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[LBC] Pros & Cons: Keeping To One Style VS Multiple Styles

/ lolitaland / 6 Comments

This week’s prompt is “Pros & Cons: Keeping To One Style VS Multiple Styles” … and this prompt really speaks to me.

I’ve pondered this question many times, even before I started building my Lolita fashion wardrobe. I’m sure other Lolitas have pondered this as well. I currently have multiple styles and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ll share my personal Lolita wardrobe story first, and then I’ll share a list of Pros and Cons.

Before I even started in the fashion, circa 2008 to 2011, I really wanted to start off in a single style: Gothic Lolita. When I was growing up, I hated the color pink and didn’t really like Sweet Lolita for all its pastels. I loved the Classic Lolita style since I’ve always been a fan of historic clothing, but the prices always seemed much too high. The first piece I ever acquired was a black Bodyline jumperskirt (although it was more punk than gothic). Before that, I only had offbrand things I found at thrift stores, or skirts that my mom and I worked on sewing together.

What I wore to my first Lolita meetup

In 2012, when I started building my Lolita wardrobe, I took a surprising turn: Sweet Lolita! The reason was simple: budget. At the time, I stalked EGL Comm Sales on Livejournal religiously, on the hunt for secondhand deals. For some reason, and I’m not sure why, there were no affordable options for gothic styles that appealed to me. However, I did find a lot of cute Sweet Lolita items that were cheap. As an adult, the color pink didn’t bother me so much anymore. Part of it was probably due to my time reading the Gothic Lolita Bibles and KERA magazines, and starting to like pastel colors as well.

As you can see from my coord to my first-ever lolita meetup in January 2013, I am wearing (gasp!) some pink! I can’t recall the name of the skirt, but it’s from BTSSB. The blouse is just a basic white button-down shirt, and the bolero was a vintage item from a hospice shop. The large bow was hand-sewn, and the two smaller bows were from Forever 21 (and I still use those little bows all the time for coords!).

So, I went down the route of primarily Sweet Lolita, which was a total surprise! The goal was never to stick to one style forever though. I wanted to wear multiple styles. This is a desire I have not just for Lolita fashion, but for my wardrobe outside of Lolita too. I love fashion and being creative with outfits, but I also have different preferences for what to wear during certain times.

Eventually, I started acquiring Gothic Lolita pieces, and my wardrobe was split between the two styles. Below, you can see some of my coords from 2013 and 2014.

From 2015 to 2016, I acquired more Japanese brand pieces (and shifted from primarily shopping on LiveJournal to shopping on Facebook and MBOK for secondhand items). I also collected more basics like blouses, socks/tights, and accessories, and I started collecting a few classic pieces.

In today’s wardrobe, I have a wide variety of styles, and it can be overwhelming sometimes… but I have no regrets. I am not a lifestyle Lolita, but I do see myself as a collector Lolita. I love collecting different pieces! I don’t have much space, so it’s a struggle in a small apartment, but I make it work (even if it means stuffing clothing into vacuum seal bags or stuffing them into plastic bins and duffle bags…). Someday, I hope to have a proper closet where I can store my Lolita collection in one place. In my last LBC post, I shared my top tips for managing a wardrobe.

Now, for the PROS and CONS of Multiple Styles~!

PROS:

  • Variety of styles to choose from
    • Do you want to go goth today? Or channel your inner Victorian lady? Or are you feeling sickeningly sweet and want to be all ice cream sundaes and whipped cream?
  • Unleash your creative side
    • When you have multiple styles, you can also mix some styles together! Do you want to be gothic but lean into classic and look like a Victorian lady in mourning? How about combining some Decora with your Sweet Lolita? Or let’s create some fun Punk / Gothic vibes?

CONS:

If you prefer keeping to one style, I’d love to hear the pros and cons in your experience in the comments.

Check out the other blog posts for the Lolita Blog Carnival!

The Bloody Tea Party // Cupcakes and Unicorns // Rose Sanctuary

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[Lolita Blog Carnival] Share Your Oddest Experience You’ve Had While Wearing Lolita

/ lolitaland / 2 Comments

Wow… I can’t believe it’s been so long! The last time I participated in Lolita Blog Carnival was in January 2017. It’s been over 3 years. I used to tag my blog posts as “LBC” but it’s been so long that I don’t know if my readers will remember what LBC is.

