A Few Things To Darken Up Your Day

Can't wait for Halloween? Or is every day Halloween for you? Here are a few things I've stumbled upon that'll help get you into the spirit.

The Lure - Introduction and Trailer: NSFW


A Polish Goth musical film about man-eating mermaids :D

Balam Acab's new single: The Midnight Hour ft. Sarah Chernoff


Woman Decides to Wear Black on Her Wedding Day

Check out this creepy coloring book

Feeling Nostalgic

Day #220 of Lace a la Mode's Lifestyle Lolita Challenge asked to share a dress you no longer own and why, and it got me going back to my old photobucket page (I have no idea why I still have this account) where I rediscovered dozens of items I used to own. It's a little bittersweet seeing how far I've come as a lolita, starting with off-brand loliables, to pieces from Bodyline and defunct indie brands, to owning mostly from the major lolita brands. It's also quite bittersweet remembering how much smaller I once was. When I was starting to collect Japanese brand pieces, I was small enough to wear Beth pieces which didn't go bigger than 26" around the waist (by the way, if you're new and reading this, Beth is a defunct sister brand of Victorian Maiden which makes classic lolita).

The piece I had in mind is Angelic Pretty's Glitter Trump JSK in sax which came from a set from Rose Chocolat, a defunct Korean brand that was infamous for their Rocking Horse Shoes replicas, but also sold some second hand Japanese lolita brands and a few original pieces.

I'm so relieved I had saved this image

Proof (is in the poof)
The set also came with some free goodies: a mini-top hat with plush "candies" glued onto it and a chain necklace with a plush bear and more of those candies. It was a nice gesture, but did not match at all.

This set weren't my first lolita brand pieces, but it certainly marked the year I finally got the grasp of the fashion and really felt like a lolita. I had saved up for this set for several months at a part time job so I could get it in time for Anime Central 2011, which featured H.Naoto and Gashicon, the character designer of Hangry and Angry (my only disbelief is that the year after was when Angelic Pretty first came to ACen and I couldn't go that year). I happened to be out of the house when it was delivered to my house, and my neighbor had taken it to her place because the delivery person plopped it in front of the door even though it was pouring out. It's funny remembering that it was delivered in a flat screen tv box.

I remember trying to coordinate it for the first time and as I was smoothing down my skirt, I accidentally stuck my hands in hidden pockets! I believe this was before Hello Lace was made, and so I also discovered that it was made with a built in petticoat. Every lolita skirt should come with pockets and built in pettis. I think my only complaint was how awkwardly small the head-bow was, but pretty much from that point on, I understood the hype surrounding Angelic Pretty. I used to give this brand and Metamorphose shit for their bad stock photos (and I sometimes still do, to be fair).

I'm kind of bummed that I couldn't find any other coordinate photos except from when I wore it to ACen that year, but even without them, I still remember the joy and times of wearing it. Unfortunately, I had to let it go because I was no longer able to fit in it comfortably, and I thought it was best to move onto more mature styles.

When I made the decision to sell the set, I've come to realize what my needs are in terms of creating a "complete" lolita wardrobe, in which I'd have to avoid any main piece without shirring, even if I wanted it very badly. Although that shade of sax wasn't particularly unflattering, it was probably the last time I was willing to purchase pastels. Being a more discerning consumer isn't fun, but it's definitely helped my wardrobe be more cohesive and I'm not selling pieces as much as I used to. My hope is that I'll be able to get to a point where I'm more satisfied with it, and that I would be better about taking photos of my coords to look back on!

What pieces did you used to own and why did you sell it? Did you also make any drastic changes? Did you have any fond memories wearing said pieces? 

My Ideal Lolita Hangout

Day 191 of the 365 Lifestyle Lolita Challenge on Lace a la Mode's facebook page suggests to doodle your ideal lolita hangout, and although I could sketch away, I think that this is warranted for a blog post. At first I imagined some sort of shabby chic tea house, but realized that if this is a viable business (and there are many shabby chic tea houses in existence), the proprietor would have to cater to the general market, and having to put up with suburban moms is not really my ideal lolita hangout.

