Nail deco and Gothic Lolita project

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! I honestly haven't really had that much to post. I've been working on some crafty things lately, and I want to share.
I made my first pair of deco nails. I have to mention and thank Violet LeBeaux here, because she was my insiration to make deco nails. She makes such awesome nails, and I wanted to make a pair of my own. I made a pair that would match my blue skirt (The one I made for the Alice in Wonderland movie). I used pink, blue, and white for an OTT sweet look, with nail jewels and pearls. My theme was "Nummy cakes". Here they are:

I think that they turned out really cute, what do you think?

I have also started on a Gothic Lolita coordinate. Since my first piece was sweet, I decided that I wanted something gothic. (Yes, that was my first Lolita garment. I have been interested in Lolita since around 2005, but I only recently got into wearing it). I love Sweet, Gothic, and Classic, as well as many other sub-styles, so I can't really pick one. I designed a jumperskirt with a back bustle, I always loved those. I'm using burgandy cotton fabric, with black lace and trim, and a black underskirt. It's two pieces, the burgandy jsk and a black underskirt. here's the design:

This is the front. I didn't have a burgandy pencil so I didn't color it in. The vertical lace goes down the bodice and the skirt. The horizontal stripes across the bodice are lace. There is also a row of lace on either side of the vertical lace. I will put bows where the vertical lace meets on the bodice and skirt, as well as where it meets the bottom row of lace. The straps will also have some thin lace on the edges. It seems like a lot, but I have some good quality lace and I think It will work without being lace monster-y. The bottom of the skirt has a small layer of ruffles.

The back is fairly self explanitory. Instead of going all the way around, the sides of the skirt will come up in the back, showing the tiered ruffles of the underskirt. The bodice is going to have back shirring, to get it on and off easily.

The underskirt is simple, a black gathered skirt with one row of ruffles in the front and many layers of ruffles in the back. The front of the jsk will cover the skirt, but obviously the back will not.










I've been modifying patterns and making mock-ups, mostly for the bodice, to fine tune it before I work on the real thing. I'm going to line the bodice, but probably not the skirt part. We'll see. I have finished the underskirt though! (Almost, upon finishing I realizing that the skirt rises up in the back because of all the ruffles, so I do need to add another row). Here are pics of it:

Front

Back (Yay, ruffles!)













I decided to make the underskirt seperate, that way I can wear it by itself (with a blouse or cutsew) or under another dress.

I'll post an update on the Gothic Lolita dress project as soon as I have one. Sorry it's been so long since my last post, and thanks for bearing with me!

Contest: Lolita Charm & Mouse Market Giveaway

Lolita Charm (a Lolita blog by Victoria Suzanne, one of my favorite lolita blogs) and Mouse Market (an etsy shop) are having a giveaway of some adorable fruit jewelry. Just click on the link here for more detail on how to enter!

Outfit Post

I went to see Alice in Wonderland of Friday with Nick, Himemiya, and a couple of our other friends. It was so wonderful! I grew up reading Alice in Wonderland, it was my favorite story. I also grew up watching Tim Burton movies. So when I found out that he was doing an Alice in Wonderland movie, my weird little goth inner child said "squee"!
I wore an Alice inspired casual-sweet Lolita outfit to the movie theater. (The finished product of the outfit I wore to Himemiya's tea party). I love how little kids like you so much when you wear sweet lolita. I told this to Nick, and he said it was because I looked like a Disney princess. Isn't that sweet?

"Drink Me" tee- Hot Topic

Skirt, Alice Bow, and bloomers- handmade by me

Socks, Necklace, and petti- Fanplusfriend

Shoes and Bag- Bodyline

Cardigan- off brand

You can't really see the cuteness of the socks, so here is a close-up!

I twisted my ankle leaving the theater, these shoes are really cute an comfy, but they are ankle twisters!

Here is my outfit from yesterday. It's not much, but I thought it was cute and so I had Nick take a picture.

All offbrand!

We couldn't get the lighting right, so I kind of look like a zombie. Those are also the most super comfy boots in the world. I have had them for years, and I have worn them in mud and snow, and they are still cute and in one piece.

Mini-post: Fan+Friend Petticoat

I just ordered this petticoat from Fanplusfriend. It's the short steel prop pannier in white (it comes in black as well). They do custom sizes, but because the largest size is for a 82-113cm waist, I just ordered a ready made one. This is my first real petticoat. I have an enormous one that I found at a boutique downtown, and it is awesome, but it is to big to fit under even the poofiest of skirts. It also sits around the hips, not the natural waist, and it is a little long. As a plus sized, petite woman, I have come to love clothing that fits around the naural waist. Also, skirts that come below the knee just don't look as good as ones that come slightly above it, because it makes you look shorter. This petti is 45cm long, which is perfect for a just above the knee length skirt or dress.
Anyway, I will post a review of it when it arrives. I hope it gets here soon, I want to wear it with my Alice themed outfit I have been working on to wear to the new Alice in Wonderland movie!

