Motif Monday: Unicorns!!

I adore unicorns. I really do. I shamelessly tote a unicorn bag around with me during school, leading to many confused looks and questions as to why I'm carrying a stuffed unicorn around (because it's "stuffed" with my cell phone and my iPod of course ;P). Given the mystical beauty and aloofness of unicorns, it's not wonder they're a motif often seen in Lolita (though in my opinion, not nearly enough!!).

My favorite example of unicorns in a brand would have to be Metamorphose Temp de Fille's Twinkle Journey. I loved the rich jewel tones in the print, which were a nice break from the pastels. Unlike Angelic Pretty's chubby, adorable carnival ponies, the unicorns in Twinkle Journey were far more slender and more "beautiful" rather than "cute." Of course, I absolutely adore cute unicorns and ponies-- what's not to like? But it is nice to see something that leans more towards the "beautiful" side of Lolita rather than just being "cute." :)

The indie Lolita brand Pink Macaroon has released what is probably my favorite unicorn-related collection, "Unicorn Fantasy." I don't want to spam you with a ton of pictures so I've only included the picture of the bag and a picture from the photoshoot used to promote the collection, but there were quite a few pieces released. There were pillows, necklaces, rings-- everything a unicorn-lover like me could want. Of course, I'm still waiting for the skirt to pop up again in pink (and maybe even the bag!). Since I'm a poor job-less high school student, it's unlikely I'll be able to afford either if they should appear again, but I can dream, right?
If you're looking for other unicorn prints/items in Lolita, Angelic Pretty released an adorable unicorn bag a while back, and many of their items often include ponies (which are basically just hornless unicorns :P). I'm unsure whether BABY or any of the punk brands have done anything unicorn-related, but on that thought I'd just like to say that it would be so cool if Putamayo released a punk cutsew with an angry, eye-patched unicorn badass on it!! Even if it would be super cheesy!!


As a side note, some of you might know of my recent obsession with gyaru. I was up well-past two AM last night scouring all sorts of gal-related blogs (the fact that my sleep schedule was super screwed-up from vacation helped me in that endeavor!), and I can firmly say I think Gal may be my second love. It's cute, but it shows a little skin, making it a great fashion for summer/spring where layers upon layers of bloomers and petticoats might be a bit much (especially when you're as sensitive to temperature as I am...). I know a lot of people might view gyaru as "slutty," but I really don't see what's not to like. I may leave the Agejo at home for school, but who cares so long as I look great and feel beautiful??
During my search around gyaru blogs yesterday, I found yet ANOTHER blog hosting a giveaway (this blog probably has to be one of my favorites! She's so talented at coordinating and she's only sixteen! So impressive!). The contest post can be found here:
http://starreprincess.blogspot.com/2011/02/first-100-followers-giveaway.html
DEFINITELY give the rest of her blog a read if you get the chance. Mana is so cute and such an inspiration for new hime-gyaru and hime Lolitas alike! :)

Hime Style

I've just been in love love LOVE with hime style lately!! I don't know why I never really noticed it too much before, since it's chock-full of frills and lace and usually even more feminine and over-the-top than Lolita (if that's even possible :P), and that's the exact sort of thing I love. Not to mention hime-gyaru exposes more skin, so it's better for warmer weather, which is the exact sort of style I've been looking for. Hime Lolita is also lovely, with the HUGE hair and tiaras found in it.
Unfortunately, hime seems to be the least popular sub-style (in Lolita at least; I'm not sure about gyaru since I've only scratched the surface of that fashion!). Compared to the hundreds of sweet posts on daily_lolita, hime only has like 100, which is a shame. I think that it's such a lovely style, and seems to embody so many things that Lolitas aim for (princesses are even motifs used in prints!), I don't understand why it's more popular!
I could find a few lovely examples of hime Lolita and hime gyaru though. Here are my favorites of each:

