Lolita Blogpost Roundup: June 2018

Hi everyone! I'm not dead, I promise! Still not in the mood for blogging much but I'll keep up these round up posts and outfit posts as well, even if I'm inactive in all other ways ^__^

Inspiration: damare_kozou from RuffleCloud's Adventures
I love posts that link back to older resources...leading you down a glorious rabbit hole of fashion!

To Buy or Not to Buy Brand from Cupcake Kamisama

This is a great thoughtful piece about the brand market in lolita fashion - well worth a read. It was a good reminder for me that spending money on more expensive brand pieces, or paying stupid shipping on indie brand pieces, is not wasted money because there are cheaper options; it's a way of supporting the continuation of the fashion I love.

Presenting Dentelles Fanzine 3rd issue! from Ruban Rose

Is it bad that I didn't know this publication existed? But I do now and so do all of you!

Catching Up from Lolita Wonderland

My favourite lolita blogger is back...and with flat lays? Double win!

Diary of a Lolita from Parfait Doll
Another post from a blog that's been not particularly active lately. I'm not going to both summarising this post but it was a very good read, and relateable, and I suggest you check it out.

Paradiso 2018: A Model's Perspective **Lengthy Post** from Saxon Blues
Event posts are always fun to read...so what are you waiting for?!

That's it for this month! I hope you enjoyed reading these posts as much as I did.

Taking a little break

Hi everyone! I'm just a bit busy at the moment and don't feel up to making the time for blogging so I'm going to take a little break from posting regularly. Nothing's wrong and I will probably be back very soon but wanted to post rather than just going AFK for a bit.

A white gothic capsule wardrobe

Currently on CGL there is a capsule wardrobe thread. Now, as you know, capsule wardrobes are kind of my thing, so I leapt on and said I'd try and take a crack at requested lolita wardrobes. And then, to my despair, this first request came in, for "a white main piece goth lolita capsule wardrobe. I like creams and blood reds and blacks too. If possible, no prints."

Oh dear.

But I gave it a shot anyway, and I think I am slowly starting to get the hang of gothic lolita a little bit more. I didn't adhere to the idea of no prints, and instead selected prints that are on the more minimal side. I will admit that I found the colour scheme a challenge as well, however it was a really good opportunity to try out something new. So, here's my attempt at a white/ed/black gothic lolita capsule wardrobe!

As you can see, it's very strictly tri-colour with the exception of the stained glass print. This is very much not me...even in wardrobes like this with limited colour schemes there's normally more hints of additional colours going on in the prints. And I normally include a lot more prints! So I found it a little challenging to put together properly unique outfits for each main piece. But I did my best and you can see the outfits below.

I love this print. I'm not really a Moitie fan, but man do I like this print. It was fair easy to coordinate, though I did find it challenging to incorporate the red pieces in these looks.

And oh my goodness. I've never really paid much attention to Atelier Pierrot because gain, I'm not very into gothic, but this JSK is gorgeous. The layers, the bustling, the details. To me, this is a perfect solid coloured dress. But again, I found it hard to coordinate with red!

I had a much easier time with this OP all round. It's something I would never, ever wear (it's the most "never" piece in this wardrobe) but I still think it's awesome!

I actually want to get a stained glass print eventually so I really enjoyed getting to coordinate this one digitally.

And finally we have the sole skirt of the wardrobe. I'm assuming the reds would match in the real world! Much as I love this skirt and the variety it brought to the wardrobe I did find it challenging to balance in the example coordinates.

Overall, I actually enjoyed getting to foray into gothic lolita territory. I'll be honest, I think this is one of my worst hypothetical wardrobes but still, it was a learning experience. In order not to end on a negative note, I pulled out my favourite coords from the ones above and collaged them together to prove that actually yes, I can sometimes do gothic lolita right!

Buying lolita for Western bodies

Lame title is lame, but anyhoo, let's move on. This post came about because over the weekend I met a really sweet girl who is interested in lolita, but due to being a bit tall and broad shouldered (which is pretty common among Westerners) has not bought anything due to concerns of fit. I said I'd message her a list of indie brands so she'll know what some of the options are. And then I thought, well, it's going to be a really long message so why not actually put my thoughts into coherent sentences and just do a blogpost instead!

