Comfort update - so how are those shoes holding up? Bodyline 251 and An*Tai*Na 9988b

^^ This is a 4/6 months update on the comfort and durability of the shoes I bought in the autumn 2013 ^^
An*Tai*Na 9988B
Bodyline 251

An*Tai*Na 9988B

Original Review post <<Click link :)

Received: November 2013

Review date: March 2014

Frequency of wear: (Approx.) I've used these shoes every other weekend (alternating) so, perhaps 8 times per shoe-pair during the past 4 months.

Storage: Original carton shoe box in my wardrobe. I handle them gently, and they are stored in separate plastic bags, as not to touch each other.

Total wear after approx 4 months:

Coords

Cherry coord :)

Classic Velveteen

There is an optical illusion on the picture to the right! XD

The inside of the shoes is white, and paired up with the white lace stockings - this makes my feet look weird XD

May be good to think about, if you take photos with these shoes- white socks may create this illusion.

So what is my final verdict? :D

An*Tai*Na 9988B shoes

4 months update: Still 5/5 Hazelbelle nuts! :D

These shoes are amazing! It is so easy to make beautiful coords with them and they really make my outfits :)

I can't believe how comfortable they are, even with the heel. I wear them for hours all day long and I have NEVER had sore feet! :D And that says a lot, usually I get sore feet immediately when wearing high heel shoes. The shoes do get a little bit warm, as they are not made in leather. But I actually do not mind because the design is so aaammmaaazing :3

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Bodyline 251

Original Review post <<Click link :)

Received: August 2013

Review date: March 2014

Frequency of wear: (Approx.) I've used these shoes twice a month, perhaps 12 times during the past 6 months.

Storage: IKEA polyester shoe box (SKUBB) in my wardrobe.

Total wear after approx. 6 months:

A few coords...

Wine, grey and brown :)

Brown x White

So what is my final verdict? :D

Bodyline 251 shoes

6 months update: Raising the grade to 5/5 (from 4/5) Hazelbelle nuts! :D
I must say, these shoes are very comfortable. I have actually walked at least 100 km in them in total (often 8 km in a day!) (In Sweden we rely on walking and on public transportation to get around ;)

The PU is of very high quality and is also durable. They are also very water resistant and can tolerate the harsh weather of the Swedish winter

I do, however, find them more difficult to coord than the 9988B. Design-wise, they are not really super low sweet tea parties, and the lack of heel can make the longer classical skirts look a bit off. But, as I mentioned, they are amazingly comfortable and it's really simple to walk 10 km in them without sore feet.

I rated these shoes 4/5 in august, but I simply must raise the grade to 5/5 :)

The only set-back is the design. When I bought these shoes, I was very new to Lolita and knew little about how much slight details can alter the complex "feeling" of an entire coord. These BL shoes have a more chunky and "upward" round toe, compared to Sweet Tea Parties, which might make your legs look a bit off under a classic skirt with less poof. So I'm rather careful what kind of skirts that I can coord with these shoes. I do believe the design is a bit more "clumsy" and "chunky". I might actually put these up for sales and buy more An*Tai*Na 9988B models in various colours instead!

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Coming up! My next coord :D

My next coord with the An*Tai*Na 9988B gold shoes will be with +Krad Lanrete+ Lost in Sea Aqua OP themed up with my gold vintage leather handbag. ^^

<3 Hope this post is helpful for you! <3

BIG HUGS! /Mary

Confusing Lolita rules, guidelines and mean Lolitas' - a guide for the beginner Lolita

Anonymous artist

When searching for ideas of what defines Lolita fashion,

you will often come across this phrase:

"Please remember that these are not rules, 

they are simply guidelines to help you make better coordinates"

oooooOOoookaaaaayyyy...

So there are no Lolita fashion rules, the beginner thinks.

They are just guidelines?!

At least that was my first reaction...

My second reaction occurred when browsing the communities, 

because the comments of the "daily coords" that Lolitas posted where very strict in the sense of what you name your coords.

If you step "out of line" (not following the guidelines?! ;), there will be correcting comments from Lolitas that DO consider to know the fashion better than you: 

These comments always start with the corrector saying something nice, followed up with the main purpose of the comment: a correction.

