Lolita blog carnival: Defining lifestyle lolita

I have always thought myself as somewhat of a lifestyle lolita and yet kept my mouth pretty shut about what I think that means. How do you even begin to define a lifestyle?

Stereotypical lolita lifestyle has been seen as something confining an limiting. You have to have tea, be polite, have only loliable hobbies like sewing or painting or so on. Anything and everything you do must be lolita related. And naturally you have to do it alone as Novala says.

"A maiden does not need things like friends. Maidens are sublime and aloof by nature. In stories, the male heros will form cliques and carry out their activities together. Like in Tom Sawyer, Tom, Huckleberry Fin, and Getalobe, joined together and the three of them made the “15 boy’s drifter chronicles”, and then the 15 had to be together; they weren’t adult at all. But young ladies are different. Alice went through the perils of Wonderland by herself, and Anju helped her brother escape from the bandit’s mountain and was abandoned herself." 

(From here)

But here is where I'd like to argue with Novala. Alice may have gone to the wonderland alone but that doesn't mean her friends didn't hear all about it as soon as she climbed out of that rabbit hole. And though Novala probably meant this to be encouraging for girls who for one reason or another have not friends, it has become the cliched version of the lolita lifestyle. And while I can see some merit in his ideas I believe that everyone has the right to define their own lifestyle.

The other big cliche about lifestyle lolitas is that they (or we) wear lolita everyday. And though I have been very privileged and lucky to been able to wear lolita to most of my workplaces I am aware that it might not be possible in the future. I don't believe that this defines a lifestyle lolita.

To be honest I think of lolita lifestyle in the same way many think of goth. It's just the way I decorate my home, the clothes I wear, how I enjoy culture around me. To me it's always seemed a bit silly to say lifestyle lolita. No one is saying that there are lifestyle goths or lifestyle punks. They are just goths or punks. And I feel the same should be true with lolita.  And like in the mentioned examples I feel there are many ways to be a lolita. Or a lifestyle lolita if we stick to the topic.

Lolita lifestyle for me is first and foremost an appreciation for beauty. And as perspectives on beauty are as varied as people are, it can mean anything from antique furnishings to filling ones house with My little ponies. It's an all encompassing principle to surround one self with things one finds beautiful. Audrey Hepburn once said that to be beautiful is to eat, look and read beauty.

I enjoy the idea of refining my talents in lolita and in other things. I feel that lolita to me is a symbol of becoming a better person, learning more and trying new things.

In my case this means seeking knowledge of things that interest me like tea or antiques or honing my skills in sewing or crafting. I might even try something new once in a while ( I still want to learn to play the piano). Lolita motivates me in ways many other things have not.

To put it shortly a lolita lifestyle is a very personal matter. Novala speaks of independence and in this I feel he is right. Lolitas are very independent by nature and thusly are responsible of making their own rules, even about what lolita lifestyle means.  

Tl;dr: Go define your own lifestyle and stop bugging me about it.

Lolita blog carnival facebook group

Other participants

Heart's sound
Poppy noir
Art du noir
Lace jail

Madame Parapluie

Last reminder!

The model search for Carnival of decadence is closing on Sunday so if you want to model in it now is the last chance!

Mallihaku Carnival of decadence-näytökseen sulkeutuu sunnuntaina joten kaikki nyt nopeasti hakemaan malliksi! 

Instructions here!

Mari ja Mimi

Quick reminder!

Hei kaikki!

Pikainen muistutus siitä, että The Carnival of Dedacence -muotinäytöksen mallihaku sulkeutuu tasan viikon päästä, 15.3. Vielä ehtii siis hakea! Muistutamme myös, että mallihaun sulkeutumisen jälkeen lähetettyjä hakemuksia ei huomioida ollenkaan. Ohjeet hakemiseen täällä. 

Parhain terveisin muotinäytöksen järjestäjät,

Mari & Mimi

***

Hello, everyone!

Just a quick reminder that search for models to The Carnival Of Decadence fashion show (in Hellocon 9.5.2015) will still be open for a week. The deadline for applying is 15.3., so there's still time to send in your application! We would also like to remind that applications that are sent after the deadline date will not be considered. The instuctions for applying are here (the English translation is at the bottom).

With best regards the organizers,

Mari & Mimi

Deadline looms!

Hei kaikki!

Kaipaamme edelleen hakemuksia The Carnival of Decadence -muotinäytökseemme, joka pidetään Helloconissa 9.5.2015. Pulaa on etenkin karnevaalivieraiden asuista, joten ennen kaikkea toivomme näitä hakemuksia. Ohjeet malliksi hakemiseen löydät täältä. Mallihaun deadline on 15.3.

Olemme saaneet palautetta, että on hieman epäselvää, mitä tarkoitamme karnevaalivieraan asulla. Selvennämme asiaa tämän verran; karnevaalivieraan asu on siis asu, jonka voisit kuvitella laittavasi yllesi eeppisiin lolita-naamiaisiin. Kaikkien asujen tulee olla mahdollisimman näyttäviä, sillä kyseessä on muotinäytös. Asu ja naamio voivat ilmentää jotakin teemaa (aivan, kuten naamiaisasut yleensä). Tämä teema voisi olla vaikkapa teekuppi, jolloin mallin hiuskoristeessa, mekon kuvioinnissa, naamiossa ja mahdollisissa propeissa (joita voisivat olla vaikkapa teekannu ja kuppi) käy ilmi tämä sama teema. Toivottavasti tämä selvensi asiaa. Korostamme myös, että muotinäytöksessä jokainen malli ja asu on yhtä tärkeä. Kaikki saavat viettää aikaa valokeilassa, eikä kukaan joudu toimimaan näytöksessä vain taustakoristeena.

