Lolita Blogpost Roundup: December 2017

Just because it has been holiday season doesn't mean that lolita bloggers have stopped blogging! As proof, here are some of the posts I enjoyed reading over the last month.

Catch-up Nov '17 from Sweet Dreams
This style of post just makes me happy. It's a little look into the life of this lolita and that just makes me feel all kinds of happy. Posts like his feel like a throwback to the old days of this fashion, when everyone was on livejournal and lolita cum personal blogging was the done thing.

Reflections on International Lolita Day 2017 from Effervisceral
I enjoy posts of a personal reflective nature, and that's exactly what this was.

Taking Back Daily Lolita from Vanilla Bear
I don't think I'd ever be a lifestyle lolita in the traditional sense, but I do enjoy reading about it.

Futuristic Lolita Fashion from Gravelvet
I get such a kick out of seeing  people do unique things with lolita fashion! And the cords in this post are nothing if not unique.

The 10 Day Lolita Challenge from Lolita Wonderland
This blogging challenge popped up at just the right time for me and I intend to complete it in the new year! All the author's posts from the challenge are in her December posts so there's lots of reading there if you want it.

Ribbon Tights DIY from ABC Lolita
Can you say brilliant idea? Because this is a brilliant idea! I am very tempted to make myself a pair of these tights if I ever want to go OTT.

Lucky Packs How To from Cupcake Kamisama
After being in lolita for a while it's easy to forget how overwhelming things can be at the start. Lucky packs (and special sets) in particular are a bit baffling on the surface of this, and this post is a great guide on what exactly lucky packs are along with some tips on whether or not you should get one.

Well, that's my last post for 2017! I hope you've enjoyed me blog (and the other blogs I've linked to here and elsewhere) and I look forward to sharing this corner of he internet with you in the new year!

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone, it's Christmas Day! Down here in Australia, at least ^__^

So I  wanted to wish my followers and anyone who's just randomly on my blog a wonderful Christmas, or a happy Monday if you're not a Christmas person. I'm currently at the start of three weeks off from work and I'm hoping to get my wardrobe post, a lot of general awesomeness, some blogging and maybe even some sewing done while I have the time.

Sharing a picture of this year's Krispy Kreme Christmas selection because what is a post without pictures and then I'm signing off to go eat my pork, potatoes, and pavlova ^__^

Love Nikki (my current gaming addiction)

I’m kind of a one game at a time person – I play something, focus obsessively on it, then eventually move on. I often return to games, so my current lack of activity in Tamriel will not necessarily last (so I’m not losing my “I’m a serious gamer” cred, right?), but for now I’ve given it up for a delightful little diversion called Love Nikki Dress UP Queen (and yes, the capital UP is part of the title stylisation). I actually discovered this game because of a thread on CGL and fell head over heels for it.

This post isn’t exactly a review of Love Nikki, it’s more of a spreading the good news. It’s a very cute and very fun game, with a lot more intricacies of gameplay than you’d expect of a dress-up game. I’m utterly hooked and have also hooked three of my girlfriends on it as well…so it’s not just me who thinks it’s great. One this I love is that the clothes available range across so many styles – not just regular fashion but more niche styles such a mori girl and, of course, lolita.

I even made a few lolita outfits to show you how cute this game is! My collection is still limited (apparently I’m at 15% so I’ve got a long way to go) but I thought I cam up with some cute coordinates regardless, without resorting to using full pre-made suits (as outfit sets are called in game).

First of all I put together a cute little red-and-white sweet lolita look. It’s almost a cheat, styling wise, as the main pieces are a mesh of two different red-and-white lolita suits but I still did something different with the warm and fluffy accessories. I’m also getting Minako Aiko idol vibes because of the hair, and I like it a lot because of that!

Then I totally did cheat and use a full suit…I just wanted to show this one off! How perfect is it as a lolita outfit? I did change out the hair and face though, so I get to claim a tiny amount of creativity here. But this suit shows just how good this game is in treating alternative fashions like lolita – if this was real you could totally wear this coordinate out and it would be perfect.

For a third try (because all the best things are done in threes) I put together an opulent classic lolita coordinate, which I feel actually fits the current OTT classic trend quite well. I would so wear this if I owned it for a photoshoot or fancy event. I’ve also discovered that you can buy a cosplay of the suit that the bonnet with veil comes from and I’ll admit, that is now on my “to cosplay” list for when I slim down enough to fit back into a Chinese size L ^__^

And, as a last thing, I wanted to try my hand at an ouji look! Not my best work, but still cute!

