Dear Lolitas, I miss you.

It's been a bit.

Okay, it's been a while. A long while.

I fell off the posting wagon, tumbled down the hill and got caught up in a town and vanished. I'm sorry.

Things have been... less than stellar. Here, let me fill you in.

Once upon a time there was a little girl you hated herself. She hated everything from the way her hair curled to how her thighs touch and that her second toe was longer than her first. She hated having red-blonde hair, she hated her wide, blue eyes, and she most of all hated who she was.

Nothing made this girl happy. She was convinced nothing ever looked nice on her, not goth, not prep, not punk and certainly not the elegance of lolita.

One day, this little girl grew up into a stubborn and lovely young lady and decided she had enough of hating, she was going to love herself. She would wear lolita and she would be happy. So she made a blog and planned to fill the pages with beauty and encouragement.

But hatred has a way of creeping back in, and that young lady found herself back to being a little girl, disgusted with herself.

She abandoned her blog, she didn't deserve beauty, not when she was so ugly. She didn't deserve lolita, she only deserved to be locked away.

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Not a very pleasant story, I know. Sadly, life isn't all fairytales, but that little girl grew back up and wants her loving mentality back. She wants to make her own fairytales.

Full-on petticoat and ruffles lolita may not be for me, it's a lot of maintenance I may not be able to keep up with, but I will maintain this blog and it will still be Lightly Lolita. The entire fashion may not be for me 100%, but it's influence is there, which will still make me, my life and my fashion Lightly Lolita.

So, I ask you, fellow lolita-lovers, stay with me or join me now while I strive to return to a point of fully loving myself. I'm not skinny, I'm not as tall as I'd like, not as delicate, but damn it, I'm me and that beautiful and special. I can't be the perfect lolita, no one can, but I can be the best, most beautiful me.


XXX

More News

I know I know, another update and no real content. I promise, last one.

Next Saturday we will be returning to your scheduled content, what may be the last of the Reinventing series (depnding on if I can get everything in one little piece), and we'll be starting a weight loss series. I think this will be weekly, otherwise I simply won't stay motivated, and will be on Wednesdays

As the Reinventing series ends a new one will take its place on Saturdays, Weekly Lolita. This will be pictures of lolitas I find inspiring or that sand out, have something special and it'll run through my tumblr so that the pictures can be put into the slideshow in the side bar.

Also, book reviews! these will be once a month, probably at the end of the month, with the book I've chosen announced on the first. As you know, I've already announced this months, How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less.

And that's it for today! See you Wednesday for the first of the Weight Loss Weekly (any ideas for snazzy names?)

Possible new weeklys!

Two posts in two days?! What kind of madness is this?!

Well I wanted to let you all know some of the possibilites to be coming up for a new weekly, maybe multiple if I can swing it.

Weight loss weekly. (Diets, exercise, inspiration, recipes)
Lolitas of the week (What I feel to be the best posts on Daily_Lolita for those who don't want to actually check it every day.)
Life, Lolita (Things to bring a little lolita into day to day life.)
Gathering Lolitas (A sort of guide to planning meet-ups.)

Thoughts?

Celeste

Some news and an upcoming Monthly!

Hello darlings,

I've got some good news! First, there will be a review coming up! Not exclusively lolita, but it is about some very lovely jewelry. It probably won't be up until next month, but I'm just so excited!

Now, another bit of news about a new series starting here! I've been dying to start this and finally looks like I'll have the time soon since I'm only working one job now.

Book reviews!

It isn't going to be exclusively lolita books either, but anything that I think would interest people who like lolita. Of course Kamikaze Girls will b reviewed, as will Lolita and a lot of Victorian literature. I figure this is perfect as I'm taking my British Lit class now and will soon be getting into the late 1800's.

The first book I'll b doing is.... How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less.
I know a lot of lolitas crave the spotlight and the glamour, we just can't help ourselves, decadence is in our blood as lolitas. This book does a great job of giving you tips and tricks to spreading your name, whil reminding us that fame isn't everything we think it is. In the review I'll be listing a number of the tips and tricks shared in the book too. So be sure to be on the look out!