These Costumes Are Totally Wicked.

I went to see Wicked with Nick last weekend, and it was wonderful! We saw the touring show (off-broadway). The actress who played Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) had joined the tour straight from playing her on Broadway, which is really cool. It is the best performance I have ever seen. The acting and singing was amazing, the story was beautiful, and the costumes...oh, the costumes.

I just had to share the awesome. The costumes were so amazing. Many of them were historically inspired. I noticed a lot of bustle skirts and Victorian style boots. Here are some general pictures:

This is a pic of Glinda and Elphaba in the Emerald City. You can't really see the ensemble members, but their costumes are amazing!







 

Here is another pic of the ensemble.

And another. They had really cool, really unique costumes. 

Madame Morrible, the headmistress of the school that they go to, had some really crazy looking outfits:

 

I love this one, I love the huge bustle and the enormous bell sleeves.

Here is another one of her in all of her fabulous glory. Her costumes had huge boas or collars with huge sleeves, and huge bustles. They were very Victorian inspired.

The best costumes belonged to Glina. Her costumes were amazing, I loved them:

This is her classic gown. I love it. I'm sure that every girl who has ever dreamed of being a fairy princess would love this!

This is the outfit she wears when she does the number "Popular". I am in love with its adorable pink frilly-ness.

This one is very interesting. I usually don't like asymmetry, but somehow it worked on this dress. One side is long sleeved, the other is sleeveless. This is another very Victorian style dress. You can't really see it, but it has a bit of a bustle in the back, and the way the bodice sits on the skirt is very Victorian style.

The next one is my absolute favorite. It is the outfit Glinda wears on the first day of school.It is so adorable. I would wear it in real life, just as regular clothing. It is also very Lolita-ish. You could model a Lolita outfit off of this without having to change very much.

It's not Lolita as it is, but it would be easy to make a Lolita outfit inspired by this. You could wear some different shoes, a poofier petti, and add some cute accessories. Maybe wear knee socks instead of tights.

Costumes are not only fun, but they are great to take inspiration from. I'm considering making a Lolita coordinate based on Glinda's school outfit. There are so many other plays and movies that you could model a Lolita outfit after. For example, why not try a Lolita coordinate based on Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge, or Gone with the Wind?

-Mariko

Away with the Fairy Lolitas...

So, thanks to Miss Caro-chan at F*** Yeah Lolita, I am now addicted to Polyvore. I just finished making my first virtual coordinate, a Fairy inspired Lolita ensemble. I think that this outfit fits very much into the Quaintrelle style. I adore the Quaintrelle style and lifestyle. So many different styles can fit into the Quaintrelle aesthetic,like Lolita, historical fashion, mori, fairy-kei, hime gyaru, etc. I am really into all of those styles, although Lolita is my favorite. Vivcore of Candy Violet is all about Quaintrelle style, I would recommend checking out her site. She sells some very pretty things. I love her skirts, and she has some great t-shirts and casual loli pieces. I've never ordered from Candy Violet, but I have heard good things.

Fairy Inspired Lolita by Mariko

Jsk: Fan + Friend
Blouse: Milanoo
Pannier: Innocent World
Bloomers: Fan + Friend
Necklace: Tarina Tarantino
Rings: offbrand
Headband: Forever 21
Shoes: Office Shoes
Tights: offbrand
Bag: Prada

I chose lilac, peach, and white. I thought that this outfit was very airy and light. It would be great for spring. I chose the lilac jsk first, and built the coordinate from that. I thought that peachy-pink would make a great accent color, to keep that light feeling. I would love to wear this outfit for a walk in the park, or to sit by a creek near the woods, with a good book and a parasol to keep the sun away. Ah, that sounds lovely...


-Mariko

Craft Post: Silhouettes

Yesterday, Himemiya and I made Victorian Silhouettes using Victora Suzanne's tutorial at Lolita Charm . It was really fun and easy.

Here's how mine turned out. I couldn't really get a good picture of it, but this is the best one. I used a little pink rosette for a hair bow, and some tiny pearl stickers as a necklace.

Himemiya and I found matching pink frames at Goodwill for two dollars each. I like that we both chose a different style, with our paper and decoratins. I went for a classical, old-fashioned look, while she chose a fun decora style. Aren't they pretty?
You can check out her silhouette post here.

We watched part of Kamikaze Girls before she left, which I hadn't seen in so long! It was really fun. It was so interesting to see Momoko's sweet/classic style, back in the day when there weren't so many prints and head-eating Alice bows. I wonder how she would feel about the bright, sugar sweet lolita styles of contemporary times?

-Mariko

Pretty New Shoes!!!

