16. Ten Facts About My Wardrobe

Since I have an alternative hair cut, I only have a few options for loliable hairstyles, thusly I have a serious lack of hair accessories. I recently bought a wig so I can branch out a little more in this regard but I still don't have a whole lot of things to put on my head. On a related note, I have five different plain black bows. They're all different, despite being the same colour, and I somehow manage to use them all.

I make a lot of my own jewelry. About half my earrings and bracelets, and a third of my necklaces are all handmade by me. I really like making my own jewelry since it means I can tailor everything to my specific taste, since it can be hard to find cute jewelry with creepy themes that I like.

My absolute favourite theme to incorporate into my coords is bats. Right now, I only have a bat themed jsk and a bat necklace, but I also have some bat print fabric I plan on making into a skirt. I also recently ordered a super cute bat purse that should arrive soon and one of my next purchases will be Antique Beast's bat headress and those two things will likely end up in a LOT of my coords. However, besides bats, I have no other theme I can play off of without buying a bunch more things.

Right now, I only have four main colours in my wardrobe : black, white, pink and lavender. With the exception of a couple of offbrand items I've managed to coord, everything I own for lolita is one of those four colours.

One of the coords I'm the most proud of is an ero lolita coord pairing a sheer black blouse with my Twinklebat jsk worn as a skirt. I think I do a pretty good job of bringing a mature, sexy element to the coord while not sacrificing any of the lolita elements. Another coord I'm very proud of is a punk lolita coord that I have a variation of consisting entirely of offbrand or handmade items! Part of the reason I'm so proud of these two coords is because they're substyles that are rarely done because they're so hard to pull off, but I feel like they're some of my best coords.

With the exception of my Twinklebat jsk, every lolita item I own I spent a long time thinking over so I really, really love everything I own. I only buy things that will fit in with what I already own or plan to buy soon so I don't have a bunch of mismatched items I can't coord with anything. This is a great way to go about buying lolita but it was a habit I already had when I started buying lolita, lol.

Lastly, I have a pair of baby pink go go boots I intend to somehow coord with lolita. I have no idea how I'm going to manage this but I really, really want to try because I love style mixing so much.

Part 21/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

6. Favourite Lolita Brands

I've been a fan of lolita for something like ten (!!!!) years now. The fashion has gone through many changes in that time and so have I, so choosing just one brand that I love above all others is pretty much impossible. It doesn't help that I'm still a newbie when it comes to actually wearing lolita and, as such, I own no burando, but I have narrowed things down to three sections : my first love, what I like to look at, and what I like to buy.

Mary Magdalene's Enid Op

I've mentioned before how Mary Magdalene transformed my love of the fashion from passive observation to an active desire to wear these beautiful frilly clothes. I loved, and still love, the clean lines, the muted colours, and the elegant designs of the brand. Even though I no longer want to wear classic lolita myself, I love the look of it and Mary Magdalene will likely remain my favourite brand for the substyle for years to come.

A quick look at last month on my tumblr

Going by what I reblog most on tumblr, my favourite brand these days is hands down Angelic Pretty. It's not super surprising since I am predominately a sweet lolita and nothing beats Angelic Pretty's super cutesy prints. All the bows, sweets, and pinks the brand showcases has a real place in my heart and one day I would love to own some items from them.

Rouge Aerie's Nightmare Rising

Based on what I actually buy, western indie brands are without a doubt my favourite. The above jsk is my next purchase and with it, just about half my lolita wardrobe will be from western indie brands. They're the best option for me since I am both a plus size lolita and not a traditional sweet lolita. Western indie brands fit my body and my style better than burando and buying from them lets me support artists who love the same things I do.

I don't think I'll ever have a one true brand that I love above all others. Every lolita brand out there has something special to offer and I, personally, am more than happy to love them all.

Part 20/52 of the 52 Week Lolita Challenge.

1. 5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style.

My list of things every lolita should have is a bit... out of the norm. Instead of focusing on main pieces that lolitas need to fill out their wardrobes, I kept my list to the little things people may not even think about.

First up on my list is sunglasses. It's no secret that I love sunglasses, partially because I'm grossly photosensitive, but mostly because they're a great accessory that's really underrated. There has been a recent surge in styles sunglasses are being made in, from the simple to the OOT, so there's definitely a pair out there for every lolita's personal style. Lapin Chocolat did a post on cute loliable sunglasses that you can find here.

My next two items are things that you can't actually wear, but are great to have on hand anyway. A tube of E-6000 glue can make a real difference when the soles of your cute shoes start to peel away from the upper, saving you tons of money, and jewelry pliers will save the day when the findings of your favourite jewelry start to warp.

