Lolita Blog Carnival: Have A Friend Make A Coord For You

For this week's edition of Lolita Blog Carnival, we were prompted to ask a friend or SO to make a coordinate for us. I recruited my best friend @vudu_juju since she's a gothic lolita and Moitié devotee, just like me! She and I will often gravitate to the same main pieces, and we buy the same things in different colours for twinning purposes, but we'll often coordinate the same items totally differently. She loves to experiment and go OTT with unique accessories and interesting materials...and I generally throw on a comfy OP and call it a day. This goes for our non-lolita wardrobes, too! She looks like an elegant vampire who plays synths in an 80s goth band whereas I just kinda channel sloppy 90s goth. But hey, mallgoth is back in style if Instagram is anything to go by.

I really like the coordinate she came up with for me! I wouldn't have thought to use white as an accent colour, but there's actually a bit of white in the print, so I think it goes together quite nicely. I also don't get many opportunities to wear this corset, so I'm happy that she chose it. It's actually a jacquard fabric so it looks really beautiful in person.

I've also been interested in trying longer cuts recently. I still prefer short cuts just for the cuteness factor, but long cuts look so elegant and mature. Granted, since I'm rectangle-shaped and not very tall, I think they make me a little stumpy, but whatever. I also think that going without a petticoat looks much better with a long dress than with a short one.

Skirt: Enchantlic Enchantilly

Blouse: Alice and the Pirates

Corset: Alice and the Pirates

OTKs: Atelier17, Moi-même-Moitié

Headdress: Metamorphose

Shoes: Metamorphose

Accessories: Moi-même-Moitié

Thank you so much for reading! Be sure to check out the other LBC bloggers discussing today's topic. 

Cupcakes and Unicorns | Gota de Baunilha | The Bloody Tea Party

[Current Music: BUCK-TICK - Die]

Lolita Blog Carnival: Pros & Cons of Keeping To One Style Vs. Multiple Styles

Wow, I haven't done a Lolita Blog Carnival post in absolute ages! Today's theme is discussing the pros and cons of sticking with one style. This is definitely something I think about pretty often since I only wear gothic lolita but I love all 3 of the major substyles and would really like to try them all someday. So let's start off with some of the pros of wearing just one style!

Building multiple wardrobes is expensive. It might be easier to build a wardrobe of gothic and classic, or sweet and classic, since those styles cross over easily and allow you to share items between your two wardrobes as long as you stick with certain colours and themes. But if you want to wear both, say, OTT pastel sweet and Moitié-style gothic, you're going to have to buy two entirely separate wardrobes. Goodbye, money. And where are you going to put it all?

I've wanted to try other styles, but I prefer wearing gothic, and that's what I want to save my money for. Old Moitié ain't cheap! Even a super basic starter sweet wardrobe can be expensive since literally none of my pieces would work for OTT pastel sweet, and because I'm not really into the type of sweet that the less-expensive Chinese brands put out. Even old stuff like Sugary Carnival and Milky Planet aren't that cheap. I think I'd just end up buying an OP set so that I could easily try it all at once and resell it if needed.

Good thing my comm has style swap meetups!

I wish Moitié would release full matching sets like this for beginners. It's hard to find perfectly matched items.

Your wardrobe can look cohesive without much effort. I think it's important to build your wardrobe as a functioning wardrobe and not as a collection of distinct coordinates where individual parts can't be swapped out to make new coordinates. It's better to be flexible so that you get more mileage out of every piece - otherwise, what's the point of spending hundreds of dollars on a dress you can only style in one way? In order to do that, you need to make sure all of your pieces go together.

If you only wear one substyle, you don't need to make a concerted effort to make sure that all your pieces work together so that you can get multiple coordinates out of your collection of dresses and accessories. It's even easier if you stick to one or two colours. if you've seen my old wardrobe post, you'll notice that I only wear black, white, and blue gothic-themed items (I've recently started adding red, too!) and that's made it very easy to add new stuff to my wardrobe without worrying about having to buy new things to match it. I already know it'll work with what I have!

