Lolita Charm: August 2010

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Femme Humaine/Femme Sirene

Just a few quick shots from visiting the aquarium today! I've always wanted to wear my Emily Temple Cute Mermaid Onepiece for something sea-related, and today was finally my chance! Using the 'aquarium mode' on my camera and the underwater blue lighting inside the tanks, I really got the effect I was looking for. Since I'm prone to ridiculous romanticism, my idea was to make it look like the Little Mermaid was on a date with her prince - where he has unwittingly chosen the aquarium, making her both homesick and glad to see some of the fish and sea anemones that remind her of her life under the sea. The only clue to her real identity are the telltale (tail?) mermaids patterned across her dress ;)

This picture is my favorite! The colors are so vivid and exactly the way I imagine a fantasy mermaid garden to look.

why hello thar!

I also tried out a new pair of my eyelashes today - bought for only $1.50 at Daiso. I had never worn anything so chunky and dramatic, but the look reminded me of the current style popular with Alice Deco. They're so full that they also have a very manga feel to them, reminding me of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - a cute anime about a mermaid princess-turned-schoolgirl-turned-magical girl singing sensation (I know it sounds hokey, but it really is pretty entertaining!). They looked great, but they were so long they didn't quite fit behind my glasses!

Outfit Rundown:

Onepiece: Emily Temple Cute
Cardigan: Angelic Pretty
Dot Net Bow: Temptations (little boutique at my local mall)
Eyelashes: Daiso
Bag: (not shown): Fireworks (I'll post pictures of it next time!)

Labels: outfit post, photopost

Monday, August 16, 2010

Once Upon a Time: Recommended Reading

One of my favorite things to do, especially in Seattle, is to visit secondhand bookshops. There seem to be so many here and I find some beautiful things to take home! I've always loved fairytales since I was a child, and have huge anthologies of them from cultures all over the world. Today I purchased a thick book of Russian fairytales. One of the stories is called Danilo the Luckless, and while it has an unhappy ending, it feeds me with just the kind of fanciful words I love to read about:

"I want the lovely Swan Maiden to stand before me, and through her feathers let her body be seen, and through her body let her bones be seen, and through her bones let it be seen how from bone to bone the marrow flows, like pearls poured from one vessel to another."

~Danilo the Luckless, Russian Fairytales, collected by Aleksandr Afanas'ev

That's the kind of line that makes me want to dress all in white as a lolita swan maiden, or at the very least, put on my pretty burgundy Swan Lake skirt from Metamorphose. It reminds me so much of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and even the cute anime of a swan/duck ballerina, Princess Tutu! Stories like that just make me swoon, sometimes to the point of trying to write my own - or just to dress up and flutter around fields of flowers.

Here's my list of favorite fairytales to look for when I'm out:

(Snow-White and Rose-Red meet the Bear Prince in the Blue Fairy Book)

The Andrew Lang Fairytale books: These are Victorian fairytales compiled from many cultures by Andrew Lang, starting with the original Blue Fairy book published in 1889. There are twelve in all of various colors, and I'm always out to find the ones I don't have. The stories varying, including Japanese and Arabian tales, with - my favorite part - beautiful illustrations. On this page there are links to read the entire Blue Fairy Book online, but I love having them to bring with me, especially on dull days when even their covers are a welcome pop. My mother gave me her copy of the Blue Fairy Book and since then I'll never lose my soft spot for Prince Hyacinth, Princess Mignonette, and the little white cat, Blanchette. Like all fairytales, they have many of the same components mixed up a little different, but its their delicate voice and drawings which really make them the perfect lolita fairytale.

"They found her lying on the floor with poison in her veins and the apples spilled where they had rolled. She was the green color of certain white flowers."

