Contest! Country Coordinates and Crafts!

I've been trying to come up with a fairly straightforward contest for this month. While I really liked how the last one went, I wanted something with a creative element and less math. So I decided to do a coordinate contest. But then I thought, some people don't like to make coordinates, but they can draw or do some crafting. This spurred the idea for a crafting contest. Country lolita has a distinct handmade element to it that isn't as prevalent in many other styles. I'm not so great at crafting myself, but I wanted to pay homage to that handcrafted idea this month. So there are actually two contests, two ways to win, and two prizes.

The first contest is simply a coordination contest. You make a country-themed coordinate using Polyvore, Photoshop, or from your own wardrobe (with a photograph of all the elements together, it does not have to be worn). Then you email the coordinate to me at Theelegantwardrobe@gmail.com with a short description of the items you used. At the end of the contest, I'll post the winning coordinate here!

The second contest is a little different. What you can do is completely up to you, but it has to be a craft and it has to be country themed. Other than that, the sky's the limit! You can make an accessory, hairpiece, draw a picture, whatever! The only thing I ask is that you do not send photography unless you'd like to be entered into the coordinate contest. Whatever you make, take a picture of it At the end of the contest, I'll pick up to three winners! I may pick fewer though depending on the number of entries. The winner(s) will be posted here along with the coordinate contest winner.

Now the fun part, the prizes! I've thought about these a lot! The prize for the winner(s) of the crafting competition will be these adorable Hello Kitty gingham wallets! The winner of the coordinate will receive some strawberry-print stationary sets! All winners will receive a strawberry-scented Hello Kitty eraser too! Everything is really cute and country-themed! Prizes are subject to change based on availability.


The contest will end on Friday, July 1st 2011 at 11:59PM EST. I'll announce the winners the next day, July 2nd. If you have any questions on how the contest works, you can let me know in the comments section below. I hope that lots and lots of people enter!

May Theme - Country Lady

Hello all! I'm sorry this has taken so so long, but here's the theme for May! This month as well as next month are going to have a country twist to them. Since this will be lasting for two months, I decided to make the collage pretty simple, consisting of mostly dresses and skirts, with only a few accessories.

Country Lady by Cat91151 featuring a cream hat

So here we are. Tons and tons of gorgeous dresses and skirts. Some from Innocent World, some from Victorian Maiden, a Metamorphose Temps de Fille one piece, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Angelic Pretty, and Mary Magdalene. Aren't they lovely? I chose florals, fruit prints, and solids in neutral tones for a simple country style. As a bonus, most of these pieces could do double duty in classic or sweet coordinates. I also put a few hats on here. Hats are a country lolita's best friend. A lovely hat can take a coordinate from classic and make it definitively in the country category. Some flowery jewelry and a strawberry pendant rounds out the accessories department. Overall a simple collage for an elegant style.

I hope you like this theme! It's a little different from past themes, and I'm sort of running out of good ideas for themes in general. I hope I can think of some good ones in the next two months. If you have any themes you'd like to see, by all means, let me know! I love input from readers!

It's Tuesday! Time for a Coordinate!

Well folks, it's Tuesday again. But it's now May, and tea time seems to have ended. This month will be around something I've never done before, it's going to have a theme, but this theme will be lasting throughout the month of June as well. The theme this time is quite broad, country style. Since the theme is so broad and vague, I thought two months would probably be better to work with it. Now I don't have a collage for this one yet, as Polyvore is being extremely slow on my computer. What I do have is a coordinate that I made months and months ago that I'll talk about today. And since there's plenty of time for new coordinates (there are five Tuesdays this month!), I don't feel terribly about pulling something older out.

