Lolita 52 Challenge- How I first found out about Lolita

Hello dolls ♡

Today I want to share the story how I found out about Lolita.

I think it was in March 2011 when I got tired of how I dressed back then. I wanted to google some clothes to find into a new style when I came across a picture of blue Tea Partys. ♡

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I thought they were so cute so I clicked on the picture and found myself on a shopping site called "clobbaonline" (later I found out they only sell replicas^^). I looked trough the store for ages and got sad as I thought I would never have the self esteem to wear this fashion.
However, it didn't go out of my head, so I did further researches, started to follow blogs and looked through other shopping sites.
In June, so about three months later, I decided to buy my first outfit. I actually never had problems to wear Lolita in public because I feel well in it and learned to not care about what others think of it.

How did you find out about Lolita fashion? Share your story in the comments!

See you,

Yaya ♡

'Private' closet post

Hello dolls ♡

In January the monthly theme of the egl community is always about closet posts. The whole month you will find all kind of Lolitas showing what is in their wardrobe. This year I wanted to join but when I saw how many closet posts are on egl I thought people maybe get tired of it already. So I decided to do the post here instead ;)

Please excuse if some of the pictures are blurry. It's quite some work to take pics of all your items ~

Main pieces

AP- French Cafe

Bodyline- Strawberry Gingham

White Moon (I forgot the full name :/)

Bodyline- No Name

Bodyline- StrawBerry ShortCake

Bodyline- Sweet Party Time

My one and only skirt:

This was my very first Lolita item. It's a replica by a taobao brand called Rose Melody. 

I don't think skirts suit me that's why I don't have more ^^

Blouses

I definitely want to stock on blouses in the future. 

Accessories 

Bows: offbrand, Taobao, bodyline

selfmade, In the Snowfield, offbrand

offbrand, Taobao

Bags are the second thing I need more of in the future ;)

Lockshop, GLW, offbrand (on bodyline wig is missing because I lend it to a friend)

bodyline, offbrand and sockdreams.com

boots from bodyline, rest Taobao

I left out my cardigans, jewellery and my coat because the post is already so long.

I'm happy how my wardrobe developed in the last 1 1/2 years.

Did anybody of you also make a closet post?

Fell free to set a link in the comments :)

See you again, 

Yaya ♡

Shabby chic inspiration

Hello lovelies ♡

I always had a certain love for furniture with a vintage feeling to it but only some days ago I found out that there is a name for this style of furniture. Shabby Chic.

The style of Shabby Chic originated in the 1980. It combines flee market finds with self-made stuff. Very common are elements that look like used before. Everything is kept in pale, light colours and roses are seen as decoration very often.

I want to share my favourite Shabby Chic pictures that I found all over the Internet with you. ♡

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Ah, I could continue sharing such pics for ages but I better stop now. ♡

I just love how the whole flair of this furniture is elegant and cute at the same time. Looking at this pics makes my heart go a little faster! I hope I can live in a Shabby Chic room/house/flat/whatever some day ~

Do you like Shabby Chic?

See you soon,

Yaya  ♡

Lolita 52 Challenge - Purses that I love

Hello cuties ♡

This weeks topic is about purses. I'm actually a bit confused about this topic as I do not really see the connection to Lolita. Am I supposed to rate different kinds of purses? Or shall I also say something about Lolita bags?
I think I will just do a mixture of both. I hope you like it ^^

Purses
I personally love smaller purses that can be carried in small bags.
I currently always use this one:

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It´s so lovely.♡

I also like the vintage feeling of purses like this:

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Many Lolita brands release purses that fit their collections. Of course they are a bit pricey but unique.

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Bags 

I love cute Lolita bags that are shaped like hearts or animals. They normally come in a great variety of colours.
My favourite style of bags is this one:

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I want to own this bag in all colours of the rainbow one day *-*

The problem with these typical Lolita bags is that they do provide very small space.

Sometimes, if I need a bigger bag I just use my Korilakkuma one. I bought it at a Convention last year.

