Making Old School New Again: Priere

Chunky platforms, bloomers peeking out the bottom of a skirt, yards upon yards of lace, lacy headdresses tied under the chin—all things we tend to think of when we reminisce about what Lolita used to be. But what if it was all back again, and with an updated look that was cutting edge and even trendy? That's exactly what Japanese indie brand Priere is doing!

Taking inspiration from antique dolls, Yukarin of Priere has created an angelic vision that harkens back to what Lolita was in the 90's, as well as the Victorian revival of the 1970's that brands like Gunne Sax popularized. Japanese pop culture is experiencing some serious 90's nostalgia at the moment (perhaps all the 1980's Fairy Kei girls have grown up and the girls who grew up in the 1990's are taking their place as queens of street fashion?) and is coming up with ways to reinvent the looks of the decade in fresh new ways. 

Perhaps the best way to make coordinates like this cutting edge is the way they're styled, gone are the bare faces and simple hair of early Lolita, and in their place are the currently trendy looks that seem to borrow heavily from moe pop culture. High bright blush, berry red lips, and flawlessly natural looking hair, often with professionally dyed unnatural colors, give a finished look to the old fashioned layered dresses.

One thing I particularly love about this brand's stylings is the use of mixed off-whites, with only touches of brown or gold, and yet most of the looks are paired with darker shoes, something that was very frequently seen in old Lolita street snaps. I think that the pairing of lighter frilly dresses with dark shoes has such an endearing look, and reminds me so much of sepia toned antique photographs of little Victorian children.

While Priere is not a Lolita brand, the aesthetics are very similar and I think that anyone interested in Lolita, particularly the current Classic Lolita trends, can find a lot of inspiration from this up-and-coming designer. The bell sleeves, the peeking bloomers, the layers of sheer lace, these are all things that elicit a strong sense of nostalgia from most Lolitas who've been in the fashion for a while, or even new Lolitas who know their roots, and it's exciting to see a new designer put a fresh face on the older designs.

Priere is a very new line and currently only has an Instagram with the promise of a future webshob. But you can also follow Yukarin's personal Twitter and Instagram for more. Tokyo Fashion also features an interview with Yukarin here.

Wearing Sugary Sweet Pastels With Classic Lolita

It's pretty obvious that Classic Lolita is this year's big thing. Take a look at almost any large-scale Lolita gathering where everyone dons their most impressive outfit and it's a sea of Classic Lolita as far as the eye can see!

But what is the Lolita to do who isn't ready to give up her pastels, but wants to get in on this opulent decadence that everyone is excited about and aren't exactly ready to go full Marie Antoinette or in a Sweet-Classic hybrid? Luckily nowadays Lolitas are much more open about what sort of colors different styles can wear! No longer are Classic Lolitas confined to jewel tones and mute colors, but they can dabble in sugary sweet pastels just as much as the Sweet Lolita can.

Finding Classic Lolita styled dresses in Sweet Lolita true pastels is probably the hardest part! But there are a few pieces out there, especially now with Classic Lolita on the rise and brand's spring releases already in stores. Look for traditional Classic designs, cuts, and materials, only in soft and sugary pastels.

The easiest way to make this style work is to make sure that your accessories are all unquestionably Classic Lolita inspired. Nix the tea parties for a pair of Victorian styled boots or a more grownup style of heels in white or pink. Ditch the headbow for a Victorianesque hat or a corsage of pastel roses. Loose the twin tail wig and choose either a romantic flowing hair style or an elaborate updo!

 Two fantastic Classically inspired Lolita outfits using soft and sugary pastels! Taken by Crazy Kitch at Enchanted.

Adding in a second (or even a third and fourth!) pastel color to the mix, à la the Sweet Lolita trends, is a fantastic way to make the outfit even more decadent. A pastel blue jumperskirt paired with a pink bolero, a mint green OP with a pink ribbon tied around the waist and a pink underskirt peeking out, lavender jumper skirt with a yellow blouse: these are all common Sweet Lolita pairings that can easily be translated into Classic Lolita!

