Lolita Charm: September 2010

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Lady's Lessons: Apples!

Apples deserve their exclamation point! Autumn is the time of year when apples take center stage, and we're reminded why when they are freshest and crispest, rather than the mealy and slightly soggy guise they take the rest of the year. And besides making a great pie, they're steeped in heady folklore - from the dusty pages of the Bible, to the mythologies of the Celts, and in dark fairytales from Schneewittchen (Snow White) to Johnny Appleseed. And lolita has drawn on this rich tapestry - for example, in some of the prints and accessories below.

(pictured above: Snow White by Baby the Stars Shine Bright, apple & key necklace by Suppurate System, and Metamorphose's Apple Print, Innocent World's Nicholas skirt)

Celts were some of the early people who revered the apple tree and its fruit. The apple was so central to life that anything not an apple was called one - tomatoes, when newly introduced to parts of Europe, were called 'love apples' - oranges were 'Chinese apples', and of course there is the pomme de terre - the French way of saying potato, or earth-apple. In Celtic folklore, the apple was the symbol of rebirth, giving their afterlife of Avalon the name The Isle of Apples. In certain apples, the souls of kings are contained, or they grow from the graves of tragic lovers.

Apples make their appearance this time of year in the popular Celtic-turned-American holiday of Halloween. Though in recent years they've been outshone by their bolder cousins, the pumpkins, in Victorian times they still had their place among superstition and folklore. An apple peeled in one slice could be thrown behind you into the fire to spell the initials of your future husband, and bobbing for apples was a popular parlor game.

In Greek mythology, they are prized almost to a fault. Hercules fought a dragon guarding golden apples, and a golden apple was thrown among the three goddesses Hera, Aphrodite and Athena to determine which was the prettiest - which then started the Trojan War. In happier times, Gaia, the earth, presented Zeus and Hera with a golden apple tree on their wedding day. These myths also lend themselves to the apple's other connotation - they're often thought of as an aphrodisiac. When looked of in that light, you can see why a red, shiny apple might also be tempting Snow White to take just one bite...

And not to forget the Judeo-Christian realm, the apple is how medieval English people related to the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. Snow White is said to be the fairytale version of this, that the apple was her temptation and the prince's kiss her rebirth in a very Easter-like fashion. In the Disney version, it clearly shows that winter passes before she awakens in the spring, which could relate either to Easter and the rebirth of Christ or the return of Persephone (who also gave in and ate her forbidden fruit - not an apple, but a pomegranate of the dead).

If you'd like a different, darker version of Snow White to go with this article's apple theme, consider reading Neil Gaiman's short and spooky story Snow, Glass, Apples. (Warning: contains vampirism, incest, pedophilia, necrophilia - so if you're squeamish, don't read it! I know that sounds dubious, but it really is a wonderfully well-written piece.)

Apples have many properties that you can employ in your wardrobe. They can be used to attract love (for when you'd like to meet someone!), for wisdom (to do well on a test or other big presentation), or to bring health and cleansing (for when you feel a cold coming, or just sick - apples are known to help many issues of the insides and of course have the phrase 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'). I also like to pick a fairytale character for the day or even just as my personal hero, and represent her in some way - whether with a piece of relevant jewelry or a similar print. Choosing Snow White for your 'patron princess' - whether a dark, German version or the cheery, 1920s Disney one - can add a sense of old magic to your wardrobe. Whether you love a gothic style or a sweet one, there is an apple motif for every style!

Labels: lady's lessons

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Beauty Myth: A Lolita Redux

Recently I've been reading The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolff, a feminist work discussing how our society's deep need to beautiful is impressed upon women as a form of control and dominance. Its prime point is that beauty and the desire to be beautiful is used to make women

We as lolitas often strongly feel the unspoken, society-wielded 'control' over our individuality: the continual rejection and dismissal of the lolita is in hopes of making her get back in line and behave. The people staring, the man asking if it's Halloween on the subway, and the rows of raised eyebrows. As I've previously discussed in Why Must My Public Be So Tiresome, the mainstream is constantly adjusting and hemming at the edges of society, trying to homogenize everything from fashion to politics. So when the Beauty Myth hit home in an unusual way - fear of being considered inadequate to society's beauty standards controls women in much the same way we as lolitas are afraid of being ostracized.

