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.
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.
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?
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?
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!
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!
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!
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!
5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style
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.
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.
Each criteria is a level. Add up your total and then put yourself into a category. Repost this to your own blog, website, or journal, bolding or crossing off the ones that apply to you, and then show your score/level at the bottom. The only rule is that you must add one lolita ‘level’ to the list! *please note that this post is just for fun, don't take it seriously!
You’ve been to egl. You’ve posted on egl, without an onslaught of ‘USE THE MEMORIES’ and likewise. You’ve bought a lolita mook. You’ve picked a favorite brand. You’ve ordered your first item. You’ve worn a full outfit. You’ve worn a full outfit out in public. You’ve worn a full outfit and posted photos of it on the Internet. You know what JSK, OP, and cutsew all mean. You’ve bought your first brand piece. You know your measurements. You know you shoe size – in American, European, and Japanese. You know who Mr. Yan is. You know who Mana is. (+1 points if you know his band. +2 points if you know his brand. +3 points if you know why he’s featured in every GLB. +4 if you have a shrine to him in your closet.) You know who Maki and Asuka are. (+2 if you’ve met Maki and Asuka). You’ve watched Kamikaze Girls. (+1 if you know the real name of this movie. +2 if you know who wrote the book this was based on. +3 if you’ve also read the manga or novel. +4 if you love the author despite his criminal record). You own a wig. (+1 if you own more than 2.) You own a pair of falls. You can identify lace on the spot. You can identify an item’s brand on the spot. You can identify the year a dress was made by a specific brand on the spot. You can name several different dresses or prints. You answer stock photo requests. You mod a lolita community. You decorate your nails. (+1 if you wear fake nails. +2 if you make fake nails.) You own a pair of a rocking horse shoes. (+1 if you know their abbreviation.) You’ve made your own rose corsage. You’ve made anything out of your brand dress’s waist ties. You’ve made anything out of a matching eco tote. (+3 if you were the first one to do it, you think). You know how to apply false eyelashes. You know how to pronounce shirring. You know how to pronounce Moi-meme-moitie, or Metamorphose tempes de fille. You know a reliable shopping service. You bid on Yahoo!Japan or Mbok. You’ve been to a meetup. You’ve planned a meetup. You’ve planned a meetup with catering or more than 20 attendees. You’ve met up with lolitas while on vacation to foreign or faraway locales. You’ve seen a lolita fashion show. You’ve seen a brand fashion show. You’ve modeled in a lolita fashion show. You’ve modeled in a brand lolita fashion show. You wear bloomers. You know how to make bloomers. You tell other people to wear bloomers. You draw lolita art, write a lolita blog, or provide the community with some sort of creative services. You’ve taken purikura in lolita. You’ve decorated your room/house/apartment in lolita style. You’ve listened to lolita music.You’ve learned kana. You’ve learned enough Japanese to read a magazine. You wear or own circle lenses. You’ve been called a princess by a young child. You’ve dressed up a friend. You’ve converted a friend. You’ve been in media (television, newspaper, magazine). (+2 points if it’s Japanese media.) You’ve learned a handicraft, like jewelry making, embroidery, or sewing. You’ve become a lolita mentor. You’ve attended lolita events at an anime or multi-genre convention. You’ve organized or presented lolita events at a convention. You’ve visited a brand shop. Trip to Japan! You’ve dressed up and gone out alone. You’re prepared for inclement or colder weather in lolita (coat, parasol, boots, gloves, other climate-specific items.) You’ve learned face contouring. You’ve made a lolita valentine. You’ve got a lolita pen pal or online lolita friends. You have local lolita friends. You know how to modify clothes that don’t fit you. You know how to dress for your body type. You’ve been in a street snap. You’ve been to multiple world locations of the same brand store (BABY Paris, BABY Tokyo, BABY San Francisco, etc.) You’ve created a makeup/hair/sewing tutorial. You’ve sold