Lolita Blog Carnival: New Years Resolutions for Lolita Fashion in 2014

2013 was a whirlwind year for me with lots of big life events like graduating from college, getting my first post graduation full time job, getting my driver’s license, and going to my first conventions out of state because I finally had enough money to travel outside of Alabama a bit. With life slowing down as I start to adjust to how my daily routine has changed, I have some lolita resolutions for the year tied in with my blogging and life in general for 2014..

-Organize my lolita closet. I’m able to keep up with my main wardrobe pieces pretty well, but my jewelry and shoe collection is a mess scattered across the apartment and walk-in closet right now. Having a cat that likes to pick up items and play with them doesn’t help the situation much, but I can’t take the disorder anymore. For the new year, I’m going to start looking into cat proof ways to store and find myself accessories more easily along with buying a bigger shoe organizer.

-Integrate more lolita items into my work wardrobe. I’ve already begun to shift my wardrobe to a more classical feel so that I can feel more comfortable wearing the items to work. Now, I actually need to take the plunge and start wearing the items to work even if I am feeling sluggish in the morning. Wearing the clothes that I enjoy so much lends more enjoyment to my work day, so I want to make time for that pleasure.

-Sell pieces of my wardrobe that I’m not going to wear again. I have some parts of my closet that don’t get any play at this point in my development as a lolita. I have a hard time forcing myself to actually sit down and sell them so I can afford more lolita pieces or at least put the money towards my marriage fund. I want to force myself to actually go through my wardrobe pieces while I’m reorganizing to determine what items I’ve even going to be wearing in the future.

-More exercise. Since beginning work, I’ve actually only gained about one pound. However, I’ve maintained weight through eating less not through continuing my exercise regime, so I’ve managed to gain back a couple of unwanted centimeters as I’ve become much less toned. Also, doing yoga keeps me mentally balanced in addition to building up basic strength in my body, so I want to get back to my routine of doing yoga at least three times a week and perhaps cut back on the World of Warcraft/Hearthstone binging.

-Monthly posts. Rather than dump a season’s worth of outfits at once, I could go back to giving more in depth posts on every event and actually rolling out at least a post per month. I also want to get back to putting out more directly useful content such as reviews on Bodyline items that I’ve tried out and smaller indie stores where I’ve bought items. Oh, and more Lolita Blog Carnival posts would be a good idea also.

I wish you a happy 2014, and may you have the strength to fulfill your resolutions in the new year.

The Cute Lifestyle * Papillon de Nuit * Her Lumpiness * Lace Teapot * Breiðholt * Mary Hazelbelle * Lolita Glamour * New Vogue Children * Whimsical Adventures of Me * Wearable Magic * Northern Star * Hello Batty * Ramble Rori * JESS COSMIC DELIGHT * GosuRori, à traverse la vitrail

Winter In Lolita

The colder months of the year are always so much more active for me in lolita. I love being able to bring out the petticoats in Alabama without burning up.

For my lolita comm's Halloween meet up this year, we had a day at the botanical gardens. Initially, I had a completely different outfit planned, but I ended up planning my outfit around matching my seldom worn red 20's style flapper hat.

Skirt: Bodyline l325
Blouse: Bodyline
Hat: Claire's
Shoes, necklace: Forever 21
Jacket: thrifted
Purse: gift

Summer Time Joy

I've been busy over the past couple of months! The next big event I had during the summer was attending Sukoshicon Pokecon in July. I felt almost as if I was going on an odd pilgrimage as I mostly went to the convention to see the three Pikachu Volkswagen Beetles in person. I've dreamed of owning one of these cards since I was a kid, so when I got to see one in person, it was kind of overwhelming in a great way.

I really felt like I was about to cry here with joy

I had a great time at the con overall, and it was a real joy getting to listen to Eric Stuart and Stuart Zagnit speak about their feeling on the Pokemon craze all these years later.

