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!

Les Fleurs Du Mal: A Sopor Aeternus Inspired Coordinate

 A few months ago I made a Rasputina inspired Lolita coordinate, well, I'm back with another coordinate inspired by some of my favorite music, this time inspired by the music of Sopor Aeternus. I had a huge wall of text about here rambling about my love of Sopor Aeternus and me trying to explain it, but honestly, that is a lot of text, if you are curious about the long answer to WTF is Sopor Aeternus, check out the wiki page, if you want the short answer, well Sopor Aeternus is one of my most favorite musical groups, fronted by Anna-Varney Cantodea, a mysterious 50-something Goth. Musically, she is a bit Gothic, a bit Medieval, a bit tongue-in-cheek, and almost always over-the-top. In recent years Anna-Varney has gone from the grotesque to elegant, dusty Victorian finery, a change that has inspired a bit of my own wardrobe.

Anna-Varney's color of choice at the moment, when not simply black, is a pinkish lavender color, so I've spiced up a Gothic Lolita coordinate with Victorian accents with a few accessories, some as close to that lavender as I could find, that are inspired by various songs and images. A coffin ring, a black feather plume, an umbrella with a cathedral print on the inside, roses, and lacy fingerless gloves.

I, of course, can't end this post without having a Sopor Aeternus song up! So here is one off of the most recent album, Les Fleurs du Mal. This particular song "Some Men Are Like Chocolate" is incredibly catchy, upbeat, and generally optimistic for the majority of Sopor Aeternus songs out there, but I love it so much. If you haven't heard Sopor Aeternus before, well, this is as good as any to listen to at first XD Anna-Varney has a rather unique voice, that honestly boggled my mind a bit when I first heard it, but it has since grown on me quite a bit, if you couldn't tell.

Ask Miss Caro-chan: Exotic Pets For Lolita's

This is a very special special episode of Ask Miss Caro-chan, I recently received the question

What exotic pet would you recommend for a lolita? Nothing like a dog or cat, more along the lines of an anteater or octopus?

Well this is a tricky question, because there are just so many different kinds of exotic animals to choose from! I guess it really all depends on which exotic animal matches your outfit for the day.

Fawns are pretty popular right now, as well as the classic look, so combine the two with a nice tan colored dress, some brown boots, and a fawn print stole. Walk your fawn on a pink leash to match the pink details in the coordinate!

Adorable baby deer not quite your thing? How about an albino boa constrictor? Drape it around your neck as the final piece to a Punk Lolita coordinate, sprinkled with snake print accessories, inspired by the pink colored scales!

Of course, an octopus is a tricky pet to match with your coordinate, as you can't exactly take your octopus out for a walk. But to let everyone know that you're certainly thinking of your cuddly little cephalopod back home by dressing in lots of pastels that invoke the feel of a tropical sea. Wear lots of soft gauzy ruffles (why yes I am suggesting that you layer two ruffly blouses!) and iridescent pearls.

For the Gothic Lolita, try a nice black goat with a shaggy coat. The distressed details in the h.NAOTO dress really compliment the shaggy fur! Accessorize with silver and walk your goat on a silver chain attached to a big black studded collar on the goat, maybe with a few cross charms or chains dangling from it.

If you want your pet of choice to be as elegant as you are, choose a peacock! Wear iridescent dress, flocked with delicate designs to match the peacocks feathers, and accessorize and coordinate deep blues, emerald greens, and golds to match perfectly.

Sorry for the lack up updates these past few days! I both left my laptop charger at my boyfriends house for nearly a week and have been a bit busy with working on stuff for a convention I'll be helping out with next week. So I'm both way behind in updating and reading my usual blogs. I hope this rather goofy post can tide you over till I can get to posting regularly again!

Wintery Lolita Coordinates

Winter has been slowing sneaking up on us and a few places are even getting their first snow of the year! There's no point in making a post about dressing warmly for winter, because it would just be a rehash of the tips from Dressing Cozy for Autumn. So instead, here are a few ideas for winter themed outfits.

Snow Queen

To you, nothing is better than getting up and seeing frost on your window and the trees weighed down with snow. Winter just doesn't officially start till it snows! This coordinate features a white JSK from Metamorphose with a fake fur hem paired with a simple white blouse. A fluffy white shrug keeps you warm while reminding you of great big banks of snow. A pair of white tights with a slight silver glitter to them, matched with a sequined purse and glittery silver jewelery complete the look. Blush your cheeks to give you a fresh-from-playing-in-the-snow look!

Holiday Cheer

The holiday season is often filled with lots of parties, and you'd love to dress festively, but a snowman covered sweater isn't exactly your thing. Try a lush velvet JSK in a deep burgundy (or even dark green!) paired with a cream colored blouse. Accessorize with gold jewelery set with stones to match your dress. A pair of thick creme colored tights and some red velvet heels go perfectly. Wear your hair in classic ringlets.

Merry Krampusmas

Maybe the holiday season isn't your thing. You're not a Grinch (and you're probably going to punch someone in the face the next time they call you that) it's just that you appreciate winter for it's shorter days, and prefer Krampus over Santa Clause. Look towards the Victorian era for inspiration this holiday season. Try a decadent JSK and blouse combo, with a lush black velvet bolero over it. Try wearing a fancy bonnet to keep your ears warm. Pair up your Victorian boots with some crochet tights. Accessorize with a dainty evening bag, gloves, and some silver jewelry that echos the Victorian ideas of the holidays such as angel wings or religious icons. Wear lipgloss the color of holly berries, or, as you prefer to think of it, the color of blood on snow.

Ghostly Victorian

If you've been watching my Tumblr, you might have noticed a theme, especially these past few days. I have always been in love romantic and pale Victorian inspired clothes, but a few days ago after stumbling onto an incredibly beautiful spread in the 30th GLB I fell in love all over again. I just can't get the style out of my head!

A style like this is not pure Lolita, it is a bit more influenced by Gothic (for a great post on Gothic in white, check out Screw The Rules). But a few Lolita brands often have just such a ghostly Victorian look to many of their pieces, Juliette et Justine being the one that comes to mind first. While not specifically Lolita, h.NAOTO and Alice Auaa both have a lot of pieces that would be right at home in this style, and Suppurate System would add the perfect finishing touch to an outfit.

Here's a little Polyvore set I made while I was dreaming about this style. As I was making this it dawned on me that I like it so much because it reminds me of the Romantic Goth/Lolita fusion I posted about a while ago. Sadly, I only have one white dress, and it's very Sweet Lolita, so I don't think I could get it to work with this style, but we'll see! Maybe I'll dig up something forgotten from the back of my closet and finally be able to give into this craving!