Sugary sweet pastels don't have to be just for Sweet Lolitas! For those that want to get into this new trend of over-the-top Classic Lolita looks, but aren't ready to give up their pastels, this is the way to do it!

Deer Lolita: Antler Headbands and Headdresses

 One of the trendiest things to do in Lolita right now sport a pair of antlers, believe it or not! This trend is blooming a couple years after fawn fur popped into the fashion and is definitely spurned on by the rising interest of Mori Girl and growing popularity of Classic Lolita.  It also laughs in the face of the silly notion that male deers are the ones with antlers! They're not something that's intended to be worn on a daily basis, but something that's saved for special occasions. Deer antlers are a little like the current Lolita's answer to cake hats: they're really ridiculous in a completely over the top way, and that's why we love them!

Antler headdress are largely a DIY thing at the moment, as they haven't exactly caught on in the mainstream yet. There are a lot of different independent crafters and designers who've created their own for sale, and they're relatively easy to construct yourself if you are handy with some polymer clay and a hot glue gun.

Excuse the instagram photo! It's the only picture I have of them for some reason!

A few months ago I whipped up a pair for myself overnight, using whatever I happened to have on hand, which happened to amount to some paperclay, antique lace, a brooch, and a few fake flowers. For such an incredibly simple thing to make I received tons of compliments on them!

I've put together an Etsy treasury for some inspiration and window shopping! What I really love about this trend is how it doesn't have to be limited to just one tend. There are antlers in pastel shades paired with delicate pink roses for the Sweet Lolita, foresty antlers in natural colors surrounded by deep jewel toned flowers and leaves for the Classic Lolita, or black-as-night antlers for the Gothic Lolita. Not only that but there are delicate and tiny antlers for the demure Lolita to over the top and oversized pairs for the Lolita who really wants to stand out.

What do you think of this trend? Is it just too silly to take seriously or are you as enchanted as I am by these adorable antlers?

Classical Art Prints in Lolita

For the past several years, unique prints have been a pretty big defining feature for brands, and for many people was the thing that drew them to the fashion. While there have almost always been unique prints, they were usually understated until the pastel-dancing-bunnies-riding-rainbows-made-of-unicorn-hair Sweet Lolita explosion happened, and after that it seemed like even the other styles were trying to come up with the next bigger and better print. With the rising interest in Classic Lolita it's no surprise that the next big print trend came from Juliette et Justine, a brand that is undeniably Classic.

Sometime last year or so Juliette et Justine released a dress that pretty much rocked the Lolita world featuring a full all-over print of a classical Rococo painting. They were not the first brand to release all-over prints featuring classical art, but they were definitely the brand to turn it into the next big thing.

 

 Just a few of Juliette et Justine's classical art print pieces!

Juliette et Justine has been releasing a lot of pieces similar to this lately, it seems as if every time they release some new pieces, at least one of them is a classical art print. Juliette et Justine has much simpler designs than most brands, but the rarity/expense of their pieces, while being incredibly obnoxious to most people, at least keeps the community from being completely up to their eyeballs, and completely bored with this new trend.

Other brands have started to jump on this bandwagon too! Moi Meme Moitie recently released Sleeping Garden, which features an all-over print of a photo of a graveyard. Not exactly the same thing as classical art, but it's hard to deny the similarity.

Am I the only one reminded of Sopor Aeternus by this print? I think it's the name that does it.

As I had mentioned, Juliette et Justine was not the first brand to release prints along this line. The Otome brand Jane Marple has actually released several pieces that feature large art prints, a recent one featuring what I think is an angel, but there have been a few other religious prints in their past, and even one featuring a very fancy piano.

Jane Marple does the classic art thing quite nicely.

So what if I can't get my hands on some of these hard-to-find, very-expensive dresses?

