My top 5 Style Influencers

Hello everyone! Long time no see!

Miss Lillith made me want AP's Gloria 

I was watching Lovely Lor's video What Influenced My Style?, and it got me thinking about where I get inspiration from --and who I think of when I try to picture what I want my ideal coordinates to look like. Though I had not consciously thought about it in a while, I was able to come up with a list pretty fast. There are just some lolitas that really left an impression of me. Here are my top 5 style influencers in no particular order:

5. Miss Lillith - Miss Lillith is a video game design student who loves otome games- a genre she is planning to add on with her own game. She no longer wears lolita often but, when she did, she wore gothic with a somewhat sweet touch. I picture her when I think of the word 'Koakuma' (Little Devil) because of her dark but doll-like aesthetic.

Marie Dauphine serving gothic looks

  4. Marie Dauphine - Speaking of gothic, Marie Dauphine is a gothic queen. She seems to be inspired by historical mourning wear, and blends her interest in taxidermy and the natural world with lolita. Her impeccable taste and ability to put together coordinates with different kinds of textures simply blows me away.

  3. MintKismet - Mintkismet has a mature sweet style. She has been dressing more in classic coordinates lately, but I take inspiration mostly from her sweeter side. She runs a shopping service in Japan. You can see her blog here, but she mostly posts on instagram these days.

My favorite MintKismet coord

Noke's coords are #goals 

2. Choconokecha (Noke): This Finnish lolita has flawless coordinates. Whether she is wearing an outfit for a big event or dressing down for casual errand running, Choconokecha's looks are put together with great attention to detail. She is also a fantastic illustrator and has a tumblr and a twitter. You can find her amazing art here. 

  1. Milkyfawn: This lolita has been gone from the fashion for quite some time. She starred in several of Deerstalker Pictures 2's videos, and garnered a lot of unwanted attention. As a result, she moved on elsewhere on her fashion journey. It is difficult for me to explain why I like Milkyfawn's style. It is not that I like specific coordinates, or that her blog hits Rilakkuma, chocolate, and pancakes --all of which I love. I believe that I am mostly a fan of the feeling that her coordinates evoke in me. 

I miss her quite a bit sometimes

I was fairly new to lolita when Deerstalker Pictures' videos were coming out, but I remember distinctly seeing how she behaved like a person in lolita as opposed to a perfect doll. She was depicted as unapologetically surrounded by what she loved, and I admire both that and her vast collection at the time. I also remember being quite sad when she left the fashion, but I am grateful she left up her old blog for coord inspiration and a trip down memory lane. While today I find some of her coordinates to be simple, I feel nostalgia for that simplicity. It was simplicity found not only in her coordinates but in my outlook of lolita in general. But more on that on another time. For now, I will leave you some questions:

Who or what do you draw inspiration from? 

What about them is special for you?

Thank you all for sticking around, and hopefully I'll see you all soon ^^!

- Keiko

Chicago Trip: Misako Aoki, Deadlift Lolita, and my First Tea Party!

Hey everyone!

Keiko here~

I am back from the Windy City and ready for some blogging action. It was a busy weekend full of panels, shopping, and even a tea party!

On the first day, I met Misako Aoki, the Japanese Lolita Ambassador. As expected, I was out-kawaii'd  by her. My impression of her was that she was definitely down-to-business. She kept her cute persona on the whole con quite well, and seemed to measure her words carefully at the Q&A session. As expected of a carefully preened model~

While she is not my favorite model for several reasons, it was still cool to meet her in person rather than see her in a postcard. I even got her to sign some of the merchandise I got at her signing session!

 During the Q&A session, I got the opportunity to ask her what her favorite dress was. She said it was probably My Favorite Ribbon in pink, which did not surprise me, since she helped design it herself. Additionally, I got to ask her whether or not she would be participating in the new release of Melt. Regrettably, the answer was no. She is already tied up with Kera, so we won't be seeing her in the new Mook.

On the first night, Ladybeard and Reika performed as the dynamic duo Deadlift Lolita. It had 'lolita' in it so, naturally, I had to check it out! I was happy to find that their songs suit my tastes --think the tough-cute balance of Babymetal. I had seen some of Ladybeard's previous work peripherally before, and I made sure to check Deadlift Lolita songs out beforehand to make sure I knew I was getting into, but watching them perform live was extra fun. They had a wrestling match in the middle of the concert! Unfortunately, none of the pictures or footage I took were good enough to post. But I have a polaroid I took with them at their signing session the next day~

Cute and tough make a great combination!

The second day was also when the fashion show took place. Unfortunately, only one of the two designers could make it. The prints were interesting, but not really my style, so I skipped buying anything lolita-related. Still, it must have been cool to have Misako model for them as an indie brand designer.

The designer answered some questions at the end and, though they tried their best, I couldn't help but feel a bit underwhelmed by the fashion show as a whole. The second designer was sorely missed, but perhaps next year they will have better luck.

The last day was reserved for the tea party. It had been one of my yearly goals to attend a lolita event of that nature, so I was naturally quite excited.

