Prepping for Frill

Hello Hello!
I've been behind again guys. Boooooo. ;-; There's just so much to get ready for before Frill rolls around! "What is Frill?" some of you may ask. Well, Frill is the first American all Lolita convention. This past year was the first year and I was very eager to attend, reporting with absurd amounts of pictures, on the events and attendants. Suffice to say it was a really great experience and this year it's bigger and better!
They've upgraded from a community hall to an actual hotel, with multiple panels rooms going during the day, a few Japanese brands visiting and actually putting on a fashion show (Which yours truly has been chosen to be part of as a model, by the way) and bigger and better events all around.
I've been planning my attendance for the convention since Christmas when I purchased my VIP pack along with my sister, who is also attending. (It's June 1-2, in case you wanted to know) A few months later and my dear friend Kendall, whom has appeared in multiple posts of mine, decided to join, and a glorious outfit plan was hatched.
There are three times to plan for:
Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday.
For Saturday, Kendall and I conspired to do coordinating outfits! (Which we also ended up doing on sunday too. Woops)
Cinnamoroll and his friend Mocha!
Cinnamoroll and Mocha are two not as well known characters from Sanrio, the makers of Hello Kitty, My Melody and others. Cinnamoroll had a TV show for a while apparently, though I never saw it and that's where all of his friends came from: Mocha, Chiffon, Milk, Cappuccino and others.
Taking into consideration how well adapted and recognizable the characters could be if done as a lolita outfit that isn't overtly costume, we picked Mocha.

You can see Cinnamoroll and Mocha here, mocha being the brown one with flowers.
I took my outfit that was based off Cinnamoroll, as you may recall:

Which I sketched out for posterity and to keep track of it in conjunction to Kendall's Mocha coord. From there sketched out Kendall's outfit design, which I often do for planned coordinates to get the full visual of how everything will looks. I wasn't trying to get perfect anatomy so some of the arms a might bit wonky. :x

We've done most all of our crafting over this month, from making Mocha's flower hair pieces to dying the lace for the wristcuffs. We even ripped out a few layers of a petticoat to make it suitable for lolita for her! Kendall will be wearing my brown baby scalloped jsk and a brown blouse she thrifted her self, among other things.

For Sunday we both ended up planning on doing more natural mori-girl/dolly-kei outfits. Mine leaning more dolly and hers more mori. No pictures for that one because I haven't managed to ink them, but I'll be wearing my Lady Rose jsk with a flower headband, and I had hoped a peignoir like this one but that's looking like a quickly fading dream unfortunately. But maybe I'll figure something out, fingers crossed!

Kendall will be wearing a white skirt and brown blouse with a flower garland of mine. Her look is really going to be pulled off by her amazing hair and makeup. Her hair is that of a god's and I am infinitely jealous of it. She also has super pale skin that looks really good with dolly blush, which I can't really pull of because it just makes me look sick since it blends in with my normal skin tone really naturally. Forever broken hearted.
Anyway!
We'll start packing this weekend and I am so excited. I've taken all my items to get dry cleaned and I'll be picking them up this week. I need to finish washing the items I have to hand wash and I'll be all together!

And don't worry, you'll all be getting gratuitous pictures of the convention. You won't get away from it, I've been too psyched for too long! I'll even try writing about my experience as a model if I can. It will certainly be an experience, but one I look forward to eagerly.
Till next time,
XOXO

My birthday!

So Tuesday was my birthday and I am now 17! Omg, young and old at the same time! It was a very casual night. My mother, sister, Kendall and I went out to a nice steakhouse in town and I opened all the presents I got from my aunts and mom and sister before we left and wow, what lovely presents. My mother basically bought me a princess kit, haha.

That would be: A Tiara, a porcelain ring holder, an adorable chiffon pink scrunchie with a bow, my favourite perfume- Coco Chanel's Mademoiselle, and rose scented bath salts. And not shown, I got a nice large clear side with white straps tote bag. I mean WOW, what an absolutely fantastic bunch of gifts. Thanks mom!
From my aunts I mostly got money, which I didn't mind a bit since I'm saving up money for Frill, but they were dear enough to send me a thing or two.

