Alternative Days Out

As much as I love tea parties and picnics, after a while they can start to lose their sparkle. Don't get me wrong, I still love these sort of events but surely there is more out there to do? What sort of activities are suitable for us young maidens? Are they considered lolita enough? It is very easy to get stuck in the tea party rut so I had a little think about what sort of lolita meet-ups I would like to see.

Berry Picking

When I was younger, my dad used to take me berry picking. I fell out with my dad and we never made up before he died so some of my happiest memories of him involve berry picking. Berry picking is relatively cheap and you get to take all the lovely fruit home with you! Perhaps you could have a competition to see who can bake the best item with what you take home. I really want to learn how to make my own jam. Obviously berry picking involves a lot of bending down and potentially muddy ground. I think if you wore one of your least favourite dresses and got some wellington boots, you would be able to pick berries relatively hassle free. Plus wellies come in lots of fantastic colours and patterns now so you could even match them to your outfit.

Cathedral/Stately Home Photo Shoot

When I pick up my Gothic Lolita bibles I lust over the fantastic photo shoots they do at historical buildings. The models look so elegant and pretty. The great thing is that almost any church will do. Go visit a church and have a good long look at the different features. Would that arch make a good backdrop for a photo? Are there any interesting statues/shapes/gargoyles? How could you use the aisle? There are endless possibilities. I know a lot of gothic lolitas like using graveyards for photo shoots but don't ignore inside the buildings. I like strolling around the gardens pretending to be in a Jane Austen novel. I am a bit of a daydreamer.

Aquarium

You are surrounded by beautiful, colourful tropical fish. By using a simple water feature on your camera, you can take stunning pictures. There is something very mysterious and magical about aquariums. Plus, you have something entertaining to look at too. Make use of all the unusual colours and you too could be Ariel.

Clothing swap party

If you know enough lolitas a clothing swap could be a fun way to get yourself a new wardrobe. Be realistic. If one person brings brand and everybody else brings Bodyline, this could leave to arguments. I suggest putting a limit on brand items. Part of the fun is finding random items you may not have considered wearing before. Or maybe you have envied an item your friend owns and now you have a chance to own that piece. With correct organising this could be a very successful meet idea.

Make-over party

This is an excuse to try new ideas and get feedback off other lolitas without the fear of posting it on the online communities. Get everybody to bring their make-up, hair stuff and maybe even some clothing. You could try an entirely new style without spending any money. Some lolitas like to bitch about lolitas who make mistakes. If you disagree with somebody's fashion choices then how about giving them a make-over instead of saying nasty things? These sort of parties are very girly and get a bit giggly. It is also good for a bit of bonding.

Beauty salon

Along the same lines as the last idea, you could go to a beauty salon and get a treatment done. It does not need to be expensive. You could get a cheap manicure done. Nail art comes in a lot of varieties and the possibilities are endless. Or you could get a professional to show you how to use heated hair appliances so you can do them at home.

And if you really want to hold a tea party...

Don't dismiss your local village or town hall. Yes, some of these places may not be very lolita but with a little decoration you can transform any room. Some tea rooms can be expensive and with a little hard work you can create your very own tea room. Get people to help decorate or volunteer their services for hostessing. Don't automatically dismiss any venue.

And these are just some suggestions. The possibilities are endless. Plus I have a confession to make... I don't even like tea! I think you should always try new things and get a bit of variety. You never know, you may even prefer these new ventures!

Closet Child shopping review

Those of you who have been following my blog will know that I recently purchased my very first bit of brand wear. Well, it has arrived! *cue excited dancing from Luna*

As I am currently unable to afford brand at full price (and also I love a good bargain) I decided to go down the second hand route. One of the websites I had heard other lolitas talking about was Closet Child. I know a few lolitas have had negative experiences with this site but my experience was very positive.

Shop browsing

With the help of Google Translate I was able to browse the website very easily. There are also options to list the items starting with the lowest price to highest which is good if you are on a budget. I would recommend entering your budget amount into a currency converter like xe.com to see how much yen you can afford. You must allow for shipping on top. The details about the clothes were clear. Closet Child gives the individual items a rating out of 5 because with second hand clothes you may get a bit of wear and tear. Thankfully the skirt I ordered was exactly as described.

The Ordering Process

The actual ordering process is probably the one area which could have been improved (although I don't think this should put other lolitas off). English shopping instructions are available. I say English, but in some places it is very broken English so it does not actually make very much sense. When you place the item in your cart, you have to wait for 2 e-mails. On the second one (which should include a shipping total on it) you need to send a reply saying you want to go ahead with your order. This was a little confusing but I eventually got the hang of it. Once Closet Child know you are going ahead with the order they will eventually send you an invoice. You pay the invoice and then they will send you the tracking for your parcel. Closet Child can be a little slow to respond. This is mainly due to there being only a small number of English speaking staff. So you may need to wait for them to be available.

