NEW LOLITA PURCHASE O_O

Since I've been buying so many Lolita items lately, I don't always do a blogpost, but instead just post pics on my fb...but...for this particular purchase I felt I HAD to make a post ^_^

Basically, almost all my Lolita inspirations come from one source: the Gothic & Lolita Bibles XD
And now, I try to buy them as soon as they come out (btw, vol 46 comes out this weekend) ^^
So, when I look in the mooks, i mainly look for new prints/coords, different styling ideas & of course...Wishlist Items ^_^  

Normally I would stay away from the REALLY EXPENSIVE brands & sometimes I don't really obsess over their prints, but from the glbs vol 44 & 45, I fell in love with 2 of them...One was Juliette et Justine's L'annonciation, which I have purchased & i'm now waiting for it to come XD

I bought the bordeux version & I've also JUST gotten the matching tights ^^

In "beige" to match the dress when it comes ^_^

The other print I fell in love with was this Stained Glass print :D

 The problem is it's the "SUPER BRAND": MMM or Moi meme Moitie, designed by MANA SAMA himself..., who's pretty much the originator of the Lolita fashion, so i knew it would be SUPER EXPENSIVE O_O  So...I decided to put that on a pretend wishlist, thinking i could never get it...

Until...

I was perusing the Lolita Sales when I saw someone was selling the underbust version of the print...&...for a not so bad price ;D  But then, looking up the USD conversion, it was SUPER EXPENSIVE, so instead I decided to purchase a necklace the seller had & just expressed interest in the dress...

And then...the seller was SUPER NICE & let me "haggle" with her a bit on the price b/c I wanted 2 items instead of one...Also, during this time, I was selling a bunch of my own items that I haven't or rarely wore, so I managed to collect some extra funds that could possibly go toward this purchase...

SO, after going back & forth a few times, we came to an agreement & I BOUGHT THE JSK & NECKLACE(which was brand as well: AATP) for a Really decent price ^_^ It still left a huge dent in my bank account, ESPECIALLY with the conversion...but...I paid for the items in 2 payments, she shipped it out last week & then this past Monday, I received my package XDD

Unfortunately, i was sick sunday night/mon morning, so i didn't get to open the box until today when i got home, but now...i'm DEFINITELY glad I decided to get it ^_^  It's probably the most expensive Lolita item I will ever purchase, but I think it's Totally worth it XD  & now...PICTURES!!

 Big box it came in ^^

 Extra paper to make sure nothing gets shifted around XD

 And a lovely thank you note from the seller on paper with an MMM print ;D

Items look secure &I love that the necklace was in it's own little bag ^^

 

I was in awe when I laid out the dress...And the fabric is absolutely gorgeous XD

 The print too ;D

 And then...moment of truth...YAY! IT FITS ^_^  & it's actually not too tight...the laceup front can tighten or loosen the waist & bust, so you can choose the type of shape you want ^^

As what I always do...I quickly put together a random coord with the JSK, rosary necklace & my new JetJ tights...now...if only I had the shoes i'm still waiting for...it would be perfect ;D  

*I may update this blog when i do XD *

Lolita Challenge ^^

I have a friend who does the weekly Lolita Blog Carnival challenges/themes...so when she told me last week's one was to make 5 outfits using one main piece...I HAD TO TRY IT XD  

And...it was a little hard, but i'm overall happy w/ what I came up with ^^

Piece I chose: AATP Victorian Card print JSK in green ^_^

1) Otome~ish coord ^^

~as said by a fellow lolita~

My theme for this was "Gold" & I wore the jsk w/ some gold boots, whitexgold coffin purse & gold jewelry XD

"Loli-Dolly"

I am a HUGE fan of Dolly-kei, & my latest passion has been to combine dolly-kei & lolita

I chose all the staple elements of dolly kei: bird headdress(handmade), vintage blouse, brown oxfords, patterned shawl & OF COURSE, a pair of Verum tights ^_^

 3) Classic Lolita

I focused on using Ivory/off-white pieces, but i don't have an ivory purse, so i used a typical item for classic loli...a book shaped bag XD

 4) Pirate Themed ^^

I haven't actually tried to wear the blouse over the jsk, but i'd like to think it would work ;) & my JetJ tights weren't open(at this point), but I figured it would look good with the coord XD

 5) Umm...not sure what to call this...it could be classic too i guess...or Otome i suppose ^^

So, I repeated a style, but a friend gave me the idea that the detachable collar from my Atelier Pierrot dress would look good over this one...so, i tried to work with that idea & I LOVE IT!

