I'm on YouTube!

I mentioned a secret project in my first half of October outfits post, and yes, this was it...I've started a YouTube channel! It's something I've been thinking about for half a year or more and I finally decided to just do it! My first video, which is just a brief channel introduction, can be viewed by clicking the image below.

As I say in the video, at the moment my intentions are that the channel will probably be mostly focused on lolita, cosplay, and BTS on photoshoots. However, I'm into a lot of different stuff and I don't plan to limit myself or my content, so who knows what I'll end up with!

I'm 100% open to suggestions of what you'd like to see on my YouTube. I do have a list of ideas going but I'm always up for more ideas...my list will run dry eventually.

Also, here's a tiny preview of the second video I'll be uploading shortly!

I really hope you will like my YouTube content, and consider subscribing, sharing, and all that jazz. As I said, please drop any suggestions in the comments here and also feel free to drop links to your favourite YouTubers as well ^__^

I'm really excited to be embarking on a new creative venture and I've been having a lot of fun so far!

Fluffy Skirts and Giant Bows — The Misunderstood Subculture of Lolita Fashion

Recently I posted a new article to my Medium profile, titled "Fluffy Skirts and Giant Bows — The Misunderstood Subculture of Lolita Fashion". While it was written for a non-lolita audience, given how on-topic it is for this blog I thought  it was worth sharing the link here as well ^__^

Photo by Little Raven Photography.

A Roli holiday

As I've mentioned, I've got a holiday to Japan coming up. As a matter of fact, since this is a schedule post, I'm already there. I didn't have a chance to schedule any posts (other than this) to go up while I'm gone, so this blog will be quiet again for a little while, but then I'll be back with lots of exciting travel and hopefully lolita haul posts!

Part of my last Tokyo lolita haul!

So just a very short post to let you all know where I am and I'll most likely see you again in March ^__^

I’m back, everybody!

Whew, that was a bit of a break. As usual when I return from a hiatus I just wanted to give a bit of an update, both a personal one and a lolita one.

On the personal note it’s pretty simple - 2019 burnt me out. I’m kind of appalled that I’m almost thirty, and can still manage to somehow spend an entire year chasing all the wrong things and running myself into the ground. On the one hand it was a great year and I did lots of amazing things. On the other...it just sucked and by the end I was just ready to give up on everything. I’m mostly back to normal now, but that took months. It was just a stupid year on a number of levels, but I learned from it and have started 2020 with a lot of self-reflection that will hopefully stand me in good stead.

The toughest thing is of being burnt out is that it made me stop loving some of the big things that I really do love in life, mostly lolita and modelling. I just stopped both and felt really uncomfortable with their absence in my life. But I knew that I couldn’t force myself back into either, or the temporary burnout might become a permanent quit. It sucked.

But now I’ve taken some time and am ready to come back swinging at this blog (and wearing lolita again...at least when it's not so damn hot!). There’s a few things that are going to change. I’m going to stop the monthly blog roundup posts - they’re no longer fun to do and I feel like I’m just featuring the same blogs most of the time. I may do a new blog alert when I discover a new lolita blogger but who knows, I’m not going to commit to anything. I may also post less frequently, as I am feeling that I’m just rehashing a lot nowadays. That could be lingering burnout talking or it could be a real feeling - either way I’m just going to take it easy for a bit.

I really missed blogging here (I’ve been sporadically active on Medium but it’s not the same) so I’m glad to be back. I missed lolita and I’m so happy to have started getting my mojo back.

On a kinda personal and somewhat lolita note - I’m going to Japan again! James and I along with two friends will spend two weeks in Japan in February, and it's gonna be amazing. I will totally be blogging about it! We are on a slimmer budget this time so I’m not planning on doing loads of shopping but I’m keen to ramble about everything that we do, see, eat, and yes, buy.

Lastly, on a very purely lolita note which I may end up blogging more about, I did a very big purge of my lolita wardrobe. At the end of it I’ve still got a very decently sized collection with 29 main pieces, but I did get rid of a lot of what you may consider more noteworthy items, like Dramatic Rose and my newly acquired Millefeuille bolero.