The Shipping

I think I was charged about 2000 yen to ship one skirt from Japan to England. I was kind of expecting it to be this much anyway. You can't really complain when you are getting brand skirts starting from £40 compared to their original retail price. Here is the really cool bit though- Closet Child mark the parcel as second hand so in theory, you wont end up with a customs charge! Closet Child did this for me without even asking. I was very pleased. Also, the skirt arrived before the estimated arrival period which took me by surprise. I think Closet Child were quite fast. I was impressed. The skirt was packaged in a sturdy box. It was wrapped so well I spent about 5 minutes just trying to get into it.

And now on to the skirt itself!

Ta-da! It is Old Emblem by Metamorphose! A very classic print compared to my other sweet items. The skirt was clean and the sizing given by Closet Child was accurate. Sorry for not showing a picture of it worn. I don't have my full co-ordinate for this skirt yet. I am currently hunting down a headpiece from the same set and a deep red cardigan.

And here is a close-up of some of the print. I love it! I am hoping I will have finished my co-ordinate in time to wear it to Hyper Japan at the start of October. I can't wait!

Going out in lolita

When I am at home I wear lolita around the house. I feel great and I know I wont be disturbed (although I did give the postman a shock once when he had a parcel for me...). However, going outside is a different story. I think even the most confident people struggle to go out in public in lolita. Whether you like it or not, you will stand out. People will stare, some may comment and you may even get people approaching you.

I have worn lolita in public. As I stepped out the door I started to wobble a bit. I think it helped that we were in a rush to get to the train station so I had no time to analyse the situation. As we waited for the train I could feel a hundred eyes looking at me. It was a little unsettling.

However, once you get over the fact that everybody is looking at you, you begin to relax. Most people have a good look but then move on. I think little children give the best reactions. Sometimes the parents can be a little funny with you. This one woman dragged her child away from me. I don't think she had heard of lolita fashion before. In fact, most people of a certain age will only remember the film with the older man and a young girl. Lolita will always have a fetish side to it so you have to be careful. Apart from that one woman, I have been lucky. I have had people complimenting me. Some people take sneaky pictures of me but I find it is usually people who are too scared to approach me. I wont bite! Please feel free to ask for photos. As long as it is not sexual up-skirt style photos, I don't mind!

There are idiots who will heckle you. I have been relatively heckle free- just one or two nasty comments. Just ignore them. They don't know you. Do you really care about what some person who you will only see for 7 seconds thinks? Every lolita will have a bad experience some time. So make sure you are safe and out in public. Never provoke anybody and keep yourself to yourself. If you get somebody giving you trouble on public transport I suggest you move if you can.

When you step out your door, take a deep breath. Keep telling yourself it will get easier with time. If needs be, invent some sort of alter ego who is confident. Obviously Luna is not my real name- it is my lolita name! Luna Rain is actually a play on my real name Lorraine which is where I got the idea for my name from. If you feel really nervous, ask a friend to go out with you. If you are going to a lolita meet-up ask somebody if you can change at the venue. I find your confidence grows when you are not alone. If you find yourself in a situation where you are getting a lot of negativity, try focusing on the positive comments you receive. Don't let these people spoil your experience of lolita fashion.

Baby's Princess Honey's Tea Salon and Mephisto Cathedral

Baby the Stars Shine Bright have been very busy recently releasing a lot of designs recently. There is another dress they have released which I chose not to discuss (Aristo Kitty's invitation) and there are some Alice and the Pirates designs too which I hope to discuss if I can find a decent picture! Today I shall write about one Baby print and an Alice one.

Princess Honey's Tea Salon is a basic floral print which comes in classic colours. I have chosen the sweetest colour (pink) for my picture here. I love the structure of the dress here. The gathering with the bows at the bottom looks really cute. The lace used is of good quality and is used in an interesting way.

This is a close-up of some of the detailing at the bottom. There is a line of rose lace and underneath the bow is a double layer of lace. It sort of reminds me of one of those doilies that like what grandmother used to use. I think Baby have pulled this off well without making it look too old-fashioned.

Here is a close-up of the print. The print is sweet but somehow mature. I love the little rose cupcake.

Here we have Mephisto Cathedral by Alice and the Pirates. At the moment I can't get enough of their prints. They are elegant with clever details and I love them! This dress is quite simple (well, compared to some of their designs it is). The only detail I am unsure about is the collar in the photo below.

Here is a print close-up.

I like the cross necklace with the chain draped over the book. I also like the scroll and what looks like a sceptre. The cathedral has lots of different towers and spires.