This week’s prompt is “Share Your Oddest Experience You’ve Had While Wearing Lolita.”

The oddest experience I had while wearing lolita occurred at a lolita meetup I hosted at a local mall. It was a small and casual meetup: I can’t remember the exact number, but I believe there were 4 or 5 of us hanging out. We were just walking around the mall and window shopping. However, we were stopped by security: security staff claimed we could not dress in this manner because we could be hiding weapons under our poofy skirts.

What could I be hiding?

I think we got singled out because we dressed differently. Weapons could be hidden in a jacket, in pockets, even in your shoes. We didn’t want to cause a scene, so we simply left the mall at that point.

Getting singled out due to the way I dress happens a lot, but this experience was definitely the oddest one. I’ve been to the mall in lolita fashion at other times, and security has only stopped me to ask why I’m dressed like this, but they don’t claim that it’s a hazard or that they’re suspicious of me hiding weapons. They’re either suspicious of me taking photos since photoshoots aren’t allowed in the mall, or they are wondering if I’m performing in a local play or participating in an art event.

I recall that once someone claimed my outfit was a fire hazard. This was not at a mall though; it was at a café. I was seated at the time and I don’t understand how it could possibly be a fire hazard (and it was also odd that no one claimed it was a fire hazard until after I finished eating my meal).

I am not Bo Peep! Photo by Xin

I’m sure other lolitas can relate: when we wear lolita out in public, we generally get a lot of stares, whispers, and unwanted attention. I have lost count of how many times people called me “Bo Peep” in a derogatory manner. And I also lost count of how many times people took photos of me without asking for permission. Street harassment happens regularly as well, although this happens regardless of what I wear. I’ve also been catcalled when I’m just wearing jeans and a sweatshirt (and no makeup at all). It’s sad how many people are disrespectful. At a local meetup, a passerby even spat on one of the attendees when we were walking down the sidewalk. Another time, when I was wearing lolita alone at the mall, someone purposely spilled soda on me in the food court. It was terrible.

Image may contain: 1 person, indoor
At the Met in NYC! Photo by h1sphoto

If you see someone dressed differently, kindly be respectful. When people ask, I don’t mind posing for a photo. I also don’t mind explaining what lolita fashion is to those who are genuinely curious. In my own experience, I’ve had the best reactions to wearing lolita fashion at museums. Museums are where I get the most respectful questions, as well as people complimenting what I’m wearing. Sometimes, people think it’s a costume or I’m cosplaying, and I explain that it’s alternative fashion and not a costume.

Even if you’re not participating in the carnival, I’d love to hear your oddest experience while wearing lolita in the comments. Feel free to share your own stories!

Check out the other blog posts for the Lolita Blog Carnival!

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Connect

❥❧ Support me on Ko-Fi ~

❥❧ Pledge to me on Patreon ~

❥❧ Shop my Closet on Depop

❥❧ Facebook: Cosplay and Fashion

❥❧ Instagram: PearlPeony and AliceinLolitaland

❥❧ Tumblr: Personal and Fashion

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❥❧ Youtube: Alice in Lolitaland

❥❧ WorldCosplay: Xiao

❀ For business inquiries, contact me at: missxiaorawr@gmail.com ❀

Emptyland: End of 2018

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This Emptyland post covers September, October, November, December! I know I’ve been getting lazy with my Emptyland posts as time has gone on. I’m still debating whether or not to continue with this series. I think I will, but I’ll keep it simplified like I have since the Moving Edition post for Emptyland.

How was the end of your 2018 year? I didn’t use as many products as I thought I would, but I’m sure I’ll use up more products in 2019! I also realized that I didn’t use up any makeup products during September through December… Maybe I need to take a second look and purge some items that have been open for too long (yes, I’m a makeup hoarder).