I know Shelby Cloud from Youtube, so I'm not sure if she has a blog or not. This is just the loveliest hime Lolita coord though! For those of you who haven't heard of her, Shelby's a lovely Lolita and a very sweet girl.  Definitely check out her Youtube channel if you get the chance because she has many interesting and informative videos. :)

And hime-gal hair/makeup!! I'm embarrassed to say I don't know where these pictures are from, since I believe I found these while googling "hime gyaru" as I was just finding out about the style. :( The hair is simply lovely though! I can't wait until my hair's a little longer/at the color I want it at so I can invest in some extensions and do a hairstyle like this. :)

As a side note, one of the gal blogs I've been reading lately, Fernroro, is holding a giveaway with a ton of lovely items! Definitely check that out if you have the chance:
http://fernroro.blogspot.com/2011/02/fernroros-1st-giveaway-d.html

Motif Monday:Easy, breezy, beautiful... chiffon!

Recently, the weather became a bit warmer in my area. Granted, it was only a tiny bit warmer and what might seem very cold to a lot of people (it was a high of 50! Just enough to wear a short-sleeved shirt outside without freezing to death. :) ), but nonetheless the warmer weather got me dreaming about spring and summer clothing.
Those of you who know me in real life know that typically, I despise summer and spring fashion. I feel like a lot of clothes released in this time period when warmer-weather fashion starts making it's way into stores are rather uninspired, and as I perused the racks of Forever 21 earlier today in an effort to find some clothes that fit me (I lost a lot of weight since last time I went summer clothes shopping, so I'm in new of an almost entirely new wardrobe!), I found that for the most part I still felt the same way. There were quite a lot of clothes that were too plain for my tastes (even if I do go for a more laid-back look in the summer and almost entirely leave Lolita out of the equation, I still don't want to wear a "punny" tee shirt and jean shorts everyday), or clothes that I just didn't like, and apparently others didn't like as well since there were countless numbers of t-shirts that looked like they were meant for old women on the racks, untouched. Yet, I still did find a few things that suited my tastes, which brings me to this post's subject...
Chiffon!
By the time I was checking out, I realized 75% of the things I got were made of chiffon. I finally realized today that for warmer weather fashion, I just adore chiffon. Besides it evoking adjectives that resemble a certain makeup brand's slogan when I look at it, chiffon really is a wonderful fabric for those warmer days. It's light, airy, and reminiscent of a fairy's skirt. If fairies really did exist, I think chiffon would be their fabric of choice.
Even though, as I mentioned previously, I try to avoid Lolita in the summer (I'm very sensitive to temperature, so layers upon layers of petticoats just don't help anything when it's 90 degrees outside), there's still a couple of Lolita dresses I think would work well for summer, like this dress from Dear Celine:

Isn't it just darling?! I can picture a fairy girl running around a big field in this, just twirling around without a care in the world (yes, when it comes to fashion, my fantasies are extremely cheesy :P ). This dress comes in more than one color, but mint is my favorite. If I have money after I go to Anime Boston (I'm finally going this year! Who else is going?!) I may have to order this, though I may end up saving up even if it takes me until half way through the summer. :)
Unfortunately, this is one of the only examples I can find of chiffon being used in Lolita. I'm sure there are a few, but I can't seem to find any pictures of brands using chiffon! It's a shame, because if Angelic Pretty released a chiffon jsk similar to this one with maybe a sweets print on the fabric, I'd be all over that. :(
Well, that's motif Monday! I hope everyone else is lucky enough to experience the warmer weather if you aren't already in a warm place, and remember: Think Spring!! <3

Motif Monday: Hearts!!

I thought that since my posted was rather sporadic, I needed some sort of regular theme to keep this blog in check. And thus, I'd like to introduce: Motif Mondays!
Every Monday I'll pick a theme commonly seen in Lolita and discuss why it may be so popular, and show examples of that motif in a coord.
So, considering today's the ever-popular Valentine's Day, we'll kick this off with Hearts as the first motif!

