Lolita Blog Carnival: Create a Complete Lolita Coordinate For Under $100

Before I get going with this particular post, I'd like to talk a bit about a new icon you may have noticed in my sidebar! This post will be part of a Blog Carnival that myself and a few other Lolibloggers are currently participating? What is a Blog Carnival you ask? Simply put, it's a group of bloggers who all decide on a common topic to all blog about on the same day and then they follow up their post with a link to all the other blogger's posts about the topic. It's a great way to get involved with other Lolibloggers, get some blogging inspiration, and to promote some great blogs! Since this is the first week of it, we're still ironing out some wrinkles and getting our HQ in order, but we have a nice little FB group for the project that fellow Lolibloggers are welcome to join if they would like to participate in any future Lolita Blog Carnivals.

If you, for some reason, are not a part of the FB group, you're still more than welcome to blog about any of the topics or questions that we all blog about, but joining the group lets you in on them before the blog posts go live, and means your posts get linked on participants blogs!

Now that's out of the way, let's get on with the carnival! This week's prompt was to create a complete Lolita coordinate for under $100, and it was a bit of a challenge! It's not hard to find a complete outfit on the secondhand sales for under $100 with some shopping around, especially if you can rely on offbrand clothes you already happen to have, and maybe some haggling, but the idea behind this prompt was that people could easily purchase the outfit if they wanted to. I chose to actually put together 3 different outfits, one for Sweet, one for Gothic, and one for Classic, and I found a few things that were difficult, and a few that were really easy for each style! However, I did cheat a little bit and didn't include shipping prices in with these prices!

Dress & Headbow ☆ OTK Socks ☆ Shoes ☆ "Wrist Cuffs" ☆ Total: $94

First up is a Sweet Lolita outfit, which was, by far, the easiest one on the list! Most budget Lolita shops cater heavily to the Sweet Lolita, which means there were a lot of options to pick from, including a lot of cute original prints! Bodyline is definitely a boon for any Sweet Lolita on a budget.This coordinate features a cute print OP from Bodyline that, luckily, comes with a matching headbow. The cute shoes were, surprisingly, the same price as the dress. Oddly enough, a cute pair of Lolita shoes is probably going to be the most expensive single part of a budget Sweet Lolita outfit. A pair of socks and cute wristcuffs from, believe it or not, the sock section on Bodyline complete the coordinate. The hardest part of designing a Sweet Lolita outfit for under $100 was the fact that Sweet Lolitas trend towards accessory overload, which can really add up quickly! So this coordinate is a bit on the simple side compared to most Sweet Lolitas you see nowadays!

Bodyline skirt ♠  Ruffle blouse ♠ Lacy tights ♠ Fancy heels ♠ Total: $100

Up next is the Gothic Lolita coordinate, which was moderately easy to put together. The best thing about Gothic Lolita is that it can rely on a lot of more mainstream places to pick up black offbrand pieces to compliment the outfit. Ruffly black blouses are pretty much a staple of any cute-yet-formal look and can easily be found in most clothing stores. For this coordinate I sort of splurged on the extra-fancy fancy skirt, to add an extra bit of decadence to the outfit. A pair of lacy tights and black heels give the outfit a mature, Gothy styling to it. Wear your hair in an updo of some sort and spend the last couple bucks of the hundred dollars on a fake flower to tuck into your hair!

Infanta OP ♕ Ankle socks ♕ F21 shoes ♕ Total: $96

Finally we have the Classic Lolita coordinate, and the one that was the most difficult for me to put together! You could make this as easy to put together as the Gothic Lolita coordinate if you come across a reasonably priced floral skirt and pair it with an offwhite version of the easy-to-find offbrand ruffly blouse and some offwhite legwear and matching shoes, but I really wanted to use this dress because it's such a good deal for such a cute dress! Pick up an affordable pair of cute ruffly socks for a sweet Country Lolita-esque look and a pair of shoes on sale, I chose them in burgundy to match the burgundy details in the dress, ideally I would have liked to go with brown, but shopping on a budget sometimes means you don't always get what you want. The one real "catch" to this outfit is you have to make the straw bonnet yourself! Don't worry, because straw bonnets are actually pretty cheap and easy to make! If you shop around, materials can cost under $10, as you can often pick up straw hats in craft stores for about $4 and ribbon and a fake flower can be found for a couple bucks a pop. Once you have assembled your very cheap materials, you have 3 different options for how you can make your bonnet:

•  The hard way- repurposing the straw braid and construct the bonnet entirely on your own. Check out a tutorial on that here!
• The moderately easy way- this basically involves chopping a section out of the back of the straw hat and wearing it vertically. You can see hats made with this style on my crafty blog, and on Miss Lumpy's blog. There aren't any real tutorials on how to do exactly this online (I don't think!), but it's basically the first step in this straw-based bonnet tutorial. Instead of covering it with fabric, keep it bare and just cover the edges (either all of them or just the raw edge!) with some ribbon or bias tape. Either sewing or hot glue works just fine!
• The super easy way- this pretty much just involves ribbon around the hat brim that is tied down under your chin, forcing the brim to frame your face like a bonnet. For a better example of what this looks like, check out the examples in the first picture on this Jane Austen fan blog.

