I'm on youtube!

I haven't updated lately because I've been at DISNEYLAND! Sadly, I couldn't wear Lolita there, but I had lots of fun nonetheless.

A friend recently contacted me and told me I made it into shelbycloud's lolita compilation vid! Take a look:

To my chagrin, she used one of my oldest (and derpiest XP) pictures, but I'm happy I was able to take part in it!

What else do I watch on youtube?

I love to see kawaiigirljapan (Japan's "kawaii ambassador" channel, sort of) and all of the people/things they put on there. I admire how sweet Misako-san seems to be (yes, I added -san, I took Japanese and don't quite feel right not adding an honorific) and love all the groups they showcase.

I also watch a channel called meetzoe or "The Wonderful World of Zoe." This Austrailian girl is so funny, and is great to her fans.

The last few of my fave channels are Michelle Phan and her sisters' channels (michellephan and ricebunny for Michelle and dope211 for Promise). They have such great advice and looks! Her sister, Promise, is AMAZING at transforming the face with makeup!

I hope this has given you just a little fun peek into what I like, and thusly into my personality. XP

To the reader: What are YOUR fave youtube channels? Do you like/dislike one of the channels I watch?

Lolita: Good for More than "Feeling Pretty"

Me with some of the members of my community.

That's right--Lolita has more benefits than being able to feel beautiful. Despite the sweet "little girl" aesthetic, Lolita has actually helped me grow up.


I freely admit it--I'm a momma's girl. And although my close relationship with my mother brings me more happiness than I could ever part with, it brought me one other thing: dependency.

Without going into too much detail, let's just say I was severely handicapped when it came to the social department due to a psychological disorder. Stores, parties, restaurants...all were terrifying places for me. I couldn't order at McDonalds on my own without having a veritable panic attack! In short: I couldn't do things for myself that some people do almost daily. My parents did everything they could to help me, but I stayed this way into my early 20s, when a breakdown finally caused them to put me into therapy.

By this time, I had been into Lolita for about a year. My parents were unsupportive of my hobby, probably because they saw it as trying to return to childhood--something that would not help me with my social predicament. I was starting to see some benefits of Lolita in my life: When I put on Lolita, I knew I was pretty. When people stared at me in the mall, I didn't have to wonder if there was some smudge in a horrible place; instead, I simply attributed it to the clothing and smiled. When I was in Lolita, I didn't care what anyone else thought of me...a refreshing change from my daily self-critisism. I knew I loved Lolita for these things, but the bulk of my "Lolita therapy" had yet to come.

Recently, I found myself the head of my local community. I certainly didn't seek this; it happened mostly because I wanted to see more of my friends and started planning meetups. Pretty soon I found myself creating and modding a new community (the old one got spammed and the owner was MIA) and dealing with a whole new set of pressures. I had to make sure the community stayed a fun and safe place for everyone. I had to set down and enforce community rules. I had to plan the meetups, and then make sure everybody got there and back okay. Not to mention making sure everybody had fun (yes, call me over-performing, I know I can't FORCE people to have fun)! Suddenly there was no time to cower in the corner wondering if the ticket-taker would think I was an idiot. Not attending meetups was not an option. I had to go grow up.

As far as I know, none of my community members knows the number of obstacles I conquer at a simple meetup. And that's a good thing; it means I can act like a regular adult! To save face with my community, I make myself do things I normally wouldn't with an attitude I generally don't possess. I actually order for myself! I take charge, making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. I decide things! Recently, I've found myself looking forward to my Lolita meetups not only because I can dress up and see friends, but as an opportunity to force myself to be an adult. I've already seen some of these behaviors becoming easier for me in everyday life, and hope eventually to become as independent as I want to be.

That's right--Lolita is helping me grow up. And I love it! I'm even giving a panel at an upcoming convention...and I'm in charge. I'm looking forward to it!

To the reader: What unexpected benefits have come to you through Lolita fashion?

Okay...

Recipes are on hold until I find 'em. I've been waiting till I can write a "perfect post" and then having to play catch up. But that's not working. There's always something to make me wait: I don't have all the pics from a meetup, can't find the recipes, don't have time to write more than a paragraph...

But I think people would rather have regular posts than perfect ones. So I'm going to TRY to post at least once a week. ;-) We'll see how that turns out. Look forward to an update tomorrow on the most recent meetup!

Mostly, this post is to say: HELP! XD

I need to know what you want to hear about! Any mysteries of the universe you want unfolded? Products reviewed? Burning questions about anything but my love life? XP What would you like to see?

New Day, New Room!

Well, summer is upon us and with it's coming I decided my room needed a redecorating! I can't do much with it, as I share it with my sister, but I did add a few things to make it a bit more princess-like. ^_^

First, I found this CUTE bedspread from Simply Shabby Chic at Target. It's reversible, with one side being roses and the other white, pink and green stripes! I also got some pink sheets to go with it.

Sorry it seems oddly oriented...I was trying to get the whole thing! ^//^

I also found some adorable accent pieces at Hobby Lobby for my dresser!

Hopefully these lovely things in my room will give me more incentive to keep it clean. T.T I'm a rather busy person and a bit messy because of it. But no more! ^_^

I hope you liked this little peek into my humble abode!

To the reader: Does having a nice room make you want to keep it clean? Do you have a dream room you're saving for someday?

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?

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?

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

About the Author

 

To cut down on rambling, I am simply going to make a series of short statements. They will probably be pretty random, and may be a little obscure because I'm trying to keep them to a sentence or two. Otherwise...well, you'd never get out of here. ^_^ Here goes nothing!

I am 22 years old. I am an Elementary School substitute teacher. I am a Classic Lolita. I am a lady, hoping to become one in the classic sense of the word. I am deeply religious. I am an avid reader and film-maker. I live in the United States. I love to write with a dip pen and seal my letters with sealing wax. I wish I knew how to spin wool and weave. I like warm weather better than cold. I am the eldest of six children. I have never been outside the US, but someday hope to visit Poland, Ireland, Paraguay and Japan. I have a special place in my heart for Savannah, Georgia. I love to crochet and cross-stitch, although I'm not very good at it. I'm a decent cook with a recipe, but my favorite foods are instant. I'm accident-prone. I grew up in a very conservative family, and love them very much. I collect crystal, most of which is packed away. I have moderate anxiety and depression. I teach the four year old class at my church. I play the violin and the piano, neither very well. I love things that smell good, and soft things. I'm single. I love to learn new things, from furniture making to self defense. I like a lot of episodes of Star Trek, and I love shows about the paranormal. I can't sleep after watching aforementioned paranormal shows at night. XP

So. That's a little about me. I'll tell you about my history with Lolita in a later entry. I hope you liked getting to know a bit about me. Feel free to ask questions or comment!

An Introduction to the Blog

About the Title

After sifting through what felt like hundreds of names, I finally decided on my first idea: The Gilded Lily. Although it is a fairly commonplace name, I felt it was appropriate for this blog and I want to share with you why I chose such a "cliche" name (and if anyone knows how to do accents in blogger, let me know).

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/122752

The language of flowers was popular among Victorians. Using this "language"--which assigned a symbolic meaning to each individual flower-- ornamental bouquets became significant messages of love, betrayal, or admiration. The lily usually symbolized purity or honor, but eventually different types and colors of lily came to mean different things. Orange lilies could symbolize hatred, whereas white lilies meant virginity, purity and youth. A tiger lily represented wealth or pride, and a lily of the valley evoked sweetness and happiness. 

In general, the symbolism of the lily appeals to me. It's a lot that I want to be: pure, sweet, happy, full of honor. Gilding the Lily usually means unnecessarily adding beauty to something beautiful. Lolita fashion is a lot about adding a little beauty to your life and to the world. I am not vainly asserting that adding "gilding" to myself is unnecessary, nor is my life perfectly beautiful...But Lolita gilds my life, adding just a little more elegance to everything.

So there you have it: "Gilding the Lily."

About the Blog

Gilding the Lily is my outlet. Primarily for musings about Lolita fashion and related things, other entries may be included if I feel it gives you some insight into who I am or an important event in my life. I created this blog to share my love of Lolita and elegance with others and perhaps make some new friends. I don't pretend to be an authority on Lolita--or anything else for that matter! I may say things that are wrong or slightly misinformed, but I speak from personal opinion and experience and do my best to be knowledgeable about my subject matter. I hope you enjoy the blog!

About the Header

A short plug for the header photo creator because she makes really amazing things: it's a picture of a necklace made by Bitter Sweet. You can find her DeviantArt here, and you can find her jewelry for sale on her Etsy page. She has some elegant things, and some deliciously dark.