Now, in closing, some personal news.

I'm part of a lovely group called Dr. Steel's Army of Toy Soldiers. It is a group set on fun, spreading the word of a musician/genius named Doctor Steel, and just making the world a little nicer. Some of my friends are setting up a project related to this that involves Disney characters and some very lovely ladies and I've been encouraged, and accepted, the part of the newest princess, Merida, from Brave! A ginger with blue eyes?! Oh, my heart! I'm in love with her already! (I myself am ginger with blue eyes and have never been able to find a doll or idol with that particular mix. It isn't a insanely rare mix, but really, when you think ginger you think green eyes, even I do.)

The lovely lady I'll be portraying.

So, some exciting things happening! Also, the Reinventing series will soon be coming to an end. A new weekly will be taking its place, but I haven't decided what yet. Any suggestions?

Celeste

Reinventing yourself; Part 4: Staying True

If you’ve been going through this series there’s a good chance you’re not happy with you’ve been. It’s a good sign of wanting to change, it means you’re open to seeing your flaws and improving yourself. However, there’s a dangerous trap that you can fall into during this process. It’s not uncommon to forget yourself during this time of change, but it’s important that you realize this and prevent it.

Don’t forget that the old you is still you, you were that way for a reason and it isn’t a totally bad thing. Accept the way you were, your flaws, your quirks, remember them. Maybe you were shy, and that’s okay, just because you’re into Lolita now doesn’t mean you can’t be shy. If it makes you really uncomfortable talking to people or being forward then that’s okay, be shy, but work slowly on being more comfortable with being forward when you need to.

Maybe you loved comics before you decided to reinvent yourself and maybe that love no longer fits with the pin-up bombshell you see yourself as now, but you still love reading Gotham City Sirens. Well still read it! Don’t give up things you love just because they don’t ‘fit’.

So remember darlings, you’re creating an image, a character you can be when you want or need to. You are still yourself, you are still unique and you can still keep all the things you love. Don’t lose yourself in changing yourself.

Reinventing; Part 3: Your enviorment

Time for another weekly edition of the Reinventing series!
 If you're new to this little 'class' here's Part 1 and Part 2.

I've been very bad and not keeping up lately. Life has been crazy, but more on that later.

This time we're talking about....

Your Environment(I)

By this I mean the space around you, your room, dorm, whatever you chose (and is appropriate). I know a lot of people consider bringing lolita into your room in an all out way somewhat lifestyle (and therefor often 'elitist' or 'bad') but I don't think so. I also doesn't have to be lolita. My own room is going under some major changes lately that will be making it more lolita, but it won't scream it. I'm not going to have lace and tea sets everywhere with my embroidery project sitting on my window sill. When finished my room will be a space I love, with all aspects of myself, lolita and otherwise, included in it.

Now, where to start?

I suggest painting. It is the quickest major change you can make really. It is also somewhat counter productive to put up new curtains and shelves and ll sorts of stuff just to take it down right after to paint. The only exception I can think of is renovating.  If your going o be knocking down a wall there's no sense in painting it.

So today, we'll talk about painting.

First, think of your favorite colour. Mine is teal, but teal doesn't look very good on a wall, especially in a rather small room. The case may be the same for say, fire engine red or canary yellow or even brown if you have a small room.

So next, think of the feeling you want. Does your favorite colour or shade match this? I went down to basics of blue to give myself more choice. I wanted a calming feel to my room. I have a lot of anxiety problems and often isolate because of it, so I need a space that can settle my mind. Thankfully, blue matches this. This is something very important to consider, because even if your heart is set on red and you want a calm space, it really isn't going to work and painting over it will be a nightmare.

A quick colour and emotion guideline of both positives and negatives. These are all generalizations and all have exceptions. First are cool colours and then warm.

