Lolita 52 Challenge: Plan for a Trip!

Hello everyone! Today I'm back with another Lolita 52 Challenge topic: Plan for a trip! A week's worth of Lolita outfits I can fit in a small suitcase. I'll be going over this from the perspective of what I own as well as a more generalized perspective. For both I'll be planning a Spring-time trip, so temperate weather with no heavy coats needed.


 First up, how would I pack for a week with my current wardrobe. Since I only really have three Lolita dresses and a couple skirts, I would begin by laying them all out on my bed to decide on tops and accessories. Since I generally travel somewhere with access to a washer and dryer, I'd be able to get away with bringing my one blouse as well as camisoles for underneath, a nightgown, and my two cardigans and sweater as tops. Then I'd just alternate which days I'd have to wear a blouse with days I can wear a cardigan or my OP. For petticoats, I'd bring my two hand-made ones as well as a couple of the longer party store ones I have. Shoes, I would bring my tea parties, a pair of white heels, and my white boots (in case it rains). If weather was expected to be especially sunny or I planned on going to a beach, I would pack my white sandals instead of boots. I'd bring my white heart-shaped purse and pastel Ita bag as well. For accessories, I'd bring socks or tights as needed, my bloomers and spandex shorts, wristcuffs, and any necklaces, bracelets, and earrings I decided on for each coordinate. Most of my pieces come with a detachable bow or matching headbow, so hair accessories are simple, but I would bring some small pastel bows too if I didn't feel like wearing a larger bow that day. I'd also bring a colorful umbrella in case it rains or I need to shield myself from the sun.


 For a non-specific wardrobe, we're going to assume that all of the pieces are either all in the same style or two different styles that can interchange basic accessories (like a simple white blouse). I would recommend packing two versatile JSKs and two skirts along with two or three blouses and two cardigans that work for all of the pieces and a cutsew that goes with one of the skirts. I'm also going to assume all of these pieces have similar lengths for the sake of this example, so two to four petticoats that can be easily packed down depending on the level of poof your skirts allow. (As an example, I generally only require two since I have larger hips and don't want a large amount of poof due to shorter skirts. However, someone with smaller hips or longer, classical skirts might need four to have a proper silhouette for their style.) In addition to these, two pairs of Lolita shoes that can work for two or more of the main pieces each and a weather specific pair of shoes (like boots or sandals) if needed. Otherwise three pairs of typical Lolita shoes, like teaparties, in colors that work with the main pieces. For accessories, I'd do the same as for my example, matching or coordinating headbows and/or smaller hair accessories, and necklaces and other pieces that work for each coordinate. In addition to those, any bloomers, shorts, camisoles, etc. needed for the wearer's comfort and a compact parasol or umbrella as needed.


What would you pack from your wardrobe for a week-long trip? Let me know in the comments!


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I Have Nothing To Wear!

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to be talking to something that happens to many of us all too frequently: Looking at all the clothing strewn about one's room after trying on a bunch of different items and going: "I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!" This is a bit of a follow-up to my wardrobe building series of posts (Part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4) since I've had plenty of time to build a new wardrobe. I recommend you read them first if you haven't already, since they're the foundation for this post. Otherwise, let's go!

 So I said I had plenty of time to build a wardrobe, right? So why am I saying I have nothing to wear now? Well ya see, there's this thing called changing seasons and not planning ahead because who wants to buy a sweater when it's so hot and humid you don't want to even think about leaving your nice, air conditioned room? So, thanks to my planning, I was able to build a very nice Spring and Summer wardrobe, but now the weather is turning and I have no idea what to wear anymore. So what's a fashionista to do?

#1: Re-evaluate your style preferences.
 Alright, so maybe you had the perfect, pastel Fairy Kei wardrobe for warmer weather. Do you want to keep wearing pastels in Fall and Winter though? Or do you want to indulge your inner Goth or rockstar and switch things up completely? It's time to go visit the mall or thrift store and try on everything you can again. I would suggest avoiding buying anything the first few times or keep purchases small and limited to things you already wanted for your wardrobe. If you want to try wearing a different style from what you already own, try to limit your purchases to main pieces that aren't too expensive so you aren't impacting your budget too heavily. *cough*totally did that*cough* Try wearing the new style you're trying for a few days in a row using what you have and any additions you got to see if it's really something you want to wear that'll make you happy.

Here's what happened for me: I have a very cute, pastel versatile wardrobe based around Fairy Kei for the Spring and Summer. When the weather started getting colder, I decided to start wearing Goth fashion more to go with the changing colors of fashion. However, I found myself still wanting to wear my Fairy Kei outfits more than Goth or jewel toned items. I've decided I want to start wearing Lolita more often due to its built in layers as well as ease of layering underneath as well as some warmer Fairy Kei based outfits with some off-white pieces mixed in.