To bring the idea home: how many times have you felt like you'd rather stay home than go out with that monster pimple on your chin? The days you dread going out with hair that won't obey? What about days you find yourself constantly adjusting your petticoat and not meeting people's eyes? Are they different? Or as a lolita, even as we try to rebel from the mainstream, we can still be held under the spell of the Beauty Myth. Movies and television insist that only beautiful people deserve to have their stories told, or even more strictly, that stories only happen to beautiful people. And as we primarily consume magazines as a culture, we are shown that only beautiful people are lolitas - perhaps, to an extreme, that only beautiful people should be lolitas.

Now, on a logical level, we all know that's not true. Lolita is a wide fashion movement involving women from all areas of the globe, spanning the entire spectrum of appearances. If lolita fashion feels like the right way for you to dress and express yourself, then you shouldn't be barred from that just because you're not on the cover of magazine. But despite being rebellious, enlightened ladies of the 21st century, we're still taken in by the Beauty Myth. As we've seen through online confessions and secrets, it's obvious that the lolita community still has the many symptoms of the Beauty Myth: eating disorders, shapism, body dismorphic disorder, fear of aging, and competition rife with lookism everywhere. Is there any backing to this? Is this cultural structure impossible to escape, or do we have an added factor?

Lolitas chase the doll or princess ideal, at the very least that of an elegant lady. In our clothes, we strive for perfection - perfectly layered ruffles and buttons, perfectly lined-up knee high socks. In our appearance, we look for perfection also: perfectly brushed-out bangs, turned-out curls, and exact liquid liner. Hair perfection has been chased so much that wigs have been introduced to the scene, almost consuming natural hair; natural hair switches in the wind, bends out of shape, and can't hold a curl, whereas the wig always looks perfectly shaped and shiny. Photos and tutorials for natural hair are becoming fewer and farther between. False eyelashes are becoming more prevalent as well; and some lolitas never show their real nails. Perfection has made us hide our real selves in order to fit into the lolita version of the Beauty Myth. In a himegyaru documentary, one girl admits that she feels happiest when she feels 'completely artificial'. There is safety in being artificial, a complete construct of product and perfection meant only for photos and sculptures. Artificial things are perfect, and even if they are judged to be imperfect, it is something that can be fixed. Souls that are laid bare are much more vulnerable.

And what about when you are unable, for any reason, to achieve the look you crave? There are periods in lolita when girls retreat from the style, discouraged that they're not measuring up to the competition or their ideals. "It's making me depressed," I've heard friends say often. "I don't feel like keeping up with it for a while." Some return, some don't. Even I have experienced thoughts like, "I'll never get this coordinate to work," or "My hair won't do anything today, I just want to give up." There are times when you feel you aren't worthy of even the image in your head, let alone the image out there. Which is the stronger? Which holds you back more?

Is there an answer to handling the Beauty Myth? Well, yes and no. On the one hand, playing into 'being artificial' - being someone else - is a lot of fun, and perhaps some of why we like lolita and other extreme alternate fashion. You can be pink-haired or blue-haired or both with wigs; have crazy curls your own hair would never master; make your eyes look dramatic or cherubic with soft lashes. I love the artistic side of lolita - something I'd never want to give up! But on the other, not being aware of the Beauty Myth and its possible side effects has dangerous consequences. The Beauty Myth says that women are only as smart, funny, talented, or successful so long as they are beautiful - despite all else. All worth comes after our appearance. The antidote? Keep that in mind. It's easy to get trapped into that thinking as we watch the world go by, obsessed with beautiful people (celebrities, models), their fall from grace (so-and-so celebrity massively gains 55 lbs! other-celebrity gets not-so-secret nose job!), and the constant revolving circus of beauty products, anti-aging, roots, weight gain... the list goes on and on. Know that no matter what your hair, nails, clothes, skin, or body looks like today, you still have so much to offer the world. You don't have to be perfectly beautiful or even be a perfect lolita. If it's an ordinary day, I wear my real hair. Sometimes my bangs will blow around, sometimes my hair will uncurl - and it won't look perfect. But don't let this stop your from living your life. Dolls are beautiful. But they are hardly real.