So that’s a few of the way you can dress up if you play Love Nikki! I am really loving this game and thoroughly recommend it, for lolitas and non-lolitas alike.

Do you play any games that are somewhat lolita in nature?

Lolita Blog Carnival: 5 Regrets - List 5 Pieces You Regret Not Buying When You Had The Chance

I’ll admit, I have trouble thinking of five things I properly regret not buying! Mostly because (as you’ll know if you read this blog much) I just don’t tend to get hung up on particular items too badly, and at the same time if I really like something I tend to just buy it. However, I will do my best!

Metamorphose red crew socks
Okay, okay. This is the number one items I have genuine regret for not buying, because I’ve failed to do so twice and the regret has just increased. When I first discovered these socks they were out of stock. But then a sock lot acme up on Yahoo Japan including these, but I was outbid and instantly regretted losing the auction. I mean, it may have still gone for way over what I willing to pay, but I really wish I had bid more. And then Meta restocked them….and I chickened out because of price (in my defence, they are pretty expensive for such a small item). And by the time I realised that no, they actually would be a good piece for my wardrobe, they were sold out again. So much regret right now, so much.

Chocolate Rosette MTO
I’ve mentioned before that I really love Chocolate Rosette and I did contemplate getting it in the recent-ish made to order. But I didn’t, because it was a bit small for my current dimensions and AP is always a bit short on me – which are very valid reasons! But still, every time I see that JSK my heart flutters and I do wish I had it, even though it would be a goal piece for now. I mean, this is sensible regret, if such a thing exists. It was the right decision not to buy it so I guess rather than regretting not buying it I regret the fact that circumstances were such that the MTO did not come at a good time for me to buy it, because let’s be honest, if I were a lot thinner length be damned I would have bought it!

BTSSB fawn fur beret
This cute thing popped up on Yahoo Japan once, and I decided it was not worth bidding super high on, as I really didn’t want to pay that much for it. But when the auction ended and I didn’t win I was very bummed and realised I should have placed my top bid at least a little higher. And I haven’t seen it pop up at a reasonable price since. Ah well. I already have a fawn fur beret and other fawn fur headwear but what can I say? Fawn fur is my major weakness.

Dramatic Rose on sale
This is where I start clutching at straws a little bit and my memory grows hazy – I’m pretty sure AP’s Dramatic Rose JSK in lavender went on sale, and I decided the sale price wasn’t a good enough discount so I didn’t go for it. That was kind of the right decision, but at the same time I do pine after that dress a little, and haven’t found it secondhand at a price I’m comfortable paying. But see what I mean about not having majorly memorable regrets when it comes to lolita shopping?

And….that’s it! I don’t really have a fifth item to add to this list. I’ve typed and deleted a couple of things because really, anything beyond those (and even everything after item number one) doesn’t really count as something I regret not buying. I mean, sure, I like a whole bunch of things I don’t own, and there are many lolita thing in existence I would like to own in the future, but nothing really regret-worthy. And I like being relaxed in that way!

Read more from other bloggers:

Cupcake Kamisama
The Bloody Tea Party
Poppy Noir
Sweet Expedition

My lolita wardrobe five years ago and now

A little while ago I saw a Lolita Blog Carnival post "Compare Your Wardrobe from Your First Year to Now" show up in my feed from Cupcake Kamisama's blog and I immediately wanted to do this for myself. Fortunately, every January so far I have done a wardrobe post so I could just flick back to my first one in 2013 and see what had happened to my wardrobe.

Before I get into it you can view my first ever wardrobe post (after I'd been in the fashion around 6 months) here on EGL And if you want to see the 2017 post for comparison, that can be found here. Of course there have been some changes since that last post but they're mostly been additions! Just so you can follow along with what I’m rambling on about ^__^

The only big things from my first year in lolita that I still own.

My first thought in looking back to that first wardrobe post is that the only things that remain are most of the shoes, a single JSK and a lone skirt. What a change! And I know exactly why I got rid of all those starter pieces too. I was lucky and James bought me a whole bunch of stuff when I first started, but I really had no idea of how I wanted to wear lolita. So I got things that were cute and that I liked, but in the end a lot of them weren’t things that felt right on me. That’s why I actually think that a new lolita, even if they can afford it, shouldn’t buy too many items to start with. Buy an outfit or two and see how you feel wearing them, because otherwise you may end up with a whole lot of things that you then sell on quickly.

Once thing I’m pleased about, looking back, is that even then I had some sense of wardrobe cohesion. I have multiple blouses in different colours and several different colours and style of footwear. I think my legwear and headwear collections were pretty lacking but still. I was trying even if I wasn’t, by my standards now, doing that great a job of it.

