2009: A Lolita Year In Review

This post, by Momco on LJ, has got me thinking about my style from 2009. Last year I went absolutely bananas when it came to buying new clothes, this year I toned it down a bit and only bought what I needed, and even sold a bunch of stuff that I don't wear. I figured I would do the little meme Momoco posted. Feel free to do this little meme in the comments or your own blog! I would love to hear about everyone's year in Lolita.

This year, I was lucky enough to get/make for myself:
I didn't exactly buy any dream pieces this year, but I did get three of my most favorite to wear dresses. My Bodyline Naoto Knock-off cage skirt (yeah, I'm thankful for a Bodyline dress, I just really love it!), and 2 Baby bustle back plaid JSKs in both pink/black and red/black. I also got back into the habit of wearing blouses towards the end of this year. I'd been going through a year long blouse rebellion and only really wanting to wear boleros over blouseless JSKs. It feels nice to wear blouses again, it makes me feel like my outfits are much more complete.


Next year, I hope to have more of:
Definitely more commissioned pieces! 2008 and 2009 were the years of Caro-chan's burando extravaganza. I would really like 2010 to be the year of pieces that are custom made to fit me perfectly, and even pieces that I've designed myself! I hope to even finally get around to designing some fabric I love and getting it custom printed, I have a lot of ideas and half sketches. Like every Lolita, and every new year, I would like to learn to sew, at least have the patience to sew a few skirts! I hope to have a few more Classic pieces, I've always sort of ignored Classic, but over the past couple months I've been falling in love with the very decadent Classic styles.

Besides just new clothes that I want, I hope to go to a ton more meetups and have more Lolidays this year, especially ones in my state. Connecticut has tons of awesome Lolitas and I would really love for us all to get together a little more. I want to be a bit more active in our local Lolita scene too, by hosting or even just helping with more meetups. I too often just take the backseat at Lolita events and just show up instead of host. I would like to learn to be a better photographer and start taking some nice Lolita photos of me and my friends. I also am hoping to take my Loliblogging to the XTREME by doing more tutorials, posting more pictures of my own outfits, and doing a few more giveaways.

I guess I want 2010 to be very busy XD But when it comes right down to it I just want to be more creative, more active, and less frivolous with my money, which is something everyone should strive for in the new year, Lolita or not.

My favorite Lolita memory of 2009 was:
There are so many! This year didn't have too many meetups or Lolita events, but there was still a lot of fun stuff going on. I would have to say my top favorite Lolita things I did this year was our Guro photoshoot and our cross-state Loli road trip to go to a Lolita's yard sale to pick up some cheap burando.

I have been going through my folders, looking for various pictures from whatever Lolita related thing I could find that I've done this year. Instead of posting all of them (I usually take tons of pictures!) I'll go through and post a single photo from each event.


The first Lolita event of 2009 was a little get together in February to exchange some very late Christmas presents, and to go bowling in our frills, or Bowlita, as I like to call it. I pretty much immediately fell flat on my face and scraped my palms on the bowling ally floor. What can I say? I just have sooo much grace. Here's me and Janet making the lumpiest heart ever, as is tradition. I'm wearing my BtSSB Puppy Parfait skirt that I love so much :D

Once the weather got a little bit warmer, in late March I think, we headed to an aquarium for a small meetup. One of the coolest things at a meetup happened here! We were walking around, browsing some local shops and 2 Japanese girls, who spoke hardly any English, recognized us as Lolitas and followed us around a bit asking us about our favorite Jrock bands, then we all tried to say each others names. A group of older women wanted to take our pictures with these girls as we exclaimed band names back and forth. That was pretty much the extent of the conversation XD no one knew enough Japanese to speak to them, and they didn't seem to know a whole lot of English. The picture I have that the older women took is all dim and half our group is cut off, but I still love it! This isnt't that picture obviously, but one from the aquarium. I'm in the back, in pink and black BtSSB, as usual, getting over excited about a penguin statue.


As is apparently tradition for us we decided to dress up stupidly for April Fools day. This year we did decora. Janet borrowed a huge jar of her raver friends bracelets, we all pooled together our stupid action figures, and then we went to town. You ended up not being able to see it, but I had a Kevin Costner from Waterworld action figure in my hair. Janet had wresting action figures, and Rayray had anime figurines. We, needless to say, looked stupid.