From one of my aunts was a really pretty box of macarons actually shipped from France!! (One is missing because I already ate it! ;x;) The flavors weren't listed but I tried one of each to figure them out and they were raspberry, pistachio, lemon, dark chocolate with raspberry, milk chocolate, and coffee!

 The other gift was a cute cake tester with a little tea pot shaped bead at the top. It's a long bit of metal you stick into the middle of the cake to see if the cake if done cooking. I love baking so it was a cute present.
-w-
I didn't get a picture of my outfit, unfortunately but I got a head shot of me wearing my tiara before I went to dinner.

It was a really nice birthday even if it was casual. I didn't get pictures of any of my other gifts but I received presents from my sister, my father, my grandparents, and some of my friends and they were all really really sweet presents and I love all of them.

Happy Princess Day!

May 5th is princess day everyone and I hope everyone had a lovely one!
My day was spent recuperating from my Junior Prom last night!I billed prom as part of my princess day celebration since it involved fancy dresses, high decoration, and dancing. I extended today though and I went out to a cafe for lunch with Kendall for lunch and spent the afternoon crafting flower accessories and watching movies. Big Fish is and always will be a great movie. Anyway;

 XOXO,
Kendall and Delano!

My heart belongs to... {Lolita 52 Challenge}

Hello Hello! Took longer on this post, so sorry. I'm trying to be a better blogger!
Today's prompt is "Your favorite brand" and probably the easiest so far! I have always had a special place in my heart for one brand in particular, no matter how much I love other brands. I'm siding with Momoko on this one; Baby the Stars Shine Bright has my heart.

So, what makes Baby my top pick?

 

• BTSSB's creative leanings: Whether it's the old school style or the rococo and extravagant OPs they just seem to know me so well. They have really wonderful design ideas and tend to leave prints to Angelic Pretty most of the time
• Serious attention to detail: Every piece Baby puts out, almost without fail, has multiple types of lace, careful construction decisions and things you would just never notice without being up close. They pick great materials to start with and end with great designs to tie everything up!
• Kamikaze Girls: Seems nebulous? Kamikaze Girls was one of the most formative things for me as a Lolita getting into the fashion and is still one of my favorite movies. Fight Club and Kamikaze Girls...heh. And as anyone who has seen Kamikaze Girls can tell you, Baby The Stars Shine Bright is basically 1/3 of the plot! It's eternally tied and in turn I have attachment to it as well.

• Older style: Being more ornate and less decorated in comparison to AP I find it appealing. I really do love the more monarchical feeling. It's not all Hyper sweet but instead a more verbose sweet. If that makes any sense!
• Versatility: Maybe Baby is more demure and less kawaii, but that doesn't mean that's all it can be. The last thing I really love about Baby is that their clothes can be as stated but can also be hyper cute, or classic, and possibly, on a full moon, even gothic! So much opportunity is important for me since I have a very low closet turn over and its really something I pay attention to.
• Sentimental Value: Baby was where I bought my first JSK from, and my first brand piece. I took a trip to San Fran when I was younger during the beginning of my Lolita life and it left an indelible mark for certain.

So in conclusion, Baby has my heart forever and I don't care for a cure.
See you next time!
(All pictures taken from Baby's San Fran Blog)

Your Heart, Your Head, and Your Hat {Lolita 52 Challenge}

Hello lovelies! Today's prompt is "Favorite Thing to Put on My Head" and that is a damn good question! Do I say bows, like most lolitas? Do I say cake, because, come on, cake! Or do I say flowers?

Two Guesses?

How about none of these!

I'll be the first to tell you, I am a hat kind of girl. There's something so potent about wearing a really on your head hat. Hats can have historical significance. They can change the entire feel or aesthetic of an outfit. Just a switch from a top hat to a wide brim hat (A la Carmen Sandiego) can turn you from the mad hatter to Irene Adler!
Personally, I derive a lot of inspiration from historical fashion and hats are a great great way of really feeling that inspiration. I recently got a psuedo Bergere hat as a gift. I had been pining away for a while and someone was kind enough to get it for me, which was so sweet. I *LOVE* this hat. Aside from being springy and unusual, it also was very popular among the french aristocracy when they would visit the countryside. If you couldn't tell from my other posts, I am a rococo nut. I really love the aesthetics of it, so this was too perfect.

