Lolifying Your Life: Pimp Your Media

Every Lolita likes to add Lolita to her life. A lot of us like to deco our phonecases, mirrors, headphones and other utensils. If you don’t want to start big, why not start small and at the source: your computer. Here I can give you a few tips on how to start Pimping Your Media.

Wallpapers
The first thing you see when you start the computer (after you log in, of course): your wallpaper. I always feel a bit more happy when I see my favourite prints jumping off my screen. If you have a Lolita folder, like me, you can make your own wallpapers by simply putting pictures together in Paint.
You can also look for special Lolitawallpapers. I know that Angelic Pretty often has big advertisements for their prints. These are very suitable as computerwallpapers.
You can also visit guillaumes2 on DeviantArt (here) and check out his selfmade wallpapers, that include Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, Angelic Pretty, Putumayo and more! But before you save them to your computer, add them to your favorites and compliment the maker (we still want to be polite ^^).

Avatars,
Now, this isn’t very new of course. We all use avatars, on MSN, LiveJournal, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and all that kind of stuff. I thought I’d just give a link that contains quite some awesome Lolita-avatars, so enjoy.


Join clubs
On DeviantArt, there are numerous clubs for Lolitas to contribute art to. If you get accepted to any of those groups, you’ll receive a number of pictures, drawings, paintings and sketches about every kind of Lolita. If you really like something, you can easily save it to your own computer or to your DeviantArt favorites. Not only can you enjoy the many aspects of Lolita art, maybe you’ll also get inspired!

Some Lolitaclubs on DeviantArt:
Lolita-Lovers
Loli-Club
The-Lolita-Closet
LolitaLovers
LolitaFashion
LolitaClub

If you don’t want to hang in front of the computer all the time (or you want to add more sparkles to your life instead of to your computer), you can always pimp the things you’re going to use a lot.

Agenda
You use your agenda almost every day! Wether it is to check your appointments or to write down your homework, you open it and go through the pages. Print your favorite pictures and stick them to the pages. Choose your absolute favorites to special dates, like birthdays, Christmas or International Lolitaday. Done! Your personal Lolita Agenda!

Because this is my last year of high school, I wanted to make my agenda extra special. I browsed my complete Lolita folder and chose my favorite pictures. Now I have an awesome agenda filled with things I like for every week of the year.

Inspirationbook
If you don’t use an agenda, or you don’t want one, you can always choose to create an inspirationbook. You can buy a simple notebook (mine was €1,99/$2,53) and fill it with pictures that make you happy or that inspire you!

These tips may seem quite simple, but I hope you enjoyed them anyway! ^^

Magical Macarons

I will admit it: I am lacking the inspiration to write something inspirational, so this time I’ll just write about… macarons!

"A macaron is a sweet confectionery. Its name is derived from an Italian word "maccarone" or "maccherone". This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principal ingredient."
Source: Wikipedia

Since I started Lolita, I always got the idea that macarons were an absolute must. So back in Paris, I tried the macarons from McCafé. I have no idea wether or not these were good macarons, but they were absolutely de-li-ci-ous!

Macarons can have many flavours, but the most common are: strawberry, pistachio, lemon, chocolate, vanilla and caramel.
I did read somewhere that there are rose- and peachflavours too and someone made a “Bueno” style macaron. I wonder if there are any blueberry- and raspberryflavours..?
Anyway, I can really recommend people to try one (or more of course) macarons. They can be expensive, but trying doesn’t hurt right?
Now I feel like getting macarons somewhere…

How to eat a macaron

The Price Of Beauty: Tokyo, Japan

When I first read about Jessica Simpson’s tvshow ‘The Price of Beauty’, I decided I wanted to see the episode about Tokyo, Japan. She visited Angelic Pretty! You bet I wanted to see that! But before I looked it up, I saw a commercial on MTV in my country, saying this tvshow would be aired here too. I chose to wait and watch it on my own tv with subtitles in my own language, so I wouldn’t miss a thing.
I had heard things about the episode that startled me, but I didn’t want to make up a judgement before I had seen anything. I must admit that I had seen the episode in Paris, France already, so I was a bit more prepaired for what would possibly come.

So yesterdayevening I sat down on the couch with a cup of minttea, ready for Tokyo!

