Thursday, February 4, 2016

Gertie and Lolita

I don't know how many of you are aware of my obsession with Gertie's blog. She does a ton of sewing tutorials and has three separate pattern books out (two of which I own) and a line of patterns with Butterick. The best part about this is that she designs these clothes based on her own measurements, which means that the proportions are for more average-sized ladies than your usual models. Don't match up with Gertie's measurements? That's fine, she teaches you how to alter your patterns to your own size!

So... what's this got to do with Lolita?

Well, nothing, really. Gertie is very focused on vintage (largely 50s-60s style) clothing. But she has a number of pieces that work really well for Lolita, and I thought I'd share some of my favorites, and some ideas about how to work them into your wardrobe.

Note: I am in no way affiliated with Gertie. I just love her blog and her style.

Sailor Dress:


This one is pretty self-explanatory, I think. This comes from her newest book, and it's a cute sailor-inspired JSK. The only changes that would need to be made is perhaps making the skirt fuller and (depending on your preference) maybe bringing the neckline up an inch or two.

Bow-tied blouse:


This blouse comes from Gertie's first book and is, without a doubt, my favorite pattern. It uses knit fabric, so it's super comfortable, and you can make it button up in the back for some adorable details. I have made 3 blouses out of this pattern and I love them all to death. It's my favorite casual lolita top.

Also, each of her books contain different variations for the patterns, so you have 3 different ways to make this blouse, one of which includes a pan collar!

Fitted Cardigan:


From her second book, this cardigan is simple but it's a great base piece, especially for the winter wardrobe. Adding a lace collar (or a cutsew with a lace collar beneath it) is a great way to make this more loliable. Basic, yes. But also very cute.

Fancy Blouse:


I personally love the style of this blouse. It reminds me a lot of the brand Mary Magdalene. This blouse/skirt combo in particular:


For the smaller-busted ladies:


This dress features a gathered portion at the top, which is a cute touch. Unfortunately, these tend to look a bit odd on most of us with a larger bust, but it's a nice detail otherwise. The only change I'd recommend here is making the straps wider. You don't usually see such thin straps in Lolita.

Wrap jacket:


I'm personally in love with this jacket style. It's super cute, and if you want you could add some ruffles around the ends of the sleeves to give it a more lolita look. Ditch the shoulder pads, though. They've never been flattering.

What do you guys think of Gertie and her patterns? Loliable or not? Do you have a favorite? Is there anyone you draw inspiration from when it comes to sewing?

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

My current obsession

I go through phases in my life where I become completely obsessed with something. Sometimes these things stick around (like Lolita) and sometimes they don't (various anime), but I've learned to let things run their course. And right now my obsession is Tiny Houses.

For the sweet Lolitas
In case you didn't know, a Tiny House is generally under 500 square feet; and those are the larger ones! Often times they're on wheels to get around zoning issues and, of course, to make them mobile. They've gotten more and more popular as time has gone on and are becoming a big alternative for millennials and older people nearing retirement, who maybe don't have a lot of money.

A bit more classic, farytail-inspired
So why am I posting about this? Well, I just can't get it out of my head that a Tiny House would be perfect for a Lolita. You can design your own house, with your needs in mind, and decorate it to your heart's content. Of course, Tiny Houses are best for one or two people (though people with families live in them as well), and this makes me think of the days long past, when a lone Lolita wasn't an oddity.


Of course if you have wheels, you don't need to be stationary. Imagine roaming the country with your cute Lolita house in tow, going from state to state, community to community, meeting up with all sort of different Lolitas. I think that would be super fun, if a bit unlikely.

