Yesterday I went into NYC for dinner with the ever-lovely Dalin and Crystal. After all the stress of the past few weeks, all of us really needed a girl's night! We ate at South Houston, an awesome SoHo restaurant/bar that serves Southern-style food like hush puppies and pulled pork; I had a veggie burger with avocado and a side salad. It also happened to be happy hour, so Crystal and I had some amazing sangria for only five dollars a glass, because we're secretly lushes.

Here's what I wore:

The night before, I was up til 4 AM finishing "Around the World in 80 Days" by Jules Verne. Inspired by that, my original theme was "Victorian traveller," hence the vintage hat, long JSK, and use of brown. Then I decided that none of my lolita blouses were hip enough to be included in this outfit, so I took a non-lolita blouse and pinned my Angelic Pretty detachable sleeves to make it a little more appropriate for the end-of-winter chilliness (which, today, turned into the end-of-winter snow that's currently accumulating on my car and porch steps. Sigh.) It may stick its tongue out at the lolita rule against showing your shoulders, but I think it works and creates a playful contrast to the grown-up classic feel of the rest of the coordinate, especially combined with the star-print bag.

(also, check out that picture on the right- could I look any younger?! This is why I usually don't smile in pictures!)

FOR FUN: Coord from a year ago today!

Coordinate practice is one of those things that I've heard about a lot in lolita because it's an amazing idea, but for some reason it's one bandwagon that I just never hopped on. The idea is that you take one piece, usually a large item like a one piece or a skirt, and see how many ways you can coordinate it. This is awesome for wardrobe building (make a list of the items that, outfit to outfit, you always wish you had), or, in my case, a piece that has recently been added to your wardrobe that just confounds you on how to wear it. Take this gorgeous JSK- It's gorgeous and navy is one color I've always wanted to wear more of. However, that means I own almost none of it, and those brainless "just-make-it-all-the-same-color" coordinates really aren't possible for me. It's languished unworn for far too long, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and use it for coordinate practice- that way, I can say I've done it (loli street cred!) as well as brainstorm some ideas for its next wear.

Coordinate 1: Garden Tea Party

Rundown:

• Hymn long jumperskirt by AatP
• Forever 21 lace bolero
• Vintage beaded gloves
• Vintage hat
• Pearl chain brooch from AatP
• Lace tights from H&M
• Ruffle kitten heels from Target

This one was lace-themed- it features a lovely lace bolero ($7!) and delicate lace tights. This is probably my favorite of the set- I'm definitely going to be wearing it to the first meetup of the summer season. It's comfortable and light but still elegant- and aren't those vintage gloves just perfect for holding a delicate porcelain teacup?

Coordinate 2: Vintage Secretary

Rundown:

•  Hymn long jumperskirt by AatP
• Offbrand gray blazer
• Forever 21 black rose belt
• Vintage gloves
• Glasses from Claire's
• Tights from H&M
• Offbrand heels

When I was building this coordinate, I imagined myself the secretary for a fabulous fashion designer who's since faded into antiquity, circa 1950's. The structured jacket takes this jumperskirt into the terrain of office-appropriate, especially when paired with classy heels, while the rose belt and matching gloves give it a sweet look to it. I wouldn't necessarily call this one lolita- it probably has about the same amount of vintage and retro influence as lolita inspiration.

Coordinate 3: The Heiress

Rundown:

• Hymn long jumperskirt by AatP
• Vintage fur stole
• Vintage hat
• Offbrand velvet riding jacket
• H&M bow print tights
• Montral rocking horse shoes

This coordinate was entirely inspired by that stole- I inherited it from my grandmother, and it's the only piece of real fur I currently own or plan on owning, unless I can find another in someone's attic. I'm not a fan of fur or the fur industry, so I don't want to support it monetarily, but I feel it's disrespectful to the animal to just let it sit rotting  in someone's basement (and yes, I know that just wearing it is propagating harm to animals, and that's a perfectly good reason for you to avoid fur- but in this case, it isn't a good enough reason for me). Mixing neutrals, while technically a fashion faux-pas, is one of my favorite things to do- the dark navy of this JSK goes well with black, in my opinion, and the bright white details (on the dress, the hat, and the tights) are enough to tie the black and navy pieces together. I think it makes for a much more interesting look than if I had just chosen white or navy to play off of. I paired it with a tailored velvet equestrian-style jacket for a retro-refined look; I imagine this would be worn by a rich young heiress about her daily errands: shopping at Harrod's, accosting Daddy's secretary (above?) into wiring some more pocket money into her account (what's a measly $500 to Daddy?), and then a fine dinner to which she'll be fashionably blase. Life is difficult!

