Seeing as it's Women's History Month, I figured it would be appropriate to discuss one of my historical lolita fashion inspirations: Empress Elisabeth of Austria.I've come across paintings of Empress Elisabeth a few times during my studies and have always found her elegant garments striking, but it was only after coming across an image of the gown from her Hungarian coronation (seen at left, and further below) that I really realized her potential as inspiration for classic lolita style. Characters such as Alice and Anne of Green Gables are sometimes cited as inspirational for toned down sweet-classic styles, but in my opinion, for the increasingly-popular OTT classic style, Empress Sisi is the figure to emulate. While she may have had her own problems and plenty of habits which you wouldn't want to mimic, her fashions are definitely worthy of praise.

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of Hungary, also called "Sisi," was a Bavarian-born monarch of the mid-late 19th Century. Though she ruled Austria for 44 years, she found the atmosphere of the court stifling and often traveled around the continent alone, developing a deep kinship with the rulers of the more relaxed Hungary. She helped to bring about the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, and she was also a huge fashion icon, both during her life and afterwards. Unfortunately, she suffered with severe anxiety, anorexia, and depression for most of her life, particularly after the death of her children.

If you find Empress Elisabeth's style inspiring like I do, you should know that we're in good company! Not only has she personally been portrayed in many films and plays over the past century, but her sense of style has cropped up in other productions as well. If you've seen the 2005 movie rendition of Phantom of the Opera, the dress at the left probably looks very familiar to you; Sisi's get-up in the portrait "Empress Elisabeth of Austria with Diamond Stars on Her Hair" by Franz Xaver Winterhalter served as inspiration for one of Emmy Rosum's stage costumes in the film.

Empress Sisi's Hungarian coronation gown, as mentioned above

Empress Sisi's Style

If you want to emulate the empress yourself in a classic lolita coordinate, here are a items you should consider including:

• Thick, complex braids
• Luxurious materials befitting a queen and empress, such as velvet, rhinestones, and pearls
• Natural elements like ivy wreaths, flowers, sea shells, or jewels which mimic the stars
• Purple, her favorite color, or other jewel tones, which suited her pale complexion and dark hair, though she also wore quite a bit of ivory
• Necklines that show a generous amount of decollete or corsets with waspish waistlines, as these were fashionable during her reign
• Accessories: gloves, fans, and double-stranded pearl necklaces were all favored by the empress
• Hair pieces: tiaras, flower wreaths, and veils, because how could you not?!

For this Sisi-style coordinate, I took inspiration from the luxurious styles of the European royal courts of the nineteenth century. Lavish fabrics like velvet and chiffon combine with naturally-opulent materials like gold and pearls, and an elegant corset emphasizes the waist and decollete. Elisabeth often spent hours at a time getting her hair done, so this outfit is paired with artistically-wrought braids and a golden flower-motif crown. I included as many items as I could which created a juxtaposition between the natural and the luxurious, as these motifs played out in the empress's fashion statements quite often.

Who is your fashion inspiration? 

If there are any other historical fashionistas you'd like to see featured,

let me know in the comment section below!

You may also like:

Inspiration: Aliena, As You Like It

Literary Lolita: Drawing Inspiration

More inspirational posts

What I wore:

Gothic Lolita for the Misako Aoki tea party in New York City!

Accessory closeup for my gothic lolita coordinate!

It's been ages since I went to a large lolita fashion meetup! This meet was sponsored by RuffleCon, for which I'm on the Board of Directors, who hosted a raffle for attendees (which I donated to!). Conveniently, it was located at Dove Parlour, a bar I love in the West Village.

I was honestly a bit overwhelmed during the meet itself! Like I said, I don't attend large meets very often, so being in close quarters with over a hundred fluffy ladies was a bit much for me. I expected to do more socializing and meeting new people, but when my friends and I snagged seats at a table in the back, I was worried to leave and lose my spot! But luckily there were some friends of friends I had never met who joined us, so I did get to meet SOME new people.

It was also difficult to get good photos while we were there- the lighting wasn't very good (obviously, as it's an underground bar!) and it was a bit too cold to get photos outside, but I managed to get a few decent enough to post here.

Gothic lolita outfit shot:

Full outfit shot

Rundown:

JSK: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright's Pocket Embroidery

Blouse and fur: vintage

Leggings: Victoria's Secret PINK, with UniQlo tights underneath

Shoes: Payless

Headpiece: handmade

Accessories: handmade or offbrand

Ankle bows, not really shown: Tutu Anna

Close-up showing my gothic makeup, thrifted necklace, and
handmade headpiece

The BABY, the Stars Shine Bright jumperskit was a last minute wardrobe addition as well. I wanted a new party dress for this, and specifically one by BABY (Misako's favorite brand), so I scoured the secondhand communities and managed to find this beauty exactly in my price range, and in my size! It's one of the many rereleases of the iconic Pocket Embroidery jumperskirt, and I love all of the little details - the buttons, the pintucks, and of course the embroidery. It's also SO comfortable! I'll definitely be wearing it in more casual applications come summertime.