Two-way clips come in fourth on my list for sheer versatility. Wear them in your hair, wear them on your clothes, wear them clipped to your bag or your shoes; the possibilities are endless when you have both an alligator clip and a pin back.

Lastly, I think every lolita should have a handful of handkerchiefs. Mythbusters may have proven that handkerchiefs are actually really grossly unsanitary for blowing your nose, but they have tons of other uses. From dabbing the sweat away from your brow in the summer, to covering your lap to keep snack crumbs off your burando, to wiping off bus seats of anything icky, a handkerchief in your bag can go a long way to keeping you and your lolita neat and tidy.

Post 19/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

7. Why Do I Wear Lolita?

I have a tiny, unreliable income, I'm disabled in ways that makes getting dressed rather difficult, and I'm genderqueer with a masculine leaning identity. Lolita seems like the last fashion I would get into but yet, here I am in all my frilly wonder. Why I wear lolita can be largely boiled down to one reason : it makes me happy; but there are a lot of factors that have influence me into wearing the fashion myself instead of just admiring it.

Lolita, being an alternative fashion at its core, has always had guys wearing it. I've always been a very feminine person even though I don't identify as female at all, and I've always had a love for skirts and dresses and super cute clothes. Finding out that one of the lolita forefathers was male had a huge impact on the way I, this skinny little trans boy, viewed clothes in relation to gender. While the idea that clothing style has nothing to do with gender has only become prevalent in the United States in recent years, back then (all the way back in 2005 I think), the idea that somewhere guys were able to wear traditionally feminine styled clothing really helped me accept the fact that I could be feminine without necessarily being female. It took many, many years for me to get comfortable actually presenting femininely, but my love of lolita was a huge reason why I pushed my boundaries in regards to gender presentation. Wearing lolita has been more or less the ultimate culmination of the self confidence I gained while experimenting with my gender and the way I present myself.

Being disabled, both mentally and physically, means that I spend a lot of time at home in my pjs. The extra effort I put into getting dressed for when I go out, even when I'm not wearing lolita, goes a long way towards tempering some of the symptoms I have. For me, getting dressed is going to hurt anyway so I might as well go the extra mile and wear something that makes me look awesome and feel good about myself. What I gain from this extra effort far outweighs the cost of doing it. When I'm dressed up, I'm happier, I handle my chronic pain better, and I'm not as bothered by the side effects of my medications.

Lolita is a very expensive hobby but, for me, it's well worth the strain on my tiny income because of how happy it makes me. It's a very positive force in my life and it's become a huge part of how I identify.

Part 18/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

5, 8, & 20

Whoops, I've been slacking in the blogging department Dx

5. Wardrobe Turnover
So far, turnover in my wardrobe has been pretty much nonexistant. Since I don't have a whole lot of income, I am very careful with what I buy, especially in Lolita. If I am not 100% in love with something and can make at least one coord with what I already have or am planning on getting in the near future, I don't get it. Because of this, I can't see myself parting with anything I have in my wardrobe any time soon. I love it all too much ;v;

8. Why don't I wear Lolita more?
I don't leave my house enough OTL Plus my wardrobe is still to small for me to wear lolita more without having a ton of repeat coords.

20. How satisfied am I with my current wardrobe?
I'm pretty happy with my wardrobe right now. There's definitely still room for improvement and, you know, more stuff, but for only about a year and a half of work, it's a pretty good, well rounded wardrobe.

Part 15-17/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

39. Most versatile Lolita item I own

The number one versatile item I own is a plain black skirt with a plain old ruffle at the bottom that I made years and years ago. It's a great simple skirt on it's own and it makes for a great underskirt too since a lot of my coords feature black in there somewhere.

I've worn this skirt under other things to add just a bit of extra length to otherwise too short skirts :

And I've worn it all on its own in simple coords :

Post 14/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

10. How I first found out about Lolita

Once upon a time, years and years ago at the height of my weeb phase, I came across the mv for Malice Mizer's Beast of Blood.

The lolita's gateway drug.

Like many other lolitas before me, I absolutely fell in love with the beautiful clothing the band wore, especially that of the guitarist's. I did a ton of research on the band, listening to all their music I could find on youtube and looking at many, many pictures all across the internet. The two most mind blowing bits of information that I found were that the fashion this gorgeous musician wore was called Gothic Lolita and that Mana was, in fact, a man.

To tiny-me, this was a huge deal because, even though (at the time) I identified as strictly male, I wanted so bad to wear cute clothes. Here was this beautiful person who identified as the same gender as me while still wearing clothes that I admired and envied, boldly and without shame. My gothy, queer boi heart would never be the same.