This activity was such great practice for me! The weather has lead me to leave my airy ruffles in favor of warmer clothes, and therefore I've felt so uninspired sartorially- this was a breath of fresh air for my wardrobe. If you'd like more examples of coordinate practice, Fairytale a la Mode does them very often, and her outfits are always absolutely lovely.

Here's my challenge for all of you: do your own coordinate practice!

Whether you want to use Polyvore to create the outfit of your dreams, challenge yourself to coordinate a problem piece of your wardrobe, or you've just received your first dress and have no idea how to use it with your mainstream wardrobe, show my what you come up with! If you do, I'd love it if you could link me to your coordinates in the comments below!


PS: How do you like my new hair? I got my bangs re-cut and dyed over the old color with a dark ,natural red, so the blue is much darker and more muted. I call this one "Black-cherry-paradise-half-the-sugar-twice-the-spice-I-don't-wanna-treat-you-nice-COMEONBABYROLLTHEDICE!!!", or Black Cherry for short (and my eternal love for anyone who knows what that's from!)

If you remember, on 12/11 I attended a vintage expo hosted by Brazen Betties Boutique as a vendor for my jewelry line. The event was wonderful! It featured a fashion show of vintage fashions/alterations and a Bettie Page look-a-like contest, and since Kayla and I were right next to the DJ's booth, we got the perfect view of everything!

Our table:

Say, Dolly!

The lovely Kayla:

Amaranth Opulent

A few of the items I sold aren't going to be actually sold at the shop- I wanted to have more things on the table that would appeal to non-lolitas, so I busted out some cute lavender-filled sachets (shaped like cupcakes and acorns) and rose rings.

What I wore:

Some of da Betties! Yep... best seat in the house... I guess not at all times! The Betties lined up right in front of our booth, completely blocking us from view for the 45 minutes or so until they got everything for the show sorted out, and they also seemed to think we were involved in the contest as they kept demanding technical answers from us. Sigh... but a few of them came back afterward to chat and look at our booth, and they were very sweet. Must have been just nerves, I guess!

A few other booths:

All in all, I'd say the vintage expo was great fun and a wonderful experience. Call me up for next year's show!

This post brought to you by Christina's apartment, Photoshop, and a lot of sugar.

On Sunday, 12/19/10,  I organized a potluck holiday crafternoon for the CT lolitas.We all arrived at my lovely ex-roomate Tina's centrally-located apartment for an afternoon of crafts, snacks, and frills. Our spread included salsa burgers, vegetarian chili (made by me!), and a crapload of sweets! I brought a bottle of sparkling apple cider, herb-infused hot apple cider, and eggnog cookies, as well as the veggie chili. There was also cinnamon-bun cookies, spice cakes, and Christmas-themed sugar cookies, as well as a few other treats. I think we ate more than we crafted, but that's kind of par for the course for me...

Group shot:

Above photo, from left: Rebecca, Lindsay, Jesi, me, and Savannah

Random shot of some of the foods:

It was so nice to see girls I haven't seen in a while! Jesi and Lindsay both go to school in Georgia, so we hopped on the chance to see them while they were home for the holidays. We vegged out, knitting, deco-ing, or making jewelry while chatting about TaoBao and our boyfriends' money habits. It was so relaxing, just hanging out with the girls!

Here's what I wore:

Rundown:

• Headbow and OP: BABY, the Stars Shine Bright
• Blouse: Innocent World
• Socks: Betsey Johnson
• Boots: Bodyline

I wanted to go for a vintage-y look, so I put my hair up into some silly curls that reminded me of pin-up hairstyles. Here's a close-up:

Speaking of hair, say goodbye to my lovely colors! I need to return to my desk job over vacation and for some of next semester, so I'm going to have to go back to natural colors. Not sure what I'll do yet- probably a nice, deep auburn. Any suggestions?

