52 Challenge: Defining my Style

This is a post I've actually been wanting to write for awhile now, but I admit I've been pushing it off for a bit as my wardrobe still remains in a pretty intense state of flux. But enough is enough. I may be in a strange sort of transitioning phase, but that doesn't mean I don't know what I like or want. Quite the contrary, as I work through weeding out the old and carefully picking out the new, I feel that I have a greater appreciation than ever for the style I someday hope to emulate. So, without further ado...

5 key words that describe my personal style

Elegance

 I'm no spring chicken, this I know. And while some beautiful ladies have the confidence and desire to dress like a cupcake no matter what their physical age, I find that as I've grown both in Lolita, and just in experience, my longing to express a sense of sophistication and grace has only grown. Softer, dusty colors, understated jewelry and an emphasis on fabrics and construction rather than prints have become my new focus.

Cute

While this may seem like it contradicts the previous point, I personally don't think so. Although I am not a sweet Lolita, there is no doubt that most styles of Lolita contain and element of sweetness to them. I am not a hardcore Gothic or Classic Lolita, and I am not above adding small details of added cute to my coords to make me feel lovely.

Romance

While some ladies prefer a dramatic, glamorous or hardcore edge to their, I prefer a softer, overall gentler vibe. Romance, to me, represents so much more than a physical love between two people. It can be showcased through fashion by soft fabrics, delicate details and an overall look of mature sweetness.

Image from BitSweet on Etsy

Whimsical 

A bit difficult to describe, but I feel like a sense of light-hardheartedness is essential in my personal style.  Whimsy gives a sense of playfulness, a small detail that requires a double take and makes one simply want to smile.

 Modesty

It is true that modesty is generally an essential aspect of Lolita, but I find this is a stylistic trait that I've grown very particular about. While many Lolita have no problem wearing ankle socks or sleeve-less one-piece dresses, I try to steer clear from such clothing choices. Certainly there are very warm days where such options are the only ones that are reasonable, but overall I strive to retain a sense of modesty in all my coords.

I readily admit I am not an expert in applying all of these elements in my daily outfits just yet, but they are all aspects which I strive to embody. They continue to inspire me and push me to become and portray the woman I want to be. 

52 Challenge: Bloomers or no bloomers?

Ah, it's time for another 52 Lolita Challenge blog post! Today we're tackling the age old question:

Bloomers v. No Bloomers

Image from weheartit

 I'll be honest, after my 7+ years dabbling in the fashion, the answer to this question is a bit of a no-brainer.

Bloomers. Always wear bloomers. 

I readily admit, I didn't always used to think this way. In my early days in the fashion, I thought I could get by wearing running shorts beneath my skirts, and in the winter, fleece pajama shorts. Hey, why not? It's not like anyone could see them, and admittedly they still worked the way they were supposed to. But gosh was I uncomfortable!

Even with the length of my skirt, I was constantly paranoid the not-so dainty hem of my shorts could be seen, ruining the pretty, put-together image I had so carefully crafted. And when I did without any shorts at all? Oh boy, do those skirts move! I learned to walk with the grace of a penguin, my arms constantly against my side to ensure no surprise gusts of wind would rise up and display my unmentionables to the world.

I admit, bloomers are not expensive. But they're also not very exciting either. Why would I waste $25 on fancy underwear when I could save just $20 more and purchase a pretty new blouse instead? At least, that was my line of reasoning (and before anyone points out the obvious, I'm a mess with a needle and thread. I've learned through a lot of painful trial and error that sewing is not, nor will ever be, a past time for me). Oh how wrong I was.

My advice to all Lolitas out there. Spring for the bloomers. They need not be super fancy $100 bloomers spun from unicorn hair and angel feathers, but take a look around on Etsy, peruse Bodyline, or sew your own if you're so inclined, but please, at some point (preferably early on) take the time to purchase at least 1 pair of proper Lolita undies. Your tushie will thank you for it later.