~The Rose and the Beast, Snow

Francesca Lia Block: The Rose and the Beast (and anything else written by her, really): Francesca has the gift for making fairytales out of our modern world. The Rose and the Beast is a perfect example of this - her retellings of fairytales are more like spoken poetry performances which leave us guessing if this is the tenth kingdom or the strange deserts and urbans of Los Angeles. Her stories are eerie, mature, and reflect some of the real wolves girls face in the forest, like drug use and sexual assault. Her writing has a graceful, heartbeat of a flow, and brings you to a place where you are not dreaming and not awake.

(The Little Mermaid and the Prince, by Hans Christian Anderson, illustration by Edmund Dulac)

Hans Christian Anderson: I never was really entranced with the Grimm brothers' fairytales, and perhaps only mildly tempted by the works of Perrault, the French fairytale writer. If I had to name a favorite author of fairytales, it would be Hans Christian Anderson. He wrote children's stories just when people began writing children's stories - before then, books for children were either morally instructive or non-existent. He wrote many of our most popular stories, including The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, the Snow Queen, the Steadfast Tin Soldier, and even the Ugly Duckling and the Emperor's New Clothes. A statue of the Little Mermaid has been erected in Copenhagen harbor in his honor, where he spent a good deal of his life.

Tatsinda: Tatsinda is an odd little fantasy book I read as a child and had all but forgotten until I ran across a copy at one of my favorite secondhand bookshops. While the story has a very mountain-people, Lapland feel to it, it's also very elvish and distinctly part of its own world. Although it's described for younger readers, the imagery in the book is worth it. Tatsinda lives in a world of colored crystal houses and unusual animals, where she is different for not being blue-eyed and silver-haired like the rest. I remember having a very 70s style, Last Unicorn illustrated type, but can't seem to find another copy like it.

The Serendipity Series: These books were produced in the 1970s as short and moralistic, hoping to teach kids tolerance and acceptance, as well as basic kindness and even environmental care. Many featured recurring characters like Morgan the Unicorn, or Leo the Lop (-eared bunny). The artwork is adorable with lush, forested scenery and shows all kinds of creatures from butterfly-winged ponies even to one girl, who may be a dewdrop or a pauper or a princess (in her own words). I loved these as a child and still have a few left, where they are preserved carefully on my bookshelf. Every so often I pull them down and reread their simple but still relevant messages.

Shadow Castle: In this short collection of stories by Marian Cockrell, Lucy is a little girl living on the mountainside and one day stumbles into fairyland, where she meets a man named Michael - who tells her wonderful stories of a fairy family, which seem strangely connected the personless, moving shadows inside the castle rooms. Again with darling illustrations and stories about goblin attacks, Princess Bluebell, and a wise dragon, not to mention true, infatuously silly young love.

Next time you're at your local library, secondhand bookshop, or even in your own bedroom, plop down among the stacks and thumb through their fairytale section. To me, there's nothing more inspiring that unusual or Victorian fairytales, read quietly in golden sunlight and lacey, feminine skirts and petticoats. Choose your own favorites as outfit inspirations, or just to daydream about. What are some of your favorite oft-unheard-of fairy stories?

Labels: lifestyle, lolita living, recommended reading

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Love-in-a-Mist

Today I visited a small town on the sound today and ended up finding a few treasures at a tiny flea-market. The flea-market was tucked away into the back garden of a shabby-chic style cottage, and I confess that I wanted everything there - from crown-shaped gold wall hooks to the rough-painted pink vintage kitchen table. The two pretties I did find?

This Alice in Wonderland plate with the original engraving illustration was only $5 - and this vintage snowdrop cap was only $10! The petals are studded with old-fashioned, chunky rhinestones - some of them smoky with age - and the leaves are real velvet. I'm not sure what to wear it with yet, but it was far too fairy-like to pass up!

I'm not sure yet if I need to embellish it more - a white cage veil? A few millinery roses or perhaps a spritz of German glass glitter?

