Monday, August 30, 2010

Temporary Hiatus

Long time no update! I am trying to put my life together and figure out what I am doing here for a while. The past few weeks have been pretty stressful with figuring out school (and many many VERY last minute changes - changed schools on the day of class registration!), trying to find a job, and trying to get back to sewing!

I just got a sewing machine and serger yesterday and they will be delivered today, so hopefully that will help me kill some time :)

When I get settled down properly I will update again!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Honey MV and Mainstream Lolita in General

A recent music video by 郭書瑤 called "Honey" has the Taiwanese lolitas talking! Mostly it was posted because she is wearing lolita in some parts of the MV, but I think that the MV in general is enjoyable for lolitas (particularly sweet lolitas!)

Many delectable sweets are shown throughout, which is what I am most interested in ;D

The video is posted after the jump! See if you can recognize the dress ;)





I could not find the apron version, but it is this print by Bodyline

in the blue colorway!

Every time lolita shows up in the mainstream, there always seems to be the debate of whether it's a good thing or not... Personally I feel that as long as it is worn correctly or is not labeled lolita it is fine. I just don't like misrepresentation!

The most memorable "Mainstream Lolita Done Wrong" incident I can remember is Lil Mama's outfit with AP's Fruit Parlor

It may not be lolita, but she did not call it Lolita Fashion, so I feel that it is OK. There is no rule stating that Brand must be coordinated a certain way! Lil Mama has since worn a couple more AP pieces in non-lolita coords, but I think she makes it work in her own way :)

More recently Paramore has also had a MV with a Bodyline lolita dress in it.

which I think looks lovely!

So I cannot seem to understand why some people are completely against any form of lolita showing up in mainstream media. If you are going to rage, rage at people who go on TV to "educate" people about Lolita Fashion and do it wrong


*cough*Jessica Simpson*cough*

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Still Alive!

Wow a lot has happened in this past month! I joined a summer camp called Love Boat and had no chance to wear lolita at all. It only just ended on the 6th and I have begun to wear my normal lolita clothes again. My camera broke on the trip so there are not going to be more photos until I can get a new one... otherwise I have crappy cell phone camera I can take photos with!

The one lolita-related expedition I did manage to squeeze in during this past month was a visit to J-Live at ShiLin Night Market. J-Live sells punk, Goth, and Lolita clothes. When I visited, they were carrying K-Star replicas of Milky Fawn by Angelic Pretty and Rococo Accessories by BABY. The fabric quality feels pretty good and the print is clear, detailed, and actually still has "Angelic Pretty" and "Baby, the Stars Shine Bright" on it! Photographs were forbidden at J-Live, but I did sneak one photo of a blouse I tried on. Many places do not allow trying on of clothes, but J-Live allows all blouses, tops, dresses, and shoes to be tried on before buying, which is great because they still cost considerably more than most other night market stalls. An OP ran around US$100+ and blouses were around US$30

Review
Sorry for the bad facial expression!!

The blouse was a little tight in the bust for me (this is a first!) so if you have a bust measure of more than 35" you probably will be unable to find a blouse that doesn't gap... most of the blouses are one size! The gaping here is minimal so a hidden snap could fix the problem.

It was also a little tight around the armhole, but that could be cut lower to allow for more movement.

There was no extra seam allowance to let out the side seams (all seams were serged together) so there is little room for alterations with this blouse. Most of the other blouses I looked at were constructed in the same manner, just with different frills and ruffles on them.

The lace on the majority of the dresses and blouses were good cotton lace or soft embroidered netting lace. Considering the amount of ita/cosplay lolita stores I have seen, I was very excited to find that J-Live uses much better materials!

I took sneaky photos of one of the 3 or 4 ita shops my roommate Jenny and I went into at FongJia Night Market (The one Night Market to RULE THEM ALL!)
I had to take these on my cell phone without looking so they are not that great...

Review
Gothic Maid Lolita? The material was scratchy and the skirt was very very short

Review
Wa-Lolita made of satin-y material

Review
Some "Lolita", some not. I think these shops were catering towards moe complex type of customers...

Apart from J-Live at ShiLin Night Market, K-Star replicas are also sold at Kira Punk at XiMenDing, which is a very large market area catering towards a younger crowd. Kira Punk is much smaller and carries more punk and goth, but has many more accessories. The shop girl is a lot less friendly than the one at J-Live though, so I would prefer to go to J-Live than Kira Punk!