Here is the collar featured on some of the designs. I don't think it matches the rest of the design very well. If the bodice part of the dress did not have the crosses on, I think it might have worked better. At least you have the option to remove it and I am sure the collar would look great with other pieces.

Given the choice, I would pick Princess Honey's Tea Salon over Mephisto Cathedral (and I am not just saying that because I like sweet!). Although I like Mephisto Cathedral, I think when you compare it to other AatP designs it is quite average. I think Princess Honey's Tea Salon would look great on a demure girl and I would love to wear this to a traditional afternoon tea. It is beautiful but not attention-grabbing. Fantastic.

Umbrella/Parasol Inspiration

Seeing as the Summer has been replaced by unpredictable rain (curse you British weather!) I thought I would do a umbrella and parasol post. Please note that a lot of these items may not be available directly through their websites any more. This post is just to give a brief introduction to what sort of styles are available.

When ordering parasols you need to be careful about using them in the rain. Parasols are meant to shade you from the sun. If you require something to protect you in the rain look out for products which have umbrella in the title instead of parasol. Also, you can search online for product reviews. If you can't find a review, I suggest you ask around the online lolita community to see if they can point you in the right direction.

I am yet to purchase a proper lolita inspired parasol or umbrella. At the moment I am using an umbrella I got from New Look.

Sorry for the picture. I don't have a good one to hand. It is basically a clear plastic umbrella with strawberries on it and a frill around the edge. And now on to the lolita brand ones!

First up we have Metamorphose. Out of all the brands I think the Meta swan logo umbrella is my favourite. There have been various umbrellas featuring the swan logo. Here is a polka dot version. The last time I checked, the pink and blue versions of this design was still available (almost sold out, so be quick).

Here is a close-up of the swans! I love the gold coloured logo. Metamorphose umbrellas cost around 3800 yen.

Next up is Moi Meme Moitie. I have heard a lot of negative comments about their umbrellas. Some have described them as "the sort of promotional umbrella your dad brings home from work". I can sort of see where they are coming from. The umbrella they were describing was slightly different to the one pictured. The one pictured is slightly better. This brand tends to be more expensive than other brands and if I am being honest I don't think you get value for money here.

Next up is Victorian Maiden who usually offer very classic designs. I adore this ruffly umbrella. Unfortunately, you may end up paying around 22000 yen for an umbrella from their website. That is almost enough to buy an Angelic Pretty dress direct from their site. Ouch.

Innocent World do a lot of umbrellas which match the prints on their dresses. This is great for people who love to have an entire set of one print. Innocent world are also quite classic. The umbrella pictured features a beautiful rose print. The average Innocent World umbrella will set you back 5000 yen.

Finally, here is the latest umbrella from Baby the Stars Shine Bright. It features a cute birdcage design and has a more dome shape to it. The website claims this is for both rainy and sunny weather.

Here is a close-up of the print. I am currently going through a bird phase so I love anything with a birdcage on it. I love this umbrella but I would still probably choose the meta swan print. The average umbrella here costs 4000 yen.

Off-brands such as Bodyline also offer umbrellas. I have not included any because they were all quite basic designs. It is still worth having a look around. Hopefully I will be able to buy an umbrella before the rain gets too bad. Here in England, an umbrella is not an extra- it is a necessity.

An update on my brand purchasing- I have now paid for my meta skirt. Hopefully it will arrive quickly. Now that the stressful part is over, I am very excited!

I MIGHT have just bought my first bit of brand wear.

I am very excited today! Not only has my husband got my pokemon boosters for me to open later, I may have also just purchased my first bit of brand. Surprisingly I was able to find something that fits my 28 inch waist quite easily. The reason I say "might" in the title is that the website I ordered from was a bit confusing. I am waiting for the invoice to come through and it is making me nervous. What if somebody else got it first? The site in question is a second hand one so there was only one skirt in stock. Eep. O_O I am not sure I like all the pressure involved with buying cheap brand. Why am I getting so nervous about a skirt? Ooh... somebody hurry up and email me back... put me out of my misery! :(

I wont reveal what print I have got on my skirt yet. What I will say is that it is a Metamorphose one (no, not the March of the Duck one I am obsessed with), it is a bit more classic than my usual style and providing I actually got it, it cost me approximately £40 without postage. Although the postage will probably be hefty, £40 for a brand skirt is a total bargain. I had saved up more than that so I may have some leftover money to play around with. A cheap non-brand cardigan and a parasol I think!

Speaking of parasols, you can expect a parasol related post soon. Provided my anxiety doesn't consume me first.

Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!!!!

They are a bit too cosplay for my tastes but...

...these shoes are absolutely adorable!!! Bodyline, thank you for making me smile today :)