In case you don’t know the concept of the show, it is as follows: Jessica Simpson, an American singer and actress, travels to different countries with her friends CaCee and Ken to find out about the different ideals of beauty. She talks to women about their beauty and looks for typical fashionstyles.

The episode started with the introduction of the ´beauty ambassador´, in this case miss Riyo Mori, a model and Miss Universe 2007. She told them some things about beauty in Japan and the pressure of the media.
After that, the three of them went to a Japanese spa, where they experienced some of the Japanse beauty treatments, like walking on rocks and being buried in sand for two hours.
Up until here, it wasn´t all that bad. But then, the first thing that upset me came.

The three went to a Geishaschool to experience being a real Geisha. Meanwhile, CaCee tells that ´Memoirs of a Geisha´ is one of her favourite movies. And yet they manage to ask questions that are answered in that very movie. Now, this isn´t a disaster or anything, but I thought it was quite stupid.
After their lessons, miss Simpson and CaCee were allowed to do a tea ceremony in complete Geisha-attires for two Japanese businessmen. Even though both girls claimed to have a lot of respect for the culture and thought the Geisha is the ultimate beauty-icon of Japan, all they did was giggling and acting like two stupid stereotype American girls. Both men were obviously shocked by their lack of respect, while miss Simpson found herself very funny. Both men were asked if they ever wanted to be served by these two Geishas again, and they both said no. Well, I cannot blame them.

After that, Angelic Pretty! Finally the part I had been waiting for (which came after the break of course).
The three arrived at an entirely pink store (what else did I expect? Nothing of course! :) ) where they met with the staff. When they heard this fashionstyle is called ‘Lolita’, comments like ‘saucy’ and ‘bad girl’ were inevitable. Luckily, nothing was said about the ‘other side of Lolita’ in the rest of the episode, which made me sigh in relieve. Though the way they referred to the style was mainly ‘Harajuku Girls’ (on the site even spelled as ‘Hirajuku’). I was very happy though, that they paid attention to the rebellious side of Lolita, which is often forgotten.
After that, the girls tried on some black and white outfits, but I have no idea which brand it was.
After that, a couple of minutes were spent on plastic surgery that is popular in Japan: making eyes bigger.

Then the most important part of the show (to me) came: the fashionshow to celebrate all the different looks they had seen in Japan. Maki and Asuka of Angelic Pretty were there to dress up the Lolitagirls too! Miss Simpson, CaCee and Ken dressed up in some of the different styles and walked between the models. CaCee wore some kind of purple kimono and Ken wore something Visual Kei-like, with very highheeled boots. But then miss Simpson came, dressed in a red-with-white-polka-dot Angelic Pretty dress. Ken had done her hair and make up, which was clearly visible, since she had a huge bun and typical Western catalogue make up that you see on models in the media that look like they’re dying. Oh excuse, that look ‘hot’. But that wasn’t what made my stomach turn.
Miss Simpson claims to have experienced what it’s like to struggle with beauty perceptions. She says: ‘What might be strange to some, is ideal to others.’ Because of that, I thought she would respect other people’s ideals.
But while miss Simpson stepped onto the runway, I already realised my hopes had been naive. She paraded like a runwaymodel, whereafter she pretended to be ashamed for a moment. Which she clearly wasn’t, for she lifted up her skirt to show everyone her bloomers and petticoat, in other words: her underwear. I thought it was horrible: Lolita is about beauty and modesty, and she simply threw that aside. She kept on pretending like she was doing some kind of cancan until the episode was finished. But oh, she felt so liberated and free!


I expected more of this episode. Of course I was very happy to see Lolita in the media in a more positive way and I can’t deny that I let out squeals of joy whenever I saw a Lolitadress/-bow/-pair of shoes. But yes, I did expect more. But well, what was there to expect anyway from a person that lets out comments like ‘You could tell a person’s personality by what they wore’?

For The Business Lolita

Yesterday, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright aired some new sets, named the ‘Arietta Suits’, in three colors: pink, black and black/white.

I think they are perfect for the Working Lolita that needs to be dressed to impress. The jacket and skirt can be worn separately, so it’s actually a three-in-one outfit!

Isn’t it cute?

Oh, Angelic Pretty...

… why do you torment my desires?

Angelic Pretty just restocked the Melty Chocolate collection, one of my absolute favorites (Dream Dress/Skirt!). God, I really want either the pink JSK or the pink and/or blue skirt so badly.


