English GLB Vol. 5 Review

Now I'm not a romantic type. Well, I love the idea of Prince Charming, happy ever after, all that. But perhaps I've gotten a little jaded in my time dating - but somehow the idea of weddings doesn't quite appeal to me. At least, until I read this issue of the English Gothic and Lolita Bible.

As you've probably deduced, the magazine's theme is weddings. Lolita weddings, Gothic weddings, historical weddings, and the weddings of two indie brand designers, Miss Megan Maude and Blasphemina of Blasphemina's Closet. They editors admit that most of their readership is too young to consider marriage yet, but the end comic is quite telling: three girls mooning over bridal magazines, imaging cakes and flowers. I won't tell the ending, however!

Some features I found especially attractive in this issue:

• Special-occasion makeup for dark, olive, and pale skin tones. This is the first time that they have deviated from the traditional Japanese makeup tutorials and talked about other ethnicities and how they relate to makeup, which I consider a good step forward. They even included an adorable frolita, a little-seen look that needs more love in my opinion.
• Brief histories of real princess weddings - from Princess Anne to Jackie O!
• The crafts include more accessories, which I prefer as it might be less daunting for me to attempt - four Angelic Pretty 'purse accessories' (tote bag, rail pass, cellphone case, and makeup pouch), and a few hair accessories, like corsages, a full-size Angelic Pretty hat, H. Naoto leg warmers, Gothic veils, and even a glove pattern.
• Paris, New York, Germany, and Texas reader snaps make an appearance - plenty of interesting outfits to ogle.
• Every celebrity possible to interview has been questioned on their dream wedding - sometimes this is very fascinating, with illustrations, or the celebrity remains fairly elusive. I was surprised to read that Kana said very little on the subject of marriage.
• A review of various wedding cakes, a la Food Network's Ace of Cakes. Bring on the fondant, please!
• Designs for two Gothic fascinators, one with a veil and one with large crow-like feathers. I like the idea of veils with pearls glued on!
  

There has been some talk that the English Gothic and Lolita Bible, produced by Tokyopop, may be soon out of production - in fact, this is rumored to possibly be the last issue. I am not sure if this is the case but I urge you to support the magazine before it is no longer available. It is a great step forward in the international Lolita community and the loss of it, however short its run, would be tragic. They can almost always be found at Borders bookstores if you are not sure where to purchase one, or you can try Amazon.com if there is no Borders near you. I hope you will continue to enjoy and support the English GLB for many more seasons!

Labels: review

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 9:46 PM