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.

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!

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?

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.

Lolita 52 Challenge: #1 - 5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have

I've decided to start this challenge, because I think it will be fun! I'm just going to go in order, and I might skip a few that either don't relate to me or just aren't that interesting, but I'll try to do as many as I can. So, without further ado...

5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style

       1) A bell shaped Petticoat

Petticoats are the lifeblood of Lolita fashion, and the bell petti is easily the most versatile. Even if you're a classic Lolita, a good portion of the dresses you'll buy will either be made for a bell petti or can be paired with one anyway. 

I'd recommend getting a petti that's either around $50 or so, or buying a couple cheaper ones that you can layer, if you want varied amounts of poof.

       2) Versatile, comfortable shoes

You can never have too many shoes, but unfortunately Lolita shoes can be pretty expensive. Look up a bunch of reviews for shoes you're thinking of buying and compare how comfortable they're supposed to be. Also, size up! If you need to, you can use insoles or stuff the toes with socks. It's better to have more space than less.

Go for a neutral color, like white or black, depending on what substyle you wear the most. Also, look for a low-ish heel.

       3) A versatile bag

I'm a huge fan of versatility, in case you can't tell. I like getting a lot of use out of my items, and I can't do that if they don't match everything! Getting versatile stuff is also really useful when you're first getting into the fashion. So do some googling and find a nice white, black, or cream bag to match your coordinates!

       4) Cotton or fleece-lined tights

Maybe not so much for the Lolitas in super warm climates, but for everyone else, these are a must! Wearing Lolita in cold weather can be a challenge, so having warm legwear is essential. You can't really find printed tights in these fabrics, so solids are your only options. I suggest white or black again. You can get some at Sockdreams.com with free shipping!

Pro-tip: Sometimes you can only find leggings for the fleece option, but worry not! If you have a sewing machine you can just sew the bottom parts closed. It'll be a little bulky, but the fabric is stretchy and you can trim the seams.

       5) A parasol

I used to think parasols were just a giant waste of money, but my opinion has changed greatly. I've recently become worried about aging and getting wrinkles, so my opinion has flipped. A parasol is a perfect way to stay cool in the summer, and it keeps the sun away from your sensitive skin! 

Don't bother with the fabric ones, or the ones that will run if they get wet. What's the point of having (essentially) an umbrella that can't shield you from the rain? Also, you can sometimes get lucky and find ruffly umbrellas at Target or Walmart for super cheap. I have one white parasol from Target that's lasted me about 3 years now!

 So there we have it. Five things your Lolita wardrobe should not be without. 

Relatively Affordable

Originally posted October 12, 2o12

If you follow me on Tumblr you’ve probably seen these already, but I wanted to talk about them a bit more here. I’ve started up a series called ‘Relatively Affordable,’ where I put together coordinates that I try to keep under $170. Right now most of the items are from Bodyline and Fanplusfriend, but that’s because I don’t think it’s really fair to list things from Taobao when I can’t include the shopping service fees and what have you. Also, Qutieland is slightly more expensive than F+F, so there’s that.

The first one I did is for Steampunk lolita.

• OP
• Stockings
• Watch
• Shoes

As you can see, the cost comes to about $150. I’ve been in love with this dress since I first saw it and wanted to put something together for it. I’m rather proud of this coord, actually, despite the fact that it’s only made up of four pieces.

Next up we have sweet lolita:

• Hair Clip
• JSK
• Purse
• Socks
• Shoes
• Cardigan

This one is around $100. I actually own this JSK in blue and it’s really cute. I really like the cardigan because I don’t typically use them when I try to put together coords. I don’t know why, because they’re really cute.

The last one I’m going to show you was requested by someone on my tumblr:

• Skirt
• Blouse
• Shoes
• Socks
• Purse
• Beret
• Gloves

This one is the most expensive so far. I could have knocked about $20 off the total price if I went with a different pair of shoes, but the ones in the picture are just so damn cute. I want a pair in every color.

If you found these interesting or helpful at all, you can see more here. I might post some more of them here eventually, but right now I’m going to stick with posting all of them on Tumblr. If you have a request for a certain style, please let me know and I’ll do my best.