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Friday 30 November 2018

Lolita Blogpost Roundup: November 2018

As usual, here are some of the highlights from my reading list this month. Let's just ignore the fact that this month is November and just enjoy reading some lolita content, shall we?


In which she’s back again… from Make Lovely
Oh my goodness, guyyyyyys! One of my all time favourite lolita bloggers is back! I am super excited and totally may or may not have read a whole lot of her old posts in my glee...

AP's Fancy Box: camera comparison from Rufflecloud's Adventures
As something of a camera nerd, this was interesting to see. Both the camera and the settings used make a massive different in the photos you take, and given that this hobby of ours is so very visual it's handy to know this.

What gives, grey? Larmes influence on J-fashion from Miss Filigree
New (to me) blog alert! This post was really interesting for me, even though I don't really know anything about larme ^__^

Lolita MemoĆ­res vol. III release party from Sanakanin
I love pretty meet up posts...not much more to say, but I enjoyed reading this post.

Little Halloween Tea Time For Me! from The Bloody Tea Party
I'm not massively into Halloween, but that doesn't prevent me from enjoying reading about other people enjoying their holiday!

Ouji Trends: Alice and the Pirates Then and Now from Buttcape
As I'm not really into ouji (yet) I'd never really paid much attention to the trends within it, so this was very informative for me. I have to say that I'm a sucker for the earlier, punkier stuff rather than the newer pastel-y styles, but I do appreciate the available variety.

My First Time Vending at MCM London Comic Con! from Teacake Time Machine
One thing I love about reading blogs is getting to experience and gain an insight into things I don't foresee myself ever doing...such as wending at a big convention!

Sailor Moon Pop-up Exhibit and Shop from ABC Lolita
Oh man...Sailor Moon stuff is the cutest! This is more of a Sailor Moon post than a lolita one, but it's so cute how could I not share?

I hope you enjoyed reading these posts as much as I did. Now it is time to gird our loins against the onslaught of the festive season...Christmas coords are coming!

Monday 26 November 2018

Taobao 2018 - the accessories edition

This year I am participating in the Seagull Secret Santa on CGL, and decided that for part of my gift to my match I wanted to pick up some accessories from Sweet Dreamer. Then, of course, since I had an open order I just had to add in a few things for myself...and a few more...and maybe a few more...

In the end this was a wholly jewellery and accessories order, which is great because they're the pieces I need most at the moment. Most items are badly needed wardrobe staples, and some are entirely frivolous! I ordered from a handful of different stores, so I'll show you everything and link to each shop.


As usual, I ordered with TaobaoTrends, and they were fine. I had a bit of an issue paying for the order at first (I added money to my account, but then could use it!) but that resolved itself in a day. not quite sure what happened, but whatever. Ultimately, my order came in while I was at work on 20 November. They were sensible with packing, and put most items inside the hat I ordered to save space but they did bend the hat a bit to fit it in the box, so there's that.

Let's start with the items from Sweet Dreamer, since getting a couple of things for my Secret Santa from there was the original purpose of the order. For my match I bought a pair of wristcuffs (which I own myself and love) and a gorgeous velvet barrette bow. For myself I grabbed some sweet-themed necklaces, one strawberry and one biscuit. No pictures of the gifts, since I'm leaving them in their packaging, but oh my goodness the necklaces are adorable! Like seriously, how ridiculously cute are they? The pendants seems pretty sturdy as well, though the chains are quite thin.


Then I ordered a few items from Sweet Heart Square, another store I really like and buy from basically every time I do a Taobao order! I did get one thing for my match here, the floral barrette (they said they're into larme and it seemed appropriate...and hey, if not, there's more to the gift) which again is not pictured. Then I also picked up a pearl and cherry bracelet (plus earrings) for myself, and a pair of mint-and-brown bow clips. I have these same bow clips in I think four different colours now, I really love them! I think the mint is a bit too dark to match well with Teddy Chocolatier though, but oh well. The bracelet is also quite small, like previous ones I've bought from here, but it's still cute so I don't mind.


All the stores from here are ones I hadn't bought from before, so this was exciting! First I grabbed a mint green beret (because I will never have enough berets) and a black and red choker necklace from Kuma P Handmade. The beret is pretty standard, though a bit thicker and tighter than my other ones. But the choker is adorable! Like seriously, how cute is it? And yes, of course it's berry themed...


