Lolita Obsessions: School Bags

Midterms have come and gone and I finally have some time to write again! With my adventure into Lifestyle Lolita, I came across a major flaw in my wardrobe. I have very few purses, and only one of them is useable in a school setting. I take notes on my laptop and I also carry a few other things with me on a daily basis. My day-to-day backpack is from when I was in High School and is green and black, it doesn't match my lolita wardrobe at all. A lack of a matching school bag was driving me crazy! Here, I've found a few options for you to use if you want to wear lolita to school, but still need to carry a larger bag for your supplies.

Laptop Bags

My personal favorite option, maybe it's because I take my laptop (his name is Ringo) with me everywhere, is the laptop bag. They're commercially available in cute prints and styles and if you don't have a laptop, you can use them for folders and notebooks. This one on the right is my favorite one I own. It's got a cute Alice in Wonderland pattern and the White Rabbit charm is removable! I got it at ShopKawaii.com, which also sells Sanrio and San-X merchandise and bunches of other cute things perfect for a lolita life. They do online shipping all over the world, and everything is just so cute! If you're looking for something a little less sweet, I really like some of the options from Modcloth. Their items are a little country and a little classic, like this deer print bag. If you're feeling crafty, you could make or get a plain colored one and decorate it to your liking!

"School Bags"

I know I've talked about these before on here somewhere, mostly because I adore them. Sometimes you see Japanese students with these briefcase-like bags for their books, both in Anime and in real life. The lolita fashion movement co-opted this bag style and made it fit into the lolita aesthetic. They are sort of like the above laptop bags, but usually they are styled more after briefcases. Both brands and off-brands (like Taobao shops) make bags in this style. However, as you probably can imagine, the Japanese brands charge far more for one. The price ranges from $100 - $250 for a bag like this, it's a little much for a purse. However, some Taobao shops make their own versions. They're far cheaper, at around $40 US. However, they are also often smaller, and "not meant for heavy items." So it just depends on what you're looking for and what you're planning to use the bag for.

Backpacks

This is what I really needed for school. If you have a sweet style or you wear things inspired by decora and fairy kei, then it's extremely easy to find backpacks. Sanrio sells a whole bunch of them that range in size and style. However, for other styles, it's a little more tricky. For gothic and punk styles, there are bags like the coffin one on the right that have backpack straps attached. The only problem is that they aren't always the right size or shape for school books or a laptop. In the way of backpacks for classic, there isn't really much. You're much better off getting a school bag to match. And all the sub styles. I have this theory that every sub-style in lolita can be made by combining two or more of these main styles. For example, country is just sweet combined with classic. But more on that later. As long as it works with your outfit and is functional, go for it! 9/10 times, no one is going to notice that your backpack doesn't quite match your clothes.

Do you have a bag that you like to use the most? I have this black purse with a bow as the snap closure that I use pretty much everywhere. It's big on the inside and blends into my black-based coordinates well. It's also cheap and durable! Thanks for reading~

Not a Good Fit? Excuse Me?

Some time ago, I was told that Lolita was "not a good fit" for me. My reaction? Excuse me? What do you mean "not a good fit?" They proceeded to tell me in the most carefully chosen words that my breasts were too large to fit properly into the fashion and that this was throwing off the proportions. Needless to say, this is absurd. I believe that anyone should be able to wear Lolita fashion, regardless of their size. There is always an option. I wanted to write a blog post about this awhile ago, but I had forgotten to. A friend asked me about options for people who are taller than the average female that want to get into Lolita, and that prompted me to write this article.

Plus Sized Princess

I kind of hate that term for Lolitas who are curvier. Lolita is a Japanese street fashion, and as a result, Japanese brands are made to fit Japanese girls in standard Japanese sizes. Unfortunately, some of us are not this size. In the last few years, Japanese brands have met the demand for different sizes by offering actual sizing options, not one size only. Still, some of us can't fit into the most forgiving of brand pieces. Does that mean you have to give up? Absolutely not. There are plenty of options! Bodyline offers many of their dresses and blouses in sizes up to 4L. Fan+Friend can make a piece to order, you send them your measurements and they make it to that size. However, I have never ordered from Fan+Friend and so I can't say for sure about how accurately they size things. There are also plenty of amateur and professional seamstresses willing to make pieces to order, as well as make pieces of your own design. But that's for another day. There is also an increasing number of replica items that are made to look like popular brand pieces. I'm not saying that I support them or anything, I'm just saying that that is also an option. Finally there's also the option of altering brand pieces to fit. Unless you are an experienced alterations person, I don't recommend doing this by yourself. There's a great community for all this information and so much more, EGL_Plus.

Too Tall?