You can devote your energy to completely mastering one substyle, and you can be creative without changing your substyle. You're limited in that you can only use items from your chosen style, which forces you to be creative with what you have. Techniques that work well in one substyle might not work for another, so if you're trying to learn and be experimental, I think it's much easier to start with just one! For example, layering of corsets and underskirts in different textures or fabrics looks much better in gothic or in classic than in sweet, in my opinion.

I've been trying to cut back on purchasing lolita pieces (and all purchases in general) and am instead trying to reuse my existing wardrobe in different ways - layering, different colour combinations, etc. It's been a lot of fun! I can still branch out without having to try a whole new substyle, since the gothic brands are all so different and can be combined in different ways. I'm not exactly a master of coordinating, but I'll get there!

Atelier Pierrot staff are so good at coordinating items that I wouldn't even think to put together! Image from from Atelier Pierrot Shinjuku's blog.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and roses. There are a few cons, too.

It's harder to dress up for themed meetups. This is a bigger dilemma for some people than you think! As a gothic lolita, sometimes it can be really hard for me to follow the themes for some of my lolita comm's meetups. I'm in a big comm (100+ members), but I'd estimate the split is about 75% sweet, 20% classic, and 5% gothic. Realistically, the only themed meetups that work for my wardrobe are going to be at Halloween and Christmas.

As an example, my comm was supposed to have a fruit-themed picnic meetup...before the pandemic struck, anyway. Lots of sweet dresses have fruit themes, and some can be coordinated in a way to make them look more classic. It's much harder if you only wear gothic, though. I could sort of fudge it by wearing fruit accessories (Suppurate System's apple necklaces come to mind) but I can probably count the number of fruit-themed gothic prints on one hand.

I can see Alice and the Pirates being able to pull off a Persephone-themed print with roses and pomegranates, or a Garden of Eden print with snakes and apples. I dunno, I just really want some gothy fruit prints.

Black Cat, Witch, and the Apple Tree is such a cute print! I'm hoping to find the red JSK soon.

Brand tea parties and events can also be tricky. Most of my favourite gothic brands are unlikely to be invited to Toronto as guests since there wouldn't be much interest. We've hosted the big sweet and classic brands like Angelic Pretty, Victorian Maiden, Juliette et Justine, and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, but never an exclusively gothic brand. Now that I've been wearing lolita for several years, I have enough goth-friendly pieces from those brands that I could probably manage. I have one  but prior to that I wouldn't have been able to attend any events with wardrobe requirements without borrowing an outfit. And borrowing outfits for a tea party makes me nervous. What if I drop my jam?!

Angelic Pretty, but make it goth.

Still, I'd love it if Sheglit, h.naoto, Atelier Pierrot (I went to their tea party in Gatineau!), or of course Moi-même-Moitié were able to attend an event in Toronto. Granted, if they did, my comm would be scrambling to find brand items for the party. And since these brands don't appeal to the vast majority of my comm t wouldn't be fair to the brand guests since they wouldn't make much money selling their merchandise. It wouldn't be fair to the attendees either, since they probably wouldn't be that excited to see the brands.

And that brings me to the end of this little discussion! The question was actually a little harder than I thought, which is why this blog entry is so short. When I think about it, in my opinion it's actually better to branch out and wear multiple styles - the only truly prohibitive aspect is cost and storage, whereas the other problems can be overcome with some ingenuity.

Thank you for reading, and please check out what everyone else in the Lolita Blog Carnival had to say!

Lolita Blog Carnival

The Bloody Tea Party | Cupcakes and Unicorns | Alice in Lolitaland
Bibelot Rose | In Love With A Dream

[Current Music: Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy]

Lolita Blog Carnival: Preferences for Solids or Prints - What Draws Your Favor & Why

Hello bats! For today's Lolita Blog Carnival I'll be discussing my thoughts on solids vs. prints.

Even though a huge chunk of my wardrobe is made up of prints (I'm a slut for black x navy prints), I'm gonna have to vote for Team Solid. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons...

A few of my favourite coordinates with solid dresses.

1) Solids are perfect for daily wear.

