Lolita and J-fashion artwork

Some of my lolita and Japanese fashion artwork so far!  I have drawn quite a bit more than these, including some old school illustrations for the first Gothic and Lolita Bible in English released by Tokyopop way back when lol, but don't have the files on my new computer, so these are just the ones I can find and that are my favorites. I try my best to include masculine and aristocrat and ouji styles, but sometimes they don't turn out as nice as the more feminine counterparts I've drawn.  Still, it's good to have variety. I hope you enjoy all of these as well!

Artwork for Garnet Gateau - some wa-lolita costumes inspired by FanPlus Friend and other Chinese brands for a vintage Kimetsu no Yaiba Taisho era look.

Artwork for Okashi-con 2018 when Listen Flavor was a featured Japanese brand, the shirt and skirt and phone case are actual items released that year.

More Valentine's Day artwork from several years ago, I believe this painting was inspired by Victorian Maiden and similar classic lolita brands.

This is a framed miniature painting inspired by my Taeyang "Alucard" BJD and I think a BtSSB Pullip doll or similar, trying a more dynamic pose.

A framed painting of another wa-lolita girl, clearly inspired by Dreaming Goldfish by Meta. Love Meta.

A framed painting of a classic lolita, this one is inspired by one of Fanny Rosie's coord snaps.

[coord] Singing Deer - Qi Lolita look

I stayed up late last Sunday to take some test photos of one of my newest dresses from Taobao brand, Long Ears Sharp Ears! I purchased their Chinese New Years lucky pack during the February Garnet Gateau event and it was shipped EMS to me last week. I purchased random wrist cuffs and nail decals as well, but the wrist cuffs were out of stock. I am interested to see how these nail decals work out. But to the lucky pack, I got a high waist jumperskirt, a blouse, and a matching entire JSK + headdress + wristcuffs set. A pretty good deal even with the shipping costs. I happened to have blue and black Chinese accessories lying around, so I wore the qi lolita high waist dress to try it out.

[JSK: Long Ears Sharp Ears; hair flowers: off brand, Daiso; earrings: Metamorphose; necklace: Forever 21; blouse, red tassels, fan: Taobao; flower brooch: MarrKuma; bracelet: handmade; rings: Bisou Lovely, Etsy; tights: Taobao; shoes: Taobao]

I think this picture below is the original version of Singing Deer JSK II, it has an embroidered flap on the front that the dress I got doesn't have, which is fine by me for a lucky pack item. The flap doesn't seem to match the dress as much, it's a little too light-colored, so I don't miss it. The original headdress is a ribbon and roses hairband which looked meh, I would not have paid for it, I shall make do with whatever I have.

This dress features detachable off-shoulder sleeve ruffles, a detachable sparkly tulle overskirt, as well as plain waist ties that I took off and attached to my hair flowers. The full shirring and empire waist is quite comfortable, however combined with the below knee length makes me look pregnant... But that is the price you pay for hanfu-inspired lolita dresses lol. I don't think even the skinniest girls can pull it off, so you just have to embrace it and enjoy a lot of food. But I like the ethereal print of a deer deity and floating lanterns, very Chinese and works with many colors, such as red, blue, black and gold. I didn't intend to wear the blouse and tights and shoes, I think all the black turned me into a black blob from afar, but kinda ties in with the night forest scenery of the print.  Also they were just what I had laying around that matched the dress best. I was happy to use the fan (even though it definitely did not match the theme) and the umbrella (bought for a cosplay) though.

Now one thing I do like about many qi lolita jumperskirts and one-piece dresses is that you can wear it without a blouse and it doesn't look as weird as wa lolita dresses would! See below. Obviously a lot of qi lolita dresses follow the qipao/cheongsam fitted sleeveless high-neck bodice style, which naturally lends itself to no blouses, but even the high-waist ancient hanfu style which traditionally has long floaty sleeves I often see worn by the Chinese models sleeveless, or with a sheer shawl or cape. Is it simply too hot where they're taking photos? Well, that works for me, living in Texas!

Anyway, I would like to get nicer photos of this dress outside in a garden or by water, but I doubt that will happen even outside a pandemic due to Texas being ugly and I'm not great at posing due to bad posture, so bathroom photos it is.