(My lovely hat)

I currently own two berets, the bergere hat, a british riding hat, a boater hat, a BTSSB bonnet, a mini tricorn, and a few others I honestly cant remember! I dont wear them nearly as much as I'd like to because mostly I got to school and they're pretty anti hat, plus bows are more versatile, but when I do it really just brings the outfit to a new level.

Well, that's about all I can ramble about hats for now, so until next prompt; Bye!

A day in the life {Lolita 52 Challenge}

Well, today's prompt is "What my own Lolita lifestyle is like" and I'll be honest with you; I had a hell of a time quantifying it. Lolita and the lolita lifestyle is such an integral part of who I am and what I do its not active decision making. Its just my tastes and my attentions. So with that in mind.....

(Unknown source)

My lolita lifestyle is striving to live in fairytale palace, a Versailles skyscraper, and a royal dinner party. My lifestyle is having a heart of diamonds and pearls, and having expensive taste and no regrets. My lifestyle is waking up in the morning and reaching for my petticoat without even thinking. It's being able to rattle of my outfits from the past 4 meetups and not being able to remember what I ate for dinner. It's walking down the street and feeling confident enough to look every person that passes in the eyes and smile at them. My lolita lifestyle is believing in my own personal aesthetics and appreciate my preferences. It's not buying into what I'm supposed to like and instead buying into what feels right to me.
I wear fake beauty marks because I feel like it. I own more tea cups than an old lady. I can identify the time period something takes place in by the fashion in it. I've walked into a Baby the Stars Shine Bright store before and almost cried. I've watched Kamikaze Girls over 7 times. And for that matter, I've written analysis' of Momoko's quotes and their philosophical impact before.
When it rains, I don't think "I should have worn pants today." I think "I really need to invest in a good lolita rain coat." Which is then quickly followed with remembering that one I saw on Baby's website last fall. Heading to school 3 out of 5 mornings at least dressed in lolita without a second thought. Getting a car and bringing a spool of ribbon to decorate it.
That's my lolita lifestyle, everyday. Its a LIFESTYLE. It's every day I am awake since I've gotten into the fashion. Because its me. Lolita is a punk, lolita is a lady, lolita is a rebel, lolita is angry, and happy, and excited, and outgoing, and lolita is how I feel.

A Day at the Cinema {Lolita 52 Challenge}

Today's prompt from the 52 challenge is "5 movies for lolita" and wow, have I been waiting for this. I adore movies, from cinematography to plot line. Easy to say, I'm going to have fun with this.
*There will be no spoilers, since the point of this is to give recommendations.*

Lets kick this off with the obvious and ENTIRELY NECESSARY movie:
1. Kamikaze Girls: A movie about a lolita with emotional and committal problems who by accident becomes friends with a yanki girl gang member. Despite all that this movie has many comedic elements and is rooted in comedy. The overarching themes are friendship, believing in yourself, growing as a person and being a god damn bad ass. I have watched this movie 6 times and would recommend it highly. The original book is by Novala Takemoto.

2. Marie Antoinette: Let me say right now, this movie has the shittiest story telling. There is basically no REAL plot. That out of the way, holy Jesus the costume and set designing is BRILLIANT. I recommend this movie if for nothing else the beautiful eye candy. The soundtrack is rather surprising as well. Very contemporary. The movie is basically Marie Antoinette's life starting at her move to France to be the Dauphine till her imprisonment. Things to be on the look out for- Her affair, the lack of difference between grown women and kids in clothes, the door space v. skirt width.

3.Fight Club: Distinctly un-lolita but to be frank, I don't care. This is a movie everyone needs to see. I don't care if you're a scene kid, a lolita, gyaru, goth, whatever. Watch this movie. Everything about it is perfect. And I can't tell you anything because it'll ruin it. I believe in Tyler Durden.

4. Princess and The Frog: A relatively recent Disney movie from the 2000's, set in the 1920's jazz age New Orleans about a woman overcoming struggles and finding love. Except its way better than that. It's got a woman named Charlotte (Lottie for short) and she is the most magnificent creature. There's no dislike-able characters in this movie and the musical numbers are PHENOMENAL. It's about princesses, adventure, princes, magic, and music. You can't get any better than that!