I also had another idea including doing an "old school"/EGL coord w/ bell sleeves & RHS ;D

Overall, this theme was hard, but lots of fun ^_^ AND, I've been expanding my collection of other lolita items, like socks, bags, blouses, shoes...so that made it A LOT easier to come up with outfits ^_^ Also, I am almost CRAZY when accessorizing, so you'll notice all my different jewelry pieces for each outfit ;D

Japonica Review ^^

My other recent purchase was also a first for me...My friend & I bid on something on MBOK using Japonica as the service.  I've never done it before, but my friend had...& she understands Japanese A LOT more than me...so, she sent me a copy of the order form & told me where to put my name, paypal & address...& I emailed them right away.

They invoiced me, I paid the deposit & then, within the next 2 days (around halloween), I got an email saying WE WON THE BID ^_^ 

I then got an email from Japonica saying they'll send the final invoice after the item arrives at their office, which was Nov 4th...but...i actually didn't get invoiced until the 6th...which according to my friend was not usual...She said they're usually on top of things...but I just figured they were busy with orders (there's a sale of 50% off commissions going on) ^^

The order was shipped out on the 8th & technically arrived on the 10th, saturday...but then...Monday was a holiday, so the package came today ^_^

Anyways, the whole experience was pretty interesting...&...I don't think I could place a bid myself, but everything worked out in the end & our order arrived in perfect condition XD

 Nice, big, secure box ^^

 They even taped a cardboard piece to make sure things don't move around ;)

 & our items were completely wrapped in bubble wrap, for extra protection ^^

 Even the little hat arrived in tact ^^

 

 My friends purchase: AATP Lock the Pandora's Memories JSK & matching hat ^^

 My purchase: AATP Twilight Circus skirt in ivory

 I've been eyeing out twilight circus for a while now & it's on my Lolita wishlist, so when my friend wanted someone to join in her order, I jumped at the chance ^^  Plus, she's also getting the skirt in another transaction, so now we can twin ^_^

And, I have to admit, I was REALLY worried about the fit, but Lo & Behold! IT ACTUALLY FIT ME...like, I could zip it up & everything ^_^  It is rather tight though, so I could probably lose a little more weight ;P

And now I want to find a lovely brown blouse to wear with it ^_^

OO Jia Review

I know there are a lot of Lolitas that are against replicas, especially ones done by Oo Jia...but as much as I love buying Brand items, I also understand that a lot of people can't afford the more expensive brands, but Love the prints :D

Anyways, my first Replica purchase was through the facebook lolita sales & after checking measurements & a lot of debating...I decided to give in & purchase someone's Oo Jia replica of AP's Chess Chocolate in Faded Ivory ^_^

The sizing isn't perfect, but I couldn't be happier with the print & workmanship ^^  I also really like the faded ivory b/c it looks more like a light lavender/pink than ivory & brown ;)

I got it a while ago, but I just wore it out for the first time to go see the Nutcracker Ballet:

Then, while checking Oo Jia's latest facebook posts...she posted a new bag design...& I HAD to have it!!! 

Transaction details:

Oct 17: placed order (through email only)

Oct 18: invoiced & paid

Oct 21: shipped out

Nov 13: received package (took about 3 weeks, but totally worth it XD )

 a plain white backpack?

 or something more?

 I couldn't resist getting other colors of wings as well: yellow & mint ^^
And 2 straps ;)  Although...one of the white ones is missing the piece to hook onto the bag...other than that, everything arrived in perfect condition!

