Baby, The Stars Shine Bright to Open New York City Store!

If you're friends with anyone on Facebook who happens to live anywhere even remotely close to the US east coast, this is probably old news to you by now, but if you haven't heard yet: Baby the Stars Shine Bright is opening it's first store on the east coast! The news came alongside the news of the re-opening of Tokyo Rebel, a NYC shop that carried a number of Japanese brands, including Baby. In fact, Tokyo Rebel and Baby will be opening side-by-side. The most exciting thing about this is that it isn't happening in some far-off unspecified future, but it's happening in a month.

This is incredible news, and not just for Lolitas who happen to live in and around NYC! This might be the first brand shop to hit the east coast, but it's the second Baby to hit the US, and one of several Lolita shops. Lolita fashion is definitely on the rise in popularity and it's incredibly exciting to see actual brand shops opening up, not just once or twice, but multiple times, outside of Japan. Just as Miss Lumpy pointed out in her post about this news, even if this new shop isn't local to you, with each brand shop to successfully open outside of Japan, it increases the chances of more brand shops opening all around the world! 

As an east coast Lolita, I've often siiighed with envy at all the exciting events that happen for all the west coast Lolita brands, and here's to hoping that with the opening of this Baby store we'll be getting similar events here!

You can keep your eyes on the Baby NYC website for more news about this exciting opening, as well as the twitter and facebook. I would also suggest keeping an eye on Tokyo Rebel and their blog for news as well!

Lolita Blog Carnival: 1 Piece, 4 Seasons

This week's Lolita Blog Carnival is themed 1 piece, 4 seasons and the challenge is to take one dress and make 4 different coordinates for the 4 seasons with it!

For the challenge I chose Baby's Marie Antoinette dress in blue. I chose it because it's one of my favorite Baby dresses and a version of it was recently re-released in Baby's Memorial series!

Winter Princess

 

Most winter coordinates are, honestly, going to be hidden under a coat, so I tried to make this one look wintery even without  coat. I think the best way to do that is with copious amounts of faux fur! The bonnet with a rose or two to match the dress adds an extra element of opulence. Thick textured tights, Lolita boots, and a few pieces of icy blue jewelry finish off this elegantly inspired coordinate.

 Spring Cutie

I  tried to add some more cute elements for spring for this dress. Despite the elegance this dress exudes (or at least, that's how I feel about it!) I think the cut is so classically Lolita that it can be accessorized to match just about any sub-style. So an overall theme of bows, a cute heart purse, OTKs and dainty gloves push this into the realms of kawaiii. The lacy shawl brings a little bit of elegance back, and is a cute addition in the Spring time, when the sun is warm but sometimes the winds get a little chilly.

Royal Summer

The best part of a dress like this is the sleeves are very versatile, as they are of an in-between JSK and OP length and are intended to look just as nice without a blouse under it as with one. This coordinate is a little bit on the Hime side, which is something a dress like this can lend itself well too. Go  sockless and open-toed in the warm weather and accessorize with some complimenting jewelry and matching nail polish. A few slightly more envelope pushing Hime elements are the bloomers with the bow garters and the Angelic Pretty lacy arm warmers. Chokers can nicely complement dresses with the crisscrossing ribbons on chest, and this white Moi Meme Moitie choker looks like it would make a cute addition the the coordinate.

Autumn Dolly

   

This coordinate was a little bit difficult to do because I wanted something slightly warmer looking for Autumn, but a blue and white dress is going to inevitably look very cool. I warmed it up with some cream colors and more Dolly Kei inspired touches, such as a longer lace skirt worn under it (this is something I do with my wardrobe but doesn't exactly work so well with Polyvore! I have a pretty nice lace skirt that's about 3-4 inches longer than my Lolita skirts that I wear under them. It looks completely silly with a petticoat under it by itself, but it adds a nice length to skirts it's worn under.) and an interesting collection of jewelry. Lace tights and a wicker purse add some more texture to this outfit, as well as an antique touch.

Want some more ideas on how to stretch a single piece into multiple seasons and styles? Check out the rest of the gang that participated in this week's Lolita Blog Carnival!

❖ Suns In Our Hands ❖ Papillion de Nuit ❖ Tangled Lace ❖ Make Lovely ❖ Wait Till My Father Hears About This ❖ Lemontree ❖ Minimalist Lolita ❖ Sparkling Girl ❖ Fashion Fairy Tales & Sewing Secrets ❖

Lolita 52 Challenge: A Lolita Topic a Week!

