Creating a coord based on a historical figure

As I told in my inspiration post I get a lot of my inspiration from historical places, characters, paintings or even books.
But getting inspiration from those things is one thing but how can you translate that into a coord?
This is where this post comes in handy. I've collected two of my favourite inspirational characters and made some coords based on them.

Jane Austen 1775-1817 // Writer

In the late 1700s the fashion became less elaborate and a lot simpler but around this time it was the point where cheaper copies of the fashionable clothes where sold to all members of different classes. Which made a big start in the fashion as we know it today and it began to be a part of a way to express yourself. 

When it comes to Jane Austen, her style was minimalistic compared to Marie Antoinette who I will cover in a bit. When I would translate her style into a lolita coord I would pick a dress with a square or high neckline, preferably an OP. 

Other than that I would also go for a light cotton fabric and maybe some chiffon details. Lace details would be minimal and for the headpiece I would go for a rectangular headdress or a small bonnet. 

Headpiece: Victorian Maiden

Dress: Seraphim

Shoes: Yuni Fairy

Marie Antoinette 1755-1793 // Fashion icon, Queen of France

Where to start with such a royal and inspiring lady. Marie Antoinette is I think the most famous fashion icon from her time period. She was the first to pose in a sheer dress for a painting which was really shocking at that time cause who want to be seen in an underdress? 

As for fashion inspiration, the bigger the better. Marie Antoinette was know for her elaborate dresses, big hairstyles and for wearing hats. Nothing was too expensive for her, she was know as Madame Déficit in the country. Cause France was on the edge of going bankrupt but she kept on with spending money for fashion.  

When it comes to translating her style into lolita fashion you can go either way. The first option would be to go all out with the highly detailed designs with lots of ruffles and lace or you can go for her famous sheer painting and keep your coord sort of simple but really stylish. 

I've used Marie Antoinette as inspiration in my own coords too, mostly for hairstyling but I'll share those in the end. 

Dress: Baby, the stars shine Bright

Hat: Baby, the stars shine Bright

Shoes: American Duchess

Dress: Victorian Maiden

Hat: Fan+Friend

Shoes: American Duchess

The following ones are the coords I made over the years where I used the same time period as my inspiration. Especially the big hairstyles and lots of lace details are a must for me. I would love to create a coord based on Jane Austen too one day cause I think it fits really well in a day to day style.

One of the key points for me is that I rarely use wigs for creating such hairstyles. I really like to use my own natural hair for it. It gives it a more authentic feel to me. And other than that full bangs weren't really a thing which makes it really easy to use my own hair for hairstyles. 

Coord 1 // Dress: Little Dipper, Blouse: Little Dipper: Shoes: Cotton Candy Feet

Coord 2 // Dress: Handmade, Blouse: Dear celine

Coord 3: Dress: Baby, the stars shine Bright, Blouse Little Dipper, Shoes: Cotton Candy Feet

Do you have any historical figures that inspire you for your lolita coords? 

I would love to get to know them too. 

Lots of love, 

Poppy xox 

This post is in collaboration with the Lolita Blog Carnival

More posts about this topic:

Cupcake Kamisama

The Bloody Tea Party

Solid or Prints, what is my favourite?

When you first start out with lolita fashion you need to make the most important choice of the day. Are you going to go for the non printed dress with lots of detail or are you more of a novelty themed person and go for the fun and bright prints with berries, cakes, castles or other cute items on your dress.

It all depends on the fact what your purpose is going to be for that specific piece and of course what style you want to wear in the future. Most lolita girls like to use non printed simple dresses for work like the ones Innocent World offers. They have a minimal amount of ribbons but still look really put together. While if you are more of an event person you can choose to go for the printed dresses that fit the theme for example. 

As I look at my wardrobe the majority are printed dresses, which I also use as casual dresses since my own solid dresses are no wear near suitable for every day coords. 

When I first started out with lolita I bought a pink non printed gingham dress with minimal details on it while my second dress was going to be Memorial Cake by Angelic Pretty which futures cakes and flowers. I was super happy with my first dress but my second dress was the one that got me the most. All those details in the print and there was so much to see. 

That is why I love printed pieces so much, you have so much details in the print and discover something new every single time you look at it. Cause you don't remember every single thing that is on there. I've made a video from one of my newest dresses "Welcome to the Sweets Hexenhaus" to show all the lovely details in the print. If you have time please check it out. 

Watch the video here

With solid pieces you have the amazing ruffles, bows and other details that make the dress pop but to be honest I like the princess type of solid dresses over the clean and simple solid pieces especially for events and meetings. 

In the end it is a question of preference and what you are going for. As an OTT sweet lolita I absolutely adore the versatility of a good printed dress where I can use different pieces and colors from the print into my coord. While when I make coords with my solid pieces I tend to stick with the same simple coords over and over again.

Though there are some amazing girls out there who do magical things with solid pieces but it just doesn't fit my own style that well or maybe I should look into that style a bit more... Who knows what happens in 2018!