Here's what I wore to the occasion:

And here are some pictures of the Tea Party~

This lovely picture comes courtesy of Kassy Caldwell from Chigothloli - Chicago Convention Connection

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Have you been to a large tea party before? Or perhaps you've met a famous lolita? What's the most exciting event you've attended to? Feel free to share in the comments below~!

Keiko out!

Happy Blog Birthday & 2017 New Year's Goals

Hey everybody!
Today the blog turns a year old! Whooo! To celebrate, we have a layout change with new lovely art!

Yesterday I reviewed the final progress for this year's goals and, though 2016 sucked overall, I did well in terms of lolita. For this post, I put together 2017's resolution with ten separate goals to pursue. They are as follows:

1. Hold a meetup: Now that I've participated in a few meets, I think I'd like to put together my first one. I was thinking of doing a swap meet or casual tea somewhere, as it sounds like a good starting point in terms of event planning.

2. Go to a lolita event (tea party, fashion show, etc.): This is a rolling goal from last year. I'd love to participate in an fashion show, attend a tea party or a convention this year.

3. Keep a time for weekly blog posts: I haven't been very consistent in posting this year, and I'd really like to fix that. I think I'd like to post every Saturday at 3PM U.S. Central Time and do other non-scheduled posts either Fridays or Sundays at the same time.

4. Complete the 52 week lolita challenge: I'd like to take on F Yeah Lolita!'s 52 Week Challenge to make sure I post once a week. I think I'll just pick a random topic from their list and complete it out of order depending on what I feel like.

5. More coordinate pictures!: This one goes without saying! I'd love to use my mannequin more by at least posting monthly about what's on it.

Floordinates and Mannequin shots will come this year!

6. Have money set aside for lolita purchases: This goal came to mind thanks to Cupcake Kamisama's goals for this year. I'd really like to set aside some money to be prepared for expenses, just in case something big comes up that I really want!

7. Save for Outerwear sale and Black Friday sales: This goal goes hand in hand with the last one. I'm hurting badly for outerwear and Closet Child's and Lacemarket's Black Friday sales could help with that--as long as I finally am financially prepared for them!

8. Experiment with my nails more: I've been doing work on my hair and makeup this year and, while I'd like to continue experimenting on those two fronts, I feel like I've neglected to do my nails in a way that matches my coordinate well. That's gonna be my next area of exploration this year!

9. Update my wardrobe post: I'd like to complete my wardrobe post update by the end of January. I still haven't decided whether I want to do a video or just post pictures, but whatever I pick, expect a post :)!

10. Be more active in social media (Amino, Tumblr, Instagram): I recently joined Amino and, since I'm aiming to get more pictures this coming year, I think I'd like to update my social media accounts a bit more too. It'll be good to document progress with some purpose.

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Do you have any goals for this coming year, or will you take things as they come? Feel free to share your plans below as always~ <3!

This is Keiko and here's to a whole new year of blogging!

End of the Year Goal Review: 2016 in Retrospect

Hello everyone!
Keiko here~

It's finally that time of the year when we look back at what we have accomplished in the last 365 or so days. For this blog, it means that I'll be going back to do a final evaluation of how I did regarding my 2016 goals for lolita fashion. Do you remember what they are?

 2016 Lolita Goals

1. Create and keep a blog - I not only kept the blog, but I updated more than 52 times! That's about once a week or so, so technically this was successful.
2. Wear Lolita More often - I've stepped my game up with this goal, since I started going to meetups and wearing lolita to run errands. What I need to get better at is remembering to take pictures!
3. More Floordinates - I think this could have been much better this year. I just haven't really remembered to take pictures. Now that I have a mannequin, though, that's no excuse. I think for this coming year I'll establish a once a month or bimonthly post about 'What's on My Mannequin?' so I can force myself to remember to take pictures and practice coordinating.
4. Lolify Room - Success! The room I share with my husband has been solidly lolified. You can see my room tour post here. Maybe I should update it, since I've made some changes.
5. Go to a Lolita Event/ Meetup - I have attended three meetups this year with my local comm. It's been really fun and I'm super looking forward to joining them for more events. 

   

   Seeing beautiful lamps costumes with my comm was fun!

6. Participate in ILD -Finally participated in both Summer and Winter ILD! For next winter, I'd like to have more outerwear at the ready.
7. Wardrobe Post - The wardrobe post was one of the first goals completed. I would like to make an updated one with better lighting for this coming January :)
8. Practice Makeup - I've been practicing make up more often this year than ever before. It's fun to just try out looks to match upcoming coordinates and experiment a little as well.
9. Spend Less money - I did really well on this goal for a while, but then it came back with a vengeance when I started to get a coordinate ready for one of the meets. On the plus side, though I failed this goal, my wardrobe is definitely much more well-rounded now.
10. Lose Weight - I am stuck at the same weight. I have oscillated between going up some pounds and losing some, but the holiday season definitely set back my progress. I think next year I want to focus on my health, and this will be a big part of that.

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Did you have any goals last year? How did you do in meeting them? Share your 2016 lolita experience down below <3 ~

Keiko out~!