Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Did you get any lolita presents? I didn't, but my family hate lolita fashion, so it wasn't exactly a surprise, LOL>_>;; I did, however, buy a few things off EGL Comm Sales in the weeks leading up to ChristmasXD It seems people were really trying to sell the things they didn't wear any more to pay for Christmas-related expenses, which is good for buyers!

It's ridiculously hot now, so the last time I went out wearing lolita, I wore a very Summery oufit.



The dress is by Carina e Arequin, which was a sister brand of Atelier Pierrot. The point of my outfit was that I ripped my little toenail off and couldn't wear high heels, so I had to co-ordinate it with sandals^^;; But with the hat, I think it gave it a very 1950s look!

Here is me and my friends:


Another outfit I wore the other day was made up of all off-brand pieces I found locally:


Again, I had to wear those sandals because I hurt my toe, but in the end the outfit has a very casual Emily Temple Cute look to it.


All photo credits to Vysanthe.

Have a happy holidays everyone!

Blog post.... not counting any more!

Lately I've been going out to quite a few lolita things!

But first, I did a more "Japanese Gothic" styled shoot the other day:



It was inspired by the goths I saw at clubs in Japan, especially the make-up and cage skirt I made. That cage skirt was hand-sewn from 7 meters of corset boning! It took me forever^^;; Soon I'll update my website with a proper gallery^^;;

Next I went to my friend's photography exhibition. She took photos of the local lolitas for a photo-journalism assignment. Here is a picture of me holding a drink in front of a picture of me holding a drink:


The dress is Emily Temple Cute and I love it!

Next I went to my friend's birthday party. I didn't get a good shot, so I had to blank my face out here, sorry^^;;



And last but not least, I was in a shoot for a music video! A local band called the Bloodpoets were shooting and they needed gothic lolitas... or so we thought. When me and my friend got to the shoot, they told us we were going to be "witches", and gave us ugly make-up X__x;; But I guess in the end we just look like evil gothic lolitas^^;;

Production stills are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trulsfossum/sets/72157622910277306/

And one day I might be able to post the video as well:D

Lolita Blog #14

I've been wearing lolita and other Japanese fashions around a lot lately, but I keep forgetting to update!

A casual gothic lolita outfit:



Outfit:
Cutsew: Baby, The Stars Shine Bright
Skirt: Metamorphose
Stockings: Vivienne Westwood
Shoes: Bodyline
Crown: Spica/Putumayo
Wrist Cuff: Alice Auaa

And an even more casual outfit:



Outfit:
Cutsew: Putumayo
Skirt: Putumayo
Socks: Offbrand
Shoes: Bodyline
Wrist Cuff: Alice Auaa

When I wear casual lolita, I usually stick with black as a base colour. If I'm going to be going out and spending a lot of time in an outfit, black is the obvious choice because it won't stain as easily, and can be washed without much difficulty. When it comes to colourful prints, a lot need dry-cleaning, so wearing them on a casual basis would be very expensive!

Xelyna's Lolita Week #13

Last week my local Lolita group had a meet-up for High Tea! The day was absolutely wonderful. The hotel that was hosting the high tea put on a whole cake buffet, with more cake than it was humanly possible to eat. I highly recommend trying out high tea if you haven't already!



After we ate, we took lots of photos around the hotel and the city.









My outfit was:
Blouse: Angelic Pretty
Skirt: Angelic Pretty
Socks: Swimmer
Shoes: Montreal
Headbow: Angelic Pretty

Xelyna's Lolita Week #12

With Summer just around the corner, Spring may be the last few weeks where wearing any clothes will be bearable in Brisbane e___e But in the meantime, I'm enjoying wearing lolita!

The other day I went out to the city for my friend's photography assingment. She is photographing lolitas doing every day things for her university project. I've so far done a couple of photoshoots with her, including hanging out my washing, shopping at a supermarket, and standing in line for sushiXD When I get the final pictures, I'll be sure to post them here!

This is what I wore this week:



JSK: Emily Temple Cute
Bolero: Innocent World
Socks: Emily Temple Cute
Shoes: Bodyline
Bow: Innocent Wold



And one more shot from the other day (I didn't get a body shot:/)

Lolita Week in Review #11

Sorry for my absence of late, but I have been busy with life!

This week, however, I was stuck at home all week with a cold;_; On the upside, it gave me time to finish up my creations for the Alternative Craft Market that I participated in this week!

I made all manner of gothic and lolita accessories, and ended up selling a lot of them too.


This is me and my friends at the stall:D

I've always been sewing and selling my own lolita items, since I was in high school! This was the first time I'd sold them at a market in real life, and got to see my buyers face-to-face. It's quite different to selling over eBay! In the future I hope I can go to more gothic markets, like the ones they have in Melbourne. Failing that, some anime conventions will let you sell gothic lolita items, so I might try that too.