#2: Decide what additions your wardrobe needs.
 Now's the time to go through your wardrobe and pull out all the out-of-season clothing you've been hiding away. Can you make your new style plans work with what you already have, or are you going to have to sell off all your sweaters or shorts and buy new ones? This is a good time to evaluate condition as well as if it fits your wardrobe, so if you have an item that's got a ton of holes and snags that aren't supposed to be there, now is the time to throw it away or fix it. (If you have a sweater that's just shrunk in the dryer, you can stretch it back out with some work. I found this tutorial extremely helpful when recovering a cashmere sweater.) Make a list of any items you feel you need to make your wardrobe more complete and wearable during the changing seasons.

 Since I'm keeping my wardrobe mainly pastel, but still need to stay warm, I decided to talk to some of my fashion friends in the area and see what they do to stay warm as well as re-watch Lovely Lor's Lolita Fashion in Extreme Weather video for ideas. I decided I needed some layering pieces as well as some patterned statement pieces (my wardrobe's mostly solid color), a long sleeved blouse, and some comfy, yet cute shoes that will survive snow.

#3: Go forth and buy.
 Now's the time to start buying the additions your wardrobe needs. Try and get more basic or generic pieces from places like Target, Walmart, or thrift stores (or your country's equivalent) in order to have more money to spend on the main pieces. Probably most of us don't have the money to go buying 1000 bucks worth of Angelic Pretty dresses new, so look into less expensive alternatives. There's a lot of US and international sales groups on Facebook, you just have to search for the type of fashion you're interested in along with sales. (In addition, if you're already in a few sales groups, Facebook will suggest some similar groups in the side bar while you're browsing that group.) Lace Market, eBay, and Storenvy are some good places to look for used or less expensive pieces and there's always Bodyline for inexpensive pieces.

 I want a couple statement pieces with prints, but I very much do NOT have $400 to drop on used Angelic Pretty or Baby the Stars Shine Bright dresses, so I'm considering a couple Bodyline JSKs as well as searching through Lace Market for some less expensive pieces. I also want a long sleeved blouse and colorful socks which can also be found on those sites. I've already got one short sleeved blouse on the way which, even though it's not great for Winter, is something I've been wanting to add to my wardrobe since my current short sleeved blouse is a bit big on me.

 I hope you all have fun with dressing for the changing seasons and that I've given you some ideas to help avoid over-spending!

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Lolita Level up!

Hello everyone! While I'm not as much into Lolita on a day-to-day basis, I still very much enjoy the style and enjoy wearing it for meetups and a toned down version of it for church. Because of this, I've been trying to build my Lolita wardrobe up a bit and have been learning mostly by trial and error, but also through some guides and suggestions I've found online. One of these resources was a "Leveling up in Lolita" video I watched. Unfortunately, I didn't really agree with a lot of the choices (my pink and blue based wardrobe does not need a red beret), so I decided to do my own version! (Read: This is going to be a rather long post.) You can see the original video here.

Level 1 Lolita!

 As a beginner to Lolita, you may not wear Lolita very often or just not have the money to make a full wardrobe yet. This is a good time to experiment with different pieces to see what you like better. I would suggest going with Bodyline or a Taobao brand at this point, especially if you aren't sure it's something you'll be sticking with. Second hand brand is always a good choice if that's what you want though. I think having one full outfit with the basics of a Lolita wardrobe is the best choice at this point. This includes:

• Blouse
• Something simple and white is a good first choice, especially if you don't know what substyle you want to wear yet. Try to find one that has convertible sleeves so you can wear the same blouse in warmer and cooler weather.
• Main piece
• This can be a JSK (strapped dress), OP (sleeved dress), or skirt. A simple JSK is a good idea so you can have more styling options without having to worry about putting puffed sleeves under other items such as cardigans. Skirts can also be good for more options, but JSKs can also hide a flawed, short, or not entirely Lolita blouse more. (My first blouse was a handmade one that was too short to wear by itself, so I could only wear it under my JSK since it covered the shortness.)
• Petticoat
• Most of the common substyles in Lolita require a certain silhouette that is obtained by wearing a petticoat underneath your dress or skirt. Make sure to get one in the right shape (usually bell or A-line) as well as length. Ideally, a petticoat should be an inch or so shorter than the hem of your skirt to avoid it poking out anywhere as well as an oddly shaped skirt from a too-short petti. Try to get a higher quality petticoat if you can afford it rather than several cheaper ones that will "deflate" or loose their poof over a short period of time. Also be careful to not get too poofy of a petti as it can make a skirt look odd. Make sure to take into account your figure as well as if you're curvier like me, you won't need as much floof as someone with more petite hips.
• Bloomers
• For me, bloomers is an absolute must because if I just wear a skirt, I will get a nasty rash from my legs rubbing together as I walk. Even if you don't get official bloomers, I'd recommend some light shorts or spandex shorts to wear under your skirt in case it gets blown up or something similar.
• Loliable Accessories
• When first getting into Lolita, I'd recommend getting shoes, socks, head accessories, and bags from non-Lolita sellers as they will be easier to work into your daily outfits and not so over the top. (This is presuming you're starting from T-shirts and Jeans or a similar "regular" style as opposed to an alternative style. If you already have an alternative style such as Fairy Kei or Gothic, you can by all means get items that suit both styles. Alternatively, if you're changing your daily wardrobe to a more elaborate look like Fairy Kei, you can get more over the top accessories as well.)