Simple Country Style by Cat91151 featuring a heart umbrella

This is a coordinate I made for my sister, who loves this dress. It's a very popular Bodyline item, called Love Nadia. The dress comes in five different colors, including this lovely shade of light blue. It also comes in a skirt. The print is delicate and shows a scene of a girl wearing a similar dress in the woods. I paired this with a boater hat, a staple of a country wardrobe. Everything but the jewelry, tights, and parasol can be found on the Bodyline website, meaning you can purchase this coordinate for your own closet fairly easily. Since this is a one piece, there's no need for a blouse, bolero, or cutsew. The jewelry is all replaceable. I chose pearls to mimic the dots on the dress, as well as the pearly color of white used in the fabric. The rose is there simply because it reminds me of my uncle's house in the country. He used to grow the most amazing roses, and so now they remind me of being out in the country. Brown shoes pick up the brown border of the dress, and the dots on the parasol. This parasol is one of my favorite items, I wish I owned it. It's fun and yet still soft and delicate looking. The bag reminds me of a straw basket, and the woven look echos the hat's woven texture.

Well, are you super excited about going country with me? I hope to be able to share more recipes, tutorials (tea dyeing is in the works), and all sorts of other things! Please remember to vote in the poll at the top right hand side of the page. There are only a few weeks left to do that! Also, check out the new conventions page for info on all the cons I've been to, and as I confirm new ones, that info as well. Thanks for reading!

April Theme: Teas and Cakes

It's just starting to feel like spring now, and with that comes picnics, flowers, and fewer layers. I wanted a theme that felt lighter and more country styled than previous ones. The collage this month is sort of weak in my opinion, but every piece is chosen for a reason.

Lovely Cakes, Delightful Tea by Cat91151 featuring zip bags

I'll start by explaining my dress choices. The dress on the top left is a risky choice. I like it, but I hate that giant satin bow on the chest. This dress is supposed to represent Lemon Chiffon cake, it uses chiffon fabric and a light, lemon-ey color. The deep red dress is for Red Velvet cake. I'm not a fan of red cake myself, but a lot of people really like it, and it's fun to make. It looks sort of blood when it's still batter. The two dresses on the top are from Angelic Pretty. While they don't have a specific cake that they each represent, they fit the general tea theme. Everything else on there is either a bag, hat, or accessory. Cake print bags, tea cup jewelry, and a Hello Kitty wallet with donuts. Everything is light and sweet on here, making for a fun month for coordinates.

I got a question on my Formspring yesterday about submitting coordinates to this blog. Yes, please submit your coordinates! They ideally should follow the theme that I have going on, but if it's not, then still feel free to submit it! If there's a blog or a tumbler or something that you'd like me to link along with your coordinate, then I'm more than willing to do that as well. Please send your coordinates to me at: cat91151@gmail.com and I'll be posting those on Tuesdays. If you could also send a description/paragraph about your coordinate along with it, I'd appreciate that too~ I hope this has cleared some things up, and I'm going to try and get some sort of thing set up here for submissions.

End of March Updates and April Announcements

Hello everybody! My plan of writing posts and having them ready to go for last week obviously didn't happen. I ended up with a lot of school work on top of last minute con stuff, and I couldn't do it all, so I got behind in blogging. But that's okay, because I'm back with a lot of ideas for new posts and content!

First thing's first, I owe you all one last Alice coordinate. I whipped this one up yesterday while I was still recuperating from the four day convention (still recuperating actually...) and I'm rather pleased with how it came out. It's a straight Alice coordinate. Nothing fancy, just Alice.

Whimsical Alice by Cat91151 featuring a shoulder strap bag

First of all, it's an OP. I don't use a lot of OPs in coordinates, and frankly, I don't own any myself. I used to not really like them, because having a one piece dress without a blouse sort of

limits your coordinating options. However, I've come to appreciate and enjoy the simplicity ofthem now, especially this one by BTSSB. I want it in black, it's simple and lovely. They've used this type of fabric and style for a few OPs, it's the same dress with slightly different details. This is probably my favorite version though. The black and white striped stockings are classic Alice style, but I took it a bit further with the striped bow and bag. The shoes match the color of the dress, and the bows are very "Alice" to me. I chose a key theme for the jewelry. Keys are easy to find in mainstream stores. I have one from Target, and my sister has a ring from Forever 21. I love this charm bracelet! It has all different kinds of keys on it, as well as a little heart-shaped lock. It's made by Disney though, so it's kind of expensive. The necklace also has a key on it, as well as an Alice cameo-style pendant and a tiny locket. It's quite lovely, and it has the Mad Hatter on it, which is a plus for many people.