The same day as our nightmare deco fest, we did a guro shoot. This was all sorts of fun, and most of the pictures turned out really cool. I did manage to nearly ruin a lot of clothes though! My white rocking horse shoes have red splatters on them now, and it took a lot of bleaching to get out some dye from a shirt I wore after the guro shoot. To learn from my mistakes, check out the Guro Lolita post I made a few months ago.


A few months passed without much stuff going on, then Janet and I went to a Gothic Lolita meetup in New York City. We had a blast and it was great meeting new Lolitas, even if going out to the city kind of drains me! For a meetup that started at noon I had to get up and get going at 6am! But it was worth it, this meetup was hosted at a Medieval art museum, and it was amazing to be able to see the art there. I've been wanting to go back ever since. This picture is of Janet getting her picture taken, she was wearing the greatest pair of boots I'd ever seen!


We then had another small meetup, a kite flying one! To meetups I usually don't wear Gothic Lolita, because it's what I wear at home, so it doesn't really feel like dressing up to me. But I decided to go for it this time and wear my "normal" clothes to a meetup. The little bolero is my only piece of Moitie and I almost left it on the boardwalk. Oops, I make a very poor Manatard.


We decided to travel across the state to go to a girls yardsale where she was selling off a lot of her Japanese brand items. We all got a lot of awesome stuff for really cheap. Besides a bunch of h.NAOTO tops I picked up a Black Peace Now (with tags still attached!) jacket for $30, and Rayray got a Jesus Diamante necklace for $35. This is a picture of Janet filling up her car, looking shocked to be caught doing something so unladylike!

Besides a few random get togethers to go to the movies, and a couple conventions, those were the only Lolievents of the year that I can think of right now! I really hope to have more in 2010.

Just like my other meme, if you do this one, let me know and I'll make a list of everyone who's done it!

Ask Miss Caro-chan: The Difference Between Gothic Lolita And Kuro Lolita

Todays Ask Miss Caro-chan is a quick one, it comes from a girl named Drama Queen. I would have liked to have been posting a few more questions, but Christmas kind of got in the way. But don't let that stop you from asking more questions!
whats the difference between gothic lolita and Kuro Lolita?
This one is pretty easy! "Kuro" means "black" in Japanese, and Kuro Lolita refers to an all black Lolita outfit. Gothic Lolita is a style of Lolita, and can be colors other than black, check out my post Adding Elegance To Gothic Lolita if you're not quite sure what passes as Gothic Lolita. Some Gothic Lolita is indeed all black, but it's not usually referred to as Kuro Lolita. And a Lolita most likely won't use the term Kuro Lolita to describe themselves, because it just means a specific color, but plenty of people call themselves Gothic Lolitas, because it is a whole unique style. It might be a little confusing unless you are very familiar with Lolita as a whole, and specifically the Gothic Lolita style.


A couple of Kuro Lolita coordinates. Their dresses are very basic Lolita, a JSK and blouse or a blouse and skirt combo, everything is simply black.


A couple of Gothic Lolitas, while they are wearing a lot of black, their coordinates both have a very Gothic style.

Kuro Lolita has a sister style called Shrio Lolita, "Shiro" meaning "white" in Japanese. It is, you guessed it, an all white Lolita outfit. Despite the fact that it's the exact same thing as Kuro Lolita, only with white, no one ever gets it confused with Gothic Lolita because white is not seen as a gothic color.


Shiro and Kuro Lolitas are often the themes of many twin outfits!

A Lolita Meme!

I love silly little memes, and here's a Lolita one that was going around my friends list a few weeks ago. Feel free to do this meme for yourself in the comments, or if you post it in your own blog, let me know! I would be very interested in knowing people's answers.

1. Best Lolita fashion advice you've ever received?
I don't think anyone has ever given me any advice. I learned Lolita on the streets! But I would have to say the best Lolita advice that I have learned would be to wear socks of appropriate lengths. Don't wear knee socks with very short skirts, huge amounts of skin showing on your legs just looks silly.