Fight the myth. Be real.

Labels: cultural, discussion, feminism

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Roots of a Flower

This morning, as I hustled into petticoats and made breakfast (yes, heart-shaped eggs!) my boyfriend popped Kamikaze Girls into the DVD machine and let it run in the background. It was exactly what I needed to lift out the stress of a rushing morning - the pattern and cadence of Ichiko and Momoko's voices so familiar I didn't need the subtitles. I've long declared Kamikaze Girls to be my original bible, and every time I watch it I find some new message embedded in the film.

This time what struck me most was the fashion. Does that sound ridiculous at this point, that I've watched it over and over and finally noticed the fashion? Perhaps it takes a while for us to appreciate something for what it truly is. But where before I was taken by her ever-changing dresses and fanciful rocking horse shoes, this time I was hit with a heavy wallop of nostalgia. Still getting dressed, I hopped upstairs and rifled through my closet for something that reminded me of my 'early days' - and sadly found little that gave me the familiar comfort I craved.

Even the recent trailer for the new movie, Mr. Rococo, has made me thirsty for those old-fashioned styles. Mr. Rococo, for those not aware, is a 25-minute film about a lolita breaking her fluffy, happy style to become a weight trainer to impress a guy. While the storyline is typical Japanese humor (...wait, she likes him?) and surely of questionable feminine motive (you'll do what to impress a guy?) the fashion is what really makes the film worth watching. I consider it today's tribute to Kamikaze Girls - heavy on a depicting a lolita's fantasy world of Rococo love and Baby the Stars Shine Bright. You can watch the trailer at the website.

When I started lolita in 2006, prints were just becoming popular and sweet was just starting to dominate the scene. My first dress however, was a solid, with a simple cut and lacy bustle-back. Even my first print was actually an older style, an all-over pattern from Baby of angels, logos and bluebirds. Their prime beauties were in extravagant rose and lattice shaped lace, and their smooth, well-brushed fabric. And of course, Baby the Stars Shine Bright still ruled the land of lolita - probably why I still sigh over movies heavily depicting it, even the live-action drama of Princess Princess D.

brolita inspiration!

Someone remarked recently that the style you began with in lolita fashion - the style that first inspired you to put on that petticoat and, depending on your era, that lacy headdress or giant bow covered in clips or period bonnet - will never really leave you. Those first moments that propelled you into a place you could never have imagined will always be in your heart, preserving your fifteen, nineteen or even twenty eight year old self (lolita can happen at any age!). Momoko likens that moment to being shot with a bullet - the old girl died and a new one was reborn.

I haven't saved much in the way of my early dresses, if at all - something, for the first time since they're gone, I regret a little.

both dresses pictured above from the '08 Royalty shoot!

Maybe I'm just showing my 'lolita age', but I miss those days. I don't think there will ever be a time when I can look back and say, 'Oh, it was just so dated - I'm glad I moved beyond that!' Sure, I'll say that when I look back at my yearbook photos or those weird camo pants I should never have worn - but not at those dresses I loved and pined for. And what's more - I'm glad. If I could time-travel back to that girl on the precipice of something she could never imagine and tell her someday she'd have pink hair and a closet full of starry skirts and heart-shaped bags, I'm sure I would've said I was crazy. But there will always be that push that changed my life. And even when I am not sure what to do with my hair, my clothes, my fashion - when the doubt about where lolita fits into my life opens its maw to swallow me whole - I know I can look back to that bottled, crystallized moment - whether in the form of a dress, a photograph, a movie, or even a memory - and remember that push. So go back through your photo album, pop in that movie, or dig out your first mook. Try to look at it with the same fresh, whole eyes you did then.