So this is one of a few holiday celebrations I've attended this year! Seeing as it's Christmas and all, I figured now would be a good time to wish you....

Super delayed and only one picture. I snapped this one on the morning on New York Anime Festival before I hopped in the car, so it's not a great one, but it shows the outfit and looks pretty cute, I think!

Also this is where my parents live. And I've just realized that almost all of these leaves are shades of orange or yellow now - it's crazy how fast that happened!

Rundown:

• JSK: AatP Hymn JSK (Borrowed with intention to buy from Tina!)
• Blouse: Forever21
• Boater hat: H&M
• Boots &necktie (can't really see it): Offbrand

I was going for a prairie schoolteacher look. Why? Because I had a tie on. Just... don't question it.

So, this is what I wore to the hardware store. Now, clearly, I don't look like the kind of lady who frequents hardware stores or enjoys wandering around looking at tools all day, but apparently that was the case to the employees of the particular Lowe's I went to - or rather, the lack of employees, because the three times I actually saw an associate, they were quickly headed the opposite direction! Stefan and I wandered for about an hour just looking for someone to point out where the lumber I needed could be found. Apparently it didn't exist, because we left empty-handed. I guess my homemade folding-screen room divider for school will have to wait - pics to come, if the Universe ever allows me to make it!


Rundown:

• Cutsew: Forever21
• Skirt: Lolita Nouveau
• Jacket: Offbrand
• Snood & bow hairpin: For Love
• Sewing kit necklace: Vintage

Have I shown off this necklace before? It's lovely- I got it from a local vintage store fora few dollars. It features an entire sewing kit on a beautiful, chunky chain- thimble, container of needles with screw-top, and even a folded-up pair of scissors, all in a bright gold. You can see it better in this close-up, in which I'm... actually smiling, for once!

Also, say goodbye to old Lumpy - with any luck, by my next photopost, I'll have gotten my hair 'did like I detailed in this post! Wish me luck!!

This weekend Stefan and I trekked out to Manhattan to meet up with mah gurls Victoria, Dalin, Crystal, and their boys for an epic quadruple date at Alice's Teacup. We were lucky to get reservations in last minute on Sunday, which is very busy for them (the only openings were at 8 AM and 2:15 - clearly we chose the latter!) and we monopolized a corner booth for about, oh... two hours of tea and debauchery. We happened to get there on the tail-end of their weekend brunch, so we had some lovely cocktails and mar-tea-nis to sip with our tea sandwiches and scones.


Crystal and Victoria both got Queen of Hearts inspired mar-tea-nis of vervain tea, raspberries, and mint with a touch of Vodka, while Dalin's sweetie Sean and I both opted for brunch classics: a peach tea and champagne Bellini for me and a Bloody Mary for him. The other boys and Dalin herself were both satisfied with their teas.


And the food! Oh, the food! While not horribly impressive in taste, the presentation was really very sweet. The two teas that were ordered were very lovely, coming served on three-tier tea services. My curry chicken salad sandwich came on thick, sweet multi-grain bread with a generous pile of greens (or french fries, if that's more suiting to your tastes). All of the prices are fine for what you get - I think I paid about 9 or 10 dollars for my sandwich and side salad - moderate-low price for a sit-down restaurant in Manhattan, and that's about how it tasted: moderate-low quality. Priced indicatively, so if you're looking for a really special meal, it's probably worth it to get the higher-priced items. This suited me just fine for the casual date-day.






Afterward, we all went to the Sanrio store in Times Square, and then we split up: Crystal and John headed off to a prior engagement, Victoria and Matt started home, and Dalin, Sean, Stefan and I all went to check out the new 4-floor Forever 21 store and Midtown Comics (though I had just given up on the corset and between the cinching, heat, and allergies, I wasn't really up for shopping and mostly just floated around observing. An iced green tea from Starbucks care of Stefan helped, though ♥).