This post is in collaboration with the lolita blog carnival

More posts about this topic:

Cupcake Kamisama's Lolita World

Rose Sanctuary
Tomoyo's Secret Garden
The Bloody Tea Party

How to make the perfect wardrobe post // 5 easy steps

Wardrobe posts, you either love making them or hate the fact that you want to make one but don't feel like putting up with the effort that goes into making one. As for myself I'm definitely on the last group!

But unlike every other year I've made the effort into making a wardrobe post this year. My first wardrobe post was one that I am not proud of at all when I look back at it. It is lacking in quality, details and especially it doesn't represent me. It feels empty and plain. Nothing wrong with plain wardrobe posts don't get me wrong here but pairing that with the other missing factors it isn't something that I'm proud of.

Now I don't going to tell you to buy the newest camera on the market or to invest in something that makes your wardrobe post stand out a bit more. But I am going to share 5 tips on how you can make your own version of a perfect wardrobe.

Daylight is your best light source

We all know that you need some light in order to make a photo. All light sources have different colors going from a more blue tone to a more yellow tone. This shade will reflect on your actual photo. With daylight you sit right in between the blue and yellow tones which gives you the perfect representation of your actual dress without the need of adjusting your photo's through a photo editing app. 

Also this light source is free and available all day, the only thing you need is a window in front of your photo spot. 

Other than having daylight in your room is the placement of your photo corner also an important factor to keep in your mind. The best placement of your camera is going to be in between the window and the things you want to make photo's off. This gives the best overall lightning and no harsh shadows. 

Left = facing my window

Middle = window on the side

Right = window behind me

As you can see the lighting differs in all the three photo's and they where made in the same moment with my phone.  

Don't rush your photo making progress

This one is so easily to forget but please take your time when making the photo's. Make sure your dresses lay correctly, no weird folds or ribbons left untied. All these small details pay for themselves in the end. When you take your time to properly display your pieces in every photo you will enjoy working your way through it when making the actual wardrobe post. You find yourself in awe over your dresses and see all the little details just like the stock photo's of brands like Angelic Pretty or Baby, the stars shine bright. 

With my own wardrobe post this year I started rushing through things when I was getting tired after multiple hours of shooting my items. And it really shows, at least I see the flaws in the photo's. Blouses that where a bit wonky, dresses not hanging straight on my dressing doll or even weird pleats in the skirts where the lining of my dress was all scrunched up underneath.  I needed to redo some of these photo and still some slipped through! 

It was better for me to spread the process over multiple days instead of one evening. But I wanted to finish it that night before I wanted to go to bed. This was the worst idea ever and it shows in my eyes. 

Small items are even smaller on photo

Dresses show up really when on photo cause they are big and you can fill up the frame really well without skipping out on the details of a print. When it comes to smaller items like jewellery you need to take a different approach. The moment you put all your necklaces in one shot you loose a lot of detail. In my first wardrobe post I places all the same type of items in the same shot, so all headbows together, same for socks and necklaces for example. This ended in one giant mess and a wow effect on how much stuff I had instead of showing off the details of the items. For my wardrobe post this year I took the time to place for example my necklaces in pairs of 4 together for a close up shot. Same for my headbows, placed by brand or color palet with a max of 5 if I'm correct. This was aesthetically pleasing and a lot easier on the eye. 

Top: Old wardrobe post on LJ

Bottom: New wardrobe post on my blog

You don't need to post in Januari

Back in the day when the lolita community was mostly active on Livejournal Januari was the month where you could post your wardrobe. This was the theme of the month! Though times changed and we aren't active on Livejournal that much, people post their wardrobes on Facebook, personal blogs, instagram or make youtube videos about their wardrobe. Some still use livejournal to show off their wardrobe but the amount is a lot less than it used to be. 

With this change comes the time frame when people post their wardrobes. I wanted to add this point after seeing a video on youtube where a girl talked about the fact that she wasn't going to make a wardrobe video yet. She explained that she used the wardrobe posts to look back on the past year and to reflect on how her wardrobe has evolved over the year and what dresses she is going to let go. But this was something she does at the end of the year instead the beginning of a new one. 

This made me think about the whole wardrobe month and the deadline we all put on ourselves. You don't need to finish all your photo's in January, you can start in the middle of the year if you want. You also don't need to post your wardrobe in January, there is still February of even December like the girl in the video so you can look back on the past year. Don't focus on just one month, if you can't finish it in time no one gets killed for it. Yes it is nice to expect all the wardrobe posts of your friends or the people you follow online in Januari but I also think it would be way better to have one wardrobe post in a year instead of none.