When working with straw, keep a steamer or an iron set to steam on hand because you can force the straw into much softer shapes by steaming it and then holding it in position until it cools down. It's how you make straw bonnets look less like straw halos!

If you haven't noticed, I wasn't the only one who's blogged about this particular subject! Check out all these other blogs who joined in! If a post isn't showing up, it just means their post hasn't gone live yet!

A Lace Jail
Darkly Darling
Her Curious Elegance 
Magic a la Mode
Miss Lumpy
Parfait Doll
Puppenschloss 
Ramble Rori 
Starry Dreams
Sweet and Simple

Check them out an see what sort coordinates everyone else created!

Bodyline's Like Brand Looks

The last time I really wrote about Bodyline was quite a while ago and they have definitely changed since then, and luckily that change has been for the better! For those you you who aren't too familiar with Bodyline, they are a very cheap and easy source for Lolita (dresses costing between $30 and $65) that started off as a costume shop knocking out cheaply made and overpriced Lolita-inspired lace monsters but they soon discovered that there was quite a huge market in selling "real" Lolita clothes for a fraction of the price of brands. True, Bodyline Lolita pieces are also a fraction of the same quality as brand Lolita but they usually look nice and hold up well to wear, and for the price, who's going to complain?

Over the years Lolitas have had many different feelings towards Bodyline. The relationship between Lolitas and our favorite discount dress store is sometimes complicated. They started out the butt of everyone's joke, then they shocked and divided the Lolita community when they released nice quality print replica's of highly sought after brand dresses for $50, then very slowly they started releasing better and better pieces with better and better original prints. I think some of their recent additions are seriously on par with brand, at least as far as design and print goes, and are often even a bit inspired by various brand prints. I have been considering these new Bodyline pieces something like the "Runway looks for less!" features you can often find in mainstream fashion magazines, the ones that show off a runway look and then feature similarly styled look-a-like pieces from department stores for much, much less.

Stripe Balloon Bears is a cute print featuring cute bears all lined up around the hem of the skirt. The print design is a bit reminiscent of Metamorphose's Honey Picnic or one of the many other bear prints that Metamorphose and even Innocent World has put out. Design wise, I think this is a very solid dress, it's a pretty standard OP style with a few extra bows and lace thrown in for good measure, and I'm such a fan of square necklines with the criss-crossing ribbon!

This perfume print is reminiscent of Angelic Pretty's famous Rose Toilette, only instead of a series of pastel colors, it comes in a variety of deeper jewel tones, perfect for the Classic Lolita who flirts with Sweet Lolita (or, if you will, the Sweet-Classic hybrid), which is something I think that the Rose Toilette print could have definitely used. I would actually love to see this in a JSK, because I am not too much of a fan of the OP styling,  it's cute, but it doesn't seem very versatile. Bodyline often releases several different versions of their prints on the English webshop at different times, and this dress just hit the English webshop from the Japanse one, so, who knows, a JSK version could easily be on the horizon. I hope so, because I do really enjoy this print.

This macaron and dessert themed print is undoubtedly cute! The styling of the print is very Angelic Pretty, and even features the desserts AP helped make famous in the Lolita community with  Dreaming Macaron, in fact, the print is a bit reminiscent of it, only featuring a polkadotted background and coming in much bolder colors than the AP print.

Sweet Cream is another adorable and relatively new Bodyline original print. This one, I do not believe, was not meant to pay homage to any particular brand print, but I think it definitely has a Baby the Stars Shine Bright feel to it, especially with the ice cream's neatly lined up along the bottom with the little ribbon swags. Ice cream and ribbon swag border prints are something that always reminds me of BtSSB. This is another piece from Bodyline that I think gets the Lolita JSK design down perfectly, it's simple, but it's elegant and can work well however you want to wear it.

This Bodyline Strawberry print instantly reminded me of the new direction Angelic Pretty has been going in, and even features strawberry slices along the border like in the recent Triple Tart print. I actually like Bodyline's version of the style much better! The print has much more details and gone are the questionable giant gingham blocks.

This Jewelry themed print practically screams Baby the Stars Shine Bright to me! Especially the pink and black colorway! I was instantly reminded of the black and pink colorway of Salon Music, a bit of the styling from Dripping Lace, and even a little bit of Metamorphose's Perfume Bottle print. Needless to say, this is one of the new Bodyline prints that I want to get my hands on most of all, even if it does seem a bit lacking in the poof department.