2. Style icons?
I don't really have many Lolita style icons, there's a few girls who's posts on Daily Lolita that I always look forward to, and certain brands who's styles I really love, but I don't really keep up with Lolita 'celebrities', and I just don't get famous Lolita models. Sure, some of them are cute, but they usually just model one particular brand's clothes, so you rarely see them in a style all their own. So, these are my style icons, Lolita and otherwise, in no particular order.

Yuka and Sachi

Sshh, I don't really listen to Kokusyoku Sumire, I just think they are adorable and really love their style. These two don't always wear "real" Lolita, but it's still cute and doll-like. My favorite part of their style is their use of indie brands and great big bonnets combined with big wide eyes.

Mana

Of course, how could he not be? I used to really like Malice Mizer and Moi Dix Mois, but haven't listened to them in years. I'm certainly no Manatard, and I don't really care about Moitie, but Mana still holds a special place in my heart. My favorite part of Mana's style is that it's just so gothic. I love all the velvet and crosses and even the satins and PVCs. Plus, I just love the black and blue combo!

Anna Varney Cantodea

Anna Varney is the voice behind one of my favorite bands, Sopor Aeternus. Anna Varney has not always looked so refined, most of her musical career has been spent naked, in tombs, eating dead crows while screaming. But I've just been so in love with her recent Victorian look. Especially her use of a hint of pale, pinky-purple with black.

Melora

Melora, the one in the middle, is from the band Rasputina. I think I have a liking towards the Mori Girl look because it reminds me of the band. My favorite part of her style is the way she combines a dusty Victorian look with an eccentric tribal look.

Dame Darcy

Dame Darcy is a musician and comic book arist. One of her comics even appeared in a Gothic Lolita bible. I love her comics and her music, and she seems like a very charming and talented girl. I just love her vintage look. She has a similar dusty Victorian look, only a bit less eccentric and more elegant.


3. Describe your personal style.
Hm, this one's tricky, how about "Can I match it with black?" I like sweet prints, but I don't want like to go all out PINK and PASTEL so I just really like pastel and black combos. Mostly pink and black. Aside from that I would say "Forcing my regular goth clothes on my Lolita wardrobe", fancy ubergoth bustiers combined with Lolita skirts, granny boots, coffin purses, and so forth.

4. Favorite designers/brands?
That I actually own: Baby and h.NAOTO. I love Baby because I've just always been impressed with the quality, the lace is thick and beautiful, the cottons are soft and dreamy, and they have such a wide variety of designs and colors. I also love how Baby is usually really cheap on the second hand market XD. I love h.NAOTO because it's just so fun to wear! I love the print over-loaded pieces, and I love wearing them all at once. Brands I love that I don't own any because of cost, availability, and size: Juliette et Justine, Atelier Pierrot, Antique Beast.

5. Most cherished items?
My corsets. But other than that, my Stained Glass Print high-waist skirt and my black/pink Virgin Mary JSK.. The Stained Glass print is my dream print and I was ecstatic to get my hands on something of my own in that print, it's even the original print! Not the newer, somehow less pretty, Stained Glass print. I really love religious Lolita prints, so I fell in love with the Virgin Mary JSK, and it's in my favorite color combo! I see it being sold in cream sometimes and am always tempted to buy it in that color as well.

6. Most used item?
My plain black fully shirred BtSSB JSK. It was my first piece of burando (besides some totes)! And I wear it all the time. It's just so easy to wear and you can match it with just about anything.

7. I feel best wearing?
Whatever I happen to like most this week. Usually something black because I feel most comfortable in black.

8. The first thing I look for in another Lolita's outfit...
Texture maybe. I like outfits with lots of different kinds of textures. Either lots of ruffles, interesting fabric, fur, or something like that.

9. Lolita Fashion rule you never break?
What one haven't I blindly broken?! Honestly though, skirt shape. It's just not Lolita to me if it isn't poofy. If I wear something with minimal poof, I just feel like I'm wearing it wrong.

