Lolita Resolutions 2015

With 2014 rapidly reaching it's end, I thought I might partake in a good old fashioned tradition. Evaluating the past year, how I and my life has changed, and the new steps in which I hope to pursue in the future. Apply a Lolita spin onto that, and we have Lolita Resolutions for 2015!

I admit, I am wary of referring to these goals, hopes and aspirations as "resolutions". The word has a heavy connotation attached to it, and given how rapidly my life has altered its path over these past few months, it's impossible to say that in just a few more my priorities and circumstances might also grow drastically different. With that disclaimer in mind, onward!

Experiment with my hair
My hair tends to be very flat and often boring. It is naturally wavy but refuses to hold proper curls without half a can of hairspray. My hope is to find at least one new, every day style to wear that's pretty, easy to do, and not just a ponytail or bun.

Take better/more photos:
 I'll be the first to admit it. I detest taking photos. This includes both pictures of myself and taking photos of other people/things. I simply have absolutely zero patience for it and as I'm rather un-photogenic, always wind up frustrated with how I look. Still, on the rare occasion they turn out nice, I do actually very much like to look at them after. And as I expect this to be quite an interesting year, I'd like to try to push myself to actually document it more along the way.

 Invest in underskirts: 
 I have continued to push and push this off, and I realize it's really inhibiting my enjoyment of wearing Lolita. I definitely prefer to wear skirts that are actually at my knee, and I often feel uncomfortable in Lolita that is even just a couple inches too short.

This lovely has been on my wishlist for far too long!

Grow my blouse collection:
This is the bane of my Lolita existence. I seem to have the very, very worst luck when it comes to finding pretty, Lolita or Loliable blouses I can both afford and/or fit into. Over the past few weeks I have come into the very annoying predicament of having far too many skirts (both of the Lolita and non-Lolita variety) with almost nothing but plain tank tops to wear them with! I often avoid the problem by shopping...for more skirts! I really need to focus specifically on blouses and tops as I've already grown weary of recycling through the 3 or 4 I have that are actually suitable for something nicer than the beach.

Socks: 
Just...socks. And tights. I've lamented earlier about my love/hate relationship with tights,but I have this unshakeable belief that many coords look ten times better with pretty, detailed, dainty stockings. While I'll never stop wearing my plain black faithful tights, I am determined to continue working on adding a bit of life into this particular area of my wardrobe.

Find my own personal style:
For as long as I've been dabbling in Lolita and all the research and blogging that's come along with it, I still feel that I don't have a very strong grasp when it comes to my own unique, personal style. More and more lately I've been blending Lolita with non-Lolita pieces and I'm finding that this freedom to experiment has really rekindled my enthusiasm in fashion as a whole. I'm excited to continue searching and finding out what really is going to make me feel beautiful and how I might be able to share what I'm learning along the way with others who are also still on the hunt for their fashion voice.

I realized a little late that this is actually this week's topic for the Lolita Blog Carnival! So I'm going to go ahead and add in some links to my fellow bloggers. As always, thanks for reading!

Raven Snow
The Bloody Tea Party
Diary of a Gothic Lolita
The Kingdom of Frilly Magic
Masquerade Doll
Alice in Lolitaland
OH TRALALA
Geisha Baby
Hello Batty
Lolita Glamour
Classical Doll
Sparkling Girl

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 

LBC: Most Loliable Place in my Hometown

This week's round of the Lolita Blog Carnival hits at a pretty perfect time for me, as it was only a couple of posts ago I just finished talking about the very subject! That is, the topic is The Most Loliable Place in my Hometown!

I admit, the place I will be discussing is not my actual town. This is partly due to that I feel a bit awkward plastering where I live online, and also simply because where I live is very, shall we say, not very loli. But that's okay, because the place I will be discussing is certainly adorable enough to make up for it! I present to you ladies and gentleman Downtown San Juan Bautista (California, USA).

Downtown San Juan Batista is a little under half an hour from where I live, and it's absolutely filled to the brim with adorable antique shops and interesting little boutiques. There are absolutely no large chain stores allowed, so it's a very small, personable little street where one truly feels welcome.

