10 random lolita questions

I've been reading a lot of random question memes and decided to create a lolita one and answer them. Feel free to pass this list around to your lolita friends.

1. What is your favorite brand? Angelic Pretty and H.Naoto
2. Do you have a dream dress and what it is?- I don't know the name, but it's a Bambi print from Innocent World (whose stuff I don't think I will ever fit in).
3. How many pairs of lolita shoes do you own?- I have 12 that are a lolita brand or style- then more that are just common shoes that work for lolita.
4. What is your favorite piece you own now? I think my Milky Chan JSK is my current fav
5. What is your favorite style? I LOVE super sweet and also pirate
6. What is the lolita style you wear the most? OOT sweet
7. What is your favorite color coordinate? Pink and Mint is my current obsession.
8. Favorite accessory? Acrylic bracelets are my favorite, I really want more of them.
9. Wigs? Yay or nay? YES YES YES
10. If you could make up a lolita style what would be it be? Marching Band lolita- this needs to be a style, not just one outfit from AP

Phoenix Comicon 2011 Recap

This is my second year running the PCC fashion show, and my fourth year attending.The first day of the con I got there nice and early to set up my table. I bought some new displays and table covers and I was glad they worked.

The best part of this day was when Wil Wheaton walked by with his posse, then came back to my table to tell me my stuff was awesome. I almost DIED! WHY? Because I am a dork who normally fangirls all over him. So yea.

Friday was the fashion show, I ran a Beyblade tournament in the morning that involved lots of yelling, cheering children and then jumped over to my lolita sewing panel (which I'm still trying to get just right) then went over to set up the fashion show. I will not rant about the preparations for the show, but regardless of what I was given the show was fine and the content was amazing! Cake Shop Couture had really cute stuff and the models all looked fabulous! Dictator Fantasyland had a cool zodiac theme, The Fairest of them All FINALLY showed some of her great stuff
and Strawberry Black had the strongest Tokyo vibe I'd seen all night. The individual models looked awesome too! I don't have those pictures yet, but here are some of my new dresses in the show.

That last one is totally not a dress, but my friend modeling a jacket I made for punk/dandy. My son also finally walked with me in the fashion show, something I've been trying to get him to do for years.

Saturday I ran around all day from panel to panel to lolita swap meet and then to masquerade judging. I cosplay too :) My son and I dressed up as Windia and Sakura from Deathsmiles (a scrolling Japanese lolita shooter game). I took home best Master Craftsmanship! I really felt great about that because I worked hard on those costumes, and getting those done, my fashion show stuff AND all my panels was a lot of work.

Sunday I did an origami panel in the morning then FINALLY got to sit at my table for the rest of the day. I really like sitting at the table because I get to see everyone's cute expressions when they look at my stuff. I actually LIKE talking to my clients and customers.

It was a very successful con and by Sunday I was almost sold out! Which is a good thing, but now I have to remake everything for Saboten in October :P

I really want to thank every person who bought something or said a kind word or two. It really does make me feel so happy to hear people actually like the stuff I make. I can't wait for Saboten so I can meet more people!

xoxox
Mikki

Sock Dreams Petticoat Review

So I just thought I would do a little review on the petticoats from Sock dreams. They are leg avenue label...these ones to be precise- layered tulle petticoat.

Price- $35- not to shabby for something very necessary to the lolita wardrobe and petticoats seems to be hard to find in the right shape and length. Most costume pettis fall flat or are too long or made of angry dogs :(

Softness-pretty good (could be better)-When you order tulle petticoats be aware that they will be made with ....TULLE! Not all tulle is good, some of it is made with angry dogs, as I stated earlier, and may scratch your face off. I have one of these I got free with something and my friend and I have dubbed it ANGRY TULLE! So yea, organza is the really soft stuff, but most petticoats aren't made of this because it increases cost quite a bit while tulle is cheap. So while Sock Dreams talks about how this is the softest of all their petticoats, it still is not soft. It's not uncomfortable though and it doesn't bother my legs when I sit down. It's definitely not a pillow or anything though.