So there are going to be two parts to this post: tips on what to wear and how to wear it, and I list of brands that I think provide good options for people who do not fit the standard Japanese body shape. So this is partially aimed at the fat lolitas, the tall lolitas, the buff lolitas, the busty lolitas, but equally as well to people who are just...not Japanese. Because we all deserve to look amazing in lolita, and sometimes just buying brand off the rack is not the way to do that. ]

First of all, some tips on what to do when you can't just look good in everything. As always, this is just my personal opinion. But as a tall-ish, fat, big framed lolita I think I know what I'm talking about ^__^

A picture of the body my experience comes from; five foot six and currently a size AU16.

The biggest tip is to know your measurements. More stuff will fit you than you think! However, you will need to pay attention to the skirt to bodice ratio; generally if you are taller or broader than the intended body things will fit but not quite as intended. Know what length of skirt you are comfortable with. Most of the time straps are adjustable in length (and you can always extend them or alter to a halter neck) but if the shoulder measurement is very much smaller than yours they may flare outwards rather than go straight over the shoulders. To me, if something is great other than the straps, just wear a bolero or cardigan, especially because that solves any issues with blouse fit. Speaking of blouses, you can wear a JSK with a blouse that doesn't close over the bust. If it's nice in the neckline and the sleeves but your boobs get in the way, what does it matter with a JSK? Of course, it's better to have things that fit properly but still that was worth mentioning. As a last point on picking your clothes, remember that underskirts can be a godsend but that if they don't match well they can look lazy. Use with caution.

Enough of tips, here are my suggestions on where to shop if you're not standard Japanese size!

Lady Sloth does great blouses and a lot of unique main pieces. I think her prices are fair and I have liked the things I have bought from her in the past (and intend to buy more in future, have you seen the preview for her new berry print?). She has a range of standard sizes and also offers many things custom sized.

A recent (and lovely) series from Lady Sloth

For blouses and boleros, both Glitter Tale and Bunny House are apparently also quite good, though I have not bought from them myself. But like Lady Sloth they offer good standard sizes as well as custom options. I used to also love The Floral Notebook for blouses too, but they don't seem to be active any more.

Bunny House also does petticoats, but my number one recommendation for pettis is Me Likes Tea. She also does phenomenal bloomers! Lately her stories on Instagram have also featured pretty dresses, so she may be going to expand her offerings in future.

I also recommend The Black Ribbon - I have cutsews from her that immediately become wardrobe favourites. I haven't seem any of her main pieces in real life, but if the cutsews are an indication they're top-notch too.

The Black Ribbob keeping it gorgeous.

As far as standard off the rack goes, I do actually have to recommend Bodyline as well. I have not have fit issues due to my big old Aussie frame in any of the pieces I have bought from them. I will say though, I haven't bought any of their releases from the last three or so years, so I can't vouch for their newer stuff. But the older things have definitely been good. As we all know, Bodyline can be a bit iffy on quality, but it's easy enough to find worn photos and reviews of most of their items before you buy.

If you do want to go full proper brand, I find Metamorphose temps de fille has also been great. The only issue I've had with clothes from them is one blouse being very tight around the neck but it did have a high collar so eh. But Meta dresses with full back shirring are very forgiving (up to a 110cm bust easily in my experience) and the shoulders fit fine. And their socks are amazing!

Meta socks are best socks <3

With longer lengths on offer, Innocent World is also sometimes a good bet...provided you don't have a particularly large bust. I'd cautiously recommend them, because it really depends on your frame. However, like Meta, their socks are phenomenal on chunky legs.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of lolita indie brands (or big brands that are good for a wide range of body types) but just the ones that first come to my mind when thinking of recommendations for someone with curves and nicely built shoulders.

Do you have any suggestions to add to what I have here? Any disagreements?

AYWI30C #6: Channel a specific lolita era

For this prompt I was initially going to take the easy route, and go old school or OTT sweet. But I’ve already done the latter in this series and I just wasn’t feeling old school right now, so I did a bit of googling to try and figure out what was another noticeable “era” and eventually decided to make a coord like it was 2008.

It seemed appropriate; it’s exactly ten years ago and while that late-00s time is not as memorable as the previous old school or the later OTT sweet it’s a very interesting look. It was a transitional year where things were starting to ramp up to OTT; we’re seeing some big hair and prints are coming into fashion. But at the same time there’s a lot of simplicity and “minimal” coordinates without much going on in the accessories department and a lot of simple colour schemes, of the dress colour accompanied by either black or white. There’s also still a bit of a punkiness to the fashion, and a lot more crossover with goth. The whole scene could still be called “gothic lolita” back then and it showed.