A gothic option
What do you guys think? Tiny Houses for Lolitas yay or nay? If you could design your own Lolita house, what style would you go with? Leave a comment! I'll probably be posting more about decorations and house aesthetics as I develop my own Tiny House in Sketchup.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

My 2015 Coordinates

Happy International Lolita day! I'm supposed to be going to a meet up with my local comm but I'm feeling under the weather, so instead I'm making this blog post. I did a post like this in 2012, which was my first year in Lolita and my closet has grown and changed so much in that time. Keep in mind that I often wear casual Lolita, and usually don't get pictures of that. Most of these pictures are from meet ups. So here we go, from oldest to newest...

2014 christmas, so kind of cheating but eh
Outfit breakdown:
JSK: Bodyline
Bolero: Bunny House
Tights: sockdreams.com
Shoes, accessories: offbrand

My absolute favorite dress
Outfit breakdown:
JSK: handmade
Tights: Sockdreams.com
Shoes: Walmart
Cardigan, hat, and accessories: thrifted
Capelet: YesStyle.com

An impromptu mini-meet
Outfit breakdown:
Cardigan, skirt: handmade
Cutsew: offbrand
Tights: sockdreams.com
Shoes: Payless.com

Thrift store shopping
Outfit breakdown:
JSK: handmade
Tights: sockdreams.com
Shoes: Bodyline
Accessories: thrifted or handmade

Not my favorite coord. This was my first attempt at coording this dress.

Lake meet
Outfit breakdown:
JSK: Innocent World
Tights: sockdreams.com
Everything else: thrifted

Meet-up at the gardens

Outfit breakdown:
Blouse and skirt: handmade
Tights: sockdreams.com
Shoes: Walmart
Parasol: Target
Everything else: thrifted or handmade

Zoo meet
Outfit breakdown:
Skirt and blouse: handmade
Tights: sockdreams.com
Shoes: Walmart
Everything else: thrifted

This one got posted on cgl
Outfit breakdown:
Skirt and blouse: handmade
Tights: sockdreams.com
Shoes: Bodyline
Parsol: Target
Backpack: Walmart
Everything else: thrifted

Very small poof for very casual day
Outfit breakdown:
JSK: Innocent World
Tights: Forever21.com
Shoes: Walmart
Parasol: Target
Everything else: thrifted

Modeling in my kitchen
Outfit breakdown:
OP: handmade
Shoes: Bodyline
Socks: sockdreams.com
Everything else: thrifted


Rollerskating meet
Outfit breakdown:
OP: handmade
Socks: sockdreams.com
Shoes: Walmart
Everything else: thrifted

This one is very much inspired by 50's fashion

Guess where
Outfit breakdown:
OP: handmade
Socks: sockdreams.com
Shoes: Walmart
Parasol: Target
Everything else: thrifted

Tea party. Don't worry, that's just water
Outfit breakdown:
JSK and apron: bodyline
Shoes: Walmart
socks: sockdreams.com
Everything else: thrifted or handmade


At the movies
Outfit breakdown:
JSK: handmade
Tights: sockdreams.com
Shoes: bodyline
Everything else: thrifted

A tutorial on how to draft this
Outfit breakdown:
JSK: handmade
Blouse: ??? from lacemarket
Tights: sockdreams.com
Everything else: handmade or thrifted

Halloween meet
Outfit breakdown:
JSK: Metamorphose
Bolero: Bunny House
Capelet: YesStyle.com
Socks: sockdreams.com
Shoes: Walmart
Bear bag: thrifted

So there you have it. My 2015 coordinates so far. Mostly handmade, I'm proud to say. I forgot to get coord pictures throughout November, which was dumb of me but what can you do? I look forward to expanding my closet with even more handmade items next year!

Thursday, November 26, 2015

5 Realities of Being a Lifestyler

I've mentioned this before, but I consider myself to be a lifestyle Lolita. This means that I work the fashion into my everyday life as much as possible. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not, and sometimes it's quite shocking, so here is a list of some of the things you'll deal with being a lifestyler.


