In honor of a day off (hooray!) I dressed up. I spent the whole day with my person, which always makes me happy. To add to the joy of the day, I wore my Cherry Berry Bunny jumperskirt. This probably qualifies as my “dream dress” even though I’d like to think that the Twinkle Mermaid jumperskirt is my dream. (I doubt that I will ever see a Twinkle Mermaid jumperskirt for sale that won’t cost some incredibly overinflated price.) I love the artwork for this print, even though I’m not really fond of prints in general. I guess I just can’t resist adorable bunnies! ♥

I paired it with my white long-sleeved Christmas present blouse. There’s just something invaluable about a truly long-sleeved blouse in the wintertime; I find that when I wear my detachable-sleeve blouses the wind sneaks in where the sleeves attach! I usually wear long-underwear in the winter, but sometimes that’s not enough when there’s a harsh chill–even indoors. I’m really thankful for this blouse~

Since it’s cold outside, my coordinations always involve my winter coat! I really feel that this coat is one of the most valuable lolita garments I’ve ever purchased. It was expensive, but worth every penny! I love having a coat that fits well over my clothing (normal coats always gape at the bottom or scrunch up funny over the volume of a petticoat) and looks finished. Sometimes I’ve spotted a coat that could fit over a lolita coordination, but usually those coats have no shape. With the “poof” of lolita clothing underneath, it’s very unflattering–it makes people look like blobs.

Of course, my feelings towards this coat might not be as glowing if it weren’t for the best part–my earmuffs. My coat has a matching earmuff-headdress, which works very well to keep my ears from freezing. I find that I’m most uncomfortable in inclement weather if my extremities (toes, fingers, ears, etc.) are cold; it’s definitely easy for them to be cold, too! Wearing these earmuffs keeps my ears from hurting, thus I can have more fun out in the snow. Since it’s a headdress, instead of a headband, it can fold up to fit in my pocket when I’m not wearing it. I wish I had another one of these to match my normal coat! (I should make one…)

20100103 Velveteen Skirt
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

For the January crafternoon, I picked my outfit based on convenience more than being as fluffy and frilly as possible. I had to go to work before I could head to the meetup, and there wasn’t enough time to change between the two. (Besides, I hate lugging stuff around, and carrying an extra outfit–especially one involving a petticoat–would have been too much.)

This skirt is a lovely gift from my little sister. It’s BABY, the Stars Shine Bright, in a traditional style that they have released in many fabrics for different years. Mine is a creamy ivory velveteen, with sheer fabric ruffles peeking out at the bustled back. I don’t own a lot of things in this color, so I coordinated it with a sweater I recently got and some knit tights. It was very casual, but comfy and not work-inappropriate.

I plan on getting some kind of cutsew or knit top to wear with this on a more regular basis. I’d really like one of the bustier-style tops that BtSSB has released in the past, but I haven’t seen them do one of those in a while and the fabric would need to match or it would look silly.

I still really need a new petticoat, since mine is in the shop and I’ve been wearing my definitely-not-poofy backup. ;_; 2010 needs to be the year of the new petticoat!

20100101 Christmas Presents in Action
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

Over the past few years, I’ve been trying very hard to get more enjoyment and fulfillment out of my life. I don’t want to look back and wish I hadn’t wasted so much time~ I decided to continue this trend by wearing lolita on the first of the year.

I spent New Year’s Day at my mother’s house, enjoying a family dinner with 11 people around our table~ @@ Although my close family is desensitized to my frilliness, my grandparents attended the meal and I didn’t want to shock them. They don’t necessarily understand why their adult granddaughter wants to look like a cupcake. n~ I love them both and don’t want to make them too uncomfortable.

So I left the Cherry Berry Bunny at home and opted for a more demure sweet look. :3 My Christmas present this year was a long-sleeved white blouse from BABY, the Stars Shine Bright, so I had to wear that! My mother and stepfather were actually worried that I wouldn’t like it–even though I’ve really wanted a long-sleeved white blouse! I also wore the pink macaron socks they gave me as a souvenir from Paris. ♥

Even the jumperskirt was a gift–from my little sister. I really adore this general style that BtSSB releases, and it’s exciting to own it in pink. I know I’ll get a lot of use out of it.

I opted for just a ribbon pinned into my hair, instead of a larger bow or headdress, because I know that the hair accessories can seem really overwhelming to those not accustomed to the fashion. Also, my family always asks for me to leave my hair down, but I felt unfinished without some kind of adornment.

I hope this is the first of many outfits in 2010! I really love wearing lolita. ♥

Hair bow, jumperskirt, blouse, and socks are BABY, the Stars Shine Bright. Slippers are dorky! 😀

Giant Box of Happiness
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

Recently, I ordered something ridiculous and extravagant. Something beyond lolita clothing. I ordered a ball-jointed doll.

