Gothic & Lolita Bible 58* has a super cute pattern for a lolita bag by Chocochip Cookie, and I had to make one for myself. As the instructions are all in Japanese, I thought it might be helpful to post a walkthrough for this pattern. I followed the colours in the photo but of course you can choose your own to match different coords. You can also swap the flowers for other decorations, or leave the bows plain. The corsages also make great accessories on their own. I would love to see what you create, so please leave a link in the comments if you decide to make one.
OTT Classic lolita has been very popular for the last couple of years, and it looks set to continue, with both Angelic Pretty and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright producing spectacular Marie Antoinette themed designs. While rococo inspired styles already exist within OTT Classic and Hime (Princess style) lolita coords, this year they are very much the focal pieces. I wanted to explore this in more detail, and look at different styling options and sewing patterns that you can adapt yourself.
For Halloween, I didn't dress spooky but wore my handmade Alexandra Henry x Ghastlies cat skirt and my new Cherie Cerise cutsew. I went for a vintage/retro black/grey/white theme.
I felt as though I didn't have a productive month as there were many things I wanted to do and did not get around to doing, but looking back I have made some personal achievements, and it is time I focused on the good things. Too often I think, "I don't practise drawing enough", "I don't wear lolita enough" and mostly "I wish I didn't have a headache/migraine/lack of energy/pain". It's strange really because apart from my health issues, the things I beat myself up about are the things that I take the most joy in and are important to me – art and lolita. Although I lament not drawing every day, I did more sketching than usual, and I completed an illustration for a the Regalia contest winner. I planned out and wore my Halloween coord, even if my event didn't go to plan (I had to cancel it as most people couldn't make it), but I made the most of Halloween anyway by enjoying pizza and classic movies with my best friends. I finished a corset-vest sewing project that I had been working on for a long time, and I went to the Alexander Palace Knitting and Stitching Show in London, where I stocked up on pretty fabrics and got a lot of inspiration for new projects. I also finally got around to writing two long blog posts that I had wanted to do. So thinking about all of that, I feel a lot better about things and positive that I can be even more productive in November. Here are my favourite finds from October, including coords, shopping and new releases – enjoy!
My favourite releases from October:
Baby the Stars Shine Bright x Sentimental Circus Collab. I love the phases of the moon and stars in this print, but I'm not so keen on the bodice. It's a shame they didn't release a skirt!
The nights are drawing in, the weather is getting colder, and Starbucks is advertising their Pumpkin Spice Latte like there's no tomorrow. With Autumn well under way, and winter soon approaching, I have found myself shifting from the fabric and sewing aisle, to eyeing up soft, warm and beautiful wool and yarn. In a recent escapade to the Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching show, I bought this beautiful alpaca wool (along with several other fabric goodies!) to make gloves:
A photo posted by Madeleine Allcock (@madillustration) on
Then it got me thinking – why stop there? What else could I make to fit in with my lolita wardrobe? Searching around on the internet, I couldn't really find a satisfying source of lolita knitting patterns, so, after a lot of research on lolibrary (the lolita clothing database) and ravelry (knitting pattern database), I thought I would share my thoughts and finds with you here. I'm also working on a series of blogposts on knitwear including defining characteristics of brand knitwear, what to look for when buying offbrand knits, how to customise and embellish knitwear, and my favourite finds from Etsy and Taobao).
I woke up early today in order to watch the live streaming of the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright fashion show, filled with new releases! It was exciting joining the live chat and waiting for it to load with other people. Baby is one of my favourite brands for their attention to detail and ability to conjure up designs that look as if they jumped straight out of a fairy tale.
I took screenshots of the show and you can see all the outfits (including ouji styles) on my tumblr blog, but I thought I'd share a few of my favourites here. Unfortunately the camera didn't always focus, and sometimes chopped the models' feet off(!) so these were the best I could get. It was also streamed at quite a low resolution (720p). I think it will be uploaded to YouTube again in a few days if you missed it.
Today I'm talking about an artists that I'm sure a lot of you are already familiar with – Japanese illustrator and Shironuri style icon Minori.
Minori is mostly known as a style icon in
Harajuku, Tokyo, for her take on the "Shironuri" (painted in white) style consisting of floaty, layered outfits inspired by nature. With an international fan base, she has featured in Vogue and TokyoFashion.com