hand-created lolita goods. You have your own lolita fashion line. You’ve gotten a lolita haircut, style, or color. You’ve mixed other street fashions with lolita. You’ve thrown a lolita party/had a lolita wedding. You’ve dressed your child/small children in lolita or kodona style. You’ve successfully cross-dressed in lolita style at least once (boystyle for girls and girls’ clothing for guys). You’ve lolified or made sure all the contents of your purse are cute (wallet, lipgloss, keyring, etc.) You have a lolita pet (small dogs, cats, rabbits, exotic birds, fancy fish) or have dressed/accessorized your pet (bows or pet clothes). You’ve dressed your significant other or dated someone who dresses in J-fashion/alternative fashion. You’ve read Alice in Wonderland. (+1 if you’ve seen the animated movie or other variations, +2 if you’ve seen more than one variation, +3 if you own more than one variation) You’ve dressed as Alice or another Wonderland character in lolita style, or own Alice themed items. You’ve made something from a Japanese pattern. You’ve found, bought, or made lolita underwear (bras and panties). You wear lolita daily, or have gone 7 days straight wearing only lolita. You have lolita calling cards or business cards. You play a lolita instrument (i.e., piano, violin, harp, French horn… well any instrument really.) You can translate yen to your country’s currency in your head. (+1 if you can convert other currencies you shop with as well. +2 if you read the news to know how the yen is doing.) You’ve sold lolita clothing online (secondhand, egl_comm_sales). Your article or entry has been put into the egl memories. You take photos of your outfits/daily outfit photos. You’ve posted to daily_lolita. You own a petticoat. (+1 if you own more than one. +2 if you wear three or more at a time). You’ve bought a lucky pack. You keep a style diary or look-book. You can put together an outfit made entirely from offbrand. You’ve bought offbrand or non-Japanese brand.
You can tie your own waist bows without any help.
Results:
Adorable Admirer (lvls 1 – 20) You’ve started studying or liking lolita but haven’t taken that leap of faith yet. Good luck!
Resplendent Rufflebutt (lvls 21 – 40) At home within the land of the rufflebutts and spilling frills from every edge.
Victorian Maiden (lvls 41 – 60) A classy lolita of taste and experience, who knows her way around the lolita social set.
Starry Celebrity (lvls 61 – 80) On page six of the lolita world, you’ve risen to the ring of the upper crust.
Pretty Princess (lvls 81 – 100) Lolita royalty, truly versed in the ways of the lacey ones, the lolita princesses have achieved a special level of enlightenment.
Ultimate Lolita (Boss Fight!) (lvls 100+) Wow, you’ve gotten over 100 levels? You’re the ultimate lolita with unlimited hitpoints. That’s actually a little scary…
I’m a level 41 Victorian Maiden. Not bad! I was able to cross off a decent amount of things off the list, maybe next year I'll be able to cross off more!
I'm pretty curious about the Baby lucky pack. I loved last year but took too long contemplating the purchase (as usual haha). You can ever so slightly make out the prints that are edited out. Maybe if you're savvy enough you can guess what print it is (or maybe it's a special one just for the lucky pack? hmmm)
So will you be ordering one of the LPs?
I've never ordered one, and can't afford one at the moment, but if I had the money I'd wait for an Angelic Pretty lucky pack!
Disclaimer: Let me start off by saying that I have no intention of scaring off people new to the fashion! We are always happy to help new people out. We just get tired of answering the same questions being asked every single day.
Welcome to the second installment of Newbie Lolita FAQ! I've decided to make this a series that will be posted weekly. I think it'll be great for new lolitas to have most of their basic questions asked in one place. Today I'll be talking about the negative rumors surrounding Bodyline and wigs: necessary or optional?
3. Will people hate me for just wearing Bodyline or Offbrand?
Pretty much only new lolitas seem to spread this rumor about how all lolitas look down on Bodyline and offbrand clothing. How you can only be a "true" lolita by wearing brand and all these other silly remarks. Honestly, nobody cares where your clothes come from as long as they're styled nicely! Granted there are exceptions. Some elitist lolitas might judge you and look down on you, but those girls aren't nice and aren't worth befriending. Ignore them, the good news is that they're in the minority!
Also, look at Peachie! She's my lolita idol and dresses in 99.99% offbrand.
Short answer: No, nobody will hate you or really judge you for not wearing brand.