Blues = Calming or Cold and Unfriendly

Green = Harmony and Refreshment or Boredom

Violet(Purple) = Luxury or Introversion

Grey = Neutrality or Lack of energy and confidence

Yellows = Energizing, Uplifting or Anxiety

Red = Passion and Warmth or Aggression

Orange = Fun, Frivolity or Immaturity

Brown = Warmth, Earthiness or Seriousness and Lack of humor

And then ones that don't really fit either are of course..

White = Purity and Sophistication or Sterility and Coldness

Black = Glamour and Security or Heaviness and Menacing

Another factor to remember when choosing a colour is that dark colours make a room feel smaller. Reflection of light makes things feel bigger, so to combat this you can use tricks, but tit will always seem a bit of a tighter space. They make excellent accent colours against bright ones though and balance them out nicely.

Now to pick out your colour!

I suggest looking around you at colours you like that you think would work well and then going to the store to match them as best you can. Be sure to look at all the options, even ones you aren't really considering. You may find something you didn't expect to love.

I settled on this colour.

A pleasant, soft, blue. Very calming and very subtle with bit of grey. Elegant, but not to lavish. Perfect for me.

I suggest getting a few testers if you're unsure of the colour you want. I did this for the baseboards in my room. I love the match of brown and blue and love wooden baseboards, but there was no way I was going around ripping up baseboards and buy expensive, pretty wood ones. So, I faked it. I can't find the colour I used, but it was a nice dark brown with a yellow base to be opposite of the blue.

Now that you have your colour, paint away! I'm sure you all know the basics on painting, so I'll end this here today. The environment bit is probably going to last two more weeks and then we'll move on. Next time we will be making your room match your snazzy new paint job!

Review: Sticker Monster

I'm very sorry that posting has been dead. There have been some issues coming up that took my full attention, but things are calmed down now and we're backing to the posting!
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Thanks to seeing it on a few other lolita blogs I have recently fallen in love with deco. I used to think deco was just a word of the monstrosities people made when they threw everything but the kitchen sink of themselves and what ever was in reach.

I've seen a few beautiful example lately, though, that have proven me completely wrong.

 Examples like this lovely phone case that Victoria of Lolita Charm had done come to mind.

It's examples like that that have gotten me more and more interested in deco. Then came the catalyst. This review from Violet LeBeaux did me in. I started thinking of what I wanted to order right away, but there were so many ideas! Finally, in Wednesday, May 4th, I confirmed m order and sent payment.

Without further ado, here is my review for 

The Sticker Monster.

 The Sticker Monster is a blog shop run by a lovely lady name Jolene. Jolene runs this shop out of Malaysia and is very patient with questions and was quick to help.

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Let me begin with I am somewhat slow. No, not literally mentally handicapped, but I sure did feel like it while ordering. I feel this was more error and inexperience on my part. I was completely unfamiliar with blog shops, in fact I didn't even know such things existed, until ordering from The Sticker Monster. 

Being so unfamiliar I was so happy when I found she had a proper online site in a sort of 'web mall'. Unfortunately the choices were far more limited there, but I ordered anyways. This was my first mistake.

Turns out the owner, Jolene, no longer really uses this shop. It had fallen to the wayside and was now sorely needing an update, or  simply be put down. I'd had a similar experience with trying to run an online shop, so this didn't bother me much at all. I did find it a bit silly to keep the link up that was no longer in use, but I still don't see it as a big deal. Jolene was very quick to get in touch with me to let me know that it was outdated and offer a refund. A bit more stumbling about and then we realized PayPal had automatically made USD into RM (Malaysian currency). Jolene only accepts USD for international orders. Oops.

After a little more stumbling and one more failed order I managed to successfully learn the trick, send payment and get confirmation that my package would be shipped soon.

No pictures for now since both my camera and phone decided to act up at the same time. Hopefully they will be up soon though.

Final Scores
 Communication- Excellent. All emails were very prompt, polite and right to the point, even with me fumbling things. I did wait a few days on one email, but Jolene apologized for that and informed me she had been moving houses. It wasn't any big deal though really, all other emails were replied to the day I sent them.

