On Japan

So, this is absolutely not what I had in mind to be posting when I finally get back to the blog, and I know it's kind of awkward to be blogging about about shock over a devastation like this on a snarky fashion/lifestyle blog (though, Tokyo Fashion gets major props for keeping me updated; they get the pass 'cause they're blogging from Tokyo), but I promise this isn't overdue woes and worries about people in Japan right now, though they all have my prayers. All of it is done in my Twitter (look to the right; I am still alive guys) and facebook, as are most things so I don't just clutter this blog with non-lolita-related thoughts. I'm putting this up here because this blog has several followers, unlike my serious art blog (also the the right. Seriously, look over there more).

...Jeez, that's a giant run on sentence up the–oh fuck it, I'm not going to edit that shit.

See. Still me regardless.

Anyhow, I know we're all watching the news and e-mailing our friends/families/idols/shopping services people, and some of us are donating. I'm posting quickly to state that I firstly recommend 1000 Cranes for Japan as a way that you can help out. As those of us on the more weeboo side of things know, there is a belief in Japan that folding 1000 origami cranes will give you a wish. This group is selling crane earrings and bookmarks and sending the profits to the Red Cross. Giving is great, but it's a cynical truth to life that most people tend to be more willing to give when they get a present than not, unless they're directly cornered with guilt or are somehow directly effected by whatever we are donating for.

I'm buying a pair for myself after this. *cough* (Just kidding, I do donate when I can and encourage people to do the same through the right causes.)

On top of that, they are also getting artists in on the project where the artists pledges that they will send a drawing to whoever gives $10 to the Red Cross and e-mails them proof of their contribution. I've decided to help out in this effort by contributing ink and limited color drawings for $10 donations to the Red Cross with an email to me (at CerridwenStorms@gmail.com) showing proof and your address. I'm considering drawing a full color print for $15 contributions as well. I'll be doing this with the 1000 Crane project until April, which is how long they're doing the donations. I'll be cross posting from my art blog with further details and samples (though you can already get an idea of what you could be getting from what I already have in there).

UPDATE: The print, alas, is not happening, at least not before April. However, I will still be doing ink drawings for anyone donating and emailing me proof. The drawings will be black ink on 6x6in bristol with limited color touches.

Lolita(-esque) Music Beyond the J-rock

I’m moving back into my dorm next week and then starting up class again right, so I’ll legitimately be busy. I wanted to get this up, since it’s sadly/happily illustration free and relatively fast to put up.

Obviously, this blog has a lot of musical influence, and I like the idea of coordinating outfits to the feel of some music or a period of musical influence. I know there are posts about what music is lolita to whoever on several forums and groups for lolita, but here are some of my lolita-inspiring favorites.


Blondie

Punk and quite grown up, but girly with a sweet side. Just like what lolita fashion is to me. What’s not to love? Plus, they wrote my favorite song of theirs in both English and French, and there’s this big Francophile thing going on in lolita fashion [i.e. Magical Etoile, Paris Window and everything Marie Antoinette].

And I’ll admit to being a sucker for French things almost as much as I’m a complete Anglophile. I’ll pin the blame on my sister bossing me around in French and getting me into Shakespeare at a young age.





Brigitte Bardot

Speaking of French things; if you didn’t know what this awesome upbeat piece from Sophia Coppola’s Miss Dior Cherie commercial, it’s Moi Je Joue . I got the Best of Brigitte Bardot, and it’s pretty much my soundtrack for sweet lolita days.





Message of Rouge by Yumi Arai

Ok, this is only one song and it’s J-pop, but this song is freakin’ adorable and has a really groovy (yes, groovy) classic rock ‘n’ roll sound to it. Everyone around me knows I’m a sucker for retro stuff, and I looooove ‘50s/‘60s inspired lolita looks. It’s part of the reasons why I adore Meta. Plus, this was on the soundtrack for Kiki’s Delivery Service in the original Japanese, and Kiki has one rockin’ headbow, aside from being my favorite Ghibli flick.





Pizzicato Five

Alright, another J-pop group, but again, it’s not VK or Nana and I’m a vintage girl, so they go right in. Plus, the song below was on the sweetest episode of Futurama (the one where Leela meets her parents). Really, I squealed when this started playing in the montage at the end of that episode. If you like lounge and retro music, totally check them out.






Siouxsie and the Banshees

Like Blondie, they’re punk (or goth or both, depending on who you’re talking to), but they have a sweet and girly-ness to them. Plus, first track on the Marie Antoinette soundtrack. Really, I might not be the biggest Sophia Coppola fan, but her cinematography and soundtrack choices are fantastic.



(Hnnngh, is that Tom Hardy’s sexy mouth at 1:42? I think it is.)




Buddy Holly

His songs are just adorable and I’m again a sucker for retro stuff. This song gets extra points for being on the soundtrack of Big Fish, which is one of my favorite movies and what I would like to theme my wedding around.



Something magical to add: I was just listening to this on my iTunes and when it was done, Weezer started playing. It would be better if it were Buddy Holly, but it’s Island in the Sun. Alas.




