Away from the Influence

This post precipitated out of the current litigation over whether mainstream influencers with near-identical content have defensible intellectual property rights to the stylistic aspects of their work and personal image. Influencers seem to have a role in so many fashion ecosystems, yet the lolita community doesn't really support this niche. 

Lolita Skills

The past couple of weeks have been rough. As a trans person in the thick of U.S. politics, I haven't felt this concerned about domestic policy and its immediate ramifications for my friends and family in a long while. Fashion is a solace in this trying time-- moreover, it has given us all important skills for the future. 

Material Matters: An Introduction to Organza

The specifics of fabrics can often be confusing for lolitas, even experienced ones. Lolita material discourse typically centers around the primary polyester vs. cotton divide, with adherents on both sides. Rarely does the discussion cover the specifics beyond the fiber content. I've covered the basics of lolita fabric in my old school post series, in which I divided the identity of a fabric into four components: fiber content, weave, all-over dye, and print. Any fabric can come in any color or print, but weave and fiber content define a fabric.

Organza (and organdy, which is a variation thereof) is a tricky fabric to deal with. Despite having been a minor part of lolita since its inception, and having many uses, it's a real pain to sew with, and can fail in new and interesting ways that small-scale brands may have trouble managing. Because of this, organza was seldom used until after the OTT sweet boom. So, this unique textile is a perfect introduction to why fabrics are more than just an aesthetic choice. 

Bibliotheca: Polymer Clay Sweets Jewelry

Surprise! I've been accepted as a Bibliotheca blog circle member. Bibliotheca, created by the lovely lolitas at Bay Area Kei, is a way that bloggers can get in touch with readers and create a thriving community with meaningful, informative posts that other platforms just aren't designed for. Please be sure to check out everyone's hard work!

This month's theme is DIY, so I'm going to share some (mostly sweets-themed) polymer clay jewelry I've made recently, as well as my materials and process. First, though, let's dive into the history of sweets jewelry. Just note, a lot of my information is from Japanese Wikipedia, so it may not be perfectly accurate.