Just a Post about Saturday

I made a delicious loaf with dried fruit! I used tapioca starch instead of rice flour and the texture was good! I think I would prefer rice flour though. Or maybe a mix of the two. I am really into making a dessert for the week lately. It's nice to have something extra after dinner. Baking isn't something I've done much of but this has increased my interest.

I also wore lolita this day.  The jumperskirt is Mary's Sweet Sheep from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. It's super short!!! These rocking horse shoes which came with a broken strap :( I don't know how to fix it. I asked my husband to solder it back together for me, he said it might ruin the buckle but... it's totally broken how could it get more ruined? I hope he'll try to fix it. 

Oh right, I filmed a video of myself doing my daily makeup routine. For archival purposes, I suppose. It's set to publish at a later date though.

Holy Night Story Jumperskirt GET

Finally! I have Angelic Pretty's Holy Night Story switching jumperskirt in green! A couple of years ago I saw the complete set listed on Lacemarket for less than 200$ and I didn't go for it and I regretted it since. So then I was always looking for the dress and having no luck. It was available in other colourways and only when I took a break from checking secondhand sales everyday over the last summer did it get listed. It was sold by the time I saw the posting.

Over the Christmas holiday I saw someone selling the dress without any of the accessories for way more than I'd originally intended to purchase it. But I thought about it and I was tired of checking for this dress all the time and pining over it so I went ahead and bought it. I'm very pleased! The seller even included a mini hat from another release that matches quite well!

I really like the velvet fabric on this dress. The waist ribbon ends in a bullion fringe. Combined together with the fabric it reminds me of plush old fashioned curtains.

The green is more blue toned than Angelic Pretty's Classic Fairy Tales.

There is also GLITTER in the print. I took a video to capture it:

I am still thinking about how to coord this dress. I always thought that if I got the Ennui Doll blouse from Angelic Pretty I'd try pairing them together because the blouse has a vibrant pink that could match the print. 

It also has some nice navy shades that might be interesting to pull out, but I do not have any navy lolita items.

Something about this print reminds me of an iSpy book. I am not sure why. But it feels nostalgic to look at. 

The Wardrobe Post 2022

I started working on my wardrobe post last week. I put it off for far too long and in the end I was rushed to get it finished. Note to self, just start in December! One thing I did at the beginning was actually just doing one section at a time e.g. sweet lolita style jumperskirts and then putting them away when I was done photographing them. I would recommend this method to anyone with a big wardrobe. Doing it slowly in little bits over time is great because you are not rushed and you an also put things away without rushing as well and get some good organizing done. I also kept track of any damages I noticed while photographing my wardrobe in a spreadsheet. I can go through this and fix things! 

I can't remember if I wrote this in my post about why you should make a wardrobe post but one great thing is that it forces you to reorganize everything!

This was also my first time using my dressform to make the post and that was an interesting experience. It actually helped me to appreciate my pieces better and as I was putting them on I had thoughts about most of the pieces so I decided to write a little blurb under a lot of them. This post feels like a love letter to my lolita fashion wardrobe.

Main Pieces

One Piece Dresses

Angelic Pretty Whimsical Vanilla-chan OP

A dress I never thought I'd own! It's so beautiful! When I received it, the lace was so perfectly pressed. I was amazed. This was before I knew about steamers.

Angelic Pretty Wonder Memories OP

This dress was love at first sight. I'd never even heard of this print before but as soon as I saw it I wanted it. I understand that this print wasn't especially popular. It's an unusual shade of pink. I love the trump on the collar and the colour of the detachable bow and also it has FOUR pockets. Actually, the seller originally forgot to send the detachable bow with it but they sent it once I inquired about it :)

Angelic Pretty Classic Fairy Tales OP

Getting this dress was interesting. I think it was before I knew about Japanese secondhand sales sites. It was one of my dream dresses so I kept waiting for it to pop up for sale and it never did. Eventually I resorted to looking at previous listings for it that hadn't sold and found one. I messaged the seller and she said that yes she still had it and wanted to sell it because she didn't wear lolita anymore. But then I didn't hear anything from her for two months. It turned out she had a baby! I really appreciate she even found the time to get back to me and mail this dress out. I wore this dress on a really magical vacation I took with my partner and have photos of myself wearing this at a butterfly conservatory. It makes the dress even more special.

Virutal Meetup Coordinate Jan 28 2022

 

Here's me ready for a virtual meetup viewing of Kamikaze Girls. Was not feeling well enough to stand for photos or even put makeup on but peep my new desk chair. It's one that I've wanted for over a year and I finally got it AND it's more comfortable than my previous chair :D

I went for an old school look to be on theme with the movie. Put my hair up in a high ponytail, not a look I normally go for with lolita but I wanted to try it out. I've actually been wearing my hair in a top knot pretty often in my daily life. Actually, you can see the top knot in action in my previous post :P

Coordinate rundown:

Headbow: Cameron Headbow

Blouse: Back Pin Tucked Blouse

Dress: Lace Frill JSK

Socks: Torchon Lace 

Everything from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright except the socks which are from Innocent World

Finally Trump Alice!