Not everything needs to go on the photo

A wardrobe post is a representation of your wardrobe but this doesn't mean that you need to put everything on the photo for the sake of making a wardrobe post. This is a rookie mistake I think and definitely something I learned along the way. Sure you can make photo's of every single item you own but do you want to show off those simple cardigans you wear on a daily base or all the non printed tights you wear with your dresses? I know I don't want to show that to other people. When I look at myself, I love looking at wardrobe posts where there are pretty items on display. Dresses, Brand socks, unique cardigans, jewellery or even special shoe designs. I'm not really interested to see a collection of forever21 blouses or plain white tights with dirty spots at the soles. I made this mistake myself with my first wardrobe post as I thought that I needed to make photo's of everything that I owned or used while wearing lolita. Going from plain tights to thrift store blouse that I didn't wear or older items that looked pretty dead in the picture. If an items doesn't look good on the photo rethink for a second if it adds something to your post or not. 

This year I picked only my dresses and combined them with the blouses I wear the most, accessories, headpieces, brand socks and handbags. This selection filled up both my time as well as my wardrobe post pretty well. And I feel that I'm not missing anything this time. I look back at my photo's with a smile on my face and see how well everything is showing without showing off some older items or items that I don't really use in coords like tote bags or hats. 

You have to deal with a big mess

So a little bonus tip from yours truly, be prepared for a giant mess if you are like me! 

I knew I had a lot of stuff but when I pulled everything out after making the photo's I realised how much stuff I actually gathered over the years. 

As I wasn't putting my items away after each photo I ended up standing in the middle of a giant pile of lolita items. Spreaded over my bed, into the corners of my room and everything was one big mess. Though putting everything away while making the photo's wasn't an option either cause it would mean that it would only take a lot longer. And if you remember I said that I was doing this in the evening a couple of hours before going to bed. Not so smart Poppy, not so smart! 

Luckily my dear friend Josine would come the day after and we decluttered my room together in the afternoon. Putting everything back in place and organising my closet again. While she enjoyed taking a closer look at all the pieces in my wardrobe I enjoyed the reorganisation of my wardrobe. It was a lovely afternoon! 

The battle zone of my 2018 wardrobe post

I hope to see you next time for a new post! 

This post is in collaboration with the Lolita Blog Carnival

More posts about this topic:

Spirit of the Teacup

Crimson Reflections

Cupcake Kamisama's lolita world

The Bloody Tea Party

Roli's Ramblings

Top tips for running your own community!

We all know how importend a community is within the lolita world. It is something that bounds us together and gives us plenty of opportunities to meet new people and if you are really lucky the opportunity to travel around the globe for international meetings as well like the ones from Street Fashion Europe, SFE for short. While SFE isn't perse a community, it does provides us in my eyes the best moments to interact with people from all over the world.

When it comes to running your own well balanced community there are some hits and oh-no's that you need to keep in mind before you have a good running community. 

Like I said in my Lolita Resolutions post, I'm currently working on building up the Belgian community again. We are definitely not a big community and we also are very unfortunate for living a couple of hours away from each other. Which makes organising meetings a really big deal. People tend to say I come but in the end they blow things off. Sometimes a day before the actual event which resulted in 0 members going to the meetings. 

There is always the chance of people canceling on meetings but when you only have 7 people going and most of them cancel in the end there is not much left of your motivation to organise more meetings in the future. But I really want to put my shoulders under it and make 2018 the revival year for the Belgian Community! Though how am I going to do this? Well I'm going to share my tips and tricks so you can apply them on your own community. 

Change the "No one will show up mentality"

This is one that I'm guilty of as well, the thought of "why organising something when no one is coming anyway". Thinking like this is the worst community killer, when there isn't an opportunity for people to meet up with each other they tend to forget about it. Both online as in real life, they think you aren't wearing the fashion anymore or just not interested in it anymore. 

When you don't plan meetings for your own community people can't come together and spread the word of the fashion. It's going to result in a dying community and no one joining the community as well. Or they are going to a different community from an other country, this is something what is going on here in Belgium. 

Since there is a very active Dutch community, the Belgian comm members join the Dutch community to explore the fashion but not joining and interacting with the Belgian one. 

I can't blame someone for going towards an active community with over 400 member instead of one with just over a 100 members in your own country but still this saddens me a bit. 

So my first tip is, invest your time in your own local community first. Even with a post in the online facebook group or when you are up for the task organise a meeting yourself. Think of small meetings like going out to a museum, have a lunch together, maybe a get-to-know-eachother meet would be nice too if you are just staring out. It doesn't have to be a fancy high tea to come together with your community.

Photo by Cerise

The bigger the better? 

Does it really need to be a big event with 20, 30 or even 60 or 70 people attending to be a successful day out? I don't think so! The point of a local community is to have the opportunity to go out with you comm members and to dress up for the occasion. Not impressing each other with the most OTT coord you can come up with or expecting to have a local meeting with over 20 people joining if your community isn't that active. Things will grow overtime, start small and with regular events like an annual picknick meeting, International Lolita Day meetings or maybe a crafting day if you have the space for it. Share your experiences within the community so other people can see how much fun it was to attend the past meeting and the ones that joined the meeting can look back on the day as well. 

To me this is really important, when others can't see anything from a past meeting they aren't getting motivated to join in next time. 