I really forced myself to be harsh this time around. If there was no love, it went, even if it was a staple piece my wardrobe needs, like a white blouse. I’ll get a better one later. If it was way too small, it went, because I may lose weight but I can’t guarantee I’ll ever get that tiny. This purge was prompted by a desire for more spending yen in Japan, but it had the great benefit of really making me fall back in love with my wardrobe. Sure, it's got some odd gaps now and I did say goodbye to some pieces that I think are gorgeous but it’s better for me now. Everything suits my style more, and even though I’ve kept some things that are smaller than I currently am, I haven’t kept things that aren’t a size I have been in the past. I’m so much happier with it, and really want to be super ultra selective with new wardrobe additions.

On a wardrobe note, I’m not going to do a wardrobe post again this January. However, I’m actually quite keen to do one when I get back from Japan. I probably won’t post to LiveJournal, just here. Even though it was a good choice for me not to do a post in 2019, I’ve really felt the absence of having that as a reference point, so I definitely do want to do one! I’m just not putting any time pressure on myself.

So that’s where I’ve been at the past few months! I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years, and I’m looking forward to 2020 in lolita.

Hiatus again

Hey readers, once again life has brought me to a point where I need to take a little break from this blog. Unlike my last break, I won't be posting the monthly blogpost roundups or outfit posts.

This is kind of a very useless post, because I don't really have much to say, but just didn't want to disappear for a while without saying a temporary fare-thee-well.

Catching up

So once again I've gone on a semi-hiatus and have fallen off the blogging map for the past couple of months. As usual, I wanted to just post a little personal update to let you know why.

First of all...Tokyo trip! In April James and I spent a wonderful (if exhausting) week in Tokyo, which I will totally be blogging about. After that, things were very full on with the Love Live group I was in, which was great but exhausting.

And yes, you read the past tense right - I have left the group. The leader proved herself to not be someone I could allow to lead me, so I left and things got very cold, very fast. Along with a few other personal things going on I really got thrown off track for a while. I'm not giving up on either dancing or cosplay, because I really love both but things were emotional for me for a while there.

But now I'm getting settled again and I’m really looking forward to blogging more! I had big plans for changing my life for the better and working towards my goals in 2019 and that got a bit muddied, but now I’m hitting that with renewed optimism (though not with renewed energy just yet – I’m mentally exhausted right now).

I know that no-one probably notices too much that I hadn’t been posting regularly lately, but I still like to post these little personal updates once in a while.

Also, I’m going to take this as an opportunity for some shameless self-promotion. Two of my goals for this year are to be able to develop my income streams from writing and modelling. So to that end I’d really appreciate it if you read, shared, and applauded my articles on Medium.com and possibly also liked my modelling/cosplay page on Facebook. I do have some lolita content planned for both platforms so it’s not going to be entirely against the interests that brought you to this blog in the first place!

But anyway, I’m back at it and hopefully can stay on course because I really miss this blog!

Guess who's going to Tokyo!

That's right! In a bit over a week James and I will be packing our bags again, this time for a week in Tokyo. We are planning to do so. much. shopping. And some sightseeing. And a bunch of photoshoots. I'm so excited!

Stock photo from Pixabay ^__^

For someone who tends to over plan I actually haven't worked everything out quite yet, so if you have any must-do suggestions or want to give me any tips I'm all ears! We're staying in Shinjuku and in particular would appreciate any suggestions for gluten free dining.

So things will be a bit quiet on the blogging front for the next few weeks, possibly the next month, but never fear because of course, I will be blogging all about it once I get back! In the meantime if you want to see me being excited about everything in real time please follow me on Instagram ^__^

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.

The super massive life update and coming out of hiatus

Hi everyone, I'm finally back! I've really missed blogging, but just have not had the time or mental energy for it. Why? Well, read on if you want a bit of a run down about how crazy my life has been since June.

