She Lived in a Lilac Wood

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.

-Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

Outfit:

Horn: handmade!

So, the horn! I made it out the silky lining of my old formal dress from junior high, stitched into a sort of cone shape and stuffed with fiberfill. Then I glued on pink flat-back pearls and a strip of silver sequins. There's a bow at the base with a gold star charm in the center, and then I mounted the whole thing on a comb to slide into my hair.

My hair is a teased ponytail (or unicorn tail!) When I went to the first party with this outfit, I curled it... But I didn't want to pester my hair anymore, so I added some extensions. I've pretty much trashed my old pink curly wig, but I used a few of the intact curls for some projects. These were some of the curls I had left. I wanted to glue them to real wig clips, but didn't have time so I just used regular hair clips to get them to stay. Then I just twisted them together with my real hair. It even stayed in all night at my family's Halloween party!

I've started tying a lace ribbon round my neck to hide a scar from a recent metal allergy, but it's actually a really cute look! A ribbon round the neck is a very delicate, coquettish style I think. A wide silk ribbon or just a little lace means it can have a very different look. I just borrowed the ribbons from my Bloom OP

Labels: fashion, holiday, outfit post

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 10:08 PM 20 Comments

Rainbow Date!

Today my boyfriend and I decided to go on a little date before he went away for the weekend, and since it was a special day I decided to dress up in my favorite dress! My yellow Bloom OP was my first piece of Angelic Pretty, and even though it wasn't my first 'brand' dress, it was what really made me feel like I had 'arrived' as a sweet lolita. I don't get to wear it too much anymore because it's a summery, slightly formal style, but I wanted to prove that it could transition to autumn!

Mostly we drove specially to a mall with a Hello Kitty store! I needed a new makeup bag (my old Cinderella one is looking woebegone...) so of course I needed Little Twin Stars! It's a little smaller so I don't drag around a huge thing of makeup with me all day. Otherwise I'll carry around four packages of lashes I don't need, bandages, old mascara...

And why was it a rainbow date? We saw three rainbows driving home! It had been gray all day until the sunset... there was a full rainbow stretched right across the highway! I stuck my camera through the sunroof to get this photo. In this photo you can see it was actually a double rainbow! I asked my boyfriend if I should froth at the mouth and lose it like most people seeing double rainbows but he said no XD

Labels: outfit post, shopping

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 3:03 PM 12 Comments

Strawberry Skies Interview!

Meet Manon Marguerite of Strawberry Skies! This new pop-loving indie lolita brand is coming from Australia, with plenty of fresh summery styles for you ladies down-under (wish it was summer here! 3:) Lolita Charm gives you the scoop on everything Strawberry Skies from strawberry space rangers to pink-pocky-printed dresses!

Give us some background about yourself & your lolita style (how you got interested, your favorite brand, lolita idol, etc).

My first experience of Lolita was when I went to Japan in 2006, at the time I dressed in my own, probably terrible, interpretation of FRUiTs style, but was totally blown away by Lolita and knew it was for me. I started off as a sweet Lolita and still am one, but my style these days is much more casual and mature. When I finished school, I was lucky enough to be an exchange student in Japan before I started university. This was an amazing experience, as I could spend my weekends in Harajuku and really see the fashion move. Since I have always loved making things and designing, when I came back to Australia, I decided to study fine art, majoring in fibers and textiles, which has been a great choice.

For a long time, my favorite brand was Metamorphose and I still absolutely adore Kuniki Kato’s designs, but recently I am loving Emily Temple Cute and Jane Marple too. Of course, like any sweet Lolita, I adore Angelic Pretty as well! I guess more than any one brand, I like particular designs, so it’s really hard to say which is my favorite!

Describe your style and inspiration behind Strawberry Skies.

My inspiration comes from all over the place, from other Lolita designs, to artworks, to music or things people mention. I like getting inspiration from everywhere since I’m still trying to define the Strawberry Skies ‘look’. The best ideas always come when I least expect them, so I carry a notebook around with me just in case.

If you could describe the Strawberry Skies style in five words, what would they be?

I like to think it’s ‘Lolita you can wear everyday’.

Are you inspired by other fashions besides lolita? (Japanese or otherwise.)

Otomé style will always been close to my heart, I love wearing my Lolita clothing day-to-day without having all the impractical parts, so otomé is the style I dress in most of the time. I also absolutely love mori-girl and co-maintain the ohyeahmorigirl tumblr, if anyone follows it! I think a lot can be learned from the texturing used in mori-girl. As far as western designers go, there are a few that I absolutely adore, for example Besty Johnson, Vivienne Westwood and Rodarte, but I love high-end Japanese designers like Issey Miyake and Naoki Takizawa too, they’re definitely great inspiration for my non-lolita designs.