I'm a fan of private meetups at friend's houses. It's quite pleasant to be in a space with friends away from curious onlookers. I think my ideal lolita hang out would be a room in my own house that is dedicated to all things shabby chic and lolita fashion - a drawing room, if you will. It will be a place where I can invite my lolita friends over or enjoy in my own time. I'd like it to be the bigger spare room with a large closet space specifically for my lolita wardrobe (and big enough for my partner would be a plus!) with a desk for sewing or as an office space (the sewing materials and machine are hidden away until use). I'd like to place a French Louis XV styled couch on the opposite side of the room, and for space saving sake, have shelves where my plushies can hang out with the books and antique decor. The closet space will have plenty of pieces for new comers to try on for the on-site meets, and I'd like a full length mirror with a decorated frame so they can do their makeup in front of.

The floor would be empty except for a low, fold up table and thick pillow cushions that can be used when guests are visiting for tea (though the regular dining room would be used for bigger gatherings). It can be folded up and put away in the lolita wardrobe, and in the winter, I could attach it with a portable kotatsu. I can finally get around using a white, lace edged tablecloth.

The walls would probably be white with wood paneling or crown and moulding, a light pink, a light blue, or some kind of floral wall papering in a light color. I can't decide on that yet, but I know that I'd like a large window, preferably a bay window with shelving, and I can place other stuffed animals on top of a cushion against the window.

Sorry, I don't know the source to this pic!

In addition to the spare room, I'd like my backyard to have a beautiful flower and kitchen garden, and deck so I can host tea outdoors or a picnic by the flowers.

from handymaninmesa

I'd probably tone down the shabby chic decor for the backyard area for functionality and also in case I have to entertain family or friends who aren't into kawaii or lolita stuff. The rest of the house will probably be somewhat suitable for "normal" tastes as well, with the exception of a China display case for my tea ware collection!

After reading through this draft, it got me thinking about how weird it sounds to have a house that's mostly "normie" with a special room to stash all things kawaii instead of having a house that's exploding in kawaii or whatever is the alternative. Maybe I'm just getting older and thinking about things on a "practical" level, or maybe this is a reflection on how I feel about my cute, childish stuff: I tend to keep lolita and work life separate, even though lolita and my love for all things cute is very much a part of me. And maybe it's ok to also have it projected in an imaginary house. It kind of doesn't help that I like the idea of minimalism. I'm sure I'll get tired or feel cumbersome about the place I come home to if it's roof to basement covered in all things cute, and a special room for all that junk would be a nice retreat from the boring world, just like wearing lolita on special occasions. 

What would be your ideal lolita hangout? Would you also like to have a special room for your things to show off or covet, or have your own house be completely decked out in your favorite style? Would you go as far as wanting a historical home? Or perhaps you have ideas of the perfect lolita friendly location: a bakery or cafe made by and for lolitas? A boutique with a special room for private meets?

Let me know in the comments below! 

My Ideal Wardrobe

It's kind of funny how in spite of being in the fashion for many years, I still haven't quite gotten to my ideal wardrobe yet - let alone one I feel satisfied with, and it doesn't help that for many, we're always finding more things we think we need to "complete" them. 

My wardrobe have seen ups and downs, starting with babby's first pieces, to my sweet lolita phase (in which I learned that pastels looked bad on me), from wearing exclusively kuro lolita (because I was too afraid to get out of my comfort zone), some hiatus, to wanting to go back to old-school styles, and more recently, attempts at a more "daily" lolita wardrobe. 

If money weren't an issue and my dream pieces were easier to hunt for, I would start with the following:

1) Lots of blouses and other tops 

I'm not considered plus-sized, but it seems to be quite rare for a Japanese brand lolita blouse to fit comfortably and not feature so many frills and lace and a wide peter pan collars.

Having a wide variety of tops, including cutsews and boleros is important for flushing out a lolita wardrobe. I'm currently putting a lot of thought into a taobao spree (lol) on blouses in the near future.

2) Lots of Little Black (lolita) Dresses 

My current wardrobe is currently a mix of otome-like sweet pieces and classic, but I'm still a huge sucker for all black pieces. I can't help finding them very underrated and beautiful. It's one of the things my brain unconsciously searches for when I'm hunting for unrelated pieces in the auctions. Here's some of the LBDs I'm looking out for: 

3) One pieces

I used to not like these because there's not a whole lot of coordinating that goes on with one piece dresses, but I've come to appreciate their simplicity and practicality, especially in warmer weather. My problem is that most one pieces, at least the ones I like do not have shirring, and my body is dumb for wanting to shift weights on a frequent basis, so I'm paranoid about pieces not fitting and insist that every main piece has shirring. Fortunately, I'm not the only one with this problem. 

Dear Brands: PLEASE MAKE MORE OPs WITH SHIRRING!!!

