Low Energy Lolita - Tips for Bad Mental Health Days

Hi all...

Long time no see. It's been a few months again and a bit up and down at that. Without going too deep into things, I have been dealing with some mental health issues for a while but particularly in the last four or five months. This has affected my ability to do everyday things including, of course, wearing lolita fashion. 

I reduced the amount of meets so that I had time enough for self care. As a result, the days when I went to meet ups were very important to me. There were some times when I would be having a bad mental health day but a lolita meet so I would need to wear low maintenance looks for those occasions. I wanted to share with you the items I like to use on those days.

Just a disclaimer, I understand that it is not always possible to wear lolita and go to meets when you are experiencing depression. Depression affects each person differently so you will need to make your own judgement on whether you have enough energy to wear lolita or go to meets. 

With that said, here are the items that I gravitate towards when I'm having a tough day. Most of these items are about getting a decent enough look whilst minimising effort and discomfort. 

Elasticated Onepiece

A one-piece is exactly that: a full outfit with one piece. Less pieces, less time, less effort; all things I consider when I don't have a lot of energy and don't feel good. It's gotta be stretchy too. Whether it's shirred or with an elasticated waist, I love an OP that gives you room to breathe. I find the more restrictive my outfit is, the more anxious I feel so I stay away from corsets or any tight fitting clothing. 

In my wardrobe (from the left)

Abandoned Night Chiffon OP by Baroque

Mystic Chiffon OP by Alice and the Pirates

Girly Note OP by Metamorphose Temps de Fille

 

Other Ideas (from the left)

Angel Wing Cutsew OP by Alice and the Pirates

Charming Dot by Angelic Pretty

Beloved Bloom Lace Puff Sleeve dress by Metamorphose Temps de Fille

The sack dress, fully-shirred bust OP or fully-shirred back OP would all be options for comfort and cuteness. 

Overknee Printed Tights/Socks

Printed tights add interest to your outfit. When I'm in a low mood, I tend to want to show even less skin than usual. Cotton overknee socks are often too hot in the Australian weather and I feel like they make my legs look wide so I prefer tights or socks in a stretchy fabric which cover skin, are cooler and often look better on my legs. 

My Wardrobe (from the left)

Kingdom Tights by Beth

Funeral Procession of Rose socks by Alice and the Pirates

Other Options (from left)

Elizabeth tights by Innocent World

Cream Cookie Parade by Angelic Pretty

Milky Pony Carnival by Angelic Pretty

Look for tights with a pattern down the middle for a leg slimming effect. 

Cardigans/Capes

Just like an elasticated one-piece, wearing a comfy cardigan or cape is a way to hide arms or décolletage without the discomfort of a blouse. While a blouse can feel constricting and starchy, a cardigan or cape is stretchy and soft. There's also nothing better than a knit or fluffy cape to help make me feel cosy and comforted on a bad day. 

My wardrobe (from left)

Bunny Ear Fur Cape by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Cardigan with Fur by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Other Options (from left) 

Rose and Little Bird Hood Cape by Innocent World

Heart Cardigan by Innocent World

Arab Knitted Short Cape by Alice and the Pirates

Soft, fuzzy and comfy is the aim with capes and cardigans. 

Make Up 

Generally, putting on makeup to match my lolita look is one of my favourite parts of lolita but when I don't have a lot of energy, I don't want to spend time on doing intricate makeup so I find the following items really useful. 

A medium brown eyeshadow and a glittery white eyeshadow 

Brown is a fairly neutral colour with many shades to suit all skin tones and dress colours. It's a colour that you can brush over your lid for a light shade or build up to create depth. Adding the white shadow near the tear duct in the inner corner of your eye creates depth and opens your eyes. This means you don't need to spend time choosing colours and creating looks. 

Pen tip Eyeliner and mascara 

Pen-tip eyeliner with mascara adds drama without the mess of false eyelashes. For me, false eyelashes are annoying to apply on the best of days, so on a day where I lack motivation and energy, having an eyeliner that draws smoothly is essential. This gives the illusion of dramatic eyes and with mascara it's often enough for my coordinate. Your face may not look "beat to the gods" but it's dramatic enough to carry the lolita look. 

Blush and Highlighter

Use a blush pallet with high lights and blush in one compact. Usually I combine two or three different colours from a couple of different pallets on my cheek, I will do some contouring around my face, put blush on my cheek and add a tiny bit of highlight. On a rough day I can use one pallet and a few strokes to minimise fuss and get colour and dimension on my face. 