While in Level 1, I'd highly recommend doing lots of experimentation with cheaper brands such as Bodyline, especially if you're still defining your style. Even with a lot of virtual research, you can't entirely determine if a certain cut will lay oddly on you or if a certain piece will still look good on you even if you're just 2 cm under the max. If you can, find friends or shops who will let you try on pieces they have so you can get a better idea of how different pieces will look on you. I began tending more towards Gothic Lolita, but over time I've realized that I really like Sweet Lolita and prefer the Old School look over more current trends which tend to be more over the top than I personally like.

Level 2~

 In level two, you've got a basic coordinate down and want to add more Lolita pieces to your wardrobe to mix things up more and maybe add another main piece or two to your wardrobe so you can have more outfits to wear.

• Second main piece
• This can, again, be a JSK, OP, or skirt. I would recommend getting something different from your first piece for more variety. For example, if you got a skirt originally, get a JSK or OP, a JSK, a OP or skirt, etc. You can, of course, stick with whatever your original main piece choice was if you like it, but at Level 2 you still have room to experiment a lot since you're still defining your style. You can always sell or trade a piece if you end up not liking the style.
• Weather specific wear
• This can vary depending on what sort of an environment you live in. If you live somewhere cold, you might want to get a jacket or coat. It can also be a parasol and sunglasses if it's constantly sunny or umbrella and boots if you live somewhere with lots of rain.
• Lolita specific bag and shoes
• By this point, you've probably gotten an idea of what sort of shoes and bag you like with Lolita, so it's time to invest in a bag and shoes! I personally like heels with Lolita, so I plan on getting some heeled Tea Parties (I'm still kinda in Level 2...). You can also get a cute purse in a shape of your choosing, such as a heart, candy, bat wings, or a book that goes with your Lolita style. Emphasis on matching your Lolita style. You don't want to have the starts of a Gothic wardrobe and get a pastel candy shaped bag, unless you intend to build a more Bittersweet wardrobe (a mix of pastels and black, usually pastel prints in black colorways).
• Lolita specific headgear
• Be it the matching headbow, that tricorn hat to complete your Pirate ensemble, or an Old School rectangular headdress to complete your transformation into Momoko from Kamikaze (biker friend not included), a Lolita specific head piece is a great next step in building your wardrobe. If you already have one from level one, try to get one or two more pieces to complement your style. So if you got the matching headbow on Lacemarket with your first JSK, get a piece that goes with your print, like a rose with some little crystals on a  head clip for Angelic Pretty's Rose Toilette. Alternatively, get a different type of head accessory like a winter hat or beret.
• More Lolita specific Accessories
• This can include Lolita specific socks and tights, wrist cuffs, that Doki Doki 6% star clip you've seen everyone wearing, or gloves. Depending on weather and your style, these can vary significantly. I personally don't like how regular knee highs look on me (the traditional Lolita socks that end just under the knee), so I mostly stick to over-the-knee socks (OTKs) or tight.

Level 3!

 By this point, you're looking to add some more pieces to your wardrobe to add more variety or to add some more special pieces. You should be able to wear Lolita in colder weather or warmer weather without much problem. You likely have decided on the substyle or styles you like the best by this point as well as what sort of pieces you like.