Top: Belgian Community Meeting in 2016

Bottom: Belgian and Dutch comm members at Under the Sea in 2016, photo by Anh Binh

But there are only newbies in my comm

Everyone needed to start with being a newbie in a new community. Even when you are dressing in lolita fashion for over a year or longer you are still a new duckling in the pound. You are going to join a group of people where you most of the time don't know anyone in the first place. 

When you don't have a very big or active community the chance that there are a lot of "newbies" is a lot bigger than when you have a community with a larger active group of members. But this doesn't mean that the new members aren't welcome to meetings. Some of them are still waiting on getting their first items or just want to see how a meeting is like. 

Letting them joining a community meeting is the first step in building up a community. Cause the moment you restrict the meeting rules when you have a small community they get scared of not fitting in. Which is definitely not something you would want. Though I don't say you need to lack all the rules or guidelines like wearing lolita fashion is mandatory but when you have a beginners meeting or a swap meeting, rules can be a little less strict so members who are not wearing the fashion yet can join in as well.

Illustration by Amy Holliday

Help each other when needed

A lolita community is some sort of family, we are all different in our own way but without the support of others there is not much fun in being in a community. New members are still searching for their own voice in the fashion so help them out when they have questions about shopping, styling or maybe advice them a bit on what to wear at a specific themed meeting if they ask for your help. We need to support each and every one of us in the community without breaking each other down. It is so much more fun to be in a community where people accept each other and don't talk behind someones back. Being there for advice will grow the bound between all community members as well help them to make better coords in the future if they are still working on finding their own style within the fashion. 

Get in contact with others on Social Media

This is something that I want to add to my list of tips as well, but it hasn't something to do with your own local community perse. Though this doesn't mean that you can't apply it to you local community members as well!

And that is to interact with people online, don't just simply leave a like and scroll on but take a little bit of time and comment on the picture or post you see online. Leaving a comments instead of only a like will spread a community feeling between the one that posted in the first place and you who are commenting. This way you can interact with each other and start a conversation. Talking with fellow community members brings so much joy and gives you some motivation as well to keep doing so. 

Think about leaving a comment on an Instagram photo or story, reading and commenting on blogposts from lolita bloggers or maybe leave a comment on the youtube video you just watched. 

The creators love to read your comments and also love to interact with the people who comment, and this way you are spreading your own name as well by doing so. Which will result in people getting to know you a bit better as well and recognising you from online. So a win win situation if you ask me.

Building a well balanced community takes a lot of effort and also a lot of time. You will need to invest time in your community in order to get something out of it. Without your support and the support of every single comm member you are up to a failure I think. So please invest in your local community and spread the fashion with everyone around you in your own community as well in the international community online on the social media platforms. Be active and enjoy every single moment! 

This post is in collaboration with the Lolita Blog Carnival. 

More posts about this topic:

The Bloody Tea Party
Fleur d' Elise
Stardust Dreams
Saxon Blues

What have I learned in 2017 while being into lolita fashion

December is the time people review the thing they have done or learned in the past year. This can be discovering new hobbies, letting things go or just discover something about themselves what they didn't knew before.

This weeks topic for the lolita blog carnival is about this specific topic, a reflection on the things we learned in the past year while being in the fashion. Every year has it's own ups and downs but there is always something to remember. Things you should't do anymore or the things you think back at with the biggest smile on your face. 

My year in 2017 was one with lots of ups and downs. I always try to remember the ups instead of the downs cause that's just the way I am. But let's start with my list of the things I have learned in 2017!

Style swaps, Gothic is NOT for me!

I got the change to try out a new style in 2017, together with my dear friends Rosalynn and Josine. We wanted to make a style swap video together while we had a sleepover at Rosalynn's place in Februari of 2017. Both Rosalynn and I have a youtube channel and we found it a great idea to collab together. 

Josine was our victim to get transformed into a sweet lolita, it was so much fun to dress her up in my own style which was OTT sweet. But of course she was going to transform me into a gothic lolita with a religious theme. She wen't full on with her gothic coord! As much as I love seeing the gothic lolita style on others I felt really out of place in this style. I can't really describe what it was but it wasn't me, others told me it looked good but to me it felt like a costume and I was ready to go to a party. I think it was way to much towards the "religious" part of the gothic lolita style with all the crosses and veils. While if it was more in a classic, gothic combination it would have been more me. But then again it isn't really gothic anymore. 

If you want to watch our style swap video and see how it looked on me, 

please visit my youtube channel: 

Poppy goes Gothic 

Selling things is harder than it looks.

While the second hand market is flooded with items for sale I wasn't able to either sell the items I wanted to sell or to get to the point where I did a giant closet cleaning and sell some dresses that I don't wear that often. 

The items that I managed to get online where offbrand items like loli-able blouses, vintage jackets, one Meta headbow and an indie brand skirt. Nothing very special and definitely not worth putting that much effort in it so promote the sales. So most of these items are still laying on a little pile at the back of my closet. 

