Religion, Lolita, and Me

http://egl-comm-sales.livejournal.com/12838900.html

Hello, all! Sorry for the long absence; I lost my camera and all sorts of craziness happened. I am dating this for Easter Sunday because that's when I started writing this...it makes me feel better. ;-) Since Easter is primarily a religious holiday, what better day to post about Lolita and religion?

This post has been a cause of much internal debate recently. I don't want it to seem "preachy," nor "ranty," but since religion and lolita are such a large part of my life I feel no blog of mind would be complete without at least one post on the subject. I hope you will take this article for what it is: an insight into my feelings concerning lolita, my religion, and those around me.

Concerning Lolita and religion, I have felt for a while to be a bit of an outsider. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. By today's standards, this is a rather conservative religion. Understandably, alternative fashion is looked as a bit strange. The extravagance of Lolita is often in contrast to the humble, modest lifestyle of many Latter-Day Saints. I live in an area where the Latter-Day Saint population is fairly dense, and often receive stares and comments. For the most part these don't bother me as much, however there have been comments made about my style affecting my career, ability to find a marriage partner, and family time. As a faithful Latter-Day Saint, I want to marry someone who holds the same standards as I do. I cannot imagine I am the only religious Lolita with these concerns; I have heard of Muslim, Jewish, and members of other conservative Christian religions who have had difficulty with families and friends who do not understand Lolita (and with incorporating religious practices with Lolita). I have prayed long and studied hard, finally reaching a reconciliation of sorts between my beliefs and Lolita (Author's note: I promise I'm not just trying to use big words; I'm trying to find the right words to convey my meaning. ;-P). I do not wear Lolita to church, as I believe it would draw attention to me and fashion and away from the worship that should be the primary focus. Since the standards of modesty for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints suggest skirts not higher than the knee and shirts with sleeves, I have a strict length requirement for any garment I purchase so that they come to at least mid-knee. Additionally, I do not wear JSKs without a blouse and always wear bloomers. I wear more Classic Lolita because I like it, but I would be lying to say that the toned-down look does not appeal to my religious sensibility as well. Thus, I am able to hold my head high in the religious community while still maintaining my love of Lolita fashion.

Ironically, maintaining my religiosity and holding my head high in the Lolita community is a bit of a problem. At the risk of overgeneralizing, it would seem from observation that a conservative belief system and Lolita do not "get on" well. When still a "new" Lolita (I am still fairly new, but I mean NEW new), I was delighted to find a young woman of the same religion as I. She lived in the same state, and I was excited to meet her. We became friends, and I still count her as very dear to me. However, I find myself uncomfortable around her for this reason: Whenever we are together, she constantly trash-talks many leaders and beliefs of our religion. She "regales" me with her political views and pokes fun at things I hold dear. Being--quite honestly--a shy person when it comes to speaking out about such things, and not wanting to force my beliefs on her or lose her friendship, I have kept quiet about it. Continuing on, I have found more Latter-Day Saint Lolitas, but most of them are (as one of them described herself) "bad Latter-Day Saints." I do not want to sound judgmental or like I am classifying their beliefs, for I do not know their reasons for the things they think and do. Suffice it to say, they are not...ultra orthodox Latter-Day Saints (if that makes any sense), and I am. Believe me that my beliefs are no "blind faith" decisions, they have been arrived at through very careful research, thought and prayer. However, my conservative faith also tends to be a problem when looking through the online Lolita forums. As a Latter-Day Saint, I do not believe in body piercings (excepting one pair of earrings for women), and so Lolitas with nose rings and such are very unattractive to me. I also believe that LGBT lifestyles and cross-dressing is morally wrong. Both of these opinions are VERY unpopular with the general egl community, to say the least. I would not force my beliefs on someone else unless asked what I thought, but I often shy away from discussions simply because I'm afraid to state my unpopular opinion. My beliefs are firm, and in the spirit of discussion people attack those...well, it tends to upset me (not yelling, swearing, etc...more like crying). So I feel like a bit of an outsider in the Lolita communities, as well. I do not hold any doubt that there are those that share at least some of my beliefs, nor that there are those who will be comfortable friends despite differences in belief. I look forward to meeting them, indeed I may have met some already.

