So it's the first day of classes...

... Okay, so I personally have been back to school for about a week. This post was supposed to come much earlier, but already I have a TON of reading to do on top of work as a TA. There's a lot more to do than I expected! But that's not what this post is about...

I like wearing lolita at least once within the first week of school. I know some people say to work up to it, and that would probably be a better option for someone in high school, but for college, I like to wear it at some point within the first week. On the first day of classes, if the weather permits. Which it might not. But if it's raining, nobody is going to be looking cute... or at the very least they'll have the "well I was cute until I forgot my umbrella" look. And not looking as cute as you could is a lot better than getting a print that bleeds wet because the wind changed. (In Galveston we get heavy wind and rain a lot... the rain blows sideways. It's not fun. I have one of those bubble umbrellas because the wind kept turning all my other ones inside out.) Also, for goodness sake double check that your rain boots don't have cracks in them before you wear cute socks with them. But that's another post entirely.

I think wearing lolita on the first day of classes gives people a heads up about what to expect. Whether you're a lifestyler, or only wear it occasionally, if your classmates and professors, not to mention others around campus, are going to be seeing you in it at all, then the first day is going to make it as least awkward as possible. Yes, you will get some stares, and maybe some harsh looks, but you'll also get a lot of compliments. You can also force people to give you space on the first day... it's a little hard to invade someone's space if that someone is wearing a petticoat. Consider wearing three if the person next to you is particularly unsavory. And as we all know, once you do something at least a few times, it becomes a habit, so if your poof is big enough, then Creeper McGee shouldn't be anywhere near you even on your non-lolita days. Use your poof wisely and intimidate people into leaving you alone (I'm kidding... mostly. Negate this with a friendly smile and taking out your headphones to invite conversation.)

Also, wearing lolita while you're figuring out your schedule and what the rooms are like is a big help for knowing when it's most feasible to wear it in the future. PLEASE DON'T WEAR LOLITA TO YOUR CHEMISTRY LAB. Do you want to spill anything in that lab on your Baby jsk? No. Definitely not. Do you have your geology lab and have to immediately after run to your biology lecture in an auditorium? Probably not a good idea to wear lolita on those days, unless you like sitting in the front. If you think that you could get away with wearing lolita to a lab, like a lab for an archaeology class or something similar, then check with the professor first. (Unless it's a Ship Building Tools class, don't wear it to those.) Or, if they have a semi-detailed schedule on their syllabus, check that. Auditorium seating would probably be okay for lolita (I've done it many times) but I'd recommend sitting in the front or on the sides, where you don't have to slide along a row of seats and knock everyone's materials off the tiny little mini-desks. If the school loves you and you have classes in normal classrooms with desks or long tables, then you should be just fine.

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. If you're shy, or don't have thick skin, headphones are always a good option. Just put your headphones in, hit play, and head to class. You definitely won't hear if anyone makes a nasty comment, and you'll be focused enough that you probably won't notice stares either. Plus, if you're listening to music you like, then you'll look more cheerful. I've found that cheer and poof deflect nasty stares pretty well. Your professors probably won't say anything, unless it's a compliment. They're adults, after all. And as for students? If you do happen to overhear something, staring directly at the person is at the very least going to startle them, and will usually embarrass them into silence. If they don't stop, then just remember that the bigger you are, the more intimidating you are, so if you feel safe enough (so, if you're in a classroom with other people) walking up to them and standing super close to them so you look very tall, and asking if they have a problem, should get them to leave you alone. That can be VERY hard to do if you're shy, but remember to look angry, and all you have to do is speak one sentence clearly. I haven't had to do this, though, so I can't say for sure. Just remember, if you ever feel unsafe, talk with your campus' police, or your community/residential leader/assistant if your problem is in the dorms.

52 Week: THE END

Have I mentioned that I'm bad at challenges? I'm bad at challenges. This is exactly why I've never done Nano (well, this and the fact that I'm always ridiculously busy during the month of November.)

Parasols: Vital or frivolous? (Week 46)

Once again I'm going to skip along the top of the fence and say: it depends on the lolita. It depends on if they're a lifestyler or not, what kind of climate they live in, where they typically wear lolita, etc. If you're a lifestyler, I'm going to assume that a parasol is relatively vital, since no matter the weather you're going to be in lolita layers and shade of any kind can be the difference between heatstroke and safety. If you're not... eh, it kinda depends on what your "too hot for lolita" cutoff is, or where you typically wear it. Even if you live in warmer climates, if you're only wearing it to indoor meetups and so the most sun you'll be getting is on the walk from the car/bus/train station to the building... eh, I think you could forgo it. But if you're the type to do outdoor festivals and such, I think it would be a wise purchase.

