Lolita 52 Challenge – 1
The first topic in the Lolita 52 Challenge is: 5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style
Two Gothic Lolitas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is a great one to start with and I think different people will have different choices for this. Here are mine:
1. A good petticoat.
For sweet Lolitas this would be cupcake shaped and for classic or gothic this would be a-line. Either way, you need at least one good petticoat that has enough poof to make sure your skirts give the right Lolita silhouette.
2. A white Lolita blouse
This should be one that could be worn either under a JSK or with a skirt. I picked white because I think that white will work with any style, even gothic, whereas a black blouse is another important staple of the Lolita wardrobe it doesn’t have as much versatility.
3. Socks and tights in a variety of colors
At minimum a pair of white kneehighs and black kneehighs are really useful, but since what you wear on your legs can help change a look or help coordinate a look perfectly I think having a variety to choose from is really important. I tend to wear more classic or gothic, so I prefer tights or ankle socks to kneehighs. If you have a variety it really helps coordinate with different prints and colors of dresses.
4. A pair of comfy Lolita shoes that fit with the dominant colors of your wardrobe
Some Lolita shoes are not comfy. Be sure to have a pair that is comfortable that is the right color to wear with the majority of your wardrobe.
5. A selection of head accessories
They don’t have to be big or expensive, but you need to have stuff to wear on your head to pull the outfit together. Having a variety that fit with the main colors in your wardrobe, along with a variety of socks and tights, allows you to transform your outfit by changing just a few pieces and will give your wardrobe more versatility.
Lolita 52 Challenge List
Since I don’t post enough in this blog, this year I am going to take part in F Yeah Lolita’s Lolita 52 Challenge, which will hopefully keep me motivated and get me to post more. Since I renewed my love of Lolita in the past two years I think this is the perfect time! While you can do the challenge in any order, I’ll probably try to do it starting with number 1 and working my way through.
Harajuku Moments © Kalandrakas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Here’s the list:
- 5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style
- 5 movies for Lolitas
- What my own Lolita lifestyle is like
- Favorite thing to put on my head
- My wardrobe turnover
- My favorite Lolita brand
- Why I wear Lolita?
- Why don’t I wear Lolita more often?
- 5 keywords that describe my personal Lolita style
- How I first found out about Lolita
- 3 trends I wish would come back
- Combining other fashions with Lolita
- Lolitas I have met in real life
- Lolitas I would love to meet
- 3 things I wish I was told when I was a new Lolita
- 10 facts about my Lolita wardrobe
- My first meetup
- Trends I thought I would never get into, but I now love
- Trends I thought I loved, but now I’m not too keen on
- How satisfied I am with my current wardrobe
- Plan for a trip! A week’s worth of Lolita outfits I can fit in a small suitcase
- How I accessorize
- What influences my Lolita style
- What’s in my makeup bag
- Best places to wear Lolita
- How I get out of a wardrobe slump
- Purses that I love
- Bloomers or no bloomers?
- Lolitafying things in my everyday life
- How long it took me to build a complete wardrobe
- Impulse buys that were totally worth it
- My best deal
- Something that I made
- Wardrobe blunders! Things I bought that I ended up regretting!
- What I thought when I got my first real piece of Lolita
- Nails to match my favorite looks
- Something that’s not my style, but I love anyways
- Favorite hair style
- Most versatile Lolita item I own
- 5 inspirational fictional characters
- Fondest meetup memory
- The ways in which I fit the cliche
- The ways in which I do not fit the cliche
- How strangers react to my clothes, and how I react to their reactions
- Something that was a gift
- Parasols: Vital or frivolous?
- The item in my wardrobe that was the hardest to get
- My “signature” outfit
- My favorite Lolita print
- What’s in my closet, but I haven’t worn yet!
- Predict the next Lolita trend!
- How Lolita has changed me
Cool2Day Wig from Amazon Review
I bought this wig last week from Amazon.com. For about $10 the price was right so I thought I’d give it a try since it had good reviews. The wig is made of 100% Japanese Kanekalon fibers. Let’s take a look at the wig.