After my initial research binge, I revisited the beautiful world of lolita every couple of years, fawning over gorgeous dresses (I thought) I could never in a million years afford, let alone gather the courage to wear. Sometime in the middle of high school, I came across my first real lolita love, Mary Magdalene. I loved everything about the brand, from the jewel tones prominent in their solid pieces to the elegant and mature cuts. When I found their Enid OP, I knew that, one day, come hell or high water, I would wear this fashion.

My first love.

Fast forward through just a couple more years where I slowly reaccustom myself to wearing feminine clothing and adjust my gender identity to better reflect how I feel about myself, to where I actually start planning to build a wardrobe based around my love of Mary Magdalene. I do tons more research and plan my future classic wardrobe extensively and then fall ass backwards into being a creepy cute sweet lolita instead, but that's a whole different story.

Post 13/52 for the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

Fremont With Friends

Yesterday my roommate Sam, her girlfriend Marty and I visited Fremont, a neighborhood of North Seattle, for their year round Sunday flea market. There were all sorts of vendors, from kitschy vintage clothing to handmade soaps and candles to artisan wood fire pizza and food trucks, and we had a great time looking around.

The market was a lot smaller than I anticipated, which was probably a good thing, because there ended up being a lot of stuff we wanted to buy. My roommate and her girlfriend are both steampunks and there was a bunch of really great stuff in line with that aesthetic, including a booth that was selling gorgeous jewelry made from watch parts and typewriter keys. Another booth had handmande jewelry made from reclaimed chandelier parts and old books. I absolutely fell in love with the ones that artisan made using medical texts and I'm pretty sure half the market heard me with how loud I got in my excitement.

My two big (lol) purchases were this nifty pair of sunglasses and a redbean taiyaki.

Taiyaki is basically a Japanese waffle sandwich shaped like a fish and it's super yummy. This food truck had a bunch of different flavours, including redbean (the one I got, pictured to the left), cinnamon sugar (the one Marty got), a peanut butter and banana one named The Elvis and one with spam and pineapple! I not so secretly actually really like spam so I was tempted to get that one, but Marty wanted to try the redbean after having the cinnamon sugar one and I love redbean a lot, so that's what I went with this time. It was super delicious >w< The taiyaki food truck is called BeanFish and you can visit their website here. If you're here in Seattle next weekend for SakuraCon 2015, look for them at Westlake park on Pine!

We also got shawarma, pizza, some delicious artisan truffles and organic honey! Can you tell we really like food?

Besides all the food, Marty bought a rose quarts orb and we each picked up handmade soap from a local artisan. I got myself a bathbomb to try after all the hype they've been getting on tumblr that I am super excited to try! After that, we had to hurry and leave the market before we spent any more money. We also wanted to check out a couple of interesting artwork a couple of blocks away before our parking ticket expired.

For some reason, Fremont has this huge bronze statue of Lenin that's actually from Soviet Russia as well as a rocket attached to a corner of one building and Saturn on top of the building next to it, all within a two block radius. It's a very strange collection of art, but still super neat.

Before we left Fremont for good, we went to see the troll under the bridge. Marty and I had never been before and Sam thought this was a travesty in need of fixing so she squeezed her car up the hill on Troll Lane (that is really the name of the street because Seattle is just that cool). Naturally, we took a selfie.

Order from Pastel Galaxyz

About two weeks ago, I placed an order for one of Pastel Galaxyz' Dreamy Bow Rings and I just got the package today! I'm super excited about it because it's even cuter in person >w<

I placed the order on March 15th and, since I am the worst at using paypal, I used the echeck option so it took a couple of days for my payment to be processed. Once it was, the package was shipped out the following Monday and it arrived today after the strangest detour to the town like fifteen miles away where I haven't lived for three years.

The mailer was pink and very well sealed with super cute Hello Kitty tape, and it fit into my apartment's very narrow mail box with room to spare, which is always nice. It felt much fuller than a single ring could warrant and my excitement skyrocketed.

Inside were two smaller packages sealed in the cutest little bags ever. The pink one held the ring I ordered and the blue one held not one, not two, not even three, but four extra goodies.

In addition to the ring I ordered, I got three bracelets and a second ring! The ring is a My Little Pony mold that looks kind of like Pinky Pie, but I could be wrong there. Whoever it is, it's super cute and a great surprise addition to my accessory collection. The candy bracelet and the heart bracelet are also super cute and will be great with some of my lolita. The third bracelet, the one on the far left in the above picture, is kandi style, with elastic string instead of metal findings, and is the most wonderfully absurd collection of adorable beads I have seen since I was actually a kandi kid myself.