Why am I not thin enough? (Ahem, not forgetting about the money too of course).


I wonder if these items will be sold on egl_comm_sales when I have enough money and weight loss?
I really hope so…

Lolifying Your Life: Start A Collection

I am finally done reporting about my trip to Paris, so I’m back at writing topics about Lolita itself. Today, I want to start a miniseries that’s called ‘Lolifying Your Life'.

Being a Beginner Lolita can be quite difficult sometimes. You’re probably saving up money and/or researching the whole concept of the fashion. But meanwhile, you have to suppress the feeling that it takes up so horribly, horribly long to make your first purchase! You want to be Lolita and you want to begin with it now!
The only tip I can give you: start Lolifying your life! Give your daily outfit a bit more Sweet, Gothic or Classic (or something else of course, I just took these as examples). Make your daily routine more fun!

Being a Lolita is not only about owning multiple dresses, skirts and blouses, but also how you combine these things with accessoiries. And here we arrived at the original concept of this topic: start a collection.
As you probably noticed, every style in Lolita has its own shared accessoiries, but also particular pieces. You probably picked out your style already, the only thing you have to do is start looking for things!
Here I can give you a few ideas, but you’re the one who has to choose eventually!

Bows
Admit it: every Lolitastyle has bows. Being it regular bows, headbows, hairbows, brooches or necklaces, everything is okay. Bows are ideal to start collecting, especially when you do it in your favorite colours! That way, you can wear them both in your daily life as well as in your -future- Lolita life! If you stick to your favorite style a bit, it’s perfect!
Some examples:
● Sweet can have nearly everything, as long as it’s… well, Sweet of course! Both bright and pastelcolours are cute. Sweet prints like fruit, hearts, stars or flowers can be great too!
Tip: Check out the children’s department in shops! They often have the cutest things.
● Gothic might be obvious: black! But Gothic can also wonderfully be combined with (dark) red, dark blue and grey.
● Classic can be tricky. I think the best colours for Classic are white, light grey, blue and vague pink. Oldfashioned flowerprints are absolutely perfect!

When I discovered Sweet Lolita was my “destiny”, I started to collect hair- and headbows. I came to this idea when I was shopping and spotted two adorable headbows, one white and one black (basic colours). Soon after that, I found out that multiple shops in my area sold bows. Now, I have over 20 hair-, head- and regular bows and I wear at least one every day! They are not only bows though, I have one hair ribbon with pearls and some have flowers, but they still make a lovely addition to a Sweet Lolita’s gathering.

Rings
Rings are the same as bows: they can go with any style, as long as you pick out the right ones.
● Sweet Lolita rings can be anything cute, as long as it’s covered in bows, rhinestones and your favourite colour! Animals, fruit, hearts, cookies, icecream, cupcakes and macarons are also wonderful ringideas!
● Gothic Lolita rings can easily be purchased through a Gothic Clothes website. They often have the most beautiful things with silver and big, shimmering stones.
● Cameorings (or brooches) are a great addition to a Classic Lolita’s warderobe. You can find these in almost any colour and type and they look so wonderful! Pearls are also a very classic item.

Lolita rings can be bought from a Lolita brand, such as Angelic Pretty or Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. I also read about a lot of people who purchase the cutest things from Etsy. Or you can make them yourself! There are a lot of tutorials out there on the Internet. Get creative!

Necklaces
It’s not a necessity, but necklaces can really create a lovely look! A necklace with a bow is always perfect, but here are different kinds that might suit your taste.
● Sweet Lolita necklaces can go from anything edible (fruit, ice cream, sweets, cookies, cupcakes…) to cute items (hearts and flowers). As long as it has a matching colour, it’s perfect!
● Gothic Lolita necklaces are mostly Gothic necklaces. Pendants in the shape of a cross or a black rose can match anything! Chokers are also very pretty when it comes to the Gothic style.
● Cameo pendants are wonderful Classic Lolita necklaces. They can even match your brooch or ring! Pearlnecklaces are also very classy.

There are many more things that you can start collect that are Loliable, but these are the easiest things, I think. If you have another idea, please tell me!


Starting up a collection can give you the feeling you’re building up a casual Lolita style. And when you made your first purchase, you can probably combine your outfit with your accessoiries already!

Of course, these are just examples made up by me. If you don’t agree with me on something, please just say so.