This waffle and fruit themed print is another print that reminds me of some of Angelic Pretty's more recent prints, the ones where they go a bit Emily Temple Cute. There's no directly similar piece to this dress that I can think of, but it certainly does remind me of something along the lines of AP's French Cafe or even Honey Cake, if simply because of the use of a more breakfasty looking print in a styling that is a bit simpler than most AP prints.

I'm not actually sure if these are supposed to be balloons or lolly pops, but this print reminds me a bit of Candy Treat, only with stripes, because of the use of such bold colors. Angelic Pretty is known more for their soft pastel, sort-of-blend-together-into-a-big-pastel-blob styled prints and Candy Treat was one of the first of their recent prints to start featuring bold pastel colors in a way that Metamorphose is more known for.

Could this print be any more Angelic Pretty in the height of their pastel-explosion-o-rama? From far away it could be anything from Toy Parade to Dreamy Dollhouse or any number of their other cute animal and/or dessert themed prints. It even comes in a lavender colorway, which is a lovely, but infrequently seen color for Sweet Lolita prints.

These are actually just a few of the new prints that Bodyline has come out with in the past few months! There are a bunch more on their webshop and hopefully there are more prints like this on the horizon for them. Now that Angelic Pretty seems to be going in a bolder and almost Otome inspired direction (at least as far as prints go!), Bodyline is a nice alternative for those not yet ready to let go of their love of pastel rainbows. I think any of these dresses would be an excellent way of building a print-based Sweet Lolita wardrobe on a budget or even for those of us who enjoy Sweet Lolita, but not really enough to fight girls for the newest Angelic Pretty release, who are looking to add a few creative Sweet Lolita prints to our wardrobe.

Personally, I hope to pick up a few of these! I have a very limited number of Sweet Lolita main pieces in pastel colors (I think I have exactly 2 pink skirts and 1 pink JSK I'm in the process of selling!) and at between $37 and $62 dollars a piece, these Bodyline pieces are the perfect way to add a little more color to my wardrobe for cheap!

Cheap and Easy Gift Ideas for Lolitas

Christmas is right around the corner, just a little over a week away, and most of us are quickly trying to cross off names on our lists. But what if you have a bunch of Lolitas on your shopping list? Maybe a lot of your friends are Lolitas and you simply cant afford burando for each of them, you have a meetup around the holidays and you would like to give a little something to everyone showing up, or you're doing a gift exchange and you have gone a bit blank about what to give. The hardest part about giving a gift to a Lolita is matching to their particular style, especially if it's a blind gift swap and you really don't know what their own personal style is. Try not to worry too much about that because while Lolita has a very wide range of styles, there are a few things that are pretty much universal, and unless someone only wears one very niche style of Lolita, these things are sure to please just about anyone in the frills.

• Cupcake or candy flavored lip gloss- Look for something in a sheer and pink shade, maybe with a slight shimmer, so that it can suit just about anyone's makeup style. Even the Lolita that doesn't go all out in terms of makeup is sure to appreciate a little sweetness and sparkle every now and then. Sweet flavored lip glosses can be found just about everywhere and most are going to cost less than $5.
• Cameos- A nice neutral white or cream cameo on a black background can go with pretty much any style, even Sweet Lolita in a black colorway or that has even a little bit of black in the print. It's also a very easy piece to wear, just clip it anywhere, and makes a cute addition to any Lolita's jewelry box. Cameos are very popular in mainstream fashion right now and can be picked up at just about any trendy clothing shop for around $8.
  
• Knee high or OTK socks- Can you think of anyone who gets more excited opening up a gift of socks than a Lolita? Keep the socks relatively style neutral, either an all black pair, or an all white pair. They don't even have to be a lace topped, or print covered pair for a Lolita to be grateful for them. Everyone in the frills can usually use an extra pair of plain socks in their wardrobe. Knee socks are easy to find pretty much anywhere and are typically less than $10.
  
• A sweet or flowery scent- Pick up a body spray in a sweet or flowery scent and it will be the perfect finishing touch to just about any outfit. The holiday season is the perfect time to find a scent that smells like warm vanilla or fresh baked holiday cookies. Cute scents can be picked up just about anywhere, especially this time a year when bath and body gift sets are always a good choice, you can usually find a cute scent for around $6.
  
• Pretty decor- A fancy frame, a cute little jewelry box, or some other pretty doodad that can sit on a Lolita's vanity is always a good choice. Cute decor can be found at any store that sells home goods, and will range in price from $5 and up.
  
• Crown motif jewelry- Crowns are a very popular symbol in the Lolita fashion, it's been featured on dress prints and brand jewelry for years. It's also a symbol that's easy to find in mainstream shops. Look for a cute necklace, ring, or even a keychain that can be clipped onto a purse. Again, look for a store selling trendy clothes and jewelry, or even children's jewelry, and you are sure to find something for around $10.
• Bloomers- For the craft gift giver! If you know your way around a sewing machine, consider making a pair of bloomers for all the Lolitas you know. Check out the tutorial section for a few links to different bloomer patterns and tutorials. Materials for a pair of bloomers will cost between $5 and $10 and only take a couple hours to make.
  

