Q and A #1 , Patterns, wigs and more

     Our First Question and Answer Post

     So I really wanted to make a video to answer the Q and A questions- but when I finally sat down to do it, I realized that the web cam was on my old laptop, which is broken :(  So I decided to do a blog post instead.  You don't get to see me face, but hey- you still get your questions answered.

     Our first question was from Hope and she asked "Where do get your patterns?"   There are a lot of answers to this.  I draft some of my patterns completely by hand with a design ruler and sloper patterns.  I plan to add making a sloper pattern to my list of workshops for the next Saboten (so you can make your own).  A sloper pattern is a basic pant or blouse pattern that is custom made so you can alter it however you please and you already have a base pattern that fits you perfectly.   I also sometimes use Vintage patterns or Japanese patterns and then alter them to my own design idea.  I did this with some old overall patterns to make salopettes.  You can really see the 50s in some lolita after looking at the patterns from back then.   

First of the new series

     I also use some Japanese patterns as a base- like those from Gothic Lolita sewing books.  I used to use these all the time when learning to sew- and I love them so much.  They printed 16 of the old ones, and just started a new run of only lolita patterns (no gothic).  They are in all Japanese so you have to know your way around patterns, but they are a lot of fun to look at and be inspired by. The patterns are laid out all over each other too, so you have to have a keen eye to differentiate them. 

Many pattern lines overlap.

You can purchase these books on Etsy and Ebay and Jlist and other places that sell Japanese craft books.  I create patterns on this stuff called Pattern Ease (like trace paper except not stiff) and then label all the pieces and save them together for the next time I use them.  

layers and longer bangs

side part with longer bangs

     The second question came from Allison, " I feel my jaw line is far too square to wear curly pigtail wigs and I look more like a boy then a kawaii lolita. What would you suggest?"  Don't worry Allison, pigtail lolita wigs aren't the only wigs out there.  The feeling you are getting is probably from the straight across bangs that are typical with that style wig.  It creates a very square feeling, which most people attribute to masculinity (strong square jawline kind of thing).  Try something that doesn't have such strong bangs, like a longer bob, or something with longer layers with the long side swept bangs instead.  Also wigs that part on the side and not the middle.  I think there are a lot of options when it comes to wigs, so don't feel that just because it isn't "typical" lolita that it won't work with your outfit.


     Our third question comes from Holly  "Do you feel there is an age that lolita becomes inappropriate? and how do you feel about chunky lolitas?"  I get these questions a lot, maybe because I am one of the older people in my local community.  First, I personally feel that the only time you need to give up lolita is because you don't care for it anymore.  Second, it's an eccentric hobby, and eccentric hobbies get harder and harder to explain as you get older- especially to bosses and coworkers.   But I don't feel that getting older means you should give up what you love, that's just silly.  If lolita makes you happy than you should keep it up.  I've seen plenty of older lolitas that look fabulous and are very involved with their communities.  I've even seen mother daughter lolitas and it's adorable. This same statement goes with being curvy.  I have seen some of the most amazing coordinates on plus sized girls. I don't think that being skinny makes you a better lolita, and it's kind of a silly notion. It makes it easier to get brand- that's for sure- but it doesn't mean much else unless you let it.  Sloppy outfits on anyone look bad, regardless of size.  And amazing outfits look good on anyone- in my opinion anyway.  Just stay away from the hate, and love your hobby and yourself.

     Our last question comes from Amanda: "I'm a woman of 25, and also have been a model for 8 years. I would like to try to find companies to model for, but am broke and cannot so much as buy the most inexpensive lolita items without saving up for almost a year (too many bills to pay). I can sew a little bit to make items for myself, but I would like to model for designers (they can even be just starting out) and not only get them, but also myself, more well deserved exposure. What suggestions would you have for me? Do you know of any places looking for models that are willing to trade items for photos?"  There is a site called Model Mayhem- you can register there as a model, specify what kind of work you want and message other designers and photographers in your area to set up a shoot.  A lot of designers will do something called TFP (you probably already know this, but I'll explain for others)  which means a trade for prints or portfolio (whichever pertains to you).  It basically means you will trade your time for a shoot for someone to put the photos in their portfolio or the designer will send you outfits, you wear them for a shoot, then return them and exchange the prints to the designer to use for their advertising purposes.  As long as no one is making money on the trade, it works out.  I've done this a few times before and it is always fun and worth it AND you make some great connections as well.    I can tell you to be careful when you meet with people, and always bring someone with you and protect yourself, you never know who is out there.  I don't know what state you are in, so I don't know who to suggest to you, but Model Mayhem is a great place to start and search. 