So there you are. A very long essay to say a simple thing: I hold Lolita dear, hold my conservative Latter-Day Saint values more dear, and am keeping an uneasy peace between the two. It is not wholly comfortable, but nor is it impossible.

To The Reader: How, if at all,  has your religious/belief system affected your Lolita style?

A Little Rainy Day Shopping

My mother and I went shopping for Easter fixings today! She's a little ill at ease with Lolita, so I wore a toned-down Classic outfit. This is one of my favorite dresses, the Angel Land JSK from Innocent World! Sorry for the blurry photos, I guess when I was picnicking with little cousins one of them got pb&j on the lens! D-:

Outfit rundown:
Bows: IW
Blouse: IW
Cardigan: BTSSB
Gloves: Etsy
Parasol: Ebay
Socks: IW
Shoes: Bodyline (and I LOVE them!)

On a side note: I can't stop watching this comedy sketch by a group called Divine Comedy! I found it on YouTube, and it's supposedly two sides of the same date end. You have to watch them in order to know what's going on, but I think it's SO funny! ^_^ Enjoy!

Part 1:


Part 2:

Tutorial: Making a Bed-Warmer

One thing many who are close to me know for certain is that I love the warm and HATE the cold! Keeping warm in bed is always one of my largest problems. Heaters and electric blankets do all right, but I worry about them catching fire when I'm asleep. Fleece sheets are definitely a benefit (they are so cozy and soft), but slipping into them on a cold night still isn't that warm. That's why this simple bed-warmer is such a life-saver! You can heat it up in the microwave and slip it by your feet for a cozy bedtime. You can also use it to soothe aches or cramps. It has an inner wheat bag that can be taken out so you can wash the flannel cover.

Please forgive any confusion as this is my first tutorial. Feel free to ask any questions for clarification!

Materials:
1 yard flannel fabric
l old pillowcase (or similar amount of fabric)
Enough white wheat to fill your bag at least half full
Flannel
Sewing materials

1) Decide how large you want your bedwarmer! I measured my previous warmer and added a little since I wanted it bigger. Don't forget to add about 1/4" all around for seam allowance! Cut out 2 rectangular pieces of the size you want.

2) Put the fabric together (sides don't really matter on this as it's an inner bag and doesn't have to look great) and sew around the sides. Leave about a 2" opening on one side through which you will pour your wheat.

3) Turn your inner bag inside out. I usually use a wooden spoon or long stick to help me.

4) Use your inside bag to measure your cover. Cut one piece to be about the same size plus seam allowance. For the other piece, add to the length how much you want your flap to overlap times 2. (For example, I want my flap to overlap about 2", so I added 4" to the length). You will now have two pieces, with one being longer than the other.

Here I've stacked the two pieces so you can see one is longer.

3) Hem the "tops" of both pieces.

4) Here's the tricky part! Pin the fabric unprinted ("wrong") sides together on three sides. Fold your flap over to overlap (you'll still see the wrong side) and then back up (now you'll see the printed side and your flap will be the right size; for me, 2"). Now open up the flap length (for me, 2") of the pinned part and MAKE SURE to pin the flap BETWEEN your two layers of fabric. If you don't get it between them it won't turn out right! I couldn't get a decent picture so I hope this isn't too confusing...

5) Sew your outer bag on three sides, leaving the top where the "flap" is open. Turn it inside out and flip the flap over the top. Now you've got your cover!

6) Grab your funnel and stick it into your inner bag. Pour the wheat in slowly until the bag reaches the fullness you want. I've found that filling the bag 1/2 to 3/4 full allows it to still have some nice give yet have enough wheat for warmth.

7) Sew it shut. Your inner bag is done! Stick it inside your cover, and heat it up for toasty toes! I usually heat it up in the microwave on high for about 4 minutes. For reference, the dimensions of my bag are 16.5" by 8.5".

Bonus: I had a bunch of fabric left over, so I also made myself a wheat neck warmer!

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! What's YOUR favorite way to keep warm indoors?

New Gloves!

Hi, all! This isn't exactly a review, but I wanted to show you some new gloves I got! I've been eyeing these gloves for a while from IW:

They're lovely, but the problem is they're about $60 without shipping. Gah, break the bank! So it was like a miracle when I found these on Etsy:

They look a lot the same, right? They were also $30. So I went ahead and got them. They arrived beautifully wrapped in a free handkerchief:

They are great quality! They have a few stains on them, but I'll try to get those out by gently cleaning with Oxyclean.

