Cute Giveaway from a fellow blogger!

The blog A Sweet Lolita In Debt is giving away some really cute rings. You just have to check out the blog here and follow the instructions for entering. You can get an extra entry for blogging, tweeting, or posting a facebook message about it!

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!

My pic in Sucrerie Magazine!

For those of you who have never heard of it, Sucrerie Magazine is an online magazine for/about Lolitas, specifically western lolitas. They have some really great atricles and features. They have recently converted to blog format, which is cool because they can put out articles whenever they want instead of having to have everything ready to go at once. It's a really good resource for western lolitas. They also do a feature called Western Lolita Style Watch, which showcases outfit snaps submitted by real lolitas. I submitted my outfit from the Alice in Wonderland movie, and they used it! I'm very excited! I worked hard on that outfit, especially the skirt, and I'm so happy to see it being showcased. Check it out here. I encourage you to submit your Lolita outfits too!

I Love Chanel!

I am absolutely in love with Chanel's spring 2010 ready-to-wear line. Chanel has always been so classic and pretty, and this season's collection is no exception. White, black, and cream were used heavily, as well as other neutral tones. There were a few splashes of color as well, but nothing too loud. There were a lot of fitted tops with poofy skirts, which I'm sure Lolitas will love. Here are some pics:

Aren't they all so lovely? I'm not a huge fan of clogs, I think that pumps look better, but that's just me. I love to see the high fashion ready-to-wear stuff because even though I may not be able to afford head to toe Chanel, Givenchy, or Prada, seeing what the designers are putting out gives one a good idea of what will be available in the upcoming season. Check out the rest of the pics (and other designer's spring collections) here.

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.

New items I got from Fanplusfriend!

Yay! My order from Fanplusfriend finally showed up today. I placed the order on February 18th, and they shipped it out on February 26th. In all fairness to them, they were on holiday until the 21st, so they were probably a little backed up. The good thing about ordering from them during the holiday was that everything was discounted (either 10 or 20 percent, I can't remember). It took 5 business days after they shipped it for it to get here, which is about what I expected.

Here is what I ordered:

Petticoat:

I ordered this steep prop pannier. After I placed the order, I asked on the main egl community if anyone had it, and I got some not so good reviews from people. However, I think it looks pretty good. It's not so fluffy that I'm worried about knocking things over, and there is a layer of some kind of mesh fabric on top so that the steep prop doesn't show.

 

In the package

This isn't a great picture, but I couldn't really get a good one.

Here it is under a skirt.

Overall, I'd give it a 6/10. I like it, the shape is good and it feels very light. The steel prop isn't really adjustable like they say on the website, you can adjust it a tiny bit, but any more than that and it pops out of the piece that connects the ends together, and you have to push it back together. I have to wear it a few inches lower than my natural waist because it's a little short, but that's really my fault, I probably should have ordered the medium length on instead of the short one. The waist allowance is very forgiving, which is nice. It's easy to sit down in too. 

Socks!

These are so adorable!They are cream colored, which is nice because my wardrobe has off-white instead of white. The little roses are so pretty, and I especially love the ribbons printed on them.

I got these for my Alice in Wonderland outfit. They are a soft blue, and the detail is medium blue. They match really well with the skirt. 

Lace Gloves

These are just some simple off-white lace gloves. They are really cute, but a bit big on me, as gloves almost always are. (I have really tiny hands). They are cute, and would be good for a spring daytime outfit, say a walk in the garden or a garden party.

Bowknot Present Necklace

It came in the sweetest little box!

Unfortunately, no matter what I did, I wasn't able to get a decent picture of it. It's so cute though, it's a little present box.

I've been a little busy lately, but I do have some new things coming up. My cucumber sandwich recipe/tutorial is coming soon, and I am going to have other tutorials, I promise! I also want to start doing more outfit posts, not just Lolita stuff, but my regular outfits too. 

Alice in Wonderland comes out tomorrow, I can't wait! I will post my Alice movie outfit soon!

-Mariko