Of Loliday and the sewing it inspired

Oh my, over thirty followers? Thank you all so much! <3

I must say, this week I've been dying to show you my Loliday coordinate, and now that the time has come to post again (what's this? Dusk Rose has a semi-schedule?), I can. The lighting wasn't great, so I messed around with it just a tiny bit in Gimp2.

I stayed home all that day, so excuse the lack of shoes.
My new petticoat really seems to bring out the potential in that skirt, both in poofiness and, well, I just like how it looks over this petti a lot better than my other, more casual one. All in all, I'm happier with this coordinate than I've ever been with one. (I've been saying that for the last several coords, actually, so let's hope the trend continues!)
And a rundown:
~corsage and necklace: handmade
~bow: Hot Topic
~blouse: Walmart possibly? I've had it for ages.
~bustier top: Charlotte Russe
~skirt: handmade
~socks: Target

Loliday made me remember just how desperately I want to work on new pieces for my wardrobe, so this week I finally set to work on that blouse pattern (New Look 6599). Here you can see it almost finished.

Ta-da!

One of my favorite parts of of this pattern is the lace-up section across the back. I haven't laced it up yet, but here you can see the loops.

I've also begun making my first shiro piece, from one of the thrift store blouses I showed you before. Let's see if I can find that picture of the unaltered blouse...

And after a few alterations...

As you might have guessed, I borrowed the sleeves' pattern pieces from the black blouse.
I hadn't yet unpicked the pockets (you can't really see them here), but they're off now. I'll have to add some lines of thin white lace and ribbon to disguise all the tiny holes where the thread attaching the pockets was.

I mean to finish at least the black blouse before Christmas, so I can wear it on our annual trip to visit family back east. At any rate, I hope those of you in cold climates are staying warm, and those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, try not to let the Daystar get you down. <3 I know summer can be hard for us loli and gothic types!

Of other places to find me

I hope everyone had a good Loliday! If you like, tell me how you spent your day in the comments.
Partly because my non-loli plans for the day were canceled, I went ahead and dressed up (thus debuting my new extra-poofy petti) even though I spent the day at home. I'll be sure to post pictures soon.

But for now, this is mainly a quick post to ask, are any of you on Tumblr or Twitter? I've started trying to become somewhat active on both, but I'm a little networking-challenged, shall we say (or we could say: shy). I'd love to get to know all of you better, and in general to meet more lolitas online (or gothic types, or non-lolitas, just to make sure none of my dear followers feel excluded). So if any of you are on said sites, drop me a link in the comments and I'll follow you.

Speaking of links, here are mine:
~Twitter~Tumblr

Hopefully those links work. If not, let me know!

Of my new bow!--and some personal Loliday musings

You know, I had the strangest dream last night. I was in my living room, conversing with two of my favorite gothic lolita bloggers, namely akumaxkami of Les Fleures Noires and OpiateVampire of The Dark Victorian. (No, I don't usually dream about the blogosphere, really--I don't even remember most of my dreams for that matter!) We were chatting about whatever lolitas usually chat about, as though it wasn't at all peculiar that we were all there in person (we live very far apart in real life).

I suppose this unusual (but rather pleasant) dream had to do with an obstacle many lolitas face, especially when starting out--that of being isolated, outside of the internet, from others who love our fashion. You'd think I could get involved in my local community in no time, seeing as we have a lot of lolis where I live. But it's been surprisingly difficult to keep an eye out for meetups I can attend, not to mention amassing enough of a wardrobe so that I don't always have to wear the same outfit.

At any rate, with International Lolita Day fast approaching, I suspect many of us may feel that we're going to be left out of the festivities for one reason or another--whether it's a schedule conflict (it is for me), or not having a lolita community in your area, or for some other reason. On the one hand, it can be quite rewarding at such times to do something that brings lolita into your own life, even without a meetup to go to. Others have beat me to this topic, so I'll wait to give my thoughts on making bringing lolita into one's daily life (though as a lifestyler, you can be sure I have a few ideas on the subject--or I should). But like many others have, I encourage you to keep on the look out for a hobby or activity that makes you feel like the world of frills and whimsical beauty is a little closer, whether you're a solitary lolita or no.

Still, I know that even so, it can be very hard to be alone in what you love. And to those who are, I want to say: I know how it feels. I'm there too. Let's wish ourselves good luck that we won't be as solitary by June's Loliday. And in any case, I hope all of my readers have a wonderful Loliday!

And a note: there was certainly some amount of truth in the above-mentioned dream, because I must confess I've been wishing there was some way to meet up with all of my fellow blogging lolitas in person, gothic or not. Well, if and when I have the funds to travel alone, perhaps I'll try to come visit your cities/countries. I'd certainly like to!