Also, as a note, the majority of Bodyline blouses suck. Sweaty polyester nastiness central. I have one good cotton one that’s in my sewing pile for some alterations and I like my two chiffon ones but other than that I've been very unimpressed.

From my 2015 wardrobe post

Moving forward, 2014 was the year where I really found my feet, I feel. Looking at my wardrobe post from January 2015 reveals something that resembles my wardrobe now. Not as large, not quite as spot-on in terms of quality, and still a bit sketchy on style, but you can look at that and then look at my wardrobe now and tell they’re the same person. You couldn’t do that with my wardrobe when I first started! And now I feel like I’m in a really great place with my wardrobe; it’s cohesive and varied and I love it to piece ^__^

Other than quantity and cohesiveness something I want to write about a bit is the presence of brand in my wardrobe, because this is something that has changed as well. When I first started, I thought brand was expensive and too small and therefore immediately in my “nope” pile. And to an extent I wasn’t wrong. A new brand JSK costs $350 (in AUD and of course this fluctuates, especially since the exchange rate keeps getting worse for me!) and a blouse is $120. That’s a lot compared to say $40 and $25 from Bodyline, or $80 and $40 from a Taobao reseller (those are all ballpark figures, obviously). And in both size and length most brand items are designed for a Japanese woman  and even if lolita is apparently a chubby girl fashion, Japanese chubby is smaller than Aussie chubby! But despite being somewhat right I was also quite wrong; I’ve scored amazing deals secondhand and a lot of things fit me, even though I’ve gained weight since I’ve started. Brand was never unattainable and I regret that I felt like it was for a long time.

Some of my recent(ish) mostly brand flat lay coordinates

Further to that, something I’ve come to realise is that if you exclude brand from your wardrobe for any reason you really are missing out on a lot of what lolita has to offer. And I don’t mean that in terms of quality (though that does play a role) but merely in terms of variety. Things like prints are obvious – you can only get an AP print from AP (let’s not talk about replicas) – but also things like OTK socks are something I’ve found at you can’t really find at the same level outside of the big lolita brands. And on the flip side, I think that people who avoid buying from Bodyline or Taobao or western indie brands are also missing out! My point is that there is a huge range in lolita and with so much to choose from I think you shouldn’t buy something, or not buy something, just because of where it comes from (except for reasons of being an ethical consumer, but let’s not go into that). Not buying brand because it’s expensive, or avoiding Bodyline because it’s cheap, are to my mind silly reasons to avoid having things you like in your wardrobe, and I’m glad I’ve come to learn that.

So all in all my lolita wardrobe has come a very, very long way since I started. I know my style now, I buy the things I like regardless of their source, and I’m keen to see what it looks like in the years to come!

Lolita 52: How lolita has changed me

Wow, we have to end the Lolita 52 series on a poignant note, don’t we? So, how has lolita changed me?

• I have a blog, this blog, and I really discovered a love of blogging
• I’ve ventured back onto 4chan after a terrifying first experience with /b/ and have settled in the gentler waters of /cgl/
• I have been to several meets (with more planned), which is a big deal for introverted me
• I have a single settled alternative fashion that I wear rather than my previous hodge-podge of random things (though sometimes I miss wearing a rainbow, and my everyday style is still jeans or miniskirt + nerdy t-shit)
• I have a better awareness of fashion generally and outfit cohesiveness, which really helps with styling photoshoots in particular!
• I found a love of capsule wardrobes (in theory, not for me in practise)
• I’ve challenged myself more with sewing than I think I otherwise would have
• I am now a snob about lace and details in alternative fashion
• I have discovered the joy of having a big, multifaceted hobby (to be fair, I’d had modelling and photography before, but that wasn’t a hobby I could engage in on my own and lolita is)

I also learned to love flat lays...

So lolita has changed some things about me. Nothing too dramatic on the surface of things, and I always have been a bit of an eccentric so I can’t claim that I “gained the courage to be myself” or anything because I already did that, but still. It’s been a great journey so far and I look forward to remaining engaged in this subculture for years more to come.

Lolita Blog Carnival: Build A Coord Using Only $100

So I finally joined the Lolita Blog Carnival! My reason for waiting so long was a simple selfish one- I didn't like the idea of having to post on a Friday! But that's a silly reason, and no-one but me probably notices or cares that I tend to post at very regular intervals so here we go. Besides, I feel very strongly about the lolita blogging community, so I really ought to get involved in one of the most long-running fixtures of it. And I've already blogged on some of their topics after the fact so yeah. It's about time!

