LBC: Most Underrated Colours in Lolita

Every lolita fashion season ever: XXX Brand's newest print! Available in Pink, Sax, White, and Black.

YYY Brand's newest print! Available in Pink, Sax, White, and Black.

ZZZ Brand's newest print! Available in Pink-- you get the picture.

Though all dresses are different and appeal to different people, the truth of the matter is brands often repeat the same colour schemes over and over in their designs. It's not a bad thing- they are popular colour ways and appeal to many people. But today, I'd like to talk about the most underrated colours in Lolita fashion- the ones that rarely pop up in catalogs, but none the less have an elegant appeal to them.

The first colour I'd like to bring out of the closet is Grey.

It's cool, reserved, and contrasts nicely with black or white. It also makes an adorable tartan, twill or pinstriped textile. Accessories with hints of red or gold match very nicely.

A Moi-Meme-Moitie Jsk, with black tulle and flocking for contrast

A Flasco coordinate, most likely Miho Matsuda or Excentrique. The grey pinstriped suit looks smart with a contrasting black blouse and bright silver buttons.

Metamorphose's "Sherlock" Jsk set, sold with complimenting black items and pearl accessories.
Though shown as a set coordinate here, the neutral grey tartan is quite versatile.

The next underrated colour is one of my favourites- Blue! 

All through my lolita "life", I had experimented with lighter hues of pink, cream, lavender... and wasn't fully satisfied with how it looked on my skin tone. But last year, I started trying on deeper colours like Navy blue, and it balanced out the red in my skin tone nicely. 

Blue looks nice with almost any colour, especially gold, red, or green. I think it is classic and maidenly, but also strong, and almost regal. It looks nice as cotton, but even more majestic in rich textiles like velvet or taffeta.

Metamorphose's "Pintuck Jsk" looks perfect in this deep navy.

Atelier Pierrot's deeper indigo dress, contrasted with black, white, and sax blue accessories. 

This dress by Victorian Maiden is in a lighter navy colour.
It would be nicely complimented by rose pink accessories for a warmer spring look.

The next colour is Green. I like it for mostly the same reasons I love blue. It comes in many shades, from warm sage to deep emerald. It can be a light spring hue or a deep ivy. Even though it's more reserved than red, or pink, I think it's shyness is its strong point.

A velvet jumperskirt with gold embroidery, by Moi-Meme-Moitie.

Metamorphose's "Dolly crown" velvet Jsk, with embroidery and pearl accents.

A warmer sage dress by Juliette et Justine, with a matching top hat in deep green. 

The last colour I'd like to praise is Rose Pink. Normally, I don't like pink at all, unless it is this specific shade of pink. I've heard it called "dusty" pink before, but I feel that name doesn't do it much justice. 

It is such a delicate pink, it is almost neutral, which is why it goes well with a surprising range of colours. I especially like it with black, brown, or burgundy. 

Since it is such an unassuming colour, but kicks up the intensity of other colours, I think Rose Pink is the most underrated colour!

A Flasco coordinate. I believe the bolero is by Innocent World.

The rose pink blouse transforms the look of this gothic Atelier Pierrot Jsk.

Rose pink ties in the colours of the rose corsages, once again transforming the outfit.
It makes the "gothic" Atelier Pierrot skirt look demure and Springy.

I hope you enjoyed my post, and maybe will be inspired to try these new colours in your wardrobe someday. 

Dare to venture around the colour wheel? Let's see what other lolitas are saying about this week's topic! Let's take a look under the big top~

Angelic Nostalgia ☆ F*Yeah Lolita  ☆ Lemon Tree ☆ Xylia-Y ☆ Let Them Eat Cake ☆ 

Ramble Rori ☆ A Lace Jail ☆ May Cause Cavities ☆ Swirly Purple and Green Crayons ☆ 

Suns in Our Hands ☆ Ice Age ☆ Commercially Alternative ☆ 

Steal the style: Reita, The GazettE

We all have fashion icons; some of them less conventional than others.

As a Jrock fan, I love the styles worn by members of my favourite bands, especially the GazettE. But as a girl with a curvier figure (as in, curvier than Japanese men, haha), I found it hard to pull off the slim cuts, layers and low necklines sported by the members. But after a bit of searching and experimenting, I've found some options.

My first subject and fashion muse, is Reita, bassist of the GazettE.

His look has more edge than the other members, which reflects his personality, hobbies and aggressive bass line. 

(Reita comes in at about 1:40.)

When thinking about Reita's rough-and-tumble style, I thought of a store at my local mall called Buckle. 

It's not a typically alternative or rock-and-roll store... they carry clothing with a vintage feel, but a modern edge. It's summer right now, so a lot of their women's apparel is more brightly coloured, but I found a lot of dark, neutral and metallic items to fit Reita's image.

Read more under the jump-cut!

An ode to red and black

As you can see in my new profile picture, I've been enjoying a new pair of vibrant red Listen Flavor boots. 

I wanted them since my arrival in Nagoya last September, but couldn't bring myself to pay about 10,000 yen for them. Finally, Skunk (one of my favourite stores in Oosu, I'll have to write about them one day) had them on sale for about $30. 

I thought these boots were perfect for me and my style, because they have everything I love... Red, black, and leopard print!

Whether it's in lolita or casual style, red is my favourite colour to wear. Whether it's tied in with lipstick, a beret or shoes, it makes me pause on a photo or a magazine page. It contrasts so nicely with black, white or leopard print, it's a match made in heaven. 