This is how it was packaged, inside a plastic bag:
Laid out on the bed. As you can see it’s pretty long:
This is what it looks like worn:
From the back:
Now to examine the construction of the wig. This is the top. As you can see there is a skin top:
From the inside:
There are adjustable straps at the bottom back:
This shows how far apart the weave is, I would say less than an inch:
Next to two other wigs, in order of shininess. From left: Gothic Lolita Wigs, Cool2Day, Minty Mix
The wig is very soft and feels almost like real hair. It is a little shiny, especially in bright light, but it looks pretty good in natural light. I’ll probably use some baby powder to cut down on the shine. The wig cap was a bit big for my head, but I have a tiny head so I often have that problem. I think for people with normal sized heads, or a lot of hair to stuff underneath this wig would work fine. All in all, a pretty good wig for $10 and I would buy from the company again. It was also eligible for free shipping using Amazon Prime, so I didn’t pay any shipping costs.
Ever Wondered About Lolita Fashion?
This short documentary about Lolitas in Australia is a great look into what it’s like to be a Lolita and where the fashion came from.
Betsey Johnson New Affordable Line
Fashion designer Betsey Johnson in the 2007 Red Dress Collection for The Heart Truth campaign (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’ve always been a huge fan of Betsey Johnson. If you’re like me, you will have been seriously disappointed with the news of Betsey Johnson’s bankruptcy. While it did mean that I was able to pick up a bunch of great pieces for super cheap, I was saddened by the thought of not being able to go into her stores any more and browse the sales racks.
Fortunately, she’s just announced that she will begin offering a new, affordable clothing line and I’m really excited. This line will be focused only on dresses, at least for the moment. It’s unclear where she will be distributing it, but she is partnering with the Levy Group on it.
I think this is a good move on her part. While I’ve always loved her pieces, they were pretty out there – and out of my price range. I snapped up her items off the sale rack and from the outlet stores, but I could rarely afford a full price piece. I think her concept was too extreme for the price point and I hope she has more success with her new line and the continuing Bestyville line that I believe she is still selling at department stores.
Read Vintagevandalizm’s thoughts on the Bestey Johnson bankruptcy here: My Thoughts on Betsey Johnson Bankruptcy
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Advanced Style
I respect women who are not afraid to wear what they want and the Advanced Style blog is full of them. This blog spotlights seniors with amazing style. These woman should be an inspiration to women of all ages. In a world where there is pressure to confirm, these woman don’t understand why you’d want to be just live everyone else, with amazing results.
Men are Jealous of the Jason Wu for Target Collection
Tom and Lorenzo can’t help it – they are jealous of this fresh, cool, and affordable collection for Target by Jason Wu.
Why are we jealous of the ladies? Contrary to some opinions, we do not want to wear dresses, but we sure would love a diffusion line for men as affordable and yet stylishly well made as this one. There are some GREAT pieces here; perfect for a young gal with a new job or even a newly single gal who feels the need to add some pretty to her wardrobe. But we’ll be honest: it’s that kitty bag. We squee’d when we saw it, but try as we might to imagine such a scenario, there’s no where and no way for us to ever get away with sporting it. You lucky bitches. What an adorable line this is.
via Jason Wu for Target Collection | Tom & Lorenzo.
Here are some tantalizing images of this cool line. More at Tom & Lorenzo’s blog post.
Images via Tom & Lorenzo via Target.com
Japonista Sole – Ninja Jika Tabi
I just saw these Japonista Sole brand ninja jika tabi shoes with an accent pattern on La Carmina’s blog. What do you think of these? Would you wear them? Theses shoes are in a more classic Japanese style, though certain types of workmen in Japan commonly wear them.
See La Carmina modeling these at the following link:
Buy the shoes at japonista-sole.com/
Elizabeth Taylor’s Amazing Wardrobe
Image via Wikipedia
Elizabeth Taylor was an amazing woman and a style icon. With the recent death of this Hollywood icon, it’s wonderful to look back and remember her for her style.
Check out this fantastic slide show of her outfits featured on Salon.com.