• Special occasion piece
• Now that you're fairly settled in your style, you can get a fancier piece, maybe a dream dress, that's too luxurious to wear on a day to day basis, but great for special meetups and events. It may be something chiffon with lots of layers and delicate lace, or it could be a very noticeable print like Sugary Carnival (one of the more notable prints from Angelic Pretty that just about every Sweet Lolita wants) that tends to run more expensive than other prints due to its rareness.
• Wigs
• While I personally tend to wear my natural hair with Lolita, many Lolitas opt for wigs. If you don't have any, I would recommend getting at least one high quality Lolita wig that's a different cut and color from your natural hair. For example, I have short blonde hair currently (why did I ever cut it!) and I recently wore a long, curly black wig with a Old School Gothic coordinate. I also have several other wigs, but mostly for day-to-day fashions and cosplays rather than Lolita.
• Not your style piece
• Why would I want a piece that's not in my style? You ask. I personally recommend having at least one piece that's not your regular style just to add variety to your wardrobe. It's also nice to have different styles for days you just aren't feeling like wearing your typical style. For this reason, I have several Gothic pieces in a mainly Sweet wardrobe, but you can also go for something less everyday such as Guro or Ero Lolita. Also, if you mostly wear dresses, maybe try out Kodona or Ouji Lolita, both of which are more elegant, masculine styles.

Level Momoko

 If you've watched Kamikaze girl, you know exactly what this means.

• Baby the Stars Shine Bright EVERYTHING
• Momoko's wardrobe is completely Baby. If you're like me, this is your ultimate goal. If you don't like Baby, there's something wrong with you. This includes your socks. No off-brand socks for you.
• Biker gang friend
• If you don't have a biker friend already, find one now. She'll think you're really weird and boring, but no matter how you try, she won't leave you alone.
• Everything must be cute and feminine
• No hockey for you. You'd much rather go to a tea house and read your book on Victorian maidens.

Level Off-Brand Princess

 This is the truly cheapskate Lolita. One that saves money and has a huge, off-brand wardrobe full of Bodyline, Taobao, and the dreaded replica. You could buy that one Brand dress, or you could buy three Bodyline dresses and a replica purse instead for the same price.

• No Brand allowed
• Unless you consider Bodyline and Taobao to be brand. You won't pay more than $60 for a JSK or OP, and chances are you'll buy it second hand off of Lacemarket or wait for Bodyline to have a sale with free shipping and use the yen trick to save even more money.
• Replicas are money savers
• You call it art theft, I call it building my wardrobe with custom sized pieces at reasonable prices.
• Bodyline is love, Bodyline is life
• Need I say any more? You worship Mr. Yan, but that pillow case is still weird. And no, you won't marry him.

Well everyone, I hope enjoyed my version of Lolita levels! If you didn't already figure it out, the last two levels are jokes. I've never seen anyone who's as obsessed with the lifestyle and fashion as much as Momoko in real life and even folks who tend towards off-brand pieces such as myself or Princess Peachy on YouTube are still interested in Angelic Pretty and Baby the Stars Shine Bright and either own or want to own Brand pieces, just may not be able to afford them for the time being.

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Lolita on a Budget: Classic Lolita

For some of us, we love the Lolita style, but just can't see ourselves in all of those frills, cupcakes, and bows. But what can a girl do if she's still interested in wearing Lolita? The answer is Classic Lolita which makes use of darker colors and A-line dresses to achieve a look that's more mature, but still Lolita. This look is also good for Lolitas that are getting older and realizing that their suggary rainbows and pony print dress is a little too over the top for them. This is a simple look that can be achieved with a few pieces from Bodyline! as well as some other items. The total price for the Bodyline! elements of this outfit is $127 plus shipping and handling. Here we go!

The main part of this look is an elegant floral print dress available in multiple colors to match with how you look. If you look good in deep jewel colors, the maroon dress is the one that would best suit you. But if you look better in natural colors, like tans and browns, the brown dress is the best one for you. The bright red dress would be best worn if you look good in bright colors. For the shoes, a more classical look is better as rounder toes have a more youthful look to them. These pumps are still cute, but also more mature with a slightly lower heel and a more pointed toe as opposed to the majority of Lolita heels offered. The last item from Bodyline! for this look is a simple off white headband with pearl and rose accents. As an alternative, one can wear a simple flower hair accessory in a natural color or a fresh rose if you have access to one (watch out for those thorns! be sure to remove them before putting the flower in your hair). To finish this look off, wear a pair of opaque off white tights and some off white pearl accessories such as a layered choker and bracelet. Try not to go over the top with accessories with this style of Lolita. You want to look mature and put together for this look, not drowning in a sea of plastic beads and pink kittens. Not that there's anything wrong with that as long as the rest of your outfit fits in with them. I hope you enjoy this look!

All of the items in this outfit plus more in this style can be found on the Bodyline website. No pictures due to the fact that I haven't received permission to use Bodyline!'s images. Check me out on Twitter.

