Lolita Charm: Brand Spotlight: Jane Marple

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Brand Spotlight: Jane Marple

Being mostly familiar with this brand previously through secondhand sites and consignment sites, I was pleasantly surprised when I came across the advertisement's for Jane Marple's 2011 Spring/Summer line. The usual concepts for lolita summer trends are present (indeed, trends that pop up throughout cute culture fashion, especially around summer time), but with an adorable kitschy twist that isn't quite classic lolita, sweet lolita, or even mori-girl.

Jane Marple, like its other old-timer comrade Milk, is a brand that creates its own answer to the eternal 'what-is-cute' philosophical question. While some items, such as the sailor blouse below and accompanying straw hat, seem to ooze lolita flavor, other items such as the ruffled shorts, follow a beat all their own.

My personal favorite is this banner ad, which besides sporting sweet nautical sailor styles for daily wear, also features a fantastic British crown overgrown with wild cherries and strawberries. You can even find a stripy cutsew with the design, but I have half a mind to see if I could copy it onto a handkerchief for embroidering!

This simple Jane Marple cutsew cries out to be DIY'd! Its only feature besides being simple jersey is this grosgrain-studded neckline, but the price tops out at ¥10,290 ($129 USD)! All you need is a plain, soft tee and a matching length of grosgrain ribbon: tie a set of bows, seal edges with a lighter to prevent fraying, and hand-stitch to the collar. This item could be cute for casual lolita, mori girl, or simply ordinary cute style with heart-patterned shorts or under a simple jumperskirt. It has the added bonus of adding some Jane-Marple cute to your wardrobe, despite Jane Marple beingnotoriously difficult to get your hands on.

In a fit of inspirational and fashionable obsession, here's a few more samplings of Jane Marple's work:

Vintage wrapped candies make an appearance on stick pins, perfect for lapels and berets.

Beautiful cobwebby teapot-and-teacup shaped lace.

Jane Marple has only just opened their official online shop early this June (2011), but don't forget that you'll need a shopping service if you'd like to order from outside of Japan. And so far it seems like the catalogue is quite limited - you may still prefer a personal shopper.

Labels: fashion, summer

8 Comments:

At June 12, 2011 at 12:28 AM , Namie said...: Lovely~! I'm really liking a lot of the summer releases this year. Even though we're seeing a lot of the same motifs (gingham, cherries, strawberries, stripes, etc), I think that there's still a lot of newness.

I will definitely try out making that shirt. It doesn't look very hard at all! I just posted on my blog about a basket bag I finished altering today. Summer is the perfect time for crafts!!

Btw, I've seen the term "cute style" used in other places on the internet too. Is it a term for another type of fashion? Or are you using it literally, descriptively here? As in "a style that is cute"?
At June 12, 2011 at 4:04 AM , C said...: I've been such a huge JM fan for years, and I was beyond excited to see that they finally opened their webstore! Otome style has been really appealing to me lately, and JM fits the bill perfectly.

Also, you might want to add for those who want to get an in-store SS for Jane Marple: They don't release printed catalogs and the shopgirls have to draw out the upcoming season's designs for those interested in reserves, so figuring out what they have in stock and actually ordering from them can be a bit of a feat ;_;
At June 12, 2011 at 4:54 AM , Saffron Sugar said...: I'm a little smitten with Jane Marple as well, and I was so excited to see their online store open! I especially like that sailor top, I've been somewhat smitten with Japanese-style uniforms (maybe I'm turning into a weeaboo...?!) so a sailor top is high on the wishlist. The candy pins are also pretty amazing!
At June 12, 2011 at 2:28 PM , Kassidy said...: I definitely want to DIY that shirt now! And I have all the materials to do it too~
At June 12, 2011 at 5:43 PM , Mykki said...: Oh wow, I love the tea pot lace. That's gorgeous!

And it's a great DIY idea too. I might do this with some of the more plain tops I own.
At June 14, 2011 at 8:54 AM , Christine said...: that Sailor t-shirt was so cute! I want one NOW!
At June 14, 2011 at 2:13 PM , Sazh said...: nice stuff!
At June 15, 2011 at 6:17 PM , Rachel said...: I love these items! So cute and perfect for summer!

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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Brand Spotlight: Jane Marple

8 Comments:

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