Orders & outfit

So today my good friend through many years is coming over and I’m really excited as I haven’t seen her since July when I visited her in Wales. She’s in town again for the next week and I’ve taken some time off work, so I can hang out with her. Today we’re going to catch up and plan the following week. Then we’re going to go do a photoshoot. I’m not sure yet what we’re going to be doing for the shoot, but we’ve talked about several themes and some of the shoots we’re going to do in the next week are going to be Lolita related. Yay. Maybe I should mention this: She’s studying Photography at university in Cardiff.

My outfit today is a bit casual, because I know I’ll be changing into something else for the shoot, but still I wanted to dress up a little, since I’ve been wearing nightwear and been bedridden for the past week due to the flu. Also, I wanted to show off this skirt that came in the mail earlier this week. I love this print in this colour, so I was really happy when I got a chance to buy it on the sales community.

The t-shirt with Emilie Autumn is the casual part, haha. I got it in the mail (yes, I received so many things in the mail this week) a few days ago. It was a Christmas present from my parents that took a really long time to get here, because it was apparently being ’stalled’ in Germany for some reason or whatever. It was part of a gift set with EA’s new autobiography, her Opheliac album and a tote bag. We’ve been waiting for so long for this to arrive. The book so far is very fascinating. My friend and I are going to her concert on Wednesday. It's going to be awesome. :D

Like I said a lot of things came in the mail this week. I also received my Blooming Snow White JSK and my Innocent World dress. Both are beautiful. Unfortunately I will also need to alter both of them.

For some reason, the shirring on the dress from Innocent World is completely weird. It seems that some of the strings in the panel are tighter than others which mean that instead of stretching to make room for my bust, the dress is pulled tighter over that area, resulting in major squeeze-age. It’s so off, because according to their measurements on their site, I’m within the range and when you stretch out the shirring there’s plenty of room. The dress just doesn’t do it by itself, except for over the waist, where the shirring works perfectly fine. My mom’s going to take out the elastic and replace it with one that’s looser. Hope it’ll work.

Now for the Blooming Snow White JSK: I was very unhappy to see when I received it that it wasn’t in as good condition as the seller had described. The lace on the back was torn in several places. Here’s a picture:
It’s a shame, really. I can’t repair or replace it, so I’m planning to clip off the loops in the lace and then just wear it with no ribbon to lace it up. Alternatively, I’d have to sew on some new loops for the ribbon and I’m not even going to go there with my poor sewing skills.
The seller and I are working things out, negotiating about a partial refund, so that’s good. And besides the damaged lace, the dress is so beautiful. I absolutely love it and can’t wait for the weather to get warmer around here, so I can wear it. At the moment we’re getting a lot of snow here, which is a little annoying when you want to strut your Loli Stuff.

Welcome to the circus!

I love seeing new interesting takes on Lolita, or maybe I should say, takes on Lolita that are less common than the most popular styles. It’s a breath of fresh air when someone pulls off an ass-kicking Steampunk outfit or a really chilling Guro ensemble. One style or theme, if you will, that pops up once in a while and which I think is really intriguing is Circus Lolita. I think I can count the times I’ve seen it done on one hand, however, it’s a theme that seems to occur more or less frequently in art. There must be something fascinating about the circus to Lolitas. Several brands have even put out circus prints. I think it’s because, similar to the Lolita style, the circus is a little piece of magic come to life. Inside that arena the audience knows anything can happen. Artists fly through the air, breathe fire and juggle strange things. Maybe there’s a magic show, perhaps the tightrope artist, definitely clowns doing silly things. It’s all about being different and having a good time – something I’m sure many Lolitas can relate to.

Let’s have a look at some of the prints that brands have put out featuring circus themes.

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright:

(Alice and the Pirates also put out that Clown themed set, but let's not go there *wink*).

Angelic Pretty:

Innocent World:

Besides the business of the first two prints, there aren’t really much of a common style to them in my opinion, which I suppose makes sense, as Circus Lolita isn’t really an official sub-genre or style of Lolita.

I’d say that there are two ways to pull off this circus look. Either one can wear a dress or a skirt with circus related prints like the above or one can put together an ensemble reminiscent of a character typically found in the circus; Something fun and playful, maybe with a bit of authority like the ringmaster. I’ve put together some outfits on polyvore that you’ll perhaps find interesting.