I don't have this issue in the slightest, so I have far fewer suggestions. Many of the above apply for extra tall people too. Many brands and off-brands have started offering T (for Tall) sizes. This means that the skirt portion is extra long, as far as I understand it. You can also use solid colored underskirts to give you another inch or two at the hem line. These can either be handmade or from a regular shop. Since they're under the regular dress, it doesn't matter much about the design. The peeking bloomers look is also alright, though rarely done right. Other than that, I don't have much advice for tall people.

Remember to be yourself and never to let someone else tell you what you can and cannot be. My own family has told me that lolita makes me look fat before, but I just can't let that get to me. The style is too important to me to allow for other people to influence my choices. As long as you wear things that are comfortable and you like them, that's all that really matters in my book. On a more general note, someone at a con came up to my friend Jen and I after our panel and told us "I really liked the panel! I know I'm not wearing the best of dresses, but I really like it. Now I won't look stupid calling it lolita when it isn't." This is kind of what I'm talking about in a broad sense. Thank you for reading, I hope to be announcing a new giveaway soon!

Coordinate Tuesday: Country Cutie

This Tuesday I wanted to make a really nice coordinate that was simple to put together. I think I have succeeded! The whole idea behind this coordinate was DIY. I'd like to learn to make my own skirts, but I haven't started working on learning that yet.

Country Cutie by Cat91151 featuring resin rings

This skirt is a simple design that can easily be replicated by a seamstress. The gingham fabric is easy to find, and you could make it (or have it made) in any color you'd like. The trims are easy to come by, you can order them online or purchase them in a major craft/fabric supply store. This type of skirt is made with three tiers of fabric, gathered onto each other. It's a fairly simple design, there should be commercially available patterns. The blouse is very similar to ones sold at Forever 21 and H&M. An off-brand blouse or cutsew is a great way to save money and pull a new coordinate together really quickly. Simple white tights or OTK socks make the coordinate feel fresh. Alternatively, you could match your tights or socks to the color of the skirt. Blue shoes to carry the blue color down. The hairpieces I chose are very specific. The two smaller bows are actually from hair ties, like the things you use to do ponytails. So you use those for pigtails, tease them up so that they're really poofy, then add the white bow. I think this would be a really cute look, but if you want, you could just pick one hair piece or wear a different kind all together. I chose bow-themed jewelry because there are all of those bows on the skirt. I'm especially fond of the sparkly earrings and necklace. Finally, the purse. It's white with a bow, so it fits in with the color pallet and motif. It's also woven, making it a perfect choice for a country coordinate.

I was planning to use this coordinate for an article on wearing lolita to school or work, but it just wasn't coming together nicely. Is that an article that people would like to see? Also, I hope you've noticed the new poll on the sidebar. It looks very similar to the last one, but I promise, it's new. Please vote in it!

Old Prints

I'm not usually a fan of older pieces. It's not that I'm a huge fan of the prints that some brands are putting out currently, it's just that I haven't seen a lot of older things that I could see myself actually wearing. But this print by Baby the Stars Shine Bright has really challenged my preferences for newer items. It was re-released in 2008, but I still didn't really like it. And then I found Taobao. I actually like Infanta's version of this print a little more than the original, something that doesn't happen too often in the Lolita world.

Evolution of the Alice Jumper Skirt by Cat91151 on Polyvore.com

As you can see, they basically re-used the same design from 2001 in the remake. I don't care for the lace on the top of the dress, or the fake bolero look. The empire waist version (third from the left) is alright, but those cross neck ties bother me so much when I'm wearing them. Then, there's the Infanta version. The pin-tucks on the bodice, the lack of white lace at the top, the subdued ruffle at the square neck line, I love it all. It's a lot more classically styled than it's inspiration, but it could still be coordinated as sweet or as classic. It's simply lovely, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Of course, that being said, I went ahead and used the original release skirt version for this coordinate. The skirt is really quite nice, it doesn't have too much going on, which makes it easy to coordinate.

Curiouser and Curiouser by Cat91151 on Polyvore.com

This top has been sitting in my Polyvore for awhile now, waiting for the right coordinate to come along and use it. I love the black, white, and Alice blue combo here, it's sort of got an airy feel to it. The spade bag brings the card motif home, as well as the spade earrings. Some simple Alice themed jewelry and a black Alice headband bring it all together.

So what do you think about this one? Are there any prints that you prefer the replica of? That's a pretty touchy topic in the greater online Lolita community now, but I personally think that replicas aren't always a terrible thing.

Also! I realized there are some mistakes and confusions about my giveaway. It is +1 for a tweet or Facebook (once only), +1 for a blog post (once only), +2 for a coordinate (once per week), +1 for a comment (once per post), and +1 for answering about your favorite Alice in Wonderland related thing. I have updated the original post with this, I hope everyone wasn't too confused!