Shipping- Was fairly quick. Came a day or two later than expected, but I'm impatient anyways, so I'm going to rate this as a great.

Selection- Excellent. It is a little tricky getting around. Look at post dates and try not to order anything that wasn't posted a few months ago. Jolene informed me she'd be working on cleaning up the blogshop soon too, so hopefully that won't be an issue in the future. Besides that everything is lovely and varied. I'm sure everyone can find a few pieces they like.

Ordering- Good. A little tricky at first, ordering through email, but once I got the hang out it it was very simple, very clear and Jolene let me know just how much everything was. I did include prices and a total in my original email with what I wanted to order, just because I'm a bit paranoid, but she did as well and everything was right on. It was just a matter f typing it into Pay Pal and sending.

Prices- Excellent. Once I did price conversions I was amazed at the prices. They were very reasonable and better, even with shipping, than some things I have found here. I would almost suggest raising the prices a little, but I'm not sure of the economy in Malaysia, which I assume is the main market.

Overall- Excellent. Jolene was great to order from, so friendly and very patient. The shop, though needing a bit f an update, was fairly easy to navigate, very clear on prices, and had a great variety. I absolutely plan to order again soon.

Reinventing: Part 2; Picking a 'new' You

Hello again darlings!

If you haven't already I suggest checking out our last part of the lesson, Reinventing: Part 1.

Now, in this one we get to talk about one of my favorite things; creating an alias! It's just so darn fun pretending to be someone else! We're not going to be looking at making a totally new self for lolita, then we'd just be playing dress-up instead of expressing ourselves. We are going to be using some of the same basic ideas though.


First things first!

Review: Arda Wigs

I have a tendency to like changing up my hair a bit. Okay, a lot. Because of this my hair is a bit... damaged. It's naturally thin strands and a lot of them, so it tends to break easily under stress and become frizzy and fried. So I decided to finally look into wigs, only to be met with bland colours that were expensive. Looking at a lot of cosplay wigs brought only cheaply made wigs that were only good for a few uses, came pre-styled and would never look natural.

Then I heard of Arda Wigs.

Reviews and plans and weeklys, oh my!

This is just a rather small update really of a list of things I hope to do in the coming days and weeks.

• I'd like to do a little thing on decoden and deco in general.
• A few how-to articles.
• A review for wigs and a review for deco supplies.
• Star a "Pattern of the Week' weekly.
• A once a month 'Recommended Reading' post as well.
• Maybe something involving tying lolita into daily life for those of us who can be lolita on the outside everyday. 
• And of course continuing the 'Reinventing' weeklys.
• Setting up a schedule post so that if you don't feel like full-on 'following' (though I hope you do) you (and I) can still keep track of all your favorite weeklys.

I hope everyone looks forward to these as much as I do!

Reinventing: Part 1; First steps and an Intro

I've decided to open up things with a little series.

Over the next few weeks I want to reinvent myself, it's something I go through often. I get antsy, restless and bored and the easiest thing to change is yourself, so that's where I head!

During this series I'm not going to ask why you want to change yourself, that's all yours, but if you want to tell me I'd be glad to know.
(Personally, I'm restless and unhappy with myself and my life. I feel like I need a clean slate to get where I want to be.)
This will not be a perfect little "How to be the perfect hime/sweet/kuro/etc." list.
This is also not a "You must do" list. Take as more... suggestions; maybe even guidelines.

A Brand New Me

Well hello,


I guess it's traditional to open a blog with a welcoming post. A mission statement of sorts. So here we go.

I'm starting over. I'm not the happiest with my life, but I know I could be, I can see the potential in myself and I want to tap into that potential. I want to be the magical, happy, creative girl I see sleeping inside me. She's ready to wake up and live and I'm not going to stop her. Lolita will help me with this, it will get me through as I learn and fine tune my style.


So, I will be Lightly Lolita and I will learn and grow and live.