There are tons of blogging challenges floating around out there, but very few Lolita specific ones! So to kick off the new year and a fresh set of 52 weeks I came up with my own list of 52 questions. These range from simple preference questions, to advice, to lists, to questions that might have a more in-depth answer.

  

If you feel like attempting to tackle this list with me, there are a few ways you can go about doing it. You can either just go down the list at one question every week until the end of the year, or you tackle in all at once like a survey, or you can do what I'm going to do! If I see a list like this I'll see questions on it that I might not feel like answering at the moment, for whatever lazy reason I have, so I will just dread doing it and give up, so what I'm going to do is write down these questions on little slips of paper then put them all in a jar. Every week I'll pull a new one out and answer it! For me it will be a physical reminder to complete this challenge.

1.  5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style
2.  5 movies for Lolitas
3.  What my own Lolita lifestyle is like 
4.  Favorite thing to put on my head
5.  My wardrobe turnover
6.  My favorite Lolita brand
7.  Why I wear Lolita?
8.  Why don't I wear Lolita more often?
9.  5 keywords that describe my personal Lolita style
10.  How I first found out about Lolita
11.  3 trends I wish would come back
12.  Combining other fashions with Lolita
13.  Lolitas I have met in real life
14.  Lolitas I would love to meet
15.  3 things I wish I was told when I was a new Lolita
16.  10 facts about my Lolita wardrobe
17.  My first meetup
18.  Trends I thought I would never get into, but I now love
19.  Trends I thought I loved, but now I'm not too keen on
20.  How satisfied I am with my current wardrobe
21.  Plan for a trip! A week's worth of Lolita outfits I can fit in a small suitcase
22.  How I accessorize
23.  What influences my Lolita style
24.  What's in my makeup bag
25.  Best places to wear Lolita
26.  How I get out of a wardrobe slump
27.  Purses that I love
28.  Bloomers or no bloomers?
29.  Lolitafying things in my everyday life
30.  How long it took me to build a complete wardrobe
31.  Impulse buys that were totally worth it
32.  My best deal
33.  Something that I made
34.  Wardrobe blunders! Things I bought that I ended up regretting!
35.  What I thought when I got my first real piece of Lolita
36.  Nails to match my favorite looks
37.  Something that's not my style, but I love anyways
38.  Favorite hair style
39.  Most versatile Lolita item I own
40.  5 inspirational fictional characters
41.  Fondest meetup memory
42.  The ways in which I fit the cliche
43.  The ways in which I do not fit the cliche
44.  How strangers react to my clothes, and how I react to their reactions
45.  Something that was a gift
46.  Parasols: Vital or frivolous?
47.  The item in my wardrobe that was the hardest to get
48.  My "signature" outfit
49.  My favorite Lolita print
50.  What's in my closet, but I haven't worn yet!
51.  Predict the next Lolita trend!
52.  How Lolita has changed me

Considering it's a whole new year, now is as good as a time as any to start this. The first week's question that I pulled was:

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

Over the years I've come to the realization that, despite how much I might love something, if it's not my style I'm probably not going to feel comfortable wearing it, and I'll eventually just start to dislike it. I've learned that it's okay to like a style without feeling the need to wear it.

One of my major "Oh my gosh I love that, but I'd totally never wear it!" items are Baby's Rococo styled dresses from about 2007-2008... in white.

I love everything about these dresses! I love the frilly open fronts, the giant bell sleeves, the massive amounts of ruffles and lace, and I think that in white, they're even prettier. They remind me of the even older Old School trend of "Angelic Lolita", only even more over the top.

However, as much as I love looking at these dresses, and seeing other people in them, I simply can't imagine myself ever wearing one! Besides the fact that they're usually a few hundred dollars out of my price rage, I would be too paranoid to ever wear an all white outfit for any extended amount of time, and I can't really imagine any of them would look very flattering on me. Most of all, they're probably the exact opposite of the styles that I feel comfortable wearing, so I can only imagine wearing one of these gorgeous dresses would probably be an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable experience!

What about the rest of you? Anything out there you love, but you just can't imagine every actually wearing it?

Blogspiration: Affrilliation Year 2, An Impressive Collection, & More!

Apparently, I'm only capable of making these blog roundup posts every six months! Not sure why I rarely do these, as I am always coming across interesting things to share.

First up is a post over on Kirakira Shoujo about a question that has been popping up since about 2001, is Lolita dying? It's not really a yes or no question, but Kirakira Shoujo writes an interesting article talking about the ebb and flow of Lolita's popularity! Lolita's not really going anywhere, and I'm not sure where people keep hearing this rumor, year after year, but the style is certainly always changing.