Headed right on the tail of this trend is a trend for classical art tights, believe it or not. Nearly all of the tights you are seeing on Lolitas (and Dolly Kei and Cult Party Kei enthusiasts!) both over here and in Japan are actually from a US based tights company called Celeste Stein. There are literally hundreds of different designs to choose from on their site, but only a handful of classical art prints. If you don't have the several hundred dollars to spend on the brand dresses, you can pick up a pair of these tights for between $19 and $32, depending on the type of material you choose! I think that's a pretty good deal for such an awesome pair of tights, and a pretty cheap way to hop on this otherwise expensive bandwagon.

So how the heck do I coordinate something like this? 

Those out there who are not particularly fond of these classical print pieces often say it's because they look incredibly hard to coordinate. Personally, I think with a piece like one of these, it's sort of best to go all-out. I've seen the art tights, paired with Juliette et Justine's art print dresses and it looks absolutely fantastic!

Here's an idea how to coordinate one of JeJ prints in a more over the top way, with contrasting prints and a variety of different textures and colors. I love seeing Classic pieces coordinated in a sort of haphazardly opulent way. Check out some of the Classic Lolita coordinates on the Flasco blog, or some Dolly Kei coordinates for some ideas on how to make pieces that don't necessarily match work together.  

If you're looking for a slightly simpler way of coordinating a print like this, you can always just coordinate it the way you would any other black and white Classic Lolita dress. Some typical cute Lolita shoes, lace-topped socks, a high necked collar, and topped off with a more elegant headdress option you can show off the print on the dress without drowning it in opulence. 

So what do you think of these prints? I am a bit late on reporting on them (I am a bit late reporting on a lot of things! As you can tell by the sad update schedule of this blog lately. Sorry about that!) but in the mean time I've been pleased to see more pieces along these lines come out and the Moitie dress be released. Personally, I really love these dresses, I think that there are so many possibilities for fun coordinates with a piece like this, and it's very refreshing to see prints finally start to go in a different direction from the somewhat formulaic Sweet Lolita prints that have been so prevalent in the fashion for the past several years. On the other hand, I can see how quickly a print trend like this would get old fast, probably even more so than other print trends since there are not as many color options as other prints. You're pretty much stuck with the colors in the painting, so there's not even different colorways to pick from to fit your own personal style. Then again, Juliette et Justine's more recent Jupe du Château comes in several different colors, so I guess we'll just have to see where this trend goes!

Steampunk Inspired Lolita & Victoria's Clockwork Emporium Review

I've been asked a few times to do a post about Steamlolita but I've been putting it off for a while because I'm by no means a Steampunk expert! Recently, however, I was asked by Victoria's Clockwork Emporium to review one of their gorgeous steampunk pieces and it has once again made me a bit intrigued by this odd combination of Victorian elegance and futuristic fantasy.

First up is the review piece from Victoria's Clockwork Emporium! I was sent a lovely hair clip with the iconic steampunk cogs and gears. The hair clip was sent very quickly, within a few days, and was packaged securely in a bubble mailer and slipped inside one of the most awesome bags I've ever seen.

The piece itself is very well made. The first thing I did, of course, was try to pull it apart. Well, maybe not, but I did test it a bit to see how well it was held together. Try as I might, none of the various little cogs fell off, it looks like they are held on with a pretty industrial strength glue, which is incredibly important on a piece like this, where all the more pieces mean all the more opportunities for something to fall off.

  I loved the packaging! The piece was in this awesome skull covered bag!

The gears and cogs are in a variety of different metal colors: silver, bronze and brass. Making this piece easy to coordinate with other pieces of jewelery you happen to be wearing because you really don't have to worry so much about the metal colors matching.

I was very impressed with how beefy the piece was, this wasn't just a couple small cogs glued together, it was practically a layer cake made out of broken watch parts! It is by no means at all a heavy hair clip, but it's definitely substantial, which makes it feel all the more sturdy and unbreakable.

 One thing I particularly like about the clip was that that the clock hand moves around! It's not exactly like I'm going to be fiddling around with it while it's clipped in my hair, but it's definitely a little touch that I really liked.

Victoria's Clockwork Emporium has a lot more to offer than just Steampunk pieces, although Steampunk clockwork pieces are their specialty, but they also offer a fair amount of pieces that are perfect for the Victorian inclined Classic Lolita.