The construction of all the items I received is top notch. The rings are both nice and solid and securely glued to the ring bases very neatly. While the bow ring has a perfectly flat back, the pony ring is not quite as clean and has a bit of a raised edge around the head. This doesn't effect wearability at all and, as a free surprise gift, I have absolutely no complaints. The kandi style bracelet is made with two strands of super strong plastic elastic string with a very solid knot and all excess strings neatly clipped. The two bracelets with metal finds are both very well put together with no gaps in the jump rings.

Over all, I am amazingly pleased with my order from Pastel Galaxyz. I definitely recommend them and I'll definitely be ordering from them again. Thank you so much Pastel Galaxyz for the amazing ring and all the amazing gifts <3

15. 5 Tips For Newbies I Wish I Had Found In A Guide

Late last week a new guide for newbie lolitas went live. I was super excited because, as a relatively new lolita, I love to read more knowledgeable lolitas' guides to the fashion. Unfortunately, this guide was very disappointing for many reasons. You can read my beef with the section on body modifications here on tumblr as well as some incredible takedowns here by lace-a-la-mode and here by lapinchocolat.

This post is not about that guide. This post is instead about some tips I would have loved to have seen in a guide when I first started out.

1. Don't be afraid to mess up!

A lot of what I see from newbie lolitas is them being afraid that they'll mess up a coord and be shamefully labeled ita. Even with a year's worth of practice under my frilly belt, I still sometimes worry if the outfit I've put together is good enough to actually be called lolita. However, I have learned a lot more about putting together coords from trial and error than I did from the two or three years of research I did before I took the plung and bought my first jsk. There's definitely a lot a newbie lolita can learn from more experienced lolitas -- good cheap places to buy from, what sites to are scams, reassurance that not everything has to be burando -- but when it comes to learning how to put together well balanced cords, experience tends to trump research.

2. Don't be afraid to experiment!

It seems that the western lolita community as a whole sometimes gets stuck on some guidelines taken as gospel truth as to what is or is not lolita, which can be really intimidating to newbie lolitas. I know it was something that intimidated me a lot and, like I said, I still sometimes worry whether my coords are lolita enough. However, when I look at Japanese lolitas, especially old school lolitas, I see a lot more willingness to experiment and that leads to some really neat coords. I feel like as long as something is good quality and matches the color scheme, theme or tone of a coord it can totally be used in lolita. Besides, at the end of the day, lolita is just clothing so people should be free to wear their lolita items however makes them happy.

3. Just save up!
One of the big reasons why I didn't actually start building a lolita wardrobe earlier is because of how much things cost! Yes, there are some places to get things for pretty cheap, such as Bodyline, but over all, lolita is a very expensive fashion. Even a coord made completely from Bodyline items can easily run up to 100 usd! Compared to all the thrift shop clothes I had been buying, that's a ton of money to spend, especially at one time. However, it is totally possible to put away a little money at a time to save up for a Bodyline order, or a Taobao order, or even burando!

4. Ordering clothes online isn't as scary as it seems.
The other big reason it took me so long to start buying lolita is because I'd have to order things online. Part of my hesitance was because I'm super busty and dramatically proportioned, so I have a hard time finding clothes that fit me well in person. Ordering something online before I've even tried it on was terrifying! Armed with my measurements though, from bust circumference to foot length, I've been able to successfully order clothes that fit me surprisingly well. The only problem is, once you make that first order, you just want to buy more.

5. Accessories can change the tone of the entire coord.
I recently achieved a couple of large, chunky ring that look great with my lolita wardrobe and with them I learned how much accessories can change the tone of a coord. My coords went from casual and mature to youthful and kawaii just from going from a slim, understated ring to a big ol' huge one. Even just a few larger accessories do a lot to making a coord seem more over the top than slighter accessory equivalents. Keeping this in mind, it's much easier to achieve the specific look I want for each coord.

Of course, information such as the anatomy of a lolita outfit and run downs of the main substyles are very helpful to newbies, but every guide has those. These are the top five things I wish I would have found in a guide when I first started.

Post 15/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge (that I accidentally did before I knew it was actually one of the questions >n< ).

31. Impulse buys that were totally worth it

From the Clockwork Rose tumblr

My very first lolita item purchase was totally an impulse buy and it's defined my entire wardrobe in a way that I really love. I came across the promo images for Clockwork Rose's Twinklebat series, pictured above, and absolutely fell in love. Then, a couple weeks later, it went back up for reservation and I jumped on the opportunity to buy this gorgeous piece of indie brand and I have never looked back. 

