailored culottes for me. If you aren’t familiar with eShakti, they are an online retailer who has an array of women’s clothes in all sizes. The neat thing is that eShakti will custom tailor your order to your specific measurements! Fit is everything, I’m a firm believer that you can have the best clothes and if they don’t fit right they’re worth near to nothing. Does anyone agree with me?

In an attempt to hold onto the last bit of Summer here in the Bay Area, I paired my culottes with a cropped top by Lulus. I love that the waist of these pants offer me some room but are able to be high enough to wear tops like these. Flat sandals such as my Loeffler Randall gladiators offer a casual look. However, I switched into these heels by Chinese Laundry to add just enough height and extension to the pant leg. Either or, they look good and at 5’3 I’m proof that you can wear these pants without fear!

Thank you to eShakti, be sure to follow them on Instagram :) And for my readers, I’m giving you my special promo code “Shoesandsashimi” to get 10% OFF when you shop at eShakti – valid for unlimited use from 09/08/2015 – 10/08/2015.

Happy shopping everyone, and as always thanks for reading!

Lauren