I think it was around the 12th of October when I decided that it was time to sort all my dress. Using the kon-mari method I divided my dresses into three piles. Keep, sell and I'm not sure yet. While doing this I started to get really nausea and felt heartbroken seeing all my dresses laying there on the floor. I must say I did a great job in sorting them out into the piles, but the actual step of taking photo's and putting them online was just not for me. The good thing about spitting everything like this was that I was able to organise my dresses again. Though I do know now that I'm not a sellers person, even when I don't wear a dress anymore or when it doesn't fit that well I can't let it go that easily. I get attached to the items I buy and have so many memories attached to them that it feels like selling a part of myself when I sell the dress to someone else. 

Maybe one day I will be able to sell them but for now it's not going to happen. 

Treasure your friends, they are always there for you.

Thinking back on this lesson I've learned this year makes me tear up a bit. Some of you might now that I have a chronicle illness which causes me to have really awful days or even weeks when I have a flare up. During 2017 I had my fair share in the down moments with hospital visits, months of recovery and therapy to get back on my feet, being in a wheelchair and not being able to walk or stand up duo to the pain I had. 

But my friends where always there for me, like when I was sitting in my wheelchair and pushing me around the city to explore the things in town or just to go shopping in the city. Being my granny walking stick on a lolita holiday, calling a cab to get be back to the hotel after the tea party in London when I couldn't walk, even when I asked them not to do that.  Or just asking me if I'm doing ok when I sit on the ground in the door opening to get some fresh air to recover a bit. My friends are always there for me when I'm around them. I mostly think that I was a burden to them and that I didn't deserve the attention but I do know that they are concerned about my health and that I don't need to push my limits that far just to be a part of the things we do together. This is something that will be a part of me for the rest of my life but seeing that my friends where there for me to support me while I was in a down moment is just magical. Even people I didn't know that well where there for me as well and I still can't thank them enough for it. The lolita community is such a caring community when things aren't going that well with someone and this means a lot to me. We are more than a group of people wearing the same style of clothes, we are a family! I treasure my close friends for the rest of my life even when I don't see them that often.

OTT sweet all the way.

Ever since I started with lolita fashion my style was sweet though I do love classic as well. But when it comes to making coords I tend to love my sweet coords the most. I think this comes to the fact that I can get creative with all the things that make me happy. Bows, pastel colors, flowers and big fluffy hairstyles. Everything is so happy and it makes me feel the most like me especially when going to picknick meetings or for meeting up with my friends. While I love classic lolita as well I always found it a more toned down and casual style even when it's OTT. I've tried classic lolita multiple times and yet I feel so casual in it, a bit underdressed and I have not that magical feeling I get while wearing sweet lolita.  Classic lolita will always be my go-to style for tea parties but I will always include a sweet touch in it with the dresses I pick and how I coord it. 

My top 3 coords from 2017

2017 was definitely a year to remember, we had some amazing events going on in Europe. I made new friends and explored my style even further. Wearing lolita fashion is such a big part of me and I can't imagine how my life would look like without these frilly dresses or without the wonderful friends I made along those years of being in the fasion. 

What are the thing you learned in 2017?  Let me know in the comments below, I would love to read them!

See you next week! 

Lots of love, Poppy

This post is in collaboration with the Lolita Lolita Blog Carnival

More posts about this topic: 

Cupcake Kamisama

The Bloody Tea Party

Tomoyo's Secret Garden

Queen & Commander

Lolita resolutions

When counting down to the last few days of the year we all start thinking about our new years resolutions. Most people keep them pretty vague or stick with the traditional health and fitness ones. But I don't hear many people outside of the lolita community talk about fashion related resolutions.

Though I still have my own list of resolutions that I want achieve in the new year. Let's see what I came up with for 2018!

Safe up before buying

I'm pretty guilty when it comes to thinking forward and spreading my budget for each month. I know when my credit card bill is due and how much spare room I have when I receive my income after paying the bills and the necessary savings. But by doing so I sometimes got in a bit of troubles when something big needed to be repaired or replaced like a new car or washing machine. Cause I didn't always thought about the customs that you need to pay afterwards... So that is something that I want to see different in 2018, I want to save up for a specific item and in the best case double the amount I need so I don't end with an empty lolita piggy bank. I already saved up lots for events and shopping here and there if I knew about a specific release but somehow you just can't resist a taobao release or second hand deal if you have the money for it.

Giant Moonbunny or Closet Child AP accessory order

I already mentioned my regrets in my last post about buying items from Moonbunny at either events or online but in 2018 I want to save up a decent amount of money to have a giant Moonbunny order. Or if I find more items on Closet Child or Wunderwelt I might switch to an Angelic Pretty accessory order. But I really want to expand my sweet accessories a lot next year. I run into the same problems every single time and that is that I use the same accessories over and over again. And I must say after many years of re-using the same bracelet set and necklaces I want something new. My classic accessory collection has more variety and that is not even my main style. Maybe that is because there are more classic style indie brands out there vending at events instead of sweet ones that fit my taste.