Do you like this coordinate? I do! Alice style is awesome! I'm sort of sad that March had to end and I can't make more Alice coordinates. But April's kind of cool too, right? And I think that April's theme is pretty alright too~

April's theme is Tea and Cakes! It's spring now and people will start hosting garden parties, with fabulous teas and cakes and treats! I'm looking forward to making lots of cake themed coordinates, and hopefully sharing some recipes this month too! I'm working on the collage right now, but I wanted to get this up ASAP. So I'll finish up the collage and the next post will be all about April's theme!

Giveaway Winner!

Hello everyone! Here's the moment you've been waiting for! The winner of the March giveaway. There were sixteen entries, and I used Random.org to choose the winner.

Without further ado, the winner is...

Hedgefairy!

Congratulations! Please email me at cat91151@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Now, I really don't have anything else planned for today. My big convention is in a week from today, and I am swamped with preparing to run main events, a big Lolita Fashion Show for charity, two panels (including a revised version "The Elegant Wardrobe - A Guide to Lolita Fashion" for those of you who were at Ohayocon), and I'll also be working at a charity tea party on Sunday morning. So I'm a bit short on time and brain space. I will be posting the last March "Coordinate Tuesday" next week, but I can't guarantee anything for next Thursday, as I'll actually be at the con by then. If you'll be at Tekkoshocon, then I'll see you there! If not, you should totally look at coming next year (or this year if you can swing it). Bye bye for now!

Big Announcement! March Giveaway!

Hey everybody! So I'm going to try and hold my very first giveaway. I'm really excited about this happening. It's going to work on the points system. So you get points for doing different kinds of things.

+1: Commenting on my posts (once per post, no spam)

+2: Sending in an Alice-themed coordinate for Tuesdays

+1: Fan art. I kind of want a cool logo for here, so if you draw me something lolita related or Alice related, I'll be sure to use it!

+1: Writing about this giveaway in your own blogs (Link it to me here or email me about it, once only)

+1: Writing about this blog/giveaway on Twitter, or on Facebook or what have you (link it to me here or email me, once only)

+1: Answering this question: What’s your favorite thing about Alice in Wonderland? Is it a particular character? Is it a whole book (Alice in Wonderland or Alice Through the Looking Glass)? Is it one of the movies? A play? Why is it your favorite?

For every point you get, you get an entry into the drawing. I'll be drawing winner(s) on March 22nd. You can only answer the question once, but you can get one point for each comment (one per article, only ones I post from now on), and one for each coordinate you send in (one per week). If any of this doesn't make sense, feel free to ask me about it and I'll try to make it clearer.

So what's the prize you ask? Well, it's this! A hardback spiral bound notebook!

It's really cute! It has lines inside and would make a perfect diary/journal, idea book, or whatever you'd like! In addition to this book, you'll also get a matching pen to write with! I may be announcing some other prizes if I can get my hands on them, so look for more announcements! I hope you are all as excited as I am about this!

March Theme! Alice in Wonderland and Coordinate Tuesday: Sweet Alice

Yes, it's March. Finally, the snow is beginning to melt, the birds are chirping, and it's warming up outside. March is one of my most favorite months, because it is the beginning of spring and everything begins to turn green. The daffodils begin to sprout up and it starts to get warmer outside. As you all know if you've been reading my most recent posts, this month is Alice month. Why Alice? Well, why not! Alice is practically the mascot for Lolita fashion. The style can also be called Alice style in fact. Alice is prevalent in all aspects of Lolita culture, from the clothing itself, to the book (written in the Victorian era for children I might add), in our tea parties, sweets, and even in boy styles! I decided to make this month Alice month also because I just finished re-reading my Annotated Alice book, which has inspired a lot of my coordinates recently.