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Sometimes you will also see Lolitas using tote-bags like this one:

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I love to match my bags with my outfits and I hope I can stock on bags in the future.

What is your favourite style of bags or purses? Tell me in the comments! 

See you next week,

Yaya ♡

How to order from taobao- part#2

Hello lovelies ♡

I'm so sorry to let you wait so long for the second part of this guide. What kept me from writing this sooner was that I just had my first experience with a shopping service and I wanted to wait till the items reach me before I blog about it.

In case you missed the first part of this guide you can view it here.

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What is a shopping service?
A shopping service, or short SS, is a person or business buying stuff from a certain country  for you. Most shopping services charge a fee in exchange for buying and shipping the stuff for you. (The price of the item and the shipping is also paid by you of course).

When do I need a shopping service? 
If you want an item of a shop that doesn't offer shipping to your country.

Where can I find a trustworthy SS?
I mostly listen to which SS are recommended by people. (On blogs, or tumblr and so on..) If you discover a SS that you are not sure about it try to google reviews or ask someone on egl.
For my purchase I used "taobaospree", a shipping service that is recommended by many people. I will try to explain how shopping with them works.

How to shop with taobao spree?
I wanted to explain it in my own words but I feel like it became to complicated. In this post the whole thing is explained in an easy way. You can also check out tobaospree's website where everything is explained as well. Just click on "how to order" at the top of the page. Under "taobao tips" you can find an useful list of Lolita stores on taobao.

My own experience with taobaospree was very pleasing. The ordered something for me but the package got lost on the way to them. To my surprise this didn't cause trouble. They just ordered it again :)
They were friendly and replied to my emails quickly.

Well I'm sorry that this post is kinda a collection of links but I couldn't describe it better than it is on the linked pages. If you have any further questions you can contact me of course :)

See you next time,

Yaya  ♡

January´s LALOAM

Hello lovelies ♡

I want to present you the Lolita At Least Once A Month of January! Did you notice that I didn't post any LALOAM in December? I'm very sorry for that but it was a busy month and I had no time for a proper outfit.

This weekend I stayed with my dad and his girlfriend and it was the first time I wore Lolita around them. They both liked it...I think xD

I wanted the whole outfit to be more casual. So I chose to wear a T-shirt under the JSK instead of a blouse. The shoes are also more toned down. 

In the afternoon we went bowling and it was the first time that I was outside in Lolita without people staring at me. I actually enjoyed to wear my frills without getting asked question and get photographed all the time. xD 

I'm sorry that I have no detail shoots or a close up of my face but as it is a casual outfit there isn't much to show anyway ~

See you soon again,

Yaya  ♡

Lolita 52 Challenge- 5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style

Hello lovelies ♡

Today I present you the second topic of the challenge. I choosed "5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style".
Let´s start!

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#1 

A poofy petticoat.

This is the basic item of every Lolita outfit. Many Lolitas do have more than one. You can choose a super poofy one or a flatter one. That totally depends on your taste. However, I recommend to never do an outfit without any petticoat.

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#2

A main piece.

This can be a skirt, jumperskirt or an one piece dress. Which you choose depends on your taste again. But without any of it, you can't build up a Lolita wardrobe.

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#3

Something for your head.

There is a varity of stuff you can add to your head. Bows, headbands, bonnets...

An outfit with no head accessory always looks kinda incomplete to me. Even if you wear Casual Lolita a small headband shouldn't miss :)

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#4

Matching shoes.

Because without shoes you can't go outside ;)

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#5

Legwear.

I don't like the optic of bare legs with Lolita. So legwear, like socks or tights, is vital. Even in summer I at least were some ankle socks with my coords.

So these are the five things I think a Lolita wardrobe should have.

I hope you like the challenge so far and stay tuned for the next topic next week!

See you soon,

Yaya ♡

Bodyline order review

Hello cuties ♡

My bodyline.co.jp order arrived today. I ordered two JSKs. I want to write a little review about their quality and my opinion on them.

The first one I ordered is the "L501" on bls website.  It seems to be one of their newer dresses. I loved it from the first time I saw it ♡

The color and the print are so beautiful and the material is comfy and light.