My First Convention Experience

So, even though I've been going to conventions for a few years now, I thought it'd be nice to write about my first time ever going to a convention. It was a fairly small Anime convention not especially far from where I lived (from my perspective at least). When I first started going to anime conventions, I wasn't very much into anime. Sure I'd seen some anime episodes and read some mangas, but I wasn't totally banzai fangirl over it. I'd never really dressed up in costume outside of Halloween and dance performances that I'd been doing for a major part of my life at that point. Maybe it was because of my dance career, but I felt that it was necessary to dress up for the convention, even if it wasn't cosplay. I appreciate that not everybody feels comfortable wearing costumes outside of Halloween, so I've never felt the need to force everyone to dress up for conventions. I personally just feel it makes it more fun.

Another thing that I've done since I started attending conventions is wear different outfits every day that I go to the con. In previous years I've gone so far as to wear two to three different costumes in a day. My fist time going to a convention wasn't quite that elaborate though. I went to the con two different days, so I wore two different outfits. The first one was a cute China dress I'd gotten to wear for a birthday party a few years prior along with a sash and a shirt underneath. The second day I wore a Lolita-like outfit I'd put together. It consisted of a black A-line skirt I'd hemmed to knee length, a white polo shirt, some lace and roses I had lying around, some quickly made wrist cuffs, and a cute teddy bear that I had wearing a Gothic Lolita like dress. (The bear can be seen modeling my Mini Cherry Tophat here.) Unfortunately, I don't know where any pictures of either of my outfits are at this point in time, but I'll be sure to post them when I get the chance.

As you can probably guess, I didn't really get any compliments on my outfits, no one recognized me from such and so an anime, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed seeing everyone else's cosplays and outfits and had fun despite my lack of experience cosplaying. So this is to anyone who's never been to a convention before and is unsure if they have to dress up: Do whatever you want. If you feel comfortable dressing up in a costume in public, go for it. If not, don't worry. There's plenty of people who wear a anime themed T-shirt or a colorful wig and call it good. There's nothing wrong with that. There's also plenty of low quality cosplays. You don't have to look like Yaya Han to have fun cosplaying, just go for it and have fun. Have fun at any future conventions you choose to attend, Anime, Sci-fi, fantasy, or what have you and don't feel like you have to have an amazing costume to have fun.

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Lolita on a Budjet: Hime Lolita

Who doesn't want to be a princess at some point in their life? As girls, many of us dream of being a princess and with Hime, or Princess Lolita we can make dreams reality! Hime Lolita is definitely a extravagant style, so it can be fun to wear on occasions when one feels like going the extra mile to look glamorous. Perfect princess hair and makeup is only part of the look, and here I'll show you an affordable Hime Lolita look using items from Bodyline! This outfit costs $114 to $167 plus shipping and handling.

The base of a Hime Lolita look is always an elaborate dress. I feel that this pink flared sleeve dress is perfect for the Hime style and it's got the added benefit of removable sleeves, making it so you can wear it as a Sweet Lolita dress as well. And what outfit is complete without a great pair of shoes to go with it? These ribboned heels are pretty and cute and give you an extra boost of height for that added confidence as you stroll along. I felt that a pair of lacy tights would work best with this look and was pleased to find that Bodyline! offers cute bow patterned tights. For that extra touch of glam, a pair of pink lace and bow nails is just the perfect touch. And for icing on the cupcake, put on a cute flower headpiece that is elegant and cute. Or you can glam it up and get a tiara, which unfortunately can't be gotten from Bodyline!, but can be easily found at stores around Prom season. Not everybody has perfect Hime Lolita hair or the time to do their hair up, so if that's you you can also get a Hime wig from Bodyline! in just about any color you want! I hope you enjoy this Hime Lolita outfit.

All of the items in this outfit plus more in this style can be found on the Bodyline website. No pictures due to the fact that I haven't received permission to use Bodyline!'s images. Check me out on Twitter.

Lolita on a Budjet: Gothic Lolita

 Gothic Lolita is the first Lolita style I tried and today is one of my favorites.The one thing I dislike about Gothic Lolita is that it lacks bright colors, so I enjoy wearing other styles of Lolita as well. For this Gothic Lolita outfit I chose to do an outfit that's mainly black with white accents to keep the outfit from looking too dark. For those that prefer an all black Gothic or Kuro Lolita, I'll do an outfit later on for that style. This outfit costs $120 plus shipping and handling. Let's go!