They were also selling beautiful dried flowers. This sofa on their front porch was actually an antique crib with the front off, and a cushion on the wire frame. Something about shabby-chic or romantic farmhouse style just seems so perfect to me - whimsical and delicate, but also comfortable and smelling of sweet dust, like your grandmother's house.

Nigella pods - 'love-in-a-mist', also boasting a myriad of other romantic names like puzzle-love and love-in-a-tangle - and a local favorite, and dried lavender from the nearby northern lavender fields.

Outfit Rundown:

Dress, hairbow: Metamorphose

Blouse: Forever 21

Sash: a shimmery deep teal scarf lent from my favorite aunt

Labels: outfit post, photopost

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Seaside Carousel

I took the day to go visit a friend for her birthday in the pretty little beach town of Watch Hill, R.I. Besides having a lovely boardwalk with an antique popcorn machine, a pink candy shop called the Candy Box, and numerous little jewelry boutiques, it also proudly features the Flying Horse Carousel, made in 1879. Set in sea-pebble stone with real horsehair ponies, children can still catch the brass ring as they ride along the outside, hoping to win a free ride. Watch Hill was a family getaway since I was small, and I couldn't resist taking my outfit shot in front of the National Landmark I had loved for many years.

Dress, bangle, blue heart ring: Angelic Pretty

Hairbow: Metamorphose

Bracelet: The Stone Flower

Blouse: Forever 21

(note - feet are removed because I wore little cheapie flip-flops to walk on the beach!)

(carousel photo by Panoramio)

Labels: outfit post, summer

Monday, August 9, 2010

Season of the Lolita

Novala Takemoto has always called winter the 'season of the lolita' - a time where knee-socks, tights, layers of velvet and blouses and fanciful berets - are appreciated. The more clothing, the more room for ornamentation. Summer, pretty as the sunlight and flowers are, tempts many girls away from their petticoats and bloomers and blouses - light and cute, but hard to accept the idea of draping your elaborate coifs with stars and bows and clips. I consider the summer to be a lax season - a time for forgoeing decorated socks, for saying to hell with mincing high heels in favor of flip-flops, and for banishing hairspray to the back of the closet. Winter, on the other hand, is a time to get fully donned to the teeth, even with gloves and coats and boots. I think that's why I always try to have a winter 'theme' for the upcoming season - What do I plan on wearing in New England's long dreary days, running from mid October until nearly late April. Instead of hunting through magazines or reading up about 'trends this season' I decide to make my own trends. Because I'm first and foremost a writer, I write. If you're an artist, a collager, a Polyvorer, a list-maker, a doodlers, a daydreamer - get started! Make your own trends for this season of the lolita and make your own fairytale. Here's mine:

Be the pink froth at business school and lend cuteness to briefcases - a black lesson bag embossed with a crest of swans. Hang your royalty from everything and dangle crown-shaped charms from the bag handle. Inside: a pink Netbook, a rose-encrusted cellphone, an ever-growing collection of gold-topped Sanrio pens, a laquer bento box with moon rabbits on it and full of fruit and healthy starch.

Color themes choose a hint of sophistication in black silk bows and tiny black-printed hearts on white or egg-shell-pink backgrounds; a look of French dots and Coco Chanel, fashion icon to anyone who ever cared about what to wear today. Don't be afraid to play the brunette coquette in wigs, tucked under a fluffy pink beret spangled with crystal pins of music notes and scottie dogs with diamond collars - don't be afraid to give up a week's worth of blow-drying and pin back your bangs in a 40s' style poof. Wear pink fur ruffs and sling long, pink cashmeres around your neck and pretend you never got out of bed (just like last winter). Become a maven of old rhinestone and new rhinestones, next door to glass, as touted by Blanche. Lace tights and black velveteen heels. White dresses dotted with tiny black stars. Do whatever you have to do to finally find the blouses you've dreamed about - white chiffon for lady pirates with unicorn-horn swirled sleeves, pink heart-and-eyelet lace, tall soda blue collars.

