Sweets for the Sweet~ La Douceur

The day before school started, there was a Lolita meetup dedicated entirely to dessert :D We went to a patisserie called La Douceur and ate nothing but dessert and tea/coffee!

Normally we have real food at our meetups, but it was fun to just have dessert, too! At the RinRin Tea Party in Taipei we asked RinRin about Japanese Lolita meetups and she said they really do only eat sweets. I think I'd go mad!


Dynamic angle! Everything we ordered!

I got a chance to wear a new JSK! I originally made it to sell, but it didn't sell so I am keeping it now :D I love it!


First mermaid-themed outfit!

I did my hair in a new style - no heat big waves! Quite easy and I think it looks like mermaid hair~


This is the display case at La Douceur!
I honestly wanted to try everything, but it is quite pricey!!


My tiramisu macaron. It was the size of a hamburger! Extremely delicious, though! It cost NT$150 O_Q

I'd love to try and make this, but my last attempt at macarons failed quite miserably... and to try and make them this size would be awful!


What I looked like on the outside


What I wanted to do on the inside

Afterward some of us went to Pigi's house to eat potatoes and cherries because... eating only sweets really isn't that filling!!

Do you prefer to eat sweet or savory food at Lolita Meetups?" I personally prefer afternoon tea with tea trays because you get tiny servings of a variety of foods... I think I just like to eat???

Happy Valentine's Day!

I very nearly forgot about Valentine's Day this year!

Happy Valentine's Day from Venice!


OK, I'm not really in Venice :P But on Sunday I went to a meetup at a mall for afternoon tea at a place called Afternoon Tea and afterward we went up to see the ninth floor which was redone to look like Venice! There were a ton of people there taking photos :D


A fountain


Le Elegance


This was actually by the emergency exit, I believe ^^; Such beautiful decor to look at while running for your life!

Being that I am single and working all day, I haven't got any plans and cannot even wear anything fancy or pretty :(

Have you got a special somebody this year? Or are you rocking a one person party?

Quantity Over Quality: The Culture of Throwaway Fashion

I would like to make this a discussion-type post because I just spent three days writing a post and didn't like it because it sounded like I was either preaching or complaining, so I'd like to open this up to everybody. I'm not very good at putting thoughts into words and didn't want to come across the wrong way ;) Hopefully this method will work better!

The commenting system on my blog allows you to opt-in for email notification when somebody replies to your comment specifically, much like the commenting system on LiveJournal :)

Anyway, the topic I was trying to write about is, as the title implies, how the focus of fashion, Lolita or otherwise, has shifted from having well-made, long-lasting articles of clothing to having the latest style for the cheapest price.

I first got into Lolita fashion around 2004-2005 so I'm not super old school either, but even back then there was heavy emphasis on quality and saving up to buy good, long-lasting clothes that you can keep forever. Of course, if it turns out the dress you buy doesn't fit or you just don't like it, the resale value insures you don't lose much money anyway.

There was a nice balance between prints coming out 1-2 a season and other non-print dresses made of stripes, solids, tartan, etc. with lots of detailing in lace, ruffles, pintucks, combination of fabrics, cuts, and layering.

Using solid and tartan fabric together


Solid with lace

Does anybody remember the great ric-rac debate? Ric-rac used to be considered a "craft quality" item, much like the stiff, plastic-y lace we all loathe so much. When Angelic Pretty came out with ric-rac on a dress (was Magical Etoile the first?) many people felt that it cheapened the look of Lolita.

Similarly, I personally feel that the standard of faux flora is quite low compared to the standards we hold for lace or fabric! Sure, it is cheaper to buy craft flowers as opposed to millinery flowers, but is that not the same logic behind buying ugly lace?

In recent years with the improvement of cheap alternative brands like Bodyline and Fan plus Friend Garden along with the explosion of taobao.com shops, it seems like we can all just buy, buy, buy, throw away, buy some more. Now quite obviously Lolitas are still buying Brand and quality clothing, but the ratio of quality:quantity has certainly been watered down.

I think a rambled a bit again ^^; Anyway, I would love to hear all your thoughts on this topic! Do you feel like Lolita fashion as a whole has shifted focus? Is it better or worse for us all? And just out of curiosity, if you don't mind I'd love to know when you first actively started participating in Lolita fashion. This doesn't mean wearing it, specifically, but when did you start following discussions, keeping up with Brand releases, etc.?

End of Festivities

Chinese New Year has come to an end ^0^ Today is the fifteenth day, also known as Lantern Festival!

Traditionally this would be the day to light lanterns and carry them throughout the streets either to guide ghosts back home or to make it look like the city is on fire, depending on what legends you believe ;)

My mother used to tell us about her brothers used to make lanterns from bamboo when they were young. At the end of the festivities the lanterns would be thrown to the ground so the candle would burn up the lantern. Nowadays, of course we're all a bunch of lazy slobs and pretty much only enjoy the last and most delicious aspect of Lantern Festival, tangyuan (湯圓)


Terrible photo :( Sesame tangyuan in fermented glutinous rice. Everything is just storebought. In America we actually used to make this ourselves!

I hope you have all had a fantastic New Year :) I am going to interview for a third job tomorrow morning. Even though 3 jobs may sound a lot, my two current jobs have very few hours and I spend a lot of time bumming around at home.

So I want to do more tutorials! If there are any requests please let me know and I will see what I can do :P Clothing, Lolita, accessories, room-use things like organizers, etc.