Mixing Steampunk with Lolita

As I have mentioned, getting my hands on a cog-covered Steampunk piece really piqued my interest in this unique style mishmash. I certainly didn't magically transform into a master of steam-powered Victorian aircraft in the past week and a half, but I have spent much more time oogling Steamlita coordinates than I have in quite a while. Personally, I don't ever find myself too enthusiastic about the completely over the top Steampunk outfits, the ones that involve props and elaborate costume pieces (Although I would love to be able to try my hand at making some of them! I've secretly always wanted a steam-powered Pip Boy), as cool as they may be, I just prefer outfits that are more day-to-day wearable, despite how far out from the norm it is. Which is why a Classic Lolita with little Steampunk details- cog jewelery, utility belts, spats, aviation hats, etc. is definitely my preferred mixing of the Steampunk style with Lolita.

Some of my favorite Steampunk Lolita outfits are by AyraLeona on Deviantart. Her Steampunk outfits definitely have the balance of wearability and creativity that I really love! It doesn't look like she's in a costume, it looks like this is just what she wears. I feel like she's taken the Steampunk style and really made it her own.

I think that the Victorian nature of Steampunk lends itself very well to mixing with Lolita, and even if you don't want to go all out and build yourself steam-powered leather and brass gauntlets, you can still add a very obvious Steampunk touchs to your Lolita outfits that really adds something different from the generally girly and cute touches that you often find with Lolita.

Again, I am by no means a Steampunk expert, so I don't think I could really give any great advice on how to successfully mix the two styles other than "moderation!", so instead I'd like to ask how other people mix the two styles. Do any of you also participate in the Steampunk hobby/lifestyle/fashion? If you do, do you mix it in with your Lolita wardrobe? Where on the Lolita to Steampunk spectrum do you personally feel like is the ideal Steamlita? I might not be an expert on the style, but I do know that it's a somewhat hard style to get right. Go too much one way and you just get a Steampunk outfit with a shorter skirt, too much the other, and it's just Classic Lolita with maybe a pair of goggles.

The Versatility of Lace Tights

One of my all-time favorite accessories, something I always feel like I can never have enough of in my wardrobe, is lace tights. I probably have over a dozen of them in a few different colors, I really just can't get enough of them! And they can also be found really cheaply in mainstream shops. Being able to change up an outfit completely and add a little something extra to it for $4? Yes please! Any excuse not to find two matching socks? Oh, Hell yes.

Mana, proving sometimes socks over tights is perfectly okay!

When I first got into Lolita one of my big Lolita inspirations was Mana, who is quite famous for wearing lace tights under thigh-high socks. At the time, I was finding it near impossible to find even knee highs in mainstream shops but I was finding a ton of lace tights, so I figured, if Mana does it... I can too! (of course, I now know that this is not always, or even mostly, the case!). So, ever since those early days have I had a fondness for lace tights paired with Lolita, and I've tried to work them in with as many outfits as possible. I think that they can really change up an outfit as simply as slipping them on. A plain Gothic Lolita outfit becomes infinitely more elegant, relatively simple Kuro Lolita gets a hint of Gothic, they give Sweet Lolita a princess-like touch, and they turn the notch up on Classic Lolita coordinates.

To me, this is my ideal Gothic Lolita- A Victorian styled black dress, heels, a few Gothic accessories, and lace. Personally, I am a fan of mixing several different lace pieces in one outfit, in this one it has lace tights, gloves, and a purse with a lace overlay. They might all be separate lace patterns, but, with the exception of the tights, they're such small pieces it doesn't look too overly cluttered. On the other hand, I find that an outfit where all the lace is matched looks much too matchy-matchy. I definitely prefer the sort of rag-tag elegance of many different kinds of lace!

Knee socks and over-the-knees are usually the trademark of a Sweet Lolita outfit, so I find that taking a very traditionally Sweet Lolita outfit and adding lace tights instantly changes its tune. It somehow manages to be even more girly, but a little more grown up, and almost Hime. While I think this works best with more toned down Sweet Lolita, I think that if you found a pair of lace tights in a pale pastel color (pale pink is not too hard to find!) and layered them over a different pale pastel colored pair of opaque tights you could really make an interesting Fairy Kei inspired Sweet Lolita outfit.