Now, go get dressed.

Labels: inspirational

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Fake Sweets Bible and Cookie Locket!

While at my perennial favorite Japanese bookstore, Kinokuniya, I stumbled across this unusual mook called FAKE SWEETS BIBLE. Mostly I was drawn by the image on the cover - a decadently Rococo-esque classic Lolita with a corsage of lilac macarons on her lapel. I was so used to seeing sweets jewelry dripping with whipped cream and fluffy cupcakes that seeing a more Victorian take on sweets jewelry intrigued me. When I got the mook home I was delighted to discover that inside the pages were a couple great extras - ‘fake sweets’ tags, an icing guide, and even a plastic set of sweets molds for chocolate bars, buttery printed cookies, and chocolate hearts.

Here's a few scans from the book to give you an idea of their style:

What the Fake Sweets Bible has done with the notion of faux sweets and pastries is purely amazing and decadent - crispy crowns glittering with coarse sugar, military-style badges of deep bitter chocolate cookies, and everlasting macaron trees iced with silicone and beautiful foam white roses. For easier projects there are simple rings and necklace ideas sprinkled across the pages. The look is very Q-pot without the hefty price tag.

(above: some of the sweets I made - two cookies and a chocolate nub :)

My small attempt so far at fake sweets is a simple but sentimental project: a chocolate cookie locket, with the cream center being a portrait of my prince. The necklace is a triple-strand of creamy glass pearls, and makes a classy choker along the decolletage. Since I couldn't find any of the necessary findings to make the pearl strands 'stack' correctly, the look of the necklace is a little more modern. However, the effect is still delicate. I’d wanted a pearl choker for a while from the usual brands like Baby the Stars Shine Bright or Angelic Pretty, but this has more meaning for me - the quiet evenings stringing pearls from tiny espresso dishes alongside my boy, who is helpfully prepping the openings of the pearls with a pin.

The cookie is made out of Sculpey clay, and it's hiding a small round metal locket I picked up at the craft store. Then I painted with super-base clear nail polish to have the glossy effect of a piece of chocolate. I glossed my Bitter chocolate square the same way, and a tiny rhinestone for a little twinkle; I'm hoping to make this into a simple ring when I find the right base. However, the details come out a little faint with the Sculpey - I'm going to try paper clay to see if it picks up the subtleties in the mold better. I know paperclay is just the thing for macarons at the very least, but I still need some decent silicone cream before I can move on to those!

I never felt the deep pull to make sweets jewelry, but with this more maiden-like and elegant style, I'm much more inspired! :) If you'd like to see more of the Fake Sweets Bible, you can buy it on Amazon Japan!

Labels: crafty loli, lifestyle, tutorial

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Winter Style: 2010's Coat Line Up!

I gotta say, I love coats. I can't get enough coats. Whether it's because I'm a snowbunny at heart or because coats always seem to have a more fairy-tale-feel than anything else, they're my absolute favorite lolita item. Each brand has their own interpretation, and each season brings something a little different. This season seems to especially be following that mori-girl style princess - the lost-in-the-snow-with-satin-ribbons feel.

Feel and quality are prominent this year - both Innocent World and Victorian Maiden have added angora to their wool coats. Even for classical brands, their styles are very much geared toward the mori and dolly crowds - there are no all-over bunny prints this year. A mature and mysterious black gobelin with fur will appeal perfectly to the dolly-kei crowd, perhaps with some slightly gothic little red boots and lacy tights.

