Novelty Heels

So many cute heeeels ;_; I feel like I would ruin these with just a single day out...but...still. These are so weirdly cute I can't help it. If I find more, I'll update this post!

Irregular Choice: Odette Wedges

Marie Antoinette Heels - BtSSB
Even Baby the Stars Shine Bright is getting into the fancy heels ;3 Theirs is much more subtle..but I think it's only a matter of time muahaha.

If this style became more mainstream, I think the prices would go down a bit and there would be a larger variety of things to hold your heel up :P

These next ones aren't true Lolita aesthetic, but are still kind of awesome and share some similar motifs. I think you could work SOME of these into a coord! Check em out, and tell me what you think!

Siren of the Sea

Wonderland This Way - Black Heels
Alice, are you...okay? ;_; But really this shoe is crazy. It has mini playing cards sticking out of it, an Alice figure holding the heel up, two different Alice themed fabric prints, embroidery, and a sparkly bow...DANG.

These are an oldie but goodie too, a Disney limited edition shoe. The fabric makes it look like tea is coming out of the teapot, and you get macarons to hold your heel up xUx Weird and cute.

Making Your Own Clothing & Accessories

If you CAN make something yourself, do it! Why spend more money if you can recreate an item that fits you even better than a mass produced item would? Now, you wont always have access to the prints and patterns that brands have access to, but there are still many resources to find interesting fabrics and cute prints:

Spoonflower
Ebay Shops:
mantianxingzi * cute fabrics
Etsy Sellers (not ALL of their prints are loliable, but some are if you search!)
Hanami Boutique
LaceVille * border prints and lace
SassyandChicFabrics
FabricsWonderland

This video is from a Misako Aoki's tea party in Australia. She picked about 5 Lolis at the end who she thought had the best coordinates of the day. One of the lolis who won best coordinate had a fully handmade dress Misako said it was amazing that she did all that herself. This is coming from a lady who reportedly has an entire 2nd floor of a house dedicated to her clothing!! xWx

When you make something in the style of lolita/ouiji/aristocrat or really any fashion, you are now adding a part of yourself and your creativity to the existing fashion. It doesn't have to be a statement against brands or anything, a Loli can totally have a mix of handmade and brand items.

I see harajuku street fashions and loli as an expression of oneself, so what better way to express yourself than not buying a mass produced item, and instead adding details down to the last button that mean something to you?

I hope this has inspired you to make something yourself for your next coord!

The Princess Code

The Princess Portal, a blog I used to love many years ago (that has since shut down) came up with this idea of The Princess Code. I loved so much of what she said about being a "princess" and I still think about it to this day. I had always shied away from the word because so many western girls would use it as a "better/prettier than thou" kind of message, and I just hated that image.

Skye, the owner of said blog, talked about how ANYONE can feel like a princess regardless of income, housing situation, or how big your wardrobe is. Even the tiniest room can be taken care of and decorated to feel luxurious, lovely, and comfy for you. She talked about how real princesses or royalty would be educated, and ideally care for their subjects. They would be taught things like fencing, writing/poetry, musical instruments, languages, and more, all in an effort to improve themselves...and we can do that too, everyday!

The Princess Code

“[A] list of values and ideals we aspire to as Princesses… a collaborative effort between many other girls who have sent in their sentences. It belongs to all of us, and while we may not agree with every item on the list (and that’s okay!), it creates a picture of what being a Princess means.”

• A Princess inspires others to follow their hopes and dreams through pursuing her own.
• A Princess greets everyone with a welcoming smile, melting the hearts of friends and disarming her enemies.
• A Princess has dignity, which protects her from the opinions and spite of ignorant people.
• A Princess always looks beautiful, even when she is asleep.
• A Princess aims for perfection in every step.
• A Princess should be given fresh flowers everyday, even if she has to give them to herself.
• A Princess grows in recognition and stature in proportion to how much she treats others as royalty.
• A Princess reflect’s her inner beauty in her aesthetic choices.
• A Princess goes to war against the violence of incivility with the weapons of etiquette and prodigal generosity.
• A Princess lives each day from the heart, expressing herself freely and treasuring every moment.
• A Princess has the right to spend her funds on beautiful things she does not need because beauty in itself is priceless.
• A Princess should follow her heart and believe in her dreams, even if the whole world seems to be against her.
• A Princess respects her environment and nurtures the beauty of nature.
• A Princess is never too busy to give a kind word or smile where it is needed.
• A Princess’s most precious jewel is Hope, which lights her darkest days and shows her the beauty in every soul she meets.”

Take what you will from the list, alter it, and make it suit your own life/needs/values ♥ Using the banner she made on your site/blog/etc shows that you share these ideals.

Lyre Ivy - Cat Guerrillas Print

Wow. A statement on the times indeed... Makes me want a pistol accessory with little bows on it now =w= Okay not reeeaaalllyyy....but I do like the idea from an anime/entertainment perspective of sweet Lolitas kicking serious butt and taking out baddies.

I guess I can't really say this print would be used as a casual piece, even though the concept art for the dress designs are pretty casual. It all boils down to if you're cool with having assault weapons in your Lolita coords XD Basically, I would only get this for novelty purposes, but I really wouldn't want it to trigger a gun rights discussion xUx Maybe I'm looking too hard into this. It's just silly cats with guns and gas masks right? ._. Just a cute parody thing...I'll let you guys decide. 

MilkyWay's Cat Shoes

Adorable cat shoes by the Chinese brand Milky Way! I think my favorite part is the heel. Sure, it'll get dirty and probably not visible within 1 day....but it's still dang cute. Hopefully it'll at least leave a paw shaped mark when you walk! Pair this shoe with any cat print, or kitty stockings, and you win the day.