Lace tights are swiftly becoming the legwear to wear with Classic Lolita, and I'm perfectly fine with that! Lace tights in Classic Lolita instantly add texture and opulence to a style that is often considered the most toned down of the Lolita styles. Cream, tan, and even black can easily be worn with a Classic Lolita coordinate. In Classic Lolita I absolutely love them paired up with Victorian styled boots, I think they practically define Classic Lolita this way!

One of the things I love about lace tights is the variety they come in. You can find tights with delicate little flowers scattered throughout, you can find them with huge ornate paisley designs, and you can find gorgeous vertical stripes made with lace! You can wear them alone, you can layer them over opaque tights, or you can wear them under over-the-knee socks. They're breezy enough to wear in warm weather, and paired with another pair of tights or socks they can easily be warm enough for cold weather. And best of all, you're never going to end up with a drawer full of half a pair of lace tights, or constantly have to adjust them into staying up.

What are your favorite ways to wear lace tights? Or perhaps, do you hate the look of even sort-of bare legs in Lolita? I guess this is understandable, since lace tights sometimes lend an air of eroticism to a Lolita coordinate, which I know is not everyone's cup of tea. Myself I love to wear them on days where I feel like dressing up fancily but don't actually feel like doing much else besides slipping on a black skirt and an h.NAOTO cutsew.

Innocent World's Rose Stained Glass & Some Various Stained Glass Accessories.

Up for reservation on Innocent World's webshop is a new print, Rose Stained Glass. I'm really loving this new print for how unique it is! Sure, there have been prints in Lolita's past with stained glass inspired art, but I believe this is the first time a print that just looks like real stained glass has ever been made. Take a look at the closeups of the print!

 

It comes in 3 colors, apricot, bordeaux, and blue. Bordeaux and apirot looking very similar, one just being a little more pink toned than the other, which, while a bit strange (it would be nicer if apricot was more of a... well, apricot color) it is nice for people who like their reds to match exactly to be able to have their pick for the one that matches their wardrobe better.

Innocent World is currently taking reservations for this print, which comes in 3 colorways and a skirt or JSK option, both of which come in short and long lengths, it is expected to be released in late September.

I've always had a soft spot for stained glass, it can be both charming and breathtaking, and it's impossible not to love they way it catches the light and makes any room look magical. So, needless to say, I was quite excited to see this print. While not always seen in the world of Lolita, stained glass themes can be a nice touch to a Lolita wardrobe, if you're currently missing out on this release, you can easily (and affordably, in most cases) add a little bit of stained glass to your wardrobe in the way of jewelry.



As you can see, there is a huge selection of jewelry and accessories on Etsy made with real stained glass. I would really like to showcase something a bit special and striking in this treasury though, and that is the ruby red stained glass purse!

While I would be terrified to be carrying around a glass purse, for fear of shattering it to a million pieces, I can just imagine how perfectly something like this would go with any Classic or Gothic Lolita coordinate, stained glass print or not!

If you're looking for something a little more affordable, the above small purse is actually a fancy decor box, but since it has a working clasp and chain, I don't see why the brave couldn't carry it with them as a real, if a bit small (but not much smaller than the inside of a Bunny Bear!) purse.

Taking Classic Lolita to the Next Level. Dare I say, OTT Classic?

When people hear "OTT Classic" there are a lot of mixed reactions, from "OMG that sounds awesome!" to "Impossible! There's no such thing". Personally, I feel that anything, with proper styling, can be made into a nicely put together over-the-top outfit, after all, OTT simply means that a style is a little more excessive than it usually is. To call a style of Lolita "Classic" we are simply implying a general aesthetic, one that typically is styled after elegant times gone by, not that there is some sort of cap to how many accessories you can wear. And after all, many fashions of the past are known for being very opulent and over-the-top in pretty much any sense of the term, so why should Classic Lolita simply mean "those plain Lolita dresses that sort of look like grandma's couch?" Just because Classic Lolita is generally thought of as the more "toned down" Lolita style that doesn't mean that there is a limit to how excessive the style can be, in fact, I think that because Classic Lolita is a bit more toned down that means that it doesn't take much to push it into the realm of over-the-top.