4. Do I need to wear a wig?
Wigs became extremely popular in the fashion once OTT (over the top) lolita came to life. They're worn in most of girls' coords today in both bright colors and natural styles. But before this became a thing, girls just wore their natural hair with their coordinates (outfits).
If you don't want to wear a wig, that's completely ok! Nobody will tell you that you need one. Just keep in mind when you're wearing your natural hair with lolita to style it nicely. Lolita is about being dressed up, cute, and sometimes elegant. Frizzy, uncombed hair just thrown into a messy ponytail just won't look good and can ruin an otherwise perfect coord! Remember, lolita is all in the details.
Need further assurance? Remember Misako pretty much always uses her natural hair!
Short answer: No, just style your natural hair nicely and you'll be fine.
Although sometimes answers aren't found by simply researching, it's always best to try to do it before asking someone for help. Lolita's all about research, trial, and error. So go out there and discover lolita the fun way, by figuring it all out yourself. You'll feel very good about yourself further down the road!
Disclaimer: Let me start off by saying that I have no intention of scaring off people new to the fashion! We are always happy to help new people out. We just get tired of seeing the same questions being asked every single day.
Day in and day out, lolitas spend time online. It's just part of the hobby! You go online to look at sales, to check out so-and-so's new coord and to interact with the lolita community. Unfortunately we almost always also encounter that horrid question that's been answered at least 1,000 times and could have been answered with a quick Google search or by taking a look in the EGL memories. Although lolita is a fashion to have fun in, and no there aren't any strict rules, research is key to clearing up your doubts and familiarizing yourself with the fashion.
If you're new and want to avoid being that person, here are some of the questions you might want to avoid asking (and their answers!)
1. Do I really need a petticoat under this JSK, skirt, OP?
Ok, granted this one can sometimes be tricky with the new silhouettes that have been popping up. I will say that 9/10 times, yes you do need a petticoat. In fact, sometimes you need to wear more than one to achieve the desired silhouette! A great way to tell by yourself if you need one or not is to compare how your dress looks on you [without a petti on] to how the dress looks in the stock picture.
See how poofy the dress looks in the stock picture and see how flat the dress looks on the girl? The stock pictures tend to show how the dress will look its best. I also recommend you invest in a good petti, because a bad quality petti will deflate quickly and make it look like you not wearing one at all
Short answer: 9/10 times, yes you do need a petticoat.
2. Is Bodyline a reliable seller? Is this dress from Bodyline good?
This is one of those questions that a 2 second google search can answer for you. In the time it took you to post this question to Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, you could have had your answer! If you want to know if a seller is reliable, look up some reviews. Type in "[seller name] review" into Google or if you want to know about a particular dress or pair of shoes, type "[item name] reviews". Want video reviews? Type the same thing into Youtube! Pay attention to reviews made in the past year.
Example: "Bodyline Review" retrieves 682,000 results in 0.42 seconds.
Example: "Bodyline Dress L328 Review" retreives about 2,130 results in 0.57 seconds. (My review is second here)
And here's a video of Peachie talking all about Bodyline! (Her wardrobe is 99.99% Bodyline and she always looks great so she knows her stuff)
Also a quick tip: If you have the money to afford it, ship your items through EMS. Your items will arrive quicker and you get e-mail support from Bodyline. If you choose Airmail it's cheaper, but you get absolutely no support from Bodyline if something happens to the package. If you can't afford it, don't worry! I've been ordering for years using Airmail and so far none of my packages have been lost or stolen.
Short answer: Yes, it's reliable. Many lolitas shop from Bodyline all the time.
These are 2 questions I constantly see being asked to the popular lolitas. They are super nice and will often answer, but don't be offended if they tell you to check their archives or to Google it. Lolita's all about research, trial, and error. So go out there and discover lolita the fun way, by figuring it all out yourself. You'll feel very good about yourself further down the road!
I'll be doing more ukulele vids in the future as well as crafting and sweet lolita videos.
Did you go to see Big Hero 6? Did you love it as much as I did?
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!)
Short answer: No, nobody will hate you or really judge you for not wearing brand.
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