LBC: 3 Things to tell my beginner Lolita Self

I adore Lolita Blog Carnival's that really challenge me to look at myself and evaluate my own position in the fashion. Although I began wearing my first real Lolita pieces back in 2007, I still feel very much the beginner. Even so, here are some lessons it's taken me almost 7 years to learn, and I only wish I had figured them out just a smidge sooner.

Color is okay

This is a biggie. For a long time, even outside of Lolita, color was a scary thing for me. I was uncomfortable with my body (and still am to an extent), and felt that covering it up with black was the way to go. I was fine with this. I genuinely like the color black and I thought it made things easier to coordinate. However, it's finally dawning on me that when I open my closet and see nothing but solid black frills, my excitement level is no longer as high as it used to be. But I never thought any other color would look good on me, nor did I think I could figure out how to coordinate them, so I avoided them like the plague. Nowadays, while black will always have a special place in my wardrobe, I'm beginning to realize that colors don't have to be terrifying or ugly, and I only wish I had opened myself up to this possibility sooner.

Basics can be fun

Alright, so maybe I'm still struggling with this one a bit. Back then, I knew the basics. Petticoat. Tights. Mary-Janes. Check. I thought I was set. But I never branched out. My shoes were always simple and offbrand (and always black). My tights were always solid (and more black). I thought blouses were boring, and since I figured they would be hidden under a dress anyway I always opted for offbrand. Of course, offbrand is a perfectly valid choice and I'm not saying I should have ignored them completely, but I wish I had given myself the chance a little bit earlier to explore the world of these "boring" basics, and to realize just how beautiful they could be and how much more variety they could give my coords.

 Accessorize

For some reason I used to think that accessories were only for sweet Lolitas. Or maybe I was just being cheap because I wanted to save up for more pretty black dresses. Either way, my accessories were always the same: a small, black hair bow and maybe a silver necklace. Always silver. Again, I think my limited accessory collection was also largely influenced by my lack of confidence in being able to coordinate them properly. It's finally dawned on me that accessories are the perfect gateway for including a pop of color and personality to an outfit, not to mention they tend to be so much cheaper than dresses. Double win!

Looking back I realize I played it safe for a very long time. I suppose I could have made much worse mistakes, but over the years it's turned Lolita into a bland, boring fashion because I never gave myself a chance to try something new. Nowadays, though the process is slow, I do feel like I'm coming out of my black, safe little cave. Golds, browns and creams are slowly making their way into my closet, and outside of Lolita I've begun wearing more blues, silvers and even pink! Fashion is always a learning process, and though I may be slow at making changes, I'm proud of the progress I have made in discovering and shaping a style that truly represents who I am.

Edit: I realize this is also a topic for the 52 Lolita Challenge! So let's cross number 15 off the list!

A Heart's Sound

Northern Star
The Bloody Tea Party
Oh Velveteena
Little Coffee Shop
The Literary Lolita 

52 Challenge: How I found Lolita

So it's been awhile since I've posted one of these (thank goodness I didn't insist on one per week), so let's have a little fun! Time for another round of the 52 Lolita Challenge, and once again I've chosen something that will hopefully give a little more background of yours truly. For this round of the 52 Lolita Challenge...

How I found Lolita

Image from weheartit

Wow, it really does seem like ages ago! Let's reveal just how old I really am with this, shall we? 

Back in my high school years I was really into the typical anime scene. I visited a convention once a year and it was always a major highlight. Back then, I was really enamored with the cosplayers, and always told myself I would give it a go myself some day. Well, ultimately after two extremely simple attempts, I realized that not only did I not feel comfortable wearing clothes for characters with extremely different body types than mine, but I just couldn't wrap my head around spending all the time and money into a creation I would only wear once a year (and alone to boot since I had no friends who would cosplay with me).

I do remember at one point when I was searching for other options to still dress up, someone online suggested I look into Lolita since it allowed the option to be themed into a more costume type of coord, and would also probably be much more flattering on my body type. I'd never heard of it before, and seeing as this was around 2005/2006, I was a little confused and turned off by the lack of information. Still, the seed had been planted.

