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

Happy Fun Fabric Time!

So while I am organizing my lolita sewing panel, I get to talk about fabric (just a little) and it made me think about all the damn fabric I have. Fabric is one of my obsessions, like wigs....and shoes. I love fabric so much! I used to think I loved shopping because I liked clothes, nope, it was just the fabric. Since I figured that out, I barely go clothes shopping, except when I realize that I really need to buy new pants or risk looking like some kind of dirty hobo. So due to this obsession, I have a lot of fabric in little bundles stacked in places all over the house.

My favorite fabric for lolita is a nice thick cotton (prints please), but I also love working with dupioni silk, twill and nice suitings (fabric they make suits out of), and stretch poplin (nice light blouse material). Some of these words may mean nothing to you, and that is fine. Believe it or not, I have lots of other non-lolita fabrics in my house that I plan to eventually use for everyday wear. CRAZY I KNOW!

So where are my favorites places to buy fabric? OHHHH well, I have one beautiful, lovely lady in Japan who I buy prints from. She is fabulous and a great friend to me. We met online through Etsy and corresponded for over a year now, just one of the great things about Etsy. She helps me keep costs down and find the best fabric for my needs.
Although the worst thing about Japanese imported fabric is the cost, and the shipping. Some fabric can be $20 a yard, BEFORE shipping. Then you have to wait to get them usually for 2 weeks or so, and I am impatient.
So what are some other places that have fabulous fabric? I listed them below...

Fabric.com Great prices, fast shipping, great site.

Fashion Fabrics Club Great variety and some awesome finds, shipping tends to be a little slow though.

Little fabric Shop Cute little prints and nice customer service.

Trim Fabric Great site for suitings and finding a lot of fabric for cheap in the wholesale section.

Fabric Tales Great place for traditional Japanese prints for wa lolita type stuff.

Paris Bebe Great store for classic prints, lovely and fast shipping.

There are a ton of fabric sites, and then there is Ebay and of course, Etsy. My only local stores are Joannes, Hobby Lobby and SAS. I think there is one Sally's fabric left. Needless to say I do a lot of fabric shopping online. The worst thing about this is I can't touch the fabric before I buy it, and sometimes it is heavier than I thought or sightly the wrong shade or something along those lines. But I am VERY GLAD to have the option to buy fabrics from all over the world. Thank you internets.


Hope you had a lovely spring break and maybe I'll see you this weekend at Con-nichiwa!

XOXO
Mikki

Hey Sailor

So one of my favorite sub genres of lolita is sailor, not that you would really know that by looking at me, since I am generally smeared with different shades of pink and blue. But I really do love it so much, it has this kind of vintage feel to it while still being cute and it is really fun to wear. I thought I would post some of the cute little sailor things that brands are selling at the moment to brighten up your day (and mine).

Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Metamorphose is releasing a whole sailor series later this month

Putomayo adds their own flair

Innocent world has these jsks that I think would work really well with sailor

I think that's enough for the moment, if you know any more awesome stuff, link it in the comments.

If you want to add more sailor in your life and you can sew a little, here is a fun sailor collar tutorial>>

Hey Sailor!

and second page...

Have a lovely week!
xoxo Mikki

Wait...another shoe post.

Happy Presidents Day, and what better way to celebrate then with shoes, yea I know, shoes again.

For non lolita related shoes I discovered this place called Wholesale Shoes in Phoenix where all shoes are 9.88 and all boots are under $23. So I went there and it is full of lots of shoes, of all colors and varieties and heel heights. I boot two pairs of boots. Here is the website.

SHOES OF DOOM

For lolita shoes I recently (well not too recently) bought some boots from Ling Lam. I actually bought them the end of December and I got them....Saturday. Yea- and that had nothing to do with Chinese New Year. I ordered them like Dec 31st and they were mailed January 28th and I got them February 19th. And that cost quite a bit, but the post office situation is just bad out there right now (Hong Kong), everything is taking forever. I don't have many complaints because I have purchased shoes from them before, the quality isn't great but good enough for the casual wear I give my boots. The worst thing was my black rocking horse boots.

There was nothing really "wrong" with them, the fit is just really weird and awkward. The zipper is in the back, so when you go to put them on your foot automatically jams the zipper down into the shoe and you have to fight with it. Then it's just really hard to zip over the curves of the back of your foot since the material is so unforgiving. I think if I had bought a larger size I probably wouldn't have had a problem, but it's a little late to know that now, but YOU know it now, so if you want to order these, order them a little bigger. I'm probably going to sell mine to someone with an 8 or 8.5 foot.

So here is my huge annoyance with lolita shoes. Why are they all designed by morons? The only decent ones are rocking horse shoes. All my other shoes it takes me forever to put on and take off. Either the buckles are super tiny and a pain to open OR they have snaps that can wear and loosen so they keep popping when you walk. This could be just an annoyance of mine because of my large feet and calves but bah! I wish decent shoe companies would make some cute lolita shoes.

Up and coming

Con Nichiwa is coming up in March 25-27 in Tucson Arizona

Con Nichiwa

I will be there with my cosplay group Sunacosu hosting some panels. I was really hoping they would have a fashion show like the one they had last year. But they aren't doing it again, so I won't have any fun modeling jobs for anyone (except me).

I will be doing some panels for the Con about lolita though-

Lolita 101 - about the history and guidelines of lolita

Lolita 202- about the other "sub genres" of lolita and a large section of reviews of where to shop (something I know quite a bit about) for almost anything.

Lolita sewing- if you want to know about how to start sewing then this is the class for you, while the beginning will go over things that every beginner needs to know- the second half will talk about how to measure for a simple rectangle skirt and how to cut and gather ruffles.

I like to give out prizes and hand outs. If you go to the sewing panel I will have a full walk through of how to sew the rectangle skirt so you can go home and actually do it without going..."wait...what did she say to do again?"

Should be fun, I will also be sharing a table there to sell the new antique style necklaces and some furry capelets along with liquidating old stock (sweets jewelry). So come on by.

Lolita vs The Classy lady

Alright, so while I was looking for feedback about what kinds of tea parties people want to have, I got some feedback saying that they wished the tea parties were more classy, like actual tea parties with soft music and polite conversations and good posture and all that. The argument was that the rowdy behavior looked bad on lolitas and gave people a bad impression of us, like we are just "people who want to look like little girls." I see why lolitas would want this, especially ones who like classic. It would make for a perfect Victorian themed tea party.

My favorite style however, super sweet, is not very classy. And I don' think anyone will ever look at it and think "wow, that's classy." I also don't' want them to. I'm not classy that way. I'm barely middle class, I wouldn't now what to do at a fancy party like that, I'd probably just feel out of place. I don't worry about making messes and I'll wear my pajamas to the store and I often don't care if my jacket matches my clothes. HOWEVER, class is more than appearances and soft music and fancy dinnerware. Class is how you act, and I don't think that has anything to do with being lolita or not. You can't say that just because you're lolita you're classy. People have their own personalities and are going to be who they are regardless of what they are wearing. So in a way, the people that other people are stereotyping as weirdos, because they are acting like loud obnoxious weirdos, probably are weirdos. And they also don't care that people think that. I'd rather be someone who is approachable, which is not always the case when people first meet me (apparently I'm kind of intimidating or something). But after they get to know me they realize I'm pretty nice. I would rather seem nice than classy any day of the week. And I'm classy in my own way, it's just not the same way as first lady classy.

Where did my point go....oh yea....people are who they are. And sometimes, we're big weirdos in frilly dresses.