Tuesday 28 January 2014

♥ Pairing Unusual Items With Lolita ♥

Note: I'm going to apologize if this article is a bit poorly written or worse than my other articles, as I'm currently under a lot of medication while writing this. Next week I have dental surgery and right now I'm on a multitude of pills.




One thing I'm a fan of, and I know for a fact other lolitas enjoy, is pairing unusual or non-lolita items with the fashion! The items can be anything from 'normal' fashion staples like leather jackets to vintage 1950s pieces or even . Today I'm going to give a few tips on how to make unusual items work with lolita!

Don't forget the colours of your outfit: Treat matching the item like you would any other item in the coordinate. It has to take a colour from your coordinate, whether it matches the base colour of your pain piece or pulls out a more subtle colour from your outfit.

When matching colours, avoid using your accessories to 'add' a colour into the coordinate. By adding colour without pulling it from the main pieces, it can make the accessories pop out too much and have the coordinate a bit 'off'. For example, if the item you're adding is black and the dress is a pastel print, adding black tights, wristcuffs, and accessories, everything will look a little off even if its masterfully balanced.


Make sure it matches the 'theme' or aesthetic of the outfit: The item has to flow with the outfit and look like it belongs. For example, a leather jacket fits well with punk, but would look out of place in sweet. In situations where the item doesn't match the 'look' of your outfit, you can always change it so that it does match! Any item can be fixed with a little ribbon, lace, paint or any sort of modification if done right.

[Source - MissAngelaLovesTheCute @ Tumblr]
Make the item noticeable: Try not to let the outfit overwhelm the item but also don't let the item be overwhelming. If your item is large and/or extravagant, try to pair it with an extravagant outfit. If your item is simple, try to keep the outfit simple. As well, you can make a simple or plain item more extravagant by adding to it, but you can't really make an extravagant item simple without heavy modification.

The example below is good, because the hat is kept balanced with the outfit by the large parasol. As well, the floral print of the dress matches the flowers of the hat, drawing it in. In addition, she could improve her outfit by adding a small feather pin to address the feather on the hat, and possibly lacey socks to balance it all together.

[Source - MyLolitaFantasy]


Pairing unusual items with lolita is a great experiment in coordinating and can be very fun! As well, it's a nice way of making your coordinates stand out! I hope you all enjoyed my tips and maybe even start experimenting by adding new things to the fashion! Who knows, you might make the next big trend!

Thursday 2 January 2014

♥ Lolita Hairstyles I'd Like to See More Often ♥

With lolita being a style with such diversity between designs, outfits, and substyles, I'm very surprised with the lack of different hairstyles. While I love the array of different curly and wavy styles that are commonly worn, (and I do love me some wavy, curly lolita hairstyles) I would really love to see a world of more varying lolita hairstyles! Here are a few favourite styles of mine that I personally would like to see paired with lolita more often.

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Despite the 'traditional' beginnings of lolita I think the boost of bright colours would look nice with the fashion. I love the look of using unnatural colours as highlights or an notable 'accent' colour, and not just the usual way it is done in sweet with the two-toned wigs that match the colour of the dress. It has been done before, with the punk and gothic substyles, but I do wish it was done more outside of the box with sweet lolita and other substyles!

[Source? - GLB? AP?]
[Source - B2C Umeda @ Rasysa]




















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A style I absolutely love is when hair is brushed to one-side, especially in high-low updos. This style is fairly common with Gyaru, but I think it would look especially cute with lolita. I have seen it a few times with casual lolita outfits, but I do wish it was worn more with lolita. It's okay to break the symmetry associated with lolita outfits!

[Source - Mahaloa @ Rasysa]
[Source - Arena @ Rasysa]




















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Another style I am very fond of, to be worn with lolita style or otherwise, are boyish short styles! While they work perfectly with ouji/kodona, they're hardly worn outside of that substyle. I think a pirate-loli with a pixie-cut or a sweet lolita with a prince-like head of wavy curls just sounds too cute! Though lolita may be traditionally an ultra-feminine style, I think short styles like these can work nicely in a feminine way as well!

[Source - HAIR SNOB @ Rasysa]
[Source - Za/Za Aoyama @ Rasysa]




















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Lastly, a style that I absolutely adore, and wish was worn more often, would have to be afro lolitas!!! They can look downright silly if they're done the wrong way, but I just adore the look of an afro with lolita. In both natural and unnatural colours, afros are a super hairstyle that I think works very well for the fashion. I can understand wearing them could be a little bit daunting, especially if one doesn't have the natural hair for it, but I think it's a style well worth wearing!

[Source - Damare Kozou @ Yaplog]
[Source - SmileySquid @ Blogspot]





















Some people think afros can be too costumey or clown-like, which I can understand how the style could come across like that. If an afro is too much, why not wear large, puffed out crimped hair? I think it could look very doll-like and cute!

[Source - Raffine @ Rasysa]

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Let me know what you think: Are my opinions a bit too wacky, or do you agree with my thoughts? In your opinion, what hairstyles do you think should be worn more often with lolita fashion?