Affrilliation, the US's first exclusively Lolita convention has officially announced a second year! They've moved their con to a swankier new place and have started adding info about next year's con, which will take place the first of June! Check out their site for more info! Last year was considered a success and this upcoming one looks to be bigger and better!

Over on SkyScraperOpera's Tumblr I stumbled across this picture! It's a pretty amazing picture of their Alice & the Pirates Versailles Rose collection! I love this line because it's so striking and elegant. The pieces are classic Baby the Stars Shine Bright/Alice & the Pirates and they're all tied together with some gorgeous gold embroidery. I love seeing collections like this too! It takes some serious dedication and love to have a collection like this! One day I hope to have my own small collection of Meta's Antique Bouquet, one of my all time favorite brand series!

A common topic to pop up in the online Lolita communities is how to wear, or even if you should wear, Lolita to formal occasions. Over on Luna Rain, the blog's author talks a little bit about her experience of wearing a toned down Lolita outfit to a wedding and some general advice to keep in mind if you have a formal occasion to go to, but have nothing in your closet but frills!

A friend of mine just posted her adventures in this craft and I was blown away by how simple it seems! Check out this awesome tutorial! It's just puff paint and tulle but the results are so awesome looking! This was a tutorial posted for Halloween but when you wear Lolita, there are lots of occasions to get dressed up. I can imagine these masks in pastel colors for a Marie Antoinette Sweet Lolita themed masquerade look, in metallic gold to top off an OTT Classic styled outfit, or in Moitie blue to add a spooky touch to a Gothic Lolita outfit. 


Finally, I'd like to end this post with some pictures from the International Lolita Day tea party I went to in the beginning of December. These were all taken by Christina of Ramble Rori!

 At this particular meetup we had a guest speaker, Yuniya Kawamura, talk a bit about her recent book Fashioning Japanese Subcultures. Books that talk seriously about subcultures, let alone one that discusses Lolita, are few and far between, so this is definitely a book I hope to pick up sometime soon!

Maybe I'll update this little series of trips through other people's blogs more than once every 6 months, maybe not! But, until the next post, Merry Krampus!

Usakumya's Humble Beginnings

I was lurking around on Hello Lace, a Lolita fashion database, the other day and stumbled across something from 2002 in the Baby the Stars Shine Bright section that took me for surprise!

 

This might not be too surprising at first, as brands have released weird fuzzy animal bags in the past, but what surprised me about this was that it was labeled as an Usakumya bag! That's right, this weird little sheepy monster, that someone on Tumblr noticed an unfortunate similarly to the Nina chimera from Full Metal Alchemist that I have been unable to unsee, was the grand-bear to the iconic Usakumya bags! Someone else mentioned seeing this particularly fluffy Usakumya in the Kamikaze Girls movie, but I haven't seen the movie in so long, I don't recall exactly where in the background this fluffy little creature is lurking.

The current Usakumya!.

 It would seem there are a lot of Usakumya's lurking around! I'm sure some of you are still having haunting dreams of this particularly terrified looking knock-off. Even the BtSSB versions have a few sort of odd looking bunny-bear's lurking around. Take, for instance, this 2005 version that seems to be a combination of the old fluffy one and the newer ones, or the many odd things Baby has put Usakumya's likeness on, including this most unfortunate pen.

Over the years, I've sort of grown fond of this little chameleon of a bunny-bear, and with each new, and sometimes nightmarish, thing Baby slaps this little guy's fluffy stuffed head on, the more I sort of want one of my own. Maybe I need to get a little jar (covered in fake fur with a fluffy bunny-bear head on it? Hint hint, Baby!) and start an Usakumya fund!

What about the rest of you? Is there anything in the history of Usakumya's that you just find yourself not being able to resist? Or are you just not into these fluffy little bears in disguise?

Unicorns? In My Lolita? Baby's Newest Print!

I was getting my much needed dose of Lolita news when I stumbled across a picture of Baby's newest print and was completed delighted to find that it featured my favorite animal in the magical animal kingdom, the Unicorn! I really don't understand why unicorns aren't a more common theme in Lolita prints, they are pretty much the perfect Lolita animal- they're magical, they're elegant, they're a princesses best friend, and they can come in rainbow pastel colors, what more can you ask for? But, for whatever reason, very few Lolita brands, indie or otherwise, have even ventured into the magical realm of unicorns. Metamorphose's Twinkle Journey is pretty much your only big brand unicorn release, and the indie brand Pink Macaroon has released a unicorn themed print, but that's really your only options when it comes to unicorn-centric Lolita prints. But now we can finally add another unicorn print to our closets since Baby has decided to finally bust out some unicorns with Unico in Bloomland.

