Print Bandwagon: Perfume Bottles

There are many motifs that brands like use over and over again, and many times you will easily notice that certain motifs will be used by multiple brands, often all at once it seems. Recently, a couple brands, namely Angelic Pretty and Mary Magdalene, have revisited the theme of perfume bottles for their new prints.

Left: Metamorphose, Perfume Bottle. Right: Angelic Pretty, Rose Toilette

While this theme is nowhere near as popular as something like rabbits or toys or some other ridiculously cute thing, there have been a few stunning pieces in the past to feature perfume bottles. Not only the sought-after Rose Toilette from Angelic Pretty (a personal favorite of mine), but even Metamorphose has released a punchy version of this classy motif.

Angelic Pretty's blobby pale pastel Pale Blobs of Pastels.

With this new wave of perfume bottles, we have a bit of the old, and a bit of the new! The old comes in the form of Angelic Pretty re-using this theme, this time a bit more cutesy. The print on this new Angelic Pretty perfume bottle dress (named Glass Bottle of Tears, oddly enough) is, I think, both a bit hit and a bit miss. I think that the perfume bottles themselves are gorgeously illustrated but I can't find a single colorway of this print that actually looks good. The pastel versions just sort of look like a bland blob from a few feet away, and the black version looks sort of ridiculous. I think it's the stripes in the background that I am just not a fan of. While they are my favorite part of Rose Toilette, which featured elegant and detailed stripes, that looked a bit like fancy Victorian wallpaper, Glass Bottle of Tears just looks like generic fill-tool stripes, and sort of remind me of the quick-fix striped background that are in a lot of Bodyline prints (who also have actually released a dress featuring perfume bottles as well!).

Mary Magdalen's Perfume Bottle print. When you've never released a print before, you don't have to think up a ridiculous name for it!

The new comes in the form of the Mary Magdalene dress, which, unless I'm mistaken, is the first time Mary Magdalene has used, not only a border print, but something other than a solid color or all-over floral. I think this ended up being a completely gorgeous dress! The print is so elegant and classy, and it completely suits Mary Magdalene's style. Now, when I first heard people talking about this dress, I have heard a few people complain that they feel like Mary Magdalene is, very belatedly, hopping on the print trend, and are acting like the next print from Mary Magdalene is going to feature pancakes shaped like bunnies riding on a rainbow made of ice cream. Honestly, I am pretty excited to see Mary Magdalene try something new! The results are obviously gorgeous, and completely fitting for the brand.

Innocent World's Antique Perfume Bottle.

The other perfume print to come out recently comes from Innocent World. I actually wasn't aware that Innocent World released a perfume print until I was writing this. And before I googled it, just to be sure, I was trying to imagine what a print of perfume bottles by Innocent World would look like, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that what they released, looked a lot like what I imagined a print by them would look like! Innocent World's print features a relatively simple and understated print featuring some very elegant monochromatic vintage illustration styled perfume bottles, all lined up along the hem. All in all, it's a very cute dress!

There are very few of the major Lolita brands that haven't released a perfume print, so far as I know, I don't believe that Baby The Stars Shine Bright have released one to feature perfume bottles (although, they have made so many prints, I'm sure one of them includes a perfume bottle somewhere!). Moi Meme Moitie certainly hasn't, although, I can imagine if they did, it would be pretty awesome and feature coffin-shaped bottles filled with electric blue liquid, with some rosary beads and candelabras nestled amongst the bottles. Or, there's also a pretty good chance it might also look like a clip-art disaster.

Personally, I really enjoy seeing brands reuse themes again and again. I know some people might feel like themes get a bit stale after a while, but I feel like so long as brands are picking themes and motifs from a big enough selection of them, and not just doing cherries and rabbits over and over again, I think it's actually pretty fascinating to see how a brand will reuse the same theme, 6 years later, like in the case of Angelic Pretty and their perfume bottles, or how the same theme can look so vastly different when interpreted from one brand to the next!