5. Kurage Hime: This is actually an anime instead of a movie but I absolutely love it. Its about a nerdy girl with no confidence becoming a super confident girl who will make her dreams come true. Add in a boarding house of nerdy girls, a cross dresser who is so fabulous it hurts and an overarching theme of believing in yourself, this movie was made for lolitas. Watch it any time you need a little boost for yourself.

That's it! My recommendations for any lolita looking for a night in! Until next time!
<3

I swear by these on the Holy Gothic Lolita Bible {Lolita 52 challenge}

The first one on the list of challenges is " 5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style". And in my own personal opinion; here they are, the five things I swear by for the successful lolita.

1. A supremely fancy dress
        This can't be just any dress. This has to be THE dress. The dress that is something a princess could wear to a ball, or alternatively, hold vampire court in. It doesn't have to be huge but it has to be significantly fancier than a normal lolita dress. I'm currently in pursuit of this myself. >~> Baby's new release is beautiful beyond all belief.

2. An Organza petticoat
       The magic to these petticoats is that they don't deflate. They're puff is derived from the sheer amount of material instead of the stiffness of the fabric, insuring minimal if any deflation. One supplies everyday poof for ever and two is enough to make any AP girl weep tears of envy. I'm looking for a second one right now.

3. Community
       So many lolitas are in the world today, and for that matter gathering places! There's local communities, the EGL friending meme, the EGL free for all, plenty of forums, Conventions. So many opportunities to meet the other girls who share your hobby and passion. And I think its very important to remember that they do exist. Even if we live on opposite sides of the world, we have something in common. It's a really brilliant and uplifting thing, even if we do fight. It always seems to turn out ok.

4. A pair of cute shoes that don't make your feet bleed tears of fiery death
      That pair of heels with the pearls is all fine and dandy at a tea party, but when you're at a picnic, or a mall meet, or some other thing where you are on your feet for more than five minutes, how cute those shoes are don't mean jack shit. Find a pair of nice shoes that DON'T feel like the Spanish inquisition. You'll thank me later. (I have a pair of pink flat oxfords from www.goldenponies.net and I LOVE them)

5. A good camera (or at least a decent one)
      Even if you don't post pictures to the internet, you should still record your outfits. One day you're going to want to look back at the years past, progress, changes, etc and if you never recorded anything you are you of luck. You wont be able to remember everything on your own, get a little help with memory making.

Lolita blog carnival: What to get a girl who hates the mall or DIY gift ideas

http://sequinsandcherryblossom.com

Christmas is rapidly approaching and the onslaught of secret santas, office parties, family get togethers, and hallmarkian harassment is upon us. Its all fine and dandy to buy a tie for joe at the office but when it comes to lolitas of the amicable persuasion things get a might bit more complicated.
What do you buy for the girl who hates the mall?
Or, in slightly less dramatic terms-- What do you buy for a lolita when socks are 50 bucks?
First you should consider what is effective and useful to this person. Does she never have enough room in her purse? Is she sock deficient? Does she like styling her hair? Consider what is significant to your giftee.
Once you've figure that out (Or figured out that there isn't really anything) you have one of two options: Go out and buy something, or make it. This blog post is concerned with making. Let's get started-
For the Sweety-
~Try a Rococo inspired choker
~Maybe she's a floral kind of person?
~Don't want to over do it?
~Angelic pretty fan?
~The fur fan

 For the Gothic Vampire Aristocrat-
~Ball joint knee tights
~How about a rosary?
~Bat's on the head

 The Classic Queen-
~Flowers in her hair
~A teacup with effort

For any style:
~Spice up shoes
~For the Lifestyler
~Something for the purse toter
~Got a tea fanatic?
~For the bow hoarder

Happy creating~

Other blogs:
MakeLovely
Lemontree111
Spider-sugar
Sidhe Banshee
May Cause Cavities
Sweet and Simple
Sparkle Girl
Pop Princess

2012 pumpkin painting meetup!

