Leap Day Coordinate!

Happy Leap Day! For today, I have two super cute coordinates to show you~ If you were at this past Ohayocon, you saw these in The Elegant Wardrobe panel! But for the majority of you, here they are. Aren't they super cute? I really like the colored blouse look instead of just plain white ones in sweet, it makes the coordinate feel more complex and even sweeter! I hope they inspire you to try coordinating your sweet outfits with colored blouses~

Two Sweet Coordinates by cat91151 featuring light blue shoes

Wardrobe Post 2012

I wanted to put this together much much earlier, for the January EGL theme. However, Ohayocon happened, and I didn't get it done on time. But now it's all finished and I thought I'd post it up here! This is my current wardrobe for fairy kei and lolita fashions, I hope you enjoy!

Petticoats and Skirts

I never really realized just how many skirts I have. And with the addition of all these fairy petticoats, it's become maybe too many to keep. I don't wear skirts that often, so I'll be looking at selling some of these.

Top row: Bodyline, American Apparel, Malco Modes, Bodyline, Bodyline

Second row: Hand made, the rest are Bodyline

Third Row: Bodyline, Handmade, In the Starlight, Handmade, Handmade

Last Row: Candy Violet, Metamorphose, Handmade, Metamorphose, All my head bows

Jumper Skirts

Dear Celine Autumn Poodle JSK. I love the houndstooth print and the little poodles! I want the matching head bow for this, but I don't think it's available anymore.

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright Pocket Embroidery JSK. This was my dream dress (as I've mentioned before) and perhaps is my favorite dress that I own. I love it so much, I've thought about buying a second one in black for a keepsake.

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright Clockwork Tea Party JSK. I was so excited to be able to get this dress (my first time doing a reservation) after it had been sold out! And it got here... and the zipper immediately broke. So it has to be replaced now, what a bummer.

Metamorphose Temps de Fille Strawberry Shirring JSK. I love the Meta shirring JSK style! I have two dresses like this, and I have a third on my wish list. This one works really nicely for a bittersweet country coordinate, but it can go a lot of different ways.

Metamorphose Temps de Fille Candy House Shirring JSK. As I have mentioned a few times, I have been searching for this version of this dress for about a year and a half before I finally found it last fall. My only light-colored dress, I just adore this print. It's sweet, but very different than the AP or BABY prints~

Unknown Taobao Dress (I think it's a replica?). I got this on the sales community on a whim and it's been a really great dress for me. It fits my style perfectly, cutesy elements but with a more muted (black based) color palette.

Alice and the Pirates Vanilla Corset JSK. My newest arrival, it came last Friday! I've been eyeing this dress for awhile on the website (sold out!), and when I saw it in stock in the San Francisco store, I knew it was meant to be. I think I'll be wearing this to Otakon, but I haven't 100% decided yet.

Cutsews/Blouses

Unicorn Shirt by Tasty Peach Studios! I got this at Ohayocon a few weeks ago! So cute!

Bodyline cutsew. Kind of a weird one, but it looks nice with some things in my wardrobe.

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright Angel's Whisper in the Holy Night Melody Blouse. It's chiffon and so soft and pretty~

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright Clockwork Tea Party Blouse. I adore princess sleeves, they were in style when I first became a lolita. And now they're coming back! So when I saw this blouse, I knew I had to get it somehow.

Bodyline long sleeved black blouse. My go-to black blouse for this winter. I love the collar and the little bows~!

Lady Heather's Fashions short sleeved black blouse. Ohh it's very old, about 4 years now. It's been my staple blouse in my wardrobe for pretty much my entire time as a lolita. It's becoming quite ragged, but I don't really want to give it up.

Bodyline. My one and only white blouse. I should probably get a few more. But this is a good plain blouse that I wear with a lot of different outfits.

