Of a darkly dramatic color combination

Welcome (midweek) to Red and Black Week! And also, welcome and thank you to my new followers!
The above-mentioned week's icon, from Sophistique Noir~



I meant to do a catch up post yesterday, but in the course of anime-watching I got myself traumatized by accidentally wandering into what TVTropes.com calls a Cosmic Horror Story. I was not impressed.

Anyway, on to lovelier thoughts. On Sunday I didn't manage to pull an outfit together, but I did start on another red-and-black project I've had in mind.

A coffin purse! Here's the outside half-completed...

And the lining.~

Yesterday I only got a mirror shot of my outfit, but most of the red/black details were in the upper half of the outfit, and I really am getting fond of mirror shots (at least to show details like earrings.)

















...But next time maybe I'll clean the mirror first.
 
Today my coordinate is Fire Nation -inspired (referring to the show Avatar: the Last Airbender). At least that's what the red and gold top always makes me think of, so I ran with it.

Since I added the vest to add more black, this outfit makes me think of Mai in particular--an added bonus, since I love her and she's been called the Avatar equivalent of a goth girl (I think).













Also, another mirror shot.~

Happy belated International Lolita Day to all of you, by the way! I didn't do much, but I did wear a lolita skirt and worked on my writing (which seems a rather lolita pasttime especially considering my genre). But anyway, I've had fun reading about all of your loliday celebrations, and red/black posts!

Of a completed black dress and Another Challenge

Today I'll be documenting "one day of my lolita life in pictures," for Day 11 of the challenge. But that's still in progress (the day's not over yet!) so I'll share a bit about my recent meetup at a Japanese restaurant. It was a small meetup compared to the picnics I've attended so far, but I was very happy because it gave us more opportunity for in depth conversation.

A lolita / photography student had brought her camera, and took each of us outside for a mini photo session. All the photos I have from the meetup are hers (I forgot my camera), so since she didn't seem to mind, I'll link to her flickr photostream in case you'd like to see them. Here are a couple of my favorite shots (actually they're all my favorite) inside and outside If you're reading this, Amy, thanks for taking such pretty pictures of all of us!

I took an outfit shot before I left, but I can't seem to find it anywhere, unfortunately. If it turns up, I'll post it then.

So here's the dress itself, with a few of my own detail shots (excuse the lighting / mess).

 The skirt is chiffon over medium weight satin, which creates a lovely subtle lustre even with the bustles let down.

I love how the bodice turned out, although I'm still working on fit. That lace at the neckline is evidence of my success (finally) in learning crochet. Sort of

For my fellow darklings, VictorianKitty of Sophistique Noir has proposed a fashion challenge for all of us--namely, Red and Black Week, which will be June 5-10. Oddly enough, I'm making a red x black JSK right now, so it must be fate that I join in this event, yes? That aside, I adore this color combination--so what about you? Will you join us in Red and Black week?

I'll leave you with the extremely cool icon that VictorianKitty has given us the code for.

Of Coordinate the Second and Third (and rain)

It's certainly been raining quite a lot over here! I love the rain, which makes it easier not to mind the chill in the air (even in California, winter can be cold). A couple days ago, I took advantage of the colder weather to wear a longsleeved piece in my second of the 10/7 challenge coordinates. I didn't go anywhere, but it was still fun being dressed up.

I like how it came out! I think of this as an "almost shiro" coordinate. It has a lot of black in it, but has the aesthetic I would look for in a shiro outfit. And I love the ethereal look of this picture.

The hairstyle is somewhat monumental for me, as it's the first time I've succeeded in putting up my long, heavy hair in some fancy way. But with bobby pins, it becomes possible!

On a whim, I put together a third coordinate yesterday. This one is a bit punk-inspired. Excuse the lighting in my kitchen. Also, I've been using my regular socks because I have very few (read: one and a half) pairs of loli socks.














And a detail/headshot (just to show off my choker, haha)~

Hopefully I can complete the rest of the challenge soon, but we'll see how it goes. I haven't been feeling up to blogging or wearing lolita very much lately, due to issues unrelated to my love for either of those things. Classes finally started this week (we start and end a month later), and the beginning of a semester always tends to aggravate my tendencies toward anxiety and general "down"-ness. Don't worry, that's as personal as I'll get, but I thought I'd like to let you know.

On a more positive note, I'm considering--well, planning on--starting a second blog in addition to this one. I've been told writers should have a blog, so this one would focus on my stories and characters. It would be positively brimming with faerie folk, vampires, midnight tea parties (and ballrooms, of course), and gothic dreamers. Interested yet? I'll post the link when I start said blogging adventure.

Of Coordinate the First (and passing mention of a library haul)

Today I did something I haven't done in far too long: I went to the library and checked out slightly less than my usual sky-high pile of fantasy novels. I found several books that are on my Amazon wishlist, mostly about faerie folk and vampires. Interestingly, I happened across a book set in Venice, which I was excited to find because I have a character from Venice, and I don't know nearly as much about the city as I'd like to.

My library haul, while fascinating (to me), is not the main reason for this post. Last weekend I wore the first of my seven coordinates, when I attended the Rilakkuma Valentine's event at JapanLA. I knew hardly anyone, so it was a bit awkward at first (I'm very shy). But Oli of Lemontree was working at the door as a greeter, so I stood with her for a while and felt much less out of place.

Actually, for most of the afternoon I joined the greeter squad and conversed with a delightful deco lolita (I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name, but it was nice meeting you!). We both agreed that when it came to our personal styles, the more accessories the better! There is a reason I call myself an OTT  gothic...

(For those who don't know, OTT stands for Over The Top--as in accessories, hair, etc--which is usually applied to certain kinds of sweet and deco lolitas.)

I didn't take my camera, but before I left, I asked my mom to take a snapshot of my coordinate.
Coord #1

You can't really see my vest (ah, the hazards of wearing all black), so here's a close up.

I doubt I'll wear all seven outfits before February is over, but we'll see what happens. To me, the important thing is the small-wardrobe-coordinating skills that I'll be learning through this challenge.