Post 12/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

18. Trends I thought I would never get into, but I now love

When I first discovered lolita, I fell in love with Mary Magdalene, so all the way up until I actually started buying lolita I intended on becoming a classic lolita. That didn't exactly happen so really, any sweet lolita trend I take part in was not something I ever thought I would get into, lol. However, a lolita wide trend that I didn't like at first was peignoirs. I thought they looked really silly in lolita at first but they've really grown on me the more I've seen coords with them. They make classic and gothic coords very elegant and sweet coords extra cute and over all, coords with peignoirs are extra princessy. I don't think I'll ever incorporate a peignoir into my wardrobe myself but I super love seeing coords with them.

Post 11/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

12. Combining other fashions with Lolita

I love lolita combined with other fashions so much. Gothic lolita with western goth influences, sweet lolita with fairy kei influences, classic lolita with otome influences, I love it all. Mixing styles (and doing it well) leads to really gorgeous, really unique coords.

Plenty of sweet lolitas take inspiration from decora and fairy kei already, especially with OTT coords, and otome inspired coords are on the rise as skirt hems drop, but what I would really love to see more when it comes to mixing styles is incorporating western alternative fashions. Although rare, punk lolita is already a subset of lolita fashion, but just imagine lolita with biker leather.

Killstar Clothing

Or a cybergoth lolita wearing sparkly cyberlox, big chunky pink Demonia boots, and a clear plastic jsk over a colourful petti. Or a kandi kid lolita with fishnet sleeves under their blouse and kandi up to their elbows and cute chucks and their headbow and purse made of pony beads. Lolita is an incredibly versatile fashion that, with a bit of imagination, can be combined with just about any other alt fashion out there and it's so great :D

Post 10/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

28 & 9

28. Bloomers or no bloomers?

Yes to bloomers, or at least some sort of shorts. They're great for many things -- keeping people from spotting your underwear, keeping your thighs from chafing or sticking to things when you sit, extra warmth in the winter, not having to wear full tights in the summer for the aforementioned thigh chafing/sticking problem. I've also found them super helpful for keeping my lace tights from felting where my thighs rub together.

9. 5 keywords that describe my personal Lolita style

Bats, bones, spooky, pink/black and lavender/black.

Post 8-9/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

42 & 43

42. The ways in which I fit the cliche

I'm cute, sweet, a little pudgy, conventionally attractive with wide eyes and dimples. I'm pigeon toed and I stutter. I'm super enthusiastic about the things I like and I tend to speak in a kawaiidesu animu voice and I collect dolls and I love pastries (and my boyfriend was a pastry chef, hence why I'm kind of pudgy lol) and the colour pink. Basically I look sugary sweet and adorable.

43. The ways in which I do not fit the cliche

I'm pretty well known in fandom circles for the hardcore kink porn I write. I'm in a D/s relationship and I've modeled nude and I'm huge into body mods, especially hard mods. If I'm not speaking in my kawaiidesu voice my voice is instead deep and masculine and my laugh is an ugly witch cackle. At one point I was an incredibly good shot with rifles. I'm mentally ill and physically disabled and I have huuuuuuuge boobs. The dolls I collect are creepy and I also collect bones and bat related things. I curse up a storm and know more synonyms for dicks than anyone should and I know entirely way too much about cannibalism. Basically I'm creepy and weird and my roommate's coworkers are half convinced I'm going to end up a serial killer.

The juxtaposition between my personality and my aesthetic is hilarious imo.

Post 6-7/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

24 & 25

24. What's in my makeup bag

I have a lot of make up and when I say a lot I mean A LOT. So much in fact that I can't actually fit it all into my make up bag. When I actually emptied the whole thing out, I found a few things that are dead or mostly dead or that I just don't ever wear for one reason or another so I'll eventually clean that stuff out but I do actually wear 90% of the, frankly, ridiculous amount of make up I have. And now, some pictures lol.

The cat box is what houses all my various lipsticks and lip glosses and such, plus the lip brushes I'll bring with me in my bag when I go out and my favourite blush. The big white ELF pallet I use most for the plain matte black eye shadow in it, since that's what works best to fill in my eyebrows (I have a huge knot of scar tissue in one of my eyebrows that makes it very lumpy and kind of bald so anything less than ultra thick and black eyebrows are not the kind of eyebrows I can do orz). It's also got a bunch of other great eye shadows and blushes that I'll use every now and then. The pail is what I keep all my various brushes and eyeliners and mascara in and the bag houses everything I don't use as much. And a gold paint pen, for some reason.

