Hi all,
When I was about 12 years old a show called Sailor Moon started showing on the morning cartoon show on television. Without knowing much about the origins of the series I became very interested in the show and watched it every morning.
I began drawing around the same age; Sailor Moon and fashion were two great inspirations for my art. I loved drawing the Sailor Moon characters and designing big poofy ball gowns with bustles and sashes. It really was no surprise that I was enchanted by Lolita fashion when I discovered it later in life.
I came across Lolita while I was studying Japanese in University. It was my keen interest in the colourful and extroverted fashion that lead me to Lolita and of course it wasn't too long before I began trying to blend my two interests through art.
For me, the bright, poppy colours and prints of Angelic Pretty and the 90s vibe and exuberance of Sailor Moon go together well so this week I've put together some coordinates using items from Angelic Pretty that I think the main characters, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako would wear. Now, I would just like to note here that art is my hobby, not my profession so while I enjoy drawing I am no expert and do not have professional equipment or skills. However, I've got a huge kick out of selecting the items and drawing the pictures and I'm very excited to share them with you and talk a little about what I chose and why.
Sailor Venus - Aino Minako in Drained Cherry OP
Aino Minako has an energetic though accident prone personality and as Sailor Venus, the soldier of love and beauty, she is the serious and dependable leader. With is in mind, I wanted something fun and romantic with lots of heart shaped accessories. Aino Minako also has a dream to be an idol in the anime and so I wanted something that was popular and a rather recent release. The soft flowing chiffon and modern design of Drained Cherry in Minako's favourite colours, yellow and red, seemed like a stand-out choice. I chose a heart bangle and heart shoes accessories in red to match with her dress and the red ribbon Minako always wears in her hair.
Sailor Jupiter - Kino Makoto in Dreaming Macaron OP
Sailor Jupiter, or Kino Makoto, is the power house of the Sailor Soldier team, however her hobbies as a cook reveal her to be more feminine than first appearances. Remembering one of my favourite of her scenes in the manga where she wishes to be a good wife, good cook and to open her own florist shop led me to choose Dreaming Macaron in mint. As Makoto is very tall and muscular and doesn't usually fit into average sizes, I deliberately went for the one piece with full shirring and chose Antaina replica Tea Party shoes. I chose accessories in pink to mirror the contasting green and pink colours on Sailor Jupiter's sailor suit. Specifically, I chose the Wonder Cookie necklace because of the cute utensils on it and the Romantic Rose earrings in pink to match the rose coloured earrings Makoto wears in her civilian form and as a soldier of strength and courage.
Hino Rei -Sailor Mars in Recital JSK
I chose the Recital JSK in red for Hino Rei as it reminds me of one my favourite episodes featuring her character when she organises a show at her school. She comes up with the ideas, writes the music and stars in the show and passes this off to everyone as though it's easy although it takes a lot of her time, effort and heart. It spoke of her tendency to show a strong and even aggressive front, which covers her very vulnerable, emotional core. In keeping with this, I chose the bold, simple, structured Recital JSK and matched it with the blouse from the Starlight Theatre series, a series which I also thought would also match this performance theme. I chose Sailor Mars' signature colour and matched the Chelsea Ribbon shoes to the ribbons on the dress and also because of the high heels that the soldier of passion and flame, Sailor Mars wears.
Mizuno Ami - Sailor Mercury in Drink Me JSK
I think Mizuno Ami is often overlooked as a character in the West; perhaps it's her studious and mild-mannered nature that doesn't match the common outgoing Western personality. Although some may disregard her as a mere geek, Ami often shocks people by keeping up with modern trends. As the Soldier of water and intelligence, she uses her ingenuity to make up for her lack of physical prowess, something I greatly admire. These two characteristics combined kept me away from obvious choices like Marine Sherbert or Dream Marine and steered me towards Drink Me, an individual design for Angelic Pretty, that is a very coveted release. If Aino Minako got up at 5am to make a made a mad dash to the flagship store in Tokyo, Ami would have hired three separate shopping services in the areas where the release was least likely to sell out and would spend the morning studying for an important exam. I love the "Drink Me" tag of the JSK and the bubbly, see-through sleeves of the blouse giving a nod to Sailor Mercury's element. I matched the glitter shoes in gold to showcase Ami's ability to catch those around her by surprise.
Usagi Tsukino - Sailor Moon in Nakayoshi Bunny JSK
I think Sailor Moon is my favourite character; her clumsiness, her hypocritical personality, which can be selfish and selfless, her all encompassing love and ability to be friends with all people has fascinated me for years. I initially considered a few princess-style dresses such as "Secret Princess", which tied in perfectly with her identity as the Princess Serenity. However, as her name literally means rabbit I wanted to include the animal in my choice. I considered a few different rabbit-themed prints like Marshmallow Bunny but in the end I chose an older print, which has a cute details including love heart lace and two furry rabbits but also a slightly clumsy design with lots of fabric bows with round edges and fluffy pom-poms. The name was also a huge factor as Nakayoshi means "close friend", which I think is the greatest thing that Usagi provides for her fellow Sailor Soldiers and it also happens to be the name of the magazine, which originally serialised the manga. As Usagi doesn't go half-measure with anything she loves, I picked the rabbit-ear head dress from the Marshmallow Bunny series, a Pom-Pom blouse and boots to finish off this girly, wintery coordinate.
What did you think of my coordinates? Have you dressed any of your favourite fictional charters in Lolita? Do you have other dresses you see the sailor soldiers in? Feel free to comment below.
Until next time...