 

Unico in Bloomland comes in a few choices, two different styles of JSK, a skirt, a pair of print socks, a headbow, and even a printless blouse meant to complete the set. Printwise, I think this is completely adorable, it includes Baby's typical flower swag garlands, bows, crowns, and other more elegantly styled motifs, as well as a liberal splashing of pastel pink baby unicorns. While this is sort of their trademark style (of the moment) it does get a bit boring sometimes, as the general print layout is very similar to a number of prints they have done in recent years, but really, the unicorns make up for that. So much so that the pink version is really tempting me as being one of my very few "fancy pink prints" for the rare occasion when I feel the need to go out in all pink. But, perhaps I'm letting myself get carried away with uniconlust.

What do you think of this print? Does the mere fact that it's covered in little pink unicorns make you want to bust out your wallets and throw money at your computer screen? Or maybe it's just not your style? It is awfully pink and adowabuwle, and I do think that unicorns can be so much more than just cute fuzzy animals.

More of the 30 day Lolita meme! I obviously haven't been doing of these every day, so I'll just be grouping a few of them together for missed days whenever I post. This way this meme wont drag on for half the year, and I wont have to bore you with daily posts about silly meme things!

Day 6- 10 things in your Lolita wardrobe you can't live without.

♥ A black chiffon petticoat, setting this day's unintentional theme of black Lolita clothes! ♥ Simple black underskirt because without it so many things would be too short! ♥ A comfy h.NAOTO cutsew to throw on over JSKs on lazy days ♥ A big black head eating bow ♥ My black and pink crown emblem Emily Temple Cute purse ♥ A pair of simple black Tea Party knockoffs that I can throw on and pretty much match everything, they're comfy and I don't have to worry too much about wearing them down to the soles ♥ Lacy tights, for extra fancification and when I can't find matching socks ♥ Bloomers! ♥ My Stained Glass print skirt, I just really really love that print! ♥ My very first brand dress, a black BtSSB shirred JSK, it's comfy, fancy, and can work it's way into just about every Lolita style out there! ♥

Day 7- 10  5 people who inspire your Lolita style

I think a lot of people are finding this day very difficult! It's so hard to pick out 10 people who you know inspire you, inspiration sort of comes from all over! So instead of 10 Lolitas, here are 5 Lolitas who's style I find very intriguing, I might not draw direct inspiration from them (that is, wear clothes because they do), but I certainly admire them and their styles!

♥  Sachi from Kokusyoku Sumire ♥ Maria of Paperlace ♥ Hitome of Grimoire fame ♥ Martha of Mossgarden ♥ Mana, by no means am I a Manatard, but the dude's got style ♥  

Vampire Requiem Re-Release, BtSSB coming to NYC

Sometime last year Baby released Vampire Requiem, their answer to Moitie's famous Iron Gate. It quickly became one of Baby's most popular prints, ever, with it's Gothic charm. Recently Baby has announced that they will be re-releasing this print, as a JSK and a corsetted skirt, in black, red, and a new royal blue color.

The re-release is wonderful news to some, sort of shocking to others. Re-releases are bad news to some Lolitas because it means that their rare and expensive dress, a dress that they may have spent hundreds more than retail on with the justification of "Hey, I can always sell it later and get how much I spent on it!", might now suddenly plummet in price now that a big chunk of the people who missed out the first time around can all the sudden get their hands on it for retail price. To some, Lolita is a collectible hobby and they view some of their pieces as investments. On the other hand, re-releases allow more people to get something they seriously love and have no other way of getting.

Personally, I think re-releases are great. I think they're best when they're slightly different from the original release, either released in a different colorway, the print is slightly different, or the cut of the dress is different. What are your opinions on re-releases? Do you love how exclusive rare prints are? Or do you feel that other people owning the same print as you shouldn't effect how you feel about a print?

In other BtSSB related news, Baby and Alice & the Pirates are coming to NYC! They'll be replacing Angelic Pretty in NYC's Tokyo Rebel store. While this is bad news for AP fans, some good news is that the last of their AP stock will be on sale.

Finally, I just want to say, sorry for the long time between posts! Over the weekend I was vending at a con and for the week or so before it I had been really trying to get some final things done. Also, maybe you've noticed, but I have a new layout :D Let me know what you think about it!