Hello everyone! How were your Halloweens? I didn't go anywhere, I just stayed home and watched a bunch of movies, but that wasn't bad at all. I did dress up though! I went to school in my costume. (I was a sugar skull/dia de los muertos skeleton.)
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, mostly in part to it's historical significance and also because jeez, spooky skeletons and candy? What more could a girl ask for? So, I get excited and want to do as much for Halloween as I can! Last year I organized a pumpkin painting meetup for my local lolita group and this year, following the tradition set up the Second Annual Tallahassee Lolita Pumpkin Painting Meetup! It was lots of fun, and since our lolita group has grown, we actually had a decent group this year! Last year we only had 4 people, including myself, come. But this year, we had 6 people come. We're getting there!
It was super fun. We held it at a park, but a cold front blew through so we were all cold. ;-;

It was a simple set up but it was nice. There was apple cider and rolls and sweets. Everyone got a pumpkin to paint too.

Everyone did a really good job on their pumpkins too! We had two extras so my sister and I gave them away to the best pumpkin makers. Haha. I made a yandere pumpkin with the words "I hope sempai notices me" written on the back of it. Mine is on the top right. My sister was the furthest to the right on the bottom and hers was GORGEOUS so I let her pick the winners.

Hayley and I reenacted our pumpkins. I HOPE HAYLEY SEMPAI WILL NOTICE ME.

Group shot! Angel (Who prefers to not have her face shown on the Internet), Hayley, Myself, Mickie, Savannah (my sister), and Kendall. We all tried to dress in lolita versions of costumes or just in general spooky since it was a Halloween meet. Angel was a demon, Hayley was a 1950's malt shop girl, I was a witch (in case you couldn't tell), Mickie was creepy-cute, Savannah was a skeleton, and Kendall was a demon too!
I coordinated my outfit as well as Savannah's and Kendall's all from clothes in my closet.
~I was wearing:
Skirt: Candy Violet
Blouse: Baby the Stars Shine Bright
Shoes: Secret Shop
And all the rest was offbrand!
~Savannah wore:
Blouse: Anna House
Skirt: Chiaki Ayumi
All the rest was offbrand or indie that I can't remember. :<
~Kendall wore
Dress: Baby the Stars Shine Bright
Blouse: Alice Temperly (Old Target line)
Everything else was offbrand.

After we all finished with our pumpkins we were so cold we decided to move to a cafe nearby for the remainder and drink tea and coffee.

We sat around and talked for a good one and a half hours about things. It was super fun.

Hayley is just the most photogenic cutie. I am so jealous.

That was part of my Halloween, I hope you all had great ones too! Till next time!

XOXO.

Horror Stories are so Romantic

I enjoy the theater as much as the next girl....Ok, maybe a little more. (Or a lot) But, because I don't exactly live in a haven of the arts, plays, ballets, and so on tend to be a bit sub par in composition or selection. I'll give things a try but when a high school production rivals a real theater you've got some problems. Things are a little different right now though; I love holidays, especially Halloween and they really get me in the mood to PARTICIPATE. With that as base, I couldn't help being excited when I found out a local theater was putting on a play version of Frankenstein!

The inside cover from the production pamphlet. All the inside was done in style, with cast's pictures drawn instead of photographed. I just about died!

Frankenstein was a book from the Gothic portion of the Romantic period written by Mary Shelley. The romantic period was the same period that produced Cyrano De Bergerac, which is my favorite play of ALL time...Like ever. Really, in spirit, I am right along with the romantic period on so many levels, but I'll spare you the history lesson, yeah? Long story short, I was very enthusiastic about it.
When I go see things, movies or plays, I like to get into the theme. When I went to see the Musical Comedy Murders of the 1940's I did victory rolls and a little pre-greaser style. Since Frankenstein was in the Romantic period I, obviously, went with that. And as it turns out, the Romantic period was rather creative. (I mean, more than I thought it was.)

 Dem sleeves (source)

Doing my best to replicate the nutso sleeves (which I love dearly, but seriously, come on!) I layered a short sleeve blouse with slightly puffy sleeves over a peasant blouse of mine with 3/4-ish length bell sleeves. I used my red bustle back dress, which was a little bit of a jump, but only by about 25 years. I did a braided updo with a flower for a mix with regency, which was also around the same time and probably very close to the Gothic part which was towards the end.This was the result.