Medium coverage lipgloss 

Rather than a creamy lipstick or a clear lipgloss, I would chose a lip gloss (in pink, of course) with medium coverage (and glitter, lots of glitter) for a quick but finished look. The reason why I don't chose a lipstick is it makes me look more mature and I prefer the glassy, less defined look of a lipgloss. 

Lip Stain

I also use lip stains because it leaves a soft impression and stays on your lips so you don't need to reapply often. 

Here are some looks I put together on some of the days I wasn't feeling well. They required minimal effort and were comfortable enough to wear for the duration of the meet. 

A comfortable outfit for an afternoon Murder Mystery Meet

Cats Window Velveteen OP with Putumayo 

Cotton Frill JSK by Victorian Maiden

Offbrand knit with chiffon sleeves

Offbrand tights and shoes

Detachable Shoe bows by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Necklace by Innocent World

Christmas in July!

Mystic Chiffon OP Funeral Procession of Rose tights by Alice and the Pirates  

Cardigan with Fur, Logo Beret, head bow by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Off brand shoes 

Relaxed and cosy for a Sailor Moon marathon. 

Girly Note OP by Metamorphose Temps de Fille 

Bunny Ears Fur Cape and Mini Usuakumya pochette by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

There are my tips for when you're not feeling well or don't have a lot of energy. What are your tips when you're having a tough time? I'd love to know. 

Hoping you are able to take the time you need to take care of yourself. Wishing all of you health and happiness. 

Until next time...

Lolita Quiz Night

A Fun Quiz Night on a Rainy Saturday Night

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a lolita quiz night organised by Susie. The meet was incredibly well organised and a lot of fun. One of the lolitas said it really well when they said that they really enjoy the meets that are held at people's houses because they are relaxed and people really dress up because it's usually held inside. 

 The host and I. Cute! I went for pout but ended up in blue steel territory. 

Getting Ready

I was running around all day doing shopping and washing like an adult. When I looked at my watch, it was only an hour until the meet and I wasn't even close to ready! I hadn't even decided what I should wear, only that I wanted to use my own hair which I realised would be impossible with the limited time I had. So that went out the window. -sad face- I went with my favourite long wig from Gothic Lolita wigs. 

I recently pulled all my lolita clothes out and started to display them on a rack in my room. I'm still undecided on whether I should get a manikin or not but it's tempting! So I looked through my items and went for Kuma Kumya's Sweet Chocolate babydoll dress in dark brown and mint by Baby the Stars Shine Bright. I paired it with a very traditional mix of a cotton blouse, beige socks, chunky shoes and I used the waist bow as a head bow to create volume. It's definitely one of my favourite coordinates from this year so far. 

 Gotta love filters. 

Dress, blouse, socks - BTSSB

Wig - Gothic Lolita Wigs 

Shoes - Bodyline

At the Meet

I arrived quite late but was able to slot into a team with two good friends, Siobhan and Frances, at the beginning of the second round. The quiz had a number of different rounds and was a mix of lolita and general knowledge. Susie had a power point made up complete with a kawaii golem picture to introduce the final round ("one round to rule them all" was the title). I managed to help with some of the answers in the quiz too. -fist pump- Susie was an fantastic quiz master and kept the 15 or so people that turned up very entertained. At the end of the quiz the team that I was in won! Susie had prizes for each person in the team in gorgeous hand-decorated bags. Here are some of the prizes that we won: 

 

 

There was also a gold butterfly clip and a bracelet with a bird cage and a green ribbon on it. You can see the butterfly clip in a few of the shots here because I put it on immediately. The bracelet that I got I gave to a team member because she has a print with a bird cage on it and I don't have any green in my wardrobe. I know she'll be able to wear it a lot more often than me. It has a good home now and will get the attention it deserves. -single tear- Meanwhile I'm so happy with my stickers which I will use in scrap booking and letter writing. I also love Elizabeth from Gintama. 

Mini-Games

Susie also organised two mini games. One was a caption the meme game, which was hilarious in its own right. The other was a "create your own ouji accessory" game. An ouji accessory is the gentleman wearing aristocrat or boy style fashion who caters to your every whim as a lolita. A concept created by Australian filmmakers, Deerstalker Pictures. 