Then we all headed back to Magnolia to get some noms for the ride home (a vanilla bean cheesecake for Stefan, a small serving of chicken Tikka with naan for me, and a beverage for Sean - Dalin, did you get anything? I can't remember now, I was so dead by then!). During conversation, we discovered that Sean would be taking the same train as Stefan and I for about half the trip, so we had a conversation buddy for most of our trip home, which was a nice change of pace - normally he and I just take turns falling asleep on each other's shoulders, because we are, in fact, secretly old people. He has an excuse - he's from the country, the Big City tires him out. I'm just a wuss.



Thanks so much to my counter-couples for an absolutely amazing Sunday afternoon! It was so wonderful to get together with everyone and spend a whole day together. We should make a habit of these!

♥BONUS♥

After we got home, Stefan and I collapsed on the couch in out PJs with cups of tea. Clearly I'm five years old and can't drink anything without spilling it on me, as the spot on my Hello Kitties show.

My boyfriend's birthday is this week! Since he took the whole week off, we've decided to have as many celebration days as we can. Sunday was the first one: I took him to one of my favorite places in the world, Mitsuwa Marketplace, for lunch and shopping. Unfortunately, I'm having some car trouble and didn't want to risk the almost-two-hour trek, so he ended up driving after all. I bought us treats when we got there, though!

Rundown:

• Blouse: Angelic Pretty (all washed out! :[ )
• Skirt: Bodyline (hard to tell from these photos, but it's actually black with teeny white polka dots)
  
• Socks: Angelic Pretty
• Shoes: an*tai*na
• Hat: H&M
• Underskirt: added after pictures were taken, black Metamorphose with lace trim

I always underestimate how short this skirt is! I threw on a black lace Meta skirt after the pictures were taken, but didn't have the heart to make Stefan take another set of pictures, so you'll just have to pretend!
The heat was horrific - 91 degrees Fahrenheit with a crapload of humidity. I find, though, that as far as going-out clothes go, lolita isn't any warmer or cooler than my other clothes are. I went to school with a relatively rigid dresscode that said we couldn't show our shoulders or wear anything shorter than two to four inches above the knee, which really rubbed off on me. Even today I'm not comfortable with baring those areas of my body, so I just sort of sigh longingly when I see other girls traipsing about in cool-looking tanktops and shorts. I figure, if I'm going to be covering myself this much anyway, I may as well do it with lolita!

Also, I just got my Tea Party knockoffs!! I bought them from Qutieland, and while I probably paid too much for them, it was worth it to be able to communicate directly with the company I was buying it from, as opposed to going through a shopping service and a site like TaoBao. They're a little tight on me because I am horrid at European sizing (note to self: 42, not 41 next time!) but even with that I can tell once I break them in a little I'll be abusing them like crazy. Review to come!


Heads up! My giveaway is closing on Monday! If you haven't entered yet, gogogo!!

Dressed up for a brainstorming day with Victoria Suzanne! I have a surprise for all of you, oh yes ♥ I'm hoping to have it ready to reveal by July or so, but it'll definitely be ready at least by the end of the summer
Rundown:

• Hat: H&M with a blue ribbon tied around it
• Cutsew: Angelic pretty
• Skirt: Handmade
• Socks: Target?
• Shoes (not shown): Payless

Afterward, I went to hang out with a few old high school friends, one of whom is an amazingly skilled photographer! He showed me around my DSLR, and now I'm confident that I'll be able to use my camera to its full potential - or at least close to it!

If anyone notices the drastic difference in bedroom settings, no, I didn't get my butt into gear and re-paint my room like I said I would. This is the guest room, where I've been retiring to on hot summer nights instead of my bedroom because it has one necessity that mine lacks: a ceiling fan. When we were designing these rooms, I opted for an ornate hanging light instead of a fan... and then the ornate hanging light broke. Clearly I made the wrong choice...

After sitting around doing very little but napping and eating barbecue with my boyfriend, I decided that I needed to get some shit done. I also decided that picking flowers in lolita would be delicious. Yes, my idea of "getting shit done" is picking flowers, and yes, I got dressed up to do so. I only actually wore this for a few outfits, so I'm not sure if this even counts as a daily outfit, haha.
Rundown:

• Blouse: Angelic Pretty
• Cardigan: Wet Seal
• Skirt: Bodyline
• Minihat: Hot Topic

I also went out barefoot because I was walking around my backyard and it was far too hot for socks and shoes. Check out the neckline of the cardigan - you can just see the lace appliques going around the whole thing. It's such a cute touch, big lace circles like coins made out of embroidered net lace. Also, it was probably the best bargain of my entire life - Wet Seal was having a sale where if you buy one sale item, you get the other for a penny. One cent! I went with Victoria and grabbed this as the penny item to her sale item. Budget loli ftw!

