Lolita Wonderland: Thank you very much for this interview! First, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Cadney: My name is Stephanie and I live just outside of Toronto, Canada. I'm 23 and I work with children, but I also work in Publishing and Theatre. My hobbies include crafting (I make Lolita hair accessories on commission) and watching Doctor Who.
Lolita Wonderland: When and/or how did you discover Lolita and how long have you been wearing it?
Cadney: I discovered Lolita 3.5 years ago. I collected Asian Ball-Jointed Dolls before getting into Lolita, and the style became familiar to me because: 1. Many doll collectors also wear Lolita, and 2. Lolita companies like Baby, The Stars Shine Bright also make clothing for dolls to wear!
Lolita Wonderland: How would you describe your own Lolita style?
Cadney: I feel like my style is in flux right now. I started out wearing OTT (over the top) Sweet Lolita, and while I still do that, I’m interested in more toned down sweet as well. One of my aims is to make OTT Sweet Lolita look slightly subdued at the same time. It’s kind of oxymoronic, actually.
Lolita Wonderland: How do you usually start to coordinate? For example: do you make up a coordinate in your head weeks in advance or do you just think of it the morning you need it?
Cadney: I coordinate both ways. I tend to think up coordinates in my head days, weeks, or months in advance for particular events. Right now I’m planning a coordinate in my head that I will wear to meet Misako Aoki in August. I also lay coordinates out on my bed before I put them on to see what they look like. If an element looks bad, I remove it and replace it with another item.
Lolita Wonderland: You are known to suffer from a bladder condition. Does this influence your Lolita life in any way?
Cadney: I would say that it does influence my Lolita life in some ways, but mostly because of the dietary restrictions imposed on me from the condition. I was unable, for example, to attend the Lolita Tea Party at Anime North this year because I simply could not eat or drink anything on the menu. As for tight or loose clothing, the only thing that sometimes causes me pain in Lolita is a tight petticoat around my waist that squeezes the abdomen unnecessarily.
Lolita Wonderland: Do you have something that is kind of like your trademark in Lolita, like a certain print, accessory or bag for example?
Cadney: People sometimes tell me that my black pigtail hair falls from Prisila are my trademark. Other people tell me that I have a specific trademarked pose, which I think is funny! I don’t usually think about my outfits in terms of style trademarks; so the only reason why I’ve recognized these things is because others have mentioned them to me.
Lolita Wonderland: Do you have any favourite colour combinations in Lolita?
Cadney: Yes. I love to combine mint with everything, but especially lavender. I also recently did a coordinate that was mint x lavender x white that I loved in the end.
Lolita Wonderland: What is your most favourite outfit you ever wore?
Cadney: My favourite past outfit is the ivory Day Dream Carnival one that I wore last may in the Anime North Lolita Fashion Show. I coordinated ivory with gold, and touches of pink. I also used a Rococo Soul sceptre to complete the look.
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Lolita Wonderland: What is your absolute Dream Dress? The dress you really hope to own, but that just seems out of reach?
Cadney: That would definitely be Angelic Pretty’s Gloria in the Ivory colourway. What’s so heartbreaking about Gloria is that I thought I actually bought it; I checked out with the set in about 30 seconds, and I only found out at 6am the next morning that there wasn’t enough stock for Angelic Pretty to complete my order. That was a sad day.
Lolita Wonderland: If you could create a new print for your favourite brand, which brand would it be, what would it look like and what would you call it?
Cadney: I would create a dress for Angelic Pretty called “Mascot Parade.” The print would have all of Angelic Pretty’s previous mascots on it together, like Milky-chan, Vanilla-chan, Chick-chan, Lyrical Bunny, the giraffe and elephant, etc. I imagine they would all be parading together, holding balloons and celebrating. Maybe Angelic Pretty could do something like this for a milestone or anniversary. I would love it.
Lolita Wonderland: You are a quite well-known Lolita on the internet. Has this influenced you in any way? Like in the way you dress or the things you write?
Cadney: It doesn’t influence the way I dress or act, I don’t think. If I said that it doesn’t affect me in any way, though, I would be lying. I do my best to just be myself despite the public eye on my blog, if that makes sense. Being relatively well-known in the Lolita community has both positive and negative aspects, and without going into much detail, I’ll say that I’ve experienced the extremes of both.
Lolita Wonderland: How do you cope with negative reactions to your clothing style? Whether it’s on the internet or out on the streets.
Cadney: The first time something terrible was said about me, I felt really awful and torn up about it. It takes some experience with negative comments to grow a thick skin, and I find that everyone eventually can. I shrug most negative comments off completely, now. To ~rustle my jimmies~, someone in the street would really need to relentlessly get in my face. Otherwise, I pay them no mind.
Lolita Wonderland: You used to wear unnatural coloured wigs a lot in the past. Lately you wear more natural coloured wigs and hair pieces. Have you stopped wearing unnatural colours completely or are you taking a break from them?
Cadney: I haven’t stopped wearing them completely (I have a Lockshop wig that uses pink and purple, for example, and I wear it rather often) but I really have moved away from colourful wigs. I just feel like natural hair looks a lot better on me, and the reason why I’ve come to realize this is because of helpful constructive criticism I received on the internet. Truthfully, when I look back at my older coordinates I don’t know why I ever wore many of those wigs! There’s a learning curve in Lolita for discovering what flatters your style best, I think.
Lolita Wonderland: Has your Lolita style changed over the years?
Cadney: Yes, I think it’s changed like night and day. I can’t even look at some of my older outfits without getting a little embarrassed! Haha
Lolita Wonderland: Do you incorporate Lolita elements in your daily, non-Lolita outfits?
Cadney: Yes, sometimes I do. I’ll wear my more toned down Lolita hair accessories with everyday clothing, and I sometimes use my gold MILK bag in casual coordinates. I’ve even worn my mint tea party shoes with my mint casual dresses from Forever 21.!
Lolita Wonderland: What is an absolute must have for a Lolita in your opinion?
Cadney: Confidence. You cannot wear this style out in the world and simultaneously feel happiness without finding your inner confidence and growing a thick skin. This is something that everyone can do if they only work at it, even if we’re all confident to different degrees.
Lolita Wonderland: What advice would you give to a beginner Lolita?
Cadney: My advice would be to do a lot of research online before starting to wear Lolita. Look at the essentials: do you have a petticoat? Do you have appropriate shoes? What will you do with your hair to compliment your first outfit? My mistake when I started out in Lolita was just launching myself out there and finding whatever I could to make *something* happen, instead of doing research and creating outfits based on what I saw looked great together on others who already understood a lot about the style. Finding style icons was a great way for me to improve in Lolita. I saw what looked great on them, and used it as a springboard to improve my own style.
Lolita Wonderland: Finally, what does Lolita mean to you?
Cadney: Lolita is a breath of fresh air. I have so much going on in my life from school to work to illness, and it’s so wonderful to occasionally take some time out of my week to dress up and feel beautiful. I wouldn’t say that I consider Lolita escapism from everyday life, but it really is a healthy way to suspend the problems of yesterday and focus on making yourself happy, if only for a little while.
Many, many thanks to Cadney for answering all of my questions! If you haven’t checked her tumblr out yet, I definitely recommend it! :3
If you liked this interview or you have some constructive criticism, please leave a comment below! I would love to do more interviews in the future, so if you know anyone you’d like to see being interviewed, let me know! If you yourself would like to be interviewed, let me know too! The only requirements are:
1. You must have worn at least four Lolita outfits.
2. You must love Lolita and have fun wearing it!
I really hope you liked this interview!