Rasputina

Quirky, chamber, creepy and over all very nice to listen to. If you’re a fan of Kanon Wakeshima, you’ll probably like them.






David Fuckin’ Bowie

I shouldn’t even be explaining this one. The dude use to wear dresses and make-up but could make women pregnant with a look and is still gorgeous at 64. He was doing this shit well before Mana and his music has gone through as many (ch-ch-ch-)changes as his image, but is consistently fantastic. And have you seen Labyrinth? Jareth looks like he stepped out of a Versailles MV, except again, he and that movie predates them. On top of that, he’s the key influence for a movie that not only gave me bitchin’ music, but Ewan McGregor, JRM and Christian Bale all being gorgeously gay for each other in glitter rain.





And last but not least:



Strawberry Switchblade

I was once told that this band was a big influence on lolita fashion. I’m not sure how true that is exactly, but you can totally see in the video below how it’s feasible. Generally speaking, though, looks like this were easy to find in the ‘80s, and that’s really when lolita was starting to seriously form as a look. But yeah; this band. Their music is cute and wonderfully ‘80s.

Oh, god help me...

I made a Twitter. Now if you excuse me, I'll go into the shame corner.

Though, this does at least make for posts of the short shit I'd like to say here sometimes but can never justify. Oh yeah! That's why I did it!

happyface.jpg






[...yeah, no. It's almost 4am. Pretend that there's actually a drawing there.]

Punk (Lolita) Is Not Dead! ...Right?

I was going to do a post about the New Year and how I reflect on what lolita has made me, but fuck that. It was too much me and not enough of what this blog actually is suppose to be. Plus, this has been on my mind a bit, and it kinda goes with EGL's theme for the month and if I ramble as I really should when doing this blog, maybe I'll actually fucking put out something.

Now, it's pretty obvious by now (or should be) that I LOVE punk and love mixing it with lolita. I don't really consider myself that goth for gothic, OTT sweet never really took for me and most classic either doesn't fit me, is out of my price range or both. Primarily, I wear more toned down sweet, punk and really whatever I think looks good, regardless of labels.

But lately, it's been more mixing with punk.


Unfortunately, it's not something I see much of anymore. Really, what happened to it? Did it go away with Nana Kitade's hiatus, or do people just no know how to do it anymore without just throwing on a plaid jsk and studded belt? Is it that OTT sweet has sat it's sugary ass over the dominion of lolita and squashed out the fun but edgy look of pu---wait, this sounds familiar...


...Oh son of a bitch.

Really though, I just went on 4chan and saw a girl ask about rockinghorse shoes on the general lolita thread in /cgl/. I decided to respond, since I'm dying for a pair (thinking about caving to Bodyline again, even though I have tiiiiny US size 5.5 feet and their shoes have run big on me before), but someone posted just moments before I did.


Whaaaaaat?! I did not want to see those words put into print, but really... Go on daily_lolita and search for punk coordinates. There isn't that much up there, and while it's great to see the h.Naoto and Putumayo springing up again, there's a lack to some of the creativity that there was to punk lolita when I got back into lolita, four-five years ago.

Honestly, I'm seeing it start to come back. A little. But really, red and black with a studded belt don't make a loli punk. Look back at some old Nana Kitade. Look into KERA, and you'll find some fucking rad (yeah, I said rad) coordinates that go beyond expectations.

Like, this one from last fall:


I bet you weren't thinking of using Cherry Cherry Fallin' Cherry (...good god, that sounds like a board game) in a punk coordinate. You also don't have to go with dark colors for something to take on a punk aspect. There was also this in KERA not too long ago:


The accessories and hairstyling really reinforce the punk side, while the color scheme and silhouette reinforces the lolita. With punk style, like gothic lolita, it's all about finding the balance between the two subcultural aesthetics.

Punk is an awesome style for lolita because, like OTT lolita, it's highly experimental and you can keep piling on shit and look good. Unlike OTT lolita, you don't have to stick to brand and coordinate a full set to an AP series. Punk is the exact style that off brand is made for, because while Vivienne Westwood is pricey a lot of the original punks deconstructed secondhand for their clothes. Or stole, but I'm not encouraging that.

So, for all you lolis that have admired punk but never thought you could pull it off for some reason, I'm encouraging you to try. Mix and match, watch Nana Kitade's music videos, read some KERA, check out Punk: the Whole Story (which it really isn't, but it's a nice taste to those starting to learn or have a passing interest about the movement and music), listen to the play list on the right and maybe take a trip to a your local punk shop (NOT Hot Topic) or Goodwill and just try it. You might find that it actually can work with what you have.

Clothing Ideas: Sneaker Lolita

I must begin by apologizing for the dead silence. Basically, my return from the turkey massacre went like this:

Luckily, my ass is recovering from the trauma. Don't procrastinate like me, kids. You just get ass-raped by work if you do.