Do I really need to explain why hearts are such a popular motif? They symbolize love, romance, innocence... personally, when I think of hearts, I think of a young couple in love-but not a dark, dramatic love, but a more innocent love. It's the sort of image that reminds me of the innocent "Date Nites" Disneyland advertised way back when like seen here in this poster:

That poster is the exact sort of romantic love that lifestyle Lolitas in particular would desire. There doesn't immediately appear to be any sex involved, and the couple isn't crying or going over "heavy" things... they're just spinning around, having a good time on the tea cup with their sweet heart! :)
Some of my favorite pieces with a heart theme (of course, they're all AP!):

This heart pocket jumper skirt is a classic, and one of my all time favorite AP pieces. It's simply adorable, and even though I do love prints the fact that the hearts are worked into the design of the garment itself rather than drawn into a print is a nice change from all the AP print madness you see today.

AP has actually done a TON of heart-shaped purses, though this one is simply adorable. There are similar ones with polka dots, but I feel like polka dots aren't the most versatile thing in the world, especially if you're trying to pair some with the more modern AP prints.

These socks are simply darling. I own the Bodyline replicas (yes, yes, I'm not anti-replica, don't kill me!) in pink, and they're just adorable. Unfortunately the lace on mine got ruined when my parents decided to run them through the washer and dryer with my normal socks (probably my fault for not doing my own laundry, I suppose) but I still like to drool over pictures like these.
As you can tell, AP makes the best heart-themed items, but other sweet brands such as Baby occasionally make good items!! Obviously sweet is the substyle best suited for use of this motif, but a really cool idea I think a punk/goth Lolita should try is making an outfit with a real human heart motif!! How cool would that be?! :)

TRIPLE style update: 2/11, 2/12, 2/13

So I admit, I've been WICKED lazy lately and have been holding these pics hostage on my camera for a while now. I haven't even been that busy, just... lazy (and okay, there may have been a liiiittle bit of Kamikaze Girls and Hans Christian Anderson reading going on in there :P).
So without further ado, here's this weeks's style updates!
Monday, 2/11: Bordeaux Chandelier

Jumper skirt/blouse: HMHM (Taobao)
Hair corsage: Won from a giveaway at fyeahlolita.blogspot.com (GREAT blog! :) )
Boots: An*tai*na (also Taobao)
Tights: We Love Colors (you might not be able to tell from the pictures, but they're ivory, not white)
I got the dress, blouse and boots as late Christmas presents that Saturday, so of course I wore them all to school that Monday!! (I was originally going to wear them to the school's semi-formal dance, but that was cancelled due to all the snow- we've gotten a TON! :( )
I loved this outfit, and it was received pretty well at school. My favorite comment came from a girl who told me it reminded her of Beauty and the Beast- I just love the idea and now I didn't really see it before, but now I totally do! The chandelier embroideries are quite reminiscent of Belle's gown. :)
I can't wait to wear this dress again, but unfortunately since it's a bit formal I'm not sure if I want to wear it to school again. I may wear it around New York though, if I go this vacation. :)
Friday, 2/12: Black/white/pink LOVE

Jacket: Urban Outfitters
Top/skirt/headbow (not pictured): Forever 21
Tights: Marshalls
Boots: Bodyline
This outfit was a bit uninspired, I think, and I feel like I've been over-using my white boots and black jacket. They just go with everything, though!! But I have to say, I need a new jacket, as the one I have right now is a MAGNET for dog hair (one time, I lint-rolled it when it was particularly hairy, sat on the couch for a minute, got up and was all hairy again- how does that even happen?!). Either way, black/white/pink is coming to be my favorite "casual" color combination- it's not as light as white/pink and doesn't attract the eye as much (since black and brown are all New Englanders seem to wear around Winter time) but easier to coordinate (for me) than black and pink, since I own hardly any solid black and solid pink things. xD
I always wear these bloomers I got from Bodyline underneath this skirt, partially for flash-protection (yes, even with tights on- I'm paranoid), and partially because the effect is somewhat like a mini-petticoat. I just love voluminous skirts of all lengths. :)
Finally, this is from yesterday...
Saturday, 2/13- Mermaid silhouette

