Lolita Resolutions for 2015

It's that time again! Resolutions resolutions resolutions. I would be a liar if I didn't say looking back on my old post makes me feel a bit nostalgic. A LOT can change in a year- lives, tastes, pathways we walk, people we meet that influence us. Life is interesting like that though :) We're always evolving as humans and with such we seem to always change what we want and feel we need.
However... my resolutions never seem to change LOL at least not by much.

Time to review my old resolutions for 2014 and see how well I fared this time~

[Bodyline review:] GOLD Classic yet sweet lolita shoes (Shoes300/s507)

Classic yet Sweet [link]
shoes300 (same as s507)
("gld" aka Gold)
[Review of beige color]

Heel Height: ~2in (5cm)

I have found a new favorite shoe from Bodyline.
I cannot get over just how cute they look and feel! I ordered a size 245 as I generally wear a US size 7.5 and they fit perfectly on me so I would say that they are "true to size".

The shoe design has enough room to wear them with thick socks though your toes -may- hit the end a bit if the strap isn't buckled down tight enough. But there's also enough room in the toe box, and overall shoe, to wear insoles if need be.

[Bodyline review:] GOLD Double strap 'tea party' Lolita shoes (Shoes251/s522)

Double Strap Tea Party Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes251/s522
("gld" aka Gold)
[Review of sax blue]
[Review of Silver]

Heel Height: 0.5in (1.2cm)

I always find these shoes to be mega cute when I see them on Bodyline's site and so many girls wearing them made me want to try out my own pair. However I have found that no matter what size I buy they end up giving me a look similar to clown feet ~_~;;

[Bodyline review:] SILVER Double strap 'tea party' Lolita shoes (Shoes251)

Double Strap Tea Party Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes251
("sil" aka Silver)
[Review of Gold]
[Review of Sax blue]

Heel Height: 0.5in (1.2cm)

Shoes251 have become a very popular style of Bodyline shoes for not only sweet lolitas but also fans or fairy kei and kawaii styles in general. They are a very versatile and cute shoe so I am not surprised at all by their popularity.

However I've personally ran into some problems when trying to shoes out on my own.

[Real vs Replica] Angelic Pretty's Melty Moon purse

Top row: real Angelic Pretty purses. [lolibrary link]

Bottom row: Taobao replicas

Angelic Pretty's Melty Moon shoulder bags have been immensely popular since the 2013 advertisement of their re-release of the Dream Sky print series. The purse showed up in the photos but no mention of it in any price sheet or release announcement was shown. Many people however were gushing over just how cute and even unique the bags were. There was speculation that it would be released along with the dress release but it was all just hopeful talk. The purses didn't get an advance announcement but were simply added to the online shop and, very quickly, sold out afterwards. To my knowledge AP only did one rerun of the series of bags, though it would not surprise me one bit if they end up doing more! Personally I'd love to see new colors such as white, silver, or gold.

Am I a real lolita now?

I finally caved and ordered myself some petticoats from Classical Puppets. I've been using crappy Leg Avenue ones this whole time and while I was OK with the poof they gave me the petticoats just were so meh quality and the elastic would start to hurt after a while ~_~;; I'm tempted to alter the new ones so the waist band size is static and just add a zipper in. Too much elastic against my body as it is when wearing lolita dresses! In the end I got 2 a-line: one black and one white, and their cupcake petticoat in white. I might get one in black considering I have a ton more black lolita dresses but I suppose white can still be worn under them, but a black petticoat under a light dress might look a little strange ^^;;

In the end I did a small order off Taobao in order to make the EMS shipping worth it. So on top of the petticoats I also got some replica melty moon bags :o *le gasp!* and NOT the ones from Loris! (That just have a cloud on them instead of melty bits) though I might order those sometime soon too because they have other colors like silver and white. And I've also heard that they are larger than the Angelic Pretty bags? Which would be nice because they're so tiny!

I guess we'll find out how good or bad they are once I get them. The stock photos look pretty good but that doesn't mean the materials won't be odd or sticky. So here's hoping they turn out good!

[Bodyline review:] Sweet Strappy Lolita shoes (Shoes283)

Sweet Strappy Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes283
("blk-blk" aka Black)
("owh-owh" aka White)

Heel Height: 2.25in (5.5cm)
Front Platform: 0.9in (1.7cm)

I ordered these on two separate occasions. Once I've gotten an actual box with the shoes! And the other it was the normal wrapped-in-tissue thing Bodyline generally does with their shoes.

To be honest, while I like having the boxes, I have come to understand just why they don't ship them as well. The box corners punctures holes like crazy into the bags Bodyline uses to ship the shoes and the holes are by no means small. If you've ordered a small accessory it would surely fall out of the holes. If you are ordering JUST shoes you are more likely to get the boxes as well as opposed to an order of mix items. (I have NOT received a box with any boots I've ordered though.)