Enough preamble and onto the topic of the week: a coordinate that costs only $100. My maths may be a bit shoddy (due to currency conversions) but I did three, so that makes up for it...right? Also, as a note these do not include the necessary petticoat nor do they factor in shipping.

OP: $50 Shoes: $30 OTKS: $18 Beret: $1 Bow: $1

First of all I headed to the Bodyline site to see what they had, and this OP caught my eye. Given that it's so striking on it's own you can go very simple in the accompanying pieces which kept this under budget and allowed me to pick up some nice brand OTKS from Closet Child to go with it. Seriously, the reason I love berets and bows so much is that they are ridiculously cheap and versatile!

JSK: $42 Blouse: $17 Shoes: $27 Tights: $5 Flower crown: $7 Bracelet: $1

For the next coordinate I pulled together a look that took advantage of the range of items available from Taoabo re-sellers to do something that I think is rally quite cute and elegant. If I wore white I would definitely wear this.

Skirt: $40 Cutsew: $18 Boots: $30 Tights: $3 Flower crown: $4 Bows: $2 Bracelets:$3

For the last look, I took to Wunderwelt to see if I could find a cheap printed brand main piece, just to see if it could be done and I stumbled on Angelic Pretty's Rose Toilette! I actually love this print (on other people, that is) so it was fun to put together a look for it in my ultimate favourite colour scheme.

It was really fun doing this sort of thing again and trying to work on a budget. It's challenging, but you can do it, and I really enjoyed coming up with looks that I was happy with that stayed under budget.

If you are interested in knowing sources of individual items please let me know!

Read more from other bloggers:

Links coming soon

Lolita Blogpost Roundup: November 2017

I feel like November contained a lot of varied and interesting lolita blog posts, and here are a few of my favourites...

Zodiac Lolita - The Air Signs from Luna Rain
Luna has been doing a whole series of coordinates based of the Zodiac signs and their typical personalities, and I'm sharing this post in particular because it has "my" (Libra) coordinate!

Tips for Handmade Lolita Fashion from  from Sweet Dreams
A post sharing some good beginner tips for making your own lolita items. If found it was full of handy suggestions and some good, basic information. No go make some lolita things!

Splurge of Save: Lolita Edition from Cupcake Kamisama 
This was a very good read about the authors opinions on what items you should shell out for and which ones you can go a cheaper route with in lolita fashion.

Lolita Shoes Upcycling from Auris Lothal
I love it when I get to share tutorials posts here! Well... this isn't so much a tutorial as a "this is how I did this" but it's detailed and has lots of pictures and you could easily achieve similar results if you wanted to, or apply the concepts to a different pair of shoes. Plus, the final shoes just rock.

Tea time at Ladurée for my birthday! from Ruban Rose
A cute outfit and a cute outing, exactly what I like a a nice, pleasant read.

Matsuricon 2017 from Pastel Peggy
One thing I really love about lolita is that there is so much room for personal expression, even when playing by the fashion's rules. So feast your eyes on a trio of outfits; decora lolita, OTT sweet lolita, and something a little simple and retro.

Rufflecon 2017 Panels from Lolita Princess
This post is quite brief but gives you access to the three panels that blogger presented at Rufflecon - I love it when people put resources like this online!

I hope you enjoy reading those posts as much as I did!

A fairytale inspired capsule wardrobe

You know me. I love hypothetical wardrobes. So when recently a CGL thread popped up called "Build Me A Capsule Wardrobe" I just had to take part!

Lots of people posted requests, and I wish I had time to make more than one wardrobe. But one was all I had time for, and I chose to try my hand at building a capsule "for someone who wants to look like a character from an old fairytale book every day. And by that I mean no border prints, no overly cutesy motifs."

So I set to with a will and, inspired by some other people in the thread, actually did a good (well, good-er, at least) job at photoshopping everything so it's a nicer looking collage than I usual do. Feast your eyes!

My initial fairytale inspiration (not that it's evident at all, visually) was Briar Rose from Disney's Sleeping beauty. I wanted something pretty and feminine that conjured images of frolicking in forests. I also thought about Victorian children playing at fairy stories because when I think fairytale I think of old books. And this is what I came up with. Perhaps not fulfilling the brief entirely, but I feel like it has a classic fairytale vibe nevertheless!

I included some unusual pieces I normally wouldn't in a capsule; the cape, apron, and bustier. I also added jewellery and bags, which I never do. And what's funny is that after I did my first selections I had 31 items...so I added two more to make this another Project 333 style wardrobe! I added more types of things but ended up with less items - must have been doing something right!