Alice in Wonderland by Cat91151 on Polyvore.com

So this is the collage for Alice in Wonderland. As you can see, there are a number of dresses on there. That's because Alice is such a popular motif these days, especially in classic and sweet styles. Card motifs are also very popular, you can see by the two pairs of shoes featuring suits of cards on them. There's a whole brand called Alice and the Pirates, which is named for Alice in Alice in Wonderland. Alice themed jewelry is very easy to get now due to the Tim Burton version of the story premiering last spring. We call bows like the Metamorphose one above the clock bag Alice bows. That light blue color that some call sax or saxon blue can also be referred to as Alice blue. Disney makes a lot of Alice items for children and adults, like the bag at the top in the middle. Even though she *technically* isn't a princess, she's very special in Lolita and in our hearts.

Now for coordinate tuesday. I hate that these last two months have started on Tuesday, making the posts extra long and weird to write. Thankfully, April begins on a Friday. However, I'll be working at Tekkoshocon that Friday, so the theme post won't get done until Monday probably. But that doesn't matter right now. Here's this week's coordinate!

Sweet Alice by Cat91151 on Polyvore.com

I went with the Emily Temple Cute dress from the theme collage. This was something new for me, I've never worked with their stuff before. I love this version of an Alice print because it's a little quirky compared to others I have seen. I pulled the black out from half of the card suits and the red out from the other half. I went with hearts as accessories, from the cards also. Then of course, the Alice bow. This one is quite simple and downplayed. I think it's sort of complementary to the simple lines of the jumper and the cardigan. This coordinate sort of came together really quickly. Which is rare for me to have this be so easy. Usually I spend upwards of an hour making everything look perfect, but this one took less than half an hour.

So are you excited for Alice month? Maybe you aren't yet, but I have a big announcement for Thursday that's sure to get everyone excited about this month! If you've got any questions for me, you can always let me know on my Formspring. Alice coordinates are fun to make, so if you'd like to whip one up and see it here, you can email me at cat91151@gmail.com. Let me know what you think!

Double Feature Coordinate Tuesday - Ariel and Tiana

These two princesses have infuriated me to no end. The dress that Disney has put on Ariel is pink and in my opinion, ugly. I love Tiana’s signature dress, but at the same time, green is not a wildly popular color to use in Lolita fashion. Nevertheless, I managed to get two coordinates that I am okay with putting up here.

Ariel

I made Ariel first. As I said before, I don’t like any of the dresses that she appears in on screen or in her merchandise. So I took a completely different approach.

Under the Sea! by Cat91151 featuring summer bags

I used the lavender color of her shell bikini top and made that the color of the body of the outfit. I then took the green from her tail, changed it to mint, and made that the secondary color. I used these same earrings from the Jasmine coordinate in the silvery-white color because they remind me of underwater flowers. I also stuck the lavender ones on there as an option. I tried to put as many shell-themed items in as I could. The pearly color of the bag reminds me of the mother-of-pearl shells that you can find on the beach. I actually used over-the-knee socks in this coordinate, something that I don’t normally do. I think it makes the coordinate have a more youthful appearance, and I’ve always thought of Ariel as the most childish of the princesses.

Tiana

Tiana was tricky as well. With Hello Lace’s wardrobe shots being down still, I have to use my backup site, lolibrary. I’m not as used to this site, and I find it more difficult to search. I wanted to make a green-based coordinate, but the only popular green shade is mint. Her dress is definitely not mint colored, so I needed to find a fresher green dress. Mary Magdalene and Victorian Maiden have made many green pieces, but their greens are usually darker and more elegant.

