2014 - 2015 Wardrobe

 2014 was my first year of being interested in, buying and wearing lolita. I wanted to do a wardrobe post this year, because what made me need to start buying was the wardrobe posts from last year. My style is all over the place, so I've only documented my main pieces, because I have far too many blouses, legwear and accessories.

I have a heap of JSKs because it's easy to switch things up between them, and they're generally more flattering on my body

 
AP Glass Bottle of Tears: My first ever dress, and I was ecstatic to be able to buy it because the print was one I adored from browsing other people's wardrobe posts IW Nicholas Fruits: My second dress, and one that I wear for mainly outside/picnic events (since I already stained it)

 
IW Icing Cookie: I bought the high waisted JSK when it was on sale, and recently got the apron JSK in a lucky pack -perhaps I'll sell the h/w one

 
Rococo-soul United States of Chocolate: Haven't worn this out yet, as it's quite an assault on the eyes xD IW Tea Time: A great casual piece, but I want to shorten the skirt part a little

 
AP Royal Creamy Chocolate: Super cute but also really short, I like to wear it casually, and the glitter lame print is cool AP Royal Chocolate (2012): A versatile piece, but also on the short side. It was a dream dress and I was super happy to get it for a reasonable price

 
IW Marine Rose: Just got this in a LP, but I love the colours and the print - not too sure about the bodice though BtssB Angel's Gentle Whisper in the Heavenly Holy Night Melody: One of my dream dresses (although I wouldn't say no to the navy colourway), the print is amazing and so is the design of the dress

 
Dream of Lolita Library print: This is one of DoL's few original designs, and for some reason I get a lot of nice comments when I wear this out Infanta Power and Thrones: This is my only velvet piece, and as a beginner I thought I desperately needed the screenprint xD

 
IW Royal Parade: Another one of the dresses I wear often and without much consideration for how dirty it may get, the print is very interesting AatP Stained Glass Angel: It was my number 1 dream dress, and also the most expensive piece in my wardrobe. I would probably kill to get my hands on an original 2006 BtssB Koitsukihime black JSK/OP

 
IW Strahov Library: A rare bordeaux, the cut makes the JSK versatile and I adore the book print AatP Horoscope / Constellation: Again, the print is gorgeous and the underbust cut is flattering on myself

 
CEL St Augustine: The neckhole is really small, but the stained glass print is totally worth it Luna Rossa End of Vanitas: Vibrant colours on this piece make it easy to coord with jewel tone items, but the print is a bit blotchy

 
Krad Lanrete Lost in Sea Blue: Beautiful beautiful print, but the cut makes me look super frumpy orz Little Dipper ???: Another really pretty print, but it's really short and the lining is a bit weird, so I call this my 'mahou shoujo' dress and will probably never wear it as lolita I didn't have my ecailles De Lune Forest of Pipe Organ JSK on hand to photograph 

I only have a few skirts, I don't like to tuck my blouse in, but most of my blouses aren't short enough to not tuck in argh-

 
Infanta Dark Magic Party: It's a salopette, but I couldn't be bothered to attach the other piece. Quite versatile, I like to wear it casually, or under heavy dresses to amp up poof Bodyline Strawberry Shortcake: Really cute and nice for casual summer outfits

 
AP Royal Chocolate (2012): The high waisted skirt is really flattering, and can be worked in many different styles AatP Galactic Journey to the Stars: The waist is really tight, so I'll have to lose some weight before trying to wear this pretty print out

 
These are the only two OPs I own that I plan on keeping
 IW Antique Doll: I love how detailed everything from the lace on the cuffs are, down to the removable bustle, this should be really awesome to wear in winter. I also received the matching hat IW Rose Emblem: Plain for sure, but it's an amazing old-school style piece I'm really happy to have gotten from a LP

 
My only brand coat IW ??? Sailor Coat: Just got this in a LP as well, and I can't find it on lolibrary, but it's super thick. I can't wait for winter to put this baby on. 

The above were all the main pieces I collected in 2014, and I hope to add some more older BtssB and AatP pieces in the 2015 year 

AatP - Galactic Journey to the Stars

Talking about another Alice and the Pirates print this week, which is Galactic Journey to the Stars (sorry the photos are a bit weird, it was really hard to capture the real colour of the piece). Isn't it odd that the print includes a train flying through the night sky, a crane and several apples? That's because the print is based off of Kenji Miyazawa's novel, Night on the Galactic Railroad. 

Honestly, the story itself is quite mediocre to me, the ending being especially puzzling. After all of his travels and the death of his friend, the main character (Giovanni) literally goes home to give his mother some milk. 