Moitie's New Alchemy Print

Moitie is a brand that I definitely have a love/hate relationship with. Sometimes they completely blow me out of the water with designs that I find incredibly unique and cool, other times they release stuff that I find so boring that I begin to suspect that the whole brand is just an elaborate joke set up by Mana. I can imagine Mana in his mountain-top gothic castle cackling over designs for a pair of plain black pants, tie-dye shirts that look like they were designed for trendy grandmas, and plain black turtlenecks.

Their recent design was definitely something that really reminded me of my love/hate relationship with the brand. At first, upon seeing the design picture I thought "Oh wow! That is a really cool looking design! The writing in the background is so cool, and I like all the different images!" Then seeing it on an actual dress made me change my mind completely. What might make a cool border image turns into an awkward print on a ho-hum dress design.

Moitie is famous for making simple yet striking designs, and Gothic minimalism seems to be their motto, but, to me, the minimalist dress design, plus a giant cluttered print just looks like Angelic Pretty gone Goth. Which might be a neat thing, but I just find it really awkward coming from Moitie. I think it's almost like they're trying to jump on the OTT trend a year too late.

I would love to see an alchemy themed print from Moitie, with magic circles, alchemical symbols, and I'd even be cool with some crosses and roses thrown in, but I can't help but wish they used this idea for one of their more classic screen printed designs. I think that this way it would have definitely been undeniably Moitie and not so much Moitie does Angelic Pretty.

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.

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!

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

Day 7- 10  5 people who inspire your Lolita style

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

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

Angelic Pretty: Re-releases and Reimaginings.

In the past few months, it seems like Angelic Pretty has been doing a bit of switching up their style, while at the same time, revisiting some old favorites. It started sometime in the last year, when they started to release prints that were a bit bolder in color, and simpler in print design instead of the pastel jumble of cuteness that made them so popular in recent years. Angelic Pretty also gave everyone quite a shock when they announced that they had decided to re-release Sugary Carnival, a print which is definitely one of their most sought after pieces and was recently made into a replica. With this, it almost seemed as if Angelic Pretty realized "hey, we made some awesome stuff in the past that people still love, let's do that again!" so shortly after Sugary Carnival was re-released they came out with Aqua Princess, a print that looks surprisingly like Twinkle Mermaid, a print that was, at one time, another one of Angelic Pretty's most popular prints.

Left, Aqua Princess; Right, Twinkle Mermaid

Aqua Princess is very different from anything Angelic Pretty has released in a long time simply because the print is a simple 2 color print, reminiscent of some of their first custom screen printings in the early 2000's.

Left, Toy Fantasy; Right, Toy Parade.

While Toy Fantasy isn't a direct re-release, it is very reminiscent of Toy Parade, which was one of Angelic Pretty's very first custom fabric prints, from 2007.

What does this mean for Angelic Pretty and even Lolita? Does it mean that Angelic Pretty has simply run out of different combinations of candy and cute animals to add to their dresses? I doubt it. Angelic Pretty has been on the cutting edge of Lolita fashion for the past 4 years, or at least, the cutting edge of Lolita has been Angelic Pretty. I, and many other Lolitas, feel that the trends in Lolita are beginning to shift away from the over-the-top-rainbow-explosion-glitter-extravaganza that Angelic Pretty has popularized, and, at least a little bit, has started focusing a bit on the nostalgia of Lolita trends gone by. To me, it seems like Angelic Pretty is, instead of trying to come up with The Next Big Thing, grabbing a hold of this new trend for the old and making it their own. "Remember this?! If you liked it you're going to love this!" they seem to be saying.

Will this trend of re-releases and reimaginings continue for very long? Will other brands start to take heed? Baby has already re-released a couple popular prints this year, Stained Glass and Vampire Requiem, but, while popular, neither of which are as iconic as the Angelic Pretty prints that are getting a second go. Many Lolitas have been practically begging Moi Meme Moitie to follow in Baby and AP's footsteps and re-release what is quite possibly Lolita's most sought after print, Iron Gate. Will MmM listen and give in? MmM is known for being one of Lolita's most "exclusive" brands, priding themselves on high prices, limited runs, and nearly impossible to get a hold of pieces, so it's highly unlikely that the old Iron Gate print will ever see new life, but perhaps Mana has heard these cries and listened because a recent print of theirs is a bit reminiscent to the Iron Gate styling.