Frog Princess by Cat91151 featuring flower hair accessories

I wanted to keep the light and fresh feeling of Tiana’s outfit, so I searched and searched and finally found this Angelic Pretty dress. It’s not perfect, but it is the right shade of green and it's not locked into one style (it's not definitively classic or sweet or country). I really wanted to use more frog items in this coordinate, but everything I found was not working with the dress. So I just used the frog earrings. The cream color comes from the bottom part of her dress, where it's more yellow-ey. I decided to use that as the secondary color, since it fits very well into Lolita fashion. The flower hairpiece comes from the side of her dress, where the flower and vines are decorating the waist part. The bag was a last minute addition, and I couldn't find one that I liked more than this. The shoes! I could not decide between these two pairs. The ones on the left are from Bodyline and clearly made to go with Lolita fashion. The pair on the right are more suited to everyday wear. They have the cream color flower there, and they're cute and summery green flats. You decide which you like better!

Alice

Oops! I didn't make an Alice! Oh well, I guess I'll just give Alice her very own monthly theme! I know it's quite early, but March's theme will be Alice in Wonderland! It's just too much content to put into one coordinate, since Alice seems to be the unofficial mascot of Lolita fashion. Look forward to lots of Alice themed content, and perhaps a giveaway! If you want to make an Alice coordinate for next week, based off of any character (lots of options for boystyle!), email them to me! My email is cat91151@gmail.com! If you have any suggestions or questions, let me know on my Formspring, and if you'd like to leave me a comment, you can do so below!

Coordinate Tuesday: Glass Slippers

Cinderella is probably the most popular princess, with Belle and Ariel coming in close behind. When I was little, she was my favorite. I especially loved those little mice that help her out. One of my favorite scenes was when she’s scrubbing the floors and she’s singing and there are the bubbles with her reflections in them. That doesn’t have much to do with this coordinate though.

Cinderella by Cat91151 featuring peacock tights

The idea I went for behind this coordinate is a sweet-classic combo. Baby the Stars Shine Bright makes this phenomenal print that’s actually called Cinderella Jewelry. The lower left corner has a detail of this print in the cream colorway. Each panel has a different scene from the story! This dress is something that I very much would like to own in both this cream color and in black. The cream color I used for a few reasons. Firstly, because Cinderella’s signature dress is the light blue color found in this dress. Second, because it reminds me of antique blue willow china. I wanted to use the matching head bow for this to get a look of perfect continuity. I picked ivory tights with silver accents to pick up on the silvery grey color in the print, and also to transition into the “glass slippers.” Of course, if they were actually made from glass they would be impractical. So I chose some sparkly silver heels. This type of heel isn’t usually found in Lolita fashion, but for this coordinate, it really requires something especially fancy. Her glass slippers in the movie are heels similar to these. For the bag, I chose something appropriate for a party yet still feels vintage. Finally, the jewelry. The print has something that looks like pearls in it, so I decided on pearls. The pendant is Cinderella's pumpkin coach, from the collage at the beginning of the month.

I had a lot of fun making this coordinate. I've only got Tiana, Ariel, and Alice left. Yet only one more Tuesday. Hmm, what am I going to do? If you'd like to submit a coordinate and see it here, just email me a link to it! And if you have any questions for me, you can let me know by commenting here or asking on my Formspring.

February Inspiration + Coordinate Tuesday

First of all, I wanted to apologize for not posting for a whole week. As you all know, I was at Ohayocon this past weekend working on four panels, one special event, and one AMAZING industry table. My Ohayocon con report will be up as soon as I can get my pictures together. I didn't have my camera, so getting them off of my phone is proving difficult.

So this month’s theme is completely different from January’s. While January was all about vintage and steam punk and generally a classic style, February is going to go in a completely opposite way.