Now, I have owned a ball-jointed doll. She was gorgeous and wonderful, but ultimately she didn’t fulfill what I really wanted from a doll, and thus I sold her. I had planned to try again and buy another doll in the near future, but luck happened to provide me unexpectedly with an auction for a doll that seemed to meet my wishes. I bid on it, won, and thus began the waiting game~

I decided to dress up yesterday because I felt like the doll would be arriving soon; I wanted to add a little good luck to my day. I always feel better when I wear lolita fashion–it makes me confident and optimistic regardless of circumstances. So I tumbled into my favourite one-piece, pulled on a pair of socks that I don’t coordinate with nearly enough, and clipped small bows into my hair. I always did like the hair accessories that Candy Violet made, and I’m glad I purchased these little bows while they were still available.

Once dressed, I cleaned the house and wished very hard that my package would arrive…and it worked! (I was pretty surprised!!)

My dress and socks are Angelic Pretty; my hairbows are Candy Violet; and the box holds my beautiful wonderful adorable new Volks “Nagisa in Preschool.”

PINK SWEATER OF DOOOOOM
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

I fell in love with the most recent Metamorphose special set as soon as I saw it. The promotional pictures of the skirt, blouse, wrist-cuffs, and hairbow looked unbelievably adorable no matter what fabric–gingham or stripes. The pink striped fabric is so cute that I really-really-really wanted it even though I don’t often fit in Metamorphose. When I found out that a local lolita was selling it, though, I couldn’t resist…even though it was too big.

I pleaded with my little sister to use her amazing sewing magic to take it in, although she hates altering Japanese brand clothing. (Especially for me–my measurements are really strange, so it’s hard to get things just right!) She did a really great job, though! I hope to wear it more often! The ruffles make it kind of overwhelming, but it’s so cute that I don’t really care. I just wish the hairbow wasn’t on a barrette. It can be hard to work into a hairstyle.

The weather has been really unpredictable lately, so I wore an unflattering sweatshirt. It seemed a little too warm for it when I went outside all zipped up under my coat, but I was glad I had it when I came home that night. I don’t have any nice lolita fashion cardigans or parkas, but maybe someday I’ll get some. I know that my sweatshirt isn’t pretty, but it’s soooo comfy and pink. ♥

This ended up being a good outfit choice for the movie night. It wasn’t the sort of thing I had to worry too much about, and I was mostly safe from dropping cookie crumbs or breadstick sauce on myself thanks to the sweatshirt. I also didn’t take up too much space on the sofa…but that’s okay, since I sat on the floor for most of it anyway.

Here She Lies
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

I didn’t wear a costume for Halloween, but I did do something out of the ordinary! There was a tea party on Halloween at a tearoom downtown, and the dress code was themed for the holiday. The recommendation was gothic lolita or guro-lolita, and I didn’t want to be the one person not in on the fun!

Since I don’t own anything suitable for gothic or anything I could muss up for guro, I asked a friend if she would mind dressing me up for the occasion. Miss Nena was very helpful–she didn’t just pick out an outfit for me, she brought a huuuuge selection of gothic-appropriate lolita dresses over to my apartment and let me try them on to select one to wear. There were quite a few that looked really cute, but in the end I chose an elegant black one-piece by BABY, the Stars Shine Bright.

We made a few jokes that I would be dressed up as her for Halloween, since she’s worn that dress many times (because it is so beautiful). Other people even recognized the dress at the tea party! (Although so many people were so shocked to see me wearing black that they didn’t even know what to say.)

I didn’t have a lot of things to coordinate with it, but I think I managed alright. I wore black tights with a very beloved pair of black high-heeled shoes. They’re made of a very soft leather that stretches slightly to fit one’s feet, with rounded toes and satin ribbons to tie around the ankle. I bought them when I was in junior high school, because they looked like high-heeled ballet shoes. Lots of people at the tea party thought I had just tied extra ribbon around my legs to mimic rocking-horse shoes, but really my shoes just came that way!

For my hair, I just added a black satin bow. I tried doing a Victorian-inspired style, but I’m not really satisfied with how it turned out. I also wore makeup with this outfit! I almost never wear makeup because I have numerous topical allergies and it’s itchy-itchy-itchy and sometimes leaves a rash. However, it just didn’t seem right without some blush and dark eyeliner. I hoped to channel a kind of darker, eerie beauty without going for a look that was too heavy. (Although by the end of the day I couldn’t WAIT to wash it off… ;_; Ouchies.)