Aaaand everything out of the containers. My nail polish and perfume actually lives on my accessory shelf, not with the rest of my make up but I figure it should go in this picture anyway. It would take waaaaaay too long to actually list off every bit of make up that I have, so my three favourite things are : my Tokyomilk Dark perfume in Arsenic, which smells like manly cookies and has a beetle on the bottle; Burt's Bees lip shimmer in plum, which is what I wear most; aaaaand the penny roll papers, which I use to get super sharp lines when I do winged eyeliner since I use powered eye shadow instead of any real eyeliner.

25. Best places to wear Lolita

Anywhere and everywhere. I'm disabled so I don't exactly leave the house a whole lot and thus I jump on any occasion to dress up but lolita is just clothing. Expensive clothing, yeah, but I find that the more I spend on clothing, the more often I want to wear it because damnit, I'm going to get my money's worth. I do plan on eventually being more or less a daily lolita though, so I might be a wee bit biased.
Post 4-5/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

Lolita Level Up Quiz

Copy/pasted from fyeahlolita. Aiming to have over forty points this time next year.

• You have a favorite brand
• You own a petticoat
• You own multiple petticoats in different cuts and/or lengths
• You own a parasol
• You own an item from a brand
• You own a novelty item from a brand (plates, mugs, stuffed animals, home decor, and other "non-wearables")
• You own an item from Bodyline
• You own an item from a Taobao brand
• You own an item from a Western indie brand
• You own an item you bought of eBay, Amazon, or a shady website and it came out okay
• You've bought brand directly from their official store
• You've bought a lucky pack
• You bought an item in reserve
• You own a complete Lolita outfit
• You've worn a complete Lolita outfit in public
• You've worn a complete Lolita outfit in public and it wasn't even on Halloween or at a convention

• You've bought and sold on an online Lolita community
• You've paid retail price for a rare secondhand brand
• You've paid double the retail price for a rare secondhand brand
• You've paid less than 20% the retail price for secondhand brand (ex: you paid $40 for a piece that originally cost $200)
• You've bought from a Japanese auction
• You've ordered from a shopping service
• You wear clothes you've made for yourself
• You wear a print you've designed yourself
• You wear clothes you've had custom made for you
• Have had brand pieces altered to fit your size or style
• You've been wearing Lolita for over a year
• You've been wearing Lolita for over 5 years
• You've been wearing Lolita for over a decade
• You have enough Lolita outfits to wear a new one every day for a week
• You have enough Lolita outfits to wear a new one every day for a month
• You've converted an interested friend to Lolita

• You wear brand with your "normal" wardrobe
• You don't have a "normal" wardrobe because you only wear Lolita
• You know how to handwash your Lolita clothes
• You know how to wash a wig
• You've worn a wig, circle lenses, or false eyelashes
• You've worn a wig, circle lenses, and false eyelashes all at once
• You own a pair of rocking horse shoes
• You own a pair of tea party shoes
• You own a purse shaped like something ridiculous
• You own an old school rectangle headdress
• You own a bonnet
• You own Lolita roomwear or pajamas
• You own a Lolita item that was released this past year
• You own a Lolita item that was released over 6 years ago
• You own a Lolita item that was released over 10 years ago
• You own every item released in a favorite print/series

• You've worn something on your head that was never intended to be worn on a head
• You've worn a trendy accessory (deer horns, halos, peignoirs, eyeballs, etc)
• You've worn Sweet Lolita
• You've worn Classic Lolita
• You've worn Gothic Lolita
• You've worn Old School Lolita
• You've worn Boystyle
• You've worn one of the lesser worn Lolita substyles such as Punk, Ero, Wa, or Guro
• You know the difference between a JSK and an OP
• You can name at least 5 prints
• You can tell which items are from which brand just by looking at them
• You can tell which items are from which brand just by looking at them, even if they're not a print
• You can tell which year a brand piece came from just by looking at it
• You've taken Lolita outfit snaps
• You've traveled to visit a fancy looking place just to take outfit snaps
• You've started a trend that others have followed

• You own a Gothic & Lolita Bible
• You own every single Gothic & Lolita Bible
• Your picture is in a Gothic & Lolita Bible
• Your picture is in a Gothic & Lolita Bible because you're a model for a brand
• You own a Lolita sewing pattern book
• You've made something from a Lolita sewing pattern book
• You've seen Kamikaze Girls
• You've read Kamikaze Girls
• You've met Novala Takemoto
• You've met Misako Aoki
• Misako Aoki has made you an official Lolita ambassador
• You've met one of your favorite Lolita designers
• You've learned how to sew/craft just so you can make your own Lolita clothes/accessories
• You've decorated your house/bedroom to match your Lolita wardrobe
• Your Lolita wardrobe is part of your decor (ex: you display your hats on a shelf, keep a mannequin dressed up on display, etc)
• You've been interviewed for a newspaper/magazine article for wearing Lolita