Recap: Frill 2013

At the beginning of June, I had the pleasure of attending the lolita convention Frill, hosted by a group of the Atlanta lolitas under the banner of Affrilliation. I traveled there with my friend Kawaii Barbie with the driving help of my lovely fiance (seriously, we wouldn't have been able to get there without his great help). We arrived late Friday evening and attended the fun pool party at the hotel pool with so many lovely girls gathered at one place. We chatted each other up and just had a general good time playing with the mini Hello Kitty beach balls that one of my friends from my local comm brought. I wish I'd gotten pictures, but alas, I was tired from traveling and didn't really think to do so. 

The next day was game time, and the two of us hurried to get ready with enough time to eat breakfast before we hit the convention floor. 

Wearing my Bodyline squirrels!

Easter + Graduation + Ironman 3

For Easter this year, I wore a simple off brand coordinate to church. I was really happy to be able to put together such a simple outfit from so many off brand finds I've accumulated over time. I'm really thinking about organizing a post where I talk about creating lolita on a budget.

Shirt: JCPenney
Belt: Rue21
Skirt: Unknown etsy (bought secondhand)
Tights: Wal-mart
Shoes: Shoe Carnival

I've also graduated recently with my degree in computer science finally. I haven't actively started looking for jobs yet. I can't drive yet so that's kind of putting a damper on the search. My main goals for the summer are going to be learning how to drive within the next month or so then searching for a post-graduation job.

I didn't actually walk at the big ceremony at my university because I would have found it to be just too impersonal sitting there with so many people I didn't know. I did, however, attend the honors pre-graduation ceremony which my honors program hosted. It's a very small program which takes only 50 people per year, so I felt a lot of nostalgia and warmth attending the ceremony. 

Blouse, necklace: Forever 21
Dress: Bodyline l481
Bag: Innocent World
Shoes: Rackroom Shoes

Finally, just for fun, I'll include an outfit picture of me and my fiance before we went to see Ironman 3, a movie I did really enjoy. It was a very simple outfit, but I thought that it suited me. I liked adding the touch of my Union Jack headphones.

Video Game Playing Tumblr + Dr Who Conversion

I want to start off the post by mentioning that I have a new tumblr, Lasaia Plays Vidya. I've really wanted to express some of my nerdier interests including my escapes in World of Warcraft without bothering the followers of my main blog, Beyond Kawaii. Follow me there for random WoW, Fire Emblem: Awakening, just general nerdy fun goodness.

I've also become interested in Dr. Who lately after much time spent talking with my fiance about the topic. I've also been sorely tempted to try a Dr. Who inspired coordinate based off of the below polyvore.

10th Doctor Offbrand by meiki featuring charm jewelry

I took the first step of making the above outfit happen by ordering the jsk from Bodyline. Hopefully I'll be able to get the item soon and writing a review. The only thing tempering my enthusiasm about the whole idea is having seem some lolitas online get upset about fandom paired lolita. While I don't look forward to drawing possible internet ire, I just can't help but to want to combine other aspects of my personality into a hobby that, to me at least, doesn't seem to exclude the combinations. 

Cosplay Adventures + Cherry Blossom Meet Up

Long time no post! Sorry I haven't posted here in a while. I spent more of this year so far making posts on my deviantart, rainbowbidoof. I've gotten into cosplaying lately, so here are two pictures of the gijinka style cosplays I wore to Kamicon this year:

Audino! Don't kill me for the exp. x_x

Bowser! I loved wearing this! (/^o^)/

My wonderful fiancee cosplaying as Luigi

I intend to share more of the upcoming cosplays I'm working on here, though I do intend to keep the blog mostly lolita related. If you want to follow more of my cosplay shenanigans, be sure to watch me on my deviantart. I'm planning a Pignite gijinka, Rosa from Pokemon Black/White 2, and suit Saber from Fate/Zero at the moment.

My outfit (the right) rundown:
Parasol: ebay
Shirt: Tasty Peach Studios
Skirt: Candy Violet
Tights: Holley Team Time
Shoes: Bodyline

I was lucky to be the coordinator of the cherry blossom festival lolita meet up this year. I feel like I've really grown as a lolita, and I'm glad to have found a niche and friends in my local community. To the side is a photo of me with my friend Fairy Kei Heaven during the meet up. 