Solids are easy to wear on a daily basis because they're way easier to camouflage as normie wear - a plain black OP wouldn't attract nearly as much attention as something like Milky Planet. You don't need to worry about matching accessories to the colours in the print, since you can match them with nearly anything and call it a day. Solids are so easy to coordinate, and so versatile in that you can pair them with plain or printed accessories in much wider range of colours.

The best part - if you throw them in the wash, you don't have to worry so much about bleeding colours or melting screen prints! Nothing sadder than watching Berry Bunny turn into Bloody Bunny because you forgot your colour catcher sheet.


2) Solids are accessible.

Solids are plentiful and cheap - in the age of prints, the value of a lot of solid dresses has decreased significantly. It's easy to find perfectly wearable dresses in good condition for $100 or less, especially on Japanese auction sites. This makes solid dresses a great option for anyone who is looking to pad out a wardrobe with more "wearable" everyday pieces, or for newbies who aren't fully confident in their ability to coordinate.

One of the most painful things about lolita fashion is waiting months (if not years) for a rare print series to come up for sale. While some solid dresses are extremely hard to find, especially if they're old, very few are as sought after as the holy grail print dresses, and rarely command ridiculously high prices. Even pricier brands like Atelier Boz and Moitie tend to hover around retail or lower for their solid dresses.


3) Solids showcase good design.

I think solids allow the craftsmanship, design, and creativity to shine. It's easy to create a great illustration (well, it's not - but you know what I'm getting at) and slap it on a boring dress and call it a day. Creating a visually interesting, creative dress without using prints is a little trickier since designers have to rely on arranging generic detailing like ruffles, pintucks, etc. in a unique way. Playing with different textures, transclucent fabrics, asymmetry, layering, removable parts...there are lots of ways to make a dress interesting without using a print.

Atelier Boz's nun-inspired Giulietta OP in Black x Black. In my opinion, Atelier Boz, Sheglit, and Atelier Pierrot are the undisputed masters of beautiful, aesthetically pleasing solid dresses. (I'll give you Victorian Maiden, Mary Magdalene, and Innocent World if you're more of a classic fan.)

 I also wanted to share a few thoughts on prints...

Newbies to lolita may not know this, but early lolita was nowhere near as print-centric as it is right now. In the early-to-mid-2000s the overwhelming majority of dresses across all substyles were solids. Details were typically added with contrasting fabric and trims, appliques, and patterened or textured fabrics. Prints, if used at all, were usually simple border prints.

Mana wearing the Cross Print JSK - one of Moitie's (and lolita's) earliest and most iconic prints.

I think it's a bit strange that lolita has become so hyperfocused on prints to the point that people will buy a dress purely because of the print and not because of the fit, cut, or details...which are also important parts of lolita fashion. A lot of cheaper Taobao brands pump out cute, unique, well-drawn prints at a breakneck pace but take shortcuts with quality and overall design...essentially, slapping a cute print on a badly sewn, badly designed dress. Great concept, poor execution.

Don't take this as me hating on Taobao prints, or prints in general. I just frown when I see people focusing on a gimmicky print at the expense of...well, everything else. Prints aren't everything, and that's coming from someone who is desperately trying to collect every single cut and colourway of Silent Moon and Iron Gate.

It is what it is - there's a place for both solids and prints in lolita, and even if I sound salty about print supremacy...the truth is that I'm still a slut for prints and will continue to hoard favourites even though I mostly buy solids now.

Thank you for reading!

Check out what these other lolitas had to say on this week's LBC topic!
| Cupcake Kamisama's Lolita World | Poppy Noir | Petite Tomoyo | The Bloody Tea Party |

Lolita Blog Carnival: Difficult Things to Deal With in the Fashion

This is an interesting writing prompt! Until I sat down to write the post, I hadn't seriously considered all of the difficulties associated with participating in this fashion. It's a bit shocking seeing it all laid out here, but to me it's 100% worth the struggle.I can certainly understand why people find it difficult to break into lolita, and I've definitely encountered people who give it a try but ultimately lose interest just because it can be so challenging to deal with at times.

1) Lolita is a shopaholic’s worst nightmare.

