Hello Everyone! Today I'll be giving my thoughts on a very sad topic: The ending of Kera's print edition and the suspension of the Gothic & Lolita Bible (G&LB). I considered making a video on this topic, but since I don't currently have any editing software and I know there will be a lot of crying, I decided it would be best to stick to writing a blog article.
As many of us in the J-Fashion world have learned over the last few days, Kera and the Gothic & Lolita Bible will no longer be releasing printed magazines. After learning about Fruits magazine's cancelation earlier this month, this is coming as a very hard blow to many of us who have loved and collected these magazines over the years. While I only recently started to collect Kera and have one copy of G&LB, my original love for Lolita was due to a friend introducing me and my sister to the fashion and lending us copies of the English edition of G&LB to look through. I would never have gotten into Fairy Kei when I did if it hadn't been for my interest in Sweet Lolita and finding a more wearable option for day-to-day. Even though my introduction to Kera was within the past couple of years, it quickly became my favorite magazine and I was looking forward to getting more and more copies in the future. However, due to it's cancelation I won't be able to get any more after the last print issue comes out this month. I personally like having a physical copy to flip through when it comes to fashion magazines, though I can understand their decision to switch to a digital only copy due to the decrease in popularity of print media in general. I'm going to miss being able to collect new issues of Kera, though I will treasure the ones I have (especially the one with a street snap of Mana-sama).
So with the end of three of the most iconic J-Fashion magazines, what does that mean for Harajuku fashion? I at first presumed that their closures were merely due to printed media being less popular nowadays due to the internet allowing easy access to so many things, but I might have been wrong. After finding out about the end of the magazines, I saw a video by one of my favorite YouTubers, Cathy Cat, a German Lolita living and working in Japan, where she expressed her feelings on the matter. To summarize what she said in her video, the generation of Harajuku kids and Lolitas that started and promulgated many of the crazy, over-the-top styles that Harajuku is known for are getting older and changing to more demure styles that suit them better or completely giving up J-fashion to fit in better with the general populace. Because of that, those fashions are not as present in Harajuku as they once were because the younger generation aren't wearing them. Cathy Cat goes to Harajuku a lot for her and Kawaii Pateen's videos, so she gets to see what's going on there regularly and she said that she's seeing less and less bold fashion present in Harajuku. She ends her video stating that in order for these fashions to survive, the older J-fashion generations need to bring the younger generations into our fashions and stop discriminating based on experience in a style.
So, from what I've seen, I've gathered that Harajuku fashion isn't so much dying as changing. In the Keras I have as well as street snaps I see online, styles are getting more toned down and changing to more muted pallets instead of brighter colors like Decora or OTT Sweet Lolita tend to use. In the G&LB I got recently, I noticed almost everything in it was Gothic or Classic Lolita and seeing as how many of the original Lolitas I know of are getting along in age, OTT Sweet may not suit them as well as when they were younger. Even outside of Lolita, styles such as Cult Party Kei with more muted color pallets are getting more popular. Softer pastels are more in than bright colors as are black pieces and detailing. As to the end of Fruits, cancelation of Kera's print edition, and GL&B's suspension, these are most likely due to the drop in popularity of print media and could also be affected by the change in popular J-fashion present in Harajuku.
What do you guys think? What are your thoughts on the end of many J-fashion magazines and the style shift in Harajuku? Let me know in the comments below!
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Showing posts with label Decora. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Decora. Show all posts
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Lolita 52 Challenge: Combining Other Fashions with Lolita
Hello everyone! Today's Lolita 52 Challenge topic is combining other fashions with Lolita, which somewhat confuses me. I'm not entirely sure what this topic's asking for, but I'm guessing I'm supposed to talk about how to mix Lolita with other styles or mixing other styles into Lolita? So that's what I'm going to talk about.
So, as we all know, Lolita has a lot of "rules" or guidelines that make it what it is. Modest knecklines, skirts at the knee, cupcake shaped skirts, so how do you mix this in with a different style without it looking like you did a terrible job making a Lolita coordinate? I'm going to be talking about mixing Lolita pieces into three different non-Lolita styles: Goth, Decora, and Fairy Kei.