And so, I've been saving photos of my favourite red and black outfits from Tumblr, to create a sort-of inspiration post. Read more under the jump-cut!

Joining the Cult

I'm not sure who said "When in Rome, do as the Romans", but I'm sure they'd say the same thing about being in Japan. Here, when a trend catches on, it saturates every store and walks around on every person. 

To be honest, I'm not a fan of the 'look' right now, if you can call it a look. The staple pieces are sheer blouses with polkadots or prints, oxford shoes, berets, opaque tights in vegetable hues and bow ties.

Though the library frump fest didn't appeal to my palette, the more I see it parading around on the members of the department store fashion cult, the more it grows on me. Though I wasn't ready to dive feet-first into a pair of mustard argyle socks, I thought I'd take a crack at something more subtle.

I fished this generic polka dotted dress off a rack at a local department store, similar to so many others I had seen around before. The price tag wasn't bad, just over 1,500 yen including the belt. 

I wandered over to the tights and selected a lovely carrot hue to match, for only 280 yen. The beret was a score from Ohsu in a 300 yen shop.

Since the waist is elasticated, it creates a nice hourglass shape instead of a bag lady silhouette. The hemline is short and fluttery, a nice distinction from so many grannies who have donned pearl buttons in the past.

 You don't have to go overboard with new trends; it's okay to try new things and bring in your own taste. 

For example, the typical ensemble on my campus would be a rust colored dress with beige polkadots, a black ribbon bow tie, mustard yellow tights and brown boots. Those colors are closer to the 70s than I ever wanted to be, which is why I opted for a solid black dress, and chose one pop of color to emphasize. 

Are there any new trends where you're from, that you're waiting to try?

Bewitching Boz

Yesterday my friend and I headed down to Sakae, since Angelic pretty advertised a Halloween special on their Nagoya blog. 

The deal was, if you spend 3,150 yen you earn a free "Original Print Candy." On the train, we speculated over what it could be... Kira Imai wrappers? Tricky Night hard candy? Melty Moon chocolates? ...things that would make good gifts for friends, or prizes for a contest. 

But as it turned out, the special candy was just the lollipop in the picture (I should have guessed!). 

My friend and I agreed it wasn't worth it; especially since at the time, AP didn't have any Halloween items for sale. (I didn't get a glimpse of the new witch set until I got home, and my friend showed me on Facebook!)

So AP was a bust. We made our rounds about the Nova Lolita floor, since we were there. 

Maya and Aiji from LM.C were visiting the Kera shop...

They're playing Budokan on January 8th, and my friend in Tokyo invited me to go with her. That'd be fun, I hope the tickets aren't too expensive! 

We passed the Atelier Boz shop, and noticed they had Lucky Bags for sale, for a great price. I was so tempted to pick one up. The friendly shop tenant chatted with us about the new Evanescence album, then filled us in about the lucky packs. 

I told her I couldn't buy one that day, but she said that was okay, because they were on sale until the end of October, when they would host a three-day Halloween event...

And everyone who came to this little party would receive a free gift. 

So of course, my friend and I decided we have to come! But what to wear to a Lolita Halloween event? Especially for Boz, which is so clean-cut and lovely?

I think I'll attend as a Lolita witch. It's a Halloween classic, and this old school Meta set is just right. 

The Meta Jsk and Cape set was cheap at Violet Blue. It has long tiers, buttons up the back, corsets in the front, and has cross embroidered lace. 

The petti underneath is a treasure from Black Peace Now. I'd like to hitch up the front of my Jsk a bit so you can see the lovely layering.

I've been smitten with the long aristocratic look lately. The local Lolitas and Kodonas I've seen wear just as much Aristocrat as they do Sweet Lolita. 

Yesterday on the escalator out of Nova, I saw two girls in Moitie with a kodona. They were beautiful in cobalt blue and monochrome! Seeing it worn in action like this really turned me on to aristocrat; it seems so flattering on everyone.

Maybe I will end up getting a lucky pack one day, they're such a good deal, and usually have great starter pieces.

I can hardly wait to get all dressed up for the party now...

Neo-Japanesque (Wa-Mode)

Ren by cherielavendre featuring floral hair accessories

In Art History, Japonisme refers to an era when Western artists took influence from Japanese prints and art works.

This intercultural exchange pops up today, especially in the realm of fashion, with styles such as Mori Girl and Lolita. One style often ignored, sometimes frowned upon as 'costumey', is Neo-Japanesque style.

For the sake of "Neo-Japanesque" being a mouthful, I'd like to call it 和モデ, Wa-mode.

The aesthetic is completely different from Lolita, which is booming with Western audiences right now. But if the theory is true, that aesthetics mix across cultures, maybe this style could also take off with a Western audience.

You might be surprised to know that when I opened up my very first issue of the Gothic and Lolita Bible, I did not see lolita on the first page.

Make yourself at home!

Well, after almost two months of separation, today our personal belongings were delivered! We were afraid that everything was lost, but at long last we were reunited and able to move on with our life. 

Today I set myself to the task of sprucing up my room, since I've been in empty rooms and hotels! I worked with odds and ends I had- an old calendar, magazines, and clothing tags- to lend my signature to my new room. 

Animal Prints and Lolita

Animals- what is it about them that adds a dash of fairytale whimsy to lolita prints? Is it their gentleness, their innocence? Animals are pure of heart, just like the princesses who don the frills.

--Actually, I think those glimmer-eyed woodland creatures are creepy as hell. But for some reason, brands love them. I'd opt for a suspiciously benign wild animal over a diabetes inducing explosion of candy any day.

Rabies is now adorable...