Because I wouldn't be me without making hypothetical outfits from my hypothetical wardrobe I have some more collages and ramblings below. A first note, however, is that as usual I'm assuming shades match IRL (looking at you, long sleeved blouse and cream bag!) so please enjoy the coordinates with that in mind. And secondly, I outdid myself this time and created six unique coordinates with each main piece. How's that for versatility?

I should also say - please click to enlarge the photos if you want to see anything better. But enough housekeeping, onto the outfits!

I. love. this. dress. It's just so cute and Victorian-esque and looks like what a librarian in an old library with floor to veiling books would wear. Of course, onepiece dresses are less versatility than skirts or JSKs but I still feel like you can get good variety out of this dress. My favourite is probably the one with the apron in the top. I would love to wear that!

Much as I love that first OP, this one is a wee bit more versatile (combo of solid colour and short sleeves does the trick). It's a gorgeous eyelet fabric, which you probably can't see too well, and just makes me think of woodland picnics.

Then I strayed into my usual territory...floral prints! And here we also see the first use of the bustier/corset. I figured that piece adds a nice "peasant wench" kind of vibe to the outfits I used it in.

The other JSK in the capsule wardrobe is one that I adore, and one that I think adds a beautiful versatility to the wardrobe. I would love to wear every single one of these outfits and I love how different they all turned out.

Last of all we turn to the wardrobe's lone skirt, which I think is the most "fairytale" piece on it's own. I could see this in a Brother's Grimm tale so easily. And isn't that centre bottom outfit just like a pink version of Little Red Riding Hood?

So there are some of the outfits you could make with this capsule wardrobe! I have to say, I think this is my best capsule yet!

Everybody walk the dinosaur; Jurassic Party outfits

Guess what? With this set of flat lays I have now completed a "one main piece, three outfits" for my wardrobe twice over! Of course, things have come and gone in that time so there's not two posts for each piece but still, it is done.

And I'm going to take a break from these posts for a bit. But never fear...something else will take their place very soon!

The last main piece in my wardrobe rotation is Jurassic Party. It's a definite outsider in my wardrobe but I still love it and can wear it in a few different ways.

Also, before we go further excuse the photo quality! I only had my phone to take these so they're a little bit bad...

For the first look I just ran with simple sweet. I like it, but I don't love it. Though I do want to point out that the lavenders match better in real life!

Then I went with a warm pink look and like it a lot better! Sticking lots of bows around really helps carry the colour scheme through the outfits.

But it's on the third outfit that I really came up with something that I totally love and definitely want to wear! I feel this coordinate has a good balance of colours and details and is very cute and fun.

Sometimes it takes a bit of playing around to truly get there on a coordinate, which is why I have loved doing these posts!

Lolita 52: Predict the next lolita trend!

Haha well…I’ve already posted about this. But, if I were to focus on one single thing that I really do think will be a trend it will be the rise of casual, or perhaps more correctly, simple lolita.

I think we’re all getting a little over the OTT trend. It’s fantastic, don’t get me wrong, and there have been so many amazing outfits with impressive detail and styling overall. It’s amazing. But it’s tiring. So I think the next thing we’re going to see a lot of is simple lolita outfits; not casual jfashion, not otome, but just simple lolita coordinates. Dresses or skirts will become the focal point of outfits rather than just a part of a grand whole, cutsews will be on the rise, unassuming natural hairstyles will come to the fore, and the fashion will return, at least a little, to its street fashion roots.

One of my casual work outfits from this year.

To be honest, this tends to be how I wear lolita most myself. And I suppose nearly anyone wearing lolita for a “daily” purpose does the same, though some I’m sure do dress to the nines! I certainly pull out all the stops for photoshoots, but not if I’m just wearing lolita out and about.

I suppose, in the end, this actually comes down to a question of image sharing, rather than necessarily a fashion trend. Or, more technical, it’s a trend in subcultural behaviour rather than a trend in outfit coordination. But a trend is a trend, and this is the one that I think is going to happen next.

I know why the caged bird sings; Rose Birdcage outfits

Rose Birdcage is such a pretty print, and I love it in this cut. It's simple but elegant and really easy to coordinate.

However, I find I can coordinate it outside of brown/offwhite/peach pink. But the good thing is that I have lots of items in those colours, plus it's floral, so I'm not limited in anyway except colour scheme. And I don't mind limited colours sometimes!

First of all I was dying to combine the skirt with this Innocent World cutsew, and came up with this cute and casual outfit. This is just a 10/10 for me!