What I do find interesting is the religious connotations behind the story. The views presented seem somewhat opposing, though the author manages to fuse ideas from various 'religions' together and make them align.

The milky way is first discussed in a scientific setting, in Giovanni's classroom. Later, as he and his friend travel between stars IN the milky way, it becomes apparent that the train is some sort of transcendent vessel, bearing each passenger to their afterlife. I think it is more reminiscent of the Christian religion, the idea of a heaven in a lofty place, inaccessible to the general populace. 

Text on the print itself reveals the designers' intent to convey that the story is indeed about Christianity for some part, because it reads: "Even though it be a cross that raiseth me. Nearer, my God, in Thee". The cross could refer both to the Crucifix, or the Northern Stars visited on the journey. 

Regarding the prominent appearance of apples on the print, here's an extract from Anime Introspection: In "Christianity, apples symbolize knowledge and defilement. NotGR however, reclaims that image. Here, they represent people understanding their limitations as individuals and accepting community - and the necessity of making sacrifices for humanity’s greater good - as a way to make up for their flaws. NotGR stresses over and over again that people value humanity or some abstract conception of “life” over themselves, and that this path leads to profound spiritual contentment." This concept and the fact that the designers emphasised it on the design, impressed me more than anything. Even the tiny trees on the border print have little glitter apples on them.

Another part of the design that I like is the tickets. They're labelled with the names of some of the constellations which are stops for the rail train, and is a super cute touch.

The cranes are actually herons, and in the story, there is a man who catches them to make candy out of them! I don't find the story that great, but I do appreciate the ideas that Miyazawa conveys, and the ultimate question posed: "what is true happiness?"

November Purchases

This is the collation of a few months' purchases, including one parcel from FJ and another from TBN. I will be using SpreeNow after this, which is TaobaoNow's newly developed website.

As always, FJ was quick and easy to use, although for some reason the sellers I bought from this time all took ages to ship the items domestically. Overly protective packaging, but I'm glad they put the layers of thick paper in, because I would've been very upset if customs slashed my pieces xD

 

 

First up is my BtssB Angel's Gentle Whisper in the Heavenly Holy Night Melody pattern Michael JSK in carol (ivory). Which is a huge mouthful, so I'll just refer to it as Angel's Whisper lol. It's super beautiful, the glitter details and colours are amazing. It's missing the pearl chain, and I've already ordered the supplies to make my own substitute. I'm unsure about the back lacing, the lace they've used as the grommets is very thin and looks like it could break easily :v

This is a terrible picture, but it's the AatP Galactic Journey to the Stars skirt, bonnet and OTKs set that I scored. I'll be doing a blog post on the specific print in a few days, with close ups and such.

 

Innocent World Chocolate Chess OTKs in brown

AatP head bow (or so the seller said, I have a feeling it's hand made though, because it has no tag and the quality is debatable) 

Antaina gold shoes, super sweet and a warmer tone than the BL ones

Super high quality head bows in 3 colours with adorable pearl drops, and another great floral head bow

Two Little Dipper blouses, the brown one is a really soft chiffon (with nice long sleeves!) and the white is a stiffer cotton

 

 Two blouses from different taobao shopfronts, but I think they're from the same factory because they came in the same printed plastic bags. Awesome quality for the prices, and both came withe a jabot / bow
Princess sleeves | Other blouse

Black hair piece | White hair piece | 4 bows | Pair of bows | Floral hair piece

MILK replica gold heart bag

 

 LunaRossa End of the Vanitas JSK - print is a bit fuzzy close up, but my goodness it's still gorgeous and I didn't think I'd enjoy wearing human faces all this much! I just dislike that small bow at the waist, it looks really out of place and too sweet for the piece :x

 
 Ecailles de Lune Forest of Pipe Organ JSK - aaaaaaaaah! I first reserved this because I couldn't find Lief's Night at Basilica for sale, but honestly, I like this more now. The print is gorgeous, ombre effect amazing and the light chiffon will be great for warmer days.

AatP - Stained Glass Angel / Seraphim

Stained glass prints are now a common feature in lolita pieces, though perhaps not all know the stories behind them. The print discussed in the following is the Alice and the Pirates release from 2009, which is actually a rerelease of the 2006 BtssB collaboration with Koitsukihime. Featured on the prints are literally 'stained glass angels', and we'll explore what kind of angels they are.

They resigned the print a little, changing the colour scheme and making the faces of the seraphs less classic. The original art has much more of a Byzantine 'flavour'. I personally think the original has a substantially gothic feel to it, and the AatP print can be coorded in a way to be classic or even sweet.

