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.
This is my last post of 2024, so it only seems right to make it about farewells. Once again, this is a Bibliotheca theme post. This time, I'm going to extend it past fashion topics and into the realm that got me into this mess to begin with: conventions.
This is the first of two Bibliotheca theme posts I'm doing for this rotation: I recommended both themes, so I feel duty-bound to speak on both farewells and soup. I'm a big soup person: I love calling coffee and other such concoctions soup.
I recommended soup with the intention of discussing the most important lolita soup of all: laundry. Wash your damn clothes.
The Bibliotheca theme has shifted to being bimonthly. Due to my ongoing health concern (hopefully fixed at the end of July), this schedule shift is pretty darn helpful. So, when asked for ideas for prompts, I threw out a silly one: banana for scale. Because my fellow bloggers are also goofballs, now a bunch of Real Fashion Experts are writing about bananas and scales. Putting my own twist on things (as usual), I've decided to write about the scale of production for lolita.
I'm late for this, but it's time for Bibliotheca, with the theme of femininity.
I've been getting ready for a move and dealing with a series of large work events, but I'll be able to blog more after! With that in mind, this post will be shorter and less well-cited than most of my posts, but I hope it's up to snuff anyhow.
Anyway, this is a great time for me to expound on one of my favorite topics: I am not a woman but I respect women a lot.
It's a new year, it's Bibliotheca Time, and the bosses at the Content Factory (where I have been imprisoned for skipping a month of blogging) have given me the admirable task of writing about Wishin' and Dreamin'. And for what do lolitas wish, and of what do they dream, if not Wishlist Items and their Dream Dress?
It's Bibliotheca time once more, with the theme of versatility. It's also the end of November, that golden time when Americans are mostly recovering from the feast of Thanksgiving and preparing ourselves for the abject gluttony of the office holiday party. Personally, I'm bringing Krispy Kreme donuts.
It's Halloween, it's Bibliotheca, and like the shriveled monkey's paw of a human being that I am, I have to put an unexpected, cursed twist on every wish and prompt unfortunate enough to come my way. More specifically, the prompt of the month is Horror. I'm pretty good with typical horror-- I don't scare easy, though I do startle at loud noises and fascism. But what really scares me in my lolita life is visibility.
The end of the month approaches, so it must be Bibliotheca time. September's theme is "Fruits of Fall". Normally, I'd tortuously transform this into an ode to pumpkins and gourds, but it's not the month for that. Both Jewish High Holy Days fell in September, so I'm feeling a little bit more earnest than usual, and the (currently upcoming) federal government shutdown has the entire D.C. area on edge. As such, I'll talk about my feelings on the two fall fruits in my wardrobe and one I would love to see.
It's Bibliotheca time and also the beginning of the school year. This month's prompt (lounging around) doesn't really mesh with my current lifestyle, so I've decided to regale the internet with a school-style essay instead, because it really does feel like I missed the summer homework assignment until the last minute.
I have an antique doll, but just one. I'm ambivalent about them. Papier mache figurines share the shit out of me tho.
Yeah so I've been working 7 days these past weeks and this is all the blog you're getting. Don't put it in the newsletter haha.
It's Juneteenth, the Bibliotheca theme is picnics, and so I figured I'd talk about Southern U.S. food traditions (mostly Black in origin) a little. I'm not a 'real southerner'-- the D.C. area is barely on the edge of the south, and my family is urban northern Jews anyhow. I am grateful for every bite of barbecue I've eaten and every cookout I've been part of, and I want to honor that. For more on American (especially Southern African-American) food history and culture, I recommend Michael Twitty's works. Although the prompt was picnics, eating outside is always a joy, in any form, as long as I'm doused in sunscreen and insect repellent.
This Bibliotheca theme of royalty has dwelled in my mind since it was decided. Royalty and accompanying imagery (like crowns and orbs) have a strong place in lolita fashion, which apparently goes against the rebellious tendencies of the fashion. But there's much more to the place of royal motifs in lolita (punk lolita especially) than there might initially appear.
Bibliotheca's month of florals is almost over, and I am personally 100% on board with this theme for April. Although I try to keep my posts relatable to people outside of my geographical area, I've lived my entire life (except for undergrad) in the D.C. metro area, and so April + florals = cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms shape the local culture and provide a D.C.-Japan connection, so I'm excited to explore this topic.
For the second half of my Bibliotheca headwear themed posts this month, I'm trotting out an even hotter take than usual.
I love headdresses, hats mini and huge, stupid little clips and cakes and bows that make people look like the most conspicuous shoplifter in Clair's. But with all that affection for headwear, I still don't think headwear is required.
It's headwear time at Bibliotheca, and that means it's time for me to cart out the hottest of opinions.
I am a serial mini-hat apologist. This will never change, because I am unashamed of my tackiness. But there's so much more behind the strength of my commitment to kitsch.
I've been experiencing post-con crash after Katsucon (more on that in another post), but I still wanted to squeeze in a Bibliotheca post for the prompt "living spaces", because the spaces in which I live are an important and difficult-to-navigate topic. This gets very personal and touches on mental health, so it may not be worth reading for everyone.
This month's Bibliotheca theme, unless I messed up, is challenges. Not Big Challenges (the unlaunched Sanrio mascot) specifically, just challenges in general. However, if there's ever a Big Challenges print, sign me the heck up.
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| the man himself |
It's the Bibliotheca post, the first one since August. Sorry for dropping off the map-- I finish (this round of) grad school in two weeks, so all my writing motivation was directed either towards that or to writing materials for historic interpretation at work. Luckily, food is one of the things I best relate to, so the theme came as a relief.
This month's Bibliotheca prompt, in honor of Obon and summer camp, is about scary stories in the summer heat.