I also really wanted to pair my Axes Femme fawn fur vest with the skirt and it took a lot of tweaking before I got to an outfit I was happy with. That's odd for me, normally I get things pretty right the first time around. But it was worth the fiddling because I really like the end result which takes it in a much sweeter direction.

Then for the final outfit I just wanted to do something nice and very typically lolita. I do't really have any comments on this look, but I do really quite like it.

Do you have any pieces in your lolita wardrobe that you can really only wear with a couple of colours, but can still coordinate quite differently?

2017 Taobao Haul (aka that's a lot of fawn fur)

Who bought pretty things? I bought pretty things! I got some items from my wardrobe goal list, significantly enhanced my fawn fur collection, got some new accessories and also ventured into using Taobao to buy non-lolita things – in this case steampunk skirts.

A sneak peek at what I got...

A brief shopping services review before I go onto sharing my new wardrobe additions; TaobaoTrends was fine and easy to use once again. I was sent one item in the incorrect version, but I did have the chance to correct that and did not. Also, with google translate being what it is I may have just ordered the wrong one... Anyway, I paid for my order on 13 October, it all arrived and I was sent photos (still really love this part of the service!) on the 25th and once I paid shipping I received a tracking number on the 26th. I chose EMS and it arrived on the 30th, packed down nice and tight in a securely taped box.

I’ve been planning a Taobao order all year really. I’d been wanting to pick up a few more accessories mostly and had played around with a fantasy shopping cart on TaobaoTrends for ages. But a few things took this out of fantasy and into reality. The first was the fawn fur items from Sweet Dreamer – they spawned a mighty need in me. Secondly, I got some money for my birthday. And third, while I had some time off work around my birthday I basically bet myself and James that if I could finish the first draft of our novel then and there, rather than writing gradually for the rest of the year, I would get a nice reward. I succeeded. So with all those factors combined I actually finalised and placed this order!

I kept my order restricted to only a few stores, so let’s start with the things from Sweet Dreamer. As I mentioned fell in love with their new fawn fur items and got myself three different pieces: a scarf, a headdress, and a pair of ears. The ears on their own were a last minute addition. I had decided against them but at the last moment before confirming the order I had a hunch I would regret not getting them, so I added them to the order.

All the fawn fur things are beautiful, well made, and super soft and fluffy! I am incredibly happy to have added them to my collection ^__^ The headdress in particular was a pleasant surprise because it actually looks really good on me, which I was not entirely expecting, and it's pretty comfortable to boot (I wore it to work for the Halloween party so that's 8 hours with no major discomfort). Another thing that pleases me is that the floral bows on the ears and the headdress are detachable so I can ditch them, or really overload an outfit by using all the bows from whatever I'm not wearing elsewhere on my outfit. Or I can just use them independently. Such versatility!

Moving from bolstering a part of my wardrobe that really didn’t need it to things I did actually need, I also bought two pairs of wristcuffs – one ivory and one black. Getting these has been on my goal list for a while so I’m glad I finally got them. I am very pleased with these, though I'll probably remove the charm from the black ones. Not too much to say about these; they are accurate to the stock photos and though they’re a little larger than I like they are still very good quality and I’m chuffed I get to tick them off my goal list.

I also picked up some new headbows, most of them black! They are all well-made and exactly as anticipated. The only negative is that the one with the lace spray is made for a  head size smaller than my own so there is not quite enough lace to lay nicely across the head and instead it bunches up a little. It still looks mostly fine so I’m not too put out, and I may end up replacing it or something down the line.

Along with the headbows I picked up this cute bow and flower clip in two colours. The pink one in particular I really needed, as I’m starting to wear a bit more pink but don’t actually own anything that’s floral and actually just a regularly pink-pink. The other one I thought may be a good match for Anniversary Rose, which it kind of is, though I’m coming to realise nothing is ever going to perfectly match that JSK. Colour matching aside these are both really high-quality and I love them to pieces already.

Last of all from Sweet Dreamer I picked up a pair for floral lace stockings in brown. To be honest, I thought these were OTKS and am a bit bummed that they aren’t. They seem to have decent length and stretch to them but I haven’t tried them on because I’m definitely too big for them at the moment and don’t want to damage them. However, that aside I think they’re very pretty and I’m glad to have bought them!

Next I got some simple and cute accessories from the same store I got a bunch of things from in my last Taobao haul, Sweetheart Square. This time, in addition to some bows that I felt were good additions to my ever growing collection of bow clips, I got a necklace and a bracelet. Slowly but surely I will develop my jewellery collection to be a bit bigger and more versatile. Every is really nice and I particularly love the bracelet but something I didn’t realise is that the necklace had bells on it! Right under the bow in the middle the dangly things are little bells! I’m leaving them for now but will probably remove them before I actually wear it out because I think it would get very annoyed very fast. I should also mention that the jewellery clasps are quit stiff, but that doesn't bother me overmuch.

