Ask Miss Caro-chan: What Exactly is Casual Lolita?

Today we have an Ask Miss Caro-chan that I've been meaning to write about for a while! I've been putting this off for so long that I've actually gotten several questions about it, here are just a couple of them!

What do you think is considered casual loli? I'm still failing that balance between lolita aesthetics and casual/mainstream fashion (at least the skirt is loli; the coordination just fails miserably).

 We also have...

Hey! I'm 13 years old now,an i really love Lolita. But sweet is a little to much for me. Can you make a blog about casual lolita? And how to wear it at school? i have totally no guts. So please help me!! -XoXo- p.s. sorry for my bad english

That's right, today's topic is Casual Lolita! I've actually put off writing about this for so long because I feel that Casual Lolita is definitely a misnomer and and generally often misunderstood branch of Lolita. A lot of what people consider Casual Lolita is actually most likely either just part of, or inspired by, the Otome Kei fashion.The rest, is honestly just plain old Lolita!

There is also a lot of differences in opinion on what makes something Casual Lolita, are we talking about a regular Lolita coordinate that just so happens to include tee shirts, "toned down" Lolita, or Otome Kei coordinates? All of these things are often considered "Casual Lolita", but tend to be a bit different from each other!

The classic (With a little "c" here! Not the sort of Classic that involves Victorian Maiden & Inncent World!) idea of what constitutes a Casual Lolita coordinate looks a bit like this:


To me, these are one Gothic Lolita coordinates and 3 Sweet Lolita coordinates, the last of which sways more towards Otome. I don't really feel that the addition of a tee shirt, or slightly less amounts of poof (in some of the cases, not even all of them!) are really enough for a whole new sub-category of Lolita!

If you're looking to simply tone town your Lolita a bit, consider the following:
  • Don't go heavy on the poof! Wear a very minimal poof petticoat. Very few dresses are meant to be petticoat optional, so if your skirt is very gathered, you really shouldn't skip the petti completely. However, there are some cuts of Lolita dresses that can be OK without
  • Wear a cutsew or cardigan. They generally have a less stuffy, and more casual feel to them than button-up blouses or boleros.
  • Go light on the accessories. Wear a simple headbow and a piece or two of jewelry. Leave giant wigs and matching everything for another day.
These three simple tips tend to be enough to make your preferred Lolita style more casual, for when you still want to wear Lolita, but you don't want to constantly be knocking stuff over with your petticoat or feeling like you're overdressed! These are also things that I tend to do when wearing Lolita on an everyday basis. They're simple and easy, as they should be if you want to tone it down a bit!

I don't really feel that Casual Lolita has enough different style elements from other Lolita sub-styles that it really stands on it's own as a distinct sub-style. Instead I feel that almost any style of Lolita can be worn in a more casual manner just by toning down the outfits a bit.

Within the Lolita fashion outside of Japan, Otome Kei brands who happen to make Lolita appropriate pieces are very often considered Casual Lolita. Of course, these brands do make the perfect dresses for wearing Lolita on a more casual basis, but to me it always seems a bit wrong to take an already well developed fashion, such as Otome Kei (which has been around just as long, if not longer than Lolita!), and to sort of diminish it's importance as a fashion by referring to it as casual wear of a different fashion.

If you are interested about pairing up Otome with Lolita (and that is the post that I've been meaning to make forever! Hopefully one day...), consider some pieces by Milk, Jane Marple, or Emily Temple Cute, as they tend to be the classic examples of Otome brands that also make Lolita appropriate piece.


These are just some of the dresses that Emily Temple Cute makes that often get lumped in with Casual Lolita!

 What do you, personally, think about Casual Lolita? Do you feel that it's a subcategory all it's own? Or do you just tend to wear Lolita on a more casual basis and just consider it part of the regular Lolita style? How do you wear Lolita when you need to tone it down a bit?

Lolita Blog Carnival: 3 Prints I Would Like To See

This week's Lolita Blog Carnival question is actually quite similar to an older post I did back in 2010, 3 Prints I would Like To See. Considering it's been quite some time since that other post, and some of the things I talked about hoping brands would one day release, actually have been released! Tarot cards, stained glass, and books are all print themes that brands have since released, so let's revist the topic a little bit with 3 more prints I would love to see.


Gothic Architecture
This is something that Moitie has done a few times but I would love to see some more brands release more dresses with Gothic architecture inspired prints! Anything from more church windows to more border prints that feature Gothic castles along the bottom.
 
More of this, please!
While it's nice that Moitie has been doing this for a while, I would love some more variety in this theme that would come from other brands picking up this trend. I can imagine pen sketch styled illustrations of flying buttresses from Innocent World, painting styled prints of stained glass window details from Juliette et Justine, and sombre colors and rose vine covered Gothic churches from Alice & the Pirates!