Come 2007, my senior year in high school, my interest in anime was waning. Still, I attended the convention, only this time my attention was majorly diverted from cosplay. It seemed like right around this time Lolita was really beginning to pick up and I saw gorgeous outfits everywhere! I was gobsmacked. What was this beautiful fashion? Where did it come from? And most importantly, could I wear it too?

I went home and spent the rest of my summer researching these amazing clothes. That Christmas, as a gift from my aunt, I purchased my very first skirt and cutsew from Bodyline. I still own them both, and while the cutsew is a bit too sweet and casual for my tastes now, the skirt is still just as much a gem in my closet as it was the day it first arrived.

I still remember how it felt to put on my very first pieces of true Lolita clothing. As cliche as it is, it felt magical. I never thought I could look pretty, never believed I could look in the mirror and be unable to stop smiling. But when I put on that cutsew and skirt, I knew this fashion brought out in me what I had been hiding for a very long time, a part of me that I had long forgotten was even there. I found myself through a simple Bodyline outfit, and though that was a long time ago, I'll always strive to always feel as lovely as I did that day.

52 Challenge: Why I wear Lolita

I have a lot of aspirations and dreams for this blog. Nothing crazy or totally wild, but they push me and make me try to be the very best I can. Unfortunately, that also means I have a lot of fears too, and it's because of those fears that have basically already caused me to standstill on updating. What if I sound stupid? What if I'm not as eloquent or smart or beautiful as all the other Lolita bloggers I admire?

Because of these fears, this blog post has been sitting around for weeks, not even half finished, because I'm too afraid of continuing. But then earlier today, I received a Bodyline order I'd been waiting on for almost a month, and I was really excited to finally share my own little review on what I'd received. That's when it hit me-I hadn't even finished this post, how did I possibly think I could start another one? How was I ever going to finish ANY of them?

But you know what? I'm not a quitter. Maybe this isn't the most gorgeously written piece of literature ever, and maybe I don't sound as dainty and posh as I would have liked. But I can always work on that. For now, this is just me being me, and the only way I'm ever going to get this blog up and running is to just push back the doubts, and DO IT.

So, without any further ado, I would like to begin by answering number 7 of the 52 Lolita Blog challenge which was created by the lovely Caro-chan and posted on her popular blog, F Yeah Lolita, which can be found HERE.

Why I Wear Lolita

Why do I wear Lolita?

I wear it for the plain and simple fact that it helps me to feel like something I never thought I would be capable of. I helps me to feel beautiful.

Perhaps that's a very vain and shallow reason to enjoy it. Maybe there's something deeper there that I can't reach right now. But when I sit and think about the question without giving it too much philosophical merit, I find it really all just boils down to the fact that it's one of the extremely rare types of clothing I can put on, look in a mirror, and actually smile back.

When I wear Lolita, I am able to trick the world into thinking I have more confidence than I do. Wearing such unusual clothing tends to garner a bit of attention, which in turn helps me build the impression around myself that I don't care that I stand out and I am simply living my life.

Of course, like many young ladies out there, I am extremely self conscious about how I look and am perceived by others, but by wearing Lolita I find it helps me to step into the role of a self-assured, mature adult with no qualms about who I am or how I feel about myself. I admit, it's a little bit of self trickery, but by pretending to be this person, slowly I hope I can truly transform myself from the inside out into the woman I wish to be.

All in all, Lolita is a healing fashion for me-when I allow it to be. Sadly, it's easy to get caught up in the drama and inner ugliness that's so commonly spread about this fashion, and that very quickly can ruin what was once magical. However, if I take a step back, and allow myself to breathe, the true beauty of the fashion always shines through. Lolita is like the gateway to an enchanted place that is so tiny it's almost impossible to find, but if I open my mind and accept it and myself for what we are, I have the promise of someday finding it in my own time.