This re-releasing of older prints is something of a double-edged sword and within the Lolita community there are people who feel very strongly about both sides of the argument. There are those who long to get their hands on a long ago released print and would prefer not to simply buy a replica, even if one were available; and there are others who enjoy the collecting aspect of the fashion and would be crushed to find that a print that they spent a lot of time and money to own could now be so easily, and cheaply, bought. Myself, I'm a bit torn. I have several older prints that cost me an arm and leg and I would be a bit annoyed to find out that if I had only waited I could have gotten them for retail price, but there are even more prints that I know I'll never be able to get my hands on because they are just too rare. I think that when it comes right down to it, I am more of a fan of the reimaginings of prints rather than the re-releases. I feel that this way there is always something new coming out, even if it's heavily inspired, or just a rearranged version of something old.

What about the rest of you? Do you like the direction backwards some brands seem to be going? Or are you always craving something new and exciting from your favorite brands?

I also would like to start doing the 30 day Lolita meme that has been going around in the community! I don't know how I'll go about doing it, maybe I'll actually do a post every day, or every couple of days, or just answer all the questions for any missed days between blog posts. However I decide to do it, today is the first day, so let's answer the first question!

Day 1 – 10 things about your Lolita bubble.

1. I fell in love with Gothic Lolita first, and consider myself a Gothic Lolita, but I really enjoy most all of the sub-styles and wear several of them pretty frequently.
2. That being said, I don't really worry too much about if what I am wearing doesn't exactly fall within one sub-style, or sometimes even completely within the usual Lolita definition.
3. I wear Lolita as much as possible, on a near daily basis. When I get home from work I typically change into a Lolita outfit even if I'm just planning on a night of playing on the computer and reading.
4. I love pink and black! I am a complete sucker for pink and black colorways and I have a ton of pink and black pieces.
5. I have a love/hate relationship with print replicas. I think they're great for people who can't otherwise get a hold of their dream print, but besides the couple of Bodyline ones that I already own and were the first print replicas to really make a splash, I can't really see myself buying any more. Even though I'm always just on the verge of jumping on some sort of group order to get some for cheap.
6. I don't have many Lolita purses. I usually just carry one of my h.NAOTO bags with me, regardless of how well it matches what I'm wearing.
7. I don't have many Lolita shoes either, at least compared to my clothing wardrobe. I usually match a pair of black tea parties with nearly everything, just because they are really easy to walk around in all day. Come to think of it, I really need to invest in a brown and a white pair!
8. Lolita has made me learn, and want to learn, a lot of things! From sewing, to hat making, to doll customizing, to a million more little mundane things. I really love being inspired by Lolita!
9. Baby the Stars Shine Bright is definitely my favorite Lolita brand. They were the first brand I feel in love with and one of the brands that continues to amaze me with their quality and designs. I also really love their little "B" logo.
10. My wardrobe turnover isn't very high. Some people are constantly buying and selling, but I tend to just buy. Even things I rarely wear I don't want to part with because I know they can be made into really cute outfits, even if they aren't really my style.
11. *Super Special Bonus Bubble* I love those completely tacky animated .gifs. Kitten that float up and down for no reason, winking bears, glittery flowers, random bobbing exclamations of "cute!", I love them all, but I never get a chance to use them in my blog!

If you want to join in on this meme along with everyone else, you can check out this post by Sweet Lolita On The Go to get all the questions!

A little note: I just got a new laptop (since my old was was on it's last leg!) and I decided to switch over to Chrome because everyone else is, and I, for whatever reason, can't figure how the heck to resize my images in blogger! So... until I figure that out (or just switch back to good old familiar Firefox) pictures are going to be a bit randomly sized around here!

Vampire Requiem Re-Release, BtSSB coming to NYC

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

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

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

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

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

Lief's Sacred Night Print

Lief is a Korean indies brand that has been around for a few years now but have just recently started pumping out gorgeous print after gorgeous print. Their newest print is called Sacred Night and instead of being a custom printed fabric, as are their other prints, it's a screen print on velveteen.