My favorite Lolita print (Week 49)

This should come as a surprise to absolutely no one:

Delft Lotta!

How Lolita has changed me (Week 52)

Honestly? I don't think it has. I'm still me, I'm still a practical person. I still don't like spending large amounts of money on singular items. Yes, there are hobbies that I've picked up since I've started wearing lolita, like baking, that fit the cliche, but I would have started doing those hobbies anyway, it's not like I picked up baking/cake decorating because of it. Yes my style outside of lolita has become more feminine, but I like feminine things anyway, and I've been trying to help my wardrobe recover from my pseudo-emo high school days for years, while simultaneously getting annoyed with wearing pants.

I think that's the mark of a healthy relationship with any hobby or interest: one's ability to keep it from consuming their life. I'm not saying anything about lifestylers, I think that a lot of lifestylers liked those sorts of things in the first place, and found an aesthetic that they liked in lolita. But that's the thing, if you like something, you don't let it consume your life and change you into someone your past self wouldn't recognize. So yes, I have changed since I've started wearing lolita, but I don't think those changes are because of lolita. So I don't think that lolita has changed me. Helped me? Yes. But not changed me.

52 Week: Weeks 42-45

Okay, so I was intending to finish the 52 week challenge before the end of the year. Obviously that didn't happen... so I'm going to do the same thing that I did with the 30 Day challenge and do several of these things in one post.

The ways in which I fit the cliche (Week 42)

I think, just to look at me, look at my bedroom, or look at how I dress when I'm -not- in lolita, there are many, many, ways in which I fit the cliche. I like more traditionally "feminine" things: i.e. collecting cute things (Pokemon is my main collection but cute plush/things in general) I knit, I sew, and I bake. My room, while not a "lolita" room, is probably pretty close to a mix of classic and sweet, based on my furniture and the things I have displayed. My fashion style, outside of lolita, is still very feminine and I prefer to wear light colors, and I wear skirts more often than pants. My personality is generally described as cute, and I know I'm pretty timid, which I think is part of the cliche.

The ways in which I do not fit the cliche (Week 43)

I'm pretty practical in a lot of aspects of my life. I like keeping my fashion fairly low-key (well, as low-key as lolita can be) and I have a hard time spending a lot of money on single items. I also work around horses on occasions (I go see my horse a lot but it depends on what time I go see him if I'm really -working- or not) and so also wear clothes that I don't mind getting dirty. I also drive a 22 year old truck ^_^;

How strangers react to my clothes, and how I react to their reactions (Week 44)

When I'm walking around campus, I usually have headphones in, so I don't often hear things that people have to say, but I've seen the "what the..." looks from people. With that sort of thing I just keep walking. To my face people are usually kind, although of course I've gotten the "where's your sheep" and I usually just blow that off too. During the 12 Days of Christmas meetup we were asked if we were there to sing, and we just politely told people no.

Something that was a gift (Week 45)

I've gotten a lot of accessories as gifts, but as far as big pieces:

Bodyline's L411. My mom got it for me for Christmas a few years ago!

52 Week: Fondest Meetup Memory

This summer I went to a meetup at the Dallas Museum of Art. They were having a "murder mystery" event, a free event, and so of course that's perfect for a meet. We met at a restaurant with intentions of carpooling to the museum... and there were too many people and not enough cars. So three of my friends and I decided that riding the intercity train was just fine. I just remember it was a little scary, but very fun, riding the train kind of late and walking around downtown from the station to the museum. The meet itself was wonderful as well, I think it's my favorite to date!

12 Days of Christmas Meetup

I got to go to a meetup on Saturday! I don't get to go to a lot of meetups since I'm in Galveston for most of the year, so whenever I'm home I really like to go whenever I can. It was an outdoor meetup, and even though it was really cold I had a good time, but an actual lolita coat just jumped up on my priority list!

We all had a lot of fun, and I think everyone who took pictures got really cute ones! It was at the local botanical gardens, and I wasn't expecting it to be so pretty in winter! I'd been there once before, when the gardens had an "Alice in Wonderland" themed exhibit, but we didn't actually explore all that much then, because it was hot.