4) Wishlist Dresses 

Help a lolita out? 

5) Dream Dresses

For me, the difference between wishlist and dream dresses are that wishlist pieces are somewhat obtainable (although, for some reason, in spite of most of the pieces above being quite basic, they're difficult to find, especially in the colorways I want them in), and dream pieces are items that I've wanted for years (some since I got into lolita some 8-9 years ago) and are not going to fit me at all, unfortunately.
 For example:

6) Casual pieces and more shoes

Again, it's that notion of having pieces to flush out a wardrobe, but for me, it's also that long held idea of becoming a "daily" lolita. I'd like to have a wardrobe that includes a number of fancy pieces or pieces that can easily be dressed up for meets and other special events while having casual items that can be worn when doing things like running errands. 

Like this, but with classic and some old school pieces, a collection of LBDs, otome-kei/casual pieces, and a lot of vintage accessories. 

What sort of things would help achieve your ideal wardrobe?

Waiting for Autumn

In my opinion and experience, summer and Lolita Fashion go together as well as peanut butter and sardines. It gets hot and humid where I live, and even with the necessarily precautions and tips from other lolita bloggers and communities, it's not really worth getting dressed up in layers if your makeup melt off, wig wilts, and blouse sticks to your skin as soon as you step out of your house. Also in my experience, it's quite hard to get people together for meets in the summer due to it being con season, wedding season, and family vacations, which is why I can't wait for the weather to cool down and the leaves start changing colors.

There's a lot of buzz about Halloween on some forums and on my facebook feed, and it's got me thinking about meets to start planning for! 

1) Apple Orchards:

This is kind of a no-go for me because apple farms aren't the most lolita friendly places to go to unless you manage to dodge little kids and avoid or be super careful feeding the farm animals. At the same time, I think it's still doable as many orchards double as local tourist spots with gift shops, bakeries, and restaurants, and offer hay rides, and it's a quintessential thing to do, especially if you live in the Midwest, East Coast, or Northwest Coast of America. My suggestion is to wear your lightest petticoat, save your best brand for later, and dress for comfort. 

I.CAN'T.WAIT.

2) Haunted Tours:

If you're in America, chances are your local park or historical society hosts local tours of haunted history until the end of October. It's a chance to dress up in your best mourning coord while learning about your area's spooky spots. 

3) A Gothic Picnic: 

If your area does not do tours nor celebrate Halloween, you can still go out in your 19th century widow's inspired coord (or not if you prefer) and dine with the dead. It was once a common activity during the mid-1800s up until World War I when park-like cemeteries were being developed, and it was a way to connect with family lost due to high (infant) mortality rates. If considering this option, please contact the manager for permission and advice as to where to picnic, and please be respectful of the dead and their family and friends. 

4) Halloween Party: 

This is a given, but you can make it lolita-centric by encouraging your community to dress up in coords that are otherwise seen as a no-no any other time of the year. Bust out your most OTT Gothic coord, clash your favorite fandom with the lolita silhouette, or dress up as the scariest beast known to all lolitas: the dreaded Milanoo lace-monster. 

5) Get a psychic reading:

If ghosts and monsters aren't your style, you still celebrate the Halloween spirit by getting your fortune told. See if your dream dress is in your future.

6) Friendsgiving Potluck meet:

And the best part is that you don't have to be American to enjoy a warm meal with friends. 

7) Winery meet 

If you're lucky to live near one, Autumn is the best time of the year to check out a winery because the good haul of wedding season is over and most wineries start their harvest in the fall (unless you're in California in which grapes are harvested in July and August). 

8) Fall baking meet

If you or the majority of your community are not of drinking age, make quintessential Autumn pastries instead! Autumn is the perfect time of the year to bakes tarts and pies, pumpkin spice breads, or even decorate cupcakes with seasonal motifs.

9) Fall crafting meet 

Cooler weather means it's time to bust out the warm layers. My suggestion is to hold a crafting meet to learn how to knit. Who knows, you might need that tea cozy or a hand warmer in time for winter lolita day. 

10) Start shopping 

I'm one for enjoying this short lived season for as long as I can and not think about Christmas until it's December, but some advice from veteran lolita to newcomers: if you want to order from taobao, this is the best time of the year to get it over with because you don't want to wait for your coat and lolita wardrobe essentials until it arrives after the Chinese New Year. 

Are you looking forward for Autumn too? Share your ideas for awesome fall-centric lolita meets that I may have missed!