Now I need to get back to designing and making things... oh, and fixing my overlockerX___x;;

Xelyna's Week in Lolita #10

Well folks, I finally reached double-digits in my little weekly blog:D

This week in lolita was exciting in that a lolita was featured on national TV in the USA- but sadly on the TV show "What Not To Wear". The episode hasn't been screened in my country yet, but from what I hear, the hosts of the show didn't understand lolita fashion at all, and called it both fetish and frumpy:/ Contradiction much? Sadly because of the name of the fashion, people jump to all sorts of conclusions... the very truth of the matter is that even in Japan, the home of lolita fashion, it is not considered fetish wear or to have any connotations of faux-pedophilia. It's an alternative fashion, the same as goth or punk. If only someone could change the name by deed-pole, we'd probably be a lot better off trying to explain it to people.

In personal news, I tried out a new sewing pattern this week! From the Handmade GosuRori book I tried a fully-shirred pattern with some cute fabric.



Because the top is all elastic, it can be adjusted for a lot of sizes!



I think I might make more with the same pattern, because it's simple and cute!

Lolita Week in Review #9

This week I did a photoshoot with a wonderful photographer in my city.

I got some preview photos here:





And there will be more later!

Also, I was looking back at photos of myself in lolita, and found some before and after photos of me in the same outfit from when I went on a diet and exercise plan. Believe it or not, I lost 15kg (33lbs) in 2008.



And no, I didn't do it just to fit into lolita... but more so I fit into Japanese clothes in generalD: Seriously, most Japanese clothes come in only one size, which is about an Australian size 8. Lolita clothes are actually pretty big for Japan, considering they actually have elastic or shirring in them. Causal clothes brands are just tiiiiny. But since most girls in Japan are both short and very slim, I guess it just makes sense:/

Oh well, I guess in the end I'm fitter now, even if I don't need to be a size 8 to find clothes that fit in AustraliaX___x;;

Lolita Week in Review #8

This week started off with me hanging out in the city wearing Aristocrat fashion!



Also known as "EGA" (Elegant Gothic Aristocrat), because the brand Moi meme Moitie calls it that, this fashion is a more mature version of Gothic Lolita. Instead of short bell-shaped skirts, it features long skirts which can be full or body-hugging. It has much more in common with Western Gothic fashion than Lolita fashion, as there is no "Sweet" version, only the dark gothic look.

In other news this week, I spotted the a Lolita reporter working for the BBC!



I guess this means we can add TV Reporter to the list of Lolita Fashion Friendly Jobs!

Lolita Week in Review #7

This week I had not one but two meet-ups to attend!

The first was to see the new Harry Potter movie. Of course I felt the need to wear black for this one:



I got some new hair pieces- this time they are clip-on pony tails. The bangs are also fake. When doing this style you need something to hide the join of your real hair and your fake hair, so a headdress is called for (unless you can invent something better).

Then yesterday we had another big meet-up, and went to eat cupcakes!



I wore my favourite colour- sax blue!


My arm is reaching critical mass>_>;;;;

Also: I finally made a Twitter account, so you can add me here: http://twitter.com/_Xelyna

Weekly Lolita Post #6

This week I didn't have a chance to dress lolita at all! :O But nevermind, because I'm always working on something.

I visited some antique shops this week, and ended up buying a really cute 1950s porcelain figure!



I love collecting Japanese antiques and retro items, and this one was just so kitsch and cute with the anime eyes that I couldn't help myselfXD

I know a lot of lolitas who collect tea cups an tea sets and other antiques, and it really is fun visiting antique stores, so I highly recommend it the next time you're wondering what to do in your free time:D

I edited the pictures my friend took of me last week, and you can see the rest here.
Classic Lolita

Lolita Week in Review #5

This week I got the exciting news that one of my favourite Japanese artists is back and with a new website!

Chisami became well-know for her Japanese-style Alice in Wonderland and Gothic Lolita drawings after posting them on her DeviantArt Account. Her unique woodblock print mixed with manga style, as well as her gothic imagery made her a favourite of lots of fans of Japanese fashion.

She is now back with a website as well: Wa-Alice. ("Wa" is a prefix you can add to words that means "Japanese-style". i.e. "wa-shitsu" is "Japanese Room" and "wa-goth" is Japanese Goth)

For me, I went to an art exhibition opening at the Institute of Modern Art. One of my lolita friends was part of an exhibit, so me and my friends dressed up lolita to go view it. Here is a picture of me inside one of the exhibits:



Also this week I did a photoshoot with a photographer friend of mine! I was wearing Classic Lolita and posed in front of some beautiful architecture in Brisbane.