10. Never caught wearing?
I bet no matter what I put here I am going to fall in love with in the next month or two! I used to hate rocking horse shoes, bonnets, and polka-dots. Now I love them! But honestly, probably super casual stuff like ETC and MILK. It's cute, just not me at all. I would feel like I'm wearing just regular clothes in them, and where's the fun in that?

11. Dress to impress who?
Dress to impress yourself :P

12. Your next "must have" purchase?
A black and white striped JSK and an all black Marie Antoinette styled dress, probably from Anna House.

13. Favorite type of head accessory?
My head bows! I like big ones most of all, but little classy side bows are cute too. They're just so easy to wear and you don't really have to over style your hair to make them look good.

14. Favorite cut of clothing (shirring, high waist, princess seams etc)?
Well, for brand: shirring, because it will fit me that way, but I do really really love high-waisted skirts. I also love really poofy skirts, I'm not too much of a fan of A-line skirts.

15. Current obsession?
Bonnets! I could never really wear one for everyday wear, but I love oogling over them!

16. Best Lolita fashion advice you can give to anyone:
Cute prints and expensive labels can only go so far to save a train wreck of an outfit. If it doesn't fit you or flatter you, don't wear it. Period.

Thank you to everyone that's been doing this meme! I'm going to be keeping a list of everyone that has done it. Remember, if you do this meme and post it to your blog, let me know and I'll add your link.

Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has got all their last minute shopping done and can spend the next couple of days relaxing and cramming your face with as many holiday snacks as possible.

Do you have any Lolita holiday traditions? Do you give out lolified Christmas cards, host a frill filled Christmas bash, participate in any Lolita Secret Santas, or just use the holiday to wear your finest ruffles? If you have yet to make your Christmas a little frillier, you've still got a day left! Dig through your wardrobe for your fanciest dress in red, green, or white and add some pretty gold accessories, bake some cookies and decorate them to match your favorite dress, or make a cute lacy Christmas tree ornament!

Bodyline, The Lolita's Walmart Part: 2, How To Wear Bodyline Without Looking Like You're Wearing Bodyline

Part 2 of my Bodyline, The Lolita's Walmart series is one for intermediate Lolitas. Part 1 was for the Lolita beginner, someone looking to buy their first piece, but not sure enough in Lolita to do it without some help. Part 2 is for the intermediate Lolita, someone who knows enough about Lolita to be able to pick through Bodyline for the good stuff, but, for whatever reasons, can't take the plunge into brand or even high quality commissioned pieces. If this is you, you want to get the most bang for you're buck and Bodyline is going to do that for you. The problem is, you don't want it to look like most of your outfits comes from Bodyline.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with wearing Bodyline, you obviously should not be forced to feel ashamed for not being able to buy $300 dresses willy nilly. But maybe you don't want to be just another girl in Bodyline. There's no shame in wanting your wardrobe to look a bit more glamorous than it really is either!

Bodyline wardrobe Dos and Don'ts
  • Don't buy the same pieces everyone else is wearing. If everyone is wearing a handful of particular Bodyline pieces, everyone else is aware that they are Bodyline. Look for the pieces that are a good design and quality that everyone else isn't wearing. You want people to go "Oh! That's Bodyline?!" when you tell them!
  • Don't buy Bodyline's custom prints. Bodyline's custom prints are very obviously from Bodyline, just because of the fact that they are a distinctive print, it has nothing to do with the prints being "less cute" than brand prints. Stay away from Love Nadia, that one with the lolly pops, Lovely Poodle, and their music note stuff, just because everyone knows that those prints are from Bodyline.
  • Don't buy replica prints. For the reasons in the above 2 don'ts. Everyone else probably already has them, and if they don't everyone knows that no one really has the original AP Fruits Parlor.
  • Do go for their classical floral prints. Finding a cute solid color dress or skirt on Bodyline is pretty hard, so instead look for very pretty classical florals. Floral fabrics have been seen in nearly every Lolita brand.
  • Do keep it simple. Look for very basic looking pieces, and try to avoid anything over the top or with some kind of unusual detailing such as asymmetry or distressed fabric.
  • Do some modifications if you have to. Removing a few bows, changing the lace, or even adding some details are all things you can do to make a piece unique.
  • Do buy pieces you can mix and match in interesting ways. If you wear Bodyline in an interesting way or in a unique coordinate, you're going to make the outfit be even more you and less off-the-rack Bodyline. I like to use boleros or cardigans in a accent color to make plain outfits a little different.
  • Do mix in some offbrand pieces in your coordinate. Yes, something even more offbrand than Bodyline! Especially if you don't feel confident enough in your color coordination skills to mix and match a unique coordinate, use some offbrand pieces in your outfit so it's not head-to-toe Bodyline.
A couple examples using these Dos and Don'ts
Here is a coordinate using all Bodyline pieces. I've used the blue from the print in the shoes and the bolero. The print and simplicity of the JSK don't scream "Hey! I cost $50 from Bodyline!" combined with a slightly out-of-the-ordinary 3-color color scheme (offwhite, white, and pale blue) makes sure this coordinate doesn't look like it came directly off the rack and onto you.