Any of these (except the bloomers) can easily be picked up at almost any mainstream store for a reasonable price and are all relatively style neutral. So they are perfect for any last minute Lolita gifts you need to pick up because so long as you can get yourself to a mall or even a Kmart, you're pretty much guaranteed to find something on this list.

While all of us don't get rare Angelic Pretty or the newest Moitie prints as gifts, many of use do get cute loliable gifts from loved ones and relatives who know we love the style. What have been some of your favorites? Some of my favorite loliable gifts from my friends and family have been the assortment of vintage gloves that my mom picked up for me at a flea market and a pretty little pocket watch that was actually filled with flowery smelling perfume balm that my sister got me a few years ago for Christmas.

December has been a bit busy for me! If you couldn't tell by the not even once-a-week posts I've been making. I've been working on a variety of hats and bonnets as well as making a whole lot of jewelry for some Lucky Packs I plan on getting up for sale, hopefully before the new year. Nearly every minute has been spent with either a needle and thread or a pair of pliers and a length of chain in hand! And because of that I've hardly had time to do some much needed blogging. Once things cool down a bit (for the week or two before I need to pick up the crafting materials again and get to work on making stuff for an upcoming convention) I hope to get back to my regular blogging schedule. I even have a bunch of posts in the works, I just haven't even had the time to sit down and finish them!

Ask Miss Caro-chan: Adding More Color To Your Wardrobe

Today I'll be answering the first Ask Miss Caro-chan in a while! I had gotten reeeaaallly behind on the questions (as well as the interviews) in the month of May, so I'm going to try to get back on track with them this month! This question is from Manda, who asks:

How should one go about adding more color to their lolita wardrobe. I presently have a very gothic/classic wardrobe, but I am getting a little bored of the colors. Any tips?

Adding more color to a wardrobe is a pretty simple thing if you are starting with Gothic wardrobe, since pretty much any color is going to match with black. There are a few things to keep in mind when you are looking to color your Gothic wardrobe a little bit, and having several colorful coordinates, without having to buy a ton of stuff.

• Pick a color. Just one color for the time being, try not to go crazy and just buy whatever is colorful and cheap, because you're just going to have to spend a bunch later trying to accessorize each different color. When I first started adding more color to my wardrobe I made the mistake of getting tons of different colored stuff that I never wear because I didn't bother to buy a bunch of matching accessories. Once I learned my lesson I settled on pink as my extra color, because nothing matches black better than pink! Once you have a workable wardrobe in your chosen color, then by all means, go crazy and start buying more colors. The smart way to owning Lolita is to really be able to make the most out of what you have, because that simply means you get to wear it more!
• Look for prints in a black colorway that feature details of the color you chose. This might be tricky if you want an unusual (for Lolita!) color scheme like black and green. But if you are determined you're bound to find something. A print, either as a skirt or a JSK, in a black colorway will let you wear the color of your choice without having to go out and buy any extra accessories since it will most likely match with black shoes, socks, blouse, and head piece. One thing to keep in mind when you are picking out a printed piece is whether or not you are planning to add things of a completely different style. If you plan on sticking with Gothic, try to avoid prints with super cute motifs.
• Pick out some all white pieces in your current wardrobe. Most Gothic wardrobes will have at least 1 white blouse. A white blouse will make a coordinate look a little more colorful, even if it is a black colorway with only a little bit of color.
• Don't be afraid to pair a colorful JSK or skirt with a black blouse. If you really want to add a color to your wardrobe, and add a lot of it, get a skirt or JSK in your chosen color, it can be print or solid, and wear it with a black blouse and black accessories. This might not always work with a JSK, it will usually depend upon the cut and color of the JSK, but a colorful skirt in pretty much any color usually looks good in an all black coordinate, and is something a little different and unique.
• Find a jacket or bolero in your color of choice. It's another quick way to add your color to an all black outfit.
• Accessorize! Finally, add some accessories in your chosen color to your wardrobe. Start with little accessories, like necklaces, rings, or brooches, or things you can easily get for cheap at mainstream stores. Then go on a hunt for shoes, purses, and headbows or other Lolita head pieces in a matching color. If you really want a frugal way to add color to a Gothic wardrobe, skip all the other steps except for this one. Just a few colorful accessories will really stand out in an all black coordinate.

If you have a more Classic wardrobe that may already have a lot of color in it, just in either classical prints or more muted colors, you're probably going to have a trickier time and you're really going to have to know which colors will match, but the basic steps are still the same, just add a little color at a time.

