Daily Snaps - April 18 -25

I'm hoping this will be a weekly post, but we'll see how it goes! Also, I am traveling for work this weekend, just got back from work-related travel, so posting will probably has definitely slacked off for a bit. My apologies!

April 18, 2010
Sunday! Kind of a lazy day - I wore this for the afternoon, including a trip to Future Shop.



JSK, OTK socks: Innocent World
Underskirt: self-made
Bag: Metamorphose
Hair clips, earrings: Claire's
Blouse: thrifted!

April 19, 2010
Sadly, this is probably the last outing for this particular JSK until next fall. I love the print - it reminds me of Emily Temple Cute - and it's very comfortable, but the heavy velvet and lining make it impractical to wear in the summer. Which is a shame, since this is pretty much my lolita fashion comfort food; it's comfortable, pretty without being too attention-grabbing, and always makes me feel lovely.

Also, I've broken the strap on my brown mary janes, and have been reduced to wearing slouchy boots with my classic lolita dresses until I get them fixed :(

The trunk was salvaged from a neighbor's garbage. I love using vintage suitcases and trunks for storing stuff in the basement - so much cuter than cardboard boxes!



JSK: self-made
Bag: Metamorphose
Turtleneck, boots: off-brand
Vintage suitcase: from the neighbor's curb!

April 20, 2010
Not exactly lolita, but I thought this was worth posting since a/ it incorporates some design elements from the fashion and b/ I'm pleased with how it turned out. The mix of the classic-style braid loops, straw mini-hat and Alice Auaa-inspired feather trim on the blazer make it feel like "me," but is still practical for a day of running errands.

And yes, I need black sneakers :)



Mini-hat: le Chateau
Jacket: thrifted & modified with feathers
Jeans: Old Navy
Shirt: screenprinted by me
Sneakers: Payless
Belt: ??
Bag: Baby the Stars Shine Bright
Crown ring: Claire's

Nothing from this weekend, as I generally don't wear lolita for work events.

What's in the box?? **

My much-anticipated package arrived yesterday, but I was out, so the post office wound up holding it hostage until today. No customs fees, though - a lucky break! - and only a couple of funny comments about my mini-hat (idk, I was in the mood for a mini-hat today).



At last! This has been one of my dream prints for a few years. I always thought I wanted it in the black colorway, but my tastes are changing (once again) and I found myself drawn to this cream-and-brown version instead. I'm so glad I made that choice! The print is so delicate and lovely, and the fabric is super light-weight. It's going to be the perfect summer JSK.

Of course, buying second-hand has risks - most notably, that items will arrive with damage that was undisclosed in the listing! Can you spot the stain in the above picture? It's at the top of the skirt, just a bit on the side:



It's not *too* bad, all things considered. Hopefully I will be able to get it out! Although I may just take it to the dry cleaner right off - it's got a musty smell, too, and could probably use a good cleaning.

As a bonus, the JSK came with a lovely matching headpiece, too:



I know they're not very in-style right now, but I do love my headpieces, especially subtle ones like this. It's more like a wide headband than a giant lace *thing* and I think I'll get some nice use out of it as well.

Hooray! I promise to stop with the purely vanity-blogging soon. It just happens that starting this blog coincides with a minor shopping spree - I don't normally buy much, honest! I'm a bit worried, though; I used Japonica for this auction, and their service was so easy to use (and reasonably priced) that I'm going to have a hard time resisting in future!

** Yes, the title is a reference to a Vermilion Lies stage gag. I realize it's probably not nearly as funny if you haven't seen them perform. But it makes me laugh!

Outfit snaps: Sakura in High Park

Toronto is lucky to have a lovely collection of Sakura cherry trees in High Park, a gift from Japan in the 1950s, and I'd heard through the Twittervine that they were just about ready to bloom. Since the weather forecast for the weekend called for rain, I decided to steal a few hours from my freelance job on Thursday (made up on Saturday, alas!) to enjoy the blossoms before they were spoiled by weather or too many photographers.



As you can see, most of the park is still in winter mode. Also, I should really have taken a tripod - there were very few places to set up my little Gorillapod for taking self-portraits, especially around the cherry trees themselves. I do like the spontaneous quality of this shot, however!




A more boring shot showing the full outfit, with my precious Angelic Pretty schoolbag.




The dress under the coat! I love this shade of green, although this dress is a touch too large for me and fits awkwardly as a result. I'm thinking of adding shirring to the front panel to fix the problem.