52 Week: Most versatile Lolita item I own

Oh it would definitely have to be Bodyline's L411!

I have used this dress for literally everything. Sweet coords, classic coords, country coords... and it works in the summer, winter... whichever season! It's also the one I wear a lot when I'm just not feeling like putting on a full coord, and so am going for more "lolita inspired" than actual lolita (I wear it a lot with a hairbow and white flats.)

My favorite thing about it is that the shirring is so stretchy, so even though it's an OP, there's still plenty of room for me to fit a blouse underneath for a winter coord.

The only downside to it is that it doesn't fit me as well as my other dresses, since all my others have been either custom made, or made by a Western indie brand. I have what I think is called a "ballet neckline" where I'm a bit longer from my shoulders to my bust than the body type that the dress is made for... so the shirring hits me a bit too high. But I have gotten a lot of compliments on this dress, and "THAT'S Bodyline?? Dang!" a few times!

52 Week: Favorite hair style

My favorite hairstyle on me... well, I don't have a good picture. It's kind of a half ponytail, where I pull back my hair in the front (I always do it gently, so that my part is still there) and leave the hair down the back so that there's a ponytail, but also some hair down as well. You can kind of see it in this, which is a cropped section of another picture.

My favorite hairstyle in general, though, is curls! Ringlets especially, but any kind of curls, really. They're just so dainty and pretty! My hair is finally growing out a bit, so I'm excited to play with my curling iron this Christmas, and maybe I can get to where I can make curls look decent on my own for when I go back to school and am on my own. I'm including two Gothic Lolita Wigs pictures, but you get the idea. ^_^

52 Week: Something that's not my style, but I love anyways

I have kind of a weird relationship with OTT sweet. I think it looks super adorable: a bunch of my friends in my comm wear it, and I absolutely adore their coords, and they look too precious for words! There are a lot of really sweet dresses that I absolutely adore and love the look of... but would never actually put on my body, just because it's not me. (I say this as I'm surrounded by Hello Kitty products and wearing Hello Kitty lounge pants) 

(Picture is from Tumblr, if it's yours and you'd like me to take it down, just let me know)

(Picture from Lolibrary)

(Picture from Lolibrary)

So, I'm not a big fan of food prints on me. (Although, apparently, I have a secret love for Innocent World's strawberry prints.) But, as you can see from this picture list here, I apparently really like chocolate prints. I just don't want to wear them. Although if I were to find Melty Ribbon Chocolate (the halter style jsk) at a price I could afford (which won't be happening, so I'm safe) then I might break that rule cause I really like that dress. But in general... not my style, but I love it! 

52 Week: What I thought when I got my first real piece of Lolita

My super lovely White Moon "Sakura Pintuck OP" was my first real piece of lolita. It is also my favorite, even above my Sleipnir JSK, just because of how pretty I feel in it, and I feel like it's the most "me" thing in my wardrobe.

To put this in perspective, when my mom and I got a lot of my new clothes was in my freshman year of high school. I don't usually get a lot of new clothes at once, unless we're going to a thrift store, so getting a lot of new clothes at once was a big thing. Unfortunately at the time I was going through my "pseudo emo phase" meaning that all my friends were into dark clothes, Evanescence, and pretty much anything angsty. At one point all I listened to was Evanescence, the Sweeney Todd soundtrack, and a Finnish metal band whose name I can't spell anymore. It was that phase at the start of high school that isn't the same for everyone, as far as aesthetics go, but everyone has some phase that more than likely embarrasses them immediately the second they get past it. I got out of it like halfway through my sophomore year, but unfortunately, my wardrobe did not get out of it for a while. I spent the rest of high school and freshman year of college (although that was a whole different animal altogether... I wore a fleece fox ear hat and a jingle collar without knowing anything looked odd...) trying to help my wardrobe recover from the massive amount of black. Now in the year 2014, I can finally say with all confidence that my wardrobe is as it should be. Actually, it was probably back to normal in 2013, but that's not the point of this.

I got into lolita around the time that my wardrobe had nearly recovered, and I got my first lolita piece at the end of the first semester of my Sophomore year. I was terrified to try it on. I had lost a TON of weight over the summer, due to strict dieting and figuring out that I was actually lactose intolerant and gluten intolerant (two of my favorite things were milk and bread products: I'm sure you can imagine how chubby of a child I was due to swelling.) But this wasn't mom and dad's house with the ability to cook my own food or have the person cooking my food know exactly what I could and couldn't eat; this was college with limited dining options, and I wasn't sure if I had gained some of it back or not, and so even though it was custom made, I was scared to find out. My parents brought down my Qutieland package (which had been mailed to my house) with them when they visited for Dickens on the Strand, and several days had passed after they'd left, and I still hadn't tried it on.

