Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Back again for another blog post!

First, let's provide an update to the 365 Lifestyle Lolita Challenge mentioned in my last post.

I definitely did not tend to these EVERY DAY, but I did look through and engage in some of them (and on their corresponding days!) while others I entertained the thought at least a bit or put off to a different day and did them retroactively. I really enjoyed reading old posts about meets on EGL from a different country's community as was recommended for July 4. For me, it was not so much the different country that was appealing, but rather I enjoyed seeing various attendees holding digicams and taking pics together. I was rather late to adopt a smart phone myself, not having one 'til late 2020 if I remember correctly, so while people in 2021 and 2022 were enjoying that trendy digicam revival era, I was not partaking as I had only just moved away from having no choice but to use digicams [plus the latch on the bit that holds the batteries in on mine broke so I had to either manually hold it shut or strap it together with rubber bands which got in the way of the zooming aspect of the snapshot button (I do not know camera terms well!!!)]. All that aside, during my past half-decade or so with SMARTPHONE, there have remained many times where I've missed "the simpler days" of my flip-phone and digicam. I still haven't fully moved away from mp3 players... big lover of the Microsoft Zune HD forever I think, but again, beside the point. Seeing the digicams in the photos did make me miss using my own, and maybe it's time to get back into it... let's break out the rubber bands I guess.

July 14th's task, "Wear something that reminds you why you love lolita," was something I did retroactively (on actual July 14th, I stayed home and did needlefelting and read articles on regional horror in the context of Australia and "Ozploitation" films in my pajamas), but I do think I hit on that one today (which is partially why I'm inspired to update this blog then!) I see also that actual today's task is to "doodle [my] favorite dress" and I honestly don't believe I have a favorite. It's really hard to pic faves because each dress has its own charm imo??? I will keep it in mind to doodle at least ONE of my dresses though on another occasion (I'm simply not in the doodling mood right now, but eventually I know it will strike!), so instead I will go in depth regarding a particular skirt of mine, Meta's Kitten and Tulip skirt in mint.

This is a skirt that I probably wouldn't have bought had I not gotten a pretty good deal on it secondhand (story of a good chunk of my wardrobe.... I know a lot of advice in the community generally is "don't buy something just because it's cheap! save up and get something you really want!" but my method of being a bargain shopper has gotten me to try out so many pieces that I never would have tried otherwise, only to end up absolutely loving them -- seriously! Some of my most worn items are things that I would have NEVER have bought under normal circumstances.) I like cats, but the retro design of these cats is a bit different from what I'd normally go for. This is also the first mint piece I had ever bought and I wasn't sure what I'd do with it exactly, but it was cheap enough that if I couldn't figure it out, I knew I'd be able to at least get my money back on it should I decide to sell it. Well, when it arrived and I tried it on.... I instantly adored it! The silhouette specifically, with it being a circle skirt, reminds me of a poodle skirt, and the kitchy/retro styled cat illustrations play into that well. Every time I've worn this, I've coorded it with the 1950s in mind, pairing it with a cardigan and my hair in a ponytail with a scarf tied up in it. Listening to songs like "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors while getting dressed, going out to retro-style diners... even though technically the wrong era, I even wore it to LBJ's museum. This is one of the things I love about lolita. Lolita takes inspiration from SEVERAL historical periods and transforms them into something that is easily wearable in the modern day. Sort of related, but I ended up reading this site's post about the history of "poodle skirts" and found it quite interesting how various other designs were appliqued on (a trait that was common in early lolita and I've considered many times making my own applique skirts too!)

Something that I've not yet done, is I've not coorded this skirt with a yellow cardigan or a black cardigan, I think both might be fun to try out eventually, but usually I go with a pink cardigan as I quite like pink x mint together, and I have a vintage pink scarf to put in my hair, and not a yellow one or a black one... Something to try out though! I think pairing it with a pair of saddle shoes could be cute too, and I've been meaning to get another pair of those since my last ones fell apart many years ago, but we'll have to see!

Various additional tasks from the 365 Lifestyle Lolita Challenge

Submit a lolita valentine for someone you admire - I think she's mostly active on instagram these days, but Pyon. I had originally found her twitter, as a Leur Getter fan, I recognized her straight away. Before finding her account, in my mind, I called her Leur Getter-chan, because it seemed like she was modeling for nearly every Leur Getter release! She has an iconic pose, with extreme consistency. Even still, she models for Maison de Minette from time to time and I can recognize her from that pose alone even though her face isn't shown! It's become a thing too, where sometimes I will replicate her pose while out and about. I think she's really cool and always looks elegant!

Another lolita I really enjoy is MaiMelody9810 on Twitter. Her coords are always really cute and I think we have similar tastes in main pieces, but she finds interesting and different ways to coord them than I would, so sometimes I take a bit of inspiration from her!

I've also been enjoying some of the more quiet & personal luxury tasks like enjoying lotion or candles. It has been relaxing! I'd like to write a letter to my favorite brand as well... but due to language barrier... it might be hard, plus I'm not sure their address?

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

I watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) - This is a film that I had been wanting to watch since AT LEAST 2019 but honestly probably earlier. I know I had learned about it from tumblr back when I still used that and I think I stopped regularly using that site around 2015 or so, so this has been a long time coming, but honestly it was so good! Every bit as good as I had imagined, even though it was nothing like I had thought at all! I knew it was a musical, but I hadn't expected them to sing the entire duration of the film, which was a bit odd at first, but I eventually grew used to it and I really loved how effectively they were able to add tone to their lines through the singing. Quite a sad film, but still lovely. The set was quite beautiful too! Fun fact, but Japanese fashion brand f. int's 2015 S/S line was inspired by director Jacques Demy's following film, "The Young Girls of Rochefort" (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort), which is on my to-watch list as well!

I also watched The Cars That Ate Paris - This is the first NON-SAD movie I've watched in a bit (there's Umbrellas ofc, but we had also watched Breakfast at Tiffany's just before the end of last month... after having watched Roman Holiday near the start of the year - total cry fest 2025 tbh) . It was refreshing not to be crying a bit at the end actually, but golly... it was quite unsettling the entire time in exchange. The aforementioned reading on July 14th??? That was spawned by this film specifically. I honestly can't wait to watch more Australian horror films. This one left me with so many questions and thoughts; I'd almost want to delve into them, but in case anyone does read this blog... it's prolly better for you to go into this movie NOT knowing anything like I did. I literally picked this movie just because I was wanting to watch something Australian after spending a day kind of trying to learn a bit more about the country, and this one had an interesting sounding title, and the small blurb of plot I was provided sounded intriguing, but this movie went so much deeper. I feel like on the internet, one sees many posts lauding Ari Aster's "Midsommar" for being a horror film filmed in broad daylight, but "The Cars That Ate Paris" did that long before and honestly it's dreadfully overlooked.

Though quite different in tone, I do honestly reccomend both of these films! I greatly enjoyed them both.

While not really in the vein of lolita at all, I did go to 82Major's concert and had a great time!

More in line with lolita, I've been reading "Our Village" by Mary Russel Mitford. I'm quite a slow reader at times, but I'm really enjoying this book! Life in a small English village!

Additionally, two days ago, I made a cute barette of baguettes on ruffled red ribbon as well as a croissant rosette to pair with Leur Getter's Picnic Print jsk the next time I wear it! I had already made a croissant ring long ago that perfectly matched it, but I desired even more matching accessories, so I just made some this past Monday!

Various Main Pieces I've Worn Since Last Posting

• July 4 - Melody BasKet's Melody Block Check JSK in red, paired with Emily Temple Cute's Cereal Big Blouse in ivory - honestly this has been THE coord of the summer. I can't even tell you how many times I've worn this these past few months, it feels close to weekly.
• July 7 - Leur Getter's Antique Bear JSK in sax
• July 8 - Leur Getter's Picnic Print Cami JSK in navy
• July 12 - Leur Getter's Picnic Print Cami JSK again, but coorded differently.
• July 13 - Leur Getter's Floral Rabbit Cami JSK in grey
• July 15 - Leur Getter's Fruit Label Cami JSK in offwhite
• July 22 - Alcali's Mirror Cat Ruffle OP in yellow (according to lolibrary? I'd consider it to be green myself, but mine also doesn't quite seem to be the same cut as what's displayed on lolibrary. I got mine secondhand though, so it might have been altered to be shorter with lace on the bottom???)

Today's Coord Rundown

• Metamorphose's Kitten and Tulip Skirt in mint
• Pink cardigan
• White peter pan collared cutsew
• Light pink stockings
• MODO's "藤花小姐" (per the box) shoes in mint
• a brooch of a white cat with some daisies and butterflies from Meow Amor Creative
• a polka-dot bow ring I got off of ebay well over a decade ago