The next store was Azusa Handmade House, where mostly I bought a lot of rings (they were like a dollar each, don't judge me!) as well as a bracelet and a straw hat. The hat was mostly bought so I could do more country style looks with my new Meta dress and I really wanted to get one decorated with green flowers, but I made the sensible decision to go with the more versatile (and cheaper) option with just an off white ribbon. Which is still super adorable and certainly will be more versatile. Both the bracelet and the rings are cute but not massively noteworthy. But I'm so glad I got them! Look at me, expanding my wardrobe options ^__^


After that I bought yet more cute jewellery! This store (the name of which is translating to Don't come to a piece of meat? which is just confusing) really tempted me, and I wanted to grab so many more things, but in the end I forced myself to be realistic about it and only got two bracelet sets and one necklace. Though admittedly the cat paw bracelet set doesn't match anything I own but it's a cat paw! How could I not? The other bracelets were a good basic set and the necklace is a rainbow! A rainbow! Probably not going to use it for lolita too much, but in case you didn't know...I really like rainbows! The chain clasp bit at the back is broken though, so it's straight into my mending pile.


Then the accessories that I chose from Ribbon Cake were kind of silly. I mean, yes the ring and donut clips will match things of mine, and I suppose the lollipop necklace might as well, but they just feel a bit silly! But they were cheap and are cute so I'm not complaining ^__^ I'm actually kind of stupidly in love with the lollipop necklace, and the donuts are really spongy!


My Little Song tempted me into buying another couple of cute necklaces for the sweeter side of my wardrobe, and they are both very cute and feel quite sturdy. I realised when I was opening everything that I kind of doubled up with this strawberry necklace and the Sweet Dreamer one but I don't mind! They're still different enough, and I actually really especially love the beaded chain on these necklaces.


And from the last store, Sharon's Rose, I got a more classic style floral necklace. I did want to get a rose necklace too but it went out of stock. I guess this really goes to prove something that I'm realising about myself as I'm wearing lolita more often - I'm really more into sweet than classic! (though I do love both).  But I'm not sure if I wasn't thinking clearly, or made a mistake, because I didn't think I ordered it in this colour...and I also thought it was a bracelet. I honestly don't know what I did, lol! Oh well, it's still pretty and it's very different from anything else I own so it's fine.


On top of everything else, I'm not sure where they came from but also included were a shell necklace and a little notepad. I love cute freebies!

All in all I'm very happy with my new wardrobe additions. I've practically doubled my selection of necklaces and rings with this order, which is something I did want to do this year. So I'm a happy Roli right about now ^__^

Thursday 22 November 2018

Life is turning upside down in the best possible way

First of all, don't panic! Unlike my last life update this is a good post, and I'm not taking the blog on hiatus ^__^

There are two big things happening in my life right now that I wanted to briefly tell you about. The first is that after three and a half years I'm quitting my office job to try my hand at writing full time. It's a massive step but I needed to give it a shot.

James and I giving it a test period to see how much novel writing I can actually do if I hit it from nine to five and also whether I can pick up a decent amount of bread-and-butter freelance writing work. Though since I do like variety, my current plan is devote four days a week to writing and the other one to working on other creative projects such as getting back in to modelling, perhaps actually taking a course to be a certified make up artist, making this blog better, and maybe taking up contributing to Wunderwelt Libre and any other sites that suit my niche interests.

See, my job was good. I liked the people, the office was nice, the work was engaging but not too stressful most of the time and I was paid pretty well. But (and whether this is my anxiety/depression or just who I am) it sapped 95% of my energy and left me with so little left to do any of the things I wanted to do. Over time I got more tired, gained more weight, and lost so much motivation. Whether it was this job in particular, the commute for it, or simply regular office jobs as a thing, it just really sucked the life out of me. Something had to change. And I started feeling so much better even after handing in my notice so I knew it was the right choice. I'm wrapping things up well and training a replacement, but after 14 December I'll be leaving my job and not going back.

So James and I will both be working as freelance creatives for a bit! I'm very excited ^__^ I'm having a couple of weeks off to just relax and recharge first, then I'll be up and at it with the new year. I can go back to having a slightly more nocturnal sleeping pattern, have an extra three plus hours in my day where I'm not stuck on a train or waiting for a train, see James more, have a social life without it wearing me out, have time to exercise, and just try really hard to see if I can have the dedication to make this work because it's my ideal lifestyle.