Length 15 inches long- Perfect (for me)- this petti hits me low to mid-thighish and I'm 5'4" so it might be a little short for taller lolitas, but it's way better than it being too long and having to roll the waist band or constantly having your petti hanging out.

Shape- Really good! While the bulk of the tulle is at the bottom, it doesn't make it swoop out and keeps a nice poof all by iteself without layering, although for super poof you could layer it.

All in all I'd say this was a perfect purchase for the thrifty lolita. It also has fast, free shipping and the petti is available in plus sizes. It also comes in fun colors besides black and white. So there you go, some info on these petticoats if you were thinking of buying them. It's a sound investment.

Lolita Transformation!

So EGL had this theme last month where people were posting their lolita transformations. It totally sounded fun, but I never got around to doing it until tonight when I went to judge a masquerade at a local animefest. So here is my own little transformation :)

ME! I also usually wear glasses but I had my contacts in.

Starting with basic foundation

Next comes the rest of the make up...

Makeup is done, so I got my dress and socks and blouse on (and bloomers)

Now, I have to add the WIG and all the little accessories.

There you go!!

Rundown of outfit...

Blouse- Fan Plus Friend
Dress- hand made
Shoes- Ling Lam
Socks- Angelic Pretty
Pink Bracelet- Metamorphose
Head Bow- Hand Made (not by me)
Wig- Minty Mix

Spring Time!

So, while its already hit 97 degrees here in Arizona (and totally feels like summer already) it's actually spring in other places of the U.S.
I decided I would post some of the lovely spring outfits that brands have come out with recently. These are the ones that remind me of Spring the most.

Angelic Pretty's Sheep Garden. I love this print, and it's totally not because I'm obsessed with sheep...well maybe just a little. I think sheep have this claim to spring that only chicks and rabbits also have.

Baby the Stars Shine Bright "Dobby Rosebud" jsk, I like this design, and cute little flowers are always a sign of spring.

Innocent World has this beautiful strawberry jsk, I love how the top border matches the border print (I LOVE border prints). The versatility of this dress is great, it can be lolita, or just a nice sun dress.

Metamorphose "Fruit Punch Soda" series is coming out soon, and this jsk reminds me of root beer floats and ice cream on warm springs days. Perfect for the sweet lolita.

Heart E has this cute high waisted strawberry cute with suspenders! Great way for classic style to be a little more sweet. This is a simple skirt but it works with the big print. It comes in other colorways, but I think the lavender is great for spring.

Juliette et Justine has this lovely jsk called "Le Monde de L'ange" (meaning the world of an angel) is cute and light for J et J style. The print has angels and roses and lace print all in light colors.

So there you are, some pretty things to look at for spring time! Although summer is almost here, and that means over 100 degrees for AZ lolitas, but don't worry, we'll just stay indoors for most of it ;)

No such thing as a free lunch.

So, this isn't actually lolita related, but it has been stewing in my mind for months now and I really wanted to let it out. Free stuff and favors: the older I get, the more I hate these things, in almost all aspects. I like getting free gifts, but then I hate when they break or fail because I can't complain, they were free right? It still is a bad experience even though you didn't pay for it. This works opposite for me a seller too, if something I've given for free breaks, what should I do...I can't refund them. And offering for them to mail something to me and then fixing it and then mailing it back seems a whole lot of asking for something that cost less than $10 in some cases.
As an artist and seamstress free stuff works in other annoying ways, like trading. A lot of artists trade stuff, like a painting for tailored clothes or a sculpture for a painting or whatever, you get the idea. Sometimes these trades can be really awesome and amazing, and sometimes they can suck. Especially when the other person doesn't hold up their end, or it takes them a year to do something that you finished 2 months ago. Now if the time is set up originally to be a long wait, I don't care and understand, but when dates are set and ignored, it really bugs me. I'm a schedule person, I like having deadlines, and I think they should be followed (unless something tragic happens). I'm very business like in that way, and most people who know me personally would think I am very different in work and volunteer related aspects because I treat everything seriously.
And the last one, which is so touchy, but it is the one that has been bothering me the most....favors. I hate favors, but people offer them to me a lot. I guess they like me (which is good). But here is the horrible and annoying truth about favors. When they totally screw things up for you, you can't complain to them because "they were doing you a favor." It's not a business transaction, you aren't paying them, you have nothing to hold onto if it falls through. And most of the people who offer favors are friends, so it's not like you can tell them off (in most cases). Lately favors have been kicking my ass, in the giving and receiving area. I do a lot of favors to people with clothes and stuff I sell ("sure you can pay me later"--then 6 months happens and I have to track them down). Or my other favorite- borrowing stuff, that I don't see for many many months after. So, i don't know...are favors good or bad? Sometimes they are wonderful, but other times...not so much and cause more hassle then they are worth. I wish I could tell before I accepted (and I have a hard time saying no).
This isn't to say I don't appreciate favors, I really do, and I love all my friends very much. But I've always hated relying on other people, ever since I was in high school I very much liked to do everything on my own and still do, even if it's too much. Those who know me well, know I'm like this to a crazy degree.