Cardigan/skirt: Forever 21
Top: TJ Maxx
Boots: JC Penney
Tights: Marshalls
Headbow (not pictured): Forever 21
This outfit was inspired after I read the Little Mermaid from the Hans Christian Anderson book I got from the library. Remembering this cardigan, I decided I wanted to do an outfit with a mermaid-like silhouette, and maybe even some mermaid-like motifs. I decided the cardigan was too short by itself, and put the skirt there. I loved the effect in the end, as it was somewhat reminiscent of a mermaid's tail.
You can't really tell from this picture, but the top has some chiffon trim (which might not be the most appropriate fabric for Winter, but whatever) that reminded me a bit of a frilly clam shell. I also didn't wear them for this picture (for some reason) but I worse a pearl necklace from Forever 21 and a couple of pearl bracelets. I definitely want to do a similar look like this for summer at some point!!
Well, that's it for this week. Sorry for my laziness, and I'll try not to disappear this week. xD
I got some BB Cream in the mail last week, and I did have a review ready, but the pictures mysteriously disappeared of my crappy camera, so I'll have to re-do those and post a review later this week!
Until then, happy early Valentine's Day! Everybody be sure to eat a lot of chocolate (or whatever overly-indulgent sweets tickle your fancy) and spend it with somebody you love/your friends if you're a lonely loser like me. :P

Lolita Charm X Hawaii Kawaii Giveaway!!

If you know me, you know I read a TON of blogs. F Yeah! Lolita, Violet Lebeaux, Lolita Charm, Her Curious Elegance and Universal Doll are a few of my favorites. Recently Lolita Charm (which, as you'll note, is on my "favorite blogs" list xD), has collaborated with the web store Hawaii Kawaii to give away one t-shirt!!

(the post can be found here: http://lolita-charm.blogspot.com/2011/02/hawaii-kawaii-giveaway.html)

If you look at the shop, they have a ton of cute t-shirts (hence the name). Normally I don't care too much for t-shirts, but I actually really like a lot of these designs, especially the ones featuring unicorns (because UNICORNS!!).

If you'll notice, one of the ways to get extra points for this giveaway is to post on your blog, but trust me, I really do love this store. Even if I don't win, I'll probably just have to scrape together some money and get myself that "Unicorny" tank top... ;)

Those Bitchy Feminists

The other day, a friend of mine who I respected very much made a very off-colour "joke" that was basically just slut bashing on Facebook. I put "joke" in quotations because it wasn't so much a joke as a statement-dry and humorless, it wasn't funny at all. It was four words, and there was no thought put into it. "Sluts have no rights, LOL!" he oh-so-"jokingly" laughed.

Now, I'm not going to lie- I'm okay with sexist jokes. I think that a lot of jokes that cleverly poke fun at stereotypes for anything are funny, provided of course that everybody in on the joke is okay with that sort of humor. The majority of people don't take those jokes seriously at all, and it can be fun to laugh at how wrong these stereotypes are.

But of course, as there was no thought or any real humor put into this "joke," it wasn't funny. It wasn't playing on any stereotypes. It was just mean and asinine. So I called him out on it.

He didn't respond well at all to it.

His basic response was "JESUS CHRIST CAN'T YOU TAKE A JOKE!" I tried to keep it light, as I do detest conflict, but finally I got fed up, swallowed my fear of conflict and tried to debate with him.