So this one is a bit of a cheat. Technically, this IS what I wore to a little birthday picnic with friends, but I was gallivanting about the city all day and then we got caught in a thunderstorm (!!! though we weren't exactly surprised). So... I cheated. I re-dressed up in the same outfit today so that I could document it. Please forgive me for lying to you, my dearest readers! I didn't mind getting all gussied up again, though, because this is probably my dream outfit ♥♥♥
Rundown:

• Bonnet: Ophanim Gothique
• Hairbow: BABY, the Stars Shine Bright
• Necklace: Lolitas N Cream
• JSK & Overdress: I Do Declare
• Socks: Angelic Pretty (technically I started the day with BABY L'Oiseau socks, but I bought these when we went to Tokyo Rebel so I tossed them on)
  
• Boots: Bodyline
  

I tried something kind of unusual with the bonnet. It was very hot that day, my guess being in the upper 80's (you laugh, California, but I'm a spoiled little Yankee!), so I didn't want the ribbon to chafe under my chin. Instead, I tied it behind my head and for added stability I used this BtSSB headbow. I had the bonnet made very simplistically so that I could have the freedom to do something like this to dress it up or down - I think the pearls, gem, and charms on the bow help make it more dynamic without being over-the-top.

Also, look at that! I think this is the first time you guys have seen my bedroom! Don't get used to it, though - I'm going to be repainting it (hopefully) this summer... I'm currently planning on a light seafoam-y blue with minty-sage green accents.

Here's what I wore for a double-date picnic on Monday with Kayla and our boys! My boyfriend bought me the hairbow when we went to a festival on Mother's Day so I wanted to design an outfit that would match it ♥ I adore my overdress from IDD, and I've been trying to think of some other ways to coordinate it, so when I realized that it matched the bow perfectly, I threw it on over the blouse and jumperskirt I was already wearing. I think I'm going to wear this for my birthday party, too. I love the Wonderland feel to these pictures - the shed from my backyard reminds me of the Rabbit's house if Alice had grown big outside of it instead of inside!
Unfortunately my curls ended up falling by the time I got to my boyfriend's house, so I just ended up doing a flip instead.
Rundown:

• JSK: Bodyline
• Blouse: H&M
• Overdress: I Do Declare custom commission
• Socks: Secret Shop
• Shoes: Offbrand

We went to a lovely field surrounded by woodlands for the picnic and ate lunch in the shade of a long-deceased rich woman's summer cottage. She had donated the house and acres and acres of the surrounding property to the town, and now they do tours of it and have butterfly gardens and woodland trails through the rest of it.

Also, guess what? Today is my birthday! :)

Happy Mother's Day, mommies!! I got my mother a bottle of chardonnay, a box of gourmet truffles from a world-renowned chocolatier, and a huge cupcake from Crumbs in her favorite flavor, peanut butter. My sister-in-law hosted a beautiful Mother's Day brunch with some absolutely amazing food as always (my contribution was white chocolate coconut ganache truffles). Here's what I wore!Rundown:

• Dress: Children's store
• Blouse: Innocent World
• Hat: Vintage
• Socks: BABY
  
• Pearls &shoes: offbrand

This is another one of the amazing vintage hats my aunt sends home for me sometimes. I have family in Pennsylvania, where there are a lot of amazing vintage shops. My aunt loves to trawl them but can't really wear much of it herself, so she has my parents bring it home to me whenever they visit. Admittedly, it can be kind of hit-or-miss, but the hats are always amazing!

Also props to my wonderful boyfriend who puts up with so much from me. He took these pictures, came to brunch with my fam (an ordeal even I don't usually endure!), and even wandered around a festival with me all day. Also he took me to see Iron Man 2 last night. Love ya!