• You've made friends through Lolita
• You've made friends in foreign countries through Lolita
• You've celebrated International Lolita Day
• You have a separate facebook profile just for Lolita
• You're known by a different name when you wear Lolita
• You've twinned with someone
• You've tripleted with people
• You've been part of a group of clones
• You've taken purikura in Lolita before
• You have a purikura app on your phone
• You've had to explain what you were wearing to a stranger
• You've been called a princess by small children
• Old ladies have complimented you and remarked how nice it is to see young people dressed so nicely
• You've been called Bo-Peep
• You've been asked if you were in a play
• You've been asked what you were cosplaying as, or compared to an anime character

• You're a member of online Lolita communities
• You're active in online Lolita communities
• You mod an online Lolita community
• You mod an online community of over 1,000 members
• You've attended a meetup
• You've attended a tea party meetup
• You've attended a brand sponsored tea party
• You've traveled multiple hours to attend a meetup
• You've hosted a meetup
• You've hosted over 6 meetups
• You've hosted a meetup with over 20 attendees
• You've been to a Lolita swap meet
• You've attended a large scale Lolita event or convention
• You've been on staff at a large scale Lolita event or convention
• You've been to a Lolita panel at a convention
• You've hosted your own panel at a convention

• You've seen a Lolita fashion show
• You've modeled in a Lolita fashion show
• You've seen a brand fashion show
• You've modeled in a brand fashion show
• You own your own Lolita clothes/accessory line
• You've hosted your own brand's fashion show
• You have visited a Lolita shop
• You've traveled to another country just to buy from Lolita shops
• You own and run your own Lolita shop
• You're friends with a brand shop girl
• You are a brand shop girl
• You run a Lolita blog (traditional, tumblr, vlog, etc)
• You run a Lolita blog with over 1,000 followers
• You have been called "e-famous"
• You have been called "e-infamous"
• You've been featured on TV for wearing Lolita

 1-15 points means you're familiar with the fashion and have taken an interest in all things frilly and Lolita. You've probably attended a few open events, maybe own a few pieces of Lolita, lurk the online communities, and you definitely are on your way to knowing your stuff! Your next step is probably buying the final piece for your first full outfit and finally headed to your first meetup!

 
16-40 points means you're just starting out in the world of Lolita. You may have been interested in the fashion for a few years but are just now getting involved in wearing the fashion on a regular basis and joining local communities. You probably have a couple full outfits but are still working on building a larger wardrobe. Alternatively, you have a larger wardrobe and definitely know your stuff, but you aren't very active in local or online Lolita communities and are perhaps more of a lone Lolita. Your next step is probably either finishing up adding a few more pieces to your wardrobe or to starting getting to know some other Lolitas.

 41-60 points means you're probably a very well-rounded Lolita. You have a fair sized wardrobe that allows a variety of outfits and some style experimentation, you have a few Lolita friends, and you've attended your fair share of meetups and even fashion shows. You probably have a few volumes of the Gothic & Lolita Bible hanging around your bookshelf and you've definitely taken an interest in Lolita hobbies. Your next step is probably to step out of your comfort bubble, try a new style you've always wanted to try, host your own meetups, or perhaps finally apply to be a model for a local Lolita fashion show.

 
61-80 points is the realm of an experienced Lolita! You've probably been active in the fashion for a number of years, have a fairly large and diverse wardrobe, and have attended (and hosted!) your fair share of Lolita events. You're most likely well-known within your local, and online, communities. You're probably practically an expert on the fashion and have probably introduced, or at least guided, a few friends along the right path in the fashion. Your next step is most likely to do a closet cleaning or some wardrobe organization because you probably have a few years of accumulated clothes. 

 81-100 points is at the top of the Lolita game. You've definitely been active in the fashion for a number of years, or possibly you've had a very intense first few years. You've gone out there and had the chance to do some pretty cool things that you always dreamed of doing back when you first got started as a Lolita. There's a good chance you're a leader in both your local Lolita communities and the online Lolita-sphere. Your next step is probably to kick a few more things off your Lolita bucket list!  
 