#1: Goth
So as many of us seasoned Lolitas know, Lolita started out with a lot of takeaways from Gothic and Visual Kei fashion. It's since grown and changed into its own separate thing, but there are still ties such as Gothic Lolita. Because of this, it's fairly easy to wear Lolita and still be consided to be wearing Goth clothing. However, much like Lolita, Goth fashion has many different substyles, so what works for Lolita might not always work for a different substyle of Goth. So let's work with just one of those styles, Romantic Goth. Rather than just say wear Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL) and sending you on your way, let's talk about what some things you can add to a typical Gothic Lolita outfit to make it have more of a Romantic Goth feel. First of all, choose a dress with a corset detailing on it and change the ribbon so it contrasts to create a more noticeable look or wear a skirt and blouse combo with a corset on top. Choose jewelry with black or dark jewel toned gems in it such as a choker and rings. If you're wearing a skirt or JSK, add a lace or chiffon blouse with flowing sleeves underneath. Choose a skirt with an asymmetrical or hi-low style cut or put a sheer to semi-sheer overskirt on over or under the skirt (but over the petticoats to retain the shape) to add more detail. Choose accessories such as lace gauntlets or gloves, fishnet or patterned black tights, and a coffin shaped purse. Shoes with a more pointed toe or a narrower rounded toe than teaparties would look best for this.
#2: Decora
Back when I was first getting into Lolita this new sub-style called Deco Lolita was just coming into style. It combined Lolita dresses with more than typical accessories, colorful wigs, and colored tennis shoes instead of mary janes or teaparties. Nowadays we have styles such as OTT Lolita (Over the top Lolita) that are accessory overload. What I want to talk about is taking Deco Lolita and revamping it by incorporating more modern Decora trends into a coordinate. One of the first things you can do is layering pieces differently. While Lolita tends to have a very put-together look, Decora can be all over the place. Try bringing that look into a coord by layering a skirt in a different colorway and print over a JSK, wearing a bulkier jacket, or having colorful petticoats peeking out from under a skirt or even on top! Rather than the typical OTT layering of accessories, try adding pieces in different colors from your main pieces. Add bulky bangles, watches, legwarmers, and lots of hair clips to your coordinate. Also, similar to the Deco Lolita of old, wear brightly colored tennis shoes, fuzzy slippers, or platforms instead of typical Lolita footwear.
#3: Fairy Kei
Fairy Kei definitely uses Lolita pieces a fair amount, so let's talk about adding Fairy Kei to Lolita! Obviously there's Sweet Lolita and Casual Lolita, but I want to talk about ways to make a Lolita coord that stands apart from those and resembles Fairy Kei more. My first recommendation for this is to incorporate typical 80s cartoon characters from Fairy Kei into a coordinate and avoid prints if you don't have one with these characters on it. For example, wear a cutsew with My Little Pony or Carebears over a blouse, add accessories with little characters on them, or even carry a plush with you. Another idea is to wear the typical colorful Fairy Kei tutus rather than a skirt (though a longer length would be best) or layer them over your skirt instead of having petticoats under your skirt. Like with the Decora look, wearing colorful tennis shoes instead of typical Lolita shoes would add to the look. Be careful to keep typically Lolita elements such as skirt shape and blouses in mind to help ensure your outfit looks more Lolita with a Fairy Kei twist rather than just Fairy Kei using Lolita pieces.
What do you guys think? Would you try any of these looks out? Let me know, and be sure to post a picture on my facebook if you do any of these!
Go like and follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/CelesteChoCho
Subscribe to me on Youtube: WatashiWaChoCho
See my shameless spamming: @ChoChoButterfly
Peruse my wares: animelolitacouture.storenvy.com
So, as we all know, Lolita has a lot of "rules" or guidelines that make it what it is. Modest knecklines, skirts at the knee, cupcake shaped skirts, so how do you mix this in with a different style without it looking like you did a terrible job making a Lolita coordinate? I'm going to be talking about mixing Lolita pieces into three different non-Lolita styles: Goth, Decora, and Fairy Kei.
