3 prints you would like to see (3)

I admit, Lolita prints are my weakness. Some of them are so fantastic, that I want them on my dresses, on my wall, and even on my body!

Having said that, there are a lot of themes that keep being done over and over again, which while great in some ways (maybe you could get a Day Dream Carnival if you’ve missed out on the Sugary Carnival?), can get a bit repetitive, especially if what you’re after isn’t any of the popular themes for prints. Oh, another Alice in Wonderland thing? *Great!* So in the spirit of the upcoming New Year, and with the hope that maybe some of those Lolita wishes of mine will come true, here are three prints that I personally would like to see more of.

DIY gift ideas (10)

With Christmas, the season of giving, fast approaching, I thought this would be a great topic for a blog post. I’m not the best at crafts, in fact most of my creative juices have gone into writing, dancing and baking, with very little left for other stuff. However, I think that even I could do those projects, as they require absolutely no special skills other than knowing how not to glue your fingers together. I also tried to stick to Lolita fashion, so no home décor stuff which is also great if you are into the Lolita lifestyle. So, without further ado, here are my DIY gift ideas for Lolitas.

Design a complete, shopable, coord for under $100 (1)

Doing a full, shopable Lolita coord on $100 (which is about £66) is a challenge in itself – it’s absolutely doable, but it’s still a challenge. However, at first I wanted to make this an extra special challenge by using at least the main pieces that I own already. Sadly, the dress I had in mind for my Sweet Lolita coord (Bodyline’s Sweet Macaron, or L249), is no longer being sold, and my only Classic Lolita main piece is brand, so wouldn’t fit there anyway. Therefore, I’ll have to stick to things I can find within the depths of the Internet. I’m also only doing two options, Sweet and Classic, because I don’t feel confident/knowledgeable enough about Gothic to even think of something good, but also because those are the two styles that I go for (with a fairly strong preference for Sweet). The rule I’m following while assembling these outfits is that as well as being complete and shopable they have to be something that I’d personally wear – or at least would be ok wearing, even if some bits aren’t quite my cup of tea.

What I’m not including in this challenge are petticoats and shipping prices. Pettis because this should be an investment, so that it lasts you as long as possible and goes with the majority of your wardrobe – that would make me run over the budget of $100 if I included it. As for postage, that can always add up quickly, especially when you’re ordering things from East Asia, so again, a potential for spiking the prices here. However, $100 plus shipping, which usually isn’t that much, especially if you’re willing to wait, is still quite cheap for Lolita, so nobody should be put off by the whole coord (minus petti) being a bit over that.

3 trends I could never get into (2)

There are plenty of trends within Lolita. Though I think I’m still new enough that I had to have a quick read through other blog posts for this topic just to get an idea of what people mean by “trend”, as at first I thought of styles (maybe I’ll do a post like this too). It took a little while to come up with three that I genuinely felt I couldn’t get into. There’s plenty of stuff that’s not to my taste right now, such as stuffed animal bags or gingham dresses, but I can’t say that I’d never change my mind (my main issue with stuffed animal bags is that they don’t have much space, and I’m still giving gingham dresses a chance). But the three here are definite “nopes” for me, doubt I’d ever come round on those.

Frill-talia: An outfit inspired by a country (28)

I take it that the inspiration can be anything, from flag colours and symbolism/things associated with that country all the way to that country's culture and incorporating that into Lolita. This is what I have done, and in all fairness, this is a coordinate which I would love to wear one day. Small chances, unless I slim down a lot to fit into Alice and the Pirates clothes, but hopefully it won't be too impossible. (Please, forgive me my poor photo-editing skills, I only have free software that I haven't used in years.)