We had some very -ahem- sexy paper dolls to decorate as we liked. The dolls were designed and drawn by the host herself which was impressive! Then we had a voting competition with all the decorated paper dolls to choose the winner of the prize. Voting consisted of sticking stickers of cats onto a post-it note beside each entry. Each part of the night was lovingly organised and lolita-appropriate.

 

Sexy paper dolls. I love the names though: Randy Grills, Harry Hotter and Bill McSexyface. 

In the end it was Siobhan and I who came a draw and we had to do an "ouji-off" and explain why we had the best ouji accessory. I started the ouji-off by explaining that my ouji accessory had a matching coordinate and a credit card at my disposal. Siobhan began her spiel "as you can see, my ouji is already laying down so you don't have to step in that puddle". It just continued to get better including a completely reversible outfit which was white. Needless to say, I didn't have any problem coming second after a hilarious explanation. 

 

Food

 

This meet was "bring a plate" style. I brought along some dips and biscuits because they're easy to eat and garlic bread for something warm because it was a drizzly day. However, none of my food got touched or even taken out of the fridge because there was already so much food available! Some of it was home made and some of it was shop-bought. It was everything (apart from macarons) that a lolita would want. 

Here are some of the items:

 

Pizza, homemade green tea and chocolate cupcakes (which were delicious), cream puffs, brownies which had edible sparkles, an amazing lemon meringue pie, chocolate mousse cake and even vegetables sticks and dip to offset the cake. 

There was hardly enough space on the table to put everything and I had fun putting aside whatever plan I had for healthy eating for the night and simply enjoying what was on offer. 

Photos

After the quiz and mini-games had finished, we went to Susie's space where she keeps all her lolita dresses to take photos of our outfits. Firstly, take a look at this space. It's an entire room dedicated to frills and whimsy. 

 

 

 And now onto the outfits of some of the attendees. 

 

I was really happy with my coordinate. I was inspired by old-school ones that were simple with thick fabrics and chunky shoes. My pose was inspired by all the kuro gyaru videos I've been watching. 

 

Another Sarah! As sweet as all of the cakes at the meet. I love the flower crown and crown tights tying the theme together in this outfit. I also love the rhapsody wig.

You can see her lolita and black milk outfits and gemsonas on her instagram: http://instagram.com/radsham

 

Classy and sweet with the matching beret, no less! This displays the power of an experienced lolita - both the dress and beret were bought separately. I love this print and the appliqué. There are a few designs with these kinds of details on them such as embroidery and I think they make the dress so unique. That's her own hair too. 

Siobhan has a tumblr blog: http://fragmentwsd.tumblr.com/

 

A gorgeous sweet print! I love the colours on this dress and the art on the cookies. The stripes make this print so fun. 

Take a look at Angie's gorgeous water colour art: http://instagram.com/ang_3_

 

Circus twins, Mhairi and Chelsea! Both of these are really strong circus prints. I love the border print style of each dress. The matching hats are too adorable. These two are mysterious beings and not much else is known about them. 

Karina, I love this colour on you. I am definitely part of the sash brigade. Regal themes have got to be one of my favourite themes in lolita. I also have a lot of love for buttons and tassels and this dress has both. And you know I can't get enough of berets and barrettes. 

Karina also has an instagram featuring her cosplays as well as her lolita: http://instagram.com/rafiraga She's a self-confessed traffic cone enthusiast. 

 

Megan was a Gothic Queen. I really like how the tights tie in with the theme of the dress. I felt that the hair colour was a good choice too as it was an ashy colour like a ghost but it had enough colour in it to be able to hold its own with the deep colour of the dress.  

Check out Megan's lolita outfits, other fashion styles and some of her illustrations on her instagram: http://instagram.com/meganscream

 

Our host, Susie. Susie loved this outfit and so did everyone at the meet. With big frame glasses and a grey wig, she called herself a granny lolita, which everyone went along with by calling her "Gran" for the night. I thought the juxtaposition of the youthful sweet lolita outfit was great with the glasses and grey hair. I felt it worked because the dress had no print and also had a cape making it look a little "old fashioned". The coordinate was fun and looked like it was quite comfortable too. 