Make more dresses and accessories

This year I'm really proud on my me-made items and I wear them with a lot of pride and joy. I've made gifts for my friends, dresses for myself and I just love the process of making things from scratch. It is not always easy to make your own items or finding the right fabrics in store when you want to make a dress or blouse but the search for the perfect materials is so much fun for me. 

I love browsing through the fabric store and picking one of the many options they might have laying around at that time. Besides making more lolita dresses I also want to expend it into my daily wardrobe as well and make those as well. Still with a little hint of lolita fashion in it or suitable for otome. 

When it comes to accessories, I want to try and make my own more often like I did this year where I made a brooch and flower crown. And helped my dear friend Josine with making her own items as well in a crafty sleepover weekend which was such a great weekend!

But I'm pretty nit picky and most of the time I don't find it good enough or looked the way I was hoping for. Especially when it comes to polymer clay creations. So next year I want to make some more accessories too. 

Make regular content for my Youtube channel and Blog

At the first of Januari I was super excited to post a video on my youtube channel every single week and it went sort of ok at the start but soon it went down hill. My health kicked in and it forced me to put everything on hold. But as motivated as I can be starting again was really difficult cause what if people didn't like the videos I was making or the blogposts I would write. This is a thought that is still on my mind every single time I make a video or write a blogpost. And it keeps me from being 100% motivated every single week to either film a video or write a post on my blog. 

I have a list of topics I want to talk about so inspiration isn't such a problem for me most of the time but the fear of not being good enough is. Damn this is getting deep and personal real quickly. But I do know that I should make the blogposts and videos for the joy I get out of the creating process and that is why I still try to write and film every once in a while. 2018 I want to get over the bump of not feeling good enough for it and just enjoy the process of making videos and blogposts! If there is anything you would want me to make a video about or write a blogpost on please let me know. 

Enjoy the fashion and the community around it

While I'm very lucky to be a part of two communities and have the ability to travel around the globe for attending local events I still want to enjoy my local community a bit more in 2018. Our Belgian Community has hit a deep low the past years but I truly hope that we can change things in the new year. I hosted a meet up and we have 9 attendees. This might sound like a small meeting to some but for our community in Belgium it a huge step in the right direction. Especially when member missed the registration period and where sad that they couldn't attend. I think if we can continue on this wave we can create the community we all are dreaming off for so many years! 

But this doesn't mean I don't want to neglect the Dutch community in any kind of way cause I'm really happy that I can say that I'm one of the moderators of the Dutch community as well. Besides being one of the admins of the Belgian group on Facebook. The Dutch comm has always been very close to my heart cause it was the first comm I ever joined back in 2006-2007. I want to attend as many meetings as I can while helping out on the facebook group or at meetings when they ask me to help. 

Being a part of a community makes enjoying the fashion a lot easier, you make new friends and maybe you end up with best friends for life. I know I've met my closest friends through the fashion and even if someone ends up not wearing the fashion anymore for some kind of reason it doesn't mean we aren't close friends anymore! I love attending meetings, wearing the fashion more OTT and making new friends at those meetings or events. That is just the cherry on top for me. So I want to enjoy it even more next year. 

This post is in collaboration with the Lolita Blog Carnival.

More posts about this topic: 

The Bloody Tea Party 

Milk Circus

My top 3 regrets and how to prevent them

So when it comes to lolita fashion we all have our fair share in things we wish we could have done better. That's why I'm joining in this weeks Lolita Blog Carnival topic which is,

5 Regrets: Items you regret not buying when you had the chance!

When I think about my biggest regrets of items that I wasn't able to buy even when I had the chance makes me really sad to be honest. There was always something holding me back or faith just walked true and decided it was not the time of getting this item. 

Let me tell you some stories about my regrets.

Welcome to the Sweets Hexenhaus 

by Baby, the stars shine Bright

The release of this dress was in 2013, at that time I wasn't able to fit in a lot of brand dresses so this dress landed on my never ending wishlist. Cause I wasn't sure it would fit me. Hoping that I would fit in a Btssb dress one day and this would be the one. After loosing a lot of weight over the years this dress could be one of my own so the hunt could start. I searched multiple times on Closet child for this specific cut and colorway but I was always to late. This isn't a dress that you see a lot of the time on the sales pages so my heart always skipped a beat when I would do a search on the different sites. I even browsed through the Japanese auction sites to find this dress. Time passed by and one of my friends found a listing on a Japanse sales site and I needed to have this dress no matter what. I asked my shopping service to buy this dress and everything went smoothly, there was great contact until I saw that the listing was gone but I didn't received the email that I was hoping for. 

There went something wrong when making the payment from my shopping service to the seller and in the end I lost the dress. The listing was gone and all the contact with the seller was over as well. Even though they agreed on the price and everything. This was definitely not the happiest day of my life when I read that email. 

