Making Kuro and Shiro More Interesting

I've often felt that kuro and shiro lolita are very under-appreciated. There is this kind of misconception about these 2 sub-styles that sticking to all-black or all-white outfits can perhaps be a bit... boring. Adding colours can be one way of adding a bit of excitement to a lolita outfit so to stick rigidly to one colour can be a bit stifling. I think that this is a real shame. There are some absolutely beautiful solid black and white dresses out there. Some dresses by Atelier Pierrot and Alice and the Pirates come instantly to my mind, although there are lots of budget options out there too which are also really pretty. But I think a lot of misconceptions about these 2 sub-styles come from how they are typically styled. Usually, kuro lolita gets lumped in with gothic lolita, and it is easy to see why. When you think of gothic fashion, the first thing that comes to mind is the colour black. Similarly, shiro is usually styled in a sweet or classic 'bridal' sort of way. But when you break it down, the only real 'rule' about these 2 sub-styles is to stick to that one colour. So I decided to attempt to put together a few outfit collages to see what I could come up with.

But first, I think there are a couple of things to consider when putting together a kuro or shiro wardrobe-

Materials- Different materials will have different textures, so even though 2 pieces may be the same colour, they can have very different appearances. A good example of this would be comparing chiffon and velvet. Chiffon is light and airy whilst velvet is richer and more dense, so it is possible to create some very different outfits.

Extra Details- Lace, trims, lots of ruffles... a single coloured dress does not have to hold back on the detail. The little details can make all the difference and stop a single coloured dress from looking too boring

Different styles- Going for dresses with bows, for example, would give the dress a more sweet feel. I feel a solid-coloured sweet dress can be a good choice for a classic or gothic lolita who maybe likes sweet, but doesn't feel too comfortable going all-out. Seeing as a lot of kuro dresses typically have a classic or gothic look to them, going for something sweeter can be a fresh take on somebody's typical style.

Themes- Just because you are only working with one colour, it doesn't mean that your outfit can't have a theme! As long as you stick to that one colour, I think you can introduce a lot of themes, which I hope I have shown in my collages.

And now, on to the collages! For these collages, I have tried to go for the exact same dress (Bodyline L362, in case you were wondering) to show how the same dress can look a lot different with just a bit of styling.

First up is a circus/carnival themed outfit. I feel the AP Shadow Dream Carnival tights just about get away with being okay for kuro. I tried to add carousel horses and stars to help the theme come through. I wanted to add a top hat a bit like AP's Star Night Theater one (but just in the black colour, of course) but it proved difficult to find a nice, all-black top hat that wasn't from some cheap costume! So I ended up using an Alice and the Pirates hat for this collage, although it wasn't my first choice. I think this kuro outfit has a slight sweet feel to it.

I had the most fun creating this floral kuro look! I like that this kuro look has a country feel to it. It worked out better than I was expecting it to. I thought of using the Innocent World shawl and then had a bit of a search to see if I could find matching black straw items. As you can see, I managed to find what I was looking for. What I thought was going to be the most difficult collage, ended up being my favourite.

I don't feel I was as successful with this royal themed kuro outfit. I couldn't get a picture of the crown I wanted and the accessories proved difficult too. In the end I went for a crown with velvety details to it, so I decided on using a velvet cape to make sure the crown didn't look too out of place. I feel this outfit could have been a lot better, but hopefully it gives you an idea of what I was aiming for.

So with these ideas in mind, I hope this post encourages people to take another look at kuro and shiro. They are far from boring and there are lots of possibilities! I am admittedly a bit of a print addict, but I had a lot of fun creating this collages. I have worn kuro before (I don't feel shiro would look good on me) and I don't think this is the last kuro you will be seeing from me...

Ox Loli Halloween Meet 2013- Terror Tuesdays at the Castle!

On Tuesday I hosted this years Oxfordshire Lolitas Halloween meet. I wanted to do something a bit different this year, so I booked us in to one of the Terror Tuesdays being held at the Oxford Castle.

I didn't really leave myself enough time to create an outfit so in the end I recycled a fair bit of my outfit from last year's 'Kuro Bride' outfit. Only, this time I was a witch! My outfit is made up of Bodyline and off-brand pieces. 

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside of the castle but that is understandable considering that they want to preserve the castle as much as possible. So I will just have to describe what happened instead! We were led around inside the castle by people wearing ghoulish costumes. Our little tour included being locked in one of the castle's old padded cells (it used to be a prison) and being led down in to the crypts which are meant to be haunted. At one point we got given dust masks, which made for some interesting photos when we got outside. For some reason, my camera thinks that Michelle is a ghost! I think it adds a special touch to the feel of the photos though! I have kept my mask as a memento.

Afterwards we went to the pub (where I ate far too many chips) and then it was time to go home again. The castle was a great deal of fun. I heard a rumour that one year they did ghost hunting in the crypts which I hope they do again some time because I would definitely love to do that. The crypts definitely had a spooky atmosphere when we went in them. Although Michelle grabbing my arm in the dark may have contributed that...

Oct 2012 Ox Loli Meet- Spooky Picnic!

On Saturday we held the October Oxfordshire Lolita meet. This time we met in the evening to have a picnic in the dark. Sadly, this does mean my photos were not brilliant, but I have included some of the better ones. I am very sorry Roxy and Nicola, but it looks like I didn't get any good photos of you two. All the photos will be up on my Facebook soon. 

We held our picnic by a lovely bit of river. I managed to catch a lovely sunset on the river in some of the photos, like with this one of Katy. Katy's outfit was awesome and I was surprised to hear that the skeleton tights were from Bodyline. Sadly, I don't think they are on the website any more!

It was very strange seeing our host Sammi in dark colours! Sammi normally wears sweet. Her make-up and BJD tights were done very well. She was also a very lovely host. I think Sammi was a little worried that this meet wasn't going to go well but I know I had fun!

I do have a couple of photos of my outfit because I got my poor husband to take a load! Please excuse the stereotypical mourning gothic posing...

My general theme for the outfit was "Kuro Bride". Most of my outfit is Bodyline. The veil came from an American Etsy store. If you search "black veil" on Etsy, then chances are, you will find the store I got this from. I wore my Demonia platforms and off-brand jewellery. I managed to stun some teenagers in to total silence, so I think my outfit was a success! It felt very odd being in all black, but I do love the kuro style. I wouldn't mind trying shiro, but I don't think it would suit my colouring. 

This photo needed a LOT of light adjusting.

Niamh was wearing guro and Amber was wearing Vampire Forest. I think this was the best photo I got all night. I really like it. For some reason, Niamh always ends up on the ground at our meets! It has become a bit of a tradition now. 

A few people had to drop out, so we ended up with a lot of sugar at our picnic. Not that anybody was complaining! I enjoyed the food. I managed to find some ghost and bat shaped crisps and biscuits. In fact, I think everybody did very well finding food to suit the meet. Sammi's decorations were really cool. Believe it or not, but most of them came from Poundland. I will be looking in there for cheap decorations in the future!

Nicola made a very cute ghost cake. The bit of orange was a bit of confetti that accidentally fell on the cake, but it made a good nose. Do ghosts have noses? I don't know... but the cake was very yummy though. It was a shame to cut up such a cute ghost, but it was worth it.

So I had a great evening. I learnt that wearing kuro/gothic is actually quite fun. I don't think I will be wearing this style as much as sweet and classic, but I am not ruling out further gothic inspired outfits. I know Amber was very happy to see so much black at a meet! It was a very enjoyable time and it was lovely to see everybody again. I am looking forward to the November meet now!