Lolita Market 10-Year Anniversary

 On Sunday was the 10-year anniversary of a Lolita market!  It has been YEARS since I've gone.  Since I got rid of facebook, I miss out on a lot of events, but I was able to catch this one and I'm so happy I was able to attend again!

KC: BABY THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT

Blouse: Little Dipper

JSK: Angelic Pretty

Bag: Swimmer Japan

Sakura at the Temple and Antique Shop Photos

 Flower season is here!!  On March 4, Kamiko and I went to 竹林山 (Zhulin Mountain) to take photos.  Though the sakura blossoms were not in full bloom, we still got some nice photos as there is a large temple (觀音寺/Guanyin Temple) there.

It was really quite sunny!

KC, JSK: BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT
Blouse: Little Dipper (taobao)
Shoes: Secret Shop (taobao) I think...

Kelly's ParTea Room Afternoon Tea

    How long has it been since I had a three-tier afternoon tea?  It feels like years!  Afternoon tea is one of my favorite luxuries, and I recently got to go to a shop I've not been to before with my friend Kamiko.  She introduced me to this shop, who recently moved location.  It's called Kelly's ParTea Room.  We visited in late February.

    The owner is very kind and knowledgeable, and pays close attention to detail.  She even offered to swap out the set of dishes we had in order to match our clothing better!

Hearts Hair Clip: iColor
Cardigan: off-brand
Blouse: Little Dipper (taobao)
JSK: Angelic Pretty
Socks: BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT
Shoes: Secret Shop (taobao) I think?

Artist Spotlight: Zihling Huang

Time for a smaller artist spotlight~  Today is a Taiwanese artist named Zihling Huang (Instagram)(website)  I first found her art through her collaborations with my friend's Lolita brand Little Rose Planet and fell in love with her style!

Image from her Instagram

Described as "a mix of sweet girls with some weirdness added," her girls are "doll-like creatures walking a line between human and inhuman."

Similar to Yoh's Monochrome World, whom I previously wrote about, she does very detailed lines with some yami-kawaii (sick-but-cute) elements as well as dark or Gothic designs.

Image from her Instagram

The proportions and faces of her characters are much more human and less exaggeratedly spindly, though, which I think adds a more kawaii charm to her style.

Image from her Instagram

If you'd like to wear any of her art, be sure to visit Little Rose Planet (JSK, SK, tights are all available!) and support two local Taiwanese artists!!

Do you have any local artists you are a fan of?  Please share if you do because I really want to know more small artists!

Sakura Blossom Viewing and Weird Exhibitionist Tale

Yesterday Kamiko and I went to see sakura blossoms before it was set to rain and we got there just in time! Today is so rainy!  The place we went had both Japanese and Taiwanese sakura trees (the Japanese are a paler, milky pink, and the Taiwanese ones are a darker pink)

KC, JSK, socks: BABY THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT
Blouse: Little Dipper

There was also a very large temple, 竹林山觀音寺 that we went to (no photos inside, sorry!)

Photo from across the little river.  The weather was beginning to turn!

We went to the park and walking path across a small river to take a walk and get photos.

Traditional style building

Nearby park with Formosan Black Bear!

 On our way back, I was taking a video of Kamiko for her and directly after we finished, we rounded a corner and ran into a older man with his pants down sitting by the riverside and taking a photo or video of himself O____O;;

Luckily, he didn't seem to be a flasher as he sort of jumped when he saw us, pulled up his pants, and quickly ran off. Awkward, but a bit hilarious as well?

Then we went to have a light, late lunch!

Overall, it was a very nice day!

What springtime activities do you like to do?  My friends in Minnesota have told me that it just snowed again O_Q  I hope it all goes away by the time I move there!!

Chinese Lolita Meetup! Qi/Han Lolita Style

Yesterday was our belated August Lolita Meetup with the theme of "Chinese Lolita"! Inspired by qipao or hanfu, we met two new friends and had a lot of fun!

Hair, JSK: handmade by me
Petticoat: Fantasyland (on taobao)

 We went to traditional-theme restaurant and got our own room inside!  The restaurant is actually located within a night market that is close to where I live now, so I walked there ^u^v

Chinese Style Hair Tutorial

In preparation for this month's Lolita meetup, I've been doing a bit of history and also just watching historic cosplayers' tutorials.  Many hairstyles require false hair bits (I've used those before in my dance troupe for performances) but I found one that could work for Lolita fashion.  I've worn my hair is similar ways before, but this time I loop the tail end of the twintails back to be more historically accurate (and cute!).  I braided my hair as it the texture holds the shape better, but the historic cosplayer I saw did the hairstyle without braiding it, so mine is a modern take.

You can't even see the buns because my hair accessories are so large

I also made video tutorials for this style!  There are two ways to do it depending on how long your hair is ^u^  Currently my hair is only medium-long so I do it the "cheating" way

Sakura Blossom Viewing

I can't believe I forgot to post this!  Recently I went with Doro and Kamiko to view sakura blossoms in the mountains.  It was really delightful apart from the other people trying to take photos of us and people touching Kamiko's baby like he was public property.