Shop Review - Automatic Honey

Web Shop || Facebook Page

I freaking love the accessories from Automatic Honey. Unfortunately, it looks like their website hasn't updated since Halloween of 2016? Sooo sad. I REALLY hope they update their inventory because holy crap...just take a look:

Apparently they had a shop up at RuffleCon last year, so since I'm going this year, hopefully I'll run into them ^_^! Anyway, what do you guys think?

Disney Opens Dress Shop - Loliable Dresses with Disney Prints!

I like seeing elements of Lolita appearing in mainstream fashion, like the dresses and accessories here in the Disney Dress shop! I'd say some of dress the styles are a bit rockabilly, but still totally workable into the fashion. Not to mention some of the purse and accessory designs...spot on!

Hope you guys see something you like :)

Innocent World Announces the Closing of their Harajuku Store

Well, Innocent World is closing their Harajuku location on May 7th. ;_; What is with so many things ending this year? First Kera/Gothic Lolita Bible, then the BtSSB store in Paris, now this. All I can hope is that with the closing of some shops and projects, that it will allow for growth in other areas and allow for smaller independent companies to get some attention too. You can still order from their website of course, which as of today is still having a Winter Sale! (no end date announced yet) so go support them, especially if you like classic styles.

Original Post:

★-----------------------------------------★
　原宿店閉店＆ファイナルセールのお知らせ
★-----------------------------------------★

いつもInnocent World 原宿店をご愛顧いただき誠にありがとうございます。

この度、2017年5月7日（日）をもちましてInnocent World 原宿店を閉店することとなりました。

2005年のオープンから12年間たくさんのお客様にご来店いただき心より感謝申し上げます。
閉店まで残りわずかとなりますが営業終了日までスタッフ一同心を込めて
お客様をお迎えしたいと思います。

また、感謝の気持ちを込めてファイナルセールを実施予定です。
皆様のご来店を心よりお待ちしております。

My Translation (because the Google Translate is bad)

★-----------------------------------------★

Notification of Harajuku Shop Closing & Final Sale

★-----------------------------------------★

As always, a sincere thank you for your patronage of the Harajuku Store.

Soon, by May 7th of 2017, the Innocent World shop in Harajuku will be closed.

Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all customers who came to the store during the 12 years since our opening in 2005.

For what time remains until the final closing date, all of the staff members wholeheartedly would like to welcome you in.

Again, we will feel so grateful leading up to the Final Sale.

We truly look forward to you coming to the shop.

My Lolita Fashion History

My Fashion History and How I was Lead to Lolita

I can't talk about my fashion history without also sharing my personal experiences with Japanese culture, since that's where Lolita style was born.

I've always been inspired by Japanese culture; be it through stories from my mom about her trip to Japan in the 70's, through food and snacks during visits to Little Tokyo, through anime, manga, and games, or through the Karate scene I was a part of since I was very young. Vintage items from Japan have always been around my house, and one of my best friends growing up in California during elementary school was a Japanese boy who told us about Pokémon and Yugioh before any kid in America knew what those words meant.

Super Megafest - Marlborough MA 2017

I thought I'd talk a little about my overnight trip to go see Super Megafest in Marlborough MA. I had never attended this con, so I didn't really know what to expect. I was pretty sad that there weren't any panels, but they did have a good handful of older tv show stars. Unfortunately the only ones I really knew/cared about were Wil Wheaton, and Barbara Eden (the lady from I Dream of Jeannie). There were also lots of Playboy Bunnies, who looked great, but it kind of tells you something about the crowd they were attempting to bring I suppose. Anyway, whenever I go on a trip, or go out to do something fun, I try to make an outfit...so the theme this time was Strawberries ♥ Hope you enjoy!

(Ahem. I love Overwatch....if you don't know, this is a replica of Soldier 76's gun that was SUPER light and well made, just borrowed briefly for this picture from a really cool crafting school/3d printing table. Also Nesquik was awkwardly present through the Con? Weird.) --->

Outfit Breakdown:

Hat - handmade

Accessories - TaoBao, handmade, and Claire's

Blouse - off brand

Skirt - Bodyline

Backpack - TaoBao

Purse - Sanrio/Twin Stars

Socks - ebay

Words to the wise, try your whole outfit on BEFORE the day of the event. I realized the morning of, that the strawberry knee socks I bought were suuuper tight. I pretty much never have problems with tights or socks, only sometimes once I get to the thigh area...but jeeze, I could barely get these over my heel. They just didn't have a lot of stretch or something.

I made some of the accessories for this outfit, including the hat, and wrist cuffs. The rest was from TaoBao and Claire's. Just little flowery clips that I knew I'd use outside of this outfit too, since spring is here finally ♥ Actually, most people who complimented my outfit thought for SURE I was cosplaying as Strawberry Shortcake??? I just thought it was kind of funny, and thanked people for the compliments. A few people did ask more questions about my outfit, and I was able to say simply that it's a street style from Japan called Lolita. Some had heard of it, others not so much.

I wanted to try some nail art to go with the outfit...this is actually my first attempt at doing something besides solid color on my own >_<;; Crazy right? I'm just not a big nail person. Maybe it comes from my karate background? I guess I'm just too rough with my hands, as I find I can't do anything if they grow out at ALL....I'll just end up bumping and bending my nails against drawers, or while typing (as I so furiously do) Anyway, they came out half decent. I might give it another go in the future.

Overall, this outfit was fun to wear. I don't consider myself a sweet Lolita, as it isn't what I'm MOST comfortable in...but I like to try different styles to test myself. Could this be considered country/sweet? Or maybe country/deco with all the rings and decorations I added on? I don't know, but I hope it inspired you in some way ♪