So I'm still regretting that I wasn't able to buy the dress when it first came out or hunting down this dress a bit more in the past years. To this day I'm still hunting on this dress so if you ever see this dress popping up somewhere in this color and cut please let me know! 

Vintage Cameo

by Metamorphose temps the Fille

This dress is on my wishlist just like the Sweets Hexenhaus from the day it was released. Due to the financial situation I was in I wasn't able to afford it. And I'm still bumped about it. 

Though buying something when you don't really have the extra money for it isn't the best thing to do. This dress pops up on the sales quite often though I haven't bought it cause I often find it to highly priced or it's the wrong version. Did you knew that the first release was printed upside down? That is definitely not something I want on my dress. 

I had the chance of buying this dress second hand but somehow I didn't do it and when the re-release came around I missed out on the colorway that I wanted. 

This dress is highly on my wishlist, on the second place to be exactly! I think that's why I don't want to spend a lot of money on this one before I find the Sweets Hexenhaus. 

Christmas Gift 

by L' Esprit De La Noblesse

The stunning Christmas dress by L' Esprit De La Noblesse needs to be in this list too. This dress was released in December 2016 and I fell in love with the print and design of the dress. It reminded me so much of the Nutcracker that I needed to have it. I followed the updates on this dress every single day until it was time for the sales. Their Etsy store only had one or two listings online and where always sold out. But somehow new listings popped up now and then and you where able to buy it. I messaged the owner of the store to ask if they would be still available after a few days and she was 100% sure about it cause there was enough fabric left to make plenty of dresses. Though when I wanted to place my order a couple of days later she told me that it wasn't able anymore. 

I truly regret not getting this dress the first time around but I keep wishing for a re-release of this print. Later this year I messaged the store again with a little wish, if they would consider a re-release for this dress. And guess what they did!!! I stalked the site again for updates and when it was the day of the re-release I stalked and refreshed the webpage for over 3 hours just to be sure I wouldn't miss out again. All of my stalking and wishful thinking paid off in the end, cause I ordered the re-release of the Christmas Gift dress and I can not wait to wear it!

Other than these three dresses I regret a lot of small things like not buying sweet jewellery and accessories from Moon Bunny when they where at the Urban Fairytale event in Hamburg. You can watch my vlog from Urban Fairytale here. I was on the hunt for classic items and not so much sweet items. But now that I look back at it my sweet jewellery is seriously on a short hand and I wear the same things over and over again. Which is bothering me big time! I planned on an order from Moon Bunny but the high shipping combined with all the items that I want isn't something I'm up for at this point. My order was over the 150 euro without shipping so maybe I need to save up some money first.

And one other this that I regret not buying and still don't buy for some unknown reason are cut-sews from Angelic Pretty. Currently I own one and I really love to wear it. I find the new price way to high and buying second hand from closet child isn't going to happen soon either. I tend to spend my money on dresses rather then on smaller items like blouses or accessories. So this is always a regret that comes back at me and yet I don't learn from it. Maybe I can take some of my following advice for not having these regrets next year. 

How to prevent your regrets,

Or keep the damage to the minimum at least. 

• Make a goals list for next year

List the items you want to buy no matter what, write them down and hang the list up on your wall or somewhere you will see it every single day. This is what helped me in 2016 to keep on track with the things I wanted to buy that year. I was able to cross everything off which felt amazing. 

• Make a piggybank for your must have items

When you save a small amount of money every single week or month you are able to make a little splurge now and then when you see your ultimate dream dress or jump on a new release that you need to have cause it fits your style and taste so well. 

This is something that I really need to do myself, not having a separate lolita piggybank keeps me most of the times from getting dream items or new releases that suit my style. 

• If you want an item and you have the funds for it, GO FOR IT!

This is by far the most importend one in this little list. I regret so many things for not buying when I had the funds for it due to my constant doubting if it would be the right thing to do cause it involves a lot of money especially when we are talking about dresses. But in the end most of the times I do regret it not getting it in the first place and being doomed to hunt it down on auction sites. Or pay an even bigger price for it as well. So I would say if you have the money for the item that you want to buy and you really love it, go for it and buy the item. Enjoy your purchase to the fullest instead of regretting it for not buying it when you had the chance.

This post is in collaboration with Lolita Blog Carnival.

More posts about this topic:

Sweet Expedition

Cupcake Kamisama
The Bloody Tea Party
Roli's Ramblings
Floating on Macarons

What inspires me when building a coord

Finding inspiration for a coord is for some of us like a second nature. While if I look at myself I sometimes struggle with finding a concept for my coord. But I do have some tips and tricks for finding inspiration when you have a lolita-inspiration-block. As I don't really get all my inspiration from other lolita girls but also from looking at my dresses. From new items in my closet or movies that I watched.

Choose your main piece

This will be the first building block for your coord. With your dress you can sort out matching accessories that go well with the colors of your dress. Don't be afraid to make odd color combinations because as long as they are in the same color scheme it could work out in the end. Think about matching all dusty tones with each other, they have the same color tone so they work well with each other. This way you can find new coords with the items you already have. 

