Wednesday 16 July 2014

† 30 Day Lolita Challenge - Day 6 - 10 things you can’t live without in lolita †

† 30 Day Lolita Challenge †
Day6
† 10 things you can’t live without in lolita† 


I. Petticoats
Ever since I was a young girl I have had an obsession with the large poof that comes with fashion. Ironically it all started with Marie Antoinette, as a young girl I used to look at picture of her in her stunning dresses and wished i could wear them. To me however it was the shape of rococo style dresses which I found extremely romantic. I have always said when I am to marry I want to wear a dress just like her and have a crinoline just the same.

For lolita, I personally find it a bit of a pet peeve when people do not wear petticoats. My reason? The dress shape. Just like rococo dresses they required a crinoline or fit the shape of the dress so the dress would fit properly on the wearer. For lolita, the dresses are designed to be worn with a petticoat so you can see the full detail, design and/or print of the dress. Sometimes, for a lolita dress I think it can be okay not to wear a petticoat for casual reason or a non printed, plain dresses but if the dress is showered in detail I think not using a petticoat just misses the point entirely and takes away the beautiful silhouette.


II. Space for Petticoats
 I was going to add this to the section above but this is more to do with the dress than the petticoat itself. I have found in the past that badly made dresses that do not have enough space for the lower half of the dress can ruin everything. When a lolita dress is made it is commonly made with at least 2 meters of fabric in the skirt of the dress, this is made to fit a petticoat underneath but sometimes a seamstress or dressmaker makes a huge mistake by adding 1 meter onto the base of the skirt. This is fine for a regular dress but for lolita it is pointless as not only can you not fit a petticoat underneath but it makes the dress look weird and ill fitting. When I continue my dress making project I will show you how much fabric I have used and why using about 2-3 meters is a good thing~



III. Blouses
Everyone has that one thing they are picky about in a fashion and everyone has that one thing they adore all styles of, for me I love blouses! I find next to all lolita blouses to look stunning beautiful! The designs are so flattering, elegant, bold and charming. Cotton, chiffon, lace, are just some of my favorite blouse materials and I am slowly rebuilding my blouse collection. At the minute though my main interest is black and red colorways but I still enjoy looking at blouse designs.




IV. Decent Sizes Bags
 I have found that most lolita bags you find these days are a good size and big enough to fit the essentials into, however I am one of those crazy frillies that carries everything but the kitchen sink with me and I often find the bags I buy to always be too small. As soon as I get back to youtube I will make a video explaining the stuff I carry with me and to why I always need bigger bags. I have often found myself at meets bringing two bags with me or a backpack. I maybe should either tone down my bags insides so perhaps invest in a large lolita suitcase.


V. Ouji Accessory
A small running joke these days and half serious part on me but this video by Dear stalker pictures will explain all;


My boyfriend, Tony, is not only extremely helpful but very fashionable. It is true that he is not really into wearing ouji, kodona or lolita fashion but he is a goth and tends to come to meet ups with me in frilly aristocrat attire. However if we were to ever go to a main event together he would be willing to try a more lolita like style aka EGA to match with me as long as it fitted his tastes though and was not age play like *shudders* he and I both agree the boy style on manly looking men is a bit creepy/weird but hey, to each their own right?

Tony takes lovely coordinate photo's for me and puts a lot of effort into finding the right angles and lighting that works for me. He helps me get dressed in lolita when it comes to the little touches like my shirring ribbon, helping me with shoes, petticoats and is slowly learning how to tie lolita bows. He is a very tender and caring man and he fully appreciates that lolita fashions means a lot to me. He has even taken into his own time of learning about the fashion and wear to buy things. Its nice that he understands about lolita fashion and often sends me links to things he finds and asks my opinion on them. He has many times helped me find/buy rarer dresses and helps me find things to match them. I guess his enjoyment in goth fashion is not so different from lolita as he helps me in goth too. However I rarely let him carry my bags and he often has to pry them from my dead corpse when things are too heavy for me. So despite him not being a real ouji, he is my prince~

VI. Beautiful Outfits
 What is the point of wearing lolita if your not going to wear it fabulously?! There is nothing better I like to do then to view peoples outfits and fashion efforts. I don't really need to say more but gosh damn lolita fashion is fabulous!!

VII. Make Up
 I think with the effort that goes into the fashion should equally go into the make up. I think not putting effort into your make up can truly spoil a look but the same goes for too much make up. Its best to find what works for you and keep at it. I find for myself that I have to put a lot of effort into my eye make up over everything else. Eyeliner, eyelashes, circle lens, eyeshadow, the works! This with pale foundation and long lasting blush works wonders for me but if I skip any of these stages it makes me look odd. Its all or nothing.



VIII. Shirring
 Shirring has been a dream come true to me. I used to find that custom sizes without shirring was a pain. You lost a small amount of weight, too big. You gain a small amount, too small. With shirring no matter how your weight changes within reason the dresses will fit. However it is not weight that is my biggest problem, it is my boobs.

In school, year 7, I was flat as a bored but as summer came for year 8 I went from no chest to a double D in bust size. From size 10 shirts to size 16 just to accommodate my chest size. In lolita, having a large bust have always been a problem. I find that I will buy a 2L blouse and it'll fit me everywhere but my bust and it drives me nutty, but thanks to shirring I have been able to fit into clothing a lot more comfortably. I have for a while tried to avoid onepiece dresses but since summer is coming the fucks as one may say has been way less. I'd rather wear a onepiece dress instead of a blouse with many layers.

IX. Memories

One of my favorite lines to use for lolita is "Never forget the routes of the fashion, its the same as never forget who you are and were you come from" For me a lot of my fashion choices were inspired from memories and my love for frilly dresses. As a young child (pic related) I had a love for lolita fashion but its hard to get it, often my mother would buy similar style dresses or have dresses costume made for me but they were only close to what I dreamed of and as an adult I can now express myself much easier than a child ever could so the memories of these special dresses stay with me even now.




X. Variety
 In lolita fashion there is so much out there it is crazy. There are tons of brands, loads of companies and shops out there that carter to a lolita's needs. The other day for my anniversary I pulled out 6 of my 12 dresses to try and pick a dress to wear,  I ended up going with my Marionette Girl but I was happy to be spoiled for choice thanks to my wardrobe variety. I think for a lolita it is important to have a decent range as well as a fallback set, aka a set you can always rely on should something happen to your outfit of choice.





On to Question 7,
Pleasant Dreams †

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