I’m impulsive by nature and I’ve always had the attitude that there’s no point in hoarding money when you could be using it to enjoy life (within reason of course). Time or money wasted on something you enjoy is not wasted. I also love bargain hunting, so lolita can be a dangerous temptation. I deal with it by keeping a strict list of items that I want, divided into tiers based on how badly I want them and how much I’m willing to spend on them.

Another thing that can help curb impulse buying is holding items in your cart for a long time before purchasing them. This is especially useful when ordering from Taobao, where it's easy to amass a huge cart of inexpensive items only to be unhappy with them when they finally arrive months later. Been there, done that! Now, I keep my items in the shopping cart for at least a week and carefully consider them before making the decision to purchase. How often will I wear it? Is the fabric quality and construction worth the price? Very often, I find that by the end of that week, I've dumped most of the items from my cart.

2) Lolita fashion can promote consumerism.

I can think of a LOT of  things I could have bought with the money I spent on lolita.

I wouldn’t call myself frugal, and I don't have any problem with enjoying shopping and collecting items in themselves - but I try to be mindful of advertising and consumer culture, and how it affects my psyche and behaviour. Lolita is interesting because it is an underground (yet brand-focused), expensive luxury fashion subculture. Like more traditional luxury fashions, having a large collection of name-brand items and owning coveted, rare pieces is a status symbol. Lolita itself is an expression of decadence.

On the other hand, lolita is an indie, "slow" fashion with a thriving secondhand shopping and handicraft culture in a conglomerate, fast fashion world. I think that the craftsmanship and quality of the average lolita garment has given me a greater appreciation for well-made clothing in general. I find myself doing a lot more secondhand shopping and making alterations than I did before, and buying fewer quality pieces instead of heaps of poorly made items that I won't get much use out of.

3) SO MUCH LAUNDRY.

I am eternally grateful that most of my wardrobe is machine washable, because I wear lolita a few times a week and it's just way too much to handwash. Laundry sucks. I don't even want to devote a full writeup to laundry because it doesn't deserve it.

4) Meeting up in public spaces attracts a lot of unwanted attention.

Toronto is a big city with a huge alternative scene so it isn't at all unusual to see lolitas, punks, goths, or other weirdly dressed people hanging out in public. The response from locals varies from total apathy to candid photos and awkward questions, but it's usually not too bad. I love taking out my phone and snapping pictures of them in return! Most people are curious but harmless, and some are nice enough to ask for photos instead of just taking creepshots.

Going into a touristy area is almost guaranteed to turn into a paparazzi shitshow of harassment. People have tried to get me into their cars, asked me if I'm a prostitute or a dominatrix, touched me without permission or tried to look up my dress, and all sorts of incredibly inappropriate things. I've lost count of the number of times someone came within spitting distance of me and started filming or chatting me up while I'm eating a burger or on my phone or something equally uninteresting. They wouldn't do that to someone dressed normally, so I'm not sure why wearing an unusual outfit waives my right to sit in peace.

My local comm has a lot of girls who are too shy or afraid to defend themselves when someone is getting out of line. Thankfully, most of the older members are good at politely defusing the situation and asserting themselves, but it doesn't always work on people who are really persistent. I'm...less than polite to say the least! My natural inclination when faced with rudeness is to be even ruder - and quite frankly, I feel no need to show decorum or respect to someone who won't return the favour. Juvenile, yes. Satisfying, also yes.

5) The media depicts lolitas in the worst light possible, making it difficult to explain our hobby to others.

Anyone remember this debacle? This poor girl was misled about how her photo would be used, resulting in this movie poster that associates lolita fashion with ageplay and pedophilia.

If I had a dollar for every shitty, badly researched """""documentary""""" (using that term extremely loosely here) I've seen about living dolls or every cringeworthy ita making an embarrassment of themselves on one of those TLC makeover shows...well, I wouldn't be rich but I could buy a fancy bottle of liquor and that's almost as good!

It's incredibly rare to come across a media depiction of lolitas that is fair or realistic. Instead, they usually fall into one of two categories: A) we're all depressed, emotionally damaged girls using babyish princess clothing as a way of escaping real life or B) we're all perverted fetishists who dress as children (or worse) for the kink. Sometimes a combination of both.