Thanks to everyone who submitted questions.  I hope to do more of these as time passes.  Hopefully is was informative ><

xoxo Mikki 

What is a seamstress worth?

This is not in response to anything- I just figured that some of you may want to know what goes into all this sewing stuff, so you understand what I do better as well as the pricing for most of the stuff I make.

The basic price guide for most seamstresses for how much to charge someone is materials cost plus $X an hour multiplied by how many hours it will take.

M + ($10 x 6) = ?

Most seamstresses charge between $10 - $25 an hour depending on their skill level and location. They shouldn't pay themselves less then minimum wage, just like you wouldn't take a job that paid you almost nothing.

Fabric prices are a broad range- simple cotton can be cheap- but custom printed fabric can be $27 a yard and beautiful silk or custom order fabric can be $70- $100 a yard (think bridal fabric). Now for the dresses I make- I generally need 3 yards. So before I even calculate the labor cost- I already have $50 usually in fabric cost, without the cost of lace, thread, elastic, buttons etc. I have spent over $50 on lace and buttons for commissions before!

Now- I am going to say that from start to finish dresses can take somewhere around 10 hours to make (sometimes less, sometimes more). But that's a good average.

According to the formula- a middle of the road lolita dress would cost, in math terms,

$75 (materials)+ ($10 x 10) = $175

That is the minimum pay for a seamstress- most experienced seamstresses I know charge $20 an hour.

$75 + ($20 x 10) = $275


So in all reality, I should be charging the same price as most brands for the dresses I put out, and this would be the same formula regardless of style- same formula for costumes, for regular dresses, for whatever.

It used to be much easier and cheaper to make your own clothes- long ago when clothes were more expensive. As time has gone by- and machines have made the production of clothes cheaper and easier- it is no longer cheaper to hand make your clothes. It is considerably more expensive. It can be cheaper sometimes, but usually it's not.

I charge considerably less than I really should and I get lectured for it a lot by other seamstresses. In lolita, not many will pay that much for a custom dress because brand is so much more expensive. But in all actuality, it's brand that is over priced for machine made items. You're paying for the label, not necessarily the quality. Lolita does often retain value, so there is that- but I hate generalizations made on lolita seamstresses that we over charge because lolita is expensive, when in reality, all hand made custom clothing is expensive.


I just thought I would throw this out there for those of you who had no clue how seamstresses come up with prices. Putting a whole lot of work into something and then realizing you only paid yourself $3 an hour- is a terrible and often really frustrating and upsetting mistake. It's not one you should make, or force others to make on your behalf. People should be paid what they are worth.

Edit- it's also important to keep track of all this stuff for taxes, with a small business you pay taxes to state and sometimes (in my case anyway) your city every month (or the months where you sell at conventions)- and if you keep all your receipts and keep track of your uses you can write all that stuff off on your taxes.

Phoenix Comicon 2012

I went down to Phoenix Comicon for the 6th year in a row, but sadly this might be my last. Phoenix Comicon has changed a lot in the last couple years and seem to be pushing anime out of programming- which pushes a lot of my customers out of the con. This year many chose to got to Fanime instead and I really felt their absence.

This was a really busy month for me and I worked very hard to get enough stock to sell there- and we really didn't do that well- we about broke even with the hotel and table cost- whereas last year we made quite a profit. But even so I made some great new friends and met some of my beloved old ones. Here is a simple rundown of my weekend.

Thursday- We came really early to unload and set up the table and I was really surprised by how many people came by the table Thursday. People who intentionally came by just to see me or to buy something. It was awesome and it totally started the con off right for me :) Thanks so much for that!!

Friday- I had the lovely Alexis and Roman watch the table for me intermittently this weekend and I can't thank them enough for it! However, everything I tried to do today either fell through or sucked. Panelist didn't show up for panels because programming double booked groups for multiple panels at the same time. The audio for the AMV contest was messed up and there were barely any submissions due to PCC not having a forum to be able to get messages out. I also wanted to see ANY Star Trek TNG guest but they had them in a panel room that was constantly full and they didn't let more people than the room could fit. It was a disappointing day and made me feel....depressed. There was a "free" firework show from the ballpark though- that was kind of cool. I wore my Mirikawa from High School of the Dead- since they were having a party that night- I only found these people who were actually dressed as the characters and not just wearing the school uniform. I also ended up being too tired to go to the actual party.