It wasn't a debate so much as name-calling (at least on his part, tbh. I admit I was guilty of going off-topic for a sentence or two to refer to a couple of really off-handed statements he made, but I did try my best to remain as civil as possible). The whole thing ended with him telling me that it was sad that he was in a "stupid argument on Facebook," and that I "didn't understand him and how he doesn't give a f*ck" and that I "don't get his sense of humor." If you're reading this, you know who you are. Just know that I lost a lot of respect for you after this conversation, and this really demonstrated how hypocritical a lot of things you say can be (ie, if you really didn't "give a f*ck, why did you keep commenting?). But this whole incident did get me thinking, and I came up with this:

If this were the same joke but instead of saying "sluts" he said "gay people," and I had called him out on it, chances are there would not only be a LOT more people jumping on him along with me, but he would have seen the error of his ways and apologized for the humorless and thoughtless statement. Why is that, I wonder? It seems to me that so many people view feminists in our culture as "pushy" and "bitchy," even if that's just an example of how misogynist people can be without even realizing it (an assertive woman seems to= bitchy in modern culture). However, people who battle for other rights don't seem to be viewed anywhere near as negatively as feminists. Is it because people into gay rights obviously still have a far way to go, whereas women in the US can vote and have (for the most part) completely equal rights? Is it because the whole debate about gay marriage vs. no gay marriage is completely visible to the public, but the hidden misogyny in people's statements and attitudes is so well-concealed since these misogynist attitudes are so socially acceptable?

Let me say that I am totally FOR gay rights, definitely. I think it's a VERY worthy cause to be active for and I myself definitely call people out on it if they're being homophobic without even realizing it, but even then I don't participate in the gay rights movement nearly as much as I'd like to. I was just using gay rights as an example.

But my point is, people seem to think feminists have it all, that there is nothing to fight for. What about the hidden misogynist attitudes I just spoke about that are so deeply embedded into our culture that they're socially acceptable? What about the women shamed and humiliated because they weren't "careful" enough and got raped? What about the women in Congress with unequal pay? Don't even get me started on the women in the middle east who have to deal with attitudes even worse than what American women had to face at the worst times!!

People seem to think that the feminist's mission is over, that at this point they're just being "bitchy" and "pushy" and are something to be ignored, but that is obviously far from the case. I think what us feminists need to do is make people more aware of the issues involving feminism that are still around today, so that maybe, just MAYBE if we call somebody out for their misogynist attitudes, they won't view us as the person fighting for the dead cause. Maybe if we try hard enough, we can show people that feminism is a very worthy cause not to be ignored, and that we are far from done.

Style update- 2/4/2011 (Ballerina-inspired)

Again, sorry about the crappy picture, but I still haven't gotten around to getting batteries for the camera I inherited from my sister and I forgot to take a picture in the morning so that's why all the lighting's all artificial and nasty :(

But anyhow, this was my outfit today!! A quick rundown...

Jacket: Urban Outfitters

Shirt: Charlotte Russe

Skirt/head bow: Forever 21

Tights: Marshalls

Boots (as seen in last update): Bodyline

I wanted to wear these dusty rose-coloured ballet flats I got from F21 a while ago, but it ended up being too cold for flats and besides, the snow would've gotten all in my shoes!! (Here in New England there's been a TON of snow recently- we've had like five school cancellations since late January!!)

It may not be immediately apparent looking at this outfit (especially since the jacket is blocking my shirt- I was so cold!!) but it was supposed to be inspired by something you might see in a ballet costume. I had the tutu-like skirt, so I wanted to build an outfit around that. I tucked my shirt in (it's a scoop neck, black short-sleeved shirt) to the skirt so you could see the satin waist band. I'm not usually a fan of satin, but the skirt is gorgeous and the waistband actually really makes it!!

I wore this outfit to see the movie Tangled, which I thought was a great movie!! It made me literally laugh out loud a couple of times, which movies rarely make me do. The horse just killed me, too!! I loved it. :)

That's about all I have to say today. I realize this outfit isn't all that great (I didn't even have time to do my hair or anything before I had to leave!!) but as usual, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!!