Overall, I had a lot of fun being a gothic lolita for a day! Everyone was very surprised–I waited outside the tea house to make sure everyone was accounted for, and my friends did many double-takes trying to reconcile an Alice wearing something not pink and cute.

I hope everyone else had a great Halloween, lolita fashion-related or not!

Bright White
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

October has been a crazy month for me! I have really neglected this blog, but I haven’t forgotten about it! However, I’ve been working eight or more hours six days a week…and spending another six hours in class over the week…so I have had very little time to myself. I keep thinking of lolita-related topics I want to address here, but I can’t seem to pull my thoughts together by the time I get home from work.

However, I had this weekend off, so I decided to have as much fun as possible! At the end of last year I purchased a ball-jointed doll from Rosette Doll. Since her arrival, I’ve really wanted to attend a ball-jointed doll meetup with the Chicago community. They seemed like nice people. (And I wanted to see more dolls in person!) So I decided to attend a ball-jointed-doll meetup on Saturday.

I really wanted to wear lolita fashion over the weekend, but going to the meetup meant I had to head out to the suburbs. That is a trip involving several trains and an eventual pick-up from the station that’s about half and hour from my mother’s house. Also, it’s been raining like crazy. I decided to take a chance and wear lolita, so I stuffed my backpack until it looked ready to burst (frills and petticoats will do that to a bag…) and trekked out to the suburbs with my fiancé.

I don’t regret it at all! I LOVE getting dressed up, and this is one of my favourite dresses, so I can’t be in anything but a wonderful mood when I wear it! The doll meetup ended up taking place at the local Japanese market, and I ate lunch at the food court beforehand. I’ve been going to this market since I was a toddler, and I can never pass up the chance for cheap, decent sushi. It was nice to be back there when wearing lolita, because there are several employees who like to talk to me and get disappointed if I’m in “normal” clothes. :3 (Sometimes I wish I could dress them up! They’re such cuuuuuuute girls!! n_n)

I don’t like that my sweater doesn’t match, but I didn’t worry about it too much. It was much too cold outside to go without! I had to leave early to change before the evening, though. I work at an observatory, and lolita skirts plus being up inside the dome equals far too much opportunity for people to look up my skirt. :/ And it’s COLD out there!

Lookin’ Like a Dork
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

This past Sunday was a Crafternoon, as the first Sunday of the month! I really adore these meetups. Even though there is always an intention to partake in a craft, usually it just involves hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. We spent a good portion of the afternoon crammed onto the couches of our friends’ house, watching Ghostbusters and later Sleeping Beauty. Due to the general nature of the Crafternoon, I try not to be overdressed. It’s no fun to be left out due to worrying too much about your clothing.

I wore my favourite dress, but I didn’t necessarily coordinate it in the best manner I could have. Instead, I just wore this pink, bow-bedecked Angelic Pretty one-piece with white tights, pink shoes, and pink hairbows. I also had a pink sweater that I spent a good portion of the day in, but I took it off for picture since it’s fairly shapeless.

My petticoat is still in need of repairs. I really ought to replace it, but I keep thinking that mine can just be fixed. I suppose that’s my next mission… although I’m not sure what kind of petticoat I’d replace mine with, anyway. I have a custom extra-poof petticoat from In the Starlight, although I’ve been considering one of the Malco Modes petticioats (the models sold by Candy Violet). I do like poof, but I’m not so sure of my ability to adjust any necessary adjusting…

Bunnies in the Park
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

It might be a habit often associated with old ladies, but I adore the opera. I sneak tickets away from my father as often as I possibly can, typically trying my best to subject one or another friend to a last-minute evening at the theatre. This year I was lucky enough to attend the Lyric Opera‘s “Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park” when some of my friends decided to organize a picnic. ♥

Despite the fact that it’s not anything really “special,” I am quite proud of this outfit because it was mostly coordinated by my dear person. I had to head to the park immediately after work, but I wasn’t ready at all. He brought me an entire outfit–petticoat, shoes, and all! There was even a selection of makeup and hair accessories. I ended up changing in the bathroom of a Panda Express, and still managed to look presentable~

Although they’re hard to see, I just bought these socks from my little sister. She had purchased them during her study-trip in Japan when she purchased the Cherry Berry Bunny jumperskirt I’m wearing. The Angelic Pretty shopgirls insisted that these socks match, but she felt she had been too pursuaded by them. I agree that the socks don’t really match, but I wanted to see if they could be coordinated with it–and I don’t think they’re half-bad.

(It’s hard to see, but the socks are pink and white stripes, with pink lace and small red bows at the top. Around the ankle is a white “band” edged in the slightest red ruffle, with strawberries woven into the side facing out. They’re quite detailed socks!)

I love wearing fluffy, pink things, so this outfit made me extra happy! ♥