What drew me to this print was the representation of the 'cherubs', I thought it odd that they should have three pairs of wings. Before I encountered this print, I had little interest in religious imagery, much less wearing them. 

Upon research, a seraph is an 'upper class' angel / heavenly being in Christianity and to some extent Judaism. The sphere they belong to is closest to their God in celestial hierarchy, and they're are seen as the caretakers of his throne. Seraphim means "burning ones" in Hebrew, and theologian Thomas Aquinas believed that they were named thus according to the properties of fire, containing an excess of heat. One of the reasons for this, he considers, is that fire has the quality of clarity, or brightness; which signifies that these angels have in themselves an inextinguishable light, and that they also perfectly enlighten others. They are vastly different in appearance to cherubim, and in role too.

Another part of the print I found interesting was the other angelic beings present in the print, who are not seraphim. In the angelic host, they could be seen as angels (which the two on either side seem to be labelled) or Dominions. 'Genesis' here could mean either a beginning, the first book of the Bible or both.

It is interesting to begin to understand some of these stories that designers are telling through their prints.Even if you're not religious, like myself, I think it's fine to wear religious prints as long as you respect the ideology behind them. Prints featuring religious motifs such as stained glass, crosses and angels are favourite prints of mine to wear!

Bonus: BtssB print dresses on Koitsukihime's dolls, from an online index

October Purchases

Should've done this two weeks ago, but I thought my other packages would arrive earlier and I'd collate them all into one post. Mostly things from bodyline this time, since they had that huge sale - 1000yen off shoes, free shipping AND then yen trick! I still remember when I was a beginner, I didn't know about the yen trick and ended up paying about $25 more for two pairs of shoes :1

shoes168 in brown | shoes268 in enamel brown

Both are comfortable and true to size, although in all honesty, the 268 shoes are so rounded they look a little like clown shoes when I wear them xD

shoes300 in gold | shoes163 in gold

I anticipate myself wearing the 300 pair lots, since they're easy to coord with many dresses that I own.
The boots aren't strictly lolita, but I do want to pair them in casual outfits

Not the best photo, but Innocent World's Strahov Library corset JSK. The bordeaux is really pretty, and the gold details are gorgeous in person.

Assortment of socks I bought in a pack, was only really after the ETC x zipper chocolate ribbon OTKs, but the other socks are nice too! More otome, though.

acc1078 in off white and black

A bit smelly but the quality is good for the price, and elastic is very stretchy

Lolita52 - Part M

41. Fondest meetup memory

I've been to so few meetups, I can count them on one hand. They were all quite different, so instead of choosing a favourite memory out of them, I'll briefly explain what each one was. My first meetup was with the whole comm, an Easter picnic! It was super fun and I got a Downton Abbey vibe from the meet. My second meet was a train ride, and so many of the other passengers complimented us. The lunch afterwards was delicious, and it was great for getting to know the girls in the comm. The most recent meet I attended was a small picnic with the lolitas at my university, and I got to know both of the other girls much better. The food was really yummy and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.  

42. The ways in which I fit the cliche

I like frills (duh!) and conform to many of the lolita 'rules'. I can't bear to think about wearing a JSK without a blouse, and after a previous beginner faux pas, will always wear a petticoat with a dress when I'm aiming for the lolita silhouette. 

43. The ways in which I do not fit the cliche 

I don't really believe in the 'lolita lifestyle', modern and 'edgy' things are cool too! Someone mentioned a little while ago that they think lolitas who only wear their dresses to meets / conventions are somehow fake, which I don't agree with at all! As long as you're well dressed and fit the aesthetic, there's no reason why anyone can't be a lolita.

September Hauls

I received many packages in September, lots of them food themed!

First up, my q-pot anniversary 'fukubukuro'. It contained an assortment of things: pan paka pan shirt (6,500), burger mousepad (1,800), croissant case (9,000), chocolate peanut necklace (13,000), pretzel three tone earrings (13,000), croissant ring (13,000) and cloud nail stickers (1,200)

I also got my Melty Royal Chocolate cardigan by Angelic Pretty

Another package I received was my Peppermint Fox brooches

The last parcel I got recently contained these:

Rilakkuma Chocolate & Coffee charm, AP Promenade de Paris tights, AP Melty Royal Chocolate tights, Emily Temple Cute x Zipper chocolate tights, AP Radiant Candlelight OTKs, 2 x q-pot parlour rings

I really like everything that I got, and am super happy with how well they match my wardrobe
Especially impressed with the ETC chocolate tights, they're so stretchy and worth every dollar I paid