One last thought for your consideration... can non-Chinese and Japanese wear qi-lolita and wa-lolita? The answer is, if Baby and Meta and Taobao resellers sell it to you overseas, you can wear it. Kimono and qipao or hanfu are normal clothes that working class people wear, and the ones being sold by lolita brands do not have ceremonial or religious significance, they are not selling you the Asian equivalents of indigenous tribal feather headdresses reserved for their most honored and elite. As long as you do 10 minutes of research on how to wear kimono or hanfu properly (always right over left), you don't yellow-face or get mixed up between China and Japan and Korea and other Asian countries, you should be fine. Lolita is already so gaudy and far removed from the original clothing style with its puffy knee-length petticoats silhouette, wa-lolita would just look like a costume or cosplay to the average non-lolita Asian person, rather than anything worth throwing a fit about.

But I am Vietnamese, I cannot speak for China and Japan, and this is only my opinion based on what I've seen, including historical exchange between the East and West in which people experimented with different fabrics and dress styles from both hemispheres. You, fair reader, should always do your own research and ask people from that specific country or culture if you have doubts about your place in it. If you still have doubts, simply don't do it, there are tons of other non-specific styles that would look great on anyone, trust me. But if you do your research and wear the legally obtained item in good faith in an appropriate setting (e.g., not a wedding) without any cringe behavior, then you have learned something about another culture not familiar to you and are on the path to enlightenment and have helped an independent (mostly) business thrive.  That's basically a win/win situation.

[shopping] experiences with Taobao and Chinese brands (part 1)

I thought I'd provide an update to Chinese brands aka Taobao brands since my last post 5 years ago. First a general update since the heyday of the 2010s, lolita (and alternative street fashion in general) has somewhat declined in popularity in Japan. Several brands have gone out of business and closed permanently, or consolidated to cooperative/collective retailers such as Atelier Pierrot. You no longer see as many teenagers or students wearing outlandish styles out in the streets, which could be due to the original fashion pioneers from the 90s growing up and having full time jobs or just trends cycling out, like skinny jeans in the West. We could be due for a revival this decade, who knows, let's hope so!

So what does this mean for lolita, an higher-cost and labor intensive fashion style that is surely not easy to fund year to year? It seems like the major brands such as Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Angelic Pretty have been supported partially by overseas customers, such as the West (America and Europe) and now also China. China is a prime market because of their significant number of consumers with the money to buy imported goods. However, China is also a manufacturing center of its own that has experience producing for the Japanese brands, and thus many Chinese entrepreneurs have successfully ventured into the lolita market tailored for their own lolitas. The first attempts may have been the object of much scrutiny to us who have been following the major brands for years, but as the market grew, so did the quality. 

Now as a word of caution, there could still be Taobao shops out there that sell dresses that don't look exactly like on their site photos or are straight up crappy replicas that don't fit any human body. So you can potentially get a cheap poorly made product not worth the shipping and custom fees and taxes. But many more Chinese brands have been able to secure the means to produce items that are comparable in quality to the original Japanese brands for the rapidly growing number of Chinese lolitas, and those brands are worth the effort to obtain a custom-sized coord that not many other lolitas will be wearing.

Onto the original and reseller sites! Ones in English!