Tell us about your thought process for your latest print, Super Berry.

The inspiration for Super Berry actually came from Andy Warhol’s soup cans and the Souper dress, which was released as an advertising campaign by the Campbells’ Soup Company in the 60s, that’s one of the reasons it’s called ‘Super’ Berry. I really love pop-art and was thinking ‘how can I make this lolita’? So, Super Berry is the product of that.

Who do you picture as the ideal Strawberry Skies customer?

My ideal customer is anyone who is made happy by wearing my designs. I’ve always thought ‘at any point, no matter how sad you feel, you should be able to look down and smile at whatever you’re wearing’, so I really hope my designs make people happy and that they feel a sense of pride while wearing them.

Super Berry shown in raspberry and blackberry colorways (not shown: blueberry)

That's such a sweet sentiment, I love it! So, what are your ideas for future prints?

Haha, well, I won’t give away too much! But my December print will be Strawberry Space Rangers, which as the name implies, is a space themed print. This print is essentially ready-to-release, so you can see more about it on my website under the Strawberry Space Rangers tag.

Alternately, do you feel you prefer producing prints or non-prints?

I love both prints and non-prints! I have a line planned called ‘Crayon Box’ which will consist of mostly bold solid colours, stripes and polka-dots. I think non-prints are great, since you can concentrate more on the style of the dress, rather than working around the print to compliment it.

What do you envision for the future of Strawberry Skies?

Once I finish my undergraduate studies, I’m interested in growing Strawberry Skies as a business and getting other creative minds on board to be part of a larger design and manufacturing team. In the near future though, I’m really looking forward to collaborating with other designers and artists and building up the Strawberry Skies label into a Lolita household name.

Strawberry Space Rangers in black colorway (also available in deep purple)

Visit Manon at the Strawberry Skies blog for more information!

Pre-orders for Sugar Hero and Super Berry now OPEN!

Labels: fashion, interview, shopping

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 4:20 PM 6 Comments

Separation of Sweet & Aspartame

Lolita fashion's best feature is its nature to evolve, grow, and redefine itself. As time speeds up, technology and trends flash through our society in a matter of months or years rather than decades, lolita fashion follows suit. As we've seen, lolita fashion has changed faces many times since its inception in the early 90s. Many girls may find that the lolita they first learned has changed drastically from lolita today. When I began in 2006, lolita fashion was nearly a whole other animal than it is today. Like Darwin set to fastforward, we can already see the changes happening right under our noses.

Labels: discussion, fashion

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 10:41 PM 25 Comments

Joining the Unicorn Club

Halloween is my favorite holiday, being a little witch & loving the feel of a full moon on my skin! And of course as a child I got to dress up as a Disney (and non-Disney - Thumbelina lovers represent!) princess every year! I'm so glad that even as an adult I refuse to give up the yearly tradition of dressing up, even if it's only for you lovely readers online ♥

Usually I wait for Halloween to debut my costume for this year, but I couldn't resist so... here's a little preview!

Remember these girls, who you may have seen floating around the nebulous world of tumblr? I dubbed them the Unicorn Club, though that's most likely not their real name, if indeed this trend has any. Their defining feature is a pretty popkei unicorn horn-headdress nestled among their hairdos. So you know that I, princess of all things slightly tacky and super cute, had to give it a go! Here's the sneak peak:

I wanted mine to be small and kind of chibi-like, for a baby unicorn feel instead of the long horns shown above! I decided to get thrifty and only use things I already had - odd deco supplies, the lilac silk lining of an old formal gown, and one of my favorites, glittery hot glue!

I'll only reveal my final popkei unicorn on October 31st, Halloween! Look forward to the shimmery, preposterously-pastel creature!

Labels: fashion, holiday

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 6:50 PM 10 Comments

Six Impossible Things

Read. Read something beautiful and engaging and fantastical. My recent books were all educational, hard-hitting, good-for-you things that tasted like bitter medicine I just had to finish. I read the Corner, a real year spent in the ghettos of Baltimore, and its people addicted to heroin; I read the revealing and biting Beauty Myth. And yes, when you're at family parties or talking to professors, they all sound very professional and grownupish and you can shake your head over the state of this world. But honestly - they're quite draining. There were times when I knew I had to put it down and flip through old sitcoms, because I just couldn't handle it anymore. Whatever happened to pleasure reading - silly, light things that seem full of beautiful words and aching romances? This morning I found one of the books I brought back from Seattle I hadn't read - A Peony in Love. It's a story of a noble-born Chinese girl who suddenly finds her life mirroring her favorite sad opera. It is full of names like Riding-the-Wind Pavilion, and fills the mind with ladies in silk dresses. It's not exactly lolita-themed, but the idea is present: choose something beautiful and frivolous, something that uses many different color words. Whether this is a beautiful picture book, a love story, or a fantasy novel, it should inspire your sense of beauty in some way.