My Bodyline order came in today, which is very exciting for me, because I've never ordered anything "brand" before. I am sure there are different opinions about whether or not Bodyline counts as brand, but that's not the point. I got some really cute things, and I'm super excited, so I want to share pics.

I didn't take a pic of the cardigan, because it's really small and doesn't fit me, and I don't want to take it back out of the packaging. I've been loosing weight, and I might be able to wear it in a bit, so I'll post it later.

Here are the shoes, my favorite part of the order!

 

They are so adorable, I love them! I tried to get a pic of the bows in the back, but all the pics were blurry, so I just picked the best one. They are actually really comfortable, the platform and the heel are about the same height, so they don't kill your feet like some heels do. They look white in the photos but they are off-white. Bodyline has a sizing chart on their site, so that you can find what japanese size you wear, and it turned out very accurate. I wear a 25.5, which is the same as a US 8-8 1/2.

 

Here's the tote bag. I like the print, even though I'm not much of a sweets print kind of girl. It's cute, and the blue matches a skirt I'm making. I put a close up of the print, although you can't see it well. It has pink, blue, brown, mint, white, and pale yellow, so it can be incorporated in with many pieces.

This is the same headband I'm wearing in the Hime hair post. It's baby pink, with bows, lace, and little pearl beads. Some of the pearls had fallen off when I opened it, they were just held on with hot glue, and I can either glue them back on, or sew them on, so it's all good.

 

This is a little shoulder bag I got for my friend Himemiya. I haven't opened it yet, I'm going to let her do that when I see her next.

Check out my Hime hair post, and I'll be back later with more fun stuff!

-Mariko

Mariko Does Hime Hair

I love the princess aesthetic. I've never done Hime style before, and as I sat watching Heroes, but otherwise bored, I thought it would be fun to try a Hime hairstyle. I love Hime Lolita and Hime Gyaru, and I was inspired. I don't have a tutorial for this, because I just used a Bumpit (I know, it's cheating, lol), but Violet Le Beaux has some great hime hair tutorials.

All in all, I think it turned out well, even though I don't have bangs, which is the traditional hime style. I can't wear them, my hair is so curly, that if I gave myself bangs, I would end up with those poofy mall bangs that were popular in the 80s. Yuck.

So without further ado, here is how it turned out:

  

This was a good opportunity for me to try out my new Bodyline headband. It's pretty cute, but when I got it, some of the little pearl beads had fallen off. It's an easy fix, but still annoying. 

Here's a closeup. (You can see the Little Mermaid sticker on my camera, lol.)

One more shot with the headband, I like this pic. 

  

Since it's Hime style, I had to try a couple of shots with my tiara. I never get to wear the thing, and it is perfect with Hime style.

A closeup shot with the tiara.

Headband: Bodyline

Tiara: bought at a Renaissance Fair

All in all, I think it turned out great. I would recommend the Bumpit if you don't want to spend all that time teasing your hair. Teasing it is rough on your hair too, so I like using the Bumpit. They have different sizes, I'm modeling the biggest one, so if you want to do hime hair without such a large poof, you could try using one of the smaller ones. 

This style works with or without bangs, and it's good for curly or straight hair. I have super curly hair (it's still not at it's maximum curl in the pics, because it's slightly damp) and so my hairstyle options are more limited than straight haired girl's options.

I am thinking of doing some hairstyle modeling and tutorials for curly hair, would anyone be interested in that?

-Mariko

Vitae Clothing's Usagi's High Tea Giveaway

Vitae Clothing is doing a giveaway of their new print, Usagi's High Tea. It is an incredibly adorable print, so get in on this while you can! They are giving away a jumperskirt in one of four colors (white, black, blue, and pink). I've posted the link below to their livejournal, which explains the rules for entering.

"I follow Vitae Clothing and I love Bunnies!"

Bodyline Purchase

I just ordered a few things from the dreaded Bodyline. They have some stuff that is really cute, and although I really don't like their prints, they have some cute simple stuff (blouses, cardigans, shoes, etc.) So here are the things I ordered, I am excited! (This is my first *brand* purchase, and I'm really excited about that, even though it's Bodyline and not Baby, lol.)

I got this bow in the lighter pink color, I didn't really care for the dark pink. It's part

 of an outfit I'm planning, which incorporates baby blue, pale pink, and off-white.

I thought this bag was cute, and even though I don't usually

care for loud, super sweet prints, I think that in a bag it's ok, becaus 

 there's not a lot of print exploding everywhere. (The older I get,

 the more I like more cassic styles, like Victorian

Maiden and Innocent World). It also matches the

 aforementioned outfit I'm planning.

I got this cute, simple cardigan in off-white. I wish there was a better picture

of it in that color, but alas. (The manequin in the picture weirds me out,

it's just so naked! I feel like I'm looking at something I shouldn't be, lol!)