Jos malliksi haluavilla on jotain kysyttävää, niin minulta ja Marilta saa kysyä vapaasti! Tyhmiä kysymyksiä ei olekaan, vastaamme ja annamme vinkkejä erittäin mielellämme. Yksittäisiin asuihin liittyvät kysymykset tulee lähettää sähköpostiviestillä osoitteeseen newvoguechildren [at] outlook [piste] com. Näytökseen, mallaamiseen ja hakemiseen liittyvät yleiset kysymykset voi jättää kommentoimalla tähän postaukseen. 

Parhain terveisin näytöksen järjestäjät,

Mari & Mimi

***

Hello, everyone!

We are still looking for models to The Carnival of Decadence -fashion show that will be held in Hellocon 9.5.2015. We especially need more applications to the Carnival audience's outfits. Instructions for applying can be found here; the English translation is at the bottom. The deadline for applying is 15.3.

We have recieved fedback that it's not clear enough what we mean by the Carnival audience's outfits. So, a Carnival audience themed outift is an outfit that you might wear to an epic lolita masquarade party. All outfits should be as extravagant as possible, as this is a fashion show we're talking about. An outfit and a mask can have a theme (like any masquarade outfit/costume). This theme could be, for exampale, teacups. In this case the model's headdress, mask, outfit and possible props (e.g. a teapot and a teacup) should represent this same theme. We hope that this made things a little more clear. We would also like to point out that all models and outfits are equally important. Everyone will have their time in the limelights and nobody has to act as a background.

If you would like to apply for modeling, but you are still unsure about something, please feel free to ask me or Mari. There is no such thing as a silly question. We are happy to help and give tips for you! If you have a question regarding your fashion show outfit, please send it to newvoguechildren [at] outlook [dot] com. If you have general questions about the fashion show, modeling or applying, you may leave a comment to this post.

With best wishes us organizers,

Mari & Mimi 

Daily outfit vol. how could I forget headwear!?

Necklace: ArtLodesigns in Etsy ~ Blouse: Dear Celine ~ Dress: Innocent world ~ Bracelets: Handmade by me ~ Shoes: Cloudberry lady

Nothing else today.

Madame Parapluie

The unicorn is no longer dead.

Headbow: ShopKP on Etsy ~ Blouse: Metamorphose ~ Necklace: Emily temple cute ~ Dress: Handmade by yours truly ~ Boots: A find from ebay

Today me and my darling celebrated dapper day, a Disney tradition ( and yes I know it's supposed to be on the park but I live in Finland so... Anyways we went to eat out and had some fun.

I just love these boots. They look so chic and pretty.

Madame Parapluie

Details make the Dress

A big part of why I love lolita is all the details in the garments. The beautiful laces and dainty ruffles, pleating, pearl-like buttons, sweet little bows... All those little tiny details that  make a dress absolutely perfect. It all makes me swoon. 

So for this post I picked one dress from the four brands ( well three brands and my handmade stuff) that are mostly represented in my wardrobe.  I love these dresses because of their constructional details (lace, ruffles, etc.) so if you are interested in prints I will have to disappoint you. Though I might do a similar thing with my prints later on.

We are starting with hand made with a red velvet dress I made recently. Originally I wanted a single rosette to be on the neckline but got kind of carried away. The light made the velvet ribbon look like different shade than the velvet but rest assured this not the case. The little jewels are recycled from and old night dress. 

Other than this rosette detail the dress is very simple, which is just as planned. I wanted the dress to have a single eye catching detail and I think it turned out quite nicely. 

Next we have Juliette & Justine which is still my favorite brand. I wore this dress to my bachelorette party and haven't had an opportunity to wear it since. (Maybe hellocon this year...?) I love the lace waterfall in the front. It makes the dress look so luxurious ant detailed. 

Now this Innocent world jumper skirt is possibly my favorite dress at the moment. I want to wear it with everything to everywhere. The chiffon makes it so flowly and sweet.

 I love the ruffled hem that gives an elegant yet princessly feel. With black it's an ultimate gothic vampire dress and with cream it gives an air of old school classic cuteness.

And lastly something from Victorian maiden I have not yet worn, for purchased it quite recently and it has short sleeves and Finland + winter+ short sleeves = A massive cold = NO THANK YOU!

I fell in love with unusual cut of the bodice which you will have to wait and see and the lovely lace detail on the neckline. It almost evokes a necklace and gives this otherwise simple dress an elegant dainty feel. I can see myself wearing this one to work or at weddings.  

So here was some of the most lovely details from my wardrobe. Are you dear reader interested in a print version of this post? Do you love the details of lolita and which details are your favorites? Please share in the comments.

Madame Parapluie