Giving your main pieces a closer look seems a bit weird but I tend to overlook details in print. After many years of owning a print I forgot about some small details. Like for example I found a unicorn in my Milky Planet JSK when I wore it the last time for the twin meet. I was completely in shock about this since I was 100% sure that there wasn't a unicorn in this print. Since I only remembered ice creams and bunnies. So this gave me a new boost to make a new coord with this print. 

Think about accessories

Accessories make a coord really pop out from the rest. I always pick my accessories according to the color theme of my base coord *main piece and blouse* 

This is where I get the most inspiration, playing with different bows, florals clips, hats, bonnets or even necklaces and bracelets. 

If I'm not working with a theme I go for what feels most like me and what makes me smile when I look at it. 

Get something new

My biggest inspiration comes from either combining things in an odd way or by getting new items. Those are my two main inspiration sources. Even if it is just as small as some floral clips, a new necklace or brooch. Having something new gives you the opportunity to work with your new item and see how it matches everything in your wardrobe. 

I love coording my dresses and accessories together on my free days to see how many combinations I can make.  If you don't have the money to buy something maybe you can try making your own things? It is definitely not always cheaper but that way inspiration might come to you even faster.

Still no inspiration?

If I'm really stuck with a coord I tend to visit online shops looking for items that cheer me up without buying them. Getting my mind of a coord helps a lot for me. In the past three weeks I was in a lolita-inspiration-block, feeling down about everything I put together nothing fitted like I wanted and it felt all the same. So I ended up getting my mind onto something else. 

In the end I found my inspiration back after talking to my friends about it and telling about the coords that I planned out.

Talking to friends about having no inspiration or sharing your coords with them when you feel stuck gives you a new view on things. For me this helps a lot! 

Currently I'm having so much inspiration that I need to write them down and draw things out for the future. 

So what inspires you when making a coord?

Please let me know! 

This post is in collaboration with Lolita Blog Carnival. 

More posts about this topic:

Cupcake Kamisama

5 tips to beat the heat in Lolita

When wearing lolita we all know that when it starts to get warmer outside we get really inventive with our coords. We do anything to keep ourselves cool in summer but we still want to look stylish and fit all the boxes within the fashion. 

Here are some of my favourite tips to keep your coords as airy as possible. 

Choose for a loose fitting OP

OP's come in many different shapes and sizes, that way you can pick the perfect dress for your body type. In summer I prefer lose fitting OP's, these dresses don't cling onto your body when it's hot outside. When you wear an OP you don't need to think about adding an extra blouse underneath or a cardigan to cover up your shoulders. 

Ankle socks for the win

Little ankle socks are great for summer and add some cuteness to your coord without the heat of OTK socks or tights. They are many different types when it comes to socks, you can go for a retro look with sheer socks or socks with lace on top. 

Some say you can't wear ankle socks with lolita but if it works with your coord go for it! 

Bloomers to prevent thigh chafing

This isn't your standard tip but this is definitely my number one tip when it comes to high temperatures. I know there are some products on the market to help with this problem but through my own experience that those chafing sticks don't help that well for me. That's why I wear light cotton bloomers that cover my thighs. This way my legs are protected with a light fabric and I don't have any pain from chafing or that horrible feeling of rubbing thighs. I really hate that feeling! 

Want to wear a JSK? Add a short chiffon blouse 

This year I added some basics into my wardrobe and some of them are cropped chiffon tops. They sit just beneath my bust line which makes them very short but perfect for under a JSK. Because of the chiffon fabric and the losse short fit it is very airy and doesn't cling to your body. I love wearing these short blouses under my dresses in summer time and I wish I had them sooner! 

Natural hair all the way

Especially for those casual days or smaller meetings you can use your own hair to create a nice hairstyle. A wig is very easy but also very hot, you can compare it with a hat that you don't take off when going inside our outside. You are sweating like crazy with a wig because the heat can't escape from your head nor does the wind come to your head to cool you down. For events you can choose for a half wig or go die hard with a full wig. But I suggest to keep your wig off till the very last minute before leaving the house and take it off when it is starting to irritate or you feel over heated. 

Bonus tips!! Cause we all love a bonus tips

• Bring your own water bottle with you with cold water. We lose much more water when it's hot outside so stay hydrated.

• If you have a parasol, use it to provide some shade when walking and sitting in the sun. This will decrease the temperature a bit.

• You don't need to wear a petticoat 24/7 when wearing lolita. At smaller events or meets you can easily remove your petticoat when sitting on the table or on the ground for a picknick. Just add your petticoat again to your coord when making photo's. 

• If you are feeling unwell because of the heat say it to your friends. Find a place out of the sun or go outside for some fresh air, sit down and eat something to help your blood pressure rise again. If needed remove excess layers like petticoats and wigs to help you cool down again.

Want more tips? Check out these blogs

Vanilla Bear