Week 18: Tips for adding Offbrand to a Lolita Wardrobe

This shall be my first post as part of the Lolita Blog Carnival & I'm so happy with the topic...BECAUSE...Before, I could barely afford brand items, so I was constantly mixing offbrand into my coordinates...& I still do ^_^

First of all, Blouses are a must have for Lolitas...to either wear with a skirt or wear under a jsk ;)
Things I look for:
1) Peter Pan Collar: This gives that nice vintage~y doll look & is perfect with sweet or classic.  
2) Ruffles or some kind of lace embellishment or embroidery: This adds the frillyness to an outfit & can be good for any style, like sweet, classic to even kodona.
3) Cute decoration: This would be ribbons, bows, a cute print, design...& it's even better if the sleeves are slightly pouffy for that girly feel.
4) Blouses with a high collar: perfect for a more Gothic look ^^

Here are a few examples of what i've found:

 Peter Pan collar top from Lands End found at Goodwill (not including brown top...i keep it that way in my closet ;P )

and a cute white ruffly top from Sears: Brand: South Pole

 And here are 2 chiffon tops from Forever21 since Chiffon is one of the latest trends in Lolita ;)

I just LOVE these b/c I can still wear long sleeves &not melt in it ;P

 Along with the peterpan collar top, I found this beautiful blue one during one of my trips to Goodwill & a friend even thought it was a Brand blouse ;)

Next, I like to occasionally wear pretty socks or stockings with my outfits and I've managed to find some pretty nice ones at places like Payless, Icing, Forever21, Charlotte Russe & even Hot Topic ^^

 Things I look for: I personally like the Lace-up look...as well as cute prints: bows, hearts, lace

And lately,patterned tights are becoming very popular to wear with Lolita clothing ;D

My 3rd offbrand find has been footwear & i've managed to get away with mainly wearing mary janes or cute pumps with my outfits...I'd like to get a nice Brand pair of shoes one day XD

Things I look for: rounded toe, mary jane style with the strap going across or even tstrap shoes look nice.  Also, boots are always good, either knee high, ankle length, zip-up or lace-up ^^

 From left to right: My AMAZING find @ Goodwill: ivory victorian style boots...I was so happy when they fit ^_^

One of the best items payless had: VW look alike flats ;)

And a nice classic pair of mary janes(from Sears i think)...I actually have a few of these & various pumps and also, Oxfords can make for a nice kodona/school girl look ;D

Finally, last, but not least: ACCESSORIES!!

A lot of the time, i'm too lazy to actually style my hair & or wear a wig, so I usually wear some kind of hair accessory.

Things I look for: bows, lace, pearls or other fancy embellishments in the styles of Headbands, hair clips, any berets & mini hats.

I was super into the mini hat trend, so I bought a bunch of them...all from Icing ;D

Also, even though a beret is plain, it's easy to embellish it ^^

The ivory beret has a red bow I took off from another headband...& I clipped on the Chocomint stars clip to my black somewhat punky beret.

I also LOVE wearing rings with my outfits ^_^

Things I look for: bows, cameos, and anything else that might match a print I own (example: my cross ring matches Hymn print Perfectly ^^

And this thinking is used for other jewelry items as well: necklace, earrings, bracelets.

Also, Icing has a nice selection of gloves & even wrist cuffs ;)

And now, here are some examples of my outfits where I used some of these offbrand items ;D

 For a lot of these, the brand i'm accenting is Bodyline, since that's all I could afford for a while...
Now, I have more main Lolita Brand items, but I still like to incorporate offbrand into it ;)

 Brand: IW camisole; Kidsoyo beret /Offbrand: blouse, socks, shoes, skirt(handmade)

 Brand: Bodyline jsk, hairbow, bag/ Offbrand: turtleneck top, cardigan, socks, shoes

 Brand:Bodyline skirt, socks/ Offbrand: beret, blouse; Wholesale or ebay: bag & shoes

Brand: Bodyline skirt, socks/ Offbrand: blouses, shoes, gloves(vintage)/ Everything else is either handmade or thrifted & embellished ^^

Brand: AATP JSK; Bodyline sleeves(detached from blouse)/ Offbrand:necklace, rings, tights, boots, bag(from ebay)

Brand: MMM JSK; Bodyline socks; Montreal shoes/Offbrand: blouse, gloves & bag

 Brand: IW JSK, bag, (ears made from iw fabric); Bodyline socks(i think) /Offbrand: blouse, teddy bear bag, shoes

And now, here are some other LBC members with their tips:

jessiedressesup

RambleRori

ImaPrincess

eglcommunity

artdunoir

derpie.me

lace-a-la-mode

geishababy

tangled-lace

thebloodyteaparty 

minimalistlolita

Dreaming of Carousels & Carnivals ;D

I have ALWAYS loved going to carnivals & riding the carousel growing up, so naturally, I'm drawn to almost ALL of the Lolita Carousel prints...& I've owned a few for a while...but then ended up selling them...