• 1. Fanplus Friend / Neo-Ludwig (https://www.fanplusfriend.com/)
• The OG Chinese brand that all lolitas know, with their own website and an Etsy shop since 2014 for easy buying. I don't consider them "Taobao" as they have always been a successful company on their own site. They stock petticoats, cage skirts, custom sized blouses for women and men, steampunk items as well as their own original dresses. They also produce costumes, kids clothing and non-lolita related historical clothing, like silk pajamas. I have a blouse and 2 hats from them, but my favorite item is this steampunk underbust corset. Read the Etsy reviews for customer comments on quality, service and sizing.
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• 2. Clobba Online (https://www.clobbaonline.com/)
• This is a reseller of many different Chinese brands, one of the first English sites I remember using. I used them to buy my off-brand lolita shoes (such as Antaina and Sosic Shop) and now they stock a lot of other items, too, including dress reservations. I haven't used them in years, so I don't know what the quality/service is like now, but probably on par with other resellers.
• 3. Lolita Wardrobe (https://www.lolitawardrobe.com/)
• A more recent reseller based in China, hosting a large number of brands and an easy to use site in English. They have a slight emphasis on ouji compared to other sites, but otherwise the same as other resellers, using the actual Taobao brand's photos and measurements, etc for their listings. I've never had a problem with the service or items not matching and I've used them 4 times already for wonderfully unique dresses and accessories, to be reviewed in part 2 of this series. It's a lot lol...
• 4. Devil Inspired (https://www.devilinspired.com/)
• Another new reseller based in China. They do carry similar lolita brands as Lolita Wardrobe, but they also stock kawaii and vintage non-lolita outfits and wigs and makeup. I think the main difference is the number/types of releases from each brand differs, so one brand preorder found on one site may not be found on the other, so it's a good idea to check both if you are searching for something specific. I just got my first preorder in and will review it later. Note that they only send 1 package at a time, so you have to buy separately if you can't wait for the preorder to arrive 3 months in the future and want the items already in stock and ready to ship sooner.
• 5. Souffle Song (http://www.soufflesong.com)
• This is an older Chinese brand with their own site in English, probably the second purchase I've made from China. This may be the company that left an empty cookie wrapper in the packing box lol. Souffle Song has intricate, richly colored prints, custom sizing, reasonable prices, and can be found on many reseller sites, too. I bought the Arabian Nights special discount jumperskirt  in purple, so not as fancy as the version below, very plain with no lace or ruffles, you may remember from this post here.
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• Random retail sites
• You can find resellers of lolita or lolita-adjacent brands on yesstyle.com and also aliexpress.com. But the quality/service/shipping is even less guaranteed than the lolita-specific resellers and you never know if the profit is really going to the actual manufacturer/designer or not. I bought a Sosic Shop pair of shoes at Aliexpress for 33.35 but I could have gotten them from clobbaonline for 29.95. Now the Aliexpress listing has disappeared (very common lol). So a lot more sketchy in my opinion, buyer beware. Personally knowing what I know now, I would advise to only buy something small if you're already buying another non-lolita item like household goods or skin care and don't care much about the quality or when it gets to you.
• Lolita Collective (https://store.lolitacollective.com/)
• Lolita Collective focuses on Western indie brands with a few Korean and Chinese and smaller Japanese brands, but they now do drop-ships for more Chinese brands and include otome/gyaru fashion. The store owners provide friendly and prompt service, but for items they do not ship directly from their warehouse which you will see on the listing details, you can be waiting for weeks/months, so be aware of the timeline. 
• Long Ears and Sharp Ears (https://lnsears.storenvy.com/)
• I recently ordered a lucky pack with them, but this is a brand featured on other reseller sites that has their own little storenvy shop for their preorders and current stock listed. All for the convenience to us English-speakers! I love their wispy and elegant and detailed designs, very imaginative and Rococco style, will review my pack when I get it.
• Superbuy and other shopping services
• There are several shopping services out there that can purchase directly from Taobao shops that have no English sites for you. This is the case for items that cannot be found on the reseller sites, such as preorders or rare stuff. I used Superbuy to buy some shoes and everything was fine, but the cost of Airmail shipping combined with my cosplay and merch purchases was easily as expensive as the worth of the order... I honestly don't know if I want to deal with shipping from Asia unless it's the sea mail method just because EMS is so delayed and DHL can get much more expensive. As a final note, you can't easily browse Taobao shops unless you have an account. I don't have an account so I'm just searching other people's links, not an efficient method... 

Wow, this is a long post already and I only included 2 photos and no detailed product reviews lol. Stay tuned for part two in which I will go over the Taobao-specific brands in more detail that were not already reviewed in previous posts.

[links/discussion] Black fashion influences and lolita wardrobe tracker

Another post for Black History Month! I want to share links to my personal fashion icons and inspirations who are black and whom you should be following if you haven't yet and care about J-fashion in any way. Be sure to check out their recommendation posts as well, support them financially if that's possible, and pass on the information to others if not applicable to you.