Unfortunately I did not have time to make another visit on my own before the LBC deadline, so these photos are all courtesy of Google Images. This is but a small glimpse of the many shops absolute jammed packed into this little street. Many of them are decorated with a quaint, shabby chic vibe and are absolutely perfect for any Lolita looking for a new brooch (there are hundreds to choose from!) or a gorgeous tea cup to add to her collection. Antique, vintage and beautiful treasures fill the windows and one can easily spend an entire afternoon exploring, shopping and just plain talking to the lovely owners.

Aside from all the wonderful shops, there are a few lovely little places to grab a snack as well. Margot's Ice Cream Parlor is wildly popular and definitely a treat to experience, and the Mission Cafe is nice for a quick bite of good old fashioned cooking. There's also a handful of amazing Mexican restaurants to choose from, a burger joint and even a little bakery to choose from. Remember, you won't find any chain restaurants around these parts, just good mom and pop food!

I should also mention that the mission of San Bautista is literally right behind downtown and definitely worth taking a look! The church has been beautifully preserved and is absolutely rich in history and beautiful scenery.

Not to mention, just look at that garden!! If that's not perfect for an afternoon stroll, then I may as well hang up my petticoat now. Of course one must remember to be very respectful as it is still an active church and an important historical landmark.

I hope anyone thinking about visiting California and is in the area gives this sweet little place a chance. It's very reminiscent of its roots and the perfect place for any Lolita to spend a day. If you're looking for more lovely Loliable places, please check out what these other bloggers have mentioned below!

A Little Bit of This...

 A Heart's Sound

LBC: Three things I could never see myself wearing

Yay! My first Lolita Blog Carnival! I've been excited to join in this awesome little blogging challenge for awhile now, and this seemed like a fun topic to kick start off with. So, without further ado, this week's topic was simply 3 things I could never see myself wearing. This was actually a bit more difficult to think about than I had anticipated! I find I'm willing to give things a chance at least once, but after some thought I was able to come up with my three top choices.

 OTT Sweet

I had a stint with sweet for a very short period of my Lolita career and all it left me with was a Unico and Bloomland skirt and the resolution to never wear it again. Sweet is extremely cute and I fully understand the appeal of its aesthetics. But actually wearing all that sugary pink and plastic jewelry is another beast entirely. My venture into sweet style had in fact been very toned down and not in the least bit OTT, but it was enough to make me realize that I simply do not feel comfortable in so many extra frills. I leave it as pretty to look at, not to wear.

Enormous wigs

I suppose this ties in a bit with my first point of OTT sweet as these extravagant wigs tend to be seen most in that style. Still, they can be found in other styles as well so I decided to give them their own category. For the longest time I didn't care for wigs of any sort at all as I never saw the point in them if the wearer has perfectly healthy hair of their own (for individuals who don't have hair or has hair problems this is a completely different matter however). But over the years I've slowly warmed up to the more relaxed looking wigs that still look fairly natural, and I think if they are of good quality and compliment the coord they can be a very pretty accent to an outfit. But the multi-colored, huge, ten mile high wigs with more hair than would ever be possible on a human head are just a no go for me.

 Themed coords

Something not inherently linked to sweet this time, but I don't see myself ever wearing any costume type of coord. It's not that I think they look bad, quite the contrary, I've actually seen some very beautiful outfits that were based off a fictional character's clothing. But even so, for me I feel this pushes too far into the costume category and these types of outfits can only be worn on special occasions, whereas I generally like to wear my Lolita on a more daily basis (when possible). That's not to say I don't appreciate bringing in elements from outside sources that I might like if it so happens to match my coord, but if the entire outfit is intended to look like someone else, that's where I draw the line.

All in all, I try not to close myself off too much for trying new things. For the longest time I thought I would never even want to wear anything other than solid black! But after a lot of trial and error I have a pretty good idea of what I do and don't feel comfortable wearing and what fits my own lifestyle.

So thanks for reading my first Lolita Blog Carnival post! I'm very excited to continue with these prompts, so if you enjoyed please leave a comment! Below you'll find the links to other Lolitas blogging on this topic and if you're interested in joining I highly encourage you to check out their page on Facebook.

Fellow LBC Articles:

New Vogue Children

The Literary Lolita

Northern Star 

Under the Parasol

What the Fluff
The Bloody Tea Party
Lovely Lunette