OTT Classic as the next big thing?

"OTT Classic" has been talked about on the sidelines of Lolita for a while now, usually when people are predicting the next big trend in Lolita. I can easily see the next big thing in Lolita being an over-the-top take on Classic Lolita! Classic Lolita has almost always been talked about as being the next big thing, and with people still hopped up on the over-the-top trend that came along a few years ago with Sweet Lolita, it only seems natural that the next must-wear style in Lolita will be just as outrageous.

It might seem a bit of blasphemy to those that love the simplicity of Classic Lolita, but OTT Classic is a style that seems to have everything that OTT Sweet had that made it pretty much sit on top of the Lolita world for the past 4 years. So, what makes are some of the things that make OTT Sweet so beloved that can easily be applied to Classic Lolita?

• Print overload- One of the things that made OTT Sweet Lolita very popular was the abundance of cute prints coming out for Sweet Lolitas, and the same can be said of OTT Classic. Instead of prints featuring toys and cute animals, an OTT classic enthusiast could have her pick of any of the various Classic prints, from Juliette et Justine's opulent Rococo cupids, to more traditional clusters of huge floral bouquets. One upside to Classic that Sweet Lolita's rarely get the luxury of is the fact that floral prints can typically be bought domestically, either easily and relatively online or through local fabric shops, while finding a good Sweet Lolita print in a fabric store is nearly an impossible task and many Lolita seamstresses have to import fabrics from Japan, at a considerable cost. 
• Accessory overload- While the OTT Sweet Lolita can load up on hair accessories, wrist cuffs, fuzzy brooches, cute rings, and all sorts of other things they can clip to themselves and their clothes, Classic Lolita has it's own version of accessory overload. Faux rose clips, fancy Victorian-esque jewelry, cameos, and pretty much any other jewelry element that is normally used in Classic Lolita can simply be multiplied and worn like it is in OTT Sweet. Take a cue from the Sweets and add some jewelry and accessories in places they weren't originally intended for, clip a cluster of cameos on a bonnet, pin a necklace fancifully on a bodice bow, or wear brooches in your hair.
• Mixing in other Jfashion styles- I think that one of the things that made OTT Sweet so popular was it's versatility when it came to outfits outside of Lolita. Many Lolita's are sometimes a bit lost when it comes time to wear something other than Lolita, but OTT Sweet lovers had their pick of a variety of non-Lolita Jfashions to pick from that had a similar aesthetic, such as Decora, Hime, and Pop Kei. These styles could either be worn completely separately from Lolita, or even mixed and matched together to create outfits that were trendy and original. The same can be said of Classic Lolita, since both Mori and Dolly Kei are more and more frequently mixed in with the style and both share a similar aesthetic to Classic Lolita all while having much more relaxed rules.

So what makes a Classic Lolita coordinate OTT?

As I have mentioned, Classic Lolita is generally thought to be a much more toned down and refined Lolita style, so, personally, I feel that anything that is a bit fancier or more decorated than is usually seen in Classic Lolita could be called OTT Classic. This includes things like extra poofy skirts, excessive and opulent jewelry, purses shaped like fancy things, bold prints, extra layers (longer skirts worn under shorter skirts, boleros over blouses, jabots and wristcuffs added to blouses, etc), large bonnets, and non-cotton materials such as silks, chiffons, brocades, velvets, and gobelins. These are all things that, while they are undoubtedly a part of the Lolita fashion and aesthetic, are not often combined all at once in one coordinate, thus adding several of them to one outfit is usually enough to make it a bit more over-the-top than is normally seen in Classic Lolita

Much like with OTT Sweet, it is not just a matter of the dress alone making a coordinate, but rather how that dress is put together with other pieces and accessories. It is a combination of not just a prettily patterned dress, but the addition of accessories as well as hair and makeup styling. A dress with a Victorian wallpaper-esque print paired with a plain cream blouse, cream tights, a matching rectangle headdress and brown mary-janes is undoubtedly Classic Lolita, but pair that same dress with a chiffon blouse with billowing sleeves, a couple extra petticoats, a huge flower covered bonnet, lace tights, Victorian boots, a long lace underskirt, oodles of antiqued gold jewelry, and doll-like flawless makeup job and it just seems like the same dress has become something else completely, not necessarily something better, just something more extreme and definitely over-the-top in terms of elegance.