 I bought this handmade Sweet Rococo print skirt & then embellished it with eyelet lace on the bottom...& I even made waistties...but I only wore it once...& then sold it...somehow the color & pattern never quite matched :/

 then after much debating, I bought the highly coveted Bodyline carousel bag & skirt ;D

I had every intention of wearing it, but somehow the measurements were different & it just barely fit me :(  I ended up selling these as well...

And finally, I managed to snag a brand skirt: Angelic Pretty's Twilight Carnival ^_^

NOT the jsk...I got the skirt ;) but I got it in Ivory, like the picture ^^

Now, this skirt was SUPER PRETTY & I loved everything about it...but...the design of it was weird & it was unfortunately too tight for me :(  So, this one was sold as well...

And after all that, I sort of gave up on the idea of owning any carousel prints...but then...new ones started popping up ;D

First I saw was IW's Merry-go-round

I much prefer the onepiece version as it looks a little more classy ^^

 And of course, there's an amazing matching bag, which helped sway me ^^

But then...AP is coming out with Day Dream Carnival & there's this very lovely JSK version with some chiffon detailing...and the matching tights are super cute ^_^  I wasn't in love when I first saw it, but more & more it's growing on me...And, I'm planning to buy a new Lolita wig, which will look AMAZING with this, so I'm even more tempted... ;D

But...before all that, I need to first sell a bunch of Lolita items I don't wear/haven't worn and then, reorganize my collection(i'm getting more too)...BEFORE buying any new prints...but who knows, maybe this year, I will finally get a carousel print I like XD

Surprise find ^^

I REALLY wanted to find a nice Lolita/vintage looking bag to wear with my classy items, like JetJ & AATP, so I would check out the comm sales, brand sites, closet child...but I didn't find one I really liked :/

Then, I decided to try Etsy since I wanted a vintage look as well...& I came across an interesting listing:
Someone was selling a bag, book, gloves & handkerchief all together ^_^

I debated about it for about a minute & then just decided to buy it XD
So, here it is, my "Church Lady Set" ^_^

Items were packed in newspaper & styrofoam

And first, was the hymnal ^^

 then, a lovely handkerchief & gloves that actually fit me ^_^

Then, the bag, which is worn, but in pretty good condition.

 And it's not too bad a size ;)

 I just love how simple & dainty everything is ;) AND, when I saw the set, I immediately thought of pairing it with...

My AATP Hymn OP ^_^

I can picture doing a photoshoot with these items...maybe in front of or near a church...or maybe in a garden...but I STILL need to find or make a headpiece to go with it ;P

Innocent World LP "Fashion Show/shoot"

A friend asked me to do a "fashion show" with my IW lucky pack items...& I had JUST cleaned the room a bit...SO, I thought i'd give it a try ^_^  It ended up being a lot of fun & it was great thinking of different accessories to use with the pieces ;)  Although, I kept it very fashion show like & kept the same blouse(frill ribbon standing collar blouse in navy) , tights from icing & a pair of maryjanes for each coord ;D

I'd like to imagine some darkly epic background music is playing while wearing these outfits XD
And just ignore the fact that I'm the one taking pics of myself in the mirror ;P And, i'm wearing glasses since i'm too lazy to put on contacts ;P

Anyways, Enjoy! ^^

 JSK w/ a vest worn w/ my new Chess Story Mad Hatter jacket

 And w/out the jacket

 Rose Panel 2-WAY JSK in navy & I decided to hold some flower
(I think i'm gonna sell this one though... ;P )

 Acanthus short jsk in black w/ handmade cape(not by me) & handmade birdcage crown(by me)

 and w/out the cape

A close-up of the design on the acanthus jsk

My pack was very dark themed, so I went w/ Gothic/Classic coordinates ;)

MORE LOLITA SHOPPING & BABY SF review ^^

Along with the excitement of Lucky Pack season...I also made other awesome purchases through the comm sales AND I recently did another BABY SF order ^_^

But first, the comm sales loot ;)

I've been slowly building up my Lolita Wardrobe & trying to find Wishlist items...so, here are some recent hauls ^^

 1) A Lolita winter item: BTSSB's bunny eared cape ^_^

I actually really wanted a lolita coat, but...I'll probably melt here, so I figured a cape would be close enough & keep me warm ^^

 the bonus is definitely the bunny ears XD

2) Outerwear ^^ Chess Story Mad Hatter Jacket

Okay, so this is kind of an impulse buy, but i am majorly OBSESSED with all things Alice in Wonderland themed, so I HAD to get this ;) Plus, a jacket like this will be good for Kodona ;D

3) And then...the wishlist item: AATP Grimoire of the Moonlight Forest corset skirt ^_^

I fell in love with this print first, because the print has a nice vintage feel, so I can wear it in Lolita styles as well as Dolly Kei coords ;)  The name also made me want it too ^^

And now...my 2nd BABY SF review...i think ;D

One key item that i have ALWAYS been missing in my Lolita wardrobe has been...a Parasol ^_^

And not just any parasol, a very frilly one to be used during meetups & such ;)

I would see them on the comm sales, but the prices were always a bit too much...especially shipping...so i got discouraged...And then, a friend of mine was telling me about her experiences ordering from the SF Baby store & so after a couple of successful orders with them, I thought, maybe I can get a parasol from them? Unfortunately, at the time, the SF store was not shipping parasols ANYWHERE :(  I was then convinced I'd have to either find a shopping service or just pick one up if I ever got the chance to go to the SF...

