Lolita reads: Autumn special

Ah, Autumn... My favourite time of year. I love the cool air, the colours and of course chilly autumn days where I can just curl up on the sofa and read to my hearts content. Over the years I have noticed that there are certain types of books I return to every year around this time. 

For the craving of Fairy tales

During this time of year my favourite fairy tale book is definitely Moominvalley in November and other late period moomin books. I love the whimsical gloom of the books and find them deeper and more mature which I think suits the season perfectly. It has this lovely sense of melancholy and letting go.

Other fairy tales I love during autumn are the classic Grimm brother's tales and Perrault's stories and stories about fairies and other spirits of nature.  

Halloween means Horror

Or atleast gothic romance and a lot of vampire stories. It's a pattern for me to read gothic, horror or vampire stories during autumn in general and especially in October. During this summer I aqruided a beautiful edition of In a glass darkly by Sheridan le Fanu and  will likely read it along with Dracula and maybe some of the Vampire Chronicles.

Perfectly poetical

I love poetry at Autumn. Last autumn I read the sonnets of Shakespeare and this year I will probably read some Percy Bysshe Shelley or maybe try to tackle Dante... Not to forget my perennial favourite Charles Baudelaire. I haven't quite decided yet. I like poetry all year around but find romantic, slightly melancholy type the best during autumn.

Other poets that I'd like to read this autumn include my eternal favourite, Edgar Allan Poe and perhaps Kalevala which I haven't read through yet and would like to.

So my dear reader, which books are you planning to read during this season and do you have any preferences that seem to come around every year around the same time? Do share in the comments.

Madame Parapluie

Lolita reads: Queen of fashion.

Last time I reviewed fiction. This time it's time for a little bit of fact as we educate ourselves on the wardrobe of Marie Antoinette, with Caroline Weber's Queen of Fashion, what Marie Antoinette wore to the revolution. We follow her journey from the modest Austrian Arch duchess to the Queen of France and finally on the steps of the Guillotine. 

The book isn't written like traditional biography though the timeline does follow Marie Antoinette's life chronologically.  The writer puts the fashion choices of the queen in to historical context but is more concerned with the actual dresses and the evolution of her style than telling the story of the French revolution. 

Sometimes the text jumps back and forth which is a bit of bother but not big enough to ruin the book for me. 

Personally I like the way the book is written. It's easily understandable and nice to read and not too scientific making it a fun read for everybody.  I especially enjoy the descriptions of The Grand Mogol and the queen's gowns during the first phase of the revolution. 

"Exotically named  the Grand Mogol, in reference to putatively luxury-loving Asiatic grandee, her boutique boasted large windows filled wit displays that were designed to divert foot traffic from Palais Royal. With their artistic  arrangements of bonnets, shawls, fans, spangles, furbelows, silk flowers, gemstones, laces and other accessories, the displays set up a bewitching siren's song. Once lured inside, ushered through a door by liveried  footman, potential customers found themselves in a setting as luxurious as an aristocrat's salon." 

Doesn't it sound so much like depiction of  a lolita boutique's window displays and space? This is why I find this book so inspiring for lolitas. Our fashion was inspired by these times and the book paints them beautifully for us to gaze, with the help of numerous well picked illustrations that help one to imagine how everything would have looked. 

I do feel that this bookl isw most inspiring to lolita like me who enjoys the historical inspirations of lolita fashion more than the kawaii culture side of things. I find the fashion history in the book to be endlessly inspiring with the morbid details of the fashions of Guillotine survivors, the royal mourning customs and the idea of bringing a little bit of meaning to your outfits with well picked accessories. I even learned somethings I had not known previously. 

I could go on forever with how much I love this book but I shall just leave  you, gentle reader with another beautiful, if melacholy quote. 

"And so, shedding the ragged black dress in which she had faced her accusers, Marie Antoinette slipped in to her plum-black shoes, a fresh white underskirt and her pristine white chemise. To complete the ensemble  she put on  the white deshabille dress Madame Elisabeth had sent her from the Temple and the prettiest of her muslin fichus around her neck. She even removed the dangling black ribbons from her makeshift widow's coif, the result was a pared down ruffled linen bonnet as colourless as her hair. Paler then ever from her severe recent blood loss, the queen became a figure of pure, radiant white. " 

Madame Parapluie

P.S. If you have any books you'd wish me to review leave your suggestions in the comments. I am always happy to receive book recommendations. 

Lolita reads: The little white horse

Welcome to my new series where I review books which I feel are inspiring or otherwise interesting  to lolitas. Today's topic is the the Little white horse by  Elizabetha Goudgen which has been filmed under the name Secret of Moonacre (though there are quite drastic changes from the book).

The little white horse was first published in 1946 in London, England. It has whimsical fairy tale like style which makes it nice reading for lolitas of any style. I would compare it to Harry Potter which is no wonder as J.K Rowling has said she was inspired by the Little white horse. 

The story opens at 1842 when Maria Merryweather's father dies and she has to move to her second cousin's manor in Moonacre, where she has many whimsical adventures. The book has a pinch of romance and a lot of fun. The characters are intriguing and have clear personalities. My personal favorite is Maria's King Charles spaniel, Wiggins, who is both quite selfish and greedy but also a welcomed comedic side kick whose exploits always manage to make me laugh.

"Wrolf and Zachariah treated her now as an esteemed colleague, and Wiggins, though his expression in her presence was by no means agreeable, had sufficient self control not to give verbal expression to the sentiments within in his breast. For one he as not quite sure what Wrolf might do to him if he did and another, he was not unaffected by the charming sweetness of Serena's manner toward him."  

As the story progresses Maria begins to realize that not everything in Moonacre is as nice as it seems and it falls to her young shoulders to try and fix the discord that has ailed the valley and her family  since ancient times. 

The writing style is whimsical and easy to read pulling the reader in to the story excellently. There are even a few songs included in the book, which I have always found rather charming.   

A more fashionably inclined reader will enjoy the descriptions of Maria's clothes and most particularly her boots, which are lively and will surely give some outfit ideas as well. 

"And the boots she had on today were calculated to raise the lowest spirits, for they were made of the softest grey leater, sewn with crystal beads round the tops and were lined with snow white lamb's-wool. The crystal beads, as it happened, could not be see, because Maria's grey silk dress and warm grey wool pelisse, also trimmed with white lambs wool reached to her ankles, but she herself knew they were there and thought of them gave her a moral strength that can scarcely be over estimated."

The edition I read sadly has no illustrations but a quick googling has made it quite clear that there are absolutely charmingly illustrated ones out there. To me it's a bit sad that I couldn't find an illustrated version because all the styles of illustration I've looked at are charming and quite inspiring.

All and all The Little white horse is a charming story of girls just at the cusp of adult hood, akin the likes of Alice in Wonderland, Little Princess or Kamikaze girls which all feel like classic reading for lolitas to me. It has a bit of fashion, tad of tea parties and a lot of whimsy that most lolitas will enjoy. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to any lolita. 

Madame Parapluie