Innocent World keeps its even keel of looking both innocent and elegant with this year's winter style. For those who have to venture into the real world, they offer a classy double button design in the Rose and Little Bird coat, which can be purchased with a matching romantic cape - lined with fur and tied with a satin ribbon.

A cutesier feel is found in their Night Bear Coat series, which exchanges the usual fur for a nubbly fleece, soft and snuggly (Called by the website 'sheep boa'. Your guess is as good as mine). This coat has simpler lines than the usual corsetted-and-bell-shaped style lolita coats are designed for; perhaps for more casual wear or to cater to the mori girl crowd, who would love the tactile attraction of the fleece. This coat is also offered in S, M, and L, a sign that they may be considering their international audience for the first winter that they ship overseas.

This year's Angelic Pretty coats are heartsinkingly typical, unfortunately. They've released an applique coat, like previous years' Angel Pony, Royal Poodle, etc - this year with a fluffy white kitten (if you're a fan of the Aristocats' Marie however, this could be your year!) This kitten is also suspiciously similar to Baby the Stars Shine Bright 'Aristo Kitten'... I wonder why that is? ;) They've also included a short winterweight jacket model this year - in several prints and even one with a Wonder Cookie detail. In pervious seasons Angelic Pretty has been known to design beautiful, sumptuous coats with layers of tweedy ruffles and bows, perfect for OTT sweet and hime, but this year they seem to have dropped the ball and look more similar to BABY's usual winter style to be honest. They did do one coat I was fond of - the lilac ribbon jaquard, with scallops down the buttons - but as this is autumn/spring weight, it won't be lasting the season out.

Baby the Stars Shine Bright is, to the best of my knowledge, slow in releasing this year's coats - I haven't seen hide nor hair of them as of yet. Metamorphose, well-known for their bear-eared, fuzzy-hooded coats, has produced another comforting set of them. And a slightly more unusual style - pink, fairly minimalist with clean lines, but a sweeping boat neck of faux fur. The design doesn't appeal to me particularly, but I am sure it would look darling in some punk-meets-sweet style, perhaps covered with badges and broaches throughout the fur. Their other coats are quite secretive, considering they're up for reserve - a sketch with a few fabric samples which hint at woven wool and leopard printed fur. It will be interesting to see those coats hit the scene - and even moreso, how people will where them! Seeing a coat on a dress form is one thing - the magic and unique flair is really in the coordination and style of the wearer. There's nothing like a good street snap or photoshoot to reveal the hidden potential in an outfit or clothing item. So now matter which coat you'll donning as you face the snowy days, I'm sure your style will make it your own!

Are you up for elegance or a cozy teddy bear feel? Fur or fleece? Gobelin or tweed? Which coats are you drawn to this winter?

Labels: fashion, winter

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Lady's Lessons: Diamonds

There is an endless supply of romantic motifs that seem to skip seasonally and predictably through the lolita fashion world, so familiar and fond to us that we can tick them off on our fingers. Remember the year everything was about deer? Or the spring that flooded with strawberries on every hem and tiny strawhat? We use them and favorite them and even, as the nature of fashion, live our lives in them. And we take their powers to an extent – butterflies for whimsical outfits, pearls for a sea-fantasy or refined feel; apples in the fall and chocolates at Valentine’s. But can these symbols in our clothes be put to another use? And is there more to your favorite motif than meets the eye?

So with this in mind I’m starting a bi-weekly series called Lady’s Lessons, with the purpose to enlighten on the myth, folklore and subtle suggestion of various popular themes in lolita fashion. Some may be different varieties of flowers, other fruits or animals or ever Victorian references like the teddy bear. To start this series off with a bang, I thought I'd start with a girl's best friend - diamonds and the more popular lolita motif, diamond rings. Jewels and gemstones are all valued for their unique properties, but diamonds also fit into the idea of a ladylike and fashionable image. They come in every color scale from colorless to rose and canary yellow.