*Angelic Pretty* Sugary Carnival JSK ~ [HD photos]

[Hello Lace Link]

In 2009 Angelic Pretty released what would soon become a "holy grail" and "dream dress" for many lolitas in years to come. Sugary Carnival was popular enough to justify to AP to release another run of the series- though with a few minor tweaks this time such as the back lacing not using the dress's lace for the loops. Regardless of releases this series, and particularly the black colorway, became a long sought-after print (on top of being one of the most reviled at the same time). Though AP has release many amazing dresses since this is still one of my absolute favorites; to the point I sometimes joke with friends that I want to be buried in it!

In most photos I have seen of this dress the colors get very washed out. It's a pity really since in reality they are so rich and pretty in person~

Jumper skirt stats:

Bust: 34~38 in (88~98 cm)
Waist: 26~30 in (68~78 cm)
Length: 33 in (84 cm)

WARNING: EXTREMELY IMAGE HEAVY POST

Full review to come later~

*Angelic Pretty* Wrapping Ribbon JSK (2014) ~ [HD photos]

[Lolibrary Link]

Angelic Pretty's 2014 release of "Wrapping Ribbon" brought new styles and colors. Of those my favorite has been the new JSK which features removable lace at the bust, high quality satin bow details and delicate lace detailing along the princess seams.

Of the color selections mint seemed to be the most popular as it was the first to sell out. I had a bit of trouble picking which one I liked most but ended up getting blue. I like this dress so much I hope to pick up the lavender as well! (Though sadly it is now sold out on the site, boo~)

Jumper skirt stats:

Bust: 34~42 in  (86~106 cm)
Waist: 31~39 in  (80~100 cm)
Length: 34 in (87 cm)


WARNING: EXTREMELY IMAGE HEAVY POST
Full review to come later~

Lost Time

My goodness it's been forever since I've updated anything outside of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

I've had a huge problem lately with time. Keeping track of it, getting a feeling for the days passing, and realizing just how much time has passed between events. I noticed today it's been a staggering 8 months since I uploaded anything to Youtube and the same could be said for this blog. I have a lot of back posts I could, and plan to, update. But that doesn't mean tyhey'll be of as good of quality as if I wrote them right after any of the said events.

Oi... what has gotten in to me? Each day I think "I want to write more" "I need to update my blog" "I should record a video of some sort" or something along those lines. I WANT to do these things but I seem to not have the -time-.

A few weeks back I burned up all my vacation time. I had two weeks off. This doesn't sound like a lot for people but for me it was the longest vacation I've had since I started this job 8 years ago. Just two weeks. I did more traveling, hikes, social events and slept better than I had since I could remember. I liked it actually- a great deal. And since heading back to work I've been in a HUGE funk. I want that fun time as much as possible- not just on the weekends.

I really need to start paying attention to my time. To make as much of it as productive as possible. This is going to be hard but it seems as though I'm getting my ambition back to TRY to do things. So let's hope I can keep this ball rolling and actually do something with myself out of the herd-like conventional job space ^^;;

I'm a bear!

[Bodyline review:] Knee High Rose boots (SHOES225/s503)

Knee High Rose boots [link]
SHOES225
("owh" aka White)

Heel height: 2in (5cm)
Height from heel: 14.6in (37cm)

The boots were shipped, often as bodyline does, without a box. They were wrapped in tissue paper with a rolled foam insert to keep the shaft of the boot more rigid during shipping. I highly suggest you save the foam for when you store these boots!

I'll cut straight to the chase and say it now: THESE BOOTS ARE EXTREMELY STIFF! The material they're made of is NOT forgiving at ALL and will hurt your ankles if they wear in the "wrong" way D:
I decided to replace my laces with ribbon as the lace felt cheap and waxy to the touch. I figure there is  good reason for this but aesthetically I also prefer the ribbon. I have never worn the roses on the boots themselves as I found the clip backs will leave marks in the material. I have clipped them into wigs and on headbands though and they look very cute that way! I also received one of the roses with a missing hinge piece and thus couldn't even use it :T

The zip on my boots are sometimes fussy and require a good tug to get them up all the way. I also suggest that if you have larger calves that you do not purchase these boots as the top straps have zero flex and only a little room to velcro them larger. The tongue also has very little material to it so it will not be able to cover any gaping if you have large calves.

*note* I've discovered after many wears of these boots that one of the tongues isn't correctly placed within the boot so it causes just the bottom part covering my foot to slide sideways and pop out of the lacing a bit. It's more than annoying as, again, the material is very stiff and it starts to hurt the top of my foot :

Rose clips, how they work, and the broken one...

Lolita Resolutions for 2014

Sadly to say I didn't achieve a whole lot of my resolutions for 2013 that I listed in my previous post. I haven't been sewing as much lately which makes me sad :( I miss the creativity of it and really wish I had more time for it. I still love it though and am going to try with all my might to sew more!

Let's do a [disappointing] list breakdown from last year!