Content warning I guess; the first in a string of things that knocked me on my arse was problems with my IUD getting embedded in my endometrium so I do talk about period type stuff below. So if uterus talk and blood bug you don't keep reading (or skip ahead to the end for all the other big life changes I've been going through).

So, the months of insanity started when I went for a jog on Sunday the 17th of June. I was starting the C25K program, figuring I had time to complete it before getting married on the last day of August and wanting to do something to get more into shape. However, during the half hour of exercise I started getting cramps. The fun kind of female cramps. I started bleeding shortly afterwards and it didn't stop. It was heavier than spotting, sort of light period level.

Since I'd had the IUD inserted I had occasionally had a bit of cramping and spotting, but this was the second time it had been this bad. Twice was too many so I booked in with a GP to get it removed eight days later (first appointment I could get).

Long story short - she could not get it out. It hurt like hell, I bled a lot, and the end result was that the string was broken and I had to get an ultrasound and go to a gynaecologist. One good thing about having to get an ultrasound was that it confirmed that all in all my uterus and ovaries are healthy (I was worried about ovarian cysts due to family history and irregular periods) but still it was an experience I could've done without. And then I went to the gynaecologist on the 28th.

And fuck me. I thought the GPs attempt at removal was painful. This was so much worse. The receptionist was apparently meant to give me pain killers (she didn't) and unlike the GP appointment, where James came with me and held my hand and distracted me with cute talk, I was on my own (James had to work). Natalie came with me to the clinic, cos she's awesome, but I was in the doctor's office alone. So much pain and so much blood. She had to stop, remove all the implements and give us both a break for a bit, then start again. Finally, she go it out. I saw it; all jagged and bloody and just horrible looking.

It took me ages to be able to stand up and clean myself up. And then Nat and I just sat in the car until I felt steady enough to drive us home. Then I had a shower and collapsed into bed.

Thing is though, the bleeding didn't stop. The gynaecologist had said to come back in two weeks if it didn't stop, and though it had subsided by that date it hadn't stopped. I wasn't able to get another appointment with her for another week after that though. But finally I was there and she prescribed some pills, and lo and behold the bleeding stopped.

Finally.

Over five weeks of effectively non-stop period really takes it out of you. Not just physically but mentally. I felt like shit, even when the bleeding was slowing down and the cramping stopped, it was still making me so anxious. And on top of that, the removal and earlier attempted removal was traumatic. I don't use that word lightly. I was glad to have had it removed but I felt so awful and wrecked. During those five weeks I not only had to continue going to work most days, but had to help staff a two day conference on the fourth and fifth days after removal; on these days I was bleeding more heavily than I ever had on a period before.

But eventually, once the meds kicked in and the bleeding stopped, things went back to normal. Right? Wrong.

Who caught a nasty flu for over two weeks? I did! Sigh.

And then...guess whose household made a pretty sudden decision to move to a new house? We did! Seriously, we went from "maybe it's time we moved" to having our application approved in two weeks. It's utterly fantastic to be in our new place, and I'll share a few pictures of my lolita corner here at some point but it was just a big added stress, even if it was stress with a very positive end result.

To make it even better...the bleeding started again during the move and I had no time to get to my gynaecologist again (I managed to get the same meds from my GP though, so it was okay in the end, though I only got enough for the few days before the wedding so I was bleeding through a lot of the move). I also got a new nasty virus that resulted in endless coughing, sore throats, and a ruined voice. We were so under-prepared for the move that I had several massive horrible panic attacks during, thinking we couldn't get it all done in time...but we had to because we were flying out to New Zealand! Our landlords also turned nasty (and nice by turns, but nasty first) as soon as they found out we were looking at other properties so the adrenaline was rushing all the time we were there, getting ready for confrontations.

James was also sick in the weeks we moved, and the two of us spent ages not sleeping enough or eating enough and still just having to keep going and get the hell out of our old place. As I still had to go to work most days James copped it so much worse than me, but it was still the most horrible time in my life. Again, end result worth it, but the actual experience was not good at all. It was hellish in so many ways and I will do everything in my power to make sure James and I never have to go through that level of stress again if I can help it. It sucked.

