Hey lolitas, need a last minute Halloween costume? That's not very OTT of you, but I get it.
Why not dress up as another lolita, one with a consistent(ly bad) coording style?
That's right, this is the one and only guide to dressing up as me for Halloween! I have no idea why anyone would want to dress as a total unknown, but it's your choice, and I respect that.
For a scarce handful of days, I thought I was done with this topic.
Then my senses returned. I can never shut up.
With that, welcome to the second installment in the lolita color theory series! This time, I'm going to go into a little more depth about three topics: color schemes, color matching, and why sweet prints in black colorways are difficult.
Reading the previous installment is a nice bonus, but this post should be understandable regardless.
Okay, this is a real one.
Color theory is often espoused as one of the keys to personal style. You might be familiar with one of a variety of color seasons systems, which lives alongside Kibbe types and somatotypes in the realm of aesthetic astrology (although medical astrology did historically have an aesthetic element).
And, right under the wire, it's the Bibliotheca post! This theme is defiance, which has a lot of pertinence in the current moment in D.C. I'm going to ignore these relevant reasons and instead focus on something simpler: how can femininity be rebellious?
Recently (by which I mean a couple months ago), I finished sewing a dress and headdress set that I'd started sometime in autumn last year. Sewing makes me ask plenty of questions, including: why was I born? What cruel force of fate would make my bobbin thread run out like that? Why does my machine sound like the shopping mall version of industrial music? Where the hell did I put that pattern piece?
The most important question, of course, is the simplest one of all: is sewing my own lolita clothing even worth it? (Spoiler: it depends). In documenting my sewing project, I'd like to take you along on my personal decision making process to see if sewing is the right choice at all.
The lolita rules are a perpetually lurking bogeyman. Newbie lolitas are, to this day, told to beware breaking the rules, or face the fatal consequence of being called ita.
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| whenever we discuss the rules, I think of Fairly OddParents |
The later Lolita Fashion Wiki Beginner's Guide doesn't even use the term rules, instead using the terms "hints" and "guidelines". Most recently, Lovelylaceandlies has compiled a wonderfully updated version of the rules, which includes the constant refrain: the rules are helpful, but they're not legally binding.
Here's my first theme post for Bibliotheca since my extended absence.
I'm not too keen on the theme of baggage, really-- I like being playful and creative with my interpretations, and the allegorical meaning of baggage is far from cheery. I also don't vacation much: my trip to The Great Lace was the furthest from home I'd been in ages. But I'm no coward, so here's a post about what to carry. Since I don't travel much, I'll focus on everyday items.
Hello!
Reports of my demise have been slightly exaggerated. I've just been in a bad place (the Washington DC metropolitan area) and not in a great mental space to post.
Anyway, here's a recap of major stuff I missed writing about.
I'd like to briefly rehash an old argument about terminology and Chinese brands here.