#1: Goth
So as many of us seasoned Lolitas know, Lolita started out with a lot of takeaways from Gothic and Visual Kei fashion. It's since grown and changed into its own separate thing, but there are still ties such as Gothic Lolita. Because of this, it's fairly easy to wear Lolita and still be consided to be wearing Goth clothing. However, much like Lolita, Goth fashion has many different substyles, so what works for Lolita might not always work for a different substyle of Goth. So let's work with just one of those styles, Romantic Goth. Rather than just say wear Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL) and sending you on your way, let's talk about what some things you can add to a typical Gothic Lolita outfit to make it have more of a Romantic Goth feel. First of all, choose a dress with a corset detailing on it and change the ribbon so it contrasts to create a more noticeable look or wear a skirt and blouse combo with a corset on top. Choose jewelry with black or dark jewel toned gems in it such as a choker and rings. If you're wearing a skirt or JSK, add a lace or chiffon blouse with flowing sleeves underneath. Choose a skirt with an asymmetrical or hi-low style cut or put a sheer to semi-sheer overskirt on over or under the skirt (but over the petticoats to retain the shape) to add more detail. Choose accessories such as lace gauntlets or gloves, fishnet or patterned black tights, and a coffin shaped purse. Shoes with a more pointed toe or a narrower rounded toe than teaparties would look best for this.
#2: Decora
Back when I was first getting into Lolita this new sub-style called Deco Lolita was just coming into style. It combined Lolita dresses with more than typical accessories, colorful wigs, and colored tennis shoes instead of mary janes or teaparties. Nowadays we have styles such as OTT Lolita (Over the top Lolita) that are accessory overload. What I want to talk about is taking Deco Lolita and revamping it by incorporating more modern Decora trends into a coordinate. One of the first things you can do is layering pieces differently. While Lolita tends to have a very put-together look, Decora can be all over the place. Try bringing that look into a coord by layering a skirt in a different colorway and print over a JSK, wearing a bulkier jacket, or having colorful petticoats peeking out from under a skirt or even on top! Rather than the typical OTT layering of accessories, try adding pieces in different colors from your main pieces. Add bulky bangles, watches, legwarmers, and lots of hair clips to your coordinate. Also, similar to the Deco Lolita of old, wear brightly colored tennis shoes, fuzzy slippers, or platforms instead of typical Lolita footwear.
#3: Fairy Kei
Fairy Kei definitely uses Lolita pieces a fair amount, so let's talk about adding Fairy Kei to Lolita! Obviously there's Sweet Lolita and Casual Lolita, but I want to talk about ways to make a Lolita coord that stands apart from those and resembles Fairy Kei more. My first recommendation for this is to incorporate typical 80s cartoon characters from Fairy Kei into a coordinate and avoid prints if you don't have one with these characters on it. For example, wear a cutsew with My Little Pony or Carebears over a blouse, add accessories with little characters on them, or even carry a plush with you. Another idea is to wear the typical colorful Fairy Kei tutus rather than a skirt (though a longer length would be best) or layer them over your skirt instead of having petticoats under your skirt. Like with the Decora look, wearing colorful tennis shoes instead of typical Lolita shoes would add to the look. Be careful to keep typically Lolita elements such as skirt shape and blouses in mind to help ensure your outfit looks more Lolita with a Fairy Kei twist rather than just Fairy Kei using Lolita pieces.
What do you guys think? Would you try any of these looks out? Let me know, and be sure to post a picture on my facebook if you do any of these!
Go like and follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/CelesteChoCho
Subscribe to me on Youtube: WatashiWaChoCho
See my shameless spamming: @ChoChoButterfly
Peruse my wares: animelolitacouture.storenvy.com
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Product Reviews: Violle Ville
Hello everyone! So recently I was given the opportunity to review some items from the online store Violle Ville (she can be found on Storenvy or Etsy). I'm going to be going through the whole process, from buying to recieving. Enjoy!
Storefront
After receiving the offer, I went to check out what all was available for sale in Violle ville's shop. She has a wide variety of items for sale from bags, accessories, plushies, and phone cases. Having just gotten a phone case and having a bit of a spending limit, I decided to purchase some accessories. While the storefront was a little difficult to browse due to Storenvy's annoying feature of showing everything that's out of stock, I had a little trouble finding some items I liked the look of that were still in stock. I eventually settled on the Mini plate of sweets necklace in blue, Hearts and Bows necklace in pink, Marshmallow necklace, and a Mini Alpaca plush.
Shipping
Shipping was from Israel and took 17 days, about two and a half weeks, to get to me after ordering. Everything shipped out the day after I ordered them and arrived well withing the 2-4 week span predicted for shipping on her website.
