Showing posts with label Classic Lolita. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Classic Lolita. Show all posts

Saturday, 29 March 2014

Lolita event: Enchanted

Street Fashion Europe is a collaboration of various lolita communities across Europe. They have come together to create a huge convention-like meet-up called 'Enchanted' taking place on April 5th 2014.

Enchanted Logo
Brands such as Juliette et Justine and Grimoire will be exhibiting at this event so it is a great opportunity for European lolitas and street fashion enthusiasts to view the products in person.

Initially I was not planning to go as I haven't been wearing much lolita fashion as of late and the tickets had sold out. Luckily a ticket popped up for sale on Facebook and I decided to take the plunge, so in little over a week I shall be at Enchanted!

Right, now to the outfit. As I don't have very many extravagant pieces left (yes events like these only happen once or twice a year so it calls for something more daring) I decided to update my Juliette et Justine 'Féerie' co-ordinate and here are the results;







I love wearing this dress casually but with the underskirt it certainly adds the touch of pomp I was aiming for. The underskirt was from my recent Taobao order which I shall be reviewing but I am tad overdue on.

Outfit Rundown
Dress: Juliette et Justine 'Féerie'
Silk bolero: Monsoon
Underskirt: Little Dipper (Taobao)
Bag: Zara
Shoes: ASOS
Necklace: Gift
Headress: Fox Cherry (Taobao)
Socks: 小鹿Bambi森林小屋 (Taobao)

I hope Rococo Daze send my Juliette et Justine 'Dessin' tights soon as I would like to wear them with this co-ord instead of the socks ;_;

I hope to meet some of you at Enchanted ^_^

Wednesday, 26 February 2014

My favourite (mostly Otome) Japanese brands....

Ok it would be a dream come true if any of these brands opened a shop in the UK but I highly doubt that will happen any time soon. I often think about what Japanese brands I would include if I were to open a hypothetical select shop, well here are a few;

The brands I would definitely put in my shop:

1. Emily Temple Cute

Macaron JSK
マカロンプリントノースリーブワンピース

Without a doubt possibly my favourite Japanese brand. ETC never fail to produce cute prints in a range of designs. Luckily they have started to ship overseas so people around the world can enjoy the wondrous clothes of Emily Temple Cute. I found it quite hard to pick a few items of ETC that I like, I narrowed it down to the 'Macaron' print which was one of their very popular prints. I love the chiffon fabric and the lovely macaroons. ETC also make some lovely complimentary blouses, cut-sews and cardigans. I personally love the 'Melty' long cardigan.

Melty Cardigan
メルティロングニットカーディガン

A melty chocolate cardigan wouldn't be complete without some sort of confectionery dress to match, since I've already mentioned the macaroons how about doughnuts? The lovely 'Cutlery and Doughnut' print looks good enough to eat. Unmistakably ETC, the cut of this jumperskirt is not only flattering but cute.

Cutlery and Doughnut jsk
カトラリー&ドーナツプリントノースリーブワンピース
 And finally one of the ETC I personally own and love, the 'Canned Fruit' print. A little like an Andy Warhol print but much cuter. I love the design of this one piece, the waist-bow and chiffon ruffle hem really add to this dress.

Canned Fruit OP
 2. Jane Marple 
Royal Order Mini OP
ロイヤルオーダーのミニワンピース
Jane Marple never fail to produce beautiful high quality pieces. Rich colours and ornate motifs feature highly on JM pieces. I love JM's use of the peter pan collar hence I picked out the 'Royal Order' OP as one of my favourite pieces, the print is so fantastically regal and I love the written text waist-belt. 

Alice print blouse
アリスプリントのブラウス
For the Alice print blouse JM took their wonderful print and featured it on a chiffon blouse with cute peter pan collar and removable neck-tie. I just love Alice prints and this one does not disappoint, every item in this collection is equally beautiful so I found it hard to choose one.

Flower lace collar OP
コットンジョーゼットフラワーレースカラーのワンピース
Jane Marple's non-printed dresses are equally delectable. I love how they pick out details such as the flower lace collar and buttons to make it a unique JM piece.  The only downside to Jane Marple is that their items are very expensive, a typical dress would be around ¥38,000 (around £220) making JM a higher end Otome/Lolita brand. I do find that JM items are of much higher quality than other brands.

3. Lois Crayon


Gobelin print coat
I love love LOVE this brand oh so much! Much like Jane Marple, Lois Crayon is a higher end brand in price and quality. Slightly shrouded in mystery as they do not have an online shop or sell anywhere online that I am aware of but the few items I have seen are gorgeous. I've picked out the gobelin fabric coat as a stand-out piece, simply because I love the fabric and the design which is not overly fussy. I have seen many gobelin coats which have over complicated designs, fur collars and lace which just clash with the fabric and print. LC manage to find the perfect balance with this piece.