The Wizard of Oz 
I believe this has really only been done once from brands, and that's by Baby the Stars Shine Bright, but I would definitely love to see more Wizard of Oz themed dresses! There are so many amazing scenes and characters from the books that would be perfect for a Lolita print. One of my favorite characters in the series is Princess Langwidere, who is a vain little princess who has a boudoir full of different heads that she replaces her own with. I think Alice & the Pirates  could do an amazing print featuring a gallery of cute severed heads and a haughty princess admiring them.

  Grave Stones
While this is another print that Moitie has done before, I ended up feeling it was sort of lackluster and didn't really live up to what a grave stone print could be. There are so many great ways to do grave stone prints, I think! From just a row of amazing looking gravestones along the hem of a skirt, to a more scenic look complete with mausoleums and mourners, to an all-over print featuring classical tombstone symbols!

I'm not the only blog talking about this topic! If you want to see what prints other Lolibloggers would love to see, just check out the other blogs that are participating in the LBC this week! If you're interested in joining our growing blogging circle, check out the Facebook group!


 I can't believe how much the Carnival has grown in just three weeks! I am so excited to see so many great bloggers, all with distinctly different tastes and types of Lolita, chime in with their opinion on each weekly topic!

Ball-Joint Doll Style Tights

To continue my theme of "things I have been obsessing with over on Tumblr", I'd like to talk a bit about these ball-joint doll styled tights that have been popping up quite a bit lately!

Dangerous Nude's "Nude Sox"
Lolita has always had a bit of a connection to both the slightly creepy side of things (of course, not all Lolita in general, but it's undeniable to say that for some Lolita styles and trends "creepy" is as much a part of the fashion as is "elegant" or "cute"!) as well as dolls, so it's not really an uncommon occurrence when trends or stylings pop up that are heavy on the creepy doll aesthetic! So, just in time for Halloween, I am all about these BJD style tights!

Tableau ball-joint tights. Buy them here, if they're in stock!
According to what I can dig up on Google, and through translated sites, the original pair that started the trend are made by the small indie brand Tableau and are sold via Selfer (Potentially NSFW). The originals are made in small batches by an independent artist (I believe the artist is Koh Ueno) and are typically pretty difficult to get their hands on because of that.

Quite possibly even more difficult to get your hands on, because of the whopping ¥3,990 price tag (that's just over $50 at the moment) and the fact that I don't believe you can order them internationally (see their shop-via-blog page) sinceI've only seen them on their blog, are the Dangerous Nude ball-joint tights. However, if you're willing to spend a bit and hunt down a shopping service their own sock line called "Nude Sox", and DN has a plethora of stunning ball-joint styled tights to choose from! Just check these out:
Not only do these feature ankle and thigh joints, but they come in a variety of options! The "plain" pair comes not only in white but in "Dolly Pink", and the other two are grunged up in a couple of different ways, Google translate tells me that's "Resident Evil" up there in the middle, and "Steam Punk" on the right!

If either of these pairs are out of your reach, all hope is not lost! If you're desperate for a pair of BJD tights (and I know you are, I certainly am!) there are a number of other, more easily obtainable and cheaper, options for you! If you're even a bit crafty, there are a couple tutorials out there how to make a very similar pair yourself. The best part about making these yourself is that you can include the ankle join that's missing from the originals that sort of irks every BJD collector out there, or even switch from black to a dark brown for a more naturally shaded look.

If you're looking to make a pair just like the Tableau pair, check out this semi-tutorial. It's all pictures, but the pictures are pretty self explanatory if you're capable of using stencils and an air brush. If you're not so handy with an air brush, here's a somewhat easier tutorial over on FairyTale a la Mode. The acrylic paint ones don't look so pretty off your legs, but they look just fine worn, and acrylic paint is often used to customize your tights.

Beadborg's custom airbrushed tights.
If you're in search of another shop that sells these, because let's face it, like any of us are ever going to get to our craft to-do list, you also have a couple options. Lockshop is currently running a preorder for a subtly styled pair of ball-joint tights here, and the Etsy shop Beadborg offers a more intensely painted pair of air brushed BJD style tights here. I'm actually really loving the Beadborg pairs, because of their custom color options and the detailed paint job! Unfortunately, the one thing the Beadborg tights lack is the back ball, but I've messaged them to ask about it, and was told that for $10 more, to cover the extra work, they can add it. However, if you want more up-to-date BJD tights (as most BJD's in production now rarely have a visible front knee ball) you can pretty much just wear them as-is backwards if you ask for an elastic channel to be painted on the joint.

If you really don't have the room in your budget for ridiculous doll tights, and really only just need the look for a costume (Halloween is right around the corner, and "creepy doll" is definitely a perennial favorite for the lazy Lolita!) there's an old cosplay trick I have heard of that basically just involves a number of black rubber bands of various sizes worn around the joints, see what I mean:

No idea who this is! It's a Shinku cosplay that's been floating around the web for years!
It looks convincing and is cheap and easy, just remember to take them off after a while so you don't end up losing circulation!