And as you know, on top of that we were still getting everything in order for our little wedding and  honeymoon trip! We got the keys to our new house eighteen days before flying out, and handed over the keys to the old place at 10.30PM on Monday night before getting picked up at 4.45AM on Tuesday to go to the airport. This was my first international trip, so the planning also involved getting passports in order and all of that. It was fun stress, but still stress, and it go more stressful as sickness and the move meant I had so much trouble focusing on anything.

I will be blogging about the whole trip, by the way, I know it's breaking the theme of the blog (except for my wedding outfit), but hey, rambling is in the blog name...you can't say you haven't been warned! It'll be fun though, with lots of pretty pictures. And a heck of a lot more positive than this post has been, because it was wonderful and we did so much cool stuff and most of all I'm just really happy to be wife to a glorious husband now!

So yeah. That whole giant wall of text is why I've been absent from this blog. For a while there I was struggling enough just to get to work every day, let alone to have any headspace for anything but TV and games when I wasn't working or doing what had to be done (and for a while there was precious little time to do anything but move move move).

But I'm through the other side now, more or less. I'm still sick, and I know I have a lot of emotional processing to do that I just didn't have time for. I don't deal well with change and upheaval, and there has just been so much of that in the past six or so weeks. To have that come on the back of long term medical issues and sickness meant I wasn't in a good place to start with. So I'm settled now, and things are coming back to normal, but it will still take me a while to feel properly grounded again. Even writing this has actually brought some residual panic back to the surface (not fun) but I just wanted to share what has been going on. And have a bit of a vent. And also toot my own horn a bit, because it's been so tough for me but I came out the other side in one piece, and though I'm a bit worse for wear now I'll recover.

Also, I do need to toot James's horn as well - he was a powerhouse during our move and after (and before, with the IUD issues, too). He went beyond his limits, took care of me when I was unable to do anything but shake and cry, and even after we've come back from New Zealand he's been unpacking and rearranging and getting everything in order. Since I went back to work I'd come home every day and the house would be more home like. He has always been a great boyfriend, and he's a wonderful husband now ^__^

So here I am, married to the love of my life, living in a lovely new house, and we got to enjoy nine days in New Zealand. There will be one more big life change coming up this year for me (and no, I'm not pregnant, in case anyone's gonna ask) but it'll be a good one when it happens (and I'll let you know about it too).

The long and the short of this very long post is that Roli is back to her ramblings! Did anything dramatic happen in your life while I was away?

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.

Around your wardrobe in 30 coordinates; a lolita coordinate challenge

For a long time I've been working my way through the Lolita 52 topics but finished the last of those off in December last year. I have another blog challenge I want to do, but I've had one of my own in my head for a while so wanted to do that first!

Since I really enjoy stretching the possibilities of one’s lolita collection I thought what better thing to do as a challenge come up with than a list of ideas designed to explore just what you can do with your wardrobe? And so "Around your wardrobe in 30 coordinates" or AYWI30C (I'm the best at titles /s) was born!

Even though I put this together with challenging myself in mind of course I’d really love to see the results if anyone else uses these prompts. So if you do, please drop a link in the comments so I can check it out! Of course, with me being the verbose person I am, I won’t just be posting a snapshot and calling it a day, these are really going to delve into the depths of my wardrobe!

But enough preamble, onto the prompts!

1. Your trademark look
2. Something casual
3. Something OTT
4. A monochrome outfit
5. An unexpected colour combination
6. Channel a lolita era
7. As sweet as you can go
8. As classic as you can go
9. As gothic as you can go
10. Pick a substyle
11. Inspired by a character
12. Inspired by another lolita
13. Inspired by a historical era
14. Inspired by a mainstream fashion trend
15. Follow the rules
16. Break the rules
17. Something you really like, but wouldn’t wear
18. An outfit you love but haven’t worn out yet
19. Based around a particular top
20. Based around a certain accessory
21. Based around your favourite shoes
22. Based around some interesting legwear
23. Using your most worn main piece
24. Using your least worn main piece
25. Using you newest wardrobe addition
26. Using the thing you bought first that you still have
27. From a single brand
28. From as many brands as possible
29. To suit a particular hairstyle
30. To suit a certain make-up look

So you can expect to see a lot of flat lays from me again in the near future! I intend to make outfits that are more "complete" than what I normally post, with bags, jewellery and the whole shebang. It's going to be fun!