Violet print jsk
Lois Crayon seem to have many 'Violet' print pieces, I believe it might be their most popular print. As I've featured the other Violet print jumperskirt on another post I shall put this version here. I love the cut of this dress and how the purple flowers stand out on the crisp white fabric. The cute wait-bow just brings the dress together perfectly.


A few Lois Crayon's skirts the names of which I do not know, I found them while browsing their shop blog. I love the musical note print skirt, the pleats and length look perfect.

Palace print jumperskirt
パレスプリントドレス
Finally, the 'Palace' print dress, it's the only piece I could find a modelled picture from so I had to include it. What's not to love? the lovely autumnal colours and lace v-neck collar are lovely. I really wish Lois Crayon items were more accessible and not just on second hand shops and auction sites

4. F.I.N.T/An Another Angelus

Fruit pattern OP
リーフ衿フルーツ柄半袖ワンピース
I'm not sure if F.I.N.T can be classified as a Otome brand or even a Gyaru brand but one things for sure they make beautiful feminine clothes. If I needed a cheaper brand for my hypothetical shop F.I.N.T would definitely be it, not as expensive as the other brands I have mentioned above but still on the pricier side of high street shops. I love the fruit patterned print of this dress and the cute lace collar, it's just perfect for spring. The length is not too long or short and the sleeves are very flattering. 

Rose print square collar blouse
ローズプリントスクエア衿長袖ブラウス
How cute is this blouse? I must admit I thought the square collar was unusual but worn with a skirt or trousers it really stands out well. The rose print on the collar just elaborates on F.I.N.T's feminine aesthetic. Both these items are from F.I.N.T's sub-brand An Another Angelus. The staff always look like they are having a fun time I mean I would too if I could wear those clothes everyday ^_^

A few brands that I might put in my shop:

1. Ank Rogue

Ribbon lace up pumps
リボンレースアップパンプス
Predominantly a brand for Gyaru, I think Ank Rouge still has many items that can be worn into any style. Much like these ribbon lace-up pumps which are similar to rocking horse shoes and wouldn't be out of place in a Lolita outfit.

Antique embroidered blouse
アンティーク刺繍ブラウス
I do like a good blouse, especially ones with a unique collar and pin-tuck detail. Not to mention the airy chiffon material, again perfect for spring.

2. L'est Rose

Gobelin dress

I especially love L'est Rose's gobelin fabric items, right about autumn they always release such lovely gobelin fabric dresses. They are always a hit and rightly so! Much like F.I.N.T, L'est Rose features highly on the feminine designs, a lot of floral and pastel colours here.

3. Juliette et Justine

Rosery Solennel jumperskirt
ロゼリィ ソラネル ローブ
It would be quite an extravagant edition to my shop but I just love everything Juliette et Justine do. The prints are always beautiful and I really like that JetJ are not afraid to experiment with different cuts and style of dress.

I am sure there are plenty more Japanese fashion brands that I could include in my (fake) shop, I think it would make a pretty fantastic shop to be honest, if only I had the money and the connections. If you had to choose any brands for your own shop what would they be? I'd love to know.

Sunday, 16 February 2014

Angelic Pretty 'Classic Garden' (クラシックガーデン) Series

Today Angelic Pretty released a series called 'Classic Garden'. Normally I am not one for AP's sweet style but this classic design stood out to me. I love the textured Broderie Anglaise material and the cute design. It proves AP can do classic just as well as they do sweet. Both Jumperskirt and One Piece version come in 3 colours; White, Ivory and Black.
Classic Garden OP
I prefer the OP to the JSK in this series mainly because of the Peter Pan collar and the puffball sleeves. The Broderie Anglaise material makes this perfect for the springtime and adds to the classic feel. The bottom lace part is a thinner embroidered material.


Also I love how the top portion of the bodice is a more sheer material, the contrast of materials gives the neckline a more feminine appearance. Sheer fabrics are still very much in this season so AP are not missing out on this trend.


The collar bow and waist ties are removable so this dress can be worn quite casually too without a petticoat. Maybe for a nice picnic? who knows.

Classic Garden JSK
The Jumperskirt features cute bow detail on the bodice and the waist belt. I'm not sure but it looks like the waist bow could be an organza type material. Both the JSK and OP are 100% cotton which makes it ideal for spring/summer.




 The back of the JSK features a corset type lace-up as well as shirring to accommodate more sizes. I normally don't like lace-up backs for dresses but this one looks really tidy and suits the style of JSK quite well.



As I mentioned I really love the embroidered lace at the bottom, the JSK features two rows of lace instead of one like the OP.

Overall I really love this series, I hope AP Continue to make more in the same vein. Already this series has proved to be a hit, both the international and Japanese site has sold out of most of the OP's and the Ivory colourway of the JSK's. The OP version seems to be the favourite.


What do you think of this AP release?
If you like the design of the Classic Garden Series, many other classic brands have done a similar style:

Innocent World 'Frigg' Jumperskirt
Innocent World 'Roman Playing Cards' Op
Mary Magdalene 'Claudette' OP