I've been friends with Lindsay for years now. Having met through our mutual friend Victoria Suzanne, I've always been a huge fan of her adorable creations for her jewelry line, Lolitas N Cream. Now that I've been leaving sweet lolita, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to purchase from some of my favorite brands and artisans, Lindsay included. However, this crafty lady is ahead of the game! I found out a few months ago that as well as being a jewelry-maker, she's also in fashion design school and makes custom corsets - be still my heart! I saved up for a bit to make sure that I could afford the (very modest) price as well as my usual expenses, and then sent her an eager message saying that I was ready for her services. We hashed out a few specifics, such as color scheme (blue and cream, of course - what else?!) and fabric choice (I wanted something nice and elegant, but on the low-end of the cost spectrum; we decided on a lightly-patterned cotton), and I sent her the first installment of the payment. About two weeks later, I sent her the second and final installment, and soon I had the message in my inbox that the corset was done!Shipping was fine - there was a bit of a delay in getting it out, but that's just because her family was in town and she was playing hostess. I don't hold that against her at all, especially because it was Father's Day weekend - I didn't expect her to rudely ignore her family just to satisfy my impatience! It was shipped in a priority mail box that was the perfect size - it fit snugly, so tissue wasn't necessary.
The corset is amazing quality. There are no loose threads or peeking boning, all of the boning is straight and equally spaced, and the grommets are installed perfectly. Lindsay even included a whole spoon of organdy ribbon to tie the laces with!

(also corsets are unbelievably fun to photograph)

A few days after paying my first installment, Lindsay launched her new clothing line, Lolita Nouveau with a beautiful cameo-printed skirt. I've been dying for a brown skirt for months, so I knew I had to pounce on this one! I'm proud to announce that I'm the official guinea pig, being as I'm the first one to buy and receive anything from this new line.

Sorry for the dressforms, by the way - I was still sick as a dog with tonsillitis when these photos were taken, so I didn't feel like getting all dolled up. Anyway, here's a quickie coord featuring the skirt. It's so lovely! It's a bit wrinkled from shipping (wasn't up to battling the heat +fever +iron to fix it), but it's really amazingly put together. It features a brown cotton base with metallic silver contrast stitching on the ruffles and hems. The screenprinted cameo is metallic silver, enhanced with silver rhinestones and both look very skillfully applied.

Detail of the cameo

Back shot

Inside shots - the entire interior is serged and hemmed.

If I had one criticism of the skirt, I would say that it's the fabric. It's looks and feels very nice, however it is a touch thin. I know a few girls who wear colored petticoats, and these might show through the fabric a bit; however, the thinner fabric is definitely a godsend in the summer, and it's still thicker than some AP print fabrics I've seen.

I definitely recommend Lolita Nouveau and Lindsay's custom work. I couldn't be happier with both products, and I definitely recommend them. I'm very excited to see future products from Lolita Nouveau!

Guess what I got this week!

Tonsillitis!!
I know, it's wonderful. And over my boyfriend's birthday too. One night at his house turned into three when I was too sick to trek home, and I commandeered his air-conditioned room while exiling him to the stuffy guest room so I could keep my fever in check. After two days of hermitage (his father is going through chemotherapy, so I had to avoid the rest of his family for fear of infecting them) I was finally able to drive myself home this morning. When I finally arrived home, my throat was aching dryly and all I wanted, despite the horrific temperature and worse humidity, was a cup of hot tea.

That's when I turned to my new pack of Black Celebration tea from My SpecialTea. I bought at Mars New York, a Zakka store in the Mistuwa plaza when I went the other day. It smelled rich and spicy, a quality I'm always a sucker for when it comes to tea, so I bought a bag. At $10 for 15 servings, it was a nice price for loose tea, which I always have a problem locating in my area anyway. It's really a beautiful tea; it has orange peel, dried papaya, and cornflowers blended in with it, among other things, which really make it very visually appealing.
Unfortunately, the brewed tea was not exactly what I was hoping for. Don't get me wrong, it was light and refreshing and very tasty, but I had expected something with more depth of flavor- something more like a chai. I tasted it after steeping about two or three minutes (as recommended on the bag), five minutes (as personal experience dictates best for loose black teas), and ten minutes (as a last resort), and the tea really didn't get any deeper or darker. Mixed with honey, the light, flowery tea was very tasty and wonderful on my sore throat, and when I let it get cool to simulate an iced application it was even more soothing. I suppose it was just my expectations that prevented me from enjoying it as much as I could have.

All in all, I'd give the tea a 4/5 because I prefer my spiced teas spicier. This is just my own nitpicking, though: I'm sure anyone else would love this tea, and I definitely recommend it!


Also, the Lumpy Loves You giveaway is now officially CLOSED! Thank you all for participating! The winner will be announced later this week.

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!!

Oh noooo! An out of schedule post! Well, consider this one a freebie ♥


So I'm thinking of adding a monthly segment, at the end of the month, of the music that has really inspired me for the past thirty-odd days. Here's the first installment - let me know what you think!

Iron and Wine - Boy with a Coin
This entire post should really be Iron and Wine, because after buying their album The Shepard's Dog (bestbestbest ever), it's pretty much all I've been listening too. That being said, this has always been my favorite song on this album. I first discovered Iron & Wine at the hippie tearoom I worked at, and this song has haunted me ever since Soul of the World closed. I finally caved and bought the CD. Best idea ever.






Emilie Simon - Dame de Lotus
Emilie Simon is relatively well-known amongst lolitas, I would say. I've always loved this song, especially because of my lotus tattoo. I love that Simon and I found profundity in the same ancient, moderately obscure Buddhist symbolism :)



The Archer - Splashdown
This is another perpetual favorite of mine. Splashdown is one of those bands that I can never seem to get enough of. Their songs are all so detailed, from interesting, symbolic lyrics to multiple levels of musical production. This song is particularly beautiful, and suits the sleepy peacefulness of early summer at twilight to me.



What have you guys been listening to lately?

Now, I'm not a huuuuge Katy Perry fan. She's adorable, and I love that she's so refreshing with her fashion and her look in general; her outfits tend to resemble everything from retro pin-ups sugar-overload-sweet lolita, and her video for her newest single is no exception. I heard the song on the radio and was utterly unimpressed; sure, it's catchy, but the lyrics are boring and I can't relate to them at all, being from clear across the country (is this how people feel when they hear songs about New York City?). Then, I saw the music video. While I still can't say much for the song's actual integrity, I'm definitely warming up to it after seeing the on-screen interpretation, which is Snoop Dogg playing Candyland with Katy Perry as his placemarker. Of course, because this is American pop culture, though, we can't just let Candyland be Candyland and instead it's full of scantily clad women doing choreographed dance and Miss Perry lounging naked on a cloud of cotton candy. However... it's pretty damn adorable either way.

Katy Perry - New Music - More Music Videos

Apparently the idea is that Snoop is some kind of Oz-like ruler of Candyfornia and he's imprisoning all of these California Girls whom Katy Perry has to rescue, and then at the end they storm the castle and with the power of whipped cream-shooting breasts and shaking booties, dethrone him and bury him in the sand. Wut? I know, I know, but it's just so cute! I know most of my viewers tend towards classic lolita like I do, but I figured lolitas would best appreciate this, even non-sweet girls; Candyfornia totally puts Sugary Carnival to shame!