If you want to check out some more looks with these stockings, punch in 球体関節ストッキング to Google and you'll end up with a ton of results! I have noticed a weird trend of wearing the tights backwards, with the elastic slot in the front. As someone who has a number of BJDs, this is sort of irritating to look at, because I know that the vertical slot means that's the channel the elastic goes through to bend, meaning that their legs bend backwards! So if you do manage to either make or purchase your own pair of these and jump on this trend, remember that the vertical line on the ball joint goes behind your knee!

What do you think of this trend? I think it's currently a love it or loath it sort of thing due to the high creep factors. Like I've raved about this whole post, I'm seriously in love with the look! I'm a big fan of ball-jointed dolls, and of being sort of creepy, so these are definitely a trend I'm loving!

Vierge Vampur

In the past few months a few pictures from an up-and-coming Japanese indie Lolita brand, Vierge Vampur, have been making the rounds on Tumblr. Like the hundreds of other people who have reblogged these pictures, I'm completely blown away by these pieces! Take a look at what I'm talking about:

 

Not only are the dresses fresh and innovative, but the styling of the photoshoots is phenomenally creative! Unfortunately, one of the dresses I am most fond of, the one featuring the legs along the bottom, doesn't seem to have a worn photo to go with it.

What I, and many of the other people who are completely loving these designs, am very impressed with is the level of detail these pieces have, as well as the quirky designs. The cutlery dress features tiny spoon charms on the cuffs, complete with tiny bows, and on second glance the red and white striped dress is screen printed all over with various Victorian illustrations such as swallows, teeth, and scissors. To me these dresses are a mix of the decadence of Juliette et Justine, the cuteness of the Angelic Pretty releases that are reminiscent of old school designs, as well as the quirkiness of Otome brands such as Jane Marple or Emily Temple Cute.

One of the things I was most impressed with was the fact that these dresses didn't rely on the "traditional" custom border prints that many brands use now. These, instead, are very creatively screen printed, which is a process I've always loved more than printed fabric because I feel that it often adds an interest to the fabric, despite the fact that it relies on just the one color of ink! Especially when paired with velvet or an already patterned fabric!

Price wise, they are pretty typical of most Japanese Lolita brands, as their dresses tend to be between $250 to $300, thanks to the current high rate of the Japanese Yen and low rate of the US Dollar. Thanks to a heads up over on Twitter, I was just told that if you email them, they can do custom sizes for you!

So what do you think of this indie brand's designs? Creative and unique, or a little too out there for you?

You can find Vierge Vampur a number of places online:

Lolita Blog Carnival: Three Lolita Trends I Could Never Get Into

I'm trying to get back into the blogging swing of things, so these LBCs are really motivating me to post more, even if, for the time being, it is only once a week! They're also reminding me that it's OK to write more frivolous topics, as I'm sure you've noticed, most have my posts have been a little on the excessively long side lately!

This week's Lolita Blog Carnival asks about three trends you could never get into. Lolita has it's fair share of trends, some come to stick around, and some are over and done with real fast! Trends are great when they happen to line up with a style or a look you like already, but not so great when they don't but every insists that you've totally got to try it too!

 Extreme Eye Makeup
This always looks fantastic in pictures, it gives the perfect great big dolly eyes! But it was just something I could never do myself. I'm no good at putting in contact lenses, I have a hard time not feeling incredibly conscious of any fake eyelashes I am wearing, and I just don't get how to draw my lower lash line so low without looking weird. To top it all off, I wear glasses, so it would all be useless for me to do anyways! I love the look, but it seems like it was specifically designed just to frustrate me the most!

Taking Pictures of Your Outfits
Documenting your every outfit is not so much a fashion trend, but really more of a trend within the community. It's also something I just could never get into! Maybe it's because the only full length mirror I have is in my bedroom, which has terrible lighting and is always a clutter, or maybe it's just because I wear Lolita on a near-daily basis that I just don't really feel like it's a special occasion that needs documenting. I always tell myself that I'm going to try to take more pictures of myself in Lolita, but it's just something I will do for a day or two and then completely lose interest in.


Border Prints
Don't get me wrong, I love custom prints that Lolita brands release, and I appreciate the art of brand's border prints, but I just don't usually want to wear them. I have had a number of them in my wardrobe in the past, and I've ended up selling most of them because I just never liked wearing them so much. The one exception to my general disinterest to border prints is screen printed border prints. Those I just can't get enough of! Personally, I just feel like a lot of border prints are too busy for me, and I prefer the simplicity of screen printed border designs, or the more classic look of an all-over print.

Just like last week, I'm not the only one blogging about this topic! Check out these other blogs participating in this week's LBC! I'll be adding more as they are updated, and please keep in mind that if a link isn't currently bringing you to a live page, it just means it's queued up to be posted later!


Check them out to see what other Lolita trends people couldn't really see themselves getting into! If you want to know more about the Lolita Blog Carnival, check out the post about it last week, or check out our facebook page!
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