I really like the style if the collar. The bow is not detachable. However the dress comes with an additional bow that you can attach where you want :3

The lace is fine compared to what I paid and I love the polka dot hem. 

Altogether I would give this dress 5/5 stars. It absolutely is one of my favorite dresses of all time. I hope I can wear it soon!

The second JSK I bought is "L313"

 The dress is in their store since a long time now and to be honest I always thought it is ugly XD But now that I had a closer look on it again I really love the print. It´s so detailed.

It looks so delicious ^^ What surprised me about this dress is that the waist ties are detachable. This isn´t the case with most bodyline dresses I own. I´m not a fan of waist ties so it is a plus for me.

 The upper part of the dress is beautifully decorated with lots of bows and lace. I noticed that I have three bodyline dresses with this rose lace. They seem to use it quite often. 

The only not so positive part about this dress is that it has quite wrinkled. Will I dare to iron it? We will see. 

I would give this JSK 4.5/5 stars as it is a super beautiful dress but the wrinkles are annoying. 

To conclude, I´m super happy with my order even though I had to pay customs once again ~

Did you place any orders lately? Tell me in the comments :3

See you next time,

Yaya ♡

Lolita 52 Challenge - Topic #1

Hey lovelies ♡

Today I finally start the challenge!

I want to start with #15 "3 things I wish I was told when I was a new Lolita".

#1 "Taobao orders always take longer than expected"
The first Lolita items I ever ordered were from taobao. I remember that I ordered them in June and wanted to wear them to a convention in July. However they reached my in late August.
Seen from my point now I´m quite happy the things didn't reach me in time as it would have been a total ita-isch outfit but back that time I was pissed I had to go to the convention in 'normal' clothes.

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#2 "Buy a matching head accessory right away"
When I placed my first order I didn't mind about buying any matching item for my had. I soon regretted that. My outfit always looked kinda incomplete and I still do not really have a head accessory for the outfit.

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#3 "A coat needs to be around 7-10 cm wider than your body measurements"
When I first ordered a Lolita coat I chose a size fitting my exact measurements. Of course it was much to small for me then. I had to wait like two months for the coat to arrive as it was from taobao again and I also had to pay customs for it.
In the end I just sold it a bit lower than the actual price as it got damaged while I tried to try it on. So I lost the money I had to pay for shipping and customs and had no coat for the whole winter.
That was when I promised myself to not buy a coat from taobao again.

I believe anybody makes some mistakes when they are new to Lolita and believe me, after some time you will be able to laugh about it ;)

Is there anything you wished you were told when you started out as a Lolita? Tell me in the comments!

See you soon,

Yaya ♡

Rose Headband Tutorial

Hello lovelies ♡

I finally have a new tutorial to present you.
I'm in love with these rose headbands that are so popular right now.

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In local stores I couldn't find a headband matching my taste so I decided to make my own. It's pretty easy I have to say ;)

This is how they looked finished. I made one that is more toned down for everyday life and a huge one for OTT outfits.

What I used:

In the store they only had complete flowers. I absolutely wanted to make the headbands today so I bought them and just removed the heads from the stalk.

For the toned down one I used:

Small white roses

Mini red flowers

For the OTT headband I used:

epic pink roses

medium sized white roses

I bought the headband at a drugstore.

Step #1

Remove the heads of the roses

Step #2 

Remove these small stick parts from the downside of the flowers. I cut them of with a scissor.

Step #3 

Decide how the flowers should be arranged .

Step #4

Using a hot glue-gun simply glue the flowers one after each other onto the headband.

Be careful when working with the glue- gun! 

And that is all ~

You should have a finished headband now!

Modeled by my alpaca Candy ♡

For the OTT band you do pretty the same. Just keep in mind that the big roses are heavy and will need more glue. 

Modeled by Cotton because I don´t feel like taking photos of myself today^^

That's it. I hope the tutorial is useful for you. If somebody of you decides to make one I would love to see it!

Love,

Yaya ♡