And then I found something else from my goal list – fawn fur boot toppers! It does bug me a little that my fawn fur items are different patterns, but I don’t think anyone but myself will notice too much when I’m actually wearing things. It also helps that these are really super pretty and cute and fluffy! These are the things where I got sent hr wrong version – there was this version with fluffy balls on velvet ribbons and a version with satin ribbons and I ordered the satin ones (I think). However, I only went with that version because I thought it was a bit more neutral/versatile so I don’t mind getting this one. I also grabbed a lavender beret from this store but didn’t take a photo of it.

Lastly I stepped away from lolita and purchased two skirts to use for steampunk photoshoots, and last of all, on a whim right as I was placing my order I decided to order some laces from Cock Robin’s Song. I don’t have any big sewing projects on the horizon but I just wanted to get the lace. No reviews or pictures on these, as they're already stashed away in the relevant places, but I'm happy.

So that’s my recent Taobao haul! The terrible (wonderful?) thing is that I’ve already started putting together a new fantasy shopping cart so who knows, maybe I’ll place a little order in the 11/11 sales…

Have you ordered from Taobao recently?

Lolita Blogpost Roundup: October 2017

First things first; Happy Halloween! If you head to my facebook page later today you'll see my lolita-esque Halloween shoot ^__^

And then onto your regularly scheduled posting...

In contrast to the quiet of September, October was busy in my corner of the internet with lots of good content from the bloggers I follow. As usual, here are some of my favourite posts from the last month.

Lolidrobe Reassessment Post 2017.3 from Cupcake Kamisama
If you are a regular reader you know how much I love wardrobe building and wardrobe analysis, so this was a fun read for me!

Low Energy Lolita - Tips for Bad Mental Health Days from Adventures of A Drop Bear Lolita
This post was just heartwarmingly good. Wholesome, if I can co-opt internet parlance for my own purposes. I don't know why but any kind of alternative community tends to attract people with anxiety and other mental health struggles, so this guide to still being active in the lolita community while dealing with anxiety is really quite helpful.

My Dear Special Anniversary Tea Party: First Look at Alice and the Pirates A/W '17 and S/S '18 from Buttcape
Not even going to ramble about this; it's exactly what the title says and is an awesome read!

Moi-même-Moitié is Back! Ownership Transfer Announcement from Rose Sanctuary 
I'll be honest; I'm pretty meh about MMM. But, I know a lot of lolitas care so I am signal boosting this post!

Best way to keep up with blog updates from RuffleCloud's Adventures
Hint hint nudge nudge...look at how easy it can be to follow your favourite blogs. Like my blog. Yeah. Hint hint ^__^

Angelic Pretty - Cream Cookie Parade Review from Milk Circus
Lolita reviews with detailed photos are the best! I think I could actually have loved Cream Cookie Parade a lot if it came in a muted dusty pink or ivory; the print is super pretty! But as it is I’ll just have to enjoy it in the wardrobes of other lolitas.

Comm meet: Lace Up! PGLC 8th anniversary from Sanakanin
If you’ve been here a while you’ll know I like flowers. So oh my goodness do I love this outfit! And am actually inspired to do my own mega floral outfit in the near future…

How I Brainstorm Outfits from Luna Rain
I love love love posts like this that let you learn a little bit about how someone else’s brain works. I don’t think I could ever be this proper and methodical about coordinate planning but at the same time I really appreciate it and enjoyed reading this post. Go read it!

Paléontologie from A season in the sky
Oh. my. goodness. This is just the most gorgeous lolita phtoshoot I've seen in a while! So different, so well shot, and just so amazingly beautiful. Seriously, drop everything and go take a look!

If you have a blog, send me a link! If you know a good lolita blog, link me to it! I’m always on the lookout for new blogs to read and to feature so always feel free to link to me all thing things!

Lolita 52: What's in my closet, but I haven't worn yet!

I’ll be honest; several things.

In terms of main pieces, I have not yet worn:

• Wonder Party
• Bodyline L571
• Anniversary Rose
• Princess Rose
• Dim Light
• Handmade Chocolate JSK
• Classical Bustle
• Shirring Princess
• Bodyline L173
• Jurassic Party

So that's 10 out of 29 main pieces in total unworn, or basically a third. And I'd guess that around the same amount of blouses and accessories has also never seen the light of day. I actually am super chill about this though... I don't really mind at all!