So I guess if I say no to a favor, it's not because I don't appreciate it, but because I don't want to resent you later if it falls through--even if it isn't your fault that it did. It's just easier that way, for everyone, that I don't deal with that stress.

ok, whew...feel a little better know that I wrote that all down. How do you feel about this stuff, any stories you want to share or advice...go ahead in the comments section.

Is that a wig or is your hair natually purple?

Wigs, why do I love thee? My obsession for wigs started long ago, when I first got into lolita and was making terrible hand sewn dresses....I've come a long way eh?

I found that wigs made me feel like I could take on other personalities, give me confidence that I might not otherwise have, and not to mention give me the long lovely hair I knew I could never grow myself. You see, I've always had short hair, like ear length, for most of my life.

When it grows past that it gets wavy yet stringy and just all around unpleasant. Which is fine, I LIKE shirt hair, but for lolita, it's hard to wear cute clip in accessories, and it doesn't always give me the overall look I want. This is not to say that lolitas can't rock short hair, they do it all the time, it's just that I would rather have giant puffy over the top hair. So, I started collecting wigs, and since I cosplay as well I started gathering a rather large crazy collection. But I learned a lot about wigs, such as how to care for them as well as where to get them.

Caring for your wig, it is so simple and important, but easy to forget (or be too lazy to do). When you are done wearing your wig, you should give it a nice comb (from the bottom to top) then put in back in its netting, and in a bag (or even better on a wig head, I don't have room for 50 wig heads though). Store in a cool dry place. Washing wigs is also a great idea, especially after wearing them for hours and hours. Just swish your wig in the water filled sink with a little wig shampoo, rinse, and hang to dry. DON'T COMB YOUR WET WIG, it just pulls tons of hair out.Wait until it dries and then comb. Washing wigs can restore curls and shape, and also wash OUT styles that you yourself put in.

So, where can you get these magical wigs of doom? There are some good shops like

cosplay usa (gothic lolita wigs) who make CRAZY thick wigs in fabulous lolita styles and definitely worth the cost.

Gothic Lolita Wigs

Minty Mix is another lovely shop, a smaller company but the wigs are fabulous quality and fullness with fun colors.

Minty Mix

Amphigory is another site for wigs, I love how they review each wig, and their customer service is phenomenal.

On ebay, my favorite shops are Cosplay DNA because of their heat style-able wigs in beautiful colors.

There is a Kids wig store on ebay too, where may wonderful wigs are sold from China, so there will be a wait time, but it will be WORTH IT!

The key to ebay shopping is checking for delivery times, checking on materials (what is the wig made of, can you heat style it?) and if you ask a question, does the person get back to you in a reasonable amount of time. If someone responds promptly, then you know you can contact them if a problem arises (usually). And check feedback!! Always check their feedback, it can save you a LOT of trouble.

So there you go, a little bit about wigs, lolita style. I hope this helped a little with people who have little experience with wigs. If you need more help, Youtube is a great place to find tutorials on wig styling and care. Have fun, and share any link that you think would help people just finding out about wigs in the comment section.

XOXOX
Mikki