So this is basically just going to be a photo post!

Why I've Been Gone

Happy Lantern Festival!

Stay warm!
Wig: handmade by me
JSK: BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT

Sesame tangyuan and sweet potato and taro mini tangyuan in fermented glutinous rice with egg

Harajuku Market on a Rainy Day

On Feb. 3 we had another Harajuku market, but it was both cold and raining hard that day! So needless to say, sales were abysmal. Though I did make back the vendor fee, I then promptly went with my friends Kamiko and NiYa to the Vivienne Westwood sale and bought two pairs of paw-feet heels.

All the same, it was fun and I've since created a small stand-up display to better display my wares. I twinned with Taiwan Teddy that day and it was nice!

Top: Little Dipper
JSKs: BTSSB

Not Even a Review: Vivienne Westwood Anglomania X melissa RHS

The original Rocking Horse Shoes by Vivienne Westwood are a Lolita staple, with many Lolita brands having come out with their own versions over the years.   I've wanted to own a pair of RHS since I first fell in love with Lolita fashion, but just browsing the website is enough to give your wallet a heart attack!

When the collaboration with melissa brand came out, I nearly bought a pair as they'd be waterproof (melissa specializes in plastic shoes) but couldn't reasonably afford them. I even went to a local melissa store to ask if they had any, but was told they were not going to import these designs.

Good luck struck as over the weekend I heard about an insane sale of Vivienne Westwood (among other brands) goods from one of our Lolita friends.  I went with Kamiko and found the very shoes I was looking for! Better yet, they were 90% off. That's right; I bought two pairs for one tenth the retail price!

Red and Black

Sadly, work has not been good to me so I was unable to pick up more colors (white, gray, and limited edition Rose Gold were also available) but I'm happy with what I got.

 The logo on the bottom is at the tip of the shoe, which doesn't touch the ground much when walking so I expect it will last a long time!

Logo at the ankle

That's one more thing off my Lolita bucket list! Given how often it rains here, maybe it's fate that I got the melissa collaboration rather than the authentic wood sole ones, which would suffer in the rain.

Word traveled fast and I visited the sale a total of three times, running into different lolitas each time. I wore the red pair the very next day to a lolita meetup, which will be in an upcoming post, so stay tuned to see them in action!

Lolita Garden Market II

On 11/11 there was another Lolita market held by Lolita Garden. I got a last-minute vendor spot, and hurried to make some new accessories. This time I added floral headbands and coffins to my collection. I also brought my dressform, Caroline, so I could display more things.  Still, I find that selling accessories just looks a right mess as you can see below:

WAY messy and unorganized

I was splitting a table with Qiqi, who had brought an entire clothing rack for her dresses! (That's actually her up there in the left hand corner wearing navy blue Lolita with floral kimono)

There was light rain in the morning which was a bit concerning as rain drives people to stay home, but luckily the rain stopped and so the market was quite busy!

Despite the horrendous state of my table layout, I did quite well. I'm also still helping Kamiko sell her things and picked up a package from Hong Kong Disney for her from our friend who was visiting from Hong Kong.

Needle-felted mushrooms on a comb

Also in spooky colors

 I had such a wide variety of items that it was even overwhelming to me to try and remember what was what.

Guro-kawa bear necklaces

Needle-felted cat ears

Large coffin hair pin

Not so Creepy Crawlies

"Insects/Bugs" was the theme for this month's meetup (and yes, it was submitted by me)  Of course, at first it sounded really difficult... what Lolita print would have caterpillars, praying mantis, ants, etc?  But fear not, Lolitas!  There are butterflies.  

Formosan Swallowtail >>>>

By Notafly - self-made Own photograph.Taken with Ricoh Caplio 5, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4023630

So we were all feeling confident... until we went home and several of us (myself included) discovered that butterflies were not at all as common as we'd thought!!!  Flowers were accompanied with sweets and ribbons rather than bugs! At least we had a gorgeous meet-up restaurant worked out - FujiFlower

$270 or so for a massive croissant egg salad sandwich and a yummy salad!

There were real, dried flowers all over!  Now for our butterfly coordinates:

Swan Princesses

On June 18 we had our Swan theme meetup!!  I had only recently discovered that Antoinette Decoration had swans on it (there is honestly so much detail in the print!) so that's what I wore. We joked that this dress could fit almost any theme because it had cake, pipe cream, macaron towers, swans, crowns, Marie Antoinette, feathers, etc.

Outfit Rundown
KC, socks: BABY THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT
JSK: Angelic Pretty
Chiffon top: Little Dipper
Petticoats: Classical Puppets
Shoes, hair candies, earrings: offbrand

Kawaii International Kawaii Reporter!

Hello readers!  The secret mentioned before is now on air!

You can watch the episode we are in live on the NHK website episode #61 at [UTC] May 5 (Fri.) 0:30/6:30/13:30/18:30 or as Video on Demand for up to two weeks after broadcast date.

