Review: Bodyline Shoes 178 (Negative!)

Here's another YouTube video for you guys! Hope you find this review useful :)

As promised in the video, I've provided close-up photos of the damage to the shoes, that is the buckles that broke off and got lost + the scuffing after 3 hours of wear. (The color of the shoes is most accurate in the video, not in the following pictures)

Scuffing

The snap broke off the buckle

Note the missing buckle

Finally, the other shoe lost the buckle and the snap completely broke off as well.
Both the buckle and snap were lost as a result of this.

Part of YouTube- Little Mermaid Parody! (First Youtube Vid!)

Well, I got over my video shyness and bit the bullet. I've recorded my very first YouTube video! It's a YouTube/Tumblr/Blogging parody using the melody from Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid. If you're heavily into internet usage, I'm sure you'll get plenty of these references haha.

If you like this video, it'd mean a lot to me if you liked/commented/subscribed  I'll be doing more ukulele vids in the future as well as crafting and sweet lolita videos.

Have a sweet day! 

Big Hero 6 Baymax Brooch!

As soon as I saw the trailers for Big Hero 6, I knew I'd fall in love with the film. I saw it when it came out and, sure enough, I loooooved it! The story was touching, the animation was beautiful and Baymax has to be the cutest Pixar character ever. I knew right away I wanted to make something with Baymax on it, especially after all the awards the film has recently won.

My inspiration! Anybody know who made this???

While looking for Baymax plushies on Google, I stumbled upon this super cute image (sadly without any credit anywhere!) The plushie with the blush on it convinced me that I had to make a kawaii blushy Baymax!

Without further ado, here is my blushing Baymax brooch!

I wanted to make it extra cute by adding ruffles around it and a little bow. 2 people have told me so far that he looks like he's wearing a bonnet so I'm going to call him Baby Baymax!

I used a variation of this tutorial by Wild Olive to make the ruffle part (called a yoyo) with pink chiffon. His face was made with stiff white glitter felt and details were embroidered on. The blush was done with... well blush!

The brooch was such a quick project (around 2 hours or less) and it's perfect for me to wear with my lolita coords or to add a little cuteness on my jackets since it's still kind of cold.

I still have to find a pin for it though. Anybody know where I can find 2-way clips?

His face came out a teeny bit wonky but I think he's still cute! Maybe I'll try to remake him one day.

Did you go to see Big Hero 6? Did you love it as much as I did?

Sweet Tunes: My Lolita Playlist!

When I get dressed up in lolita, I love listening to music specifically chosen for the occasion. When I'm dressed up I like music that makes me feel happy and confident and puts a smile on my face! This is the playlist I play on my phone when walking around in lolita.

There are super fun songs to make me laugh and bounce.

There are also songs to put a bit of pep and sass in my step (a few k-pop hits for that purpose!)

And there are also some occasional sweet songs thrown in to match my sweet lolita style.

Music is such a strong mood setter so I imagine everyone must have songs or playlists they play when they want to feel a certain way! But I wonder if any of you have music to suit your clothing styles? Maybe some alternative rock when you're dressing rocker chic or classical music when dressed up in... well classic lolita? Anybody else do this too?

LaceMarket Lessons: Things I've Learned from Buying Lolita Secondhand

Buying secondhand is my favorite way of buying lolita. You can get great pieces at a fraction of the price and you get to help a fellow lolita out by taking pieces off their hands. Unfortunately, I've also gone through a few bad experiences (latest one involved receiving a very damaged Angelic Pretty skirt.) I want to pass on a few lessons I've learned the hard way so your future secondhand adventures go without a hitch!

1. Ask sellers to be specific and ask for extra pictures when unsure

A lot of sellers list their items in broad terms such as "gently worn" and "slightly damaged". Ask them what exactly they mean by their descriptions. The Angelic Pretty skirt I bought was listed as slightly damaged. What I received? A skirt with mysterious blue stains on 1/4 of the skirt! The stains do not come out. She had taken a single photo of a small section of the skirt. I should have asked her just how much of the skirt was stained and multiple pictures to prove it.

2. Always ask about waist ties

Sellers always forget them. They forget them in the pictures, they forget them in the packages and they even forget to tell you they don't have them! If you care about waist ties (like I do) please make sure to ask! My AP skirt (in addition to the stains) came without waist ties, a detail the seller left out.

3. Always ask for tracking and insurance

Yes, it'll cost you extra but you won't regret it. You'll know where your package is at all times and if it gets lost, you're covered for it. Seriously, do not skimp on this!