The most important part of any Lolita ensemble is, of course, the dress or, in this case the jumper. For this outfit I chose a ruffled jumper that comes with a matching katayusha, or head bow. I love that this jumper's cute yet inexpensive and that it comes with a head bow as well making for even more savings. For a blouse to wear under the jumper, I felt that the ladder race blouse in white would be the best since it allows one to wear the sleeves long or short making it a very versatile blouse. Since it's a white blouse it can also be used with many ensembles or by itself with a pair of jeans if you want a casual but cute look for every day wear. I thought that over the knee socks would look best with this look, but a cute pair of lacy white tights could be substituted for a more mature look or to keep your legs warm in winter. I love how cute all of Bodyline's shoes are and these are no exception! The triple bow shoes in black are very cute and I love the little heart shaped clasps on them. To top it all off, I thought that adding a few cute rings would be nice. My favorite ones are the black crystal rose and bow rings. Now add a petticoat and a pair of bloomers and you're good to go! I hope you enjoy this look and look forward to more in the future! Bodyline! is always adding new items, so there's sure to be more looks in this and other styles in the future.

All of the items in this outfit plus more in this style can be found on the Bodyline website. No pictures due to the fact that I haven't received permission to use Bodyline!'s images. Check me out on Twitter.

Gothic & Lolita Kodona Blouse

A while back I got a blouse pattern from Miss Carlyfornia out of a Gothic & Lolita Bible she owns. The blouse was part of a Kodona Lolita (Boy style) ensemble that included a frill, ribbon, and belts for the sleeves of the blouse as well as a pair of shorts. Seeing as how I barely fit extra large Japanese size blouses, I doubted I'd fit the shorts pattern so I only copied the blouse pattern. A little while back I took the time to actually make the blouse that was in the instructions since I'd only used the bodice of the blouse to make a puff sleeved sailor collar blouse. This time I altered the pattern to make it slightly longer as well as making the modifications called for in the pattern to give the blouse tails and enough space in the front to make it a button up blouse. Fortunately the alterations all turned out well and I was able to assemble the pattern fairly easily. My main struggles were with the sleeves, as they were in three different sections and I'd sized the middle section a little off, and the collar, which was a style I'd never done before. The buttons were also a little difficult making sure that they were positioned properly, but the part that brought me the most grief was the button holes. This is mainly because I'd never done button holes on a sewing machine before, but also due to the fact that the pieces for button holes decided to stop working for no evident reason partway through several of the button holes. Overall, the blouse turned out really nicely and it fits very well.

I'm wearing my new blouse with a ribbon at the collar and my loliable skirt in the image above. The blouse also works really nicely with my Gothic Lolita Pinafore by Miss Carlyfornia.

All images are by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.

Lolita on a Budget: Punk Lolita

Punk Lolita is probably my least favorite Lolita, but that is mainly due to the fact that I'm not especially good at putting together punk outfits. Also it's partly due to personal preference since I prefer more cute styles of clothing. Here I've done my best to put together a Punk Lolita outfit using clothing from Bodyline! exclusively. The total for this outfit is $142 plus shipping and handling. Let's go!

The asymmetrical skirt, in blue and black, is one of my favorite parts of the outfit as I like the way that the blue underskirt stands out from the black over skirt. The blouse was a little difficult to decide on, but I eventually found one that I thought would work nicely. This ruffled vampy blouse  in off white is very elegant, but still works for a punkish look. To add a bit of color to the top I chose to use this dark blue ruffled pin at the neckline of the blouse over the ruffle. For a slightly Gothic feel, I decided to pair the outfit with a pair of spiderweb print tights, but a pair of lacy black tights could be substituted as well if spiderwebs aren't your thing. My next favorite part of this outfit is the shoes, chunky heels with chain accents. I love how these shoes retain the more innocent look of the mary jane shoes while having a punk accent with the chains and little skull charms on the backs. The last item is optional: take a couple chous or scrunchies in black and put them around the top middle part of your upper arms as sleeve garters to add a bit more color to the blouse. Alternatively, one can buy or make sleeve garters instead of using the chous. If you don't mind spending a little more, you can also get some cute skull accessories from Bodyline! to match the ones on the shoes. I hope you enjoy this outfit!

All of the items in this outfit plus more in this style can be found on the Bodyline website. No pictures due to the fact that I haven't received permission to use Bodyline!'s images. Check me out on Twitter.

Thrift Store Find: Sweet Lolita Skirt

Whenever I visit a thrift store, I like looking through the linnens section to see if there's anything that would look cute as a dress or a skirt. A while ago I found some curtains with a very cute print and ruffles along the edges, so I bought them and made one of them into a skirt. The skirt turned out a bit longer than the ones on my other Lolita dresses, but it's a very nice skirt. I don't wear it very often mainly due to the fact that I don't have a blouse that works well with it. I found one that works alright as long as I pull the skirt waistband down around my hips though. I plan on turning the second curtain into a blouse once I find a pattern that I like.
 I'd run out of waistband elastic at the time I made the skirt, so I instead used a ribbon I had lying around. It turned out very nicely.

All images were taken by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.

