Lolita Blog Carnival, Week 1: Coord for Under $100

Hey guys! Today I'll be doing my first post for a new blogging circle called Lolita Blog Carnival, founded by Caro-chan of F*Yeah Lolita. 

What is Lolita Carnival? Basically, it's a circle of Lolita bloggers who write and post about the same thing (a chosen theme) on the same day, and promote each other. It's a great way to find other awesome blogs with a Lolita focus, the themes boost blog productivity and readership, and on top of all that it's a lot of fun. If you're interested, then see if you meet the requirements and join the Facebook group to learn about upcoming themes!

This week's theme was fun, but much more challenging than I expected... design a full lolita coordinate, for under $100. 

Here is mine, put together using Polyvore!

On Polyvore

Cream chiffon blouse- $18

High-waist corset skirt (Bodyline)- $40 

Black floral lace tights (Gap)- $15

Black Maryjane pumps (Target)- $25

Black rose corsage hair clip (Etsy)- $5

Grand total: $109. Close enough? ^^;

My main goals were to create something that still looked more expensive than $100, could be paired with new items as your wardrobe expands, and still fit my personal aesthetic. I think I did pretty well! 

I was most surprised to find the awesome pumps from Target. With the thin heel and shiny finish, they don't look too mature or work-ish for Lolita.

Here are some other blogs who participated this week! 

Magic a la Mode

A Lace Jail

F*Yeah Lolita

Parfait Doll

Ramble Rori

Her Lumpiness

Starry Dreams

xoxo, Cherie

Vkei Night Out: The Circus

Me (far left), the spectacular Alice Demize (centre) and some fellow Circus goers. Street Snap courtesy of Photocyclone.

Hey guys, long time no post, as usual! 

Since returning to Hawaii, I found myself faced with a mountain of unexpected problems, concerning my major in particular. But luckily that has been sorted out, and I am now an International Studies major with a minor in Japanese. Nice? Nice. 

The tough times have been balanced out well, with plenty of opportunities to hang out with friends and make new acquaintances. One of the more interesting events I attended, was "The Circus" at Bar 35, presented by the China Town Newspaper. 

Everyone came dressed to impress. There was a bearded gentleman in a red satin dress, a suave monsieur in a top hat with an impressive handlebar mustache, and bar tending ballerinas in light-up tutus and corsets. 

My friend Alice Demize and I decided to go topsy-turvy... he wore feminine lolita (pictured above in the red velvet Baby dress), and I went boy style as a sort of visual kei Pierrot. (I'm on the far left.) Alice made almost all of our accessories, including the awesome top hats!

There were live DJs, a fashion show, and a performance by the Cherry Blossom Cabaret. There was a raffle, awarding free Cirque du Soleil tickets to a lucky winner. 

The theme was cool, the company was great and the venue classy. It was like an expensive loft more than anything, with black leather couches you could sink into, and private sitting areas behind metallic beaded curtains. I think the best part was that everyone was a good sport about dressing up, and everywhere we went people wanted to snap our photo. But I guess that's what happens when all your friends are photographers. 

Stay Spooky Darlings!

xoxo, Cherie.

Manga Swap Meet at JCC

Good... well, morning darlings! It's 12:51 am on a sleepless Saturday in Hawaii. I've been up since about 6 am, when I rose to start applying makeup and getting dressed for a Manga Swap at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i.

The event started as a Courtyard Bazaar, and this year was taken over by anime, manga, video game goods and cosplayers. Animaid Cafe Hawaii was also there advertising for HEXXP, and they had a very exciting announcement.

Seiyuu (voice actor) Yao Kazuki, voice of Franky and others in the runaway hit anime Onepiece, will be a special guest at Animaid Cafe's One Piece Event on Friday October 19th. 

Its an event with a limited number of seats and tickets are going fast, but you can buy them online through Eventbrite, with the option to pay up-front or at the door. A light meal will be served with your choice of dessert- either parfait or fruit salad. There'll be Onepiece themed games and us Animaid workers will all be dressed in Onepiece cosplay or a special uniform. Very rarely do we get to put on this sort of theme, and we have the perfect location for this in Hawaii, right on the water at Aloha Tower! And with an amazing veteran voice actor, what more could you ask for?

Aside from that exciting announcement, there were a few contests going on at JCC today. First was a hall-style cosplay contest, which had so many talented entries, from Connor (Assassin's Creed) to Vocaloid to a big Inu x Boku SS group.

As for myself, I finally got to break out my cosplay of Midori, from "Shojou Tsubaki" / "Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freakshow". 

There was also a drawing contest, called "Draw your favourite character eating pizza". I entered on a whim, or more as a joke... but I ended up winning! I scored a nice set of drawing pens, with my scribble of Kotetsu from "Tiger and Bunny".

School has kept me very busy, especially since these courses are all heavy on reading... but today was a great day, and a great chance to unwind. I loved hanging out with my old friends, meeting up with some I haven't seen in over a year.

Other than that, I'm still getting ready for Miss Vamp Hawaii next month! My friend helped me take some photos to keep handy. 

Not too shabby huh? 

Well, until next time!

xoxo, Cherie