Favourite makeup tips (4)

So in the past few weeks since I joined some Lolita communities (as of today, still mostly online), I read quite a few Lolita blogs and watched way more Lolita videos and vlogs than is really good for me. This has become my new pastime of sorts. But as I read and watched, I noticed this thing called Lolita Blog Carnival – the idea that on a set date all participating bloggers write a post on a set topic, and then link to each other’s blogs to spread the variety of ideas, styles and points of view within Lolita. And as I read and watched, I realised that I want to be a part of this, that I have something to say about some of the topics. So while I can’t officially participate (yet?), I decided to write those posts anyway. I won’t add “Lolita Blog Carnival” to the post title, but in brackets I’ll add the week that topic was covered, and anyone who’s interested should be able to then search for other posts on that topic via Google or YouTube.

I decided to start with this one, because I adore makeup, I actually had a phase of wanting to be a makeup artist when I was younger, and at least amongst my friends I found that there’s plenty of people who don’t know how to go about doing their make-up. I can’t do any cosplay-style face changing tricks, though I’m slowly getting the hang of contouring, but for the purpose of this post I’ll focus on easy things you can do that can make a big difference to a simple makeup. A lot of this knowledge/inspiration comes from vintage fashion/hair/makeup YouTubers (specifically Cherry Dollface and A Vintage Vanity), but also from drag, burlesque, Bollywood, a whole bunch of YouTube makeup tutorials and a few years of my own experience. When reading, do bear in mind that I am a white woman in my 20s, so not everything may work for other, especially non-Western features. It’s important that you don’t take everything at face value, but experiment in your free time to find out what works for you and what doesn’t (you really don’t want to be experimenting on the day of a tea party or important meet and find out last minute that something doesn’t suit you).

My Lolita inspirations

Partly because of how I got into Lolita, and partly because of how passionate I am about all my other interests, I think that I don't always follow the usual Lolita style patterns. Yes, I feel comfortable classing myself as a sweet Lolita (with plenty of princess Lolita influences - I'm an ama* with love for drama!), but I like incorporating other themes or styles into it, as well as being a bit creative esecially with how I accessorize my coords. So I thought about writing a little bit about the other things that inspire my Lolita style and fashion choices. I'm not really hoping to achieve anything with it, just share a few things that I enjoy and that inspire me.

* ama - short for amai, which is Japanese for "sweet"

Hello, it's me

Since I decided to join LJ for the purpose of following Lolita communities and sales, I felt almost a need to get all the Lolita thoughts, wishes, worries, rants and more off my chest. Better out than in, right?

So for anyone who happens to read this: hello! I go by the nickname Cupcake Kamisama, but my name's Paulina. I live in the UK and got into Lolita during my first study abroad trip to Japan in spring/summer 2011. It started kind of despite Lolita, as in I bought a JSK from Bodyline which I thought would work great as a 1950s-like halterneck (the Wrap Ribbon Halter Neck JSK, l262 in red, for those interested) - and then started looking into it more and coming back to the Osaka Bodyline store and their website more often. By the time I went to Japan for my second study abroad in autumn 2013, I was getting the hang of it, and by the time I came back home in autumn 2014, I was fully in it, understanding the differences between brands, styles, subtleties of coords and, most importantly, what kind of style I like as a Lolita. As well as made some Lolita friends. ^^ Now I'm just in a constant state of woe that I keep finding new pieces I love, but can't afford. And that I don't have nearly as many chances to wear it as I'd love, but at least that one I can work with!

Why Cupcake Kamisama? During my second year abroad I gained a bit of a reputation amongst my friends and local community as a good baker, with one friend declaring me a "cupcake goddess" or, in Japanese, a "cupcake kamisama". Later I started an informal business selling cakes and cupcakes under the same name, and the nickname sort of stuck. It's also probably the cutest/most Lolita nickname from the ones I go by on the Internet and the real world, so why not? And who knows, if I ever start another baking business (or maybe even a Lolita business, who knows), I could reuse the name.

And there it is, that's me, with a very simplified version of how I got into Lolita and who I am. There will be more to come, though don't expect any regularity, this really is meant to be a way for me to vent. So until next time. Ta!

 
Coord details:
| AP Merry Making Party OP (yellow) | cupcake earrings: Kinji, Ame-mura, Osaka | hair clip: Paris Kids, Harajuku, Tokyo | shoes (not pictured): Bodyline s522 (sax) |