I’m looking forward to posting about the coordinates I come up with for this challenge, and I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

Merry Christmas!

A very brief post today to wish my readers (and any random internet passersby) a Merry Christmas. Whether you're celebrating Christmas, another holiday, or nothing at all I hope you have a wonderful day.

Have a picture of some Christmas themed donuts for visual appeal, and if you feel liek chatting about Christmas or anything else please feel free to leave a comment  ^__^

Hiatus announcement

Hi followers and random passersby ^__^

I'm taking a break from this blog, not sure how long for. I'll still be active on my facebook page with modelling and such, some of it even lolita! But no blog posts for a bit.

I'll still be reading all my favourite blogs, so I'm not fully disappearing, just stepping back a bit for a time.

Rococo Soul Jam Paradise JSK

I'm back! Work has been keeping me busy and going from lazy student to productive full-time worker, with a commute and everything, has been quite the lifestyle change and has left me with neither the time nor inclination to blog much. But I have a couple of posts scheduled after this so hopefully I won't vanish for six weeks again.  And one of the pluses of proper employment is increased disposable income, so there will be two new reviews soon as well as the other posts I have scheduled and even if they are short posts I'll try and share any purchases etc. so basically what I'm rambling about is that my hiatus is broken and I'm planning on keeping this blog going, even if I only post once every week or two.

Anyway, onwards to the actual post! Recently a girl in the Australian facebook lolita community posted the Rococo Soul JSK in brown for sale, amongst other things. And since I now have the aforementioned disposable income and liked that dress since I first saw it I decided to go for it. The transaction went smoothly and last Tuesday I came home to a package full of dress.

This isn't exactly a review, since I bought this secondhand and the previous owner has apparently worn it twice. But overall it's a really nice dress, and it fits and suits me well. The fabric is nice, the ribbon trim is nice and the construction seems both sturdy and neat. The waist-ties are thin and detachable and the straps are adjustable.  Style-wise, it's straddling the border between lolita and otome and I like that it can be toned down or dressed up. One thing that really doesn't come across in photos is that there are lots of colours in the print; red, blue and cream are the most obvious but there is also yellow and a couple of different green shades too. And for someone like me, who loves clothes with lots of colour coordinating options it's just perfect.

There are only two downsides to this dress for me. The first is just a personal taste thing and that's that the fabric has the print so that no matter which way you face it some of the label will be upside down, and I honestly would have preferred the fabric to face the other way up. The second issue is that due to the full back shirring the dress wrinkles at the side. The shirring makes the bodice bunch up, if you know what I mean? I'm not maxing out the measurements but I am at the larger end that this dress caters for, so I'm not sure if that's the reason but whatever the cause, it is a bit annoying.

Those two points aside I will re-iterate that it's a very nice dress overall and now that I know what Rococo Soul is like I will definitely contemplate getting their future releases. They are a pricier Taobao brand, which is why I'd never bought from them before (I like my Taobao cheap, thank you!) but I think the quality is definitely well in line with the pricing.

As a last note, I played with some outfits while after taking the shots for this post, but those will be in another post...

Going on hiatus

Hello readers!

Due to suddenly finding myself in possession of a 9-5 job (yay!) I'm not sure how much time I'll have for this blog until I get used to my new routine. So this is my (hopefully) temporary goodbye.

Yeah... that's actually all there is to this post... very short, I know.

A quick lolita update.

Long time no post! Well, six days isn't long, exactly, but I definitely won't be posting anything tomorrow and am sick so who knows how long until I get my head in enough order to write more content. So I thought a quick update post would be good so the blog doesn't linger unloved for an entire week or more...