With holiday shopping (and me shopping), I've been looking into additions to my wardrobe that I can make with holiday cash and the ease that I tend to have being off my campus for a month (i.e. not needing to pay for every meal or laundry load). So, going around DSW, initially looking for work shoes to wear to an office job I don't have while my sister looked for herself and considered getting our mother a giftcard, I saw these:


This was a particularly awesome find, since I actually had just been talking about sneakers in lolita with a friend. I really think that sneakers are awfully overlooked in lolita which is sad. They're extraordinarily comfortable, and for urban lolitas, it's really good to have comfortable shoes that are easy to care for and have for more casual meets. Of course, they're beyond difficult to work into classic and gothic style and you certainly can't wear them for a formal meet like a fancy tea party on International Lolita Day, but what about movie meets? Disney World meets? When you're on your feet for a long time, you can rack up a lot of damage if you don't have the right arch or too high a heel, and while there are a lot of alternatives to sneakers like tea parties and rocking horse shoes, I've seen lolita friends' shoes end up getting worn so much that they're beaten to the point where they're loosing their soles, especially since most of them are taobao replicas or Bodyline. Some shoes aren't meant to take the beating of walking cross town in Manhattan several times in a year. I propose that sneakers are a very good alternative to save the live span of your nicer lolita shoes. They're made to take the beating when we need to do a lot of walking and they've been a huge part of fashion for the last few decades, breaking away from their duller gym mold and jumping into many more interesting designs, especially in this past one.

Sneakers look best in more casual coords, but they can work fantastically in more elaborate punk and sweet outfits. There's a fantastic abundance of brightly colored fashion sneakers available, and while they can get pricey... well, firstly, if you're not willing to shell out some serious bucks on foot wear, you're probably in the wrong hobby fashion, and secondly, I'm willing to bet that your folks or S.O.s could be more willing to shell out $40-$80 on sneakers that you can wear just about everywhere but the office than a $250-$300 brand one piece or $150-$20 on a pair of highly embellished lolita shoes.

Another advantage is that with sneakers, you definitely get to play around a lot, as you can with more casual outfits. They add versatility to your wardrobe so that you can wear those loli accessories with your jeans and tee-shirts and balance out everything a lot better. Let's look at the new Chucks I got for example.

I have a coordinate for lolita that I can easily swap out my skirt for jeans and still have a completely working coordinate. I can't really do that with my heart buckle shoes, and my run of the mill boots that I could wear otherwise with other outfits, lolita or day-to-day, really don't add or take from the outfit. The sneakers here, though, are eye-catching but not out of place for both.

For those of you interested in the same pair that I have, you can find them on DSW's site. There were a few more special designs I was going to link like this one, but it's sold out and I haven't seen them elsewhere, sadly. Still, the good thing with Converse is that they come in many designs and colors, and you can even customize a pair for yourself on the site or, if you like to take on craft projects, get a simple white pair and draw on them with fabric markers or paint.



You can also go beyond Chucks, though, and wear more athletic sneakers. A con of this would be that they can be harder to coordinate since, unlike Chucks, they aren't as customizable, as well as the fact that these can get really pricey. A pro is that you now have a good incentive to start running (my sport of choice, btw), and there are also a lot of nice designs and colors of these available that can get you wearing lolita with certain accessories that you didn't think of before. Also, there are some sneakers that give you extra height while not only staying comfortable, but are shaped to give your legs more tone as if you ran regularly just from walking. Who doesn't like having nicer stems?

Honestly, a year ago I would have had my doubts about wearing more athletic-looking sneakers in lolita, since I've seen so many people wear converses before and they're fabulous enough to be featured in Marie Antoinette, but my friend Amber (amanikitty on egl) has work Southpole sneakers with a casual sweet outfit, and I think they work fabulously.


Those other chucks were actually bookmarked with her in mind, but they sold out before I shared them.


So, you might be thinking, "Big deal, you and your friend have worn lolita with sneakers, but I don't think that I've seen any that might work for me..." Well, let's make some fantasy coordinates then, shall we? We could put Meta's recent Kimono Print pinafore with a pair of Ed Hardy's, Meta's Old Rose with a pair from DKNY, AP's Milk-chan in brown with a pair or Pumas and AP's Marionette Girl with a pair of Marc by Marc Jacob. The first and third pairing, though, certainly lend to a lot of other potential coordinates since they're a solid color, but having the second and fourth shoes could really get you thinking about your wardrobe in a different way. For example, accessorizing more solid pale outfits with a lot of gold and cream, in the case of the DKNY sneakers.

There are many other outfits, but I don't want to over flood this article with the possibilities. Plus, in the end, it's all up to you and your own sense of style to really make it work. And also keep in mind that sneakers have this one wonderful thing that can get swapped out to be made just a little bit more girly: shoe laces. Laces can be done up in a variety of interesting patterns and can be bought in many cute ways... or made, if you're really clever about it.

And for those of you who are still doubting hard and thinking that you'll not accept it until you see brand making sneakers... well, you're already late to the party. Done and done.

Now i just need this damn snow to thaw so I can enjoy the first outfit I've coordinated for my boss new kicks.