Daily outfits

The weather is slowly getting better, and this means it's easier to wear lolita. Although I did get caught in a downpour today... But that won't stop me from wearing pretty clothes!
I try to wear casual lolita to college as often as possible. My friends like it, and I think most people who study Japanese do. Sometimes I'm afraid that teachers won't take me serious, though. That they'll think I'm just another 'otaku'. But I tell myself that true professionals will look past my clothing, and only at the papers I write and the texts I translate. (And hey, almost everyone my age makes a statement trough their looks and clothing, so they should be used to it. My class is full of gothic, emo, scene and general "harajuku" styles, so I think they can handle one lolita.)

But, onto the clothes!
For this first outfit I wanted to have a more mori girl inspired look, down-to-earth and natural. Unfortunately, when I came home from college it was already dark, so I couldn't really take a good picture... This was the best I could get:

JSK- Bodyline
everything else- offbrand

I think that, if I want to make it more "mori", I need a vintage blouse or a long coat. I also should wear my hair down and slightly curled, with flowers or lace ribbons in it. And maybe woollen socks instead of these tights. But, this is lolita, not mori girl ;)

Also, meet my hair at its new lenght! It's lost 20 cm, and I've got some sort of long, sideswept fringe. It's called a lock in Dutch, but I have no idea what the English word is. It's pushed back in this picture, anyways.

I'll take better pictures of my new hair once the light is better.

The next outfit is about as elaborate as I'll go, for class. It's the 2nd lolita dress I ever bought (from Bodyline of course), and admittedly, not really my style anymore. Also, the bodice is a little short so it's more of a babydoll on me. But it's still cute, and I can create many different looks with it (from sweet to semi-gothic, depending on the coord).

JSK- Bodyline
everything else- offbrand

You can see my "lock" a little better in this picture. I think it makes my face less stern because not all my hair is pulled back, but I still don't really know what to do with it. I don't like the bald spot between the lock and the rest of my hair... I still have to find the right way of wearing it.

I also sewed a sailor onepiece in the past few weeks, but unfortunately, the hem is very uneven so I'll have to do that again. Still not finished... But I can show you a few pictures anyways~

pulling the skirt straight so you won't see the uneven hem...



I'm so proud of the sailor collar! It was my first time sewing one, and I think it came out really well :) I might sew myself a few cutsews with a collar like that. This onepiece was inspired by Metamorphose's many sailor pieces, though I didn't copy any specific design. I just wanted to use these cute buttons and trim!

But do you see how uneven the hem is? I'll have to get the trim off and do it again completely. T.T

When I finish it completely, I will post better pictures. And then I'll write about my sewing some more, and show more of my work as well. Hopefully the light will be better soon, and the weather warmer!

Love for local shops

We all know brand is expensive. Luckily, if you can't afford to buy directly from the big names, there are many alternatives. You can always buy second hand, from Bodyline or Taobao, or sew it yourself. That's what I mostly do. However, you shouldn't think that lolita clothes exist only in Asia or in your own imagination. Shops in your own city can carry items that are very useful for lolita. Of course they won't have everything, I haven't found a stunning onepiece or even a loliable skirt yet, but blouses, shoes cutsews and accesories can very easily be found in mainstream stores.
I needed a few cutsews, so I went shopping~ The jewelry I already bought earlier. The following items were all purchased in local warehouses. H&M has a lot of skirts and shirts that would be perfect for gyaru, or accesories for mori-girl. I see so many Japanese influences in their clothes! Six's jewelry collection is awesome and very cheap, and cute heels can be purchased at any shoestore.

Now onto the picture spam... First, the jewelry!

Mori or Dolly style earrings, bought at H&M

...and their matching rings!



Awesome earrings from Six

And now onto the cutsews~ I'm very happy with these, they're super cute! They're also quite short, so they look good above poofy skirts. The only downside is that they're meant for warmer weather, so I can't wear them yet...



from H&M. Pretty flowers, and puffy sleeves!




...also from H&M. I love the lace and the little pearls!

 Legwear:

floral tights from V&D



close-up of the flowers on the tights~



I also got an adorable black cardigan from H&M, with a scalloped neckline and little hearts woven in the fabric, but it is almost impossible to photograph. It only shows as a black blob. It's just too dark in my room, I suppose.

I hope I didn't bore you with all those pictures. I only wanted to show that there are many cute things to be found in local shops. The good thing about shopping locally is, besides the ease of access, that it's much cheaper. Especially when bought in a sale, like I did~ ^^
So, just keep your eyes open and your imagination active, and you'll find some treasures!

2 outfits, waiting for spring

Today I didn't have much to do, and it was too cold to go outdoors for fun. So I stayed at home and tried on a few dresses, longing for warmer days.

 


All Bodyline & offbrand

I actually don't like the blouse I'm wearing with this. I bought it from Bodyline when I just started building a lolita wardrobe, because I thought blouses were absolutely neccessary for lolita. But now, I realize there are very few blouses I like. I much prefer cutsews, cardigans or turtlenecks. But... I don't have a proper cutsew at the moment, so the blouse will have to do.