And so, one evening, while my roommate was out at dinner, I tried it on. And it fit perfectly. And wearing that dress, I felt like for once my outside matched my inside. This was what I had always dreamed of wearing. This was absolutely, without a doubt, me.

And I've been fixated on being cute ever since.

52 Week: Something that I made

My brown skirt! This isn't the first thing I've made, but it's one of my favorites. My mom helped with the lace, but I did everything else! It's made from my own pattern, too. Rather than a circle skirt for an a-line petticoat, I did a "trapezoid" skirt. It gives it the same shape, but without the extra fabric and weird math. I'm bad a math. Like really bad. So we avoid math.

I do need to re-do the waist: the waist band is a little loose, but that can be done without much of an issue.

52 Week: Bloomers or no bloomers?

I think it's very much a matter of personal opinion what you wear under your skirts, but I definitely think that you need to wear some kind of shorts, whether they be bloomers, running shorts, pajama bottoms, or boxer shorts, and, weather permitting, with or without tights. Obviously, if it's very hot out, you want to take any kind of short cuts you can, so if you're wearing tights, you probably don't want to wear anything else underneath, but if you can stand it, I think it's a good idea.

I live on an island for around seven months out of the year, and my love for bloomers comes from the simple fact that, in my world, ocean breezes are a thing, and they are a powerful thing. There are many days that I step out of my door and my skirt instantly decides I need to be in a cliche shoujo anime. Or it thinks that I'm Marilyn Monroe (ha, fooled it, didn't I?) and that we're standing over a vent. Some kind of shorts are very necessary in case of wind, but I also don't have to worry about what my skirt is doing when I sit down, or somebody deciding to creep on me. I've been very fortunate in that I haven't had a noticeable problem with other people deciding to be rude and look under, or lift up, my skirt, but I've heard a good number of horror stories. Some kind of shorts are, in my opinion, very necessary.

I personally prefer bloomers over everything else because I like the look. It just kind of completes the way I feel about my coordinate. I make my own bloomers, so they're really very cheap: just the cost of a yard of fabric and some elastic (or a drawstring, but I haven't tried making drawstring bloomers yet.) Plus, then I can make them out of all kinds of cute fabrics: I have a pair that's the typical lolitaish rose print, but I also have a pair (which need to be repaired since I hand sewed them) that are made from Winnie the Pooh fabric, and I have another that are made from horse print fabric. I also have a pair made from thick fleece for when the weather gets really bad, and they're warmer than any of my pajama pants! So to me, wearing bloomers completes my coordinate in a way that wearing my old marching band shorts doesn't, and that's why I recommend them over regular shorts.

52 Week: What's in my Makeup Bag

Oh boy... well, I have TWO makeup bags, so I guess we're doing both of these things.

The first makeup bag is what I actually wear on... well, I'm not going to even pretend it's a daily basis, but this is the bag that I take with me to conventions or when I'm traveling. So the stuff I wear most often.

1. Maybelline "Dream Fresh" BB cream (light/medium)
2. Lipsmacker Strawberry Banana lipgloss
3. Ulta "medium powder" brush (I use it for blush)
4. Ulta "amped lashes" mascara
5. NYX white eyeliner
6. Maybelline black eyeliner
7. Covergirl blush (I don't know what color it is, I think it's a rose something)
8. Hershey s'mores flavored lipgloss
9. Maybelline "define-a-lash" waterproof mascara
10. Clearasil cream
11. Ulta brushes: contour brush, sponge tip, and eyeshadow (these are small)
12. Bonnie Bell "Honey Kiss" lipgloss
13. Bonnie Bell "Sugar Bronze" lipgloss
14. Ulta "Plush Drama" mascara
15. Carmex
16. Burt's Bees "Mango Butter" lipbalm
17. Rosebud Strawberry lipbalm
18. Estee Lauder "Frosted Apricot" lip stick
19. Covergirl "Bronzed Peach" lip stick
20. Covergirl concealer
21. Bobbi Brown "Oyster" lip gloss
22. Bobbi Brown "Melon 2" lip gloss
23. Ulta charcoal eyeliner
24. Unknown black eyeliner pencil (it's a tiny thing I got from a Halloween makeup kit)
25. Eyeliner pencil sharpener
26. Majikah Perfumery "Renaissance Romance" perfume
27. 3 bobby pins

Phew! Yeah, that's one bag...