Stay up late making strawberry daifuku and miniature coffee jellies. Confirm your love of espresso with your first espresso machine, and tout its glories over the usual teatime. Make gingerbread houses in Merry Sweets Castle and see The Nutcracker dressed like a marzipan shepherdess. Wear huge falls of curls down one shoulder and be glad to be a modern-day Rapunzel. Find a brocade carpet bag and bejewel - in fact, buy a hotfix and bejewel everything. Spangle your best ruby-colored dress for the holidays. Turn your vintage hoopla into a white cage skirt and cover it with rescued net lace. Follow the teachings of Misako, but with the bold influence of Kera. Don't give up on cutesy tee-shirts and wear them with the pink sheep of the lolita fashion tree, the motorcycle jacket. Bow ties should be soft and suede and be making a comeback. A ruffle-edged turtleneck is just the thing under a jumperskirt. Spend time in the countryside and get snowed in; take winter photos by the abandoned train station. Use cross-stitch to embroider something small with snowflakes and tiny German-looking houses. Buy tall boots and stand on tiptoe to reach books in bookshops. Hint at polka dots everywhere. Own a battillion of cardigans and shamelessly shop the cute chintz of Wonder Rocket. Nails are fresh, ultra-glossy, solid, and always immaculately unchipped. Wear thick, sweatery socks. Pin vintage cameos and plastic glittery brooches onto the same coat lapel. Find out all the different ways you can wear usamimi and tell everyone you use them to get HBO. Wear your summer sunglasses for snowglare and sprinkle your hair with iridescent glitter when the flakes fall.

A full head of burning, burnished pink hair is exactly the way to get through days without sunshine.

What does your season of the lolita look like? If you could create the perfect wardrobe for your upcoming season, what would you like to see? What inspires you? What makes you feel comfortable and what make your eyes pop? What makes you feel like an illustration and what makes you feel like a fairytale?

all photos via tumblr; last is of me.

Labels: fashion, guide, inspirational, winter

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

August Style Tips

If you haven't already, find yourself some lolita-worthy, confidence-inspiring sunglasses. They'll shield your eyes from the sun and add a little quirk to your summer style. My pick? Pink aviators from Juicy Couture with a heart cut-out on the arm, a little more gal-inspired and delicate.
Choose one offbeat DIY project for the month. I'm inspired by a recent Kera with a couple pages of unusual, popping accessories like corsages made from seamstress tape and lace-covered fedoras. I currently have a pink straw fedora on my table asking for some embellishment - vintage lace? Rhinestones? We'll see!
Change your plumage for a few days - swap out your natural hair for a bold color choice wig, or attempt brunette for all your pink and blue and lilac headed girls! You may discover a whole new side to yourself!
Designate a 'house dress' like in Victorian days - a simple or older lolita dress or gown for lounging around in on days when you're at home. My recent find is a bubble gum pink yukata that I can't wait to trim with a little lace and ribbon.
Treat yourself to a new magazine subscription. I personally recommend Victoria, a Victorian enthusiast magazine full of beautiful photographs and personal articles on bringing the Victorian to daily life.
Play with the big boys by borrowing a little body wash. I've started stealing my boyfriend's, which has a touch of salycilic acid in it to prevent acne and bad skin. Not only can it go anywhere (guys just sort of scrub all over, saving time on your lolita dressup routine!) but it also really reminds my skin to stay clear.
Now is the time to pick out your new winter essentials - the season change is closer than you think! Take it slow by pinpointing exactly what you need in a new daily messenger bag or carryall purse - and then start the hunt, with your requirements list in tow.

As a side note - Lolita Charm is up and running after a lovely week's vacation along the seaside! Lolita Charm will also shortly be broadcasting from the west coast's Emerald City, Seattle, starting next week. There should be plenty of fun surprises in store there!

Photo via tumblr.

Labels: style tips

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