My accesories! The necklace was a present from my dad when I was younger and still danced ballet. The bracelet is vintage and the rabbit and deer rings from H&M. And my nailpolish clashes horribly XD

 And now, my one and only BABY onepiece! It's actually the only brand I have... The rest of my wardrobe consists of handmade, offbrand and Bodyline pieces. But I do plan on buying a little more brand, it's just too lovely. Expensive though...



I feel like Marie-Antoinette...

I have a clip-on fringe that I sometimes use with sweet styles. I don't really like my face with a fringe, but I think my hair looks too plain if I wear a headdress or bow without a fringe. And it's almost a perfect match with my haircolor, so I think it looks okay.

With fringe!

See? It looks much better with a fringe. I'm going to the hairdresser soon, I'm tired of my long hair. It gets in the way of everything and I can't do much more with it than if it was half as long. The lenght is pretty, but also quite useless. I'm not sure whether I will get a fringe or something like that. I think a straight fringe doesn't suit my face, and I've got the clip-on one already, should I want it. I'll have to think about it some more...

I can't wait until it's warm enough to wear short-sleeved shirts again, and sundresses, and bare legs... But we're still in the middle of the winter. The next outfit post will be more weather-appropiate, I promise!

My goals and resolutions

A new year has started, and because everyone and their mother is writing about their resolutions, I will do that too. I do have a few, though some are not neccessarily related to lolita.

1. Get to know at least one local lolita. I'm a little prejudiced against the local community, but I'd love to be proven wrong. I'm sure there must be nice lolita's in my country. So maybe I'll join the national forum, or go to a public meetup, or comment on a blog... I don't know yet. 
2. Get a new haircut. My current hair is brown, straight and long. It reaches my bottom, and although I love long hair, it does get a little inconvenient. I dye it in a different color once in a while, but it's getting boring. I've had this haircut since I was 15, and now I'm almost 20! It's time for a change.
3. Stop biting my nails. I have this one every year, and I've broken it already, but I will still try! I want to be proud of my hands!
4. Sew more. I have so many ideas for dresses and jumperskirts, my sketchbook and fabric stash are overflowing! Hopefully I'll have time to sew a lot in this new year.
5. Draw more, and post more drawings. I sketch a lot of designs for dresses, but I haven't made a real drawing in a long time. I also want to post some of my art on tumblr and on this blog.
6. Be an active lolita blogger! First I have to announce this blog on daily_lolita and egl. I don't have any followers yet, which is not surprising because no one knows about it yet! Then I have to post regularly, and about interesting subjects. I want to write about more than just the latest brand releases. I just hope people will like what I write...

Well, I hope everyone will have a very good 2011, and will be able to keep his/her resolutions! I'll do my best to keep mine.

Lolita's in love

Let me begin with stating that a relationship is not essential for happiness. I'd rather spend my life single than in an unsatisfying relationship. As much as I love romantic stories, I think it's stupid when people think you can't have a "happily ever after" without a wedding.

The idea of the perfect couple is not absent in lolita. Many secrets are about girls longing for their Prince Charming (or princess, of course). In photoshoots and drawings this idea is strengthened. A gothic girl with an aristocrat, a sweet lolita with a cute ouji, a Victorian gentleman with a classic lady. It makes for pretty pictures, but that doesn't mean the relationship is perfect. Sadly, the number of boys interested in lolita/aristo/dandy is small, and we can't all just turn lesbian either.

If you really want a boy who dresses in the same style as you, your choice is very limited. I know a couple of scene/goth/emo boys, and even some interested in visual kei or gyaru-o, but no aristo or dandy. Also, I find none of them very attractive. That's the second problem: you may find a boy who wants to dress up with you, but you also have to like him! I hope no one will enter a relationship just because "we look so good together". Your lover is not a fashion accesory! Another thing which I hope doesn't happen, is boyfriends being forced to dress up when they actually don't want to. You wouldn't like it if he forced you to dress 'normally' either, right?

I think the qualities of a lolita-proof boyfriend are not so different from the qualities any boy should have. He should support you in way of dressing, or at least don't mind it. Of course, he doesn't have to come to every meet-up with you, or participate in every photoshoot. I think it's also important to have someone to keep you down to earth. Someone who points out the impracticality of wearing lolita to this-and-this occasion, or tells you that you really don't need 6 pink dresses. Of course, this is not romantic at all, but I think it will make a relationship more lasting.

I'm very happy with my boyfriend. He's not really interested in fashion, but he had heard of lolita before I met him, which saved me a lot of explaining. I had just started with: "There's this fashion in Japan inspired by rococo and..." when he said: "Oh, you mean lolita?" He likes my way of dressing, though I think he does appreciate that I don't wear it 24/7. Most importantly, we love each other <3
Of course, it is essential that you have at least something in common. But it doesn't necessarily have to be your clothing style. My boyfriend wants to dress like the Beatles, I want to dress like a girl from a fairytale. But our other interests are very similar, as well as our characters, and I feel extremely happy with him.

It's like the old saying: it's the inside that counts. A pretty face or a pretty dress isn't everything. The most important thing is being happy together.

The Sleeping Beauty

Yesterday I went to the theater to see a ballet performance: the Sleeping Beauty. It was amazing. If you want, you can ~click here~ to see the trailer on the Youtube channel of the National Ballet group.

I love ballet. I've had lessons from when I was 4 to when I was 13, and I've often been to performances like Giselle or Cinderella. I love big classical shows with detailed decors and costumes. I've never been disappointed in a show, but I think this one was the most beautiful one I've seen thus far. The music was from Tchaikovsky so that was all good, the choreography was interesting and the dancers very skilled, the decor was breathtaking, with moving parts of forest, see-throughs, detailed attributes, and a beautiful palace as background. This was also the first show I've seen which used special effects. I've seen mist machines before, but apart from those they used flashes of light and sounds of thunder whenever dark magic happened, and glittering golden rain at the wedding. Very spectacular ♥


On the left the princess with her parents, after she's pricked her finger. On the right the wedding scene.

 And the costumes! They were my favourite part. They were very detailed, with beautiful embroidery and glitter, and the costumes suited the characters very well. I loved the bad fairy and her minions, they were very crow-like and evil. Their dancing was also very menacing, their dance was one of my favourite parts.
The timeline was clearly visible, too. That's something people often forget, I think, but in 100 years the world really changes. In the first 2 scenes, before the princess falls asleep, the clothing was 17th century styled, with long curly wigs and poofy pants, but after her 100 years of sleeping, everything was Rococo~ I loved it ^^


Left: pas-de-deux; right: the bad and the good fairy.


In the final scene, the wedding, other fairytale-figures appeared. Cinderella and her prince, Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard and his wife, Little Red and the Wolf, and the Puss in Boots with his girlfriend! I really loved the dance of the two cats, it was very playful and humorous. Little Red and the Wolf also had some sort of pas-de-deux, in which the Wolf tried to catch her. His jumps were amazing! I think it was very clever of the choreographer (Marius Petipa) to include these comical intervals. Serious drama is beautiful, but after a while, you need a break. So then there's the Puss in Boots with a funny dance!

Sadly, not all people know how to behave. An old man next to me apparently thought watching a performance is like watching television, and he kept commenting on the show and talking to his wife. His comments were really childish and stupid, too. Another thing that disappointed me is that most people were dressed very casually. I think going to the theater is the perfect opportunity to dress up, so I wore a pretty dress and nice shoes, but I saw so many people in jeans and sneakers! It surprises me how scared people are to be overdressed. I often remember a quote of which I've forgotten the source: "What's the worst that can happen? That you're the best dressed person in the room?"

I didn't dress in lolita, although I wanted to at first. I changed my mind because of the cold and the inconvenience. I had to travel by bike and train, and it was freezing, so I didn't think it practical to wear a short skirt with a petticoat. So I went for another favourite of mine, Audrey Hepburn-style! Which meant a long black velvet dress and pearls!

              

No matter how much hairspray I use, some strands remain unable to tame... The dress and shoes are both second hand, there's a wonderful secondhand shop in my parent's village. My tights had golden glitters on them, very appropiate. I borrowed them from my mother, just like the pearl necklace. I don't own any real pearls, sadly! I do hope my mom will lend them to me more often :)

The community

As I said before, I am not part of a local community. Although it would be fun, I don't really miss it. But I think every lolita is, in some way, part of the online community. Maybe you post pictures on daily_lolita, ask questions on egl, have a tumblr or blogspot blog or sell your clothes second hand via egl_comm_sales. I think there are very few lolita's who don't at least check egl regulary.

I often have very mixed feelings about the online community. I think it's great to share pictures and information over the internet, to help each other with coordinates and purchases etc. But the internet makes people anonymous, and this can stimulate bad behaviour. I won't go into the details of cyber-bullying or rude comments on egl, many people have written about that already. Personally, I think that sometimes rude comments are deserved. It isn't that hard to observe some rules and apply common sense. But it can go too far.

Sometimes, I love the online community. The loli_valentines, for example, always make me smile. And nice and helpful comments on outfit posts on daily_lolita are great as well. I love the many blogs, the interaction of lolita's across the globe, art posts, photoshoots, useful information on shopping services or reviews of purchases. I think almost everyone will agree with me.
But there are times when I decide that I will never participate in the online community ever again! Stupid lolita's! I don't need you, I will dress only for myself from this moment onwards! This often happens after reading loli_secret, or when I'm fed up with the greed and stupidity that come from certain posts on egl.
I often read the secrets. I like to know what's going on in the community, and it's a bit like gossiping. But I almost always feel sad after reading them. Mostly this is a general feeling of: people can be so mean... that quickly passes. Sometimes I have to laugh about a secret that's completely ridiculous, and wonder who thought it was worth the time to make a secret about such a trivial thing.
I've posted a secret two or three times, and I'm always surprised when people comment on them. They often misunderstand me, too. But what suprises me most is the attitude of some comments. Why do you have to be so rude? I guess I'm too much of a nice girl, always afraid to hurt others. Some people just aren't nice, I have to get used to that.

In general, I do love the community, but I hope I will meet more lolita's in real life. Internet can bring people closer together, but it's still a barrier.