Do one thing perfectly. I've always emphasized on Lolita Charm how important concentration and staying in the moment is. Usually my prescription for this is some kind of hand craft, most notably an Rx for embroidery - it's my favorite kind of concentration. But not every one has the time to start an embroidery project, or learn how to crochet, or to paint in watercolors. So a simpler way to focus inward, on the small details and on yourself is to do one small thing for yourself absolutely perfectly. A good example of this is your toilette. (Not toilet! Toilette is the old word for grooming one's self and getting dressed.) As soon as I step in the bathroom to shower and lock the door, I'm in my own world. I mix a concoction of something for my hair - a few kinds of pink syrup mixed with a ton of cream conditioner and a liberal sprinkle of candy powder like fairy dust - and afterwards, trim and file my nails. No matter where I have to be, who's calling, or when I have to be there, I am going to complete these tasks with as much perfection as I like. If you don't have the time to do something as long as a full grooming session, do something smaller for yourself. Keeping a pretty nail file in your bag for train rides or a bottle of polish for your break between classes would do nicely. Fold one perfect paper crane or sign your name is perfect script. Anything that makes you happy and you enjoy giving your attention to is a good candidate.

Carry one perfectly beautiful thing. I take this to the extreme. I am no ordinary girl and I refuse to surround myself with ordinary things. I long ago made a vow that every thing in my purse would be cute and reflect my individual style, and I've worked hard to make that come true! But you don't have to cuteify your entire life to feel that momentary pleasure from a pretty object. A beautiful pen, a handkerchief, or keyring could be your item. Perhaps it's something more personal like a locket or a strip of purikura with your best friends. Even pill cases or USB flash drive can be your touchstone. My item right now is my pearl pink Hello Kitty wallet - it's exactly my taste, and I always have it with me and use it often. I'm always reminded of beautiful things and my lolita lifestyle when I use it, even in jeans or work-out clothes.

Love one thing regardless of everything else. I suppose as lolitas we often already do this - despite everyone else's opinion, we love lolita fashion! But even in our fashion or in our small worlds there are things we like, but do not have the courage to fully love. They're strange... we're not sure if we like them or not, but somehow we dream of them night and day! Do you secretly want to wear usamimi with a lolita outfit? Or maybe something off-the-wall like Baby's lacey cat ears? Angelic Pretty's fluffy all-over furry pimp coats of seasons past? Or, outside of the world of fashion - anything else that seems ridiculous. For a long time I thought I could never dance ballet unless I started as a child and was drilled since the age of 3 or 4. Even the woman at the dance studio who sold me my ballet shoes made it clear she thought my case was hopeless. And just a few days ago I choreographed and performed my first dance to a series of musical bells from Carol of the Dolls. I was shaking like a leaf, but it was worth it! I suppose that's just a different kind of believing impossible things.

Write yourself a poem... or love letter or even a list! Poems, or long flowery love letters, or even pillow-book-like lists are a lovely sentiment. The best poems ever written are written to one's self. Don't be afraid to write about yourself or be thinking of how vain it is to write to yourself. Appreciate all the little quirks and details you love and treasure about yourself that no one else knows. Let your imagination and words run wild. Have you always dreamt of someone comparing you to an animal or historical figure? Have you wished for a swan-like neck, or doe eyes, or the gait of a fawn? Don't wait for a lover or friend to recognize them - love them now! If you're still shy, consider writing to yourself in the third person - as if you are a stranger observing yourself, or as if you are observing another person. You needn't ever show these poems or letters to anyone - they're just for you. Here are a few topics to inspire you:

• your favorite flower, and why, or how you resemble it;
• your zodiac sign, or birth month, or birthstone;
• secret habits of yours no one else knows;
• an ode to your favorite dress or lolita item, and how it represents you;
• what it would be like yourself as if you were a stranger. Do you have lowered lashes, a tripping step like a sandpiper, or a way of licking a spoon like no one else does?