The only thing that made me sad about this meet up was the fact that the cherry blossoms weren't actually blooming during the course of the festival since it was still decently cold. ;A;

I don't have much more to post today. I have an outfit shot from my outfit for Easter this year, but I'll save that for another day. For all my readers who are going to the lolita convention Frill, I'm looking forward to seeing you there! I just finished booking my room and I bought my tickets a while ago. I'll be rooming and driving there with Fairy Kei Heaven to save costs, so that'll be my next major event that I hope to get some good pictures of to post here. I should also be finally graduating from college soon. So, until next time, ja mata! 

Lolita Blog Carnival: If I Had a Lolita Themed Cafe...

I love this topic idea. If I had a lolita themed cafe, I would take a lot of my inspiration from maid cafes, common in trendy areas of Japan and often times mimicked at anime conventions.

Beautiful girls, taken from gallery of Ichigo Kitty Cosplay

For the decor of the place, I would go with a more over the top sweet theme with Angelic Pretty-esque curtains and other pastel motifs like fresh light pink roses on the tables each day.

I would place an emphasis on the menu upon delicious coffees and teas, sweet desserts, and other cutely themed main course dishes such as omurice with delightful pictures drawn on them like at maid cafes.

Nya~!

I would aim for the workers to wear sweet lolita dresses to work though encouraging them to wear cheaper lolita such as Bodyline so as to not ruin their expensive clothing and while also providing apron skirts to fit over their main dresses. Who isn't looking to make aprons work more with lolita? If I found this didn't work out well, I'd just encourage them to wear sweetly themed fashions like fairy kei that they would be as concerned about ruining.

Anyway, thank you for reading this week! Be sure to check out the other participants in this round of Lolita Blog Carnival. 

Sweet and Simple * EGL Community * Geisha Baby * F Yeah Lolita * Lace A La Mode * Lace Jail * Suns in Our Hands * Hello Batty * Annie Old Fashioned * A Life In Disguise * Carnivale Salt * Päivänvarjon alla * Make Lovely

Big Outfit of the Day Post!

Happy belated Christmas and new year! The season of giving managed to keep me busier than I expect (worse than the school semester in some ways), so I didn't get much chance to write. Here are some of my most recent outfits though. ◕ ‿ ◕

Sweater: Forever21
Skirt: Bodyline
Socks: Target
Shoes: Bodyline
Bag: Delia's

My main complaint here is that the camera doesn't show the adorable heart detailing on the side of the socks. I can't remember a particular occasion for this outfit so... onward!

Dress: Bodyline
Tights: Holley Tea Time
Bag: Bodyline
Shoes: Bodyline

Argh, I wish I'd been able to get better lighting for this! I wore this to the showing in my area for the showing of the Madoka Magica movies, and in my hand I'm holding the free poster they were giving out. I was super happy to see those movies. I fell in love with the series last year as it was premiering week by week, and I feel guilty that I haven't kept up with the manga. (; Д ;)

Cutsew: Bodyline
Skirt: Candy Violet
Bag: Bodyline
Socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: BodylineI 

I wore this on Christmas eve for church and Christmas festivities with my fiance. I was glad to have lost some weight to better fit the cutsew. I'm down to a 34 inch waist now, so I'm gradually edging closer into fitting properly into more items. <3 <3 <3

Skirt, Shoes, Top, Floral Bow: Rue21
Necklace and Bracelets: Forever21
Tights: Target

I've been totally obsessed with the idea of making an order from the gyaru brand DreamV lately though I inevitably chicken out when I see the shipping fees. So, I decided to craft my own DreamV-esque look domestically and I was really happy with the results. Plus, the best part? Each of the item was on sale at Rue21 for only $5 apiece with the exception of the headpiece at $2. So yes, that's a pair of boots, a skirt with a belt, and sparkly material top for only $17 before tax. Score! ヽ(⌒▽⌒)ノ My main complaint is that I want a blonde or red wig to go with this expanding part of my wardrobe for the future. 

That's it for now! I hope to keep going with more Lolita Blog Carnival posts, reviews and outfit in 2013. <3