I personally am not bothered by ageplay fetishists, even though the idea makes me deeply uncomfortable. It's none of my business what people do in their private lives as long as nobody is being hurt. But I really don't want any kind of fetishistic lifestyles associated with lolita fashion. 

It doesn't help that these documentaries almost exclusively focus on sweet lolitas who love cutesy, pastel weeby stuff. I personally have no problem with that, but many westerners conflate liking sweet childish things with being immature, or wanting to be an actual child. I feel like if they interviewed a gothic lolita it would be similar to those really bad 90s-era news reports about how goths are S&M maniacs who believe in literal vampires - still bad, but less damaging than potentially being viewed as someone who has a fetish involving children.

The filmmakers seem to go for the easy targets - people who are willing to talk about themselves at length on camera and expose themselves to public scrutiny are usually the absolute last people you would want to represent lolita fashion to the world. In short, they seem to pick people who are total itas or people who are a bit...off, instead of choosing the 99% of lolitas who are completely normal functioning adults who happen to like dressing up.

6) Sizing is a royal pain.

Lolita is notorious for running too small for most western body types. We're just bigger over here than the average Japanese woman, even at a healthy body weight. Height, bone structure, and bigger busts are usually the culprits. I think it makes people feel insecure and unhappy with their bodies, which is really sad. I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a "wrong" body - it's the clothing that is wrong. Thankfully, many brands do custom sizing now and there's lots of shirred pieces available. Overall, brands are increasing in size as time goes on, But there's only so much you can do - if your ribcage is too big for a bodice, you can't do a whole lot about it short of sawing them off.

I have long limbs and broad shoulders so finding things that fit properly is an adventure. Blouses and OPs are a crapshoot - either the shoulders are too small or the sleeves are too short. For instance, my ladies' size Atelier Boz Roland jacket fits my chest and waist with wiggle room to spare, but it's so tight on my shoulders that I can't raise my arms properly. I own a lot of JSKs and skirts because it's just easier to deal with than having an OP that I can't cram my shoulders into. .

Some brands are much better for me than others - Moitie and Millefleurs fit me perfectly, longer dresses from AatP/Baby and JetJ make me look stumpy, AP is too big in the waist...basically, if a dress doesn't have waist ties or corset lacing, I won't buy it. Of course, it doesn't help when manufacturers' measurements aren't accurate. I'm looking at you, Moitie.

I'm trying to give you money, Mana. Why you lying?

But despite all of the annoyances and heartache that come along with the fashion, I'm never going to stop wearing it. I've met so many amazing people and had some wonderful experiences all because we bonded over these ridiculous dresses. I don't think I could have picked a better subculture to call home! ❤

 

Check out what these other lolitas had to say on this week's LBC topic!

Vanilla Bear | Cupcake Kamisama's Lolita World | Spirit of the Teacup

Lolita Blog Carnival: Plans Derailed! 5 Things In My Wardrobe That Just Didn't Work

In today’s edition of the Lolita Blog Carnival, I’ll be discussing a few pieces in my wardrobe that didn’t work out quite as planned! I’ve had my fair share of duds in my wardrobe over the years. To be completely honest, I can’t even remember all the things I bought and ended up selling. But I’ve noticed 2 patterns: I sold almost all of my Taobao/indie dresses after only a few wears, and I’ve literally sold every AatP item I’ve even had. I feel like my problem is that I fall in love with a print’s illustration, only to find that the cut is not flattering on me or the print does not translate very well into a life-sized dress.

1) AatP - Vampire Prelude

I have a love-hate relationship with AatP’s Vampire series….and with AatP in general. I’m a huge vampire fan (surprising absolutely no one) and the illustrations are beautiful. I just don’t feel like the illustration translated very well to the dress – it looks a little too full and busy, especially with the ivory areas on the black background. I prefer prints to be a little more muted, I guess. I’ve settled for using the print as my phone wallpaper. If I were to try it again again, I’d buy the ivory version. It’s still too busy for my personal taste, but I think it’s less jarring than the black version.