The second bag is a rectangular-ish tote thing that has more of the extra stuff or the things that I don't wear very much and don't need to take with me very often.

1. Foundation sponge
2. Neutrogena skin clearing mineral powder (classic ivory 10)
3. Neutrogena skin clearing liquid foundation (classic ivory 10)
4. Extra BB cream (same as the first bag)
5. Neutrogena shine control primer
6. Bonnie Bell "vanilla swirl" lip gloss
7. Covergirl 24 hour lipstick
8. Portland Black Lipstick Company "snow queen" lipstick
9-11. Three different Alamay eyeshadow pallets
12. Two different Covergirl powders
13. Ulta "Electric Lights" eyeshadow
14. Unmarked lipstick (kind of a bronze color)
15. Covergirl Concealer
16. Hot Topic eye shadow pallet
17. Jordana "Holiday Red" lipstick (I think this is from when I was in elementary school and I was a vampire for Halloween...)
18. Clinique "Peach Goddess" lip gloss
19. Bonnie Bell "cream puff" lip gloss
20. Ulta "perfect nude" lip stick
21. Ulta face wash
22. Bonnie Bell brown swirl lip gloss
23. Mary Kay "Celebrate" lip gloss
24. BonBons pink and purple lip gloss
25. BonBons vanilla lip gloss
26. Ulta "Flirtini" lip gloss
27. Ulta "flush cheek" blush (I think. It doesn't really say.)
28. A terrycloth hairband
29. Covergirl eyeliner? (I think that's what this is)
30. Unmarked brown liquid eyeliner
31. Prestige "khol" eyeliner pencil

Okay, I've realized that at least half of this is is stuff that was either part of a free sample package, something that I've had since I was five, or something that my mom threw at me that she either had when she was in college or that her cousin sent her. Actually, two thirds of this falls under that category.

So... yeah. I have a lot of makeup. A remarkable amount for someone who barely knows how to use it...

52 Week: What Influences My Lolita Style

I tend to be more influenced by old-fashioned dolls and clothing from history, I think. It's hard for me to really pin-point what influences my lolita style. I've always just liked clothes like this, and before I got into lolita, I was still the type of person who wore long skirts and corsets. Lolita was always that style that I wanted to find and didn't know that I wanted to find it until I did. 

So for the most part, I tend to just find dresses that my younger self would have done nearly anything for the chance to wear. So, that comes out as more of a classic-sweet blend. For the most part. I say I'm influenced by old-fashioned dolls and clothing from various time periods (typically Victorian to Edwardian era) because that's what I was influenced by when I was little. That was what I wanted to wear. So now I'm really just finding dresses that are the sort of thing I've always wanted to wear, and that I know will suit me. That's a big reason why I don't delve into OTT sweet, even though I like it a lot: I just don't think it suits me. Not that it wouldn't look good on my body type or anything like that, just that I think I personally would feel very self-conscious in OTT sweet, in a way that I don't feel in my usual style. 

How I Travel with Lolita

Notice the title of this is "with" not "in" lolita. I, personally, am not a big fan of long distance travel while wearing lolita. I don't really even like driving in lolita, but that's mainly because my truck's seat belts are not petticoat friendly. Riding in the car in lolita is okay... as long as it's on the way to a meetup, and not actual travel. 

For airplane travel, what I typically do is pick one coordinate, or if I do need two, then one where all, or at least most, of the accessories go with both dresses. If I'm able to only have carry-on bags, it's usually pretty easy to violently cram my petticoat (and YES I do mean literally cramming it) into the corner or bottom of the bag (depends on which bag I'm traveling with) and pile all my other clothes or stuffed animals around and on top of it. Having only one pair of shoes is really essential: there's too much wasted space, especially in a carry-on bag, if you pack more than one. However, if you do need more than one pair, wear one in the airport, rather than trying to pack both and wear regular shoes (I like my Bodyline shoes for this, since they have snaps so that I don't have to mess with buckles.) I usually fold and then gently roll dresses up into a sort of sausage link shape, if I'm not able to use a suit or dress bag. I really, really, don't like wearing my dresses in the airport or on the airplane: there's too many possible stains that could happen, plus, with those new full-body scanners, you will have to be pulled aside and patted down, there's too many folds in the dress, and I've had to have a pat down with just a regular skirt. 