Lots of room inside ^_^

BIG HINT!!  

Figured it out? or give up? it's...SAKURA'S BACKPACK FROM CARD CAPTOR SAKURA!! XDD

& that's the main reason I HAD to get it...CCS is my all time fave series, so OF COURSE i recognized it as soon as i saw it ^_^

Here's some reference pics:

& now mine:

Needless to say, i'm SUPER HAPPY WITH MY PURCHASE XDDD

& Now I just might cosplay Sakura one day ^^

CREATING MY "DREAM CLOSET" ^^

One thing I recently got into is Buying & Selling Lolita items ;)
At first, it was only old prints that I wore a bunch of times, but didn't think matched me well :/

But lately, I've been selling items that I haven't even worn :(  & the main reason is:
IMPULSE BUYS O_O  

Also, a few problems have come up recently...

Problem 1: I became full time & could actually afford Brand items...So, what did i do? I perused the egl comm sales every day & bought tons of items that I haven't even worn out...

Problem 2: My new full time job has a "bad" benefit...Food is waaay too accessible XP  I was eating a lot more & sitting on my butt most of the day, so...i sadly gained weight...which is another reason I had to start selling items...

But, mainly, I began to really think about what style I like best & now i'm trying to  create a sort of "Dream Closet" ^_^  This, will probably change as the brands come out with more & more new prints...But, I think, after my latest purchases, I should be pretty satisfied with my collection ;D

Following my last wardrobe post I did in Feb, there have been A LOT of changes: 
-I've sold A LOT of my Bodyline items, keeping only a select few as favorites or for future photoshoots ;)  I've also kept all my Bodyline blouses b/c they're really good for making coords ^^

-My BTSSB/AATP collection has GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY!! 
Including Bonnets, blouses & boleros... 

 AATP Victorian Card Print

 BTSSB Alice in Funfair

AATP Hymn Skirt...this is a super dream item, so I was happy to get it XD

-I have upped some other brand items, adding another Teddy bear IW jsk...& my very first AP print, which is a salopette...an ETC skirt AND since Atelier Pierrot came to our local convention...I ended up getting an OP and a blouse...it's so much more tempting when you can touch the dresses & look at all the details...you REALLY see the quality XD  I also purchased a Replica print jsk & even though there's some conflict about that, I really like my replica jsk...i also think the quality is really good XD

IW Museum Bear Long jsk

 AP Ala Carte Tea Party Salopette

ETC Cream Logo skirt

Atelier Pierrot OP w/ detachable collar...the Designer was there to help sell & she instantly persuaded me when she said the collar was detachable ;)  It's such a unique design also, so I snagged it before anyone else saw it XD Definitely gonna be one of my faves ^_^

-My Lolita bag collection has grown as well...ESPECIALLY...odd-shaped bags ^_^
I aquired a Book shaped bag(finally), a tent bag, coffin purse, bow bag & even some printed totes XD

-I have an OVER ABUNDANCE of Lolita socks & tights now...including a pair of Verum ones & some offbrand Cherub printed & tattoo tights ;)

And LASTLY, i'm ALWAYS collecting more & more h.Naoto items...it's just perfect for casual wear & the prints are sooo pretty ^^

 The funny story with this dress is it originally belonged to my friend...& then she sold it to someone else...& then i bought it from that person ;)  And the thing was she always thought i'd match the dress...so in the end, it went to it's rightful owner...perhaps ;D

Anyways, NOW! I've been concentrating on adding some color & more classic prints into my collection...I've been rather drawn to various Religious prints lately & I'm waiting for a JetJ dress as well as an MMM one...which will both be firsts for me...brand-wise...they're the more expensive ones, but totally worth it, so I'm splurging a bit to get them XP

 JetJ L'anonciation

And, I'm always looking for additional items to help complete a coord...shoes, jewelry, hair accessories, i even got my first pair of bloomers, so i'm excited to try them out ^^

Plus, I'm STILL selling a bunch of items to help make space, so hopefully when everything's complete...i shall do another wardrobe post ;D