101 points is within the ream of Lolita royalty. You probably have enough clothes to dress your own personal rufflebutt army, which you could very well easily raise with a wave of your very expensive burando scepter! You're well known by Lolitas both near and far, who are most likely green with envy at what you have in your closet, who you've met, and what you've had the chance to do. There are probably still a few items left on your Lolita bucket list that have been haunting you for a while now because you thought they've always been out of your reach for one reason or another (perhaps it's that long-distance shopping vacation, to complete your dream dress list, or to finally host the tea party of your dreams), but look how far you've come yet! Whatever it is you want to do, you can probably achieve it easily, or at the very least, you definitely have the patience within the fashion to stick with it for a while and work on getting it done.

Some coords from the past month or so, in no particular order. This really features how much offbrand I use in my coords, especially in comparison to the same three lolita specific things I wear with pretty much every coord orz

Skirt : Bunny & Black's Nurse Print in creepy

Blouse, Boots : Bodyline

Brooch : We're All Mad Here

Everything else is all either offbrand or handmade by me.

 Boots and blouse are the same Bodyline ones as above, everything else is either hand made by me or offbrand.

Not lolita but still cute as heck. Drawing little hearts or stars with eyeliner on my face is probably my favourite bit of detailing o3o

37, 14, 23

The lolita 52 week challenge! I'm going to do two or three at a time until I catch up.

37. Something that's not my style, but I love anyways
I super love the look of old school lolita. It's really neat to see how the style has evolved and the roots are just as gorgeous as anything modern but I definitely prefer wearing the super poofy ultra sweet styles in lines with the current trends.

14. Lolitas I would love to meet
I have no idea. I don't actually know of too many lolitas right now o_o;

23. What influences my Lolita style
I was always the weird kid and I've always loved The Addams Family and The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice so it's no wonder I went for the creepy cute. Wednesday Addams and Lydia Deetz are probably my earliest fashion inspirations and I still draw from my Wednesday roots a lot. For lolita specifically, I ended up basing the starts of my wardrobe around Clockwork Rose's Twinklebat jsk which was love at first sight for me and my very first lolita specific piece. Niki Napalm and thedarkvictorian are two of my biggest current inspirations, especially for lolita.

Post 1-3/52 of the Lolita 52 Week Challenge.

Lolita Goals for 2015

a couple months late for new years resolutions whoops

• Round out my basics

I've been seriously building up a lolita wardrobe for about two years now but it's been vvvvvvvvvvery slow going. Currently, I've got a pretty good little wardrobe that, with the help of lots of offbrand, lets me build a good variety of coords, but I definitely still need a whole lot of basics -- shoes, accessories, headwear, blouses, socks, bags, the whole shebang. A lot of what I need I have ideas for specific items to get since I do a LOT of window shopping so it's just a matter coming up with the funds. At the top of my list is Bodyline's L364 blouse in purple, a pair of wrist cuffs, at least one of the many bat themed headwear in my wishlists and a star shaped bag. Totally achievable things.

• By either Guilty Meltin' Sweets or Merry Making In The Ghost Town

These two AATP prints are at the absolute top of my lolita wishlist. They're everything I want from a lolita print (spooky? adorable? my size? hella check) and if I can swing it, I would love to pick up one of the jsks.

• Get at least one of the border print designs in my head actually designed and printed

Being an artist and a lolita is vvvvv hard for me because I keep thinking of perfect prints for my wardrobe. I've got four or five pretty solid ideas right now that I would like to eventually make for myself since solidly sweet things with creepy cute elements are far and few between, but first, I need to do the designing.

• Make more of my own lolita clothes in general

I have pretty dramatic proportions, a very limited income, and a marked preference for uncommon design elements. Making my own stuff as much as I can is definitely a smart way to build up my wardrobe, plus it'll give me something to do other than tumbl.

• Drink more tea

I have so much tea and I want to buy more because I love tea but I can't because my alloted tea shelf is already crammed full ;n;

• Find a nice balance between lolifying my room and keeping it from being overwhelmingly femme for my boyfriend's sake

My boyfriend is very supportive of me and my strange hobbies but he draws the line at pink and frilly bedding. I can compromise on this (though Target's shabby chic bedding is so freaking cute I want it) by going more romantic goth than sweet when it comes to decor, but bringing at least our bedroom into a more cohesive design is definitely something I want to do when we move this year. Step one is actually figure out how to put together my bed frame and get a bed skirt. Step two is refinishing my dresser to more or less match the rest of the wood in my room. Step three involves art, art everywhere.

• Join my local comm, go to a meet

This is probably going to be the hardest thing on this list for me to achieve. I have pretty wicked social anxiety so new situations with new people are really stressful but I definitely want to be more active in the community. This blog gets me off to a good start and my roommate and my sister are are both open to going with me to a meet to temper my anxiety so I have high hopes that I'll be able to check this off my goal list for this year.