First off is Cursed Kaiser whom I mentioned in my previous coord post. I recently found their instagram again and watched their panels at the latest J-fashion virtual events. Their unique sense of gothic fashion and artistry is awe-inspiring and memorable, highly recommended even if you're not into lolita!

https://www.instagram.com/cursed.kaiser/

Next, a plus-sized sweet lolita, Callista Marie of MagicalGirlMe. They have a fairly active blog, plus fun youtube videos as well as an adorable etsy shop with resin jewelry. So glad to have found this artist through recommendations.  

http://www.magicalgirlme.com/lolita-fashion-blog

Kimbuucha at Youtube is a new discovery for me, recommended by MagicalGirlMe. She is also a sweet/classic lolita and started a Youtube account this year, posting lots of solid short videos with a variety of helpful, applicable content.

https://www.youtube.com/c/Kimbuucha/featured

And for local friends, check out these cosplayers and overall fashionable people I have the honor of seeing in real life (in the before times of course lol)!

https://www.instagram.com/konpeitostars/

https://www.instagram.com/afroprincex/

Also see my previous post this month with Black-owned businesses to treat yourself with good stuff! 

https://starsbegantofall.blogspot.com/2021/02/shopping-links-supporting-black-owned.html

Finally here is the current value of my wardrobe, using the wardrobe tracker (Google Sheets format) from Kimbuucha in this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhkE0yQeMmg&t=1877s

That's... wow, I spent a lot of money on lolita clothing. Note, this does not include all the lolita items I've sold, which would add about another $2,600 USD to the total spent. So that's $13,000 that has moved out of my paypal/credit card just for "official" lolita brands. I did not add off-brands, including whatever the worth of my handmade pieces would be, or Western brands or Japanese brands that cater to otome/kawaii/gyaru fashion like Axes Femme or Liz Lisa. I don't even want to think about that number. Yikes!

I made some different charts just for fun, you can look at a more detailed breakdown of my wardrobe here without me having to photograph everything like in previous wardrobe posts. Almost a quarter of my wardrobe from Metamorphose sounds about right lol.

Because I have a large walk-in closet plus another 2 closets, I don't feel the urge for a capsule wardrobe or to purge items I've only worn once. In the past, when I was experimenting with what style and color I wanted to wear, I've sold plenty of pieces purchased on impulse that I slightly regret in that I could have found another way to rewear them now. At the same time, if another lolita could love the item more, then I don't feel that bad setting them free from my closet. At this time, there is only a handful of items I would sell, mostly pants that will never fit and 2 Taobao dresses I just can't match. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the state of my wardrobe and want to wear the last several dresses (in my house) to take photos in. My goal is to not have to buy anything else and to instead work on sewing accessories and revamping the rest of my handmade wardrobe!

[coord] white Valentine's Day elegant lolita

Trying to use my latest purchases with a true Valentine's day lolita coord, not himekaji! I was kind of up in the air about putting on lolita outfits in below freezing temperatures (hey, this is the south, we get a half inch of snow every 2 years), but also felt like I had to wear my makeup before throwing it out, so I dragged myself out of bed for a quick photoshoot. I was inspired by cursed.kaiser's panel on creative photography so I attempted an artsy storytelling shot, e.g., an angel cursed with a bleeding heart to fall in battle, to limited success lol.

[Dress: Atelier Pierrot; headdress: Taobao, Michaels; long necklace: Minori; socks, shoes: Baby the Stars Shine Bright; earrings, cross necklace, bracelet: offbrand; brooch: Rhapso Broderie; rings: Bisou Lovely, Metamorphose]

Fun fact, I got the golden winged headdress from the Halloween clearance rack from Michaels for like 5 dollars, it was so beautiful.  The dress was a happy pack inclusion that came with a bolero and headdress/necklace, I was in the market for a shiro outfit since I don't have one yet, however this dress was too tight on the arms. Everything except the socks and shoes and Daiso wig were recent unworn purchases within the past year that I needed to show off. As you can see, I tried to do the fallen angel shot with my phone on a tripod but the angles made me look terrible, this was the best shot I salvaged.

What I really liked about this coord besides the half-assed storytelling was the gold eye makeup. The beautycam filters faded the effect, but I caked on 2 layers all over my eyelids and felt proud of doing something more daring than my usual neutral basic look. I would have also put gold on my lips but I know I would have licked it off in a minute. Anyway, people online were impressed, I got to show off a slightly more unusual look (for me), so I consider this a winning coord!