Receiving and Packaging
When the package arrived in the mail, I had to sign for it as it was registered mail. I was a bit worried when I saw the package as it was a fairly weak material and already had a rather large tear in it. Everything inside was alright though as the alpaca plush was in a plastic bag and all of the necklaces were in a little jewelry box wrapped up in bubble wrap with a business card on top.
Products
So the first and most obvious item in the package was the alpaca plush I'd ordered: an Arupakuso! He's very cute, soft, and cudly. I love his little smile, and he's the perfect hugging size!
Also inside the packaging was the little gift box with bubble wrap and a business card around it. Upon opening the bubble wrap around the gift box, I saw that it was a very cute, dark blue box with a little ribbon and bow detail on it.
Upon opening ther box, I saw that all of the necklaces I'd ordered were safely in there as well as a couple extras included as free gifts! I got a Pastel Purple Heart necklace and a cute little fruit Tart necklace.
All of the necklaces were very cute! The chains and clasps are all good quality and didn't look to be in need of fixing with my pliers. All of the pieces are well made and don't look like they'll be coming apart anytime soon with proper care. I was very happy to see that the parts of the pendants were all glued firmly together as well as to the bails (the loop backings), so I'm not worried about the pieces falling apart. I wore the Heats and Bows and Mini Plate of Sweets necklace together the following day and had no problems with them falling apart, breaking, tangling themselves on my hair, or having the annoying grey marks from the coating coming off like with a lot of inexpensive jewelry nowadays.
Final Thoughts
I'm super happy with my order from Violle ville! Other than the torn package, everything was great from her comunication to the final products! I would definitely consider ordering from her again in the future and would reccomend Violle ville to anyone looking for some super cute accessories, clothes, or plushies. I'm looking forward to wearing these cute necklaces all the time with Fairy Kei, Decora, and maybe even Sweet Lolita coords!
Check me out on Twitter: @animlolicouture
I've got a Facebook page: facebook.com/CelesteChoCho
Storefront
After receiving the offer, I went to check out what all was available for sale in Violle ville's shop. She has a wide variety of items for sale from bags, accessories, plushies, and phone cases. Having just gotten a phone case and having a bit of a spending limit, I decided to purchase some accessories. While the storefront was a little difficult to browse due to Storenvy's annoying feature of showing everything that's out of stock, I had a little trouble finding some items I liked the look of that were still in stock. I eventually settled on the Mini plate of sweets necklace in blue, Hearts and Bows necklace in pink, Marshmallow necklace, and a Mini Alpaca plush.
Shipping
Shipping was from Israel and took 17 days, about two and a half weeks, to get to me after ordering. Everything shipped out the day after I ordered them and arrived well withing the 2-4 week span predicted for shipping on her website.
Receiving and Packaging
When the package arrived in the mail, I had to sign for it as it was registered mail. I was a bit worried when I saw the package as it was a fairly weak material and already had a rather large tear in it. Everything inside was alright though as the alpaca plush was in a plastic bag and all of the necklaces were in a little jewelry box wrapped up in bubble wrap with a business card on top.
 |
| Front of the package |
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| Back of the package |
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| Detail of the tear (appologies for bluriness) |
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| What was inside! |
Products
So the first and most obvious item in the package was the alpaca plush I'd ordered: an Arupakuso! He's very cute, soft, and cudly. I love his little smile, and he's the perfect hugging size!
.jpg) |
| Ain't he a little cutie? |
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| Violle ville's business card taped securely to the bubble wrap |
 |
| Underneath all that bubble wrap! |
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| Inside the box |
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| All the necklaces lined up! |
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| Hearts and Bows necklace |
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| Mini Plate of Sweets, blue necklace |
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| Marshmallow necklace |
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| Tart necklace |
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| Pastel Purple Heart necklace |
Final Thoughts
I'm super happy with my order from Violle ville! Other than the torn package, everything was great from her comunication to the final products! I would definitely consider ordering from her again in the future and would reccomend Violle ville to anyone looking for some super cute accessories, clothes, or plushies. I'm looking forward to wearing these cute necklaces all the time with Fairy Kei, Decora, and maybe even Sweet Lolita coords!
Check me out on Twitter: @animlolicouture
I've got a Facebook page: facebook.com/CelesteChoCho
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