Check out her instagram which includes her and I squad posing from a previous meet: http://instagram.com/sugercandyfashion

Finally, here are some photos I managed to snap. I need to get better at taking lots of photos. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

This meet contained a lot of food, a lot of laughs and a lot of fun. I know it wasn't just me that really enjoyed it too. I want to take the time to thank Susie for going all out including moving her furniture so fifteen or so frilly butts could fit in her lounge room, organising for her gorgeous dogs to sleep over to protect our dresses, buying a whole bunch of gorgeous prizes with her hard-earned dollars, doing a huge raffle, organising a quiz, drawing sexy paper dolls and letting us use her house for what was a fantastic meet. It was a lot of work and it didn't go unnoticed by any means. Thank you so much Susie! 

 

Next meet is the International Lolita Day meet on the first Saturday of June. I am already thinking about what to wear! 

Until next time...

Fashion Show @ Madman Anime Festival

The Madman Anime Festival Lolita Fashion Show

It's been a dream of mine for a while now to participate in a Lolita fashion show and the Madman Anime Festival presented a perfect opportunity to get involved in one. 

Working full-time I haven't had a lot of time to do much Lolita so when the organiser asked for a coordinate picture, my submission was a previous outfit I had worn. I was very excited when it came to the day and spent quite a lot of time on preparations which included going all out by putting on bottom lashes!

I only found the wig at the last minute as it was tucked away in a totally non-Lolita bag (most embarrassing behaviour). I was really happy with the way the outfit turned out. 

  

We all met up in the foyer and were led to a green room out the back of the theatre stage. It was a proper, proper dressing room with lights around the mirrors. I took a couple of dressing room pictures with all the frills inside the one room. 

 

The good lighting created perfect selfie conditions and this created a photographic frenzy from the shutter happy amongst us (including myself). 

Here are some of the outfits from the fashion show. I apologise if I didn't get around to taking a picture for those that didn't get one. 

Prince and Princess. The only pair coordinate in the fashion show and superbly done. The princess's head dress is actually made by the model with string of pearls that hang between the spires. Making sure the headdress was secure looked like a task but it surely paid off for the walk. 

   

I love the blend of old-school Lolita here with the head dress and rocking horses mixed with the relatively recent trend of adding boz jackets to frilly dresses. Usually reserved for the comparatively unfrilly gothic and lolita or aristocrat sub genres. 

 

The walk that these two frill-seekers did during the show was nothing short of adorable. I've always loved the Bodyline Cinderella Bunny print!

 

I actually love this coordinate. Particularly the dress which is from Taobao. The fabric was lovely too. 

 

Well, you can tell what I thought from this filter. #godess

I loved the all white coordinate balanced out with darker shoes and accessories. 

I really love this print and the umbrella made the whole coordinate look so elegant. 

This coordinate was a deliberate mix of genres. Spooky and cute. The horns were a great touch, I thought. I would like to implement some in a coordinate one day, myself. 

I really enjoyed dressing up, seeing everyone and their amazing coordinates and planning the fashion show. Unfortunately there were some hiccups with the organisation of the show that did put a dampener on things. We were forgotten in the dressing room and ended up starting an hour late. However, the show came off smoothly and we went into the festival afterwards to enjoy the show. 

There was a room filled with many stalls with DVDs, manga, merchandise and other things; a stage for interviews; movie room and a maid cafe. I was only interested in going to the maid cafe and checking out the Sailor Moon goods because it's usually quite expensive at these kinds of events. The line to the maid cafe was really long so I went straight to the stalls. There were cardboard cutouts of LoveLive characters and some posters of popular anime. I enjoyed posing in front of a Sailor Moon poster and taking selfies. I also got my picture taken in front of a cherry blossom background and got a print out for free! 

In the end, I didn't end up buying any merchandise or going to the cafe. The Sailor Moon DVDs didn't even tempt me. I was hoping for a box set with pretty cover art. Unfortunate but on the positive side, I didn't spend any money. 

I really enjoyed dressing up in lolita after a long while and enjoyed participating in the fashion show. I hope I can do it again next year. 

Beret, Necklace, Blouse, Kumya-Kumya, Socks: BTSSB

JSK: Krad Lanrete - Phantom of the Opera

Head bow: Innocent World

Ring: Q-pot

Shoes: off-brand 

First Lolita Meet 2017 - High Tea and Spontaneous Cocktails

It was high time for High Tea...

Well, it's been a while! I've been back in Australia for a while now (since June 2016) and living in Perth. 

Amongst adult-ing for the past nine or ten months, I've not been out in frills or updated the blog. However, I had the most marvellous chance to head out for a high-tea at the Crown Casino this last weekend. Although the weather has been incredibly hot recently, I was enthusiastic about joining the Perth Community for cake and a cup of coffee.