Here is another example, again using a rather plain JSK, but this time with some offbrand pieces. The shoes and the cardigan give the dress a very vintage 1940's look.

In the end, always buy what you want and will be happy wearing. But these are a few tips to keep in mind if you want to both wear what you want and maybe even impress some people. After all, if we only ever wore want we wanted, most all of us would be living in sweat pants and over-sized hoodies!

A little blog update: I'm trying out a new commenting system that lets people reply to individual comments, sort of like how they work on Live Journal. Let's hope I set it up correctly, because I would really like to make the comments a bit more interactive than they were. I try to respond to each comment, but, with the old method, all I was pretty much doing was leaving a new comment, and replies go unheard that way.

Christmas Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who enter the Christmas giveaway! The winner of this little giveaway is Noel'sLife.me.

I hope to have a few more giveaways in the future, so keep a look out for more, and once again, thank you all very much!

Metamorphose Finally Being AWESOME

Okay, so I usually only post about Meta when they do something off-the-wall wacky, but recently they just shocked me with these two beautiful dresses. So here's some Meta WTF-why-are-you-so-awesome dresses that were just revealed.

Kimono Print Shirred Pinafore Dress


The cut of this dress is a Meta classic. Huge poofy skirt, shirred top, a few rows of lace, and a few bows. Combine that with a beautiful Kimono print cotton, another thing that Meta is known to do beautifully, and you've got one hell of a dress. I am not at all a Wa-loli fan, and honestly, this probably wouldn't be considered Wa-loli, but if more of it was like this, I'd be a fan. This dress is available now, so far in only the red, but their blog is showing a lovely black version as well.

Revival Bouquet Print

Another Meta classic! They have been doing dresses in this bouquet print since the early 2000's. While it's sometimes hit or miss, I think this one is just beautiful. It has a very Classic and Victorian style to it, and I just adore the little buttons up the front! This dress has yet to even go on reservation and looks like it will be available for the spring. I'm very excited to see some new Classic Lolita pieces coming from Meta!

You Got Your Gothic In My Lolita!

My first post on building up a Gothic Lolita wardrobe is a from the ground up kind of how-to, assuming that the Gothic Lolita to be is getting into Lolita from a more "mundane" fashion, either mainstream or a jeans and tee kind of style. My previous starter set was also had a lot of style wiggle room, for the newbie who wanted to be able experiment with other Lolita styles while still maintaining a Gothic Lolita wardrobe. This post is a little bit different, it is about building a Gothic Lolita wardrobe using many pieces from a pre-existing Gothic wardrobe, for someone who knows that Gothic Lolita is the style for them. So these coordinates are all extra Gothicky and might be a bit all over the Gothic to Lolita spectrum, some being more Gothic than straight up Lolita


First up, the Lolita pieces to be introduced into the Gothic wardrobe. These are mostly very basic pieces.
  • A JSK, I picked a rather fancy one from Baby, but it doesn't have to be.
  • A black skirt, tiered, or with some kind of interesting detail, perhaps a bustle or even something as simple as being a velvet or brocade skirt.
  • A black blouse with a Peter Pan collar
  • A pair of over-the-knee socks
  • A rather extravagant bonnet.
A different head piece could have easily been picked out, maybe a round lacy corsage? But I think an extra fancy black Victorian styled bonnet is a perfect head piece for a very Gothicky Gothic Lolita.