Saturday

Saturday was pretty cool because I got to meet and fangirl all over Danielle Corsetto from Girls with Slingshots. She drew me a sketch of Jaime. I also wore my Star Trek Lolita and got lots of photos with other Trekkies who thought I was steampunk for some unknown reason (but they were lovely anyway).

I went to the masquerade that night and it was kind of horribly messed up and disorganized and I felt both bad and relieved that I didn't enter. I was part of a group that asked for clarification on the rules and asked for some changes in how they judged. No real clarification was given and we were told that they wanted to see a lot less of anime in the show- so a lot of us didn't enter due to that. It was kind of a mess, I really hope that it was a learning experience to be improved upon. The hosts were quite charming though, and I love the storm trooper dude who announces every year. He was the highlight this year I think, for me anyway.

Sunday- I was going to wear lolita this day but I was so tired. So regular clothes it was. I did go to see the Star Trek Panel with all the guests- but I had to go to the prior panel and a half to make sure I got in- which sucked. But I got to see them and discovered that Wil Wheaton is my favorite person from TNG- in real life not on the show- but he is always so awesome. All of the characters are so opposite of the real person- I mean, Wil Wheaton is the coolest person and Mirina Siritis is a huge bitch. Micheal Dorn is also really soft spoken. It was interesting. I also got a sketch from another artist who recognizes me every year and whom I really admire- Travis Hanson. I've read all his books and have lots of his prints- awesome guy!

And that was kind of it- The booth down the way from me- Miss. Alainius- was awesome and such a great person. We were BFF the first day. I also saw many of your smiling faces and I appreciate it. I really do enjoy sitting at the table and talking to you all. I think this will be the last year we are an exhibitor at PCC though- the tables are expensive and the hotel is expensive and before I used to staff PCC, but I will no longer do that so it seems kind of pointless to go to be a vendor when the earnings barely make up for the trip.I have lost my love for this con due to lots of behind the scenes reasons and it saddens me that I didn't feel happy leaving PCC- I wasn't impressed or have that con feeling that I usually have. I am debating if I should move to Fanime and try to get a table there instead. Maybe you guys can tell me what you think about that?

Project Runway

So remember how I was invited to apply to Project Runway by a casting person who found me on Etsy? Yea, well I actually never applied and I've been meaning to tell you guys why. I wanted to accompany it with a video, but it's looking like production of the video is taking longer than I thought and I wanted to tell you guys why I didn't actually go through with it. There were a lot of reasons...one was that I have no idea about fashion outside of lolita and I shop at thrift stores most of the time and really don't give a shit (which I think might hurt me a little in a competition where they are used to people who know modern trends). Aside from that- there was the leaving my family and jobs for a month while filming and flying myself to L.A. for the final interviews (if I got in). But lastly, there was the application. I had a huge problem with it and this is why. After all the name, age, and interests questions there were about 7 pages of personal questions, about your past, about your relationships, about your parents, about your regrets and the kicker? at the bottom of the last page was a privacy disclaimer saying they could use this info however they see fit and put it wherever they wanted (hello internet).

I am a pretty private person, I don't always voice my opinions and I generally am pretty quiet- especially in public situations. But there was no way I was going to let complete strangers know all about my past, my life and how I felt about it all- because it's complicated- and only my close friends should know that stuff. Now, I could've lied. But I have this thing about liars- I kind of hate them, they are my biggest pet peeve. I actually grew up thinking people didn't lie (because I didn't- so others didn't right?) and that turned out to be the worst lesson ever. But the point is, my family couldn't withstand the exposure of that and I wouldn't approve of being put on display like that. So while I really appreciate the love and support you all displayed when I said I wanted to apply, I ended up not applying. I hope you can all understand my reasons, maybe if I didn't have a child and a husband it would be different, but I do and I have to consider them in everything I choose to do. My son will be starting a very challenging junior high honors school next year- and I don't want to be absent from helping him cope with the change. My family is my life, and they are more important than anything else. So as much as I think I might of had fun, I think in the long run it would have taken a negative toll on my family.

Please continue to support me as I am grateful to have such wonderful clients and fans.