For car travel, it's a lot easier, and unless you're traveling with multiple people, you really don't have to worry about space as much. I still don't like wearing lolita dresses on long (I consider 4+ hours to be long) trips, since wrinkles in your skirt are a guarantee, plus they just get uncomfortable after a while, but in this case packing them is much easier. Dress or suit bags are your friend here, you can either lay it flat on top of everything else, or hang it up on the hangars that come in every car. If you're traveling with multiple people, I'd suggest laying it flat since riding in a car with someone's dress bag blocking your view is really annoying. For petticoats, I still shove mine in the bottom of a backpack, and then my other clothes on top of it. 

If you're traveling and you need to, for various reasons whether it be space or time, wear lolita, I still would advise against wearing your petticoat. In the car, traveling long distance will deflate your petticoat faster than almost anything, since you're sitting on it the whole time, not to mention if you're traveling with a bunch of people, it just takes up unnecessary space and can be rude. On an airplane, the same thing applies, and even if you're on a short flight where petti-deflation isn't as much of a problem, how would you like to be the person next to you? There's not much point in wearing your petticoat in the airport since you'd just be going through the hassle of wearing it through security, and then taking it off and shoving it into your bag anyway. 

Just remember to keep your destination in mind when you're packing lolita to take with you. I'd rather wear the same coordinate twice in as many days than over-pack and waste a ton of space that could be used to pack other things, or for bringing back souvenirs. 

52 Week: How I accessorize

I think I've mentioned this before, but I tend to take a very low key approach to accessories. For one thing, I'm very hard on jewelry, and so I tend to not wear much of it very often.

Head pieces: This is helped by the fact that I don't actually own very many lolita head pieces. I have a non-lolita headbow (on a hairband) that I wear with lolita fairly often, a Bodyline bow that I'm pretty sure is supposed to be a detachable bow, but I shoved a bobby pin onto it, a crocheted beret, and two bows my best friend gave me that have the weird spring clip backings. None of these are very tall, or particularly large, and while I'd like to add a bit more variety, for the most part I like it this way.

Earrings: I'm pretty "meh" about earrings. I have a lot of them, but a limited number that actually go with my dresses. None of these are very big, although some dangle. When I do my EGL wardrobe post in January I'll post it here too. Sometimes I wear earrings with lolita, sometimes I don't. And sometimes I meant to, but forgot to put in earrings and don't realize it until I'm getting out of the car at the meetup.

Bracelets: Eh, I'm not that big on bracelets. I have a few, but unless I'm really going with a theme with my jewelry (for example, I have a key necklace, and I have a bracelet full of locks) I don't typically wear them.

Rings: I wear them occasionally, but not often. More often than I wear bracelets, though.

Necklaces: I usually try to wear a necklace. Necklaces are what I wear the most both in and out of lolita. I just like to have a little something around my neck!

52 Week: How Satisfied I am with my current wardrobe

I thought I posted something on Sunday, but I guess not! I was at home all weekend, so blogging took a back seat to being with mom and dad and puppers. I'll (hopefully) post something tomorrow, this is Sunday's replacement.

Hmm... I like the dresses in my current wardrobe. Most of them look relatively the same style, and most of them can use the same accessories easily. I do wish I had a bit of a larger wardrobe, though. Ideally I'd like a wardrobe large enough to wear lolita for a week solid without overlapping too much on coordinates. I'm getting there! I'd like to add some more dresses from my wants list to my wardrobe, and definitely more head pieces and accessories. And bags. I don't actually have a lolita bag yet. I usually just use my nicest purse if I'm going to a meetup, or my Bishou (Hamtaro) backpack purse if I'm just going out to do errands or hang out with my best friend.

52 Week: 10 facts about my Lolita wardrobe

1. Three of my five main pieces (I consider main pieces to be dresses/skirts) are able to be used in a sweet, classic, or country coord!

2. For all my talk of sensible lolita shoes, I only actually have one pair of those.

3. I have three blouses (one of which will be sold soon) and they are all long sleeved (well, one has detachable sleeves.)