1. It's Takes Dedication


Being a lifestyle Lolita requires a lot of dedication. It means completely revamping your wardrobe. I own exactly two pairs of pants. Both are yoga pants, and one pair is splattered with paint, which I only wear when I'm painting furniture for my room (more on this later). Everyone has days where they don't want to do anything but lounge around in their pajamas. As a lifestyler, my pajamas consist of cute lingerie nighties and bloomers.

And soon, winter PJs
But working in the fashion into just your closet does not a lifestyler make. I also have quite a few hobbies that I try to devote time to. I've learned French, and I'm also starting to study Japanese. I sew quite often. I collect teapots, make videos, and run a blog. I do various crafts, and make plushies.

To be fair, a few of these things (notably sewing) I did before I got into Lolita, but the other hobbies are ones that the fashion has led me to.


2. People Won't Understand


I'm quite lucky because my best friend (and roommate) is a Lolita as well. We share a closet and accessories, and it's pretty much the best set up ever. But my family doesn't understand why I dress the way I do, and often make fun of me for it, even while saying that I look nice.

My mom (who has gotten better at being accepting) will sometimes say "let's go to the store--but don't wear that Lolita stuff," even knowing that 90% of my closet is made up of it.

My extended family--the people I grew up with--accept it with "well, you've always been weird," or "remember that phase you went through...."

Strangers on the street seem to be more accepting of it, particularly older ladies who are excited to see fashions similar to what they wore when they were younger. Still, there will always be that one guy (and it usually is a guy) who harasses you, or yells 'insults.'

Call me Bo Peep one more time. See what happens.


3. It's Expensive


Even if you only wear offbrand or handmade, Lolita is expensive. There are countless discussions online about how Lolita is comparable to high fashion brands in the US, but the point remains that for someone who has shopped at thrift stores for most of their life, Lolita will be a shock.

by everydayfrills.tumblr.com
After a few years in the fashion, your expectations will adjust and you'll find yourself saying "$100 for a Baby dress? Steal!" instead of "that's hilarious." However, it will still require saving unless you have a particularly high paying job.

That's only for the fashion portion, too. If you want to be a lifestyler, you're going to want to make your room (at least) match your aesthetic. And finding cute, cheap furniture is difficult. I'm still saving up for new curtains, a bedset, and a loft bed (which I will be making myself). I've already gotten new carpet, cute storage containers, and a wall-mounted closet.

The cheapest way to make your room look the way you want is to give your furniture a makeover with a new paint job. Make sure to wear that one pair of pants you saved when you do this. Or make it yourself.


4. It Takes Time


In every way imaginable, being a lifestyle Lolita will take a lot of time. From getting ready to leave the house, to building up your wardrobe enough to wear Lolita every day, to researching and buying or making your clothes. Lolita takes time.

This isn't a bad thing. While you do this, you'll find things out about yourself. Maybe that you actually like A-line dresses better than bells, or classic better than sweet. Maybe that you're actually pretty good at making accessories even if you kind of suck at sewing, or that green looks better on you than you thought.


5. It's Totally Worth It


This is just my opinion, of course, but I think it's completely worth it. I've gained a ton of confidence because of Lolita fashion, and I'm much happier with myself as a result. I've learned a bunch of skills, I've gained plenty of lovely friends who I have a lot in common with, and I have a conversation starter with pretty much anyone at anytime. 

Friends!
I enjoy myself when I'm writing about Lolita, or sewing a dress, or getting ready to go and hang out with my frilly friends. I have fun when I'm walking down the street in a pretty dress, looking like I've stepped out of a fairy tale. I've discovered tons of hobbies, and have new goals for how to make myself happy. 

Best friends!
So while being a lifestyle is a lot of time and effort and money, I wouldn't give it up for anything. 

Also this happened
What do you guys think? Are you a lifestyler? Why or why not? Do these things hold true for you, or is it just me?