I had so much fun making that headpiece! My friend Remi and I got snowed into my apartment for a weekend to make them. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a good shot of it yet, but it consists of a headband covered in black velvet, with black roses (small ones with gold rhinestones, one big one with glitter-tipped petals), black birdcage netting (!), a small black crow (!!) and a bunch of purple grapes (!!!). I haven't gotten over it yet! It's isn't the first large headpiece I've made myself, but it's certainly my favorite, and a style I've never done before. Definitely the first of many, though!

Verdict: I'm definitely getting more and more into gothic lolita. Classic lolita style will always be my favorite, but gothic is coming in a close second, especially while the weather is so drab! Maybe once spring comes I'll be drawn back to my creams and browns, but even in my daily wear I'm so drawn to the darker spectrum these days...

How about you all? Has the weather where you are (whether you're currently trudging through snow like me, or sunny beaches if you're in the southern hemisphere) affected your color palette and preferred styles like it has for me, or are you one of those folks who always keeps to the same staples year-round?

Hello all, time for another Lolita Blog Carnival! This week's theme, aptly, was romantic outfits for Valentine's Day. Originally I wasn't going to submit for it, but I remembered this afternoon that I have a photoshoot which would be perfect for the theme! And since I've been meaning to post it for weeks now, I figured this was as good a time as any.

This is from a photoshoot my boyfriend and I did during the first snowfall of the season! It was really exciting then, but now that I'm wallowing under almost 4 feet of the stuff I'm kind of over it...

There are plenty of reasons why this is a great outfit for Valentine's Day. First, the luxurious fabrics like velvet, satin, lace, and vintage fur are perfect for the holiday. Secondly, the color palette reminds me of something a Moulin Rouge dancer would wear, and third, the french braided hairstyle adorned with a vintage rose hairpiece makes is lovely and wonderfully festive!

Aforementioned french braided hairstyle

Outfit Rundown:

❤Top: Offbrand velvet riding jacket

❤Skirt: The Black Ribbon

❤Hair flower and fur: Vintage

❤Harness: COVEN

❤Tights: Offbrand from Japan

❤Heels: Payless

❤Bracelet: Purchased at ConnectiCon

And one more detail shot, for good measure! You can just barely see the rhinestone and flocked velvet detail on the back of the tights.

I'll probably do a post with more photos from the shoot, since I'm fairly happy with how they came out, but for now, here are some more romantic outfits from other members of the LBC!

Vanillas Traumfrabrik

Daily Fuckery

Lolita Glamour

Breiðholt

Pink Lace and Glitter

Under the Parasol

New Vogue Children

Pretty Little Habits

Northern Star

Sweet and Simple

Beyond Kawaii

Whimsical Adventures of Me

There, I said it.

I've been thinking it for years, waxing poetic to friends, dropping hints on my blog, but now I have to just come out and own up to the fact that I think offbrand lolita outfits are way better than brand-based lolita fashion coordinates. They require more creativity, are more often personal, and can be a much more accessible investment for individuals who can't or don't want to throw down an entire paycheck for one dress.

My favorite offbrand/indie brand lolita outfit - click here for full post!

Now, don't get me wrong - I love me some brand. I went through a period, like most lolitas do, of feeling like the only worthwhile coordinates were 90% made up of designer pieces, and in all honesty I found most lolitas' reasoning for not buying brand to be a cop out. Oh, you can't afford it? Save up and stop buying the cheap crap that comes up on the sales comm. You're too big for it? Whatever, people sell fully shirred stuff all the time - it's not like I'm typical brand-size and I manage. Needless to say, I'm really happy to have changed my mind - and also grown the heck up - about other lolitas' wardrobes as well as my own.

Here's why:

Fashion blogger Lessie in a handmade
classic lolita dress

Brand-name lolita is designed specifically to suit the lolita fashion aesthetic. It's easy to look like a doll when you're buying from a company which probably invests hundreds of thousands of dollars per year into clothes which do exactly that. As a community, we sort of agreed years ago that it takes very little finesse to be a lolita if all you do is buy the entire pre-coordinated series when it's released, and then throw it on with a pre-styled wig and tea party shoes. I'm happy to see that we've moved past that; heck, I remember a brief period when it was a taboo to mix more than one brand in a single coordinate. Talk about hindering creativity! This isn't to say that I hate brand or the people who wear it; for formal gatherings that are about dressing to the nines, I still favor brand because it sends a message to other lolitas that one is pulling out all the stops. However, for smaller gatherings and even just for my aesthetics in general, I think that outfits which center around non-brand items are just generally more appealing and creative from a third-party standpoint.