4. Ask if they've washed the garments

A lot of people spend their entire lolita lives without washing their garments. You don't want to receive a dress that reeks of meetup B.O. If it's not washed and they're unwilling to do it, make sure the price is worth it and be prepared to wash it when you get it.

5. Be wary of sellers with very little feedback

I feel kinda bad saying this, but the only times I've had bad experiences has always been with extremely new sellers. I'd love to give them a chance to build feedback, but my wallet can't afford the risk anymore. New sellers tend to make a lot of mistakes in the whole process. This can involve problems with shipping, delays, and communication.

I don't mean all new sellers are like this (I'm new to selling and haven't had problems). I'm also not saying you should 100% avoid them, but make sure to prepare for possible newbie mistakes. They can sometimes cost you extra money (especially if the seller refuses to take responsibility.)

Summary: When in doubt, ask ask ask! Most problems can be avoided by asking questions. If a seller seems snippy about answering then move along. OH! But don't ask questions if you have no intention of buying; that's rude!

Have you learned any lessons in your own shopping endeavors? Please share them in the comments!

L52 #2: What influences my Lolita style?

So I finally moved back into the dorm for the semester which means I can go back to regular posting! This week I got number #23, which is what influences my lolita style.

A lot of what inspires me is really what I see online through blogs and my tumblr feed. I know, I know "how unoriginal!" but I'm being honest! I like to follow a lot of different people from different styles to give me ideas for my own outfits. I follow fairy kei, gyaru, and cult party kei blogs as well as kawaii artists and pale blogs. 

I like to reblog everything that inspires me onto my aesthetic tumblr. It lets me see everything I like visually in one place to give me some new ideas! (If you wanna follow it, go to OpalCutie) 

I also take a lot of inspiration from bloggers that I follow (all of which you can view here). What better way than to see other beautiful babes rocking inspiring outfits?

I'm still developing my new style, but looking at other fabulous lolitas definitely help me pinpoint my own tastes and the journey of discovery is the funnest part anyways!

So what's been influencing your style lately?

L52 #1: Why don't I wear Lolita more often?

This is my first post in the Lolita 52 Challenge! I used random.org to choose a random number and I got #8: Why don't I wear Lolita more often?

When I first started lolita, I used to wear sweet lolita in black colorways and gothic lolita once a week. I was absolutely in love with it! Over time I wore it less and less and less until I basically never wore it. My boyfriend had asked why that happened but I wasn't really sure. After a long time thinking about it, I realized that wearing all black wasn't really me.

I assumed it would be because I've dressed in dark alternative styles all my life, but in lolita it wasn't making me happy. When I first discovered lolita, it was sugary, pastel sweet lolita that reeled me in. But when I finally started, I played it safe and went with my comfort zone dressing in all black.

I stained those white tights with red shoes and had to throw them out :(

Recently I sold all my black lolita pieces to start collecting pastel-colored dresses, and I finally have, but I don't have legwear to match so I can't wear basically any of my dresses yet. I'm gonna try really hard to get at least a pair of white thigh high socks soon so I can wear lolita often again and be happy!

Lolita 52 Challenge: A Lolita Topic a Week!

It's a new year and with that everyone's looking for something new! I've been wanting to do a new weekly post and FYeahLolita has a list of fun memes for bloggers. I thought this one is perfect to give me a sure-fire post to do every week! I'll be using a random number generator to pick the topics I'll be blogging about every week. I can't wait to start!

1.  5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style
2.  5 movies for Lolitas
3.  What my own Lolita lifestyle is like 
4.  Favorite thing to put on my head
5.  My wardrobe turnover
6.  My favorite Lolita brand
7.  Why I wear Lolita?
8.  Why don't I wear Lolita more often?
9.  5 keywords that describe my personal Lolita style
10.  How I first found out about Lolita
11.  3 trends I wish would come back
12.  Combining other fashions with Lolita
13.  Lolitas I have met in real life
14.  Lolitas I would love to meet
15.  3 things I wish I was told when I was a new Lolita
16.  10 facts about my Lolita wardrobe
17.  My first meetup
18.  Trends I thought I would never get into, but I now love
19.  Trends I thought I loved, but now I'm not too keen on
20.  How satisfied I am with my current wardrobe
21.  Plan for a trip! A week's worth of Lolita outfits I can fit in a small suitcase
22.  How I accessorize
23.  What influences my Lolita style
24.  What's in my makeup bag
25.  Best places to wear Lolita
26.  How I get out of a wardrobe slump
27.  Purses that I love
28.  Bloomers or no bloomers?
29.  Lolitafying things in my everyday life
30.  How long it took me to build a complete wardrobe
31.  Impulse buys that were totally worth it
32.  My best deal
33.  Something that I made
34.  Wardrobe blunders! Things I bought that I ended up regretting!
35.  What I thought when I got my first real piece of Lolita
36.  Nails to match my favorite looks
37.  Something that's not my style, but I love anyways
38.  Favorite hair style
39.  Most versatile Lolita item I own
40.  5 inspirational fictional characters
41.  Fondest meetup memory
42.  The ways in which I fit the cliche
43.  The ways in which I do not fit the cliche
44.  How strangers react to my clothes, and how I react to their reactions
45.  Something that was a gift
46.  Parasols: Vital or frivolous?
47.  The item in my wardrobe that was the hardest to get
48.  My "signature" outfit
49.  My favorite Lolita print
50.  What's in my closet that I haven't worn yet!
51.  Predict the next Lolita trend!
52.  How Lolita has changed me

2015 Goals: Year of the Sheep

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have been enjoying your holidays and are ready to start fresh! I've decided to write a new set of resolutions since I did so well with last year's. Are you writing a set too?

Lolita Goals:

☆ Wear lolita at least once a month

(not counting January since all my lolita clothing is back in the dorm)

☆ Make 3 coords using the same dress

Because I just moved away from gothic/"bittersweet" (I hate that term!) I have very few sweet pieces after selling all the black dresses and skirts. I want to make the most out of the little I have right now by using my dresses in as many ways possible!

☆ Buy my first brand piece (preferably Angelic Pretty!)

I still haven't owned a single piece of brand! I'm hoping to get maybe an Angelic Pretty jsk this year. If not, at the very least some brand socks or accessories.

☆ Make a coord using absolutely no black:

My biggest problem with sweet is that pretty much all the legwear I own is black and that's the color I am specifically working to move away from. In fact, it's the only reason I haven't worn proper sweet yet! I even own pink shoes now, but I can't wear any of my dresses because I don't have socks to match. My goal is to get at least 3 pairs of matching legwear for my wardrobe.

☆  Collect more legwear + buy white tights/socks:

I wasn't able to accomplish this in 2014 because I literally have no non-black socks/tights... Why??? WHY??? I really have no idea how that happened, but I realized it in like late November. I'm going to try and get white legwear asap so I can finally dress in super cute sweet lolita!

 

General Goals:

☆ Read a book per month

☆ Finish reading the Harry Potter series

☆ Try new baking recipes

☆ Get my driver's license

☆ Get my first credit card

☆ Move into my first apartment (I currently dorm)

This list is much longer than the one I wrote last year, but I'm confident I can get a lot of it done! I want to feel very accomplished by the end of the year, just like I did at the end of 2014.

2014 Goal Recap!

Last year I made some resolutions for myself. I usually don't make them because I don't stick to them but this year I was determined. Below I posted all my progress and this year was such a success!

☆Learn to embroider: I sure did! I embroidered only 3 pieces this year, but they all came out wonderfully! (I'll make a post with my pieces soon!)

☆Take Japanese classes: Done! I took a Japanese I class the first half of the year and a level 1 Japanese Conversation class in the latter half of the year. I got an A in both classes! Learned hiragana and some basic conversation skills. Very proud of myself!

☆Make more jewelry: Yup, but not exactly what I had in mind haha. I made a lot of resin jewelry and even made my first Etsy sales but what I really meant was making bench jewelry. You know, handling a saw, a torch and a hammer and metal... I haven't made professional jewelry since I graduated from Jewelry Design in May 2013...

☆Take advantage of NYC: Yes sir. Actually, my boyfriend and I commented on how good we were about this goal this year. It didn't really get done until the second half of the year, but we've gone to a new place or done a new thing in the city every single weekend! We did Rilakkuma Day, went to a Japanese street fair, saw Sebastian Masuda's latest exhibition, saw the annual Thompkins Park Dog Halloween Parade (200+ dogs in costumes, guys!) and so much more. This might have been my favorite goal to accomplish 

☆Learn to cook more things: Yesss, and I'm so happy! I can make way more things now. I learned how to make chili, black bean soup, oven-fried chicken, over-easy eggs, sushi and more. Now I don't have to eat grilled chicken, white rice and beans everyday haha!

I'm super happy with myself! I stuck to all my resolutions and accomplished each one. I hope that in 2015 I'm able to accomplish as many of my resolutions as I can.

How did you do with your 2014 resolutions?