FIRST OUTFIT:

Circus Lolita #1 by savage_lilly featuring 1928 jewelry

A black & white striped look. I don’t know, there is just something very circus-y about stripes to me for some reason. I really love those eyelashes and I’ve had the thought of using them in a Circus coord for quite some time. I’ve thrown in a little whip in this outfit. Maybe that’s a bit weird and can feel a little costume-y, but it’ll probably be all right for maybe a meet up or a specific event. Just try not to whip too many people – they get a bit uncomfortable. ; )

SECOND OUT FIT:

Circus Lolita #2 by savage_lilly featuring Betsey Johnson jewelry

This one is a fairly basic red & black outfit. I think the waist cincher, the strappy boots and the eccentric top hat makes it circus-y, and then with some cute accessories you’ve spiced up a classic dress; made it unique and playful, while still retaining a sense of elegance.

THIRD OUTFIT:

Ciscus Lolita #3 by savage_lilly featuring Juicy Couture accessories

Another red & black outfit, but this time I chose to use a few brand pieces, just to show how it could look using a circus print in a themed coordinate. I’d actually love to wear this. The cool thing about this skirt is that there are so many colours in the print, so you could use other that just black and red to coordinate it. You could try to accentuate the light blue or the pink for a completely different look.

The trick to not making the whole thing look or feel like a costume is, as with Lolita in general, to make sure it looks elegant and you feel comfortable wearing it. Granted, a Circus outfit may not be what a Lolita will wear to the grocery store, but rather something more suitable for special events like, for example, meet ups or maybe a birthday party.

This isn’t really meant as a ‘how to wear’ post on Circus Lolita, it’s merely intended to be perhaps a source of inspiration and encouragement to explore this theme further, maybe it could catch on the way Pirate Lolita did. :3

Just a quick update on some orders..

Just to update on the Blooming Snow White situation: After sending a second email to Baby, to inquire about my order, I received an email from them where they said that the JSK was sold out. *GASP!!*
I felt my Lolita-heart break and I was filled with mix of sadness and great annoyance directed towards Baby. This was the second time I had tried to order something only to find out that it was sold out. They should really do a better job with updating their website.
However, all hope was not lost. I put up a WTB post on egl_comm_sales and someone was kind enough to sell me their dress there. So I am very happy about still getting this dress.

Innocent World started their online winter sale last week. Did anyone go on a crazy shopping spree there? I just got the Christina JSK in plum.



I hadn’t actually planned to buy anything from their sale, but then I saw this dress and I remember eyeing the green version several times, because I really like the bust line. I have a weakness for under bust dresses and even though this isn’t one, the resemblance is enough. I think it is so pretty when you can see a bit more of the blouse underneath than with the typical Lolita JSK.

I only had two concerns with this dress. The fabric is lightweight cotton. I’m not quite sure what that’s going to be like, but I guess, it’ll be nice for spring and summer. Second concern was the fact that it’s a three-tier skirt. I usually don’t care much for that kind of design, especially when the tiers are accentuated by lace as they are in this case.
Those were my concerns, but I love the colour and the over-all classical feel of the dress, and once I started imagining it in different coords, I kind of fell in love with it.

I don’t know if you’ve been following Qutieland’s livejournal, but one of the Chinese brands they carry there, DollscroPs, have made this Little Deer series “inspired” by AP’s Milky Chan. It’s adorable and I really love how the appliqué looks on an all pink skirt. I contemplated getting it, but I was a little skeptical of the suede fabric. Thankfully, I paced myself and Qutieland recently updated with new colour and fabric choices. I ordered a skirt in light purple corduroy with white polka dots. I love purple with Lolita. I’m really looking forward to receiving this skirt. I have a feeling it’ll be one of those ‘feel good’ skirts that I’ll wear when I need to cheer myself up.

Anyway, I went and ordered the grey music JSK from Bodyline along with a matching bag and the pink shoes. It all arrived the other day and I’m happy to report that everything fits (well, the shoes are a bit big, but that’s what insoles are for) and is of perfectly decent quality.

To the symphony & first brand dress

I went to the concert hall in Tivoli last night to watch Igudesman & Joo perform with the symphony orchestra. It was my first time to the symphony in many, many years. The last time I went there was when I went to primary school and at that time I didn’t have the same love for classical music as I have today. It was absolutely wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if the volume had been just a bit louder, because the thing I love most about live music is when it is so loud you can just close your eyes and cease to exist; you just get swept up into the music and nothing else exists for the duration of the concert.

Anyway, Igudesman and Joo are so much fun and I was surprised when they said they would be doing a signing session after the concert. Suddenly, I was all nervous and flushed. I wasn’t prepared for meeting them – But I did and I even bought an extra copy of their DVD (I already own it) just so I could get them to sign it.