One of the Lolitas who I think is a perfect example of taking Classic Lolita to the next level is Steph from the blog Moar Lace Please. The following outfits are all from her blog, for more, definitely check out her blog!

  

Styles like this are also featured several times throughout various Gothic & Lolita Bibles, both in street snaps and photoshoots. Please excuse this very sparse sampling of examples from the Bibles! I have recently lost my folder full of every G&LB scan ever in a computer move and am still trying to get it back together!

  

A brief note about the phrase "OTT Classic"

I would like to add, one final time, that I am really just using the phrase "OTT Classic" to describe a style of Classic Lolita that is a little bit fancier and more decorated than Classic Lolita is usually perceived as being. If you think that these styles should only be called regular old Classic Lolita, that is fine. If you prefer to call them Neo-Rococo Phantasmagoria Opulent Antiquated Lolita, that is just fine too. 

I'm not necessarily saying that every time a Classic Lolita dons a bonnet with a few extra roses clipped to it that she is being "OMG a totally over the top wacky princess just like those OTT Sweet Lolitas!" I do not necessarily believe that every deviation from the standard idea of Lolita needs a very specific sub-style name or that things that deviate from the Lolita norm and do not have a very specific community approved sub-style name are all the sudden new and strange and no loner Lolita, but I do believe that, as a blogger, it's a hell of a lot easier to use buzzwords and brief descriptive phrases to describe things. You probably wouldn't have made it this far into this post if, instead of saying "OTT Classic", I said "This style of Classic Lolita, that, while still considered Classic Lolita, has leaning towards poofier petticoats and more accessories than what most people consider Classic Lolita". 

Lolita sub-style names shouldn't limit what can be worn in said sub-style, they just make it a heck of a lot easier to talk about the things we enjoy.

Sweet-Classic Lolita

"Sweet-Classic" is a phrase that I've noticed popping up in the last couple years that describes, exactly as it sounds, a style that's not quite Sweet and not quite Classic. I like to think of it as the modern Lolita's answer to Country Lolita.

Sweet-Classic is one of those "sort of" styles, it's by no means considered "official" so some people disagree that it's even a style in the first place, and will either consider it to be regular Classic Lolita, just in lighter colors and with cuter prints, or regular Sweet Lolita, with a more sophisticated design. But I feel that it's slowly becoming it's own sub-style, and while it may never be an "official" style, I think it definitely does have an aesthetic of it's own.

If you're interested in some coordinates that blur the line between Classic and Sweet Lolita, check out these scans from some various G&LBs! Click for a bigger picture.

Prints seem to be the big defining factor of this style, both custom brand prints and more generic off-the-fabric-bolt prints. Although brand, many of the following dresses are made with relatively generic all-over floral fabric, and can easily be replicated with easy-to-find commercial fabric and offbrand dresses with similar fabrics can be found at places like Bodyline and Taobao. Keep an eye out for pale pastel colors, not necessarily the muted colors of Classic or the bold and multiple colors of Sweet, but simple pale and pretty pastels. While floral prints still abound, often in vertical or horizontal stripes, there are also prints much more reminiscent of Sweet Lolita, such as cute animals and toys. But the difference is that while most Sweet Lolita prints featuring animals and toys are very cartoony, the Sweet-Classic print features much more realistic illustrations, giving the print more of a Victorian story book look.