Here's a shot of the gloves on my hands! They make my hands feel so pretty, and they fit nicely. ^_^

My Lolita Style

This post is going to be a bit of info about Lolita styles, and then a little bit about my own unique style. This is still developing, and my info and pictures about Lolita styles is going to be taken from the Lolita Handbook on livejournal. This is an amazing resource, and if you want more info about Lolita Styles (or lolita in general) I encourage you to go there. They also have real-life pictures of the styles!

Main Lolita Styles (experiences Lolitas will probably want to skip this):

Gothic Lolita

Traditional Gothic Lolita have a black-and-white color scheme, but not all Gothic Lolita is black and white. This style incorporates the darker colors and themes (like cross motifs and veils) from Western Goth into the more adorable Lolita style to produce a very unique style that takes a lot of practice to perfect. Most Lolitas start off with this style because it much easier to find gothic items locally and the color scheme is very easy to coordinate. Gothic Lolita isn't a substyle of Goth fashion, though it incorporates some of its elements.

This style may also be commonly called 'loli-goth', 'goth-loli', 'Elegant Gothic Lolita' or 'EGL', but these terms are somewhat misleading. Some people also consider Gothic Lolita a general term for Lolita fashion, probably because of the Gothic and Lolita Bibles, but this is also misleading because many Lolita styles possess no gothic elements.

Sweet Lolita

Now the most common Lolita style and definitely one of the cutest and most colorful. It has all the traditional Lolita elements but with a more wider choice of colors: light pinks, baby blues, and whites are the most common colors. Sometimes colors like lavender, canary yellow and mint green are also used. This is also where you'll find the most fluff and frill. Lolita brands that sell Sweet Lolita clothing might often have themes, such as fairy tales, sweets, pastries, fruits, baby animals and fragrances.





Classic Lolita

Classic Lolita is slightly more mature than most Lolita Styles. It's not quite Aristo because the shorter Lolita silhouette is still present. Generally classic pieces are decorated with a few ruffles or some ribbons, but you won't find yourself swimming in lace and large bows. Classic Lolis tend to wear darker or more muted colors (e.g. rose as opposed to bright pink) and floral prints are common as well. This style is harder to distinguish because it is right between Sweet and Gothic Lolita - the dark reds and blues and even blacks can be confused for Gothic style while the light florals make it look like Sweet. The difference from both is that it relies on an elegant cut or print instead of a lot of trim. Classic Lolita is the perfect style for those who love Lolita but who want a more subdued look.



Boystyle

Boystyle is just as varied as Lolita--ranging from the cute little-boy style of kodonas to the more sophisticated dandy or aristocrat. "Kodonas" might wear knickers (short pants) with a proper blouse and a vest, while aristocrats would wear a whole suit similar to those worn in the Victorian Era.







All of this information is from the lolita handbook. The handbook also contains much more information on other styles and substyles such as Punk, Shiro, Kuro, Aristocrat, etc.

And Now...

My Lolita Style

I believe my Lolita style is a mixture of Sweet and Classic Lolita. I prefer ruffles to lace, although I still like lace moderately on my dresses. I usually don't prefer dark colors, favoring lighter subdued colors or jewel tones. Recently I've decided to try and coordinate my wardrobe to make coordinating outfits easier, and have decided on some "theme" colors of sage, rose, cream and brown (possibly burgundy, too). I definitely prefer dresses reminiscent of the Victorian era, and require longer skirts to fit my definition of modesty. I would never wear a JSK without a blouse and also prefer over-the-knee socks. I'm a very modest person! ;-) I like my petticoats full and puffy, which sometimes is a hassle as the Classic Lolita sillhouette is a bit more A-line. But I enjoy a challenge! I usually wear my hear simple, either in pinned braids or curled. I like hats and bonnets, although bonnets have fallen out of favor with some Lolitas I think it helps retain the Victorian feeling of an outfit.

I hope this helps you understand what I "go for" in a Lolita outfit, and therefore a little bit about me! :3 What's YOUR Lolita Style?

Review: KISStixx?!

Okay, I saw these in a store, looked up their website, and HAD to order some! Mostly because of the corny movie they had, but I thought the flavors looked cool, too!

Their ad:



Supposedly, you're supposed to put one flavor on your lips, one flavor on your partner's. Then you kiss to "mix" the flavors for "one amazing kiss!" I ordered 4 different flavors (it ended up being about 20 dollars) and shipping was very quick!

The "Stixx" arrived in a padded mailing envelope. Definitely decent for the contents and size.

My four flavors (from left to right): Peaches and Cream, Strawberry Daquiri and Pina Colada (still don't know how to do accents on blogger), Fire and Ice, Strawberry and Chocolate.

I got out and tried on Strawberry and Chocolate, since I LOVE chocolate. Inside the package were to "Stixx" labeled with "Kissstix" and the flavor.

They went on very smooth and creamy. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to kiss...and I'm not bold enough to ambush people with chapstick and kisses. So I put both on my own lips. The flavor was pretty good, not terribly strong but nice. The chocolate didn't taste as chocolaty as I'd like but I've come to expect that from chapsticks. There was a bit of a chapstick taste, too. I think the best part about these Stixx is how they feel on my lips. They're not oily but nicely creamy and feel very moisturizing! The experience might have been better if I'd been kissing someone...probably would. ^_^

Overall: 3.5/5
Shipping: 5/5
Price: 4/5 (a little pricey for chapstick)
Quality: 3/5

UPDATE: I just tried the pina colada/straberry daquiri combo. Now, this doesn't affect the quality score because the taste still isn't strong enough to be "amazing." BUT these Stixx smell AMAZING! I could wear just one of these alone, together they smell so tantalizing right there under my nose! I almost believe I'm holding a strawberry colada under my nose and inhaling deeply! I'll add more updates as I try the other flavors.

UPDATE 2: Just tried peaches/cream. The peaches Stixx is probably the tastiest (in terms of degree of taste) one I have tried yet. Putting the cream on with it definitely tones it down, but it's still pretty good. Peaches smells great, cream smell is very subtle.

Wow! I did it!

One of the things I've noticed is very popular among Lolitas is false eyelashes. The doll-eye look is very sought after in Lolita, and--truth be told-- false eyelashes make your eyes look bigger. But I've NEVER been able to get them on! Seriously! I've spent hours in front of the mirror, used every method I came across, only to come away with sticky eyelids and mangled eyelashes that mock me like little black spiders. XP

Finally, in another urge to have lovely doll-like eyes, I googled "Can't get the hang of false eyelashes." I didn't hold much hope, but to my surprise I found this post which tells of a "fool proof" way to apply false eyelashes! Basically, you put on the glue like an eyeliner, wait for it to get tacky and then place the lashes. I found a youtube video that actually shows how to do it, and nervously...I tried it. Good news: IT WORKED! ^_^ I'm not sure exactly how I feel about them. What do you think?

On another note, at a craft store yesterday they were having a sale on sewing baskets. I found a LOVELY basket to use for my calligraphy supplies. I like to write letters with an old-fashioned dip pen and ink. I just needed a place to store it all! Here's the basket:

I love the color scheme: cream, brown, rose and sage are my favorite colors! The closure is magnetic and it has a nice wicker border and handle. Inside:

There's my pen, nibs, inks, stamps for envelopes, and sealing wax.

Review: Bodyline Shoes

A while back, I ordered my first "official" Lolita shoes directly from Bodyline! I took pictures intending to do a review...and I finally got around to it! Yay!

I was a little wary of ordering shoes from Bodyline, although they're reportedly some of their best products. People have had trouble figuring out their sizing, but I was lucky. I had bought a pair of Bodyline shoes secondhand (the seller had the US size there) and they fit so I was reasonably sure of my Bodyline size. For your information, I wear about a US size 6.5 and the Bodyline 23.5 fit me very well.

I ordered the shoes and was amazed at how fast the shipping was! It only took about 2 weeks for the package to get to me!

The package was just an envelope, but it was well sealed:

The shoes were wrapped in tissue paper and had tissue and plastic shoe supports inside.

I was a little disappointed at this lackluster job of packaging, but it didn't seem to damage the shoes too badly. The pink shoe bows had a tiny scuff, but it didn't even photograph.

The shoes without the packaging. They were absolutely LOVELY! I wasn't sure about the pink shoes on the site but bought them because they were some of the few pink in my size. But in person I LOVE them!