Firstly, I'm really excited because I won Luna Rain's giveaway and as a prize I'm getting this awesome set of accessories and stuff!

Picture from Luna's blog.

Secondly, one of our housemates moved out, which is sad, but on the upside James and I have almost finished turning his old bedroom into a fantastic workroom and will probably be turning our old workroom into a little photography studio. It's been hectic, but so damn good. I have sewing plans to enact in the new workroom already, with the first things being a royal blue bolero and offwhite-with-blue-flowers JSK.

Also, not really an update but just something funny I noticed is that my lolita wardrobe is entirely florals and solids, with the exception of two fruit themed and one gothic piece. I went through and had a wardrobe purge and then, going back to look at what I was keeping, realised it was overwhelmingly floral.

A slightly older series I'm gradually falling in love with...

Lastly, I really love AP's upcoming Classic Fairy Tales series but fortunately for my wallet my absolute favourite cut is the OP which, being unshirred, won't fit me. And probably wouldn't take my Western shoulder regardless of my weight anyway. But it seems to be a bit of an unpopular series, so maybe I can get something from it secondhand down the track since I also can't really afford it right now either.

One day...

Well, that was a bit of a ramble but hey... this blog is aptly named. I shall hopefully be back with some more fresh content soon; I have another wardrobe challenge in the works and if the sewing goes well I'll be sharing that as well.

Ten more blog post ideas for lolitas

I've had a few more ideas since sharing my post of fourteen blog post ideas for lolitas, so here we have another ten! Of course, even though both my lists exclude them, outfit posts, meet-up and event reports, hauls and clothing reviews are always great blogging material. These are just some more supplementary ideas for the times when you want to blog more, but aren't sure what to blog about.

1. Something that I see blogged about occasionally is "your ideal lolita ... " where the ellipsis can be "coordinate", "meet-up", "shop", "print idea" and so on and so forth. There's a lot of imagination and fantasy in lolita, I find, so why not share your daydreams about the prints you'd love to see of the shops you'd like to run or visit?

2. Again this isn't an idea I've come up with but it's something I think would be fun to do, and in fact it was a Lolita Blog Carnival topic once or twice, but coming up with coordinates for your favourite characters would be fun. For bonus points, take characters from literature rather than a visual medium, that way you don't have to conform to expected hairstyles, colour schemes etc.

I'm just going to leave this here... 

and perhaps make my own fandom outfits soon...

3. Share how you store your lolita clothes, or even just snapshots of your wardrobe. I for one love seeing lolita clothes all hung up together.

4. Try to make an outfit in the style of one of your lolita idols. Better yet, wear the outfit you came up with, do your hair and make-up like they do, and try to take an outfit photo like they would.

5. Write lolita fiction! I love the America's Next Top Lolita comic and think that if you have the time and creativity to tell lolita stories, why not go for it?

6. Tell you readers about your dream dresses. Perhaps make an initial post about the lolita things you'd love to have, then post again when you acquire pieces or change your mind; just keep your readers in your "dream dress" loop.

7. Share how you put coords together; do you start with a dress, a theme, or something else entirely? What inspires the choices you make when putting together an outfit? That's why I've loved the February Dress Me Up theme on EGL these past two years; it gives you some insight into how differently people can approach the same clothes. Sometimes I see outfits that work really nicely but I would have never, ever put those pieces together so it would be cool to see inside other people's heads when it comes to coording.

One of the outfits made for me in the Dress Me Up theme.

8. Teach us something! Write a tutorial for anything lolita-related you can do well from crafting to baking to photography to hairstyling and beyond.

9. I read this on someone else's blog, but for the life of me can't remember who! If you know, please tell me so I can credit them for this good idea. Which is; write the names of your main pieces on slip of paper, put them in a jar or hat or whatever, then do the same with either the colours your tops are or themes or something like that. Then pull a slip out of each jar and try to make it work!

10. Tell us about your strategy for wardrobe building; either what you did, or what you'd do if you were starting your wardrobe from scratch again.

Hypothetical wardrobes are my jam. This one can be found here.