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Lolita 52 Challenge: #4 - Favorite thing to put on my head

This one is laughably easy. Hats, of course! I adore hats of all styles, colors, and sizes. I have a face (or a head?) that works with pretty much any hat, which certainly helps. I actually want to get into millinery eventually, but at the moment I don't have enough money to invest in getting hat blocks and things.

I do have materials for making fascinators, but it's something I haven't gotten around to just yet. My to-do list of crafts and sewing is so ridiculously long it hurts to think about.

All of the hats I have are from vintage or thrift stores, and the most expensive one was $10. My best friend got me this hatbox as a Halloween gift (I love Halloween), and it's super sturdy and lovely and useful.


I made a hatbox myself and, although it isn't super pretty it protects my hats. I really want to get a bunch of pretty hatboxes for storage, though.

Here are my collection of beige-y hats. As a classic Lolita, you can never have too many. Creams, off-whites, and ivorys are super easy to match, and if you want to bring in some extra color you can change out the ribbons or add some nice flower clips along the sides.


My fanciest hat is a wedding hat a friend bought for me from Goodwill for about $7. It has beautiful beadwork and a soft tulle train. The brim is nice and wide, and it looks super cute on the underside too. The only problem with this hat is that the fabric is satin-y, which can be frowned upon in this fashion, but I don't mind.


So pretty
And here are the rest of my hats:


The green one is my absolute favorite. The feather is something I added to make some brown fit better in a coordinate, but it's easy to remove. I got this hat for $3 at a little vintage shop. It's velvet and has pearls and green netting and I absolutely adore it.


I would really like to get my hands on some Mary Magdalene hats. I've accepted the fact that accessories are the only thing of MM's that I'll be able to wear, but it's all still so expensive. I particularly love the style of this one:


I think that about wraps it up for this post. What do you guys think of hats in Lolita fashion? Yay or nay?

Monday, November 23, 2015

Lolita 52 Challenge: #3 - What my own Lolita lifestyle is like

Hmm... This prompt is a little open-ended...

I consider myself a 'lifestyle lolita,' because 1) the majority of my closet is Lolita; 2) whenever I go out I tend to wear Lolita; and 3) I try to incorporate Lolita activities and aesthetics into other aspects of my life.

I work from home, so this is much easier for me now than it was when I was working at places that had a uniform or dress code. I don't really incorporate Lolita into my eating habits, mostly because I can't bake or cook all that well.

But I have a nicely sized closet:



A small but close-knit local community (we have meet-ups at least once a month):


An Etsy store where I sell the things I make.

A cute-ish room (I'm working on the styling; I'll be doing a room tour video when it's done).

A Youtube where I talk about Lolita:


And a best friend/roommate who is also a Lolita:


I also collect tea cups and tea pots ( my collection is small because I've only just started):


In general, I'm pretty happy with how much Lolita is incorporated into my life. What I'd really like to do is work more on selling Lolita clothes, and then I think it would be perfect.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Lolita 52 Challenge: #2 - 5 movies for Lolitas

I'm not super into movies unless it's in the horror genre, but here I go anyway...

1) Kamikaze Girls

Did you really think a movie list for Lolita's wouldn't include this movie? Come on. Where would Lolita be without Kamikaze Girls?

2) Marie Antoinette

I wasn't too into this movie as far as story goes. It kind of drags on and is a bit boring, but the visuals are more than enough to keep me interested. The costume design is just lovely.

3) A Little Princess

This is a super cute, family-friendly movie about how all girls are princesses. I adore this movie. It's fun and sad in turns, and the costuming is very nice.

4) Sleepy Hollow

Here's a movie that's much more my speed. It's funny and dark, and has plenty of lovely dresses. It also stars Christina Ricci, who is, was, and will forever be my favorite Wednesday Addams.

5) Alice in Wonderland (any of them)


Pretty much any version of Alice in Wonderland can go with Lolita, but my personal favorites are Sci-Fi's Alice (because I have a huge crush on Andrew Lee Potts) and Tim Burton's version.

Look at that face