Here are the pieces I will be making a few coordinates with, up top are a few pieces from a Gothic wardrobe, and below are the colorful (I chose red!) pieces that can easily be introduced into a Gothic wardrobe, I have 2 pieces in a black colorway with red details (The bodyline JSK and the BtSSB skirt) a solid red skirt (Mary Magdalene), a solid red jacket (Forever 21), a red headbow (BtSSB), some shoes (Bodyline), and a purse and some random accessories. Now, of course, you should probably have your reds, or whatever color you picked, match, but I'm using Polyvore for this so it's a little hard to find exactly matching colors that have been uploaded.

 Here's an example of one of the easiest ways to add color to a wardrobe, a printed piece in a colorway that matches your current wardrobe, but has details of the color you wish was in your wardrobe. As you can see, besides a few matching pieces of jewelry, the rest of the wardrobe is basic black pieces. One printed piece like this can really go a long way, especially if you are on a budget or are simply unsure if you will like the color combo you have picked.

Here's an example of another, a bit bolder, way to add more color to a wardrobe, and that is solid colored pieces. A purse or a couple pieces of jewelry in your chosen color can help balance the coordinate a bit.

I haven't even used all the pieces in the sample wardrobe! There are still some shoes and accessories that can be played with to either make an outfit with maximum red, or a few more accessories that can spice up an all black coordinate a bit more.

Hopefully this has helped a bit! It's really not that hard, technically, to add more color to a wardrobe, I think the hardest part is just choosing a color and stepping outside your comfort zone.

How To Tell Bad Lace From Good Lace

There's no doubt about it, Lolitas love their lace. We will cover whatever we can in it, dresses, hats, socks, fake fingernails, even our cell phones and iPods are probably covered in lace. But a proper Lolita knows that not all lace is good, in fact, some lace can be downright horrible. The right lace can make something beautiful and decadent, but the wrong lace can go so far as to ruin something completely. This post is aimed at the beginner Lolita, who finds the idea of "bad lace" and "good lace" intimidating and confusing.

This post isn't going to so much as teach you about all the different kinds of lace, because just because a lace is a certain type, that doesn't mean that it is necessarily good or bad. Instead, I will focus on a few tips on how to spot the good from the bad. If you are interested in learning about different kinds of lace, check out this great post by Macaron Hearts. Please keep in mind that I am neither a seamstress or a lace maker, and my opinions on good and bad lace are simply from my own experience in buying Lolita clothes, both good and bad, for the better half of a decade.

Why bother with good lace?

The simplest reason is that bad lace is often ugly, and why bother wearing something ugly? Especially something ugly tacked onto what would be an otherwise pretty dress. The other answer is that Lolita is often about having a very extravagant and decadent aesthetic. And cheap lace just doesn't follow that aesthetic because $1 a yard lace from Walmart really isn't very decadent.

A few different qualities of lace

Here are some examples of 4 different lace qualities on various things I own.

Let's start from the top! The best lace on this image is very soft, thick, and has a lot of delicate details. It's generally a very pretty looking lace. The good lace is similar to the best lace in that it is pretty and delicate, but it's not quite as delicate, it is a little bit angular and is sort of shiny. The okay lace is soft and thick, but it's not very pretty. It's not ugly, it just doesn't have a lot of detail to it. Something that also makes that lace simply okay, that doesn't really get through in photos is that the lace is generally weaker feeling than the other laces and was actually fraying in a few places when I got the dress new. You can manage to get away with okay lace by not having a whole lot of it, just enough to detail the hems and ruffles. The bad lace is neither soft, thick, delicate, or even pretty. It is stiff and sticks up really weirdly, it's very thin and scratchy, and the design on it is very blocky.

How to spot bad lace

While there is a wide variety of styles when it comes to good lace, bad lace usually all looks very similar. There are a few tell-tale signs of bad lace. First, have a look at a couple examples of bad lace.

Bad lace from various online shops.

What is it that these two laces have in common? The first is a visible base netting, good lace, even when it's made with a netted base, will usually have a very tight-weave net that is not obviously visible. In addition to a wide netting the details on both of these laces is very blocky looking. Try to think of details on lace as resolution on a picture. A good picture is not pixely and blurry, it is crisp and full of detail. The details on lace are the same way. If you are buying lace, bad lace is also usually cheap lace. If your lace is sold in a store at $1 a yard, it's probably not going to be very good. Unless of course, it just so happens to be on clearance or you are buying it wholesale. Cheap $1 a yard lace is also often very common looking, they all have pretty much the exact same blocky flower design. Nice laces often have many more options when it comes to design.

What makes good lace good?

As I said above, there are lots of different types of good lace, but they also have a few traits in common with each other that make them all good.

Good Venise lace from Cheeptrims

Both of these laces have a lot of curves in the design, there is hardly anything blocky about them at all. While these do have netting-like details, they are there for the purpose of decoration, not as a cheap base to machine stitch square looking flowers on top of. Both of these pieces are also very thick and soft looking while still managing to look delicate. In short, good lace is good because it is pretty, soft, has gentle curves, and is thick.