I'm a Princess! by Cat91151 featuring tea jewelry

This set is all about bright and airy elegance. It's much sweeter than last month, for a few reasons. The first is that I’m so excited about seeing Disney Princesses on Ice this month that I decided to make the theme of the month be Disney Princesses too. I know that there are supposed to be ten princesses: Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Tiana, Rapunzel, Mulan, Pocahontas, and Jasmine. However, I don’t really consider Pocahontas and Mulan to really be princesses, and in Kingdom Hearts calls Alice a princess. So my list includes her, as she is the most important one to Lolita (which some people actually call “Alice Style”). Second, I've been drawn to the sweet style more recently, and so I thought it'd be nice to try and mix my more simple classic aesthetic with some sweet colors and pieces. Each item on this collage fits in with a different princess. Some are very obvious, like the Belle watch, carriage necklace, and the frog hair clips. Some aren't, like the flower earrings. The flower is actually a jasmine flower, for Jasmine. I’m really excited to be doing this theme, and I’ll be making coordinates based off of each princess! As always, feel free to email me your coordinates if you’d like to see them featured on here.

The very first coordinate for this month is all about Snow White. I got lucky in that Baby the Stars Shine Bright made a really cute print featuring Snow White back in 2004. It's such a cute print!

The print is very detailed and lovely. My favorite is this cream/white colorway, because the colors are so vibrant and it looks most like the movie version of the story. The little bunnies scattered throughout the forest are so adorable!

Snow White by Cat91151 featuring a shoulder sling bag

And this is the coordinate! The bag is really what made me want to start with Snow White. The existence of this print was a bonus! I used a bolero instead of a blouse to sort of act like her cape. Obviously it's not a cape, but it gives a pop of red to the top of the outfit. All of the apple jewelry isn't too sweet, so that the coordinate doesn't get bogged down by red and apples. The shoes are a pair from Bodyline, and one of my personal favorites. Finally, the mirror necklace is a working mirror, which I think is pretty neat. It's simple and in my opinion, reminiscent of Snow White.

I hope you're as excited about February as I am! Also, look forward to the Ohayocon report, hopefully tomorrow or Thursday. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or requests for me by commenting here or letting me know on my Formspring!

Coordinate Tuesday: Simple and Clean

This week's coordinate is one using my old dream dress! I might just have to get this coordinate for myself, as I also own these shoes and this bow. So I'm almost there.

Simply Classic by Cat91151 featuring leather shoulder bags

What I really love about this dress is the embroidery on the pocket. It's the Baby the Stars Shine Bright logo, which is a heart shape with a "B" in the middle. I decided to echo that

shape in the jewelry. I also wanted to add in the vintage element, hence the clock earrings (they don't actually work though) and the charm bracelet. I've had a renewed love for charm bracelets recently. I got a Hello Kitty one for Christmas and I've been looking for cute charms that clip on so I can change them out easily. I chose the rocking horse shoes for a touch of oldstyle Lolita (they aren't as popular as they used to be, but they're making a comeback!) and for the creamy color of the wood. I own these shoes and I have to say, they are very light and once you get the hang of it, easy to walk or stand in. The bow on the bag echoes the bows on the shoes and the bows on the front of the dress, as well as the hairbow. Let's face it, it's not quite Lolita unless there's a bow in there somewhere. You could decide to use a heart-shape bag for a sweeter approach, in either black or cream. In fact, this whole outfit could be made sweeter by changing out all the cream elements for white, and changing the vintage charm bracelet for a more modern one. This dress can go either way, and that's what makes it a great piece in my opinion.

So that's it for Coordinate Tuesday. I'm not a big fan of that name though, so if you have any suggestions on what to change it to, please let me know. Next week will be a new month and a new theme, so look forward to something different! I haven't announced the next theme yet, so it seems silly to ask for reader coordinates for next week. Because in fact, next Tuesday is the first of February. If you have any questions for me, you can let me know in the comments, by emailing me (my email is on the "about me" page), or by posting them to my formspring. I hope to hear lots of ideas from everyone soon!