AND THEN...one day on the BTSSB SF fb page, they announced that they were now SHIPPING PARASOLS ^_^

ECSTATIC, I quickly inquired about their stock of parasols to see if there were any I wanted...& Lo & behold, they had a white one in a design I liked ^^

After a few more emails with the store about another item, I ended up just buying the parasol and...IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT XD

First of all, it came in super secure packaging AND the shipping was a decent price, under $20 ;D

I'm definitely satisfied with ordering through this store & I'm so glad I kept waiting & didn't just buy one off the comm sales...b/c now i have a beautiful brand new one & i can't wait to use it ^_^

Okay, time for Pictures ;D

 I have a twin sized bed, so u can imagine how big this is O_O

 Super secure packaging ^_^ they put paper at the ends as well, so it wouldn't move around

 & they even wrapped it in one of their shopping bags ;)

 twisty tie for the neck part

 And after taking off all the tape pieces (there were a lot)...there it is, my new parasol ^_^

It's their Rich Frilled Umbrella in white ;)

 And...i may get bad luck for this, but...I opened it to show the fullness & ruffles ;D

There's even some bling by the logo ;D

I'd also like to say that the BABY SF store ships out SUPER FAST every time & I can receive my item/s in as little as 3 days...i'm DEFINITELY going to keep ordering with them...especially since the main online shop changed their policies ;P

Innocent World Lucky Pack ^_^

There is a very special time happening for Lolitas everywhere...& that is...FUKUBUKUROU or LUCKY PACKS ^_^

Last year (2011) I managed to get a Metamorphose lucky pack, which was a little over $100 & i got a blouse, skirt & headband ;D  And even though I got some amazing items, I ended up selling the skirt mainly b/c it wasn't a great fit on me :/  

And so...i decided i wouldn't do any Lolita lucky packs this year (2012/2013)...but then...I kept checking the LJ lucky packs thread & I saw that Innocent World started having theirs up for reserve...& that temptation got the better of me & I gave in & got the "cheapest" Happy Pack A, which was still over $300 ;P

I was going to wait until December to purchase it, but i started reading about how one should order early b/c supply is limited...they good stuff will be gone...etc etc...SO, at the end of November, I placed my order...which ended up being the smarter move, since the next week...they took down the reserves saying everything sold O_O

Overall, ordering went pretty smoothly:
Nov 28: placed order online
Dec 5: paid for lucky pack
then, i figured i'd have to wait until Jan for them to start shipping them out...but then...
Dec 26: Lucky pack shipped out XD
Now, everything was going well up to this point, but then...my package got stuck in customs :/
It ended up being a little better than my jetj dress, but I still had to pay the customs fee...
& then the package finally arrived today(Dec 2) ^^

And after coming home & settling down a bit...i quickly opened the box & checked out the loot...& I was NOT DISAPPOINTED ^_^  Now, what everyone waits for...PICTURES XD

 As always, a lovely note from Mai Sakamoto & my receipt ^^

1) High collar blouse...which i thought was black...but after looking it up...i'm pretty sure it's 

the Frill Ribbon Standing Collar blouse in Navy ^^

 http://lolibrary.org/node/9533

2) I believe these are the Dot Ribbon OTK socks in brown/beige...i think ;)

A friend has the black version ^^

3) Rose Panel 2 WAY JSK in Navy...i think...there's no black, so it must be navy ;)

when i first tried this on, it didn't fit that well...but i think i'll try it again before deciding to sell it or not ^^

http://lolibrary.org/node/8863

 4) This one i knew immediately...Acanthus short JSK in black ^_^

I was hoping i would get this print & when i saw it i was sooo happy XD

It's such a beautiful print & I just love the embellishment at the top ^^

 http://lolibrary.org/node/8385

Last but not least, Another black jsk called JSK with a vest...&...i thought the print was polka dots...but...it's actually a TRUMPS PRINT O_O 

OMG! this dress just became a MILLION TIMES MORE AMAZING ^_^

http://lolibrary.org/node/8292

And with that, I got my interestingly Dark themed Lucky Pack XD

Which was the PERFECT pack for me today after listening to vkei all morning & @ work ;) And!  there's no such thing as too much black ;D  I also feel like maybe the IW people must know me...since there's no pink in this either, heh ^_^

Next, I'd like to try & get one of the bigger packs...& hopefully get a bag in it :3