And finally, the sakura in blossom! Only about a third of the trees were flowering on my visit. I'm hoping to get enough work done this week to steal away for another mid-day visit, but we'll see how it goes. Speaking of which, I'll probably have better luck with that plan if I get back to it already!






Outfit break-down:

Coat - Juliette et Justine
OP, necklace - handmade by me!
Socks - Metamorphose
Shoes - Montreal RHS
Bag - Angelic Pretty
Bracelet - Forever 21
Crown ring - Claire's

Lolita merry-go-round

Our local lolita group is planning our next meet-up (we've gotten much more active since switching to a private, friends-lock-only LJ community, oddly enough!), and someone in the comments linked to this video clip from a meet two years ago, which I'd never seen before:




So happy, this makes me! This was the second meet-up I'd ever planned, and I spent the first hour convinced it was going to be another disaster, but it all came together wonderfully. And then, riding around on this antique carousel with a dozen frilly ladies... it was the kind of moment I'd been dreaming of since I first stumbled across lolita style. I really was so ridiculously, giddy-happy that I thought I might just explode.

Yay, mail!

Ask and ye shall receive, apparently - no sooner had I posted a complaint wondering why it was taking so terribly long for one of my purchases to arrive, than it showed up on my doorstep!

I'm a tiny bit disappointed - the chain is much longer than I'd expected, so the cameo doesn't sit quite where I thought it would. I may try adding a jump ring to one of the chain links, so I can wear it shortened as well. Still, it matches a ring I bought a few months back, so I'm very excited. I've never had matching brand accessories before!

BtSSB: Name of the Rose re-release

I was really surprised to see the new Name of the Rose items on Baby's reserve page - the print looks almost exactly the same as the version released last spring, and most of the items appear identical as well. It's hard to forget the chunk of black lace spoiling (at least for me!) the front of this otherwise delightful JSK. I'm surprised because Baby doesn't often re-release prints, at least not without making a few tweaks, and because I hadn't gotten the impression Name of the Rose was a sell-out print the first time around. Perhaps I was wrong!

Just like the previous release, I'm tempted, although probably not enough to drop new-brand prices on a piece. I do love the cut of this JSK, however, which seems to be the only new design in the release lot:

It's got a slightly more mature cut to the bodice which I'm loving. Between this design and the new bodice style for the Masquerade Theatre JSK, Baby is bringing out a more mature side of lolita fashion this season which is just great for us Auntie Lolitas :)

Isn't that just to die for? If only I were working enough hours to justify that kind of cash outlay! And of course, if only I had enough to match with navy blue - I think it's the nicest colorway for the Masquerade Theatre print, but it really doesn't go with the rest of my wardrobe. I generally lean towards black, although to be honest, I often find Baby's black prints to be their weakest colorways. Too often, the design looks like it was meant to work with ivory or another bright background color, and the black version winds up employing lots of white patches to make the pattern stand out.

Waiting on the mail...

Perhaps the most frustrating part of lolita shopping is the absolute lack of instant gratification! In many cases, new items must be ordered months in advance of their actual release date, lest your preferred design and color combination be sold out before it even hits the digital shelves. Even when buying in-stock items, either staples from a big brand like Baby, or second-hand through Closet Child or the LJ sales community, there's always a shipping wait. Sometimes it's just a few days, but often, it's a week or more before your cherished new item finally arrives.

And sometimes the wait can be nerve-wracking. Will it fit? Will it look right? For second-hand items, what condition is it really in? And worse still, can I trust the seller? Scams have been an intermittent problem in the LJ sales community, and although it's a small percentage of the dozens of transactions which happen each week, there's always a lurking fear that your precious package will become lost in the mail - or never be sent at all.

Right now, I'm waiting on two packages, one of which (a new Baby necklace, to match my black cameo logo ring) has been sitting in Customs for over a week now, waiting clearance! It's enough to drive a girl to distraction. What on earth can be going on? Did my tiny envelope get lost among a flurry of packages? How can it still just be sitting there, and will it get here in time for my trip next weekend?

It's amusing to me, that lolita feels like such an impulsive, frivolous fashion, and yet there's so much planning and patience that goes into building a really great wardrobe. Frustrating though it can be, I do rather like that element at times: it's a constant reminder that the best things in life are well worth waiting for!

New blog!

Yes, yes. Yet another new blog! Although I do talk about fashion sometimes on my main blog, charmingmonsters.com, I felt like it would be best to have a dedicated blog specific to gothic lolita and related fashion interests.

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Test post to check layout & stuff.