Good cluny lace from Cheeptrims

One kind of lace that doesn't always follow the "gentle curves" rule is cluny lace. Which is generally chunkier looking than other laces, but that certainly doesn't mean it's bad. Cluny lace is still soft and often delicate looking, it just has a much more "crochet" kind of feel to it as it is actually made from threads plaited together to form the design.

But I can't afford anything other than cheap lace!

First of all, that's probably not true. There are many places to get good quality Lolita clothes for a cheap price, check out my Bodyline posts for starters. But, if for whatever reason, your only choice is a dress with lace of questionable quality, there are a few tips you can follow:

• Avoid a lace color that contrasts with your dress color. One of the reasons that black and white Lolita dresses get a bad rap is because when a dress is sold with cheap white lace on a black background, the cheapness of the lace is very apparent. The same goes for red and white or any other high contrast combo. Once you start going into pastel and white combos the contrast isn't so high, so you don't notice how cheap the lace is unless you really get up close and personal with the dress. Printed fabrics also help hide poor lace quality. But, your best bet is to find a dress where the lace and the fabric color match, such as a black dress with black lace, or white with white lace. In that case, the lace simply becomes texture and detail, not cheap decoration.
• Avoid lace on the bottom of hems, especially if it is wide lace. For the same reasons as above, lace just hanging off a hem is going to be very noticeable, especially if it is cheap, wide lace, which tends to be very thin, often looking very out of place and gauzy. Lolita dresses usually have lace on the hem, but a good dress rarely has very wide lace, even of a good quality, so instead, look for a dress with a very narrow strip of lace, no more than a half an inch wide.
• Remember, most lace can be removed. If you fall in love with a dress that has some cheap lace that you are less than in love with, you can usually snip the lace off. If the lace is just sewn on top of the dress, buy a seam ripper and start picking out the stitch. If the lace is sewn into a hem, snip it down as close to the hem as possible. Removing lace is kind of an annoying task, and unless you are willing to take apart your dress and reassemble it you are going to have to do some close and careful snipping. So if you are buying a dress that you plan to remove the lace from, try to avoid a dress completely covered in lace, it will make your life much easier.

Once more, these bits of advice are only for when a dress has bad lace. I am not saying that Lolita dresses cannot be black and white or cannot have wide lace at the hems, just that if a dress uses cheap lace, those two things are going to make the cheapness of the lace very obvious.

How to make the most out of a bad lace selection

This section is for the crafty Lolita looking to sew her first Lolita pieces herself. Many fabric stores usually only sell lace of questionable quality, especially when it comes to non-white colors. So, you have your fabric all picked out, you've been brushing up on your sewing skills, and have been reading tutorials on how to make the perfect Lolita skirt. Your skirt is almost done, but it's missing something, lace! You head to your fabric store in search of lace only to find rack after rack of stiff and scratchy lace only suited for grandma crafts. What are you to do if your only fabric store has the worst lace selection ever? My advice would be to either follow the above tips about avoiding lace that contrasts with the fabric, or, even better, to use eyelet lace. Most every fabric store carries eyelet lace. Eyelet lace is like a little ruffle of fabric with embroidery and eyelets in them, and it's usually inexpensive.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, because it's usually only sold in whites an is more suited for Sweet styles. But it looks much better than cheap lace, and it's really not that expensive. If you are curious to see how eyelet lace looks on Lolita dresses, Anna House uses a lot of eyelet lace on their dresses.

Where to buy good lace.

There are a few places online to buy good lace for a reasonable price. Cheeptrips sells whole spools of lace for around 20$, but you are going to need to join a group order unless you plan on spending a lot, because they have a minimum order of $65. The Etsy shop Mary Not Martha is also a great place to buy good lace, especially good black lace, which is sometimes hard to find. If you are looking for a specific kind of lace to buy, try Venise lace, it's usually the nicest that you can find for a reasonable price.

Always remember: no lace is better than bad lace

A Lolita dress doesn't have to be covered in lace to be pretty! Sometimes, in the case of lace, less is more. Especially when it comes to low quality lace. If you are shopping for a Lolita dress from a cheaper place, especially a cheaper place that you have no idea what kind of lace they are going to use on your dress, look for a dress that has ruffles instead of lace.

I hope these tips have helped you learn a little bit more about the difference between good and bad lace and how to make the most out of what you can get a hold of. Once more, I'm going to suggest this post by Macaron Hearts about the different types of lace. Especially if you are sewing your own Lolita clothes, it is very handy to know what type of lace will work best for you.

Tutorial: Turning Waist Ties Into A Headbow

Let's face it, I have a problem with waist ties. I can't tie a bow behind my back, and I like to wear cardigans or jackets over dresses, so waist ties just get in the way. So if a skirt or a dress comes with detachable waist ties, off they go, to be crammed away in a drawer somewhere. Well, I've decided to put those waist ties to good use and make some headbows out of them! This works best for fancy looking waist ties, the kind with a little bit of lace along the edges, and is a great way to get a matching accessory for an all-over print dress.