I also took a picture of them, but I won’t post it here. It’s just a silly mobile picture.

I wore one of my favourite skirts to the concert: My high-waisted, velveteen Autumn Whisper skirt from Dear Celine. I didn’t have time to take an outfit shot as I was in a bit of a hurry getting ready, because I had just gotten home from work, so I’ll just post the stock photo:



Even though, I hadn’t gone all out with a crazy hairdo and make up, I was still ridiculously overdressed. In my head, I had expected people to dress up a bit for the symphony, but some people just showed up in their sweats. I guess that proves how naïve I really am, but still, wearing Lolita: you’ll be overdressed in most situations. That’s the thing about Lolita: You may as well get used to it.

Moving on to something different, I have ordered my first brand dress. I sent the order last night and am now waiting for the confirmation. It’s Baby’s Blooming Snow White JSK in pink.



I have debated this purchase back and forth for the past week or two. The thing is: I don’t usually wear Sweet Lolita, but the past couple of months I have been feeling an increasing urge to dress in lavender and pink from head to toe. And this dress is fantabulous! I remember pining for the underbust version when it first came out, however, it is too small for me and furthermore, at the time I wouldn’t even consider spending that much money on one dress.

But then, I looked this dress again a few weeks ago and I got this image in my head of myself wearing it. It was summer and I was running through meadows and walking around a lake near my parents’ summer cottage. I had pink ribbons in my hair and pink teaparties on my feet. I fell in love with it. At first I thought I wanted the ivory colour way, because it has a more Classical feel to it, but no, it is the pink one I need. I have never had a dream dress before, but this must be what it feels like.

Still there was a voice in my head pulling out numbers for me and telling me how frivolous and silly it was to spend that much money on just a single dress, saying ‘How I don’t even wear Sweet Lolita!’.
But I like pink and think Sweet Lolita is really pretty. In a way, I love how it is so rebellious in its own sweet, ruffly, OTT pink way. It’s like a gigantic F*ck you to the world, saying ‘I’ll wear whatever the hell I want!’, even more so than punk (not necessarily Punk Lolita, just punk in general). I love it and I can’t wait to wear the dress.

The thing I love most about this dress is the print, obviously. I am a sucker for anything remotely relating to Snow White. Why do you think my hair is dyed black? ;) Just kidding, well, partly anyway.
Yay, I just can’t wait to get the dress, although, I’ll probably get hit with a gigantic customs fee, but hopefully the dress will be worth it.



I’ve actually gone crazy with Sweet Lolita. I'm considering getting Bodyline’s music JSK and I was originally going to buy it in black, but I think it looks absolutely adorable in pink too! But I don’t want to go too overboard with the sweet colours just yet. It’s a shame, I have no idea how the dress looks in grey/green. It’s kind of annoying Bodyline don’t have stock photos of each colour. Lame, actually.
But I think I’m definitely going to get these shoes in pink:



They’re so cute, don’t you think?
All right, all for now.

Introduction; Lolita is my Dreamland

Dreamland
by Lewis Carroll

When midnight mists are creeping,
And all the land is sleeping,
Around me tread the mighty dead,
And slowly pass away.

Lo, warriors, saints, and sages,
From out the vanished ages,
With solemn pace and reverend face
Appear and pass away.

The blaze of noonday splendour,
The twilight soft and tender,
May charm the eye: yet they shall die,
Shall die and pass away.

But here, in Dreamland's centre,
No spoiler's hand may enter,
These visions fair, this radiance rare,
Shall never pass away.

I see the shadows falling,
The forms of old recalling;
Around me tread the mighty dead,
And slowly pass away.

All right, so this is the obligatory introduction entry. My name is Sabrina, I’m from the small, but lovely Scandinavian country, Denmark, and this is my Lolita blog. Here you can read about my life as a lifestyle Lolita. I will post anything from daily outfit shots to tutorials to DYI projects to just random Lolita ramblings about anything relating to Lolita.

Maybe just a few words about myself: I’m 22 and have been into Lolita for a little more than a year now. I am not a fulltime Lolita, because I can’t wear Lolita to work, I wear it, however, whenever and as often as I can. Lolita is my escape from the bland every day. Lolita is a little bit of fantasy come to life. Lolita is my Dreamland.

I am still dabbling around in several styles, not having settled on a favourite just yet. I mostly wear Classic, but am also strongly drawn to Gothic and lately also Sweet.
Besides Lolita, I’m also very interested in books, photography and music, and I expect most, if not all, of these hobbies to worm their way into this blog.

That’s all for now.
Take care =]

(Photo courtesy: WeHeartIt.com)