Frillies You Find Inspirational

Although I’ve already done something similar in the past, this time instead of going into great lengths and detail I would like to do a shoutout to a few more Lolitas whom I find inspiring.

First, because of that previous post, I have to mention Sanakanin. Her way of putting items together and layering them to create the Lolita silhouette and look, rather than rely on ready made things, is insanely inspiring and eye-opening. It takes a great understanding of the fashion and of clothes to be able to create so many varied, indisputably Lolita outfits with so many 100% offbrand pieces. And it is that master level creativity that I find inspiring. Anyone can just put together pieces intended for Lolita fashion – but to put together pieces which are totally unrelated and still create a Lolita outfit is a skill that I can only aspire to develop.

The other frillies are actually a lot closer to home. The Mighty Mushroom is from my very own local comm and it’s incredible to have someone this inspiring be this real. Very often her style and choices are close to my own, but I find that her outfits, whether simpler or OTT, are always very polished and this is what inspires me. Every time there’s a meetup, I think about what she is wearing and how she’s wearing it, picking up little tips on how to improve on my own coords. Most of the time the answer seems to be in getting the accessories down to the T – it’s true that the smallest things make the biggest difference.

Although further away, by virtue of the UK being a relatively small island, kaixin_k is also a local Lolita for me. She started the Tea Party Club, which is the UK association of Lolitas, and grew it from a small meet up to an annual anniversary extravaganza which will reach its 10^th anniversary event this year! It’s both her style – very elegant, intricate and, again, polished and detail-oriented – and her passion and enthusiasm for the fashion and the local community that’s so inspiring. It’s obvious that Tea Party Club means a lot to her and we can only hope that it will continue to mean a lot. Even though I’ve only been to one TPC event, I just feel it in me that they’re the best!

Finally, on a similar note, I feel that this list wouldn’t be complete without Shin Haenuli, the owner and designer of Haenuli. Before meeting her I only appreciated the clothes she designs. Now, having met her at Wicked and Whimsy and following her on various social media, I understand just how much passion she has for her art – and it is art! Not only this, Nunu is very much the designer of the people. She wears Lolita herself and understands the fashion from the point of view of a regular wearer, as well as that of a designer. She is very vocal about how much the support means to her, which rings true with emotion, something which you don’t always see or hear with other designers (maybe they’re too Japanese and formal to express their gratitude so emotionally?). But more importantly Nunu designs things which are unique (Just One Bite is still making me consider trying out Gothic) and made with us, the Lolitas, in mind. If you doubt that, then just look at her last series, The Story You Don’t Know – if it wasn’t for fans being so vocal about how much they loved Haenuli’s artwork, she probably wouldn’t have put that in an artbook, let alone on a dress.

There were one or two other people I considered adding to this list, however, in the end I decided against that. I do very often find myself feeling inspired by a single outfit or a couple of single outfits – but the four Lolitas here create things which inspire me consistently, without fail. Their style, their expression of the fashion and the other things that they do to engage with the fashion are things that I look up to and learn from in order to become a better Lolita myself.

How about you? Who do you find inspiring, if there is anyone? I feel that it’s always good to share those inspirations, as there may be people out there you could learn a lot from, but whom otherwise you wouldn’t have come across.

As I’m away this weekend, I won’t be able to update the links until I return on Sunday, so remember to check back on this post to see who other bloggers find are inspiring them!

Vanilla Bear
Pom Pommandarine
Poppy Noir
The Fat Flat Cat
Bloody Tea Party