Thoughts on Preparedness...

When the actual day came, the weather was warm but not overly hot. I had decided previously that I would wear Esprit de la Belle Époque de Paris by Baby and wear it with the matching bonnet, which I hadn't had the chance to wear out as yet.  I chose a short-sleeve blouse (the same one I picked up at Baby the Stars Shine Bright Kyoto in April last year) because of the summer heat and my go to off-white wrist cuffs. Honestly, I can't say how useful the Innocent World haul has been for my wardrobe. I knew that the brown bag and the shoes would match the dark brown bows on the dress and just like that my outfit had come together. Thanks to my lovely friend Stephanie who gets the all the preparedness awards for bringing a nifty little camera and taking outfit photos of everyone, including mine. 

Bonnet: Esprit de la Belle Époch à Paris - BTSSB

Blouse: Spring Garden Chiffon Blouse - BTSSB

Jumperskirt: Esprit de la Belle Époch à Paris - BTSSB

Wrist cuffs: BTSSB

Socks: Esprit de la Belle Époch à Paris - BTSSB

Shoes: Innocent World

Despite being fatigued from the past few weeks, I became incredibly excited when I tried on the bonnet with a wig and the colours worked well together. I even had enough time to paint my nails and put on some fake lashes so I felt extra special.

If there's something I've learnt about getting ready for meets over the years, it's "prepare in advance". Knowing what you will wear, how much time it will take to get to the meeting place and giving yourself enough time to shower, get make up on, get dressed, change bags and do a last minute check makes things much easier on the day. I will decide what time I need to start getting ready and what time I need to leave the house to get to the meeting place in good time a day or two before the event. Conversely, I've found concentrating on getting ready too much really tires me out so I try not to spend too much more time than usual on doing makeup. I'm sure everyone has their own personal balance. How do you feel about getting ready? Is it tiring or invigorating?

High Tea at the Atrium...

I arrived earlier than expected and waited to meet up with everyone. It was lovely! The lobby had a gorgeous decoration in the centre to celebrate Chinese New Year. It became a feature of our outfit photos when everyone arrived. 

I hadn't seen many people for a long time. It was wonderful to meet up with some people I hadn't seen in a while and meet some new people in the comm. First, we took obligatory outfit shots and then headed in for high tea. I snapped a little shot of all our frilly butts before we went in to The Atrium.

The high tea was a buffet and needless to say there were a number of cute desserts available. Many of the lolitas were drawn to the many colourful macaroons on offer and I couldn't help getting a plate full of colour coordinated sweets. Afterwards, I chose a plate of savoury food to balance out the sweet. Well, you wouldn't think that such small cakes would take up so much room but I was close to full so after a final plate of some fruit and marshmallows dipped in chocolate I was done! I regretted eating a full breakfast as I felt it undermined my ability to fully enjoy the dessert buffet.

A Conveniently Placed Bar...

After we left the buffet, we chatted for a while - catching up on recent happenings or simply reminding each other of what jobs we do. A member had prepared a prize lottery for us and I got a gorgeous blue hair clip. It was very unexpected and it seemed that everyone thoroughly enjoyed getting hair clips, bangles and even Sailor Moon socks! Finally, we got tired standing around in our tea parties and t-straps (and Mary Janes) so it was onto a couch with a conveniently placed bar right beside it. And that is how the unofficial cocktail meet began. I ordered a cocktail called Purple Rose (pictured below). Again, I was ruled by my desire for colour and thematic coherence. 

 

I was not alone though, and was very pleased when the lolita wearing Angelic Pretty's Melty Ribbon Chocolate ordered a chocolate cocktail. 

Chocolate goes best with chocolate 

Looking sophisticated in Melty Ribbon Chocolate

Check out @Rafiraga on Instagram

The chatting lasted for another couple of hours and even when we dispersed, we ended up re-grouping in the car park to discuss how UN-lolita most of our cars were. There must be a collective noun for lolitas somewhere - a giggle, a gaggle, a fluff? Perhaps it's a different noun depending on the style - a murder of gothic lolitas, for instance (I'm sure there was a chat about that on LiveJournal at some point). In any case, lolita was just a fashion when I began and it has become a social activity and a friends circle. I'm so thankful to have a group of people who live close by and are into the fashion. It was a while between drinks (literally and figuratively) but I really enjoyed getting back in the frills and having a chat with my frilly friends from the Perth Community.