BtSSB's Kuranosuke Stripe JSK

I've been neglecting to update news on newest brand releases, I'm not going to lie, mainly it's been because I had no idea how to navigate Baby's new site so I was pretty much the last to know about their new releases XD Well, I've figured that out now, but Caramea over at New Vogue Children still beat me to this one, but I'm still going to talk about it anyways because I'm simply in love with it.

Kuranosuke Stripe is actually an Alice & the Pirates release, and it is awesome! I'm such a sucker for vertical stripes, and while many brands release prints with some sort of vertical stripe, maybe vertical columns of flowers, or polka-dot filled stripes with candy scattered around them, very few release simple 2 color stripes. The black and white stripes I especially love! Many Lolitas like to wear clothes that make them nostalgic towards their childhood with things like 80's pastels and unicorns, but my childhood memories consist of Beetlejuice, The Addams Family, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, so of course I'm going to get all warm and fuzzy inside when I see black and white stripes like this!

The one detail I'm not too fond of on this dress is the bustle. Don't get me wrong, I love a good bustle, but this bustle is just way too narrow for my tastes, and I much prefer a bustle like this when the fabric is the same as the rest of the dress.

Kuranosuke Stripe is currently up for reserve, and will be hitting shops and website come January. It's also paired up with a cute round headdress and a black blouse. The set is part of a collaboration with Kuragehime (or Jellyfish Princess), which is apparently a manga and new anime about a girl who loves jellyfish way too much and the fashionable crossdresser who saves them.

Jellyfish are apparently very rori.

I'm actually a little bit excited about this anime now XD It's based on a josei manga, which is aimed at older teens and women, so (hopefully) there will be considerably less sparkles and pantie shots than your average anime with frilly dresses.

Or not...

The more I read about this anime, the more I sort of really want to watch it XD I think I'm off to go find it now!

Old School Sweet Lolita: Angelically Sweet

While browsing through some Gothic & Lolita Bibles I noticed that the earlier ones have much more white or off-white coordinates than any of the newer volumes. These pale colored coordinates have such an angelic and innocent aesthetic and it's definitely more elegant than the modern pastel rainbow Sweet Lolita, which tends to focus on cuteness as opposed to elegance. I really love this style of old school Sweet Lolita but it's hardly ever seen any more unless it's someone deliberately dressing in Shiro Lolita, and then the focus is more about dressing mainly in all white, not maintaining an angelic air.

These are some of my favorites from the early volumes. One of the things I really love about some of these coordinates is that they are not afraid to combine off-white with white. White/off-white combos are often seen as an instant Lolita faux pas to some, but I think this is something of an unfair statement that people heard once and take a little too much to heart. True, if you are wearing a white dress and socks a pair of off-white shoes are going to look out of place, and a white blouse with off-white lace paired with a pink and white skirt is going to look strange, but that's not to say that all white and off-white combos should be written off. If you balance the two colors nicely, such as matching a white blouse and socks with an off-white JSK and socks, the result is lovely.

Another detail often seen in these early angelic Sweet Lolita coordinates are ruffly sleeves. Either wide, lace covered bell sleeves, or a long sleeve with a wide ruffle at the end. All in all the designs were much more detailed, lots of ruffles, lots of lace, and lots of bows and other sweet details. The ruffles didn't stop at the dress either! Socks had a lacy ruffle around the top, frilly bloomers peeked out from under skirts, and headdress were extra lacy or they even wore a decadent white bonnet. These old school angelic outfits were definitely over-the-top in their own way and could definitely hold their own against a modern OTT Sweet Lolita outfit.

Updating this old school style

This style is easily updated for the Lolita who loves the style, but wants a few more up-to-date details. The result, I think, ends up a little bit more Classic Lolita than Sweet Lolita, but then again, old school Sweet was often very similar to Classic Lolita.

I've picked a BtSSB staple for the JSK, a pale cream colored empire waisted JSK and paired it with a white blouse with some wristcuffs for an extra lacy ruffle. To update the look a bit I switched the knee socks for a pair of over-the-knees and instead of an old school ruffly headdress I've picked one of Innocent World's rose covered headbands. To complete the look, and to further the angelic theme, I've added a few pieces of antique gold jewelry, a couple of which feature crosses and cherubs.

This is a gorgeous style, and while people still certainly do wear Shiro Lolita, I would really love to see more white coordinates with an elegant and angelic aesthetic to them. These old school sweet coordinates have a certain look to them that many modern Sweet Lolita coordinates just don't have, despite how OTT both are. What do you think? Would you like to see the next big Angelic Pretty piece be a lace covered dress like one of these, or do you prefer cute over elegant Sweet Lolita styles?