Coordinate by Pinkly Ever After, featuring their
Darling Sugar Cake OP Dress

Any article of clothing in a coordinate which didn't come from a big brand is one of three things. First, it might be something they've bought from a non-lolita store, which requires ingenuity either in altering it to be perfect or in every single time it's coordinated. Or, the second option is that they bought it from an indie brand, which means they're supporting smaller, independent artisans. Third and finally, they could wear something they've handmade themselves, which requires immense skill and time devotion; even something which is poorly made requires far more dedication that buying brand because the creator had to design it, buy the materials, and put their own time into creating it.

A gothic coordinate by Ms. Thea Elizabeth featuring a handmade skirt

Lolita fashion is also a huge investment. If you're a lolita who dresses up often but also has a day job, it's ridiculous to expect that you'll shell out a thousand bucks on a completely brand-name coordinate when you also need to furnish yourself with, for example, an office-friendly wardrobe. That's to say nothing of feeding yourself/your family, paying the bills, and all the other things which demand our time and money that aren't lolita fashion. And even which are! Meetups and conventions can suck the money right out of that Angelic Pretty wallet. Unless you live a block from all of your lolita friends and your local community's favorite meetup idea is to sit in your house talking (not eating or drinking or watching anything), participating in your local lolita community costs money. If you're budgeting yourself very carefully for one reason or another, you can't always afford the big brand AND the events you'd be wearing it to.

Offbrand-based classic lolita, featuring a skirt by Dix Macabre

But Lumpy, I hear you say, there are plenty of options out there for acquiring brand - they don't have to buy directly from the store! Sure, they can check Mbok or Yahoo!Japan Auctions or any of our many sales comms, but you forget - even if that saves money, that can still cost a huge investment of time and effort, which many people just don't have. Personally, when I get home from my ten-hour days, the act of devising and making myself dinner is sometimes all the effort I can really bring myself to put forth (hello, blogging twice a month max!) Weekends I spend doing things for myself, and sometimes that's shopping online, but more often it's going out with my boyfriend, crafting with friends, writing, or playing video games. That's to say nothing of people who work more than me, or have more obligations or less cash than I do. Everyone has their reasons. Like I've said before: privilege, 'n stuff.

Dancing in celebration of offbrand lolita!

I can see why a lot of lolitas are attached to brand, though. In the end, lolita is really all about luxury, and if you only wear it for big events, it's not too unreasonable to expect that you'll be able to save up and create some really lovely coordinates out of only designer items. And not only will they look great, they'll probably make you feel amazing - there isn't much as exhilarating as slipping into a dress you've earned, that you saved up for and that you know you deserve.

But these outfits... will they be innovative? Will they inspire? Will they be an honest test of your coordinating abilities, your sartorial prowess, your ability to weave lowly, lackluster pieces into truly jaw-dropping elegance? Maybe this is just my opinion - but I'll bet they won't.

More resources for going brand-free:

Ramble Rori: Indie Brands You Should Be Buying From

Ramble Rori: Indie Brands You Should Be Buying From - UPDATED!

F Yeah Offbrand!

Indie Lolita Brand Shop List

What do you think? Do you prefer offbrand lolita outfits, or brand?

International Lolita Day was wonderful this year - exactly what I've been needing these past few months. Spending the evening with beautiful, fierce ladies at first a scrumptious tea and then drinks at the beautiful Dove Parlor really reminded me of what I love so much about this fashion: expressing myself through my appearance, and being surrounded by people who value doing the same.

Rundown:

♥ Headbow: BABY, the Stars Shine Bright ♥
♥ JSK: Alice and the Pirates ♥
♥ Cutsew: Angelic Pretty ♥
♥ Choker: Offbrand, purchased at ConnectiCon ♥
♥ Wig: GLW, I think? Scored it in a trade! ♥

I busted out the brand this time in honor of international lolita day! For the most part, I've been strictly avoiding brand in my coordinates lately - it's never fit me right, and honestly it just feels like putting together a nice coordinate out of offbrand items is so much more rewarding for me. It's much more of a challenge, in my opinion, and therefore it's far more satisfying.

I'm so thankful to Martha for organizing this beautiful event and for taking these photos as well! It was really a lovely evening, and I'm so grateful to have been a part of it.

 And in closing, I leave you with this ubiquitous train selfie, the crux of all good lolita outfit posts: