Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Updating again! More on that 365 Lifestyle Lolita Challenge.

Once again, I've not exactly participated EVERY DAY, but still I've been having fun occasionally browsing and picking something to do from the tast list of recent days. My last post was on the 23rd of July, so to update from there:

July 24 - Write about if you owned your own brand: Honestly, it's something I consider a little bit, but I wouldn't want to do it full time as that seems like too much of a commitment. I wouldn't mind maybe starting a little accessory brand that does one-off things from time to time perhaps (maybe even the occasional skirt? - I have many skirt ideas for myself I'm meaning to get around to). Already, I sometimes do make jewelry to sell at a local shop, not necessarily lolita, more mori-kei styled if anything, but it's nice side money every so often, like $2-3 here and there. I don't think I really want to be someone who creates promotional materials and advertises on social media and such like a proper brand is expected to do anymore. I absolutely HATE instagram as a platform. It's a dreadful thing to have to use (I try to avoid it as much as possible, and I'd not even look at it if I didn't HAVE to for a volunteer project I run), but unfortunately, it seems like a good chunk of the western lolita community is on there, so if I was trying to be serious/full-time about "my brand" then I fear I'd be expected to post there to be successful and I've no interest in doing so. But yeah, maybe small items sold here and there, off and on, might be nice. It'd be nice to contribute a bit to the fashion? - I guess this ties a bit into July 27 - Photograph something you've made - I recently made a barette featuring red ribbon and baguette charms to match my Leur Getter Picnic Print JSK and I did take a picture of it to send to someone over chat, but the picture I took features me with EXTREMELY frizzy hair, so I'll not post it here, but I did do it! XD

You'll notice that in between, there are several prompts for doodle this or that, design a coord based on this or that - I do intend to do these... I've just not done them yet OTL. Will post once I have tho!

August 2 - Try a small change to your normal routine: I actually did this one on August 8th and was forced into it due to a car appointment. Woke up, without time to lounge about and browse the internet. Had to get up and drive over to a town about 40 minutes away instead, and it was kind of pleasant? I sat in the waiting lobby and read more of "Our Village" by Mary Russell Mitford and also deco'd a PC holder for a PC of one of the members of my favorite boygroup. It was quite a relaxing morning, even more so once the other customers had left and I had the lobby to myself. I was sat a a corner table away from the others while I worked on my deco, but I was listening in to the sounds of the room. They had been watching a news(? - I'm not sure it could be called as such) program that had very loud and excited vocal delivery and were discussing the stories together, and once they left I, being a bit tired of just simply the way that program sounded, switched it to a golf program because it was the first channel available, and honestly, the quite and calm golf commentary in the background was just perfect, really. It was a good morning.

August 4 - Share a lolita blog you recommend: This would be MakeLovely's blog. I read it during a bit of downtime at work a few years back and it was all around a very pleasant experience. She hasn't posted in several years now, but it's definitely a nice snapshot of previous times.

August 7 - Listen to a new composer: I think this one is quite interesting, and it's an idea that I've mulled over the past few years or so. Excuse this little diatribe, but I do find it interesting how say in the 1940s or so, my understanding is that it was far more common to have a favorite composer than a favorite band. People didn't care necessarily which orchestra was playing Shostakovich for example, they just wanted to hear his works. Nowadays, it has switched to "This is my favorite group! I love all the songs they put out!" and there's some overlap there between band and composer: some music groups do compose their own songs, others don't. Where it gets interesting is I often see people trying to dismiss groups/soloists that don't compose their own music as not being as "good" as groups that do. Just because a group fully writes their own song doesn't necessarily mean it's automatically good, and there are still some composers that exist, quietly writing songs for others to perform. I think I began to look into this since one of my own favorite groups works extremely close with one certain composer, so in a way, I am a fan of that composer's work. While I like some of the songs he has created for other groups as well, the vocal stylings of this certain group paired with this composer's work is really a perfect combo for me though, and I'm not sure if I can say I'm fully a fan of that composer, becasue without the singers, it wouldn't suit me as well? Idk, it's interesting. Most of the other groups I listen to do compose their own songs, but this particular group made me consider this more and I think I don't necessarily care if songs are self-composed or not? Like I said, people used to have favorite composers and not favorite bands, so I don't really see "they don't write their own songs!" as being a quality automatically lesser-than. This doesn't really address the challenge of this task at all, but just my thoughts. In a way, I suppose I did complete this task though, just a bit early as on August 5th, I went to a concert of a band that I wasn't really familiar with. The music was good, and I do intend to listen to it at home, but I will say... the concert energy, just as a result of the mood of the music, wasn't the vibe I generally love from concerts. I did have a good time, but I think this concert would have been better suited to an outdoor ampitheater where one could gaze at the stars and chill versus just standing indoors in a GA section. It may be my musical upbringing, but if I'm in GA, I want to jump around and this music (and the accompanying crowd) wasn't conducive to this.