Their newest print comes in 3 colorways, black on ivory, gold on ivory, and gold on black. This print is available as either a skirt or a JSK and is only available in tea-length (about mid-calf length) which is an unusual length for Lolita but also a very elegant length that the more classically inclined brands often use. The print itself is just gorgeous! It's definitely very wintry looking, covered in stars and snowflakes, but those take a back seat to the gorgeous castle featured on the print, so you can probably get away with wearing this skirt any time that wearing velvet is appropriate.

The first thing that I thought of when I saw this print was that it looked like Moitie's Divine Cross only much more elegant. Yeah, I know Moitie's print has the word "Elegant" (along with "vampire" "romance" and "aristocrat") right on it, but I just am not a fan of this Moitie print. It looks too much like Christian clip art to me, and the print placement looks too awkward to me. As much as I love religious themed prints, what I do not love are glowing crosses exploding forth from my loins.

If you're interested in getting your hands on the Sacred Night print you can pre-order it on Lief's livejournal. Pre-order actually starts tomorrow and the dresses should be released (I assume that means when they will be shipped) on the week of January 23rd. Provided they are actually shipped on that date, as I do believed they had quite a delay with one of their other prints, the Sacred Night print looks like the perfect addition to a winter wardrobe!

BtSSB's Kuranosuke Stripe JSK

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

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

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

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

Jellyfish are apparently very rori.

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

Or not...

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

The Little Bunny Bear Bag That Couldn't

If you are unaware of what a bunny bear bag (aka usakumya) is, it's a stuffed animal styled purse released by BtSSB. It's rather hard to get a hold of and is usually very expensive when it does pop up for sale. Up until now the bunny bear has been left alone by the hoards of knock-off sellers, sure, Bodyline released a few generic stuffed animal totes, and Leg Avenue even released a knockoff of Innocent World's rabbit purse, but no one had ever released something that was obviously supposed to be a bunny bear knock-off. Well, until this:

This sad little creature is supposed to be a bunny bear bag. In case you don't recall what they look like, here's a picture of the original Baby, the Stars Shine Bright bunny bear bag:

They look similar, they look very similar, but the knock-off looks very... well, off. I think it's the flat face and the tiny little red eyes placed on either side of the nose. Instead of looking charming and cute, it manages to look both terror stricken and forlorn. I almost feel bad for the poor knock-off bunny bear bag, like maybe a hug and a pat on it's strangely wide little head as well as a "There there, I know you're not brand, but you can still be cute," is all it needs.

I'm not just hating on this sad little squish faced bear simply because it's not brand. Not at all, if this was just some cheap knock-off you could pick up off of Bodyline for $10, I would be all over it, like I said, it's cute in a sad sort of way. What makes this knock-off so hilariously bad is that it's being sold for nearly $60. Yes, this little guy, who's quality is probably on par with something you would fish out of a claw machine in a Denny's lobby, is being sold for nearly as much as the original bunny bear. You can actually buy mini bunny bears for cheaper than this knock-off!

What do you think of this little guy? Is he sad enough to love? Cuter than the original? Or a will his beady little eyes be haunting your nightmares tonight? I'm also curious to know what people think of stuffed animal bags in general in the Lolita fashion. Personally, I can't really see myself using them very much, and I think they're useless if their compartment is so small that you have to carry a real purse with you, but I think they go really well with OTT Sweet outfits.

Metamorphose's Nostalgic Chess & Victoria Princess

Metamorphose has a couple new prints out in their winter line, and I think I'm in love with them! First up is Nostalgic Chess, a design reminiscent of their Old Emblem series, only featuring huge bold chessboards at the hem.

This print is fantastic! It reminds me of more indi Lolita brands such as Excentrique. This design will come in quite a number of different options. I am counting 3 JSK designs, a vest, and 2 skirts, as well as 2 different matching headdresses and a really awesome pair of socks.