Anyway, this piece really speaks for itself, it's just a basic piece.

My absolute favorite part of my order! These shoes are why I placed an

order in the first place. :) They are off-white, and I can incorporate them into

non-lolita outfits as well. I'm very excited, I've never had any lolita shoes before!

Last but not least, I got this cute, fluffy shoulder bag for my friend Himemiya!

I wanted to get her a little present, and I thought that this is just the cutest thing!

I hope she likes it!

So, there's my first Bodyline order, I hope that the pieces look good in real life, lol. I also hope that that cardigan will fit over my boobs! I'm also crocheting a little bag, and when I finish (and make sure I'm doing it right, lol) I will post a tutorial.

-Mariko

Lolita things that I miss

I really miss some of the things that are no longer in fashion, or considered "ita". I really hate that word, I think it's kind of snarky. I do understand why some things are considered "ita", because they are really tacky. But I really miss some things that were very in when I first became interested in lolita.

1) Black and White.

When did this go out of fashion? I think it's a tragedy. I love the black and white combo, it can be classic or gothic, and it's so pretty. This pic is a Baby jsk that I just looked at on their site today, so at least black and white is not totally dead.













2) Square headbands

 I always thought that these headbands were cute! I just don't understand why they are never worn anymore. Now, I love the bows and the hats that are in now, don't get me wrong, but I kind of miss these.









3) When Sweet Lolita prints weren't so scary sweet.

Now, I have to start off by saying that I think Dreamy Dollhouse is pretty adorable. But some of the prints out there now are so loud! Now, that's just my personal taste, I know, but it seems like it's harder to find simpler prints, because the loud ones are so in vogue. I have to admit that Angelic Pretty has never been in my top five (I know, *gasp*, blasphemy! lol). I used to prefer more gothic or classic styles, now I prefer a classic/country type style, but honestly this print kind of scares me. I don't want to say that I think it's horrible, and I definately don't want to hurt anyone's feelings if this is their favorite print ever, I'm just not feeling it I suppose.


I love the stuff that's in right now (most of it anyway), but I just needed to wax nostalgic for a moment.

Bonbon de Sucre: Revamped, with a new mission, a new(ish) look, and a new flavor!

So, I had to put this blog on hold for a while, since I was finishing school (I have my A.A. degree now, yay!). In that time, I decided that I wanted to sort of change Bonbon de Sucre, into something a little more eclectic.
I love Gothic and Lolita fashion, I love Victorian, Baroque, Rococo, Renissance, etc. fashion, I love Cyber and Steampunk. I love costumes, and I have cosplayed quite a few times. However, I also love Haute Couture, and just mainstream fashion. I'll wear a hoodie from American Eagle just as soon as I would wear a Baby jsk, or some prada shoes (not like I could afford them). I just love clothing, shoes, and accessories. I've also recently gotten into some different styles, like mori and hime gyaru, which I am interested in. My point is, I'm not a lolita, I'm not mori, or goth, or anything. I'm just me, and I love fashion. I also love crafting. I'm learning how to do embroidery, and I'm expanding my sewing and crocheting skills. I love making things, and I want to incorporate some diy tutorials in this blog. So here are some things you may want to know about me (or not, I don't really know, lol):

* I am not an expert in Lolita.

I love love love lolita. I lean more towards the Classic, and a little country if I feel like it. My favorite brands are Baby, the Stars Shine Bright (which although I am not into a lot of the super sugary sweet stuff they have that is so in right now, will always have a place in my heart), Victorian Maiden, Mary Magdalene, Innocent World, and I even think that Bodyline has some cute accessories.
I don't own any brand stuff, at least not currently. I have been into lolita, from an aesthetic point of view, for about four or five years. So I don't want anyone to think that I'm trying to act like I know more than I do, because I know I'm not an expert. Just an admirer, who draws lots of inspiration from lolita.
(I'm currently making a light blue skirt with offwhite lace, and I'll post updates about that! I'm also saving up money, slowly but surely, for my first brand piece).

* I am not an expert in historical fashion

I'm not going to be 100% historically accurate, but I will try to be as accurate as I can when posting about historical fashion.

*I am not an expert in fashion of any kind, really.

* What I am, is a girl who loves fashion. I admire great style in whatever form it comes in. I just can't pick one and stick to it, because they are all so fabulous!
So, I hope you like my blog. It's going to be pretty ecclectic, but I think that that can be a very good thing.
Thanks for reading!
-Mariko

Coming Soon:
Pics to inspire, of various styles
My project updates (blue lolita skirt, yellow sundress, and other projects that I haven't thought of yet)
Craft tutorials
Also, my friend Himemiya and I are going to start craft days, complete with tea and movies. I'll post our projects and reviews of the movies we watch.