Coordinate Tuesday - A New Feature

This past Thursday, Victoria Suzanne over at Lolita Charm wrote an article about being a better blogger. As I am fairly new to the whole blogging concept, I decided I'd try out a few of her tips in my own blog. Little did I know that when I commented on that post, she would use my comment on her Reader Appreciation article, linking my blog to hers! As a result, I had about 200 hits in a day, and decided I really needed to step things up a bit in terms of posting. So now, every Tuesday will feature a different coordinate along the lines of the theme of the month. If you would like to see your coordinate here on a Tuesday, simply email me with a link to it and a short explanation about your coordinate (why did you choose that dress/skirt, what the overall theme is, etc.). I'd like to feature reader coordinates as much as possible, so please send them in to me! My email is on the About Me page at the bottom.

This week, I made the coordinate featuring a very unique Innocent World one piece. The theme

is based on a photo of Victorian-era women riding sidesaddle on horses. The inspiration from the monthly theme came in with the high-collared one piece and the vintage jewelry, including a pocket-watch necklace and a horse-themed antique ring. I really love the coats they wear in the painting to the right, but with the long sleeves, a coat seems impractical.

But as you can see, in both paintings you really can't see the feet of the women. The men seem to be wearing riding boots though, so I went with that. I also found it odd that the women were wearing hats, not helmets.

Horseback by Cat91151 featuring cream tights

This is my take on a Lolita version of that. In all the pictures I looked at, the women didn't seem to have feet. So I chose these riding boots that they might have worn, though I can't be sure. The purse sort of reminds me of a saddle bag, but in a very loose way. It sort of goes a little wild west, but I think that that comes from the angle of the photo of the hat. It's a southern-style hat, like you would see at the Kentucky Derby. It ties under your chin and has a wide brim to keep the sun out of your eyes.

So what do you think? Will you submit a coordinate and see it here next week? I hope that I get lots of submissions for this!

January Inspiration

So this month, I'm starting a new thing. Every month I'm going to make an inspiration collage using Polyvore and talk a little bit about it here. Maybe it will inspire you too!

January Inspiration by Cat91151 featuring chain link watches

So this is January. Right now, I'm in love with vintage! Hence the mirror, chandelier, cameo jewelry, and hat box. I've also enjoyed looking in local vintage stores, I've found so many good items to add to my accessories box. Ask about your family's history, see if your mom or grandmother has any old jewelry, go to a second hand store, or look around in your attic to find some cool things.

Another one of my favorites right now is Paris. I've never been there, but one of my favorite movies is Ratatouille. Paris just seems so elegant and old to me. I'd love to go there, but I somehow think that won't be happening anytime soon. The idea of walking down a cobblestone street with a parasol in the springtime past a cafe, it's so appealing to me! I put the Eiffel Tower and the charm bracelet in, as well as the big, vintage Paris sign thing in the middle to represent this.

For Christmas, I got a cookbook called I Love Macaroons. I found some really tasty French style macaroons at a local bakery, and now I am going to learn to make them. They're so cute, and this book has gorgeous photography! Hopefully, I can master this difficult recipe soon and make lovely cookies for parties. They're on the left in the middle of the collage.

My final inspiration for this month is menswear/steampunk. Menswear-inspired pieces for women have been popular in mainstream fashion for awhile now, but military-style and menswear-style pieces are just becoming popular in the female styles of lolita these days. The jacket in this collage is from Modcloth, as is the casual tank top that has that vintage look to it. The two watches in this set are reminiscent of steampunk style. I don't know much about steampunk, but maybe I'll learn more at Ohayocon, which has a steampunk theme this year.

That's it for January! I hope this will inspire you as much as it has and will inspire me this month. If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, let me know by commenting here, or asking on my Formspring.