Their other new print is a bit less bold, it's more of an all over floral print, called Victoria Princess

I am all sorts of in love with this series! I love the delicate antique-looking print, as well as the princessy designs. The Victoria Princess print also comes in quite a few different design options, a JSK, a short sleeved dress, 2 different tops, and 3 skirts as well as a bonnet and a rose corsage to accessorize with. My favorite piece is definitely this very princessy top. Tops like this used to be a standard Lolita design, but they have faded in popularity in the years so now they are quite a rare and refreshing sight! I don't know about the huge lace on the pink version (which doesn't seem to be there for the worn picture?) but it has it's charm, and is definitely very Metamorphose looking.

In keeping with their old school roots, Meta has also released this skirt in the Victoria Princess print:

*Gasp* It's not the standard Lolita shape! This style of skirt is another thing that was much more common way back when, before bell shaped skirts became the standard. The question "Is something like this still Lolita?" has always been debated, or at least, it has been in the past 6 or so years, but really, right now I don't care if it's Lolita or not, because I know that it's gorgeous.

In blog related news, sorry to bother everyone yesterday with a couple technical updates, but I am in the process of doing a lot of stuff to the blog and I don't want anyone to get horribly confused if things start looking weird! Comments should be back to normal in the next couple of days, I have Disqus migrating all my old comments to the new domain name (haha, I hope that's what I did at least!) and that usually takes a while. I have noticed that people have still been able to comment, bravo to them because I can't figure out how to right now XD

New Layout In Progress

Just a little notice that though out the day I'll be giving this blog a much needed makeover. I haven't updated the layout in months! So if things start to look funny, that's why.

In Lolita news, I'm sure all of you have heard that Angelic Pretty is opening a store in San Francisco, apparently it's opening next month! This was announced sometime yesterday I think, I'm just surprised that they plan on opening so soon. When BtSSB opened there were rumors that AP would be opening shop next, and all of us East Coasters had our hopes up that it would happen in New York, but sadly, I guess that wont be happening. We're just going to have to settle with Tokyo Rebel.

Metamorphose's Moonlight Night

With Autumn and Winter just a few months away brands have been gearing up and busting out some pieces that are a bit more Gothic and Classic than normal. Metamorphose has really blown me away with their newest print for reserve, Moonlight Night. It's a very simple looking print, sort of their answer to Moitie's Iron Gate, with a bronze gate print on either a black or ivory background.

The print is filled with a few classic Meta symbols, including fleur-de-lis, winged crosses, and twin swans. But, as is typical with Metamorphose, they are only releasing the print images and drawings of the future dresses, so you're going to have to use your imagination a bit to see what they are going to look like.

The skirt in this series is the only piece that has a photo of the finished product. It has a relatively simple design, which is perfect with a print like this.

The dress and JSK, on the other hand, have no finished photos are and are a bit more complicated than the skirt, making me a little wary of what the finished pieces might look like. The possibility of the print clashing badly with the design aside, the designs are both very pretty and have a very Metamorphose look to them. The dress especially with the attached choker and faux-corset details, which are both very old school looking details that Meta loves to cling to. I do wish that they had gone a bit simpler on the dress and JSK designs though! Meta seems to have a lot of fantastic ideas when it comes to designing dresses, but I feel like they should leave such elaborate designs to plain colored dresses, because all too often they end up looking like a bit too cluttered. But, then again, hot messes are sort of Metamorphose's trademarks.

While I have learned to wait for Metamorphose to release pictures of the finished dresses before I get overly excited and adding the dress to my dream dress wish list, I am optimistic about this print! Even if the skirt is the only piece that turns out to be the only good looking piece, it's still an incredible print on a perfect, if a bit simple, skirt.

What do you think of Metamorphose's newest designs? Are you sure that the finished pieces are going to be stunning? Or are you not holding your breath until you see the final pieces?

Edit: Chera has kindly pointed out that finished pictures of the dresses are up on Meta's English blog.

I'm actually surprised at just how lovely these dresses look with the print, despite how busy the design is! The JSK especially is just gorgeous! Oh Meta, you are tempting me, really badly.