I hope there are some useful ideas in here for my fellow lolita bloggers! If you have a lolita blog please leave a link in the comments so I can check it out ^__^

Fourteen blog post ideas for lolitas

Lately there's been a bit of discussion in online circles about lolita blogs. By and large there aren't that many that update regularly with really good content. I think part of that reason is that there doesn't seem to be much, on the face of things, to blog about. "What I bought" and "what I wore" are the two main topics that lolita blogs focus on. While things like the Lolita 52 challenge I've been doing and the Lolita Blog Carnival are definitely helpful at providing topics to talk about I thought it was still a good idea to share some things that I think would make for interesting blogging.

So, here are some ideas a lolita could blog about that are less common than reviews, event reports and outfit posts. Not that those topics are bad to blog about at all [I love reading event reports!] but these are some options to potentially broaden your blogging horizons.

1. Post about your favourite outfits you've seen online this week, with proper credit on the photos, of course.

2. Make a certain number of outfits with each of your main pieces. For me, with a wardrobe of currently eighteen main pieces I'm doing three outfits per main piece. For a larger wardrobe more would be good, for a smaller one, less. Doing this has the added bonus of helping you identify any gaps your wardrobe may have. I always find it easiest to do this sort of thing as flat-lays; that way you don't have to bother about dolling up and can just focus on the clothes.

One of my current favourite flat-lays from this post.

3. Take very detailed photos of your main pieces, like Anza does. We've all experienced inaccurate stock pictures and dresses that look way better in real life so posts like this would be a great reference for everyone.

4. Something I do a lot, but don't see anyone else do much of, is make hypothetical wardrobes. Come up with a collection of items that fit a particular theme, colour palette or budget, or even do something like the a Project 333 capsule wardrobe but for lolita.

The first wardrobe challenge I did! Those posts come under my "hypothetical" umbrella.

5. Blog about recent releases and your thoughts on them. Bonus points if you are consistent and blog about every release of a particular brand, including non-print series. I'll follow you in a heartbeat if you do this for Metamorphose. Disclaimer; I got this idea from Luna Rain, who often talks about new prints and whose discussion I always enjoy.

6. Do a photoshoot... it's easier than it seems! Even a parent, friend or partner can take decent photos and there are various online photo editors that produce good results, or so I've heard. Scope out your town and find a few interesting places to take your photos. If you're game, sign up from a site like Model Mayhem and model for a local photographer. Remember though, always be safe when working with people you don't know! Or be the photographer for some of your lolita friends, like Rosalynn from Lolita Wonderland did recently.

One of my shoots with James aka The Enthusiast behind the camera.

7. Sew or craft and post about it. This is a more commonly done than anything else on this list but I guess I'm more angling towards sharing even the little things you make. Made a basic flower crown or a simple rectangle skirt or added lace to an offbrand blouse? Show us how it looks, how you made it and how it works in an outfit! A craft project doesn't have to be huge, perfect or even particularly unique to be worth sharing.

8. Share offbrand finds, either ones you've bought or even ones you've seen on an online store. Thrift store finds are also good blogging material!

9. Feature other blogs, or do blog post round-ups. Or interview the people behind other lolita blogs.

10. Discuss current trends in lolita and where you think they'll go, or perhaps examine current mainstream fashion trends and what influence they may have on lolita.

11. Post about commercial sewing patterns that you think have potential for lolita, and the changes you'd have to make in order to get the perfect lolita garment out of them.

I discussed the pattern I used to make this JSK here.

12. Try out some typically lolita lifestyle things, like baking or drinking fancy tea or listening to classical music or whatever, and share your experience. Even if it's not actually part of your everyday life it could be fun to try on the persona of the mythical "lifestyle lolita" and blog about what it was like.

13. Write up features, or interviews if you can, of lolita indie brands. Or, if your blog is popular enough, perhaps even some of the big brands would be interested in answering a few questions!

14. Post about your lolita goals, and then review them. These can be like New Years resolutions, or monthly goals, or whatever time period you want. The thing that makes it interesting blogging is your follow-up of how you went with actually achieving them.