As for the second big update, with the end of the regular work life in sight, I saw a casting call online and applied, thinking "yes, this would be fun to do next year when I have a life again". And to my surprise and joy I was accepted and I'm really happy to say that I am Eli and Mari in the new Love Live dance group ShiningBright.au!

Oh my goodness though, it was a sudden start! I was messaging the member who had posted the call on Thursday, she said welcome aboard and by the way we have rehearsal on Sunday and a photoshoot the week after! So I panicked a little, scrambled to order costumes and wigs, and on 18 November went on my way to my first rehearsal with a bare minimum of dance practise under my belt. But it was fun (if tiring) and I am so excited to be a part of this group. I'd actually been thinking about how fun it would be to be in an idol group after first watching Love Live and it's taking a while to sink in that I actually am now!

So my plan of getting back into fitness after I quit work got accelerated since I have now started practising my little heart out. I love dancing but am not naturally very well coordinated so I need to practise a lot! We're planning our performance debut in March 2019, so we have time, but I still want to do my very best and improve as fast as I can.

I may or may not post some of the Love Live stuff to this blog, as I imagine there will be a lot of it and I like keeping this blog primarily lolita. But if you're interested to see more you can follow our Instagram that I linked above, or my Facebook page because I can guarantee there will be a lot o content in both those places!

Joining this group is really good for me. It's pushing me outside of my comfort zone socially, fitness-wise, and also in terms of cosplay. I would never have chosen to cosplay any of the Love Live girls until I was significantly more slim, but now I suddenly am (three costumes bought and counting!). I'll admit, I am kind of terrified, but overall this is a really great thing for me.

So that's what's new with me! It won't really affect this blog but it affects me so I wanted to update my readers regardless. Is there anything new in your life at the moment?

PS I am tentatively planning to make lolita my writing clothes because dressing up = motivation but we'll see how that goes.

Saturday 17 November 2018

AYWI30C #9: As gothic as you can go

When I got up to this prompt in the challenge I started inwardly cursing myself. I don't do gothic! Why did I include this?

I mean, I included it because I really wanted Around Your Wardrobe in 30 Coordinates to be about fully stretching the options of your lolita collection. And it served its purpose because much as I did struggle with this, I think I pulled together a passable gothic lolita outfit.


First of all...apologies for the photo quality! I fixed what I could in photoshop but photographing all black indoors is a challenge. Also, never again will I do a flatlay where the main pieces are both chiffon because it was nigh impossible to make they lie nicely flat!


Ahem. I also have three further comments to make. I would probably use some lace tights (or perhaps even fishnets, actually yes, most likely fishnets) if wearing this but they look awful in flatlay form so I included my most appropriate OTKS instead. I also could not find my black handbag, which isn't particularly gothic anyway! Oh well...it's still as gothic as I can go! And lastly...that's glitter on the socks, not dirt...though I have no idea how they got glittery!


Something I did love in this outfit was using my Rogue Aerie jewellery. They're absolutely perfect for gothic looks, nice and opulent. I also like the idea of gothic looks that don't rely on overt symbolism to define them as gothic, so I preferred using these pieces rather than nabbing a cross necklace from our model wardrobe.


I also got a kick (hurr hurr) out of pulling out my Demonia velvet boots for this look. I adore these boots, though I still don't think I've worn them at all! But they add a wonderful Victorian flair to any look and I think they're a truly beautiful footwear option.


Last of all, to tie in with the jewellery I used both red and black flowers along with a rectangle headdress for the hair - a bit oldschool, which to my mind suits the gothic vibe.

I mean, as I often say, I don't think I ever really do gothic all that well. But as much as a struggled with this, it was fun to see how much of a gothic lolita look I could put together from my lolita wardrobe.

Tuesday 13 November 2018

AYWI30C #8: As classic as you can go

As soon as I started thinking about the coordinate I'd put together for this topic I knew I wanted the base of it to be Innocent World's Anniversary Rose and my long sleeved IW blouse (it has floral lace!). From there I just wanted to make it as typically classic as I could, which informed all my other decisions.


My favourite part of this outfit actually ended up being the fur hat thing! I'm not even sure what this is called, it belonged to my fashionista of a great aunt back in the day and I really love it. To me, classic lolita (and to a lesser extend gothic) is the best style for incorporating actual vintage pieces. And of course, because I'm me, I added some flower clips as well.


Then in the interests of having some cohesiveness I added my Axes Femme boots with the faux fur trim. The furs don't exactly match, but given the distance between them I figured it would work out okay.