Next is the pre-existing Gothic wardrobe. Now, I'm talking Victorian Goth, Romatagoth, or maybe even something a bit Vampiric, something classical and elegant, not futuristic or nihilistic. These are all pieces that can easily be found in a full Gothic wardrobe, we've got:
  • 2 corsets, a plain black one and something a bit more fancy
  • An elegant long sleeved top (this one actually just came from Bodyline, but that's because Polyvore kind of sucks for Goth stuff)
  • A bolero
  • A lacy and ruffly blouse
  • A fancy tank top or cami top
  • 2 purses, something fancy and something very Gothic
  • 3 shoes, boots, and 2 pairs of heels, one plain and one a little bit crazier
  • 2 pairs of pretty tights
  • 2 pairs of ladies gloves
  • A faux fur shawl
  • A little feathery fascinator for the hair
  • An assortment of jewlery
This might seem like a lot of stuff, and I'm certainly not suggesting you rush out and buy this all, these are just all "typical" Goth pieces that a fleshed out wardrobe that has probably been added to for years would contain. Now, onward! to my silly named coordinates using both of these sets of clothes

Plain ol' Gothic Lolita

Yep, just plain ol' Gothic Lolita. Using nearly all of the Lolita pieces I've made a Gothic Lolita coordinate by only adding the boots and a few accessories such as a brooch, a long necklace, and some rings. For when you want to blend in with the other Lolitas!

Burlesque Night At The Théâtre des Vampires

This is a rather over-the-top outfit that makes me think of a night spent at an opera, time to break out all your most extravagant pieces and wear them all at once. I completely forgot to add a purse, but either one would look fantastic.

The High Cost of Living

Tank tops in Goth have reminded me of Neil Gaiman's Death :P Even though this one is covered up with a bolero, it still reminds me of Death, I think it's the coffin purse and the long silver necklace. Maybe pair this coordinate with black umbrella?

Marie Antoinette's Funeral

Maybe it's the look of that bolero's sleeves, combined with a blouseless JSK, but it reminds me of fancy 1700's dresses. Wear your hair up in lots of coifs and curls!

Memento Mori

A traditional Lolita outfit fancied up a bit with a corset, a few Gothic accessories, and a pair of lacy gloves peeking out from under your cuffs. To me, combining a Peter Pan collard blouse with a corset has a very Gothic and Victorian look, but still remains very childish looking. Providing, I think, an interesting contrast.

Memoirs of a Transylvanian Concubine

The sheer blouse, opera gloves, and boots make this coordinate a little bit Ero, don't forget to wear a cami under the blouse though! The corset is optional, I just can't help but want to add corsets over coordinates.

Our Lady Of The Broken Hearts

A simple Lolita coordinate with a corset over a JSK. I think that the addition of the big Victorian bonnet and the corset over the JSK, give the coordinate a very decadent look, without having to over accessorize.

Now, as I said, some of these coordinates might border a bit more on Gothic than Lolita, but I hope this has perhaps inspired some people not to be afraid to mix up their wardrobes a bit, and to think up creative ways to get a bit more wearability out of the beginnings of a Lolita wardrobe. Or, even if you don't have an epically full gothic wardrobe to start mixing in a bit with your Lolita wardrobe, maybe this post will inspire you to try something a little different with your next Gothic Lolita coordinate.

Ask Miss Caro-chan: Younger Lolitas At Meetups

Todays Ask Miss Caro-chan comes from Confused Younger Lolita, and she asks
How do you feel about younger lolitas coming to meetups? I'm thirteen, and most of the lolitas in my area are at least 18. From what I can tell, not many older lolitas like younger lolitas coming to their meetups. I wouldn't want to go to one without telling everyone, then it would be awkward. So, how do you feel about it? I mean, it's not like I'm going to be "DURR HURR HURR PENIS I AM TEENAGED DURR HURR."
Okay, so maybe you're not as young as that picture XD I just really wanted an excuse to use it since it's so cute! Younger Lolitas are certainly welcome at most meetups, but it honestly all depends on your specific meetup group. Get to know your local Lolitas first, and do let them know that you are younger than they are. Let them see, by interacting with them on your local forums or communities, that you aren't of the spazzy HURFF A DURRF variety of teenager. If for some reason you think they are either judging you harshly for your age, or are simply not comfortable hanging around someone your age, then it would honestly be best to skip the meetups with them, because the day might just end up very awkward in either case.