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. It also got wonderfully cold when we left the theater so I brought along a cardigan and scarf which also looked really cute if a bit more modern

And after all that, my opinion on the play? OH GOD MY FEELS. There was very heavy if almost entirely well done pathos and a really great set. We had first row seats and when the monster rolled off the table it was all of 5 feet in front of us. I though it might roll onto us!! It wasn't almost anything like the book. The sympathetic characters were different and in fact the entire plot was different, but I think it was much much better of a story that way.
Over all it was a good night, a really really good. I need to see more shows.

Until next time!

How to Make Deer Antlers

Mori has been on the rise among those interested in japanese street fashion and among lolitas, and it has been for quite some time. For those of you who don't know mori is basically supposed to look like a "forest princess". Lots of layers, cluny lace, germanic aesthetics, forest animals, etc. Myself, I have a little pet attraction to it. Totally adore it, but because I'm broke most of the time I have to be more reserved in how far I go with the style. Not because I have to watch my money or anything but because I literally just don't have much to create with.

My first pair of antlers for Frill

Now, it's no secret I am not the craftiest person in existence, beyond a back stitch and a glue gun and you've lost me. But clay is something I certainly have in my crafting pool and I set out at the beginning of the summer to make a mori-esque outfit for Frill and since I still wasn't over the deer fur trend I decided I was going to do a deer themed coordinate. This post is about how to do a part of that after quite a few requests: Deer antlers!
Now, this tutorial is very easy and very adaptable. You can change, mess around with, and embellish as you see fit!
You will need:

• A cup of water (you don't need a huge amount)
• Paper Clay in a natural white color
• Wire
• something you'll be attaching the antlers to like a headband or a garland like above (If using a headband I suggest something stiffer than what I use, like metal)
• Any lace, paint, chalk pastels or other accenting stuff

To start of take a hunk of clay about as big as your fingers when they're curled up plus a little and then another chunk about 1/3 the size of it. Set aside the smaller hunk.

 Roll out the larger one into a thin-ish roll a little bigger than your middle finger. At about 16 cm it's long enough, you can make it a little longer and thinner or shorter and thicker but consider that it's going to weigh when you attach it to the headband.

Decide which end is the outward end and taper it a bit into a pointy tip.

 At this point you may notice some ugly dents, nicks, or empty spaces like below. Get rid of these by wetting the clay with the water you have and rubbing relatively lightly but quickly over the area until it's smooth and uniform.

 It should look like this now: Twist it so that the top 2/3's is curved in an arch afterwards.

Now take that smaller piece of clay and do a much stubbier version of what you did before. It should be around 1/3 the length of the other piece and have a much sharper tapering.

 Now take the flat bottom part and with something stiff and smallish like a tooth pick or a piece of wire rough up it up. Then dampen it with your finger and some water. Go back over it to rough it up again if necessary.

 Curve it so that it arches vaguely too.

 Now assemble the two parts.Attach the smaller point about 4 to 5 cm from the base. It'll look like this when you stick the two parts together:

 Dampen your finger and rub the two parts together pushing them together with your nail and then smoothing it out as necessary

Now take a small amount of clay (very small) and get it really mushy and wet. It should be paste like.

Put it on over the seam where you attached the two parts and rub it in so it blends into the rest of the clay and up into the crevice at the top. Make sure it's covered all the way around. You'll need to do it again with the other side and some more clay to make sure it has full coverage.

Curve both pieces of the antler the same direction, facing inwards.

 Cut out the bottom at an angle (try and lose as little height as possible) that is also facing inwards. This will make it easier to mount the antlers.

Repeat this inverted and you have your two antlers.

Wait a few days until they are COMPLETELY dry. 3 days is a safe bet.
~~~~~~Three days later~~~~
Take one of your antlers and the thing you wish to attach it to and a good length of wire. wrap the middle of the wire around the bottom of the antler. Position the antler to where it should sit on the headband and wrap the wire around the base.

Repeat on the other side

Now you'll either want to leave the wire as is, which is cool, or you'll want to cover it up. You can do this with ribbon, leaves, lace, etc. If you're using a laurel then the leaves should naturally cover it up. I used ribbon for this pair.

The end! Good luck with your endeavors!