My tartan JSK from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright (or at least, another version of the same dress, which is close enough) was released in 2008 so I thought I’d use it for this coordinate. I combined it with my AP polka dot parka – this was released in 2012 but Angelic Pretty was putting out hoodies in 2008 so I think it still manages to suit the vibe.

Overall I wanted to go for a cute but a little punk sort of look, not that I can ever manage to do something so properly effortlessly distressed as punk truly should be. So I went more “punk” by having disconnected, but overall coherent elements. Like my clashing red tartan bag!

A single large headbow seemed to be one of the common hair accessories at the time so I used a black and white one (a bit anachronistic but oh well). I kept the accessories simple overall, with just a big plastic bow bangle. I would have loved to have added some arm warmers, but alas, I no longer own that later-noughties staple.

Speaking of thing I would have love to use but don't own;  this look would be perfect with some of those plain Demonia platforms but alas, I can’t own all the shoes I admire in life. I would also love to do this kind of coordinate with a pair of Converse sneakers, but mine fell apart years ago. So my plain black platform heels had to do the job!

For socks, I thought a patterned OTK was the way to go, even though I do have black with white lace UTKS that would have also been perfect. But I felt that a black and red sock with a pattern not seen anywhere else in the coord was the best choice; it adds another jarring note which I felt the coord needed.

I have to say, I am absolutely loving this challenge so far because I’m trying all kinds of new things. I may not love this coordinate as much as I loved the last one I did for the challenge but still, wow, it’s not something I would normally have put together at all. The challenge is working! And I am so damn happy about it.

As a final note, I really found La Carmina’s 2008 blog archive super helpful for seeing what people were actually wearing around this time!

Lolita Blog Carnival: What Keeps Your Interest In The Fashion

I haven’t been into lolita fashion for a long time, necessarily. But I’ve definitely been in it for a while, so this prompt was an interesting one. Because I had never actually sat down and thought what, in particular, keeps me interested in lolita fashion year in and year out.

First of all, it’s so pretty! I love big puffy skirts and elegant blouses, detailed prints and dramatic shoes, lovely hair accessories and gorgeous socks. I’ve always had a weakness for alternative fashions in general, and have worn everything from mis-matched rainbows to dapper Victorian to patchwork skirts to wannabe emo. Clothes have always been my thing. In a way, lolita is actually the most mainstream alternative fashion I’ve ever worn! I also love the coordination aspect of the clothes, of balancing colours and themes and coming up with new combinations rather than just buying a new outfit or wearing the same look over and over. I mean, I do tend to wear the same outfits repeatedly, but I also experiment a lot more in flatlay form.

Everything is just so lovely!

Segueing from that mention of flatlays, I love that lolita for me, is a solo hobby. Much as I love wearing it, I don’t have to get dressed up in order to enjoy the fashion. I really enjoy just playing with the clothes, daydreaming about my wardrobe, and of course…keeping up this blog! I also enjoy looking at new releases and even doing some sewing and crafting of my own. For me it’s a very unique hobby that I can engage in entirely on my own terms, for my own enjoyment, and do not need any involvement from anyone else. I am in to a whole bunch of different things, but lolita is the one that’s the most “me”.

One of the many hypothetical wardrobes I've put together for this blog.

However, much as I love the just me on my own aspects of lolita, I also enjoy the community, online and in real life. I only realised recently that the lolita community is the only one I’m really involved in online. That’s not a bad thing, but I was more active in different online circles in my teens and early twenties and no longer am. I mean, if I’m honest I’m not even all that active in lolita outside of this blog. But the community is there, even if I’m mostly a lurker. Similarly, I don’t go to many meet ups, but the community is there for me to participate in, and that’s good. Especially for a socially anxious dweeb like myself, hobbies with pre-made communities are a godsend. Going new places! Meeting new people! It’s a good thing.

From my first meet with the Newcastle community.

But to circle back to the actual prompt, what “keeps” me in this fashion is basically that I love it. I enjoy all the aspects of it and it brings me a lot of pleasure. I like seeing the style change, and I like experiencing that same growth in my own personal style. If I ever fall out of love, I’ll leave, but for now it’s a relationship I fully intend to continue.

Read more from other bloggers:

Cupcake Kamisama
The Bloody Tea Party