The individual meetups should also be taken into consideration. If it is something like a dozen or more going to the movies and then to a cafe, all ages are usually welcome, but if it is something like 4 older girls going to dinner and then just hanging around town, it might be a little strange for everyone, yourself included, if a 13 year old were to go with them. Try to imagine the situation minus the ruffly clothes and headbows, do you think you would you feel like you are part of a group? Or like you are simply tagging along with an older cousin you barely know?

At most Lolita meetups the Lolita clothes are simply the excuse for the gathering, but not the real reason that brings people together. Other common interests besides "I like frills too!" are typically what keeps local meetups going strong, after all, there's only so much anyone can stand to talk about dresses. Truth be told, 13 year olds and 20-something year olds don't usually have the same interests. So if you're younger and at a meetup filled with much older girls, you might feel a bit left out once the meetup starts winding down and everyone is over the thrill of "OMG you're wearing a frilly dress too!" If you think this will be the case, you might want to consider going to only part of the meetup. Most meetups have two parts, an activity such as a movie or something interesting to do with a group followed by a more relaxed setting, usually at a cafe or restaurant. You might want to think about skipping the second half of a meet if you think that you are going to spend dinner staring at your plate and trying to look interested. If you feel that you will be welcome in the group and just want to meet some Lolitas in real life, by all means go to the movies or bowling or an art show with them! But know that not every situation is a mixed age appropriate situation, and know when it is time to say your goodbyes.

If, for one reason or another, you don't think your local meetups will workout for you, but you still want to be able to have a reason to get together with like minded people and dress up, try starting a club at your school. You might think you're the only one in town interested in Lolita, but the style is getting more and more popular, you never know who you might uncover in your own school who shares your passion for Lolita. Try broadening the clubs theme to anime, or even Japanese culture to try to get others interested. Here's a handy e-how tutorial on starting up a school club.

To anyone hosting a Lolita meetup, if you really don't feel like your meetup group would be appropriate for younger girls, don't be afraid to make the meetup age restricted. Having younger girls with you for the day is a responsibility, and if you feel like you cannot handle or even just don't want to bother with the responsibility, then it's best to have an age limit. Don't feel pressured to take on more responsibilities than you can handle. If you are hosting a meetup with younger girls in attendance, get in contact with their parents and let them know what exactly everyone will be doing for the day.

More Meta WTFery

Well Meta has come out with a few new pieces. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Well... they sure do like that fabric, they seem to be making everything out of it. There's a pink one too, but it's so pale it looks nearly identical to the white on in photos. This dress I think can be filed under "so ugly I sort of like it" for me. The more I stare at it in disbelief the more I kind of want it. Especially the black/black and red/black colorway. They would both look pretty awesome if you Gothic'd them up a bit with some accessories. What's with the migrating bows? On the red dress they are on the bodice, but on the other two dresses they are on the sleeves. I'm assuming this is Meta's subtle (Meta, subtle?!) way of telling us the bows are detachable.

Besides dresses of questionable taste, Meta has been releasing a lot of bonnets lately. I think all of these are really awesome looking, and don't seem to be the big floppy head ruffles that are sometimes released and called a bonnet. I'm especially loving the ones that match the new tacky dresses. If only I had a spare 400 bucks that I didn't mind blowing on something of completely questionable taste so I can have a set!

Just as a friendly reminder, don't forget to enter my Christmas giveaway! There are still a few days to enter!

