DIY Cardigan Ideas

There's no denying it, Lolita brand cardigans and boleros are absolutely adorable, but unless you hunt them down second hand, they're also quite expensive. Very often they are quite simple too, to the point where you think that you could do it yourself. And you can with a suitably classic offbrand cardigans nabbed at a sale or from charity shops, so below are a few of my own cardigans that I managed to get cheaply and lolify them.

Five Year Loliversary

At the beginning of the month, when browsing my Facebook news feed, I stumbled upon a post on Closet of Frills. I can’t remember the exact coord on the photo, but that was not the point – the point and the occasion why that Lolita posted was that in lieu of her 10 year Loliversary (anniversary of getting her first Lolita dress and getting into the fashion) she and her comm celebrated with a meet up. It was a themed one as well, asking people to wear the earliest-released piece which they own. And this got me thinking…

1 Dress 8 Looks Take 3

Somewhere along the way I decided that since the first two posts were with my very first two Lolita dresses, I should at least try to continue in this fashion and keep doing those posts in the order in which I acquired my dresses. Also, since this JSK proved so versatile, I couldn't limit myself to just four styles – instead I decided to go wild and keep creating coords until I ran out of options. As you can see, I managed to double up, but if I had more accessories, especially socks and headwear, I know I’d keep going!

DIY Magic Stars Bracelet

Although I love Sweet Lolita, I haven’t gone quite into chocolate prints and themes just yet. Not exactly sure why, since chocolate is my drug of choice, although it’s most likely to do with the chocolate prints not coming in shades of blue or red (now that’d be some odd chocolate indeed). However, when I saw these adorable Milky Way Magic Stars charms on eBay I simply could not resist: I had to get them and make something out of them.

Florence Foster Jenkins

I realise that so far the two Lolita enrichment posts weren’t about things that are accessible to everyone – those unable to read Japanese would only be able to look at photos. But this time I’m going to talk about a newly-released film. With Maryl Streep, Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg, so you know that even if you’re first language isn’t English, you can count on it coming your way with subtitles.

Soufflesong Ice Prism Chiffon Blouses review

I ordered these what now seems like forever ago. However, even though it's been a while, I thought it was still worth getting the review up.

Bank Holiay Afternoon Tea coord

All right, it wasn’t exactly on the Bank Holiday Monday, the afternoon tea was on Sunday, but it still counts!

To celebrate I went with my Mum for an afternoon tea at what is probably the fanciest hotel in Bradford, the Great Victoria Hotel. Even though the weather was on the grey side, the day was brightened up by this gorgeous JSK from Haenuli, which I wore properly for the first time.

| Haenuli Whipped Cream Kitty JSK | vintage blouse | offbrand sweater tights
| Bodyline S274 heels | head bow (JSK waist ribbon) | offbrand cat brooch
| offbrand wig in "Flaxen yellow" |

Better shot of the head piece.
Click to enlarge.

I was so excited to wear this I wore it all day. It is one of the most adorable prints and I wanted to keep it the focus of the coord, which is why the accessories are minimal. In fact, I didn’t even have anything in my hair until the last minute before leaving, when I managed to improvise and create this little bow using the waist ribbon from the JSK, a hairband, an alligator clip and one of my Mum’s lovely brooches. I want to try making more hair accessories using this little method, but that’s for later. This is also the first time I wore a full wig with Lolita – I usually try to create something out of my own hair, but in case I bumped into someone, especially a student of mine, I’d rather not be recognised. In the end we didn’t bump into anyone we knew, but at least the wig looked cute with that JSK.

We had a very lovely afternoon tea, I was glad to introduce my Mum to this very British concept. For a Victorian building the inside of the hotel was decorated more modern, but it still felt fancy. Oh, and the cakes! The sandwiches were alright too, but those cakes, every single one of them, were absolutely gorgeous. Once I get round to organising a meet for my comm, I will keep that place in mind, the staff seemed pretty alright with me being in Lolita, even if it was just Mum and me, and one other couple for most of the time we spent there.

Lolidrobe Reassessment Post 2

It’s been a while since the beginning of the year Lolidrobe Reassessment Post, but I did warn that they won’t be a regular thing. Having said that, many things and changes have happened during this time, which in turn makes the post all the more worthwhile. So let’s get right to it!