Background: I ordered the Trump Alice JSK from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright in the summer without realizing that they only ship with EMS. EMS currently doesn't ship to Canada. I thought, 'alright, let's wait and see if they start shipping again.' Half a year later I came to the conclusion it's probably not going to happen so I send an email to the company asking if I can change the shipping address to USA. They say yes and thankfully I'm able to have it shipped to a family friend and they forwarded it to me. Apparently when they saw the word 'Trump' on the package they were triggered, which is pretty funny.

I should have taken a photo of how everything looked out of the box, but that didn't happen. I'm going to show some worn photos now~

I got the JSK version with a heart on the bodice! This was one of the main reasons I wanted this dress :D. There are trump themed accessories as well: wristcuffs, headbow and socks. I got red which is unusual for me but I enjoy the colour here. I really like this style of headbow as well, it's good for me and my flat hair c:

I paired the coordinate with these blue shoes because I really love the pop of blue from Alice's dress in the print.

It's cold both outside and inside so cardigan has to happen. I'm glad this is a dress that goes with this particular cardigan because there's not currently a whole lot to go with the cardigan at the moment.

I am currently working on my wardrobe post but I'm unsure if I'll manage to finish before the end of January. All my main pieces are photographed but tops and accessories are not. >< 

This time I used my dressform instead of doing a flatlay. It's funny to see how all my lolita clothes fit on the dressform compared to my own body. 

 I'm not including this dress in the wardrobe post, although I bought it last year I didn't receive it until 2022 so~ 

Also! spy another new dress in the corner of two of the photos! I want to make a post about it soon!!

Leaving Instagram

I've decided to mostly leave Instagram.

Originally, I'd just removed the app from my phone because I felt it was wasting my time.

Now I realize, I'm not interested in continuing to use the platform except to maybe watch the reels posted by Angelic Pretty Paris, posts by big brands and maybe a few friends. 

Last night, I went onto Instagram and saw a post by an indie brand doing PR damage control. I read the comments to try and get some more information because I was a bit confused after reading the post. 

I'm disappointed by what I saw. 

There are a lot of different things to say and think about and it is difficult to get them into a cohesive format. 

What I saw last night is a repeating expression of this culture that has developed. 

And of all the things I can think to say about this culture it's that it is phony. 

A significant element of who I am is that I have a massive distaste for inauthenticity. 

It makes sense that this kind of culture would develop on a platform such as Instagram. And I'm also certain that there are people who really enjoy this culture.

But I need to be real with myself. When I experience those things online, they affect me in my real life. They can affect me for a long time. They do not put me into a place where I can do positive work. 

I am sad about it, because I like to look at photos of lolita fashion. It's like a continually updated version of the streetsnaps. But it's also like opening up a colouring book in order to relax and never knowing if the next page is going to have something really upsetting on it. 

Maybe that's the crux of the problem. I am going there to relax away from the world but for other people it's intrinsically linked with the world.  

I'm not sure when I'll start making the changes to my account there. I will probably turn it private and then start unfollowing accounts. It feels kind of scary because I don't want to hurt anybody. But I also need to protect myself. 

There's just such a lack of compassion. It makes me scared of the future. 

Randomness January 2022

Just felt like making a random blog post.

I removed Instagram from my phone. I'll just be accessing it on my computer. 

Some pretty things I received for Christmas:

Rhinestone encrusted eyelash curler!

Sparkly makeup brushes. Rarity approves!

I also received some of Johanna Basford's colouring books. I've always wanted one!

The holidays were fine. We decided not to see any of our friends while vising our hometown, to be safe. This made the trip a lot more relaxing. Otherwise these visits are filled to the brim with social engagements and it's tiring. But we also didn't get to see any of our extended families and that was disappointing. 

I finished reading the novel the Clan of the Cave Bear, lent to me by my mother-in-law. The beginning of the book was good and caught my interest right away. But my overall impression now that I've finished it is negative. I don't want to read stories about violence against women. Maybe there is some catharsis there for some people, but it is not for me. The author also spent too much time dwelling on insignificant details. The writing became sloppy towards the middle. 

It's given me some things to think about with my own writing. 

I remember reading Ann Leckie's philosophy that every sentence of the story should be significant and useful. At the time I disagreed because I preferred to view writing as a form of art. The more polished and manufactured something becomes moves it farther and farther from art. To me, art is some raw expression of the human condition. But 100% this is not always the case. The definition of art is tenuous. 

I haven't begun working on a lolita fashion wardrobe post yet. I've been struggling with my health. I hope I can manage to do it. 

I haven't even felt like making a year in review post for 2021, but maybe I will find a way.

I wore Toy Parade the other day. Happy prints make me feel better. :)