My accessories for this look were quite minimal - other than the headwear just a few bracelets and a small necklace. I also enjoyed that the majority of this outfit is all Innocent World - more than any other brand (in my not-exhaustive experience) I find that Innocent World always works best with more Innocent World.


Speaking of the accessory choices I just wanted to highlight the necklace I chose. It's not a particularity high-quality piece, but it exemplifies the fact that I'm really trying to expand my jewellery collection and I'm proud of how far I've already come in that regard. Is it weird to be proud of buying things?


So there you have a coordinate that is a classic as I can go. I feel it's very perennially classic lolita; simple, a bit mismatched, feminine and vintage, elegant but still a little cute.

Friday 9 November 2018

Lolita Blog Carnival: Create A Coord Inspired By Your Favorite Sailor Moon Character

Oh my goodness, this theme was made for me. The Sailor Moon series has meant a lot to me over the years and has been an inspiration in so many ways. But my favourite senshi? Well, that's always been...


That's right! Ever since I first saw the anime as a kid I've most strongly identified with Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury. A bit shy and very smart, she was me. Even though I've gotten less shy (and less smart) as I've gotten older and no longer identify with her as much, she's still my fave.

As far as creating an outfit inspired by her, I ran with the idea of putting together a coordinate I imagine she might wear.


I think of this a slightly old-school coordination style with modern items. Dream Marine was the perfect print for her and for the rest of the styling I went with simple, unassuming items. This is not a flashy coord, which I feel suits her studious personality. The basic black shoes and bag make it feel more like something she'd just wear, rather than in being a specifically coordinated outfit.


And now I really want to make lolita coordinates for all the sailor scouts...ooops...

Read more from other bloggers:

Monday 5 November 2018

Coordinates from September - October 2018

The first part of September swept by in a bit of a blur. After we got back from New Zealand we had a bit of settling in to do, and it wasn't until towards the end of the month that I actually got my lolita wardrobe organised and properly accessible. But when I did...I was back!

Literally the day that I reorganised my clothing I wore lolita for the first time in what felt like forever. I called James over to look at how prettily I'd arranged my racks, and said "hey, would you care if I wore lolita while assisting on your photoshoot this afternoon?" (because it's not the most practical of clothing to move lights and furniture around in, so I like to be considerate and check) and his gratifying reply was "I insist that you do!"

So I did ^__^

JSK & Headbow: Rococo Soul Jam Paradise
Bolero: Handmade
Socks: Angelic Pretty
Shoes: Bodyline
Bag: Baby the Stars Shine Bright

I was so ridiculously happy to be wearing lolita again. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed it, and how the lack of it was just one more factor in me feeling not-quite-settled in our new house. It was such an instant mood boost to wear something cute and fluffy again! I also got lots of compliments (including from the cashier with cute round glasses at the chemist we ducked into before the shoot) and James and I went out with the friends we were shooting with for a drink afterwards. All in all a great day and an outfit that I really enjoyed.

Also click here if you want to see what we shot that day, since it's quite a contrast to how I looked! It's Facebook-friendly but not quite safe for work, FYI.

And then, just like the start of September the start of October vanished into the abyss...because I got sick. Again. Bronchitis followed by a lung infection this time. Sigh. I took six days off work in a row, I was that sick. Grateful I could do that (and not have to do anything like move house or travel internationally) but I was so frustrated to be sick again. I was the sickest I've been since I met James to be honest, and it sucked.

But after getting my birthday haul in I decided I had to wear one of my new dresses before my birthday month ended, so in mid-October I once again got dressed up (in Teddy Chocolatier this time) to help out on another photoshoot. I ended up sweating horribly for part of the day, then getting rained on but hey, I looked cute!

JSK & Shoes: Metamorphose
Bolero: Handmade
Bag: Baby the Stars Shine Bright
Everything else: Offbrand & taobao

Last of all I wore a lolita Hufflepuff outfit for Halloween at work! I felt very cute and got many compliments, even from strangers on the way to the train ^__^

Skirt: Victorian Maiden
Blouse: The Floral Notebook
Shoes: Bodyline
Everything else: Offbrand

So I didn't wear lolita that much over the past two months, but that's okay. I enjoyed it when I did wear it, and I feel like I'm starting to get a bit more...I don't know...personal style? I'm just feeling more and more comfortable in lolita, and feel more "me" in it. Which is awesome and leaves me feeling pretty good about it all ^__^