To be completely honest my weight has fluctuated in the time I’ve been in lolita. I lost weight and got to my thinnest point in 2014, then start gaining weight without realising it late 2014/early 2015 so at that point I bought several items that ended up too small – including Anniversary Rose. Since then I’ve unfortunately gotten to the biggest I’ve ever been and to be 100% truthful, less than half my wardrobe fits me right now. I am working on getting fitter and healthier, not just for this fashion but because it felt so good when I was actually fit (well, fit-ish, I’ve still never been precisely athletic), and so I do still buy things that are slightly on the smaller side and don’t get rid of items from my thinner days. So yes, there are quite a few things I haven’t worn for those reasons.

However, I also haven’t worn some items, like Jurassic Party, because I haven’t had the opportunity, desire, or coordinating pieces (though partially that comes from the fit issues, because my wardrobe is basically perfect dammit), which is something I’m pretty sure we’ve all done. However this year has seen me wear a lot of things for the first time as I aim to wear lolita more often so as I continue that goal and lose more weight this list should shrink and shrink.

Even though I have pieces I haven’t worn, and some I’ve still only worn once, I still love having every single item I own from a collector’s perspective. My wardrobe is a being unto itself, and a glorious one, and I’d never want to limit by keeping only things I wear regularly.

Do you have pieces in your lolita wardrobe that you have yet to wear?

Orphans and ruins

As I mentioned in my coordinate round up for July to September I recently did a lolita shoot, modelling with Angie and photographed by James. So of course, I am now sharing some of the final photos! I’m just picking a few favourites here, but the whole shoot will go up on my facebook page and you can also see the photos from the epic steampunk look (Trains! Weapons! Drama! Occasional hand-holding!) we did on the same day there.

I have to say, first of all, James did such a great job on these! They are eerie and twisted and exactly what I wanted! The creepy doll was his idea as well, and she really added to the atmosphere of these photos. As always, Angie was a pleasure to pose with and I’m also very happy with how I styled us both. Despite owning a lot of black and white old school style lolita things doing two outfits that both looked good and worked well together was a bit challenging! There are a few things in the styling I’d possibly change if I could but overall I just loved how everything worked.

This location was also utterly perfect. I’m about as un-superstitious as a brick so abandoned places never creep me out, but I’ve enjoyed telling everyone since then about how you could hear doors creaking open and slamming shut everywhere while bees buzzed around the hive they had made in a broken window. It was, in a word, delightful. A perfect location.

Did I mention that it was actually an orphanage opened in 1913? The building fell into disuse in the 90s and since then has suffered several fires. It’s beautiful and derelict in all the right ways, and it was so good to finally do a lolita photoshoot in a location like this.

Anyway, part of me feels like I really should be weaving a tale of sadness and mystery to accompany these pictures, but the fact is that I have a lot of fun modelling and even when the final result is somewhat sombre the story behind it all never is! So I hope you enjoyed the photos and reading a little about the shoot.

Proper facebook links for everyone!
James’s photography page
My modelling page
Angie's modelling page

Lolita 52: My favorite lolita print

I don’t think I have a singular favourite lolita print. I love everything I own, and some pieces in my wardrobe in particular (Anniversary Rose and Dim Light I'm looking at you!) are especial favourites which I admired for ages before buying.

But, given that I post fairly extensively about the pieces I own I thought I'd share a particular print that I do really, really love and don't currently own...

I adore Chocolate Rosette, it has been one of my favourite lolita prints right from the start. And now I can practically hear you asking; then why didn’t you buy it in the rerelease or the MTO? I have two main reasons for passing it up. The first is that experience has proven that AP is bit too short for me. I need at least a 90cm, and preferably 95cm dress length, and it wasn’t. If I were thin but tall it would be different, but I’m not, and I wasn’t going to buy a dress that I wouldn’t be comfortable wearing. The second reason is that the Aussie dollar is still not doing well against the Japanese yen at the moment, and I was not willing to spend $400 on it, especially given reason number one.

But I really love this print, and would  like to own it in ivory or brown (or special set mint). It's just a perfect sweet print for me - it is adorable, and has a range of cute colours in the print, but the overall effect is not too in your face cutesy. I could coordinate this in so many ways!

So Chocolate Rosette is something I will continue to admire from afar. When I’ve lost some weight (especially if the exchange rate gets better!) I may look at getting it but until them it will remain a print that really is a favourite, but not on me.

Do you have any prints that you admire, but don't own for whatever reason?