Xiao Lu, Neco, Me

After swapping!
DORO, Shiyo, me, Neco, Xiao Lu

We actually made that eye patch on a whim out of random stuff at my house (felt, rose pins, ribbon) because Xiao Lu's contact was bothering her eye and had to take it out.  I think it looks awesome.

Big thanks to Kawaii International for asking me to be a Kawaii Reporter and to my coworker and friend, Kenny of Images by Kenny, for filming for us!

We had a lot of fun that day and plan to do another style swap just on our own for fun.  I want to try Chinese-style Lolita XD  Or even just Hanfu (traditional Chinese clothing)!

If you watched this episode, please let me know your thoughts!!!!!   I am still so anxious about it and how it'll be received as I've just watched the first broadcast and it's very short but seems OK?

Edit:

Full video available on my Google Drive here

At Crystal Symphony

On Saturday there was another Lolita Market!  This one was more professional and aimed specifically at Lolitas, though yukata and kimonos were allowed, so the entire setup seemed more fancy.  I split a vendor's table with Doro, and then Doro helped Laina sell some things and I helped Kamiko sell some things.  So basically, 1 table 4 types haha!

My half of the vendor booth

May of the other vendors were very professional, had their own brand labels, brought mannequins, heads for wigs and bonnets, etc.  Doro and I just spread everything out and smiled brightly at everybody haha!  Of course, my little helper did a live broadcast on her facebook fan page if you are interested.  You can't really see anything, as it was seriously crowded, but you can spot many very gorgeous ladies and maybe even some brolitas around.

Lolita Market over 228 Weekend

Over the long weekend, there was another market!  The one I'd attended as a vendor was Harajuku theme, and this one was specifically Lolita themed. Last year I attended as well!

The weather has been insufferably gloomy, and I was at home feeling very depressed and originally didn't want to go, but Neco convinced me to go out as it'd make me feel better.  And it did!!  Though I was rather hasty in getting ready so I wore an all-black ensemble for simplicity's sake:

Outfit Rundown:
JSK: Putumayo
Outer: Mad Punks
Bag: Ozz Angelo
Petticoats: Classical Puppets

The salon was as crowded as ever, and rather hot!  Beats being cold and clammy though!  Luckily, the rain had stopped that day so there were more customers.

I managed to get a snap that doesn't show anybody's face ^u^v

First Market Experience at Spring Harajuku Market!

Yesterday I went to a pop-up Spring Harajuku Market where I was a vendor! I split a table with my friend Kamiko. It was a very small and affordable market where the theme is, as the name implies, Harajuku fashions. This market in particular allows both secondhand and handmade items. The majority of the vendors seemed to be Lolita and Gyaru styles, with a couple of Punk/Goth items thrown into the mix.

It was a rainy, overcast day, as this entire long weekend has been.  I did a very simple makeup using one palette (Estee Lauder travel limited)

All Estee Lauder except the foundation and concealer
This lipstick did not wear well at all!!

I also wore a new outfit I made! It's a military-inspired Punk Goth Lolita type look. It's my first military-style dress and I quite like it! Unfortunately the punk plaid print on the skirt is out of print and I bought a scrap roll to make this T^T It is the same print as my red Punk Lolita skirt.

Outfit Rundown:
KC, JSK, choker: handmade by me
Top: Little Dipper
Petticoats: Classical Puppets
Everything Else: offbrand

Catlaxy Exhibit

I've finally (mostly) finished moving to a new apartment!  Hooray!  Ahem, anyway, this is not about my move~

Yesterday Doro and I met up at Stayreal Cafe (web) to see a small exhibit for stray cats. To be perfectly blunt, the exhibit was not executed very well, but it was a nice thought and still a lot of fun to take photos with! Plus, the full ticket price (NT$100) was donated so that's good ^_~v

Teddy's teaser photo

The exhibit was located in the basement of Stayreal Cafe, which was opened by a band member of 五月天/Mayday. There are always many tourists there so we had to wait about 40 minutes for a table.

Special edition drinks for the exhibit

Meow!

Throughout the first floor of the cafe, there were many printouts of stray cats stuck throughout the displays.  Though cheap and pretty dinged up, they were still cute.

Doro and I both ordered the special edition drinks. Doro also ordered the special rice, but since the savory foods contained meat, I ordered a regular dish. The desserts were not so special, so we passed on those.

National Day Meetup 2016

October 10 is Taiwan's National Day!  Also called Double Ten Day(雙十節) and we had a small get-together at a hotel afternoon tea.  As most of my clothes are packed up, I had a pretty lackluster coordinate that day...

Pink and Navy makeup

 I have some seriously dark undereye circles :(  There has been ongoing construction just behind the apartment where I live, causing a lot of noise and also a disturbance in the air pressure so some mornings I wake up with deafness in one ear. Rather annoying; I cannot wait to move!!!

So I got lost on the way to the location, which was in a confusing mess of buildings!  However, the birdcage afternoon tea sets were very beautiful and made me forget my frustrations.

Double-person set
It is hanging!

 Because we had a Gomaji coupon, it ended up being only NT$699/two people compared to the regular price of NT$12000!

This is a cat (apparently)
I think it looks like a bunny