Supplies

• Detachable waist ties (I've used the ones from my Bodyline FruitsParlor knock-off!)
• Scissors
• Needle and thread
• A plain headband or a hair comb

This is my shaky mouse drawn diagram of what you're going to be cutting. All inches are approximate and depend on how big you want your bow to be. Most waist ties are of a tapered shape, with the ends being wider than the parts that button to your dress, so you're going to want to cut evenly from both ties. If you have a waist tie that is of an even width the whole way through, you can save time and bulk by cutting one 18" strip from one tie instead of two 9" strips. You can't do that if your tie is tapered, because then your bow is going to look lopsided and stupid. And no one likes stupid lopsided bows.

The first step is to take the plunge and cut those ties up! You're going to want to cut them about 7 inches long. However long the bottom part of the bow is going to be, plus an inch or so.

Overlap the raw edges and sew the ends together. Don't worry about it being a nice and pretty stitch, this is all going to be hidden. I used a really ugly and lame running stitch. You could even glue this if you were extra lazy.

Now it's time to cut the strips for the looped part of the bow. Cut two sections about 9" long each.

Now sew them into a loop. If your tie is tapered, the raw ends of each piece are not going to be the same size as each other, one will be smaller, just match up the small ends and the big ends and sew them together. Again, your stitches don't have to be pretty.

Now cut a 6" strip from the remainder of the tie. You aren't going to use all 6", but it's best to have too much than too little. Fold the sides over to the back until it's about how big you want the middle "knot" of your bow to be. Take a look at your other head bows to compare. You should really iron this to keep it flat and neat. But, again, I was lazy, so I just stuck it in a heavy book while I was sewing to make it flat.

Gather your loop and strip at the seam line you made. Run another running stitch, with stitches about a half an inch long, and pull gently to gather. You might think you can just do one running stitch through both sides of the loop at the same time, but that's going to make your bow really flat and weird looking. We want some poof to our bow so it actually looks like a bow!

It almost looks like a bow now! Set the gathered loop on top of the strip and use some embroidery thread to simply tie the two pieces together. The middle part is going to be all sorts of ugly looking right now, but you're not going to be seeing that when it's done.

Take your pressed strip for the middle and sew one raw edge to the back of the middle of the bow.

Wrap the middle strip all the way around the front and bring it back to the back. Cut it to size, just an inch longer than it needs to be, fold the raw edge under, and sew it down. And ta da! You now have a bow! You can either sew a hair comb to the underside, or slip in a headband. If you are using a headband you can use a little hot glue to secure it to where you want it to sit on your head.

This is my durrr face :D

My finished headbow! Now I finally have the perfect match for my skirt. Please excuse my grown out hime cut that likes to curl in weird ways XD If you've made a headbow out of your waist ties, let me know. I would love to see them! I have a whole tote bag full of waist ties that I never use. Maybe I'll buy some lace and get a little creative with them next time.

Bodyline, The Lolita's Walmart Part, 3: Padding Your Wardrobe With Bodyline

Welcome to part 3 of my Bodyline: The Lolita's Walmart series. This post will be for the seasoned Lolita, who already has quite a few Lolita pieces, most of them brand or unique custom pieces, but is looking to pad her wardrobe with a few basic pieces to make her more expensive pieces more versatile.

Sometimes you want the focus of our coordinate, or your whole Lolita wardrobe even, to be on a brand or unique handmade pieces. If you don't feel the need to make every piece of your coordinate brand, then Bodyline is a great choice to fill all the nooks and crannies of your wardrobe with, and think of it this way, you could be spending the money you're saving by buying Bodyline on more brand or really nice custom made pieces.

The #1 thing to remember when padding your wardrobe with Bodyline is to not go crazy, only buy a few very versatile pieces, and only a couple "main" coordinate pieces such as skirts or dresses. After all, if you end up with a mostly Bodyline wardrobe, then you are instead sprinkling your Bodyline wardrobe with a few brand pieces, not padding your brand wardrobe with Bodyline.

Wardrobe basics

These are just that, very basic pieces, things every Lolita wardrobe needs but might be so plain that you are hesitant to spend big money on them. Not only am I talking about things like petticoats and bloomers, but blouses that might be hidden mostly under a JSK.

• Blouses- Look for something relatively plain, with a little bit of nice lace on it. Just a high neck or a rounded collar and some sleeves with a little bit of poof to them is all you're going to need.
• Petticoats- Personally, I think a fluffy chiffon type petticoat is the way to go. They are usually extra fluffy, so you only need to wear one, and I have never ever had a problem with them deflating. But, a good one under 50 bucks can be hard to find, luckily Bodyline sells them for about $20. Sometimes they have different ones for sale, so you are going to want to check the length to make sure it is in the Lolita range, that is 17-20 inches (remember, a couple inches shorter than your skirt is best, so it doesn't peek out!), not in the wear-over-your-skinny-jeans range of 15 inches or less.
• Bloomers- Every good Lolita needs a couple pairs of bloomers! Bodyline sells a wide variety of fancy looking bloomers for a rather good price.