Poll for Blog Content

Hello everyone!
 I've decided to do a little poll to try to find out what my current readers and any potential readers would like to see more of. To vote, simply leave a comment below. This specific poll will close in two weeks time, April 24th 2013, so I would appreciate it if readers would avoid posting comments after that date. Without further ado, here's the poll!

What would you like to see more of on Anime & Lolita Couture?

• Cosplay tips.
• Lolita looks on a budget.
•  Recipes for cakes and other sweets.
• Tutorials such as for hair and crafts.
• My home made clothing.
• Reviews of clothing and items I have.
• My various cosplays. (I don't have many cosplays to my name as of now.)
• Other stuff. (List your ideas in your comment please!)

 Make sure to leave a comment below telling me what you'd like to see more of. Thanks for your feedback!

Lolita on a Budget: Wa Lolita

 Wa Lolita is one of my favorite styles of Lolita clothing. The cute kimono styled dresses, geta sandles, and traditional Japanese accessories all add to make it a style that is a lovely combination between traditional Japanese clothing and the ultra cute Lolita style. Today I've put together an ensemble featuring Bodyline's cute and inexpensive clothing. The total for this outfit is $115, not including shipping and handling. Here we go!

 

The Kimono dress is definitely one of my favorite Wa Lolita dresses that Bodyline offers. It comes in multiple colors allowing for different looks to be achieved, but I like the blue one the best since it reminds me of cupcakes. n_n I felt that the over the knee socks would look best with this dress since it ends slightly above knee level. Unfortunately, Bodyline! does not sell geta sandals, but they have plenty of cute Lolita shoes that would work well with this outfit, especially the blue and off white ones. The small flower pins Bodyline! sells are very cute and simple as well as cheap allowing for one or more to be bought to adorn hair as well as modded for use as a bracelet or other accessory. The pink ones match the best with the one on the dress. For an accessory, I thought that the Neko purse was a perfect mix between kawaii and the Japanese style. The drawstring allows for a more traditional Japanese look as well as allowing it to be worn around the wrist.

All of the items in this outfit plus more in this style can be found on the Bodyline website. No pictures due to the fact that I haven't received permission to use Bodyline!'s images. Check me out on Twitter.

Thrift Store Haul: New Petticoat

Recently I've been having good luck at my local thrift store. This time I was shocked to walk in and see a black petticoat hanging on the wall! I gave it a try, decided it fit well enough and got it really inexpensively. I was very happy that I had found such a nice petticoat at a good price. And then I decided to try it on under my Gothic Lolita dress and found that real petticoats are VERY poofy. It was also quite a bit longer than my skirt. So I tried it on under a longer skirt that I had made, which it barely fit under. and saw how it gave me a very poofy skirt that looks like I'm wearing a hoop skirt underneath it. Needless to say I have never owned a real petticoat before, just ones that I made myself out of old sheets and bed covers. All the same, I'm happy with my purchase and look forward to finding or making a longer skirt in the Gothic Lolita style to wear it with.

All images were taken by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.

Thrift Store Haul: Sewing Project Supplies

Recently I went thrift store shopping at some local stores. Turns out I was pretty lucky! This post is about the supplies I got for making more Lolita clothing for myself. It's always fun looking through thrift stores. You never know what you can find! This is just a little bit of the things I've gotten from thrift stores in the past. Here's what I got (minus one item since I neglected to take pictures before I started sewing):

In all I got several yards of eyelet lace and a white Eyelet fabric, a bit over a yard of lace elastic, and a new zipper to replace one in a cute skirt I got a few years ago. It was all very inexpensive, especially the eyelet lace which is usually very expensive at craft and fabric stores. Here's some closer pictures:

I'm planning on using both the lace and fabric on a new dress. Now I just need to find a pretty light blue fabric, decide on the design, and get some patterns to make it!

The lace elastic is very pretty. It's a bit too thin for using in skirts or fabric petticoats, but it's nice for sleeves and light weight petticoats.

I intentionally got a zipper that was a bit longer than I needed, so I just cut off the extra before sewing it in. Unfortunately I cut off a bit too much so now I need to put a hook and loop at the top of the zipper.

I'll make sure to do an entry once I make the dress I'm planning on with the lace and fabric. All pictures were taken by me and that's me wearing my skirt. Creative cell phone camera mounts and timers FTW! If you wish to use any of my pictures, please receive permission from me first. Check me out on Twitter.