Diamonds make their appearance in folklore since the days of early mythology, where there were said to be lightening bolts that had struck earth. Due to its hardness and invincibility, it was called the Queen of Gems and came to symbolize everlasting love. This is what started the tradition of setting them in wedding and engagements rings. The first diamond engagement ring was given in 1477 by the Archduke Maximillia of Austria, to represent the fiery, pure beauty of Mary of Burgundy. Other sources claim that diamonds imbibe the wearer with luck and success – Plato even believed they housed celestial beings. Today’s metaphysical crowd consider them a crystal battery that you can fill up with positive energy. They always bring to my mind the majesty of India evoked by Francis Hodgson Burnett with Sara Crewe and the promise of diamond mine riches in A Little Princess. The idea that there are such glittering and amazing treasures buried deep in the ground – so mystical that the ancients believed they housed spirits.

Diamonds have been featured in several lolita prints (like Dressing Up Bunny) and jewelry items. If you’re looking to add a diamond-inspired energy and feel to your look, consider a cocktail or fashion ring. I’m especially liking some of the fashion rings from abazias.com – like this beautiful periwinkle blue topaz and diamond ring, or this smooth-lined and minimalist solitaire. They add the necessary elegance to accent black velvet gloves and are perfect for the coming winter ensembles. I love to idea of dressing not only for a creative coordinate, but also to fulfill a goal - whether that's to simply give your outfit a mood to fit your occasion (diamonds give an old-world glamour to going to the opera or theatre for the evening, for instance) or to know that the imagery of diamonds will add a magical 'power-up' to your day.

Next Lady’s Lesson Additions: Apples!

Labels: lady's lessons, lifestyle

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Danse de Lolita

In my last post about September style tips, I mentioned that it wasn't too late to fulfill a few goals - one being to finally take a ballet class. By unique twist of fate, I'm now happily signed up for two classes a week on my college campus!

I took ballet as a child, along with tap and jazz. My earliest memories of class were the small changing room where we would tie our ballet shoes, and the one-room studio with a polished wooden barre and winter sunlight. And of course, afterwards, as I tried to sit in my favorite chair with the tutu sticking out in crazy angles like so many stiff pink feathers. But I wasn't that dedicated a five-year-old - or, some years down the road, a very dedicated twelve-year-old. I've always been wistful about my would-have-been ballet career - even as I picked up belly dancing at fifteen, there was always ballet in the corner, looking at me reproachfully. Whenever I heard my favorite songs by Tchaikovsky, even when I went to see the Nutcracker last Christmas at the Palace Theatre - I wished I had been more dedicated with my ballet study. So when I finally got the the chance - basic ballet study twice a week with an extra half hour of en pointe - I couldn't wait.

Ballet is a perfect area of study for a budding lifestyle lolita of any subgenre. The exercise and training of muscles will leave you toned and healthy. The first two classes I took were what the old finishing schools would call 'deportment' - how to carry one's self with grace whether walking or standing. Ballet emphasizes good posture and correct carriage, so you don't strain the wrong muscles and you work the right ones. My ballet teacher watches the way we walk, even how we breathe and feel the energy compelling us to move. The ladies of court at Versailles learned to 'glide' on the balls of their feet so they appeared to be floating, and it from this practice that we learn movement in ballet. It may seem like a simple thing, but standing up straight is important not only for how you look and feel but for your attitude. Standing upright shows off your clothes to your best advantage and adds to your confidence. Slouching sends the message that you don't want others to look at you, which is a silly idea when you've put so much effort into your appearance. For those lolitas who like to model for photographs and for runway, ballet will put you in touch with your body and how your body appears in space.

Ballet's rich history in classical music and its productions are also the whimsical, fairytale stuff that is perfect to romance the imagination. From the glittering sounds of The Aquarium by Camille Saints-Saens as part of her Carnival of Animals to the proud trumpeting of Tchaikosky's The Waltz of the Flowers, you'll become familiar with popular classical composers. And for ballet productions, there's the heartbreaking Swan Lake and joyful Christmas favorite the Nutcracker.