Innocent World's Sweet-Classic

Innocent World is probably the brand that first popularized this look, back when they started jumping on the cute border print trend that Angelic Pretty started. While AP was out making prints with toys and cuddly bunnies frolicking and having fun, IW followed shortly behind with more sophisticated versions of cute prints. They often came in more muted pastels and featured much more Victorian styled toys and cute animals, if not just florals.

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright's Sweet-Classic

While Baby didn't really help popularize the Sweet-Classic look, they have been making dresses with a similar aesthetic for a long time, and are always a nice choice if you're looking for a piece featuring pretty Classic florals with a Sweet color scheme and a sophisticated, yet cute cut.

Angelic Pretty's Sweet-Classic

While Angelic Pretty has made the occasional classical floral piece ever since the beginning, they have sort of come full circle with a couple recent custom print additions such as Vanilla Chan or Sugar Pansy, both of which are a huge step away from some of their recent prints, as they are much neater and more sophisticated looking. Even though Vanilla Chan features big headed kittens and bows, the fact that the print is much more orderly looking gives it a completely different aesthetic than some of their other recent prints.

Okay, so I think I know what kind of dresses make for a Sweet-Classic dress, but how do I coordinate it?

Well, since it's not really an "official" style, more of a descriptive phrase, it's sometimes a bit hard to pinpoint what makes something Sweet-Classic, but there are a few key points to the outfits that help define the style.

• Limited color pallet. Many Sweet-Classic prints already have all the colors an outfit can need in them already! The Lolita interested in this tends to choose not to pick out multiple colors from the print to incorporate throughout the outfit and instead lets the dress and the style be the focus of the outfit, not the color scheme.
  
• Minimal and "grown-up" accessories. The Sweet-Classic look isn't about wearing as many matching accessories as possible. In fact, many Sweet-Classic looks seem to exclude wearing any jewelry at all, at the most, possibly a ring or a simple necklace.
  
• Simply styled hair. Gone from this style are the huge teased pigtails and wigs that are usually seen in Sweet Lolita, instead the Sweet-Classic enthusiast would wear her hair in a very simple, yet elegant, hairstyle. Such as a pair of braids, buns, or loose in a very gentle curl.
  
• Heels. Flat and cute shoes, while an option in Sweet-Classic, aren't seen nearly as much as a pair of cute heels, either heeled mary janes, or a pair of Victorian boots. Matching the color of your shoe to the color of your dress is not necessary, a white or cream pair of heels does just fine.
  
• Small hair accessories. Since the Sweet-Classic Lolita's hair is styled simply, without massive amounts of volume, hair accessories are kept simple as well. A small Alice bow, a round headdress, or even simply a cute clip or small hair bow is all that is needed for this style.

Of course, I don't believe that Lolitas should worry too much about fitting the perfect label onto themselves or their outfits, and they certainly shouldn't limit themselves or even individual outfits to fitting perfectly within one style. But I do think it is nice to have a tangible name to go with a particular style, especially if you really enjoy it! What do you think of the style? Do you simply consider it to be merely Classic in softer colors, or perhaps just Sweet with flowers? Or, like me, are you enjoying watching what could possibly be a new Lolita sub-style emerge and make it's own place in the world of Lolita?

Before I end this post, I would also like to point out that in the last post of mine, some people seemed to misunderstand what I was saying. I was not necessarily predicting the rise of the Classic Lolita, so much as I was the decline of the Over-the-Top Sweet Lolita. There is more to Lolita than just OTT Sweet & Classic, and Sweet Lolita certainly isn't going anywhere! There were just as many Lolitas in cute, light pastels in this volume as there are in many of the other recent spring volumes of the G&LB, they just seemed to have ditched the clustery unicorn-and-bunnies-baking-glittery-cupcake prints for elegant florals and decided to leave gigantic pastel wigs at home. That is why I made this post, to remind some that Sweet Lolita isn't ever going to go anywhere, and that OTT Sweet Lolita isn't the only kind of Sweet Lolita out there, even though it may have seemed that way for the past few years! I did not mean to imply that Sweet Lolita is, or ever will be, dead and gone, just that it seems to be growing up a bit, at least for a little while!