Forever 21 Tights review

So I recently bought some tights off Forever 21 because they have these really cute styles that could go well with lolita, and they were only around $5 a pop.

I got them just a few days after ordering in a bright yellow package- inside was a cute wrapped bag.

Inside was another bag and a return slip with postage sticker, in case something was wrong (pretty cool).

Inside the bag were the 4 pairs of tights I ordered, all pretty.

The first pair was the bow tights in pink- although they are definitely more beige than anything else- and look more like panty hose than tights, but they have a control top and are very soft and stretchy. The styles on the site were all on white mannequin legs, so it was kind of hard to guess at the more skin like colors and the creams/whites.

The next ones were the lavender lace style tights, these are such a pretty light lavender color- prefect for what I wanted and they are sturdy but still really stretchy.

The next ones are the beige flower embroidered fishnet like tights. They are pretty cool too.

Lastly there are the coral lace tights- just like the lavender- but they are a bit more orangy in real life than in the pictures- I thought they would be a bit more pink. But I can still use them for stuff.

All in all it was a good haul for the price- but I still have to try them on- but I thought that you would appreciate seeing them in person and seeing the true colors.

ConNi and Spring and Easter prints!

So here is a long over due shout out to ConNichiwa. We had a great time, spoke to many lovely people and said "Heya" to some old friends. We also made more money, like 5x as much, as last year. So, needless to say, we will be back next year! I had a guest book on my table for people to sign, this is going to become an every convention thing, but some of the comments and stories were awesome! There is one I had to share with you, so here it is:
"The stuff in this store is amazing! owo We bought 4 of the lucky packs, because we were dead obsessed. After opening two, we freaked out and started running back to get to the vendor hall. As I was running, N (name taken out) grabbed the hood of my jacket and I ALMOST DIED. I ran out of breath and I got here last. I got the yellow jelly ring after wrestling for it."

BEST. STORY. EVER. Accompanied by pictures. Those girls were awesome-big hugs to them.


In totally unrelated news...
I hear that Easter is coming up- not a holiday I celebrate but I do appreciate the loads of candy and cute pastels that Easter ushers in. So, I decided to post some cute Easter/Springtime dresses. Enjoy :)

Are there any special prints that remind you of Spring?

Lolita Fashion is not "pedo bait"

Recently I came across this disturbingly insulting review of a anime convention and it's attendees. In said article the author describes one of the lolita's as a "pedophile's wet dream" and in the comments the words "pedo bait" are mentioned over and over. "Why else would you dress like that?" Now, I'd like us all to take a moment and really think about that statement, that grown up adults are dressing up to attract pedophiles...on purpose.

Done? Ok, hopefully common sense has told you that is a silly concept. If not, let's talk about what a pedophile is. Wikipedia states a pedophile as psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents (persons age 16 or older) typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children (generally age 13 years or younger, though onset of puberty may vary).
The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) defines pedophilia as recurrent sexually arousing fantasies, impulsive desires, or behaviors involving sexual acts with a child and that occur over a period of at least six months. In most cases, the pedophile is at least sixteen years of age and at least five years older than the child. Those who suffer from pedophilia have a compulsion to abuse young children.

Nowhere does it say that pedophiles are attracted to the clothing that children stereotypically wear or are attracted to adults who might dress like children. Most people who dress in lolita look like adults, with curves, and I don't think could be confused with an 8 year old. And I really don't see children wearing clothes like this often...at all, unless it happens to be Easter.

Now, that doesn't mean that men aren't attracted to the women dressed in the outfits. It doesn't mean that there aren't perverts who think it is the sexiest thing ever and who think of it as a fetish. In fact, I'm positive there are. Blaming this on the women who wear it though, is uncalled for and disgusting. Lolita's don't dress like that to attract men, if we did we would dress completely differently. We wouldn't cover up 85% of our bodies. We dress in lolita because we want to, and we love it. It has nothing to do with anybody else. We don't enjoy the negative attention and the rude comments we get while wearing it. That reviewer said he wanted to marry that lolita when she stopped dressing like that, so obviously he found her attractive, so is he a pedophile?
My point is, this is a stupid ignorant comment that just makes the user look like a closed minded moron. Pedophiles are not attracted to adults, no matter how they are dressed. I also feel like the person using the term "pedo bait" are taking the seriousness away from a disorder that hurts and destroys people's lives. It is not a term to throw around. So don't, and everyone will be happier.