4. Most of my head pieces are bows that aren't attached to headbands.

5. I have two petticoats, one bell shaped and one a-line (both are Classical Puppets "daily" ones)

6. My Sleipnir JSK is my first print. (Well, I have Bodyline's L411 but I don't really see that as a print)

7. I made the only skirt I have.

8. I do not own any printed socks/tights

9. I have yet to buy a necklace solely for Lolita (however I have been gifted some)

10. All my blouses/cardigans are thrifted!

52 Week: My first meetup

My first meetup was mentioned in my last post... laser tag!

I remember being a little nervous, just because it was a new group of people who I'd never met. I'd been to cosplay meetups before (I've since left the cosplay group, and while I still cosplay I do it much more casually) but never a lolita meet, and so I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen.

My mom and I did a "dry run" a day or two before, where we drive out to the meetup location so that I can see ahead of time if there's any construction or how some funky thing on the map works, and pick out landmarks. And then, if anything goes wrong, then mom is in the car with me and we can figure out how to fix it without me having a panic attack ^_^; Anyway, I knew how to get there, and everything went fine, I think I was the third person there? I'm always early.

I think they lumped us in with a few more people, but it was largely just us playing, and we did sweet versus classic and gothic for the team divide ^_^ It was a total blast and we hung out after the game, and it just generally made me very excited about being part of the comm.

52 Week: 3 Things I wish I was told when I was a new Lolita

1. Comfortable shoes are very important.

If you're going to a meetup that is a rather active meetup, or one that requires a lot of walking, like say, oh, laser tag or, um, the zoo... for goodness sakes, if you do not have a pair of flat lolita shoes, just wear ballet flats! It doesn't matter that they're not strictly lolita, just wear ballet flats, and for the love of everything do not wear heels even if they are the only lolita shoes you have.

On the plus side, I now know that it is possible to play laser tag in heels. Not very fun, but possible.

2. You never HAVE to wear makeup.

For whatever reason, I somehow got it in my head while researching the fashion that makeup was a "must" while wearing lolita. It is not. Yes, it completes the look and makes you look more polished in general, but you never "have" to wear it. Also, I didn't actually realize what BB cream was until this summer, so there were quite a few days that I was in really hot weather wearing foundation. Don't do it. Just don't. Especially if you're just walking around campus.

3. You look just fine if you wear glasses rather than contacts.

You do. Trust me. And if you want to put on eye makeup, just take your glasses off, get close to the mirror so you can see, put on the eye makeup, and put your glasses back on. You look just fine.

BONUS: Things you will find out when you start wearing lolita:

1. Petticoats are a pain to drive in.
2. Do not wear new tights around your overexcited dogs.

52 Week: Combining other fashions with Lolita

This one might be short-ish but considering that this will be like the fourth thing I've posted today, I think that's okay.

I am a big fan of combining fashions! If you never introduce new things into a fashion, then the the fashion can't grow, becomes static, and then becomes boring and slowly dies off. I have said this many, many, times for a lot of different things. However, I think that combining things needs to stay in the realm of the rules. Also it needs to look good as an outfit in general, that's probably the most important thing.

For example: I'm starting to amass a collection of resin jewelry. I know that a lot of people wear resin jewelry with both Fairy Kei and OTT sweet (or just sweet) and it looks absolutely fantastic. I, however, have not done that yet, because the jewelry that I have would not look good in a coord with the dresses I have. The colors match, yes, but while I think that a resin star with little dinosaur sprinkles in it would look adorable in a Fairy Kei or even the right OTT Sweet coord, it would not look good with my own coords, which are usually more old school sweet, country, or classic. Kind of like how, while some of the colors are also similar, I wouldn't wear the same necklace with one of my Sunday dresses. I think this should be common knowledge but sometimes I'm surprised.

I think combining fashions is really best done only when you are very immersed in both fashions. I think that Peachie does a great job of combining elements of Fairy Kei with elements of OTT sweet. I however, would not be able to do the same thing with near the amount of success, because I don't know very much about Fairy Kei. I would love to apply some Mori-girl or Aristocrat elements to my lolita (there's a girl in my comm who I believe does Aristocrat as well as lolita and her coords are fantastic and elegant and wonderful) but, again, I'm not as familiar with those as I am with lolita, and I think it would definitely show.

If you want to add elements of something into your main fashion of choice, but you're not very familiar with that "something," look around for pictures of people who have done it successfully. Learning from them will give you a start, and then you can learn more about that other fashion and begin successful forays into combinations!

... Oh wow, this is actually a decent length, yay!