[coord] himekaji for Garnet Gateau

Back at it with a hime gyaru coord from Liz Lisa. I wanted to record my fashion walk entry for Bay Area Kei's Garnet Gateau online event. The theme was red, desserts, extravagance, Valentine's themes. I skipped all of the other J-fashion walks for 2020 after Okashicon, though I tried to peep in the panels, mostly because I was feeling sick the weekend of entering and no one else I knew was entering. This time even though I was also feeling sick and looked extra gross, I could not pass the chance to rock this one piece dress. 

[Dress: Liz Lisa; bag, shoes, socks: Taobao/offbrand; hairbow: offbrand; rings: by Marr; earrings: Kumacrafts]

For working with the theme, I would not change this outfit at all, it's perfect as is, with an adorable border print of a classy French department store window. I love this wig, which originally did not have a hime bump, I created one using the wig tutorial from a previous J-fashion event (pin two twin tails next to each other, genius!).  It even makes a vague heart/bow shape on my head. I thought about adding a necklace or choker but that made everything look too busy up top. Himekaji is about being casually flashy. I did use a previous set of  homemade bordeaux nails to match the winter/Valentine's theme and I added fake roses to the heels for a true princess look.

Anyway, I was going to enter the contest because the other J-fashion category had low number of entries, but decided against it in the end to let other people win (lmao). I only wanted to enter hime gyaru because it's rather under-represented in the US fashion walks, even though the dresses are almost as elaborate and fluffy as lolita. But I guess gyarus don't run in the same circles as lolitas. Very well, if I'm the only other hime gyaru in the lolita event, so be it.

Here's a glamor shot! Ignore my patchy dry skin lol.

[shopping links] Supporting Black-Owned Businesses in J-fashion

Happy Black History Month! Please remember to follow BIPOC who have been active and innovating in alternative and Japanese fashions. I'll be reviewing my purchases from independent Black-owned businesses so you can decide if you want to invest in their products as well. Also, be mindful and do not buy things all at once, many of these businesses have just one employee, so they would not be able to handle a huge influx of orders. Try to buy in the spring or fall (the slow seasons) instead!

I also have an ongoing twitter thread that I add to for boosting which includes beauty and home products if you're not into fashion or just want gifts for friends. 

https://twitter.com/atelierinsomnie/status/1345195524811579392

First up, Moshimelon at https://moshimelon.com, a NBPOC crew with a focus on cute kawaii art and clothing and accessories. I bought some pastel and menhera accessories for when I just want to look cute, and was very pleased with the quality of the art and fulfillment.

Next is Kid Taro Studios at https://www.kidtarostudio.com/. Their shop is currently down, I actually bought a cute resin glitter shaker charm from them that isn't pictured. Feel free to follow their twitter for hip and cute art perfect for decora kei.

Also see Plus Size Kawaii Fashion at https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlusHiiKawaii. They have plus size lolita and fairy kei clothing and accessories, along with resin jewelry that is both cute and creepy. I cannot wait to wear my strawberry shortcake barrette.

Finally, consider Elegy clothing at http://www.elegyclothing.com/lolita, also currently closed for new orders, for all of your gothic and lolita needs. I got two custom-sized blouses that look professional (certainly 1000 times better than I can sew lol) and feel soft and comfortable to wear but don't wrinkle as easily as cotton.

Oops, forgot to add this to my Black-owned businesses thread, it was in my small businesses thread, but Miss Candyholic at https://misscandyholic.com also sells a variety of clothing, accessories and masks for lolita and fairy kei fans. Look at these adorable San/rio facemasks! Check out their plush purses too.

I actually have bought from a few other black-owned businesses from the before times, you know, when we went to cons around other people unmasked, but don't have any recent purchases to write an honest review from so they were not included.

Also check out Lolita Collective for different sellers around the world specializing in a variety of styles that you can get all from one handy dandy site. https://store.lolitacollective.com I especially like Mossbadger's masks and earrings here.

Anyway, feel free to ask more questions on my social media if you want my honest reviews! I will continue to buy more stuff (but slowly as to not overwhelm anyone of course) and share haul pics on twitter and instagram!