Skincare

Here, you see some familiar Empties like the Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch and the Neutrogena Make-up Remover Cleansing Towelettes. Did you know the first appearance of the Acne Pimple Master Patch in Emptyland was my first time trying it? And it showed up in my first ever Emptyland post! As for a new product I tried at the end of 2018: it was my first time trying the Speedy Perfect Whip face wash, but I wasn’t a big fan. I didn’t feel like the Perfect Whip face wash cleansed my face as deeply as I would like a foaming wash to do. I loved the Perfect Watery Oil as a first step cleanser though!

I barely used any sheet masks during the last quarter, even though I should have since the winter air is cold and dry. I think I was feeling really stressed and short on time, and didn’t feel like putting a mask on my face for ten minutes. This year, I’ll definitely try to find more me-time so I can use more sheet masks! During the last few months, I used sleeping masks more since they were really easy to use and didn’t take much time. No sleeping mask jars are empty right now, but I’m sure one or two will make it to the next Emptyland post.


I’ve used the Blistex Silk & Shine before, and the Blistex Five Star Lip Protection is one that keeps coming back. It was my first time trying the Blistex Triple Essentials lip balm, and it was decent, but not as moisturizing as the Five Star one in my opinion. Check out the Five Star’s first appearance in Emptyland here!

Haircare

Fekkai shampoo and conditioner, hask chia seed dry shampoo, olaplex no. 3, sheamoisture pure argan oil, overtone deep treatment, rose gold hair, pastel pink hair, rose gold for brown hair

I don’t think I’ve ever had this many hair products in one Emptyland post before. I used up my first Fekkai shampoo and conditioner set, a chia seed dry shampoo from Hask, Olaplex No. 3, my first SheaMoisture product (pure argan oil), 2 sample sized Overtone deep treatments, and 1 full size Overtone deep treatment. The Rose Gold for Brown Hair treatment was a hot pink, and kept my pink hair vibrant over the weeks that I used it. I started using the Overtone products during late summer/early fall, so I think these products are good value for how long they lasted me as well as the color payoff. I have no idea how well the Rose Gold one works on brown hair, since I used it on hair that was bleached and dyed pink, but I’d love to try Rose Gold hair some time!

Rose Gold for Brown hair applied to the top half of my hair, regular Rose Gold applied to the ends

For another pink hair color care product, check out my thoughts on an Aprilskin product in my Emptyland: Summer Edition post!

Bodycare

For Bodycare, I used up two hand creams and one body wash. I’ve had that L’Occitane rose hand cream since I studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland in 2015. I’ve been using it very slowly to make it last because I’m in love with the scent and it’s the best moisturizing hand cream I’ve ever tried. The Crabtree & Evelyn hand cream is nice but isn’t as rich. As for the Dove body wash, it feels moisturizing and is easy to use. A pouf or sponge is recommended, but I’ve used it with just my hands to lather it, and it works just fine.

Sample / Travel Size

From these samples, I don’t think I’ll be purchasing any full-size ones. Except maybe I’ll get another full size hand cream from L’Occitane… I love their hand creams! They’re expensive, but I find them to be the most moisturizing. And a little goes a long way (this tiny sample size lasted me almost a whole year in my purse).

I disliked the Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm from Bobbi Brown because it felt sticky and didn’t absorb well. It didn’t feel very moisturizing either… The Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet was light and absorbed quickly, but also didn’t provide much moisture for my dry winter skin. I had to layer on another cream after application to fight the dryness.

I like the Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil but can’t justify buying a full size since I didn’t see any positive changes when using it. It just smelled nice and felt nice (which is nice if I get another free sample, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase it).

I loved the Korres Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial, but there are so many sleeping masks and similar products I want to try so I’m not sure if I’ll get around to ever buying a full size of this one. It smells lovely though, and was an easy cream to apply during the last step of night-time skincare! I am a sucker for anything rose…

Did you have any favorites that you tried at the end of 2018? Any new products you’re trying in 2019?

Unrelated to Emptyland, but I’ll be attending Katsucon 2019 Friday through Sunday (will be arriving tomorrow afternoon or evening, and leaving on Sunday afternoon). To check out what I’m doing during the con, follow my Instagram PearlPeony.  I’ll try to post on Twitter (TreizeMacarons) and my Cosplay Facebook too. Hope everyone has a great rest of their week!