Meta Honey Picnic Set

Starting at 5 pm Japanese time on Wednesday, December 8th (so, 3 a.m. the same day for those of us living on the east coast of North America), Meta's offering a special set featuring their Honey Picnic print.

Ordering info is here. The set includes a JSK or OP, socks, cardigan or blouse or bolero, and an accessory. Meta chooses the color and style for all items, as usual for lucky-pack style offerings. For 10,000 yen plus shipping, it's a good deal, especially for sweet or brand-new lolitas.

I'll be honest, this is totally not me: way too sweet and childlike a print, and I'm not thrilled about any of the JSK designs either. It would almost be worth getting just for the non-dress stuff included in the set, except the designs they're showing for those options aren't thrilling me either.

They list the set as being a special offer for their international customers only, but it does make me wonder just how badly this print sold, that it's being offered up pre-Xmas at bargain basement pricing (for lolita brand, I mean). Rumors are constantly floating about Meta's precarious financial state, often enough that I can't help but wonder what's really going on when they dish up deals like this.

The International Business of Thrifting

There was a really interesting article about the vintage clothing industry in my local paper today: On the Front Lines in the Vintage Clothing War.

So many people, when they think about donating clothing, imagine their cast-offs just go straight to the racks of their local thirft shop, but that's not the case any more. The sorting and shipping of second-clothing, especially quality vintage, is a big international business, and something you leave with Goodwill is as likely to wind up in Japan or Europe as it is to make it to your local store.

Although I understand the reasons why this business has evolved, it makes me a bit sad. I've been thrifting my wardrobe for over twenty years now, and the quality of what's available has definitely declined. Stumbling across a vintage Gunne Sax dress or discarded Doc Martens just doesn't happen any more.

It's especially weird, because the sheer amount of STUFF at thrift shops has exploded lately. Most of it's recent, however: I'll have an easier time finding last year's H&M top than I will finding last decade's plaid flannel shirt.


The thrill of the great find has definitely diminished, because the finds are rarely that great, at least compared to what they once were. It's also diminishing my interest in thrift shopping: I hate paying the inflated prices charged by vintage boutiques, but I also have to acknowledge that my chances of finding anything similiar on my own are increasingly slim.

Monday Movie: LoliGirls documentary

I'm sure many of you have seen this already, but for those who haven't (and for myself, to keep track of the link), today's Monday Movie is LoliGirls: The Story Behind the Frills and Bows, a short independent documentary focused on three Lolita Fashion lifestyle ladies in Conneticut.



I found the documentary to be interesting, although I wish it was a bit longer, so there would be more time to look at the issues involved with a more critical eye. There's mention made of people's perceptions of lolita fashion, the cost involved, and the concept of rules which prevades the Western Lolita community, but there's not really time to delve into these problems, and the piece overall has a light, unquestioning feel. Still, all three of the girls are interesting and articulate, and it's always great fun for me to hear other lolitas talk about their love of the fashion and how it impacts their lives!

The joys of closet cleaning

Guess who just found 3 yards of black & white striped fabric buried in the depths of her fabric stash? Which means guess who's making herself a new black & white striped dress this winter?

YAY!

Of course, that's going to have to wait until after I *finish* the four semi-complete sewing projects I also found while going through my sewing stash. *sigh*

Closet cleaning!

Once or twice a year, my beau and I throw a Purge Party for our friends. It's a chance to go through everything we own and ask the ever-difficult questions: Why do I own this? Do I ever use it? Why am I still hanging on to it?!?

Hard as this can be, it is also wonderfully freeing. Making room for new things is great, and so is getting rid of stuff that's just gathering dust. I find it difficult - I wouldn't have bought something in the first place, if I didn't think it had the potential to be pretty or fun - but I'm always satisfied when it's over, when my room is neat again and I can actually FIND the things I do use all the time.

Right now, I'm trying to apply this process to my lolita wardrobe. If getting rid of normal clothes is difficult for me, getting rid of lolita is five times the challenge! I spent so much time saving up for this clothing, or making it myself, that's it's hard to think of letting it go. Even so, my closet is stuffed past capacity, and my past month of wearing lolita almost daily (a topic for a future post!) has taught me a lot about what I do and don't wear, about what I have enough of already and where I need to fill in some gaps.

I'm hoping, by the end of this process, to have a much more organized and functional wardrobe. Right now, my stuff is spread out over three spaces: a closet in the hallway, a wardrobe in my room, and an accessory unit on the other side of the room:

What a mess! Getting ready in the morning involves a lot of running around: blouses are in one closet, dresses and skirts in the other, not to mention accessories EVERYWHERE because I am terrible about putting things back where they belong. Hopefully if I prune down my collection a bit, I will be able to impose some sort of organization on the whole she-bang in time for the new year.

Any advice? I'm thinking of switching over to vintage suitcases for storing socks, bloomers & accessories, and getting a lot more skirt hangers, but I'm not sure that's enough to fix the problem. I'd love to hear your best solutions for taming a wild closet!

Link: Fashion from Old People

One of my new favorite illustration & fashion blogs is Fashion From Old People, wherein two fabulous artists (Emily Carroll and Vera Brosgol) dish up their interpretations of historical fashions and the ladies who might have worn them. The fashions run the gamut from Rococo and Victoriana through 1950s retro, with a link back to the reference photo of the dress that inspired the drawing. It's not quite lolita fashion, but it's all-around lovely and well worth checking out!

(found via Drawn.ca)

Kuranosuke Stripe JSK

Like many other lolita fashionistas, I am currently making grabby hands in the direction of Alice & the Pirate's newest reserve dress, the Kuranosuke Stripe Jumper Skirt:

*Swoon* It's a Burton-loving gothic lolita's dream come true! I even adore the little bustle on the back, although it is a bit more narrow that really suits the fabric and design. That said, it's not as if I don't already own a fair bit of striped clothing, and the design is plain enough that I could replicate it fairly easily - in fact, one of my very first lolita dresses involved stripes:

(yes, yes, it's rather low-cut for a lolita dress. This was 2002, the wild west of the loli fashion frontier, and we did all kinds of crazy things)

It's up for reserve now, with a January release date. The price isn't too crazy, for AatP, and I'm curious to see how this does both with initial sales and the resale market. It reminds me strongly of Atelier Pierrot, the Japanese brand I most associate with black & white stripes (they've released a number of items over the years with this theme, including a piece currently in their sale section).