Gothic Lolita By Miss Carlyfornia

So, a few years back I decided to buy a dress from Miss Carlyfornia after working with her on my Senior Project. At the time I commissioned my dress from her, I also decided to buy a cute Gothic Lolita pinafore. She was able to make me a very cute Gothic Lolita dress that allows for a wide range of sizes meaning that I don't have to worry about growing out of it as long as I don't go putting on a few hundred pounds. (I like food, but not that much fortunately.) The dress only took a few weeks for Miss Carlyfornia to make before I was able to go pick it up. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. The fabric is all cotton, making it comfortable to wear and keeping it from being overly formal. I love the fact that the dress is very versatile. The style of the dress is very nice allowing for one to wear the dress four different ways, forward with or without the skirt gathered up or backwards either way. The dress looks great any way you wear it whether by itself or over a blouse, with or without a petticoat. My favorite part of the dress is the eyelet fabric used for the under skirt. It's very cute and delicate along with the eyelet lace keeping this dress from looking overly dark.

 Overall, I feel that this dress was well worth it as it has lasted me several years with semi-frequent wearing. All of the seams have held up just fine as well as the ribbon, lace and fabric used for this dress. Just about every time I wear it I get complements on how cute it looks, even in non anime crowds. If you can, I highly recommend getting a dress from Miss Carlyfornia as they are inexpensive and very cute. Last but not least, here's some pics of the dress!

Miss Carlyfornia can be found on Twitter and Facebook. All pictures are by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.

Home Made Pajama Pants

A while back I decided to make myself some pajama pants using some Hello Kitty fabric  I had left over from my Hello Kitty lawn chair that my parents made for me years ago. I used the bloomer pattern I had gotten from Miss Carlyfornia that I've used several times in past projects. I'd run out of waistband elastic, so I used some pretty white ribbon I had laying around instead. I plan on making a button hole modification on them later so that the ribbon can come out of the front instead of flipping the bow over the top of the pants like I currently do. Here's some pictures of them!

Lolita on a Budget: Bodyline Clothing

 Not too long ago, I discovered a very nice, inexpensive online store to buy Lolita from. Bodyline has many different types of dresses, most for under $100, along with blouses, shoes, and lots of different accessories. They also sell some cosplay costumes too as well as wigs, making this an excellent place for beginner cosplayers, as well as those on a budget, to buy from. Many girls into Lolita can be found wearing Bodyline clothing such as Living Doll Venus Angelic. She can be seen wearing the Bodyline polka dot dress in her Real Life Anime: Kawaii Cupcakes video that she made a few months back. I have yet to order from bodyline, but I look forward to increasing my Lolita collection with their cute affordable pieces in the future. Look forward to outfits I've assembled using Bodyline clothing that can be purchased for less than the price of a brand name dress!

My new Cloud Cosplay

For those of you who are Final Fantasy VII fans, you will most likely recognize Cloud as the main character in the series. For those of you who aren't Final Fantasy VII fans here is a description of the character:
 Cloud is the main character in the Final Fantasy VII series. He is a former member of SOLDIER, the army in the game, and now works as a mercenary who works about any job. At the beginning of the game Cloud is hired by a rebel group called AVALANCHE that works to undermine a large corporation called Shinra Inc. that is monopolizing all of the power in the world. As the game progresses, Cloud is caught up in a struggle to prevent all of the energy being sucked out of their planet. Cloud's weapon, usually called a buster sword, is a giant sword taller than he is, and he must use it to battle many enemies during his adventure.


For those of you familiar with the series and those of you who have looked up pictures, you are probably expecting an epic soldier-like cosplay. I will admit, it is pretty good, but it's not Cloud's usual outfit. For my Cloud cosplay I chose to do his outfit from Wall Market when he was infiltrating Don Corneo's mansion. For those unfamiliar with the game, at one point fairly early in the game Cloud has to dress up like a girl to get into the mansion of Don Corneo's, the mayor or equivalent in that area, to rescue his childhood friend Tifa and gain information that is crucial to Cloud's quest. Cloud was all for just breaking in, but Aeris, a flower girl he met earlier in the game, suggested that Cloud dress up as a girl so that the two of them could get in and rescue Tifa. Before they could do this though, Cloud has to talk to multiple characters to obtain items such as a dress and a wig to be able to dress up as a convincing girl.


So I've posted some pictures of my outfit at the end of the post so you can see how it turned out. I made all of the outfit except for the boots and that is my real hair, not  a wig. The Cloud face isn't my real face. Finding references for this outfit was a little difficult since the graphics in the game are not the greatest, but I was able to modify and combine patterns that I have to make the dress look the way I wanted it to. I had to come up with a pattern for the sash and the flared part of the sleeves on this outfit and am very pleased with how they turned out. The puffed sleeves look adorable and the skirt turned out to be just the length I wanted it to be. The sword in the last picture was made by one of my friends out of cardboard and duct tape. Please tell me what you think of my new cosplay!