Related articles
- Elizabeth Taylor’s Designer Wardrobe Is Up For Grabs, Too! (lukewilliamss.wordpress.com)
- Elizabeth Taylor’s Wedding Dresses To Be Sold (iamritaliciouz.wordpress.com)
- Elizabeth Taylor’s designer clothes to be auctioned (huffingtonpost.com)
Interview with Lex from Smarmy Clothes
I don’t know remember how I found Smarmy Clothes, but I know that I love the clothing! Below is an interview with Lex, the brains (and hands) behind Smarmy Clothes.
1. I see that you got your BA in nursing, but then began doing fashion full time. Can you tell me a little bit about that journey? How long have you been interested in fashion and when did you realize it was viable business option?
I initially wanted to go to school for music, but it wasn’t long before I realized that I would be miserable going to school for almost anything creative. I don’t like the attitude of most art/fashion/music schools that there’s a “right” way to do things. (Their way being the right way, of course.) So science was the next best thing for me, and I’ve always had an interest in medicine. There was a nursing shortage, and the super long waiting lists for nursing schools hadn’t happened yet, so it seemed like a good fit.
Being in such a practical program, I needed some sort of creative outlet, so I started sewing. If you asked me at the time how long I’d been interested in fashion, I might have said, “never”. But looking back, even in elementary school I loved experimenting by combining different pieces from my wardrobe. When I was in 5th grade, I once wore a black mini skirt with my favorite black and white polka dot bicycle shorts underneath. I had a black tank top on with a neon green paint splattered cropped t-shirt over that. My teacher asked if I got dressed in the dark. In middle school, my favorite clothing items were some vintage t-shirts I found in my mom’s closet. And in high school, my friends and I spent hours combing through thrift shops for cool stuff. So I guess I’ve been interested in fashion most of my life, just not in the mainstream sense.
The selling started because I got so hooked on sewing, I thought it would be a good way to make a little money back so I could buy more supplies. And once I sold a few things, I was hooked. I don’t know if I realized it was a viable business option so much as I became determined to make it one.
I’ve always been interested in how all the little parts of things work, so I approached designing that way. I don’t think I’d be satisfied designing the clothing and letting a company manufacture the actual garments for me. The actual construction process is just as fun as coming up with the idea itself. Or maybe I’m just a control freak. Ha!
3. Where did you come up with the name for your line and why did you choose “smarmy”?
I actually started out as Tally-Ho Clothing, which was just sort of randomly chosen. When I realized that I wanted to take it more seriously, I felt like a name change was in order. My boyfriend and I came up with a list of words we liked and started from there. I was THIS CLOSE to being Snarky Clothes (which I now cringe at, haha), when my boyfriend said, “smarmy!” It hadn’t even been on the list, but I knew that was it when he said it. I liked the sound of it, but I also like those words that are the perfect description for something, and no other word means quite the same thing, and Smarmy is that way for me.
4. Where do you find inspiration for your pieces? Who are your biggest influences? Are there any fashion designers that you respect? Do you have any collaborators?
I get most of my inspiration from the materials themselves. Certain fabrics are just asking to be made into a particular design. I also watch a lot of movies and sometimes I see something that makes me jump up to grab a pencil and paper so I can draw a quick sketch.
I think my biggest influences are my grandmother and Betsey Johnson. My grandmother was an awesome seamstress and knitter. She also had a fondness for bright sequined sweaters, which had a big impression on me. When I was a kid, the old lady section of the store with the loud sequined sweaters was like a candy shop.
My favorite designers are Betsey Johnson and Vivienne Westwood. I love over-the-top. I love color. I love a sense of humor in design. Fashion to me should be fun. Rules, schmules. Those ladies are keeping it real.
I don’t have any hands-on collaborators, but I do have an awesome support group of sorts at AttackoftheCraft.com. It’s a forum made up of independent designers and lovers of handmade, and I get a lot of inspiration and encouragement from the people there.
I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I’ve wanted to do a La Catrina costume, which is a Day of the Dead skeleton lady with a big fancy dress and a hat with lots of flowers.
Visit Smarmy Clothes at http://smarmyclothes.com/.