I've always believed in the traditional 'accomplishments' of girls as good skills to have - a knowledge of art, music, dance, classical literature and mythology, with a few handcrafts thrown in like embroidery or crochet. Perhaps they're not like today's modern accomplishments, such as a promotion or a killer math sense - but they encourage the arts in a way we forget to today. I've often sung the praises of embroidery and its meditative quality. There is a stillness of the mind in concentrating on embroidering a single rose, and with each stitch forming one more tiny segment of a petal, putting all of your focus onto its tiny self until somehow, step by step, a beautiful work of art is finished, a dress covered with gardens of ribbon flowers and pearls. And in these accomplishments are the same focus. Watching a bird to draw the wing just right, or listening only for the next note of a song so that the steps are exactly right. Somehow lolita, with its nonsensical frills and inefficient petticoats is born into this multi-tasking, left-brain Information Age. Just like dancing ballet, sketching like the Victorian schoolgirls would, or playing the piano, lolita allows us to flex and strengthen senses we often don't get to use - a sense of color, or light, or detail. It is a welcome escape from a world of schedules, accounting books and ones and zeroes. Mindfulness, whether it is of your clothes, your footsteps, or your dance steps, frees you from the restrictions of our time. It is the gift of dance, the gift of music or art, and the gift of lolita.

If you want to get a feel for ballet with a fairytale flavor without having to invest in pointe shoes, I'd recommend watching the cute, little-known anime of Princess Tutu (I know I rave about it often, but it's really one of my favorites!). It shows most of the characters dancing ballet quite realistically, and the soundtrack is full of beautiful classical ballet music. And if you're in a class, you'll empathize with the main character, Ahiru - an 'ugly duckling' who always comes up short - until she transforms into the swan-like ballerina Princess Tutu! Whenever I worry I'm a clumsier dancer than my classmates I always think of Ahiru :)

By December, I'm supposed to have put together a one-minute ballet dance to music for the class. I can't even imagine dancing so freely - but somehow, by the year's end, I'll be able to dance ballet! I can't wait to learn more :)

Labels: inspirational, lifestyle

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

September Style Tips

Use cinnamon to perk up any average recipe - on your lattes, your oatmeal, even in your sandwiches with slices of crisp apple and ham. Cinnamon always gets me in a fall-and-Christmas mood, and makes everything taste like homemade breakfast to me! Steal sprinkles of it from cafes and coffee stands.
Go apple-picking and dress up like Gerda or Snow White. Peel the apple in one long curl and then throw it behind you - the shape of the peel was used as divination in Victorian times, often to spell out the name of a crush or loved one.
Give yourself one end-of-year goal - there's still time left to fulfill your New Year's resolutions! Split the next four months into easy chunks and reach your heart's desire - whether that's reading a weekly book, learning a new skill like crochet, or taking a local ballet class.
If you're feeling in a school-ish mood, whip up a chunky-style lolita tie (typically with rounded edges and edged with lace or dainty ruffles) or a sailor-style necktie bow. For a quirky-meets-nerdy feel, wear a small bow tie at the throat of your blouse. Suspender-style skirts also have a schoolish feel - either attach your own suspenders or make a suspender skirt. You might even possibly be able to use your waist-ties, but I haven't tried this yet!
Make corsages of real autumn leaves with ribbon, then pin them to your lapel or your hairstyle for the day.
Make librarian-style look cute with a giant puffy bun! You might need a hair rat or doughnut (from the drugstore or by rolling two socks together) but add a flirty bow and pen and you're set!
Use your downtime on your commute or in between classes to reacquaint yourself with some relaxing classics - anything Jane Austen, a children's book like Peter Pan, or even Winnie-the-Pooh - can be refreshing after days of textbooks or work reports.

image found on tumblr.

Labels: style tips

This Page

Lolita Charm