Speaking of the fabulous akumaxkami, you may recall that I bought a bow from her Etsy (The Funeral Parlor). A couple of days ago, it arrived! And I have battled through Japanese homework, college transfer applications, and an irksome cold in order to finally take pictures. Behold:

And on my head:

(Sorry, it's a bit blurry, and the lighting isn't perfect.)
The center part of the bow has a nice open slit in the back where some kind of attaching-to-head device can be slipped in, so I've been thinking about how I'd like to attach-to-head. I've decided, although it's a bit of an unusual method (of course, your ballroom host is not known for being usual), that I'll try making a cloth headband that can be tied under my hair--a bit like a bonnet. Except with the ties in back rather than under my chin. Although, a "bow-bonnet" might be interesting.

Now I'll leave you with one more shot, in which I succeed in balancing the bow on my head.

Yay!

Once again, a wonderful Loliday to all of you!

Of Lolita Day, and a Fire Nation prince and princess

And she wishes everyone a marvelous Lolita Day! For those who may not know, this is the first of two International Lolita Days that take place every year: on the first Saturday in June, and the first Saturday in December. As of yet I have no lolita clothing with which to create a suitably fancy coordinate for the occasion (which my dear guests already know, of course, because otherwise I would have posted pictures of said clothing, most likely during as well as after construction). However, perhaps when December rolls around... And that will almost be more fitting as my first Lolita-Day-with-a-wardrobe, because winter is so very gothic, after all...even in Southern California, where, ironically, the blazing summer is the season during which plants hibernate and people stay indoors.

However, my lack of loli clothing does not mean I am not celebrating, in my own small way. Do my lovely guests (that is, the US-based ones) by any chance remember all those Tshirts at Walmart during Halloween last year, that were printed to look like spookily fancy gothic outfits? I have two (having elevated them from "costume" to "everyday wear," as they obviously were meant to be worn, no?) and today I donned the more loli of the two. Let's see, I do believe it has printed on it a pinstriped button down blouse; a purple and blue vest with madly ornate "points" (on the hemlines), which laces (corset style!) down the center; another vest, this time with a pattern of grey curlicue leaves, which fastens with a large ornate cross; and at the top (just under the neckline), a strand of pearls and a big red bow. Very rori, no?

I must say, this Tshirt makes me want to sew an outfit like the one pictured on it! Speaking of pictures, I will have to take one of this shirt sometime, if picturing it is as hard for my guests as describing it was for me.

Besides that, I have celebrated this day by finally trying out a lovely two-tone gothic makeup tutorial that the amazing sweetsailormars (LJ name), whose style I greatly admire, posted for us less makeup-practiced lolis, over on LiveJournal.  (And if that gracious lady wishes me to erase the link for any reason, let me know and I shall.)

I have no picture of my attempt at this makeup style, unfortunately, but hopefully during later attempts I shall take and post one. It came out fairly well considering my less than ideal materials, but the two-tone effect gave way to a general smoky darkness around the eye. (Which, mind you, I am quite happy to wear nonetheless!)

That brings me to the slightly loli-esque event that I shall be attending this evening. You see, I was practicing my makeup in part for a dinner party in honor of a dear friend (and two others), who is graduating from highschool! Although she is not a lolita herself, many of her interests and certainly her marvelous creativity seem to fit with our fashion/subculture's ideals, and make me admire her very much.

Despite my lack of lolita pieces, being a Romantigoth for so long has proven very useful in choosing tonight's outfit. I have a long strapless gown of black lace, which I plan to wear with my "doll shoes"--a pair of slightly-heeled, purple maryjanes. Not a loli outfit by any means, but certainly gothic and romantic, or so I like to think. I shall do my best to post pictures after the event.

Speaking of pictures, I promised you photos of that pair of re-costumed dolls (young Ursa and Ozai, formerly Mulan and Shang) that my little sister presented to me, now didn't I? I haven't gotten a chance to take pictures of them myself, but she had done so previously, and so here are a few!

Thumbelina, anyone? The wings are a detachable pair we have (the only thing not made by my sis in this picture), and admittedly not completely Fire Nation...but this picture does remind me of the song Let Me Be Your Wings from the animated Thumbelina.

Can you believe my sis made these outfits out of scraps from my Ursa cosplay (of which Mulan!Ursa is wearing a mini version, essentially)? Her dollclothes always amaze me!



 So does her photography...

I think she really captured the spirit of why I love young Urzai (UrsaxOzai)! Well, I don't wish to overwhelm you with pictures (although I suppose they could count as a photoshoot, of a sort?) so that's all for now. Incidentally,  we are still busily cleaning house, hence my lack of posting, and lack of creative projects about which to post. However, very soon I hope, the gothic-and-lolita
 lifestyling will be back in full force!

And last but by no means least, I wish to thank everyone who is following my blog so far! I didn't expect to get an audience very fast, but I appreciate all who come to listen to these dark, ecclectic musings of mine.

Do have a wonderful Loli Day!