Lolita Week

So this week has basically turned into a week of lolita-wearing shenanigans. This is what I wore today:

I made everything I'm wearing. The apron jumper skirt was an idea based off a Victorian Maiden design here in solid color, and here in floral prints. A couple differences: I didn't do a pleated skirt, replaced the back corset lacing with ties, and added a 3-layer bustle. Because I have an butt, which I sometimes forget, the skirt ends a little short in the back, and honestly was a little short all around, which is why you can see my petticoat peeking out. But damn, if I didn't feel awesome.

My hair accessories came from Claire's, because really, that store is fantastic. I tend to stick to less dramatic hairstyles, and I typically abstain from products and putting my hair up, since the process always takes more than a half hour and I ran out of time this morning anyway. So it's a good thing I like braids. Just a simple french braid to one side and I'm good to go. Also wore green tights and initially white maryjanes, but I don't usually wear heels and I walk around an urban campus all day, so they had to be replaced with green flats.

And surprise!

My new boots came in :)

Yellow Redeux

So the first thing I ever sewed on my own was a yellow sundress. It was a bad choice of fabrics, but my heart was set. So this past summer I remade it, this time with a liner of the same fabric to reduce see-through-ness. What came out was this:

worn with the short-sleeve lolita blouse I made here

The dress itself isn't lolita, and although it can fit a petticoat, it doesn't look very good doing so. But there's this idea of a "Casual Lolita" that I've really started to fall in love with. It's like lolita, but you don't necessarily have to dress to the nines every time you go out, which makes it a lot easier to dress in something lolita-esque pretty much every day. This is a fantastic idea to me, because I love the fashion, but more often than not I am a lazy slob who throws on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to go to class in the mornings. This is somewhere in the middle of those two, and it's something I think I may start doing more of.

And this was my finished ensemble for the day! That black bolero is the only jacket I've gotten around to making so far, so I wore black flats to help tie it in a little. My bag never matches anything I wear, but it's so me I think it doesn't necessarily matter, especially when I go so casual with the fashion like this.

This is gonna be my lolita week, so watch out for pics of the things I made over spring break!

It might be too colorful even for me...

So I love this coat guys. The only thing that really irks me is that because the liner is sewn to the outer fabric, the coat can get stuck in odd shapes, most of which make my wide hips look even wider. If I could go back and do it over, I'd take some spray adhesive to that coat, for real. So here, have some crap shots from my bathroom mirror.

So most of those are ridiculously blurry. Oops? This is why I can't be my own photographer. It just doesn't work.

I've got 12 mismatched buttons, some of which are in shapes, unlike the coat from the movie. I'd advise using buttons that are all about the same size, so you're not like me and go from a gaping button hole for that giant yellow button to a tiny one for the flamingo right after it. It looks a little weird when the jacket's left open.

So yeah, that's my Penelope Coat :)

WANTED & what I've been up to

PERSONAL POCKET-SIZED PHOTOGRAPHER

Because I never get any pictures of me in the stuff I sew. I'll take a crap shot of the Penelope Coat when I wake up, I guess. It's better than nothing. Now, the most important news!

This last week was Spring Break for me, and I used it to sleep and sew. What did I sew, you ask?

• 2 long-sleeve blouses
• 1 apron jumper skirt (inspired by Victorian Maiden, but no pleats cos I'm lame)
• 1 short sleeve dress, which may or may not require a shirt since I accidentally the neck opening too big
• 1 long sleeve black bolero jacket

 And I recently fixed the zipper on my empire-waist lolita skirt, so really, I'm just rolling in the endorphins from being awesome right now. Got some ideas for some of this fabric I inherited from various sources that's just been sitting around, waiting for me to use it. Man, it's like I was bit by the fashion, creativity, and get-stuff-done bugs all at once.