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?

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. 

Two dresses and a blouse

Originally posted September 11, 2014

It’s about time I got around to making this post. These are some of the projects I’ve finished working on. I’ve also finished a pair of thigh highs, a dress and a blouse for my friend, and a few little hair accessories but I don’t have pictures of those.

First up: Navy pleated dress

This dress has large pleats, a pocket, and a side zipper. I like the boatneck style a lot and I think this dress is super pretty even while being fairly simple. It was super hot when we went out so there’s not too much to this coord.

A close up. You can see the pattern of my gloves better here. I got them at an antique store. They’re very nice.

Here are Dezzi and I being adorable on a train ride.

Next up: Green dress with a pussybow blouse

I absolutely adore this dress. I think it’s a great example of my sewing having improved tremendously. It’s finally fall so I can wear it with tights, a blouse, and my super warm capelet!

Here I am without the capelet. The blouse has a bow and gathered tulip sleeves. It’s made out of a white swiss dot fabric that’s very soft.

The dress has two pockets and a back zipper that I am very proud of! I think I’m finally getting the hang of zippers.

Here’s a picture of the blouse by itself. It’s the first cotton blouse I’ve made (I’m more comfortable with knit blouses) but I think it came out okay. I certainly learned a lot while working on it.

Bonus picture of me with a funny expression:

That’s all for now!

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.