 

I couldn't wait to try the shoes on...so I put them on with my pants! XP And guess what? They fit PERFECTLY! They are so comfortable, I can see walking in these for a while and still being just fine. The pearls on the white shoes are detachable.

Ratings:

Overall experience: 4.9/5

Price: 5/5 (VERY cheap for Lolita shoes)

Shipping: 4.5/5 (very fast shipping, half point off for lackluster packaging)

Quality: 5/5 LOVELY!

My Lolita History

How did I find out about Lolita?

While searching for some victorian-inspired anime makeup on youtube, I can across this video of Austrian Lolitas. At the time, my predominant thought was, "Weird." Since I couldn't understand the words (the version I found didn't have subtitles) I decided to look up "What is Lolita" on Google. As most Lolitas will tell you, a lot of what you find through Googling Lolita is very misleading. ^_^ But I was pretty lucky to be able to find a Wikipedia article and lolitafashion first. When I read these sites, my "Weird," changed to "Wow!" I've always loved old-fashioned clothing. My favorite dress as a child was a victorian-inspired frilly monster that I wore until it became indecently short. Finding that there were actually a bunch of people who wore this on a regular basis and companies that make clothes like this...it was like a miracle! From what I found there, I put together my first "Lolita outfit." Warning: first-try ita* ahead!

January 2009

Oh, the HORROR! Needless to say, I didn't really know what Lolita was supposed to look like. After a few more attempts like this, I found the egl community on LiveJournal. From there, I found egl_comm_sales (the secondhand sales community) and daily_lolita for inspiration. Finally, a few months later, I made my first Lolita purchase of a petticoat and dress!

March 2009

Sorry for the bad quality; it's the only picture I have. I was doing a presentation for an elementary school; pretty much the last time I wore Lolita to a school. XD

After more research I finally met a local--more experienced--Lolita. We met up to discuss a panel at an upcoming convention in October 2009.

I continued to develop my love of Classic Lolita, buying more things as money became available (not that often). Between my career and a home that's not conducive to Lolita, I don't wear Lolita as much as I used to. I still love it and wear it when I can (weekends and stuff) and keep developing my style. A few more recent pictures:

Anyway, so I've been into Lolita for about 2 years now...it sure doesn't seem like that long! ^_^ My style is constantly evolving, and I'm always finding new inspiration. It's a fun journey, and I love helping new Lolitas make their discoveries as well!

*"Ita" is a term used generally in the Lolita community, usually as a term of derision or sarcasm. Basically the equivalent of "Lolita? You're doin' it wrong." Which I was. XD

Cooking: Sweet Potato Casserole

My time in Georgia gave me a definite tooth for sweet potatoes, but my family is very resistant to trying these treats. I was about to give up when my sister tried this casserole not knowing what it was...and she LOVED it! It's really easy to make, takes about 2 and a half hours from start to finish, and makes about 10 servings. It's really rich and sweet, so the serving size is fairly small.

Makes 10 servings
Preparation time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients
Casserole:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter*

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter*
1 cup chopped pecans

*I substituted margarine for butter.

Preparation

Wash and skin the potatoes. Dice them into about 1 inch cubes.

Put the potatoes in a pot and add enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil for about 25 minutes or until soft.

Drain the potatoes, put them back in the pot, and mash 'em up! It should be really easy. If you have to press hard, consider boiling them another minute or two.

 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all casserole ingredients. I used an electric mixer on low, but you could probably use a spoon. Pour mixture into a lightly greased (or PAM sprayed) 1-1/2 to 2 qt casserole dish. Forgot to take a picture of this part, sorry!

At this point I started the oven preheating to 350 degrees. While it's heating, prepare your topping!

The topping calls for chopped pecans. You could buy them chopped or chop them yourself, but I've found the easiest method for me is to "mash" them. To do this, you first put the pecans in a gallon baggie.

Using a rolling pin, hammer, or other blunt object, pound on the pecans until most of them are in small pieces. This is a great stress or frustration reliever! Take THAT, stupid dial-up internet! ;-)

 

In a small mixing bowl, combine topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the casserole. There should be plenty, but if you have some "blank" spots, add some more pecans to fill them in.

 Put the casserole in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. The top should be golden brown and crispy. This casserole is best when served same-day, but it reheats relatively well.

Hope you enjoy this yummy dish, and feel free to comment with questions or variations you tried! ^_^