Lolita Meditation. I know this sounds wacky and New Age-y, so stay with me for a minute. Lolita and the lolita lifestyle is, to me, a dream that I try to fulfill with clothes - but really is a state of being, a delicate sense and internal place I am trying to find - or perhaps return to. If you've ever read the Secret or anything on the topic of wishcraft, this will seem familiar to you. I daydream quite often about fulfilling my perfect vision of what lolita means to me. This exercise simply makes that daydream more deliberate. What is your vision of a perfect lolita or a perfect lolita lifestyle? Forget the outside world for a minute. If you decide to put in your earbuds and listen to a little 'lolita music' (whatever your tastes may be - my choice today was Kanon Wakeshima and a few violin sonatas) so much the better, but all your really need is a few minutes to close your eyes and leave the outside world. If you could create any existence and world for your vision to live in, what would it be like? Do you favor Victorian houses or baroque Viennese apartments? Do you picture the gardens of Versailles or Villandry, with bowers or roses, or perhaps a sunny kitchen with strawberries on the window-sill and a collection of pink appliances? Take a few deep breaths. Listen to the music as if someone has left it on in an empty room. Now start mentally decorating. You can design anything you like - a room, with every detail, or an entire house. I used to have a hedge-maze garden I always imagined before I went to sleep. Your meditation can change or be familiar each time. Imagine your clothes, your hair, the lighting. Even if you only mediate on this 'lolita dream' for a few minutes, you'll return from your sojourn feeling refreshed and inspired. And best of all, your lolita meditation and its fantasy world are completely free, completely portable and without any limitation.

Momoko's character, as I've discussed in my previous post Momoko, Our Lady of Lolita, isn't the perfect person. But there is something intriguing about the way she lives her life that I can't help but dream about. She is the true lifestyle lolita - forming her own idea of what that means and then committing to it wholeheartedly. Decide on your own six impossible things. Set out to accomplish them one by one. Commit to these things that make you happy as you'd commit to a friend or lover. Commit to loving yourself... something which, for once, may not be impossible.

Labels: inspirational, lifestyle

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 9:45 AM 10 Comments

Overdressed

Labels: culture, inspirational

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 9:26 AM 24 Comments

Australia's Next Top Model Meets Kawaii TV

At one point in the video one girls says they tried not to laugh at each other's appearances, as they wanted to be respectful. This, at least, is a far cry from the Price of Beauty episode with Jessica Simpson, which could did not even attempt some modicum of decorum. While the effort is appreciated, I wish they could have taken this challenge more seriously and been more open-minded about the fashion they were experiencing. Although the western world tends to take fashion as one whole, branching down from haute couture, fashion and its principles are quite mutable and diverse across place, generation, and time. Assuming that anything other than the norm is costume-like or inferior is a very juvenile behavior. As stated in the show, many up-and-coming designers begin in Japan. Like it or not, Japan is placing its wedge(d heel) securely in the fashion world.

And, for all of their derision about kawaii fashion, it is worthy of note that the Australian models do not pull off the look very well. The Japanese fashion model (and ergo the lolita, gal, popkei and schoolgirl models) are of a very different design than the typical western model. The schoolgirl expert nervously chuckles about one Australian model's height, and as we've seen many times over in

the Paris lolita fashion shows (Baby the Stars Shine Bright at Japan Expo in Paris, right), there is something missing and out of place with the stereotypical western fashion model in lolita fashion. She can be done to the hilt in hair and makeup, but her sharp features, prized by western ads and runways, are not appropriate. In contrast, Japanese fashion models are preferred to be rounder-cheeked and doll-like, with large eyes and small, bunnyish noses. Many lolitas (Asian and non-Asian, from inside and outside of Japan) known for their good looks tend to possess these features. As Japanese fashion continues to expand, we've seen a change in what some cultures find beautiful - lolitas in many different countries have changed their views to value the same features as kawaii models already. I'm thankful, finally, for my tiny stature - though mainstream American culture tells me that tall, willowy girls are the ideal. These western models are considered very good looking and beautiful in their career field and culture, but what if the tables were turned? It would be useful for a model to keep exposures of all fashions and beauty ideals in mind; perhaps one day her career could depend on it!

Unfortunately it's the lolita model in this episode who is the most negative, saying she could hardly keep a straight face and declaring for the off-camera confessional, 'Oh, ew, girly pink!' The other models, some more than others, seemed eager to learn and do well with the challenge, despite being unfamiliar with the fashion.