Here is a preview:


By next week I should have more photos ready and uploaded:D

Lolita Week in Review #4

This week it was rainy and miserable outside, so I didn't go out in lolita much. However, I used my time inside to finish a new dress!

Presenting: The Mermaid-kei Lolita Dress!


Much ado has been made recently about "Fairy-kei" ("kei" is Japanese for "style"), which had been made popular by the brand Spank. Inspired by 1980s and 1990s cartoons and bright neon colours, Fairy-kei is a fashion made of layers or seemingly random clothes with a fairy-tale twist. For pictures of the style worn, check out this video on YouTube: Spank Fairy-kei Fashion Brand

Some people are saying that this style is beginning to cross over into lolita with pastel and neon colours becoming popular. But even if the influence is the same, the outcome is still different. Fairy-kei is closer to Decora style in it's mixing of layers and random accessories, whereas Lolita will always have the same kind of dresses or skirts and blouses to keep the basic silhouette.



So in reaction to the Fairy-kei movement, I made my own Mermaid-kei dress!



It combines the basic lolita silhouette with sparkly fabrics which are never really seen in lolita to create a new concept. Of course I don't expect this to take off and be the next big thing, but I thought it was an interesting experiment!

In other lolita fashion news, this week saw the start of Summer Sales and Fukuburos in Japan. A fukubukuro is a kind of lucky-dip bag that lolita brands sell with a random selection of clothes inside for around $100. The clothes inside are usually worth $500, but you don't get to choose what's inside. This can lead to either great savings or great disappointment if you get something you don't like or doesn't fit you. Most brands fill the fukubukuros, or "Lucky Packs" with clothes that didn't sell, but some also make special clothes just for the packs.

Lucky Packs are sold at least twice a year- once in Summer and once at New Years. These are also the times that brands have their sales. Webshops also sell these packs and have sales online, so even if you can't get to Japan, you can still get a bargain!

Lolita Week in Review #3

A little bit of a quiet week this time, but it started off with a Lolita meet-up on Monday!
We went to the Modern Art Gallery in Brisbane, and I wore an Emily Temple Cute outfit!



All the pictures from this day are posted here on EGL.

Now, this outfit I was wearing may not look like a traditional lolita outfit, so let me explain why:

Emily Temple Cute is considered widely in Japan to be a lolita brand, but kind of separate from the other types of lolita. (For a while people were calling it "Otome-kei", but I've never seen it classified as such on a Japanese website.) There are three main brands- Emily Temple Cute, Milk and Jane Marple who fit into the "Lolita- but not always" category. For example, they also produce dresses more suited to gyaru fashion, decora fashion or even older ladies fashion. However, because they also produce lolita clothes, they are still considered lolita brands.

For example, these are lolita pieces by each brand:


And these are non-lolita pieces by each brand:


So as you can see, not all lolita brands only make lolita clothes! However, if you like that brand and their style, it's fun to wear their other clothes when you don't want to or can't dress in full lolita style fashion^_^

Lolita Week in Review #2

This week was another jam-packed week in lolita!

Early in the week I got a new wig from Japanese brand Prisila. I tried it out with a one-piece from Angelic Pretty, to do a "Hime Lolita" co-ordinate.



More pics are on my website here: Odekake Chocola-chan

In different news, there was a big fuss in the lolita communities over Lady Gaga appearing in lolita in Japan. In her first TV appearance, she wore a white Angelic Pretty dress, but with mismatching ganguro make-up. In her second appearance she wore a red Angelic Pretty dress with normal make-up, and looked much more the part!

Video 1:


Video 2:


Personally I was very happy to see a big US celebrity doing lolita so well! It's always been my dream to see a day when Lolita Fashion is as accepted in Western countries as it is in Japan. When I lived in Japan and wore lolita, people would come up to me on the street with positive things to say, but in Australia I get a mixture of questions and accusations, as well as some praise. Hopefully as the fashion continues to spread, people won't be so confused by it any more!

Finally, on the weekend I went to my friend's lolita party! It was lots of fun, and although I didn't get any pictures of our outfits, I got a shoe shot at the end of the night:

Xelyna's Lolita Week in Review #1

Well, it's been a busy week for me! I finished re-making my website and went live with it on Thursday. You can see it here: Xelyna the Gothic Lolita

I also made a MySpace page, so you can add me there too: http://www.myspace.com/xelyna_gothic_lolita

On Saturday it was International Lolita Day, so I dressed up and went out for dinner with some lolita friends^_^

This is what I wore:

That's all I have to say for now!