Complementary pieces

You are hesitant to spend large amounts of money on these because they really might only go with one or two coordinates, but they would really make that coordinate something special.

• Cardigans and boleros- An easy way to make a coordinate something a little different is to wear a cardigan or a bolero in an accent color.
• Cutsews and hoodies- Cutsews or even Lolita hoodies are a great addition to a wardrobe, they can be paired up with a skirt for when you want something both a little more colorful than a plain blouse and a bit more casual. The problem is, brand ones can$70 or more, which always seems a bit much for something that is made out of stretch jersey fabric (yeah, t-shirt material). Bodyline's cutsews and hoodies run about $25.
• Jackets- A short jacket paired up with a dress or a skirt is a cute way to make a coordinate look a bit more mature. But brands usually only sell them for a month or so in the fall, and cost around $200. Again, Bodyline sells them for $25.

"Luxury" items

These are pieces that are needed for a Lolita wardrobe, but don't need to be made specifically for Lolita, or sometimes can be skipped altogether. The could easily be offbrand, but you would prefer if they were, if not a real brand, at least Bodyline.

• Winter coat- Many Lolitas skip over the winter coat altogether, because lets face it, you probably already have a winter coat, and you really don't want to spend $400 on a brand coat if you don't wear Lolita too often in the winter. Coats are the most expensive thing Bodyline sells, ranging from $100-$125 for a full length winter coat, but that's only a fraction of the price a brand coat would cost.
• Shoes- While an adorable pair of shoes is needed to complete any Lolita coordinate, you can find cute shoes just about anywhere, they don't have to be made specifically for Lolita. Besides, brand shoes typically run $150-$300. Hell, no, I'm going to PayLess. Luckily, Bodyline sells a variety of Lolita shoes, many of them are, in fact, direct knock offs of brand shoes. They are even often of comparable quality, because lets face it, brand shoes are, when you get right down to it, nothing special. They're almost always just pleather shoes, not hand crafted leather like the price tag might imply. Well, so are Bodylines shoes, except the tag on the inside says "Bodyline" and the shoes are really only going to run you $13-$60.
• Purses- Brand purses, much like brand shoes, are often very pricey, I would even go so far as to call them over priced. But Bodyline sells an ever changing variety of purses, many of them, again, like their shoes, are direct knock-offs of brand bags. Only instead of $200, they're going to cost you about $15.

An example of a Bodyline padded wardrobe

Here's an example of a brand wardrobe padded with Bodyline. The pieces in the top row are brand, many of them very expensive pieces (JSKs from left to right: AP, IW, AP, BtSSB, AP, BtSSB. Headbows both from BtSSB), and everything else is from Bodyline. They are added with the intention of complementing the brand pieces, not nessicarily as stand-alone pieces. The top row of brand pieces can easily run you a couple thousand dollars, even if you are buying second hand, while all of the Bodyline items combined will only run you about $400. True, you could get away with buying a single plain white blouse, and a pair of shoes, but that would hardly count as a full wardrobe. This way you can mix and match interesting coordinates to your hearts content and wear Lolita on a regular basis without feeling like you're just wearing the same ol' thing. Here are some coordinates, using only these items, with each of the 6 brand pieces as a focus point, and an extra coordinate for the coat!

This JSK, as well as the circus print one, both have a bit of blue in the print, so I'm using a few blue items to make the coordinate interesting.

There's only a tiny bit of blue in this print, and only a little bit of blue on the socks will be showing over the top of the boots. The boots might be wintery, but pom-poms are a very Angelic Pretty kind of detail, so the boots make a cute addition to the coordinate.

The print in this Baby JSK has quite a bit of creamy white in it, so I've paired it up with the off-white blouse and the pink bolero, which covers up the top part of the JSK, making the coordinate look more pink and pale than red and bright.

Using a pink cutsew I've made a coordinate that compliments the skirt, rather than making a coordinate in which the only thing of interest is the skirt, as using all white can so often do.

This dress is a bit more classic than the other pieces, so the off-white blouse is perfect with it.

The only pink dress in the wardrobe! Knock up the pink a few more notches with the pink cutsew and the pink purse. The green on the purse even matches a few sprinklings of green on the dress!

The best part about winter coats is you can wear any dress you want under it! I just thought this one looked so cute with those shoes. Like the cutest and Loliest Santa ever!

Of course, these aren't all the different coordinates you can make with each of these dresses, you can continue to mix and match a handful of interesting outfits for each of these dresses, before you even have to bother with the old match-it-with-white standby.