Are my feathers ruffled from a simple lack of respect, as usual? Is this just more boorish outsider-ness that annoys me? At this point in the game I rarely expect mainstream media to accurately or favorably portray lolita fashion; but I always have that hope that someone will finally get the facts straight and reveal exactly the complex culture we have hidden behind our frills and candy-colored petticoats. I suppose I merely want the mainstream to, if not love, appreciate our unique lifestyle. But whether or not that will occur before our culture passes away (all good things and all fairytales must come to an end, eventually), is yet to be seen.

What are you reactions to the video? If you were unfamiliar with Japanese subcultural or kawaii fashion, would you feel the same as the girls in the video?

Note: This episode aired in September, but I only just saw it online, so apologies if this is old news to you!

Labels: cultural, discussion, review

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 9:04 AM 38 Comments

Lady's Lessons: Teddy Bears!

The teddy bear is a true Victorian motif. The first teddy bears are, a

ccording to popular myth, an American invention. During a forest hunt in Mississippi, the current American President Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt caught no game. His hosts, determined to give him a good time, caught a bear and tethered it to a tree. He refused to shoot a helpless animal. Several

cartoonists depicted the scene, but one showed the President with not a ferocious, growly grizzly, but a soft cuddly cub in the now-familiar upright sitting position. The resulting plush toys, originally made in New York City, were dubbed '

teddy bears' after the President's sparing of the animal. The original bears looked like the one to the right, with tapered paws, long front limbs, and a l

ong pointed muzzle. For a while they were also called 'Roosevelt' bears, and were fashionable for ladies to carry and children to have their portrait taken with. The President even used them as mascots for his re-election. Its popularity with current novelists and musicians of the time gave us the song Teddy Bear's Picnic, inspiring the many other works about teddy bears today.

seen above: Metamorphose's Honey Picnic (not their only bear print - they also made Teddy Patisserie, below - and here I am ages ago in the black version!), and Angelic Pretty's latest, Little Bear's Cafe.

Innocent World's Night Bear print; Baby's Friend Usakumya plush bear cellphone strap

Labels: lady's lessons

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 9:03 AM 14 Comments

LVF Contest: Personal Dream Contest

Dalin of La Vida Frills (my wonderful Angelic Pretty angel-in-crime) is hosting this contest and I couldn't resist entering! This is the coordinate running through my candy-colored world lately.

Ever since I saw Jelly Jewelry (or is it Jewelry Jelly? I've seen both) last weekend at NYAF on both my lovely Dalin and Lindsay of Lolitas 'n' Cream, I've been on the hunt for the lilac jumperskirt version. I had no idea that this was one of the fabled glitter prints! Some select prints from Angelic Pretty actually have a fine shimmery glitter in the fabric. I know there's Miracle Candy and Dreamy Dollhouse, but I'm not sure of any others.

I wanted a more unusual feel to a typical sweet-print dress, so I decided to go with a sweet-punk theme. Does anyone else remember when Nana Kitade was known for her sweet punk style?

You can see her wearing it and mentioning in this short lolita documentary by IMF. It's really strange to see how far we've come in only a few years - this was shot in 2007, and you can see how different a look it is! If you look closely, you can see that AP's sign only says Pretty - strange! I miss her style presence in lolita, maybe I'll wax poetic about her soon ;)

I adored her and her unique style when she was popular, and sweet punk still pops up occasionally - usually with engineer boots or creepers with some punk accessories. I ran across these milky pink Doc Martens lately on TaoBao and thought they were just the thing to play off. I just ordered a pair through taobaospree.com, here's hoping it all works out! They have a few other colors as well as two more pastels - powder blue and mint green - here, if you're interested. The pink studded belt was also an added homage to sweet punk.

The socks are Milky Planet, made to go with their black colorway, but I thought the darker colors would pop more and pick up the edging on the boots. Chocomint's conversation heart clip in 'ramune soda' and my blue Jelly Jewelry heart ring top off the look, with a pink ball-fringe high collar Angelic Pretty blouse. If I were to really wear this outfit, I'd probably add some brand buttons - I have a black Magical Etoile badge that would fit well.

So - service announcement! If anyone has the lilac JSK of Jelly Jewelry, I'm on the look out! I'd love to make this coordinate a reality!

I'd love to see more dream coordinate entries for the La Vida Frills contest! I think it's so telling to see what girls dream about for the perfect outfit - it reflects how you wish you could be. I love being sugary, but secretly dream of something a little edgy... and I think that comes out in this!

So what are you dream coordinates like? Let's see!

Labels: contest

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 12:00 AM 9 Comments