August Coordinates

Like I mentioned in another post, I didn't actually get a full coordinate together until July, but somehow between then and now I managed to get a sizeable collection of pieces (R.I.P. wallet). Now I can actually wear lolita or aristocrat reasonably often! I'm so excited. I'm looking forward to wearing it at least 2-3 times a week.

That said, I was not excited about it being August. As a goth, I'm already used to the suffering that is a Toronto summer, but not while wearing layers of frills. Granted, it hasn't been too unbearable this year, but still...

Anyway, onto the coordinates!

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JSK: Moi-même-Moitié (Frame Cross Lace-Up JSK II)

Blouse: Ista Mori

Socks: Metamorphose

Bag: Offbrand

Shoes: Antaina

Beret, Hairband, and Jewellery: Offbrand

This is my first-ever coordinate! I still feel like it could use some work, but for the most part I'm pretty happy with it even though I could use some more gold accessories on top - maybe I'll wear gold hairpins or something.

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Jacket: Atelier Boz

JSK: Sheglit (Gracious Flare Underbust JSK)

Blouse: Ista Mori 

Socks: Moi-même-Moitié

Bag: Moi-même-Moitié

Shoes: Antaina

Jewellery: Offbrand

 

Just a simple, comfy outfit for walking around town. It was strangely cold even though it was the middle of August, hence the jacket. I feel like the jacket works best with long layers, but I like how it looks with a shorter skirt.

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Skirt: Moi-même-Moitié  (Gothic Arch)

Blouse: Offbrand

Socks: Moi-même-Moitié

Bag: Moi-même-Moitié

Shoes: Bodyline 

Jabot: Marble

Fascinator and Jewellery: Offbrand

I had a lot of errands to do that day, so I put together a simple, comfy coordinate. Skirt coords are so underrated - a lot of people hate coordinating skirts because it's a little trickier than coordinating a JSK or OP, but they're also more versatile.Way more comfortable in summer, too. It was pretty hot out so I couldn't stand wearing a JSK.

Side note, I love it when my hair matches my outfit! As a sign of devotion to our lord and savior Mana, I've dyed it Moitié blue. Mostly because it was purple before and it kept clashing with my outfits.

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Bolero: BPN

OP: Moi-même-Moitié (Royal Gate)

Tights: Offbrand

Bag: Moi-même-Moitié

Shoes: Antaina

Hairband and Jewellery: Offbrand

Had an awesome meetup with my comm that day! We rented a photo studio and practiced posing and taking photos. I've never been very photogenic so while I definitely improved, I'll still never photograph well. Who knew it was so hard to pose? Jojo poses, while awesome, are not exactly the most elegant/humanly possible (or comfortable in 4 inch platforms).

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Thank you for reading~ and of course any constructive criticism is welcome! I'm still new to lolita. It's one thing to lurk comms and look at outfit photos, but putting together a coordinate on your own is something new entirely and I'm still not that good at it yet.

Gothic Lolita Soundtrack: Volume I

Hello bats! I thought it would be fun to do some more lifestyle-related posts, so here's one about music.

As a western goth, music has always been an incredibly important part of my subculture. So even though lolita is strictly a fashion style, I still like to think about what kind of music would suit what substyle. When I think of EGL/EGA fashion, the ideas that come to mind are elegance, drama, romance, and darkness. So I tried to come up with some artists that fit the bill.

And just to get it out of the way, here are the same (excellent) artists everyone always recommends when the topic comes up: Ali Project, Die Milch, Malice Mizer, Kanon Wakeshima, Moi dix Mois, Kokosyoku Sumire, and every baroque composer ever who has ever existed. There.

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Lacrimosa

Lacrimosa - Elodia

Lacrimosa is a gothic orchestral band. Their albums are pretty varied, but Elodia has a wonderfully sinister, aristocratic sound. I would describe this album as one-part film score to a Victorian period drama, one-part gothic metal, one-part 90s visual kei. It's excellent for days when I'm feeling exceptionally ~* dark *~ and dramatic.

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Stillste Stunde

Stillste Stunde - Ananke

Stillste Stund is an experimental darkwave band. They're very unique...hauntingly beautiful vocals, simple backing tracks, and a really nice creepy atmosphere.

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Cross Vein

Cross Vein - Moon Addict

 And now for something completely different. Cross Vein is pretty much the unholy lovechild of Versailles and Kokosyoku Sumire, which is precisely why I love them. It shouldn't work, but it does.

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GPKISM

GPKISM - Barathrum

GPKISM's music is an interesting mixture of dark electro and visual kei with orchestral elements and dramatic vocals. The video is worth watching because the potato-like video quality and goth cliches say 1999, but the timestamp says 2009.

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The Birthday Massacre

The Birthday Massacre - Blue

The Birthday Massacre is a flawless example of when spooky-cutesy goth meets 80s synthpop, which makes them a pretty accessible to your average gothic lolita. Let's just say they're more Paramore than Killing Joke. Also, they're based out of Toronto. Gotta rep my hometown!

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Kaya

Kaya - Awilda 

Kaya (a former member of Schwarz Stein) is sort of in the same vein as GPKISM with a blend of visual kei, orchestral, and electronic influences. And impeccable fashion sense.

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Rose Noire

Rose Noire - Queen of the Night

Rose Noire is all about creepy backing tracks, spooky violins, quirky (read: bizarre) gratuitious English. Winning combination! This is the only Youtube link I could find, so I hope you enjoy Spanish subtitles.

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Lacroix Despheres

 

Lacroix Despheres - Ouverture de la Soiree

Lacroix Despheres features lovely male vocals that are much more operatic and less nasally than typical visual kei vocals. They also have beautiful orchestral backing tracks.

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Elend 

Elend - Nocturne

Neoclassical darkwave meets chamber music. Beautiful, dark, and very sombre. Honestly, it just sounds like some kind of funeral music, or the score for a horror movie. Perfection.

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That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this post! What kind of music would you associate with EGL/EGA?