August 8 - Share a dress you used to own and why it's no longer yours: Innocent World's Theresia Rose Plain JSK in Blue - I love the print on it, but that bodice cut did me no favors, it would get weird and gappy under the bust with no details to even hide it because it was so plain, and due to it being an incredibly long bodice, I couldn't even hide it with a bolero/cardigan really. Shame because it is such a lovely print, but any time I tried it on I just hated it, so it had to go, and now I'm super hesitant to try Innocent World main pieces. I love their skirts and OTKS, but I fear more bodice problems..

August 9 - Re-read your favorite fairy tale: honestly, not sure I have one. I think there are some elements of various ones I enjoy like "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" has a nice setting, "Little Red Riding Hood" is pleasant simply from the "girl goes on a walk in the woods!" aspect. I suppose that now I'm looking into it, I'm not altogether sure what a fairy tale is actually. What differentiates it from a regular fiction story or a mythology... more research is needed on my part!

August 11 - Share how you picture your ideal wardrobe: I really think I'd enjoy to have an entire room for it. Right now I use a closet, so I keep my skirts in a drawer and have to steam them anytime I bring them out. It'd be nice to have space to hang them, and also more space for accessories (currently in drawers and some of those decorative shoebox type things). I currently rent, but I'm hoping to buy a house soon-ish, so maybe that might be an option someday!

August 12 - Learn to Read Sheet Music: I kind of already do? If it's treble clef at least. I suppose I might see if I can do a crash course on bass clef today? We'll see!

Anyways, what have I been up to since last time I posted:

I watched Mad Max - I've started celebrating this thing called "Australia Sunday" which I made up last month. It's looking to morph into a monthly venture, no particular set date, just a Sunday where me and my boyfriend are both available to participate. We listen to songs about Australia and watch Australian movies and sometimes do other Australia-related things like cooking or visiting Australian zoo animals. This month's Australia Sunday had us following up last months viewing of "The Cars That Ate Paris" with "Mad Max" and honestly, it wasn't what I was expecting based on what I had heard about it? Still a pleasant watch though. I did enjoy how they would show quick cuts that were close up on the eyes of a character right before crashing. I also liked the eerie feel that came from having the constant noise of the dispatcher radio playing in the background? At times it seemed she was talking to somebody, but no one was ever answering her. Something I've noticed in both this movie and carsparis was that no one seems to be bothered when a fly just lands on them? Not sure if that's a stylistic choice for both of these movies or if it's due to maybe technology gaps back then were they couldn't see that there was a fly on the character while filming and didn't want to reshoot, or maybe Australian people just don't care???? It's interesting. I think the desolate nature of "The Outback" is also a very compelling setting. The remoteness of it, knowing that help may not come to the characters for hours, definitely plays into the story. I think we'll view the other Mad Max movies too, but the hoon cars in paris were far more visually interesting. I do also think it's intriguing that Max was a police officer? Considering Australia's colonial history, I would have thought there'd be perhaps more of an anti-establishment attitude, and maybe one could argue there sort of is in a way since he ends up leaving the police and going rogue , but mostly it seems the movie was sympathetic towards the police force and how they were outnumbered and short on manpower. I also really liked the idea of how driving on the desolate outback roads can lead someone to become a bit insane, which was said at some point, tbh maybe even twice. Also... the main villains... were just rednecks?

Again, my concert going life continues: I went to see wave to earth, The Aquabats (with Mike V and the Rats and the Koffin Kats), and a livestream of Gongchan's fan meeting. All were fun! My calves are still a bit sore from jumping around at the Aquabats! I also attended a swap meet and got to meet up with some out-of-state lolitas that I met earlier this year. It was nice to see them again.

Various Main Pieces I've Worn Since Last Posting

July 27 - Melody BasKet's Little Dot Heart JSK in red
July 30 - Chocochip Cookie unknown OP in black - The closest looking thing I can find to it on lolibrary is the Courduroy Babydoll OP but that's not quite mine as mine isn't cordurou, doesn't have neckties, has a much thicker waist sash, and has detachable bows...I also suspect mine is longer than the Courduroy Babydoll OP. I have this mysterious OP in sax and black and it's a very elegant OP that has a nice empire waist type situation going for it.
July 31 - Moi Meme Moitie's Sleeping Garden Lace Up Long JSK in green
August 2 - Moi Meme Moitie's Sleeping Garden Lace Up Long JSK in green. You may be thinking, "Wait, didn't you just wear this 2 days ago?" and the answer is yes. Both were to Harry Potter events, so I made it into a Slytherin-inspired coord on both occasions to attend.
August 3 - Emily Temple Cute's Small Meow Skirt in lavender
August 10 - Melody BasKet's Marguerite Honey Bee JSK in sax
August 11 - Melody BasKet's Rose Princess Blouse OP in blue

Today's Coord Rundown

Melody BasKet's Bouquet of Violets JSK in black
Dear My Love blouse in black
black stockings
SmartFit dark purple mary janes (I got these from Payless back in 2008 probably??? and I used to wear them back when I was using Tripp dresses I found at thrift stores to try and recreate lolita looks as I had no credit card back then)
Melody BasKet's Melody Spun Lace Headband in Black
NO accessories because I was running late for work, but I do usually wear some haha