Bodyline, The Lolita's Walmart, Part 1: Bodyline for Beginners

As most any thrifty Lolita will tell you, Bodyline just isn't what it used to be. And oooh boy are we lucky for that! Bodyline used to be known for their cheap lace monster maid cosplays, but in the past couple of years they have really turned around for the better. Bodyline is a great choice for all sorts of Lolitas, either those just getting into the fashion and want more bang for their buck, for seasoned Lolita looking to pad her wardrobe with some basics, or just because everyone can use a cute $30 skirt every now and then. I was originally going to make this into one post, but it got a little too long, so instead I'll be splitting it into a few parts, one for newbies, one for Lolitas looking to pad their wardrobe, and maybe another one or two for a few miscellaneous things.

Tips for the beginner Lolita looking to make their first purchase from Bodyline

I really wish Bodyline was as great as it is now back when I just getting into the fashion *old fogey rant*. Back in my day all we had was Fan+Friend, and their prices really aren't all that cheap, plus they always messed up the sizes. For some reason Fan+Friend seems to assume that their customers are always lying about their measurements and assume you are 7 feet tall and 50 pounds heavier than you really are. Bodyline is a much cheaper, quicker, and easier shop for new Lolitas to buy their first pieces from, but there are a few things you should keep in mind, especially if you are looking to make your first Lolita pieces something of good quality and of a design similar to what big name brands sell.
  • Look for reviews of the specific piece you want. While most of their pieces now are of good quality, they still have a few pieces from the old days that are of questionable quality and might use really stiff and cheap lace, thin fabric, or a weird cheap fabric. It's better to look, or even ask, then to get something you weren't expecting.
  • Keep it simple. The best pieces on Bodyline are relatively simple pieces, a solid or simple print dress with only a few decorations. Most of the Bodyline pieces that fail are filled with too much stuff, wacky hemlines, too much lace, zippers in crazy places, that kind of stuff.
  • Stay out of the "separates" section. "Separates" in Bodyline talk means 2 or more pieces, usually a dress set of some kind such as a blouse and skirt sold together. For some reason, whenever I see new Lolitas asking about opinions on what to get for their first Bodyline purchase they always want something from the separates section, my guess is because they think they are getting more for their money since they are getting a whole bunch of different pieces. Except for the fact that things in the section are usually more expensive and not versatile pieces at all. Most of the pieces in the separates section are actually meant to be Lolita costumes not everyday Lolita.
  • Don't be afraid to do a little bit of modification. I'm not suggesting that you take up sewing classes and learn out to completely change an outfit from Bodyline. I'm talking about simple and small things like removing bows. Sometimes Bodyline goes a little crazy with the weird looking bows, all it takes is a few tiny snips of thread to take them off.
  • Use common sense. Especially when shopping in the separates section, you might think that you will be able to make 3 outfits out of one dress set, but can you really make 3 different outfits, or 3 outfits each featuring purple glittery plaid and batwing hems? Besides that does anything about the outfit seem off to you? A weird cut, kind of blah pattern, or something else about it that doesn't exactly look like something your favorite brand would do? While many Bodyline pieces are fantastic, there still are a few throwbacks from the old days.
Examples of "good" and "bad" Lolita on Bodyline

Examples of "good" dresses from Bodyline
These are all relatively simple dresses. They each have a very traditional Lolita cut and shape, only a few details, and the prints are very pretty and not loud or awkward.


Examples of "bad" Lolita dresses from Bodyline
These are all very busy and Cosplay-ish pieces. The first one just has too much stuff going on, neon plaids, pearls, music notes, cat ears, bows, a sailor collar, a "gothic" cut to the jacket, you name it and this outfit has it, and honestly it just looks like a hot mess. The second outfit is actually an Angelic Pretty knockoff, a very poor Angelic Pretty knockoff. The gingham is huge and the details look half-assed and awkward. The third dress could almost be good, but it still looks just too messy with the asymmetrical hem and the lace details, like it's trying to merge a few different Lolita details but failing. The final dress is just all sorts of wrong. It's not even a proper shape, it's boxy and weird. These 4 pieces demonstrate 4 of the things Bodyline tends to fail, too much "wacky" stuff going on, bad knockoffs, something almost right but ending up awkward, and something that's just not the right shape at all.

In the end, you should buy what you like, not what other people tell you to buy, but when it comes to Bodyline, because of their hundreds of different dresses, they are sometimes hit-or-miss if you are going for genuine Lolita.
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