† † †

 

2) Ista Mori - Nameless Poem

I really love the whole gothic nun aesthetic (surprising absolutely no one), so I snapped up this dress as soon as I could. It’s gorgeous…but it’s not gorgeous on me. I’m short and slim with broad shoulders, and the dress just didn’t suit my body shape at all. I guess I’m going to have to just wait until I see another Moitié Nun OP on auctions…

† † †

3) Sweet Pirate Addiction Rose

Yet again, I fell in love with a print in a cut that didn’t look good on me. The dress also had some sewing quality issues and I wasn’t a huge fan of how the print looked in person - it is beautiful but overdesigned and has a bit of a clip art look. They released a cut with corset lacing about a week after I bought mine, which would have fit me much better. I decided to just let it go. I also managed to find  an old floordinate photo I made! This was such a long time ago…I have so many more accessories now!

† † †

4) Moi-même-Moité Holy Stained Glass JSK

Something about this dress is just distinctly unflattering on me. I feel like the bodice is just a tiny bit too long and the hemline is a little too low. I had to shorten the straps. It’s not terrible, but it just looks…off. I truly love the print and the cut of the dress is lovely, so I’m really determined to make it look good. I’ve been on the fence about selling it for a few months. I'm both stubby and stubborn!

Ok, that was really bad. Sorry.

† † †

5) Écailles de Lune Black Goat of the Woods

I bought this dress to twin with a friend of mine. It looks amazing on her but it’s a bit goofy-looking on me. The bodice is very…tube-like on me because my bust is pretty small. You need a little bit of boob to fill out the bodice properly. I covered it up with a corsage but it definitely doesn’t look right. I’m also 155 cm tall so even in my 12 cm heels it comes down well below my knees and I look like a little black layer cake. It’s such a beautiful dress but I feel like it was designed for someone a few inches taller with actual curves. I ended up selling it to someone who had been searching intensely for it and really loved it, so I'm glad it has a good home.

 † † †

Check out these bloggers' take on this LBC topic!

| Vanilla Bear | Cupcake Kamisama's Lolita World | Crimson Reflections | Sanakanin |

Lolita Blog Carnival: Create a Coordinate Based on Your Favourite Flower

Hello bats! Long time no post.

My favourite flowers are sunflowers, but obviously that doesn't mesh well with gothic unless Mana decides that he's going to start wearing yellow. Roses are a close second, so naturally I had to pull up my favourite Moitie rose-print florals for this challenge! I find it very difficult to work with florals in gothic coords, so this was tricky but fun.

The challenge only calls for making a single coordinate, but I decided to make two. This is because digging through Lolibrary is infinitely more pleasant than revising for my infectious disease control final.

†  Antique China Roses †

Dress: Moi-meme-Moitie Rose Printed Gathered Sundress (White x Navy)

Blouse: Moi-meme-Moitie Holy Cross Collar Blouse (White)

Headdress: Moi-meme-Moitie Blue Bouquet Headdress (White x Navy)

Socks: Moi-meme-Moitie Blue Rose OTKs (White x Navy)

Shoes: Metamorphose Heel Strap Platform Shoes (White)

Necklace: Moi-meme-Moitie Metal Rose and Cross Necklace

This coordinate reminds me of old-fashioned blue and white china, hence the name. Also, I love the Meta stripper shoes more than life itself.

† Grey-veyard Roses †

Dress: Moi-meme-Moitie Monochrome Rose Sundress

Headdress: Moi-meme-Moitie Holy Cross Headdress (Black x Silver)

Blouse: Moi-meme-Moitie Holy Cross Blouse (Black x Silver)

Socks: Moi-meme-Moitie Holy Cross Lace-Up OTKs (Black)

Shoes: Metamorphose Heel Strap Platform Shoes (Black)

Necklace: Moi-meme-Moitie Cross Rose Pendant

Haha, get it?! Grey-ve? Grave? Because it's grey, like a gravestone?...I'll see myself out.

Anyway, I really adore the Holy Cross line that MMM put out a few years ago. The metallic silver trim on the lace is quite bright and lovely in person. I thought it'd look very striking against the greys in the Monochrome Rose JSK.

 

Please visit the other lovely bloggers who have written on this topic! 

Queen & Commander