Some of these ideas are definitely more involved than the others, but there should be a few ideas in there for everyone. And of course, just because you blog about lolita doesn't mean your blog has to be 100% lolita content. Blog about what you like to blog about!

As a final point I have three pieces of advice for anyone looking to start a lolita blog. The first is take advantage of scheduled posting! Write a bunch of posts at once and schedule them up so your blog updates regularly even if you don't write regularly. Secondly, don't feel like every post you write has to be a masterpiece. I would prefer to follow a blog that updates once or twice a week where  two thirds of the posts are fairly quick [think a few hundred words and a couple of pictures] than one which only updates every two months with a big, in-depth post. Lastly, try to keep your blog fairly nice with an easily readable font, clear pictures and write as well as you can.

Do you have any good ideas for what a loltia blog would write about or do you have a lolita blog? If so, let me know in the comments!

2015, here we go!

Well. It's 2015 already. Wow.

I suppose it's time for resolutions and such, though I'm of the school of thought that you don't need ot wait for the new year for them, and in fact, it's often better to set goals and resolutions at whatever time is best for you, personally. However, I have made a few lolita related goals lately and since they make for vaguely interesting blogging I thought I'd share.

1. Keep up the blog!

And by this I especially mean coming up with more original content. I do love the wardrobe challenge series, and all the hypothetical I do but I want to focus more on posting real, original, 100% me stuff as well. So expect to see more outfits and such! And also more meal prep posts, even though that's not lolita it's something I like sharing.

Bodyline skirt, Infanta blouse, Metamorphose socks with offbrand shoes and flowers.

2. Spend less on lolita.

I have a wonderful lolita wardrobe. I can pull together outfits ranging from full gothic to full sweet, with most of it sitting firmly in classic territory. So I'm putting myself on a six-month spending ban. My only exception is I can buy things that cost under $50 if it's something I can get a lot of use out of. But I really want to focus on getting the most out of what I have, rather than getting more. I have two things in the mail and then that's it for a while.

3. Sew more things.

This ties in with resolution two, and sewing materials are the exception to my spending rule. This year I made a old-school skirt for my lolita wardrobe and I've almost finished sewing my first proper JSK, and I really want to make more of my own lolita clothes going forwards.

The skirt fabric of my almost-done JSK. It is actually nice, just didn't photograph right...

So the result of all three goals will probably mean that there will be far less reviews on this blog, but more sewing posts, which I think will make for a nice change of pace.

4. Actually attend a lolita event.

I'll be honest here; I'm a bit shy and as a result really don't like doing new things. And lolita meets involve new people and sometimes new places as well. So I always wuss out. But there's a big community about an hour and a half away and a smaller one about an hour away and I do want to try and get involved in the social side of lolita this coming year.

5. Keep up with the meal prep.

I know I said lolita goals, but this is tangentially related. I've found meal prepping has been the best thing for my diet, and the better my diet, the better I fit my lolita clothes so it is kind of connected! It also saves a lot of time, money and effort so I really want to make sure to make this a strong habit.

Did you set any goals or resolutions for the coming year?

Meal Prep #5 and a pre-Christmas blogging update

Wow. I've been a busy little bee lately, and I haven't been able to keep up blogging like I wanted to, and with Christmas coming up I'll probably be a bit sporadic again for a while. But I have some more wardrobe challenges in the works, another $500 wardrobe post, and there'll be some new lolita reviews soon as well!

That's the blogging update part of this post, now onto the meal prep side!

I present to you... a single photo. We didn't really do a proper prep this time around, or at least not to our usual scale and all in one go. James made a delightful pasta which gave us five meals worth of leftovers. A couple of days later I made 9 meals worth of meatloaf muffins, rice and vegetables which is what you see in the picture. I was meaning to make some containers of salad up but just haven't gotten around to it yet so all in all this meal prep was a bit all over the place. But still, even when we don't do as much it's still great to have ready-to-go food, and I'm keen to keep this practise up in 2015.