Shoes

Top row: Bodyline, Bodyline (same pair, I love them so much!), Bodyline Red heels, Osiris

Bottom row: TJ Maxx flats (they broke a little at Otakon last year), F21, Offbrand, Littlechililolita Shop

Other

Lots and lots of stuff here! Top row: Bodyline white flats (I forgot about these for the shoe picture above), a whole box of hair things (but I'll save that for next time), Some choice items that are my favorites (three star clips I made, unicorn necklace, and my compact mirror), Chocomint tea pot clip, and Little Twin Stars tote with a star pin I made to match! Second row: BTSSB overnight bag, BTSSB Alice tote, Candy Violet mini hat, Sanrio pink bag, BTSSB bow socks. Bottom row: Innocent World heart cutout parasol, H&M bow bag, Alice and the Pirates Darien parasol, and my San-X Penguin camera bag~!

And finally, a few omake shots~

My so very poorly designed closet. The next apartment I have will have a proper closet, I swear. I mean, who makes closets without bars, just hooks on the wall?? Jumper skirts and parasols.

And this is the blouse side. Everything is stacked four or five thick, my skirts are underneath the blouses. Ugh.

And finally, this is my kitty, Mako, checking out the inside of my Innocent World parasol. He was so very concerned about it being open on the bed, but it was a cute picture so I thought I'd include it here. I hope you enjoyed my wardrobe post!! If you want to see larger pictures of all the items pictured, as well as some detail shots, please check out my Facebook album!

Easy Details

Recently, I've started making a few pieces of clothing for myself! And I've started to wonder what kinds of little details I could add to make them a little more exciting. So I've made up a little list of things I've seen in pieces from Japanese brands. I hope you'll try out some of these on your next sewing project!

Heart Shaped Pockets

Scalloped Edges

Pin-tucks

Easy Gathering Methods (Make Ruffles!)

Fabric Covered Buttons

Easy Appliqué

Fabric Flowers

Style spotlight: Elegant Sweet Lolita

The concept of an Elegant Sweet Lolita style is something I've been kicking around in my head for awhile now. I don't know where this concept came from, but whether I read the term somewhere or I made it up over the years, it's something worth sharing. Everyone has heard of Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL for short), and classic is known for being demure and vintage-inspired elegance, but I think sweet can get in on it too. So how do you pull off an elegant sweet look?

1. Details details details

Much like Hime lolita, this elegant sweet style is detail oriented. Sweet dresses without prints work better for this. Instead, choose a plainer dress with sweet details like lots of ruffles, scalloped hems, or bows!

The details in the dress will make the look sweet without being overly so, but too many details will make it busy and not very cute at all. Pastels are traditionally sweet, but you can also use white or off-white. Also, don't be afraid to use jewel tones! Especially in winter time, jewel toned dresses with sweet details (lots of bows and frills) can be elegant and sweet too. If you have to have a print though, I think one that's more simple works best for this style. Border prints, like Aqua Princess above, ones that are just at the bottom and the rest of the item doesn't have bits of print all over, are best for this look. I especially like prints that look like they are cameo pins with little scenes inside, like Aqua Princess by AP above!

2. Color Coordination is Key

In the regular sweet style, it's common to see three or even four colors in a coordinate. Most of the time, this is because these colors all appear in the print on the dress. So without a print, your color choices become more limited. Stick to two, maaaybe three colors tops. If you have just two core colors evenly dispersed throughout the outfit, it will create a much more polished and easy to read outfit. To keep it simple, I suggest using white or ivory as one of the colors.

3. Accessories!

No lolita coordinate is complete without matching accessories, and this goes double for sweet styles. But for elegant sweet lolita, skip the sparkles and plastic rings. Instead, opt for things that you might see in a classic outfit, but in sweet colors. Pearls are a must! Fake pearls come in all sorts of colors and sizes, and can be purchased inexpensively from many stores. I personally like the pink and antique colors best, but whatever you like/matches is fine~ Cameo pins are always in style, and also come in a variety of colors and motifs. If you just can't shake the acrylic addiction, choose one or two smaller pieces, like a brooch or a ring, and work them in with other pieces. The juxtaposition between the super sweet acrylic piece and a simpler, more classic item is what elegant sweet style is all about!

4. Texture

What I mean by "texture" here is the actual complexity of the fabric. Mixing and matching different types of fabric will give you a luxe look that is perfect for this style. Look for items with embroidery, flocking, or a subtle background print. By layering these items with one and other, you can create very complex and elegant outfits!

Do you wear ESL ever? It's a pretty neat little style! I hope you try it out some time, let me know if you do~ I'd love to see pictures!