(I've masked words to make this comment anonymous)

This comment is just an example of what you run in upon when browsing the communities.

When you look upon the comments in the communities you realise that:

1) There must be some Lolitas that consider that there are general "rules" for Lolita.

2) For the same Lolitas, if you cohere to the general "rules" - you may consider the rest "guidelines".

3) Every one has an opinion ;) And with that, I mean there are some things one Lolli considers to be a "rule", that another Lolli considers to be a "guideline".

Lolita fashion by Kera 1999

The "rules" and "guidelines" change over time as well. In 1999 Kera made this article about "what makes a Lolita coord". For example, Kera recommends you to wear an apron for "an even more Lolita-look". 

If you dressed like this today and posted it online, you would probably receive various comments, especially about the non-matching accessories, non-existing all-thought-through coordination and the apron. The apron was in 2006 deemed "costumey" or more specifically: 

"Aprons aren't just for Alice in Wonderland costumes or french maids anymore, but they still have a bit of a costumey feel so only wear during appropriate situations (such as while cooking) or if you feel confident you can pull it off without it looking like a costume"

 Source: Lolita Handbook that was published by American Lolitas. 

The Lolita Handbook is actually one of the first western try on defining Lolita fashion to a bigger audience, and there was a storm of debate following it's publication and that is where the more "open", but confusing, "There-are-no-rules-only-guidelines"-comments started.

Misako Aoki as a convention host

Misako Aoki, larger-than-life Lolita, Kawaii-ambassador, Btssb Model and President of Japanese Lolita Association, reveals that she is working on a "how to book" for new Lolitas. It will only be released in Japanese, so we'll see how much it will affect the rest of the Lolita Fashion World. (And which fan-based translation we will abide to! ^^)

Misako also states the following, concerning how Lolita Fashion has evolved when interpreted outside Japan:

"In Japan, the coordination is very conservative – single colour palettes, a very solid theme. Nothing too adventurous. Elsewhere, it seems that it's a lot more adventurous; the colours are more vibrant. The coordination is something that a Japanese lolita wouldn't even think about. In that sense, it actually works out – the coordinations are very unique outside of Japan."

(Harajuju Interview 27/2 2014)

Lolita fashion is always changing. Over decades and continents... As it is filtered through culture, accessibility and economy. Yet there is no doubt that there is a cookie-cut shape for Lolita, that is more strict than mainstream fashion that most people are used to.

So, how do you navigate through these confusing Lolita fashion guidelines and rules? And what is this Lolita cookie-cut shape?

Well, I actually was rather confused until I realised that first and foremost, there are "rules" in Lolita fashion - BUT they should actually be called "fundamentals".

The fundamentals of Lolita fashion is* the following:

(*What I believe most Lolitas in the online communities agree too)

* Covering up /Being modest *

(Even Ero-Loli isn't flaunting)

* A poofy skirt *

(Aka having some type of petticoat. 

Anything from a little poof to mega poof)

* Coordinating clothes *

(colours, themes etc. to get the "Lolita look")

* A certain amount of elaboration is needed *

(If the op/jsk/skirt is solely in one colour, it seems that a certain amount of frills, pintucks, lace or ornaments are needed. A bold print does, however, not need a lot of the above named "sewing-accessories", since the dress is elaborate in itself.)

* What people consider to be Lolita accessories *

(Depending of what style you want: Bows, Crosses, Flowers, Mary Janes, PU-shoes, PU-handbags, brand totes, plastic necklaces etc.)

And the rest are guide-lines...

About sub-styles

You can start a new sub-style by yourself, but it will not be accepted until you've prooved that it looks good according to the rest of the Lolita community and everyone else starts to wear it!

Generally, as a Lolita beginner, you have to realise that there is a strict hierarchy in the Online Lolita fashion communities. You often have to "prove" yourself worthy of other Lolitas respect by for example, posting multiple good coordinates in the communties.

If you "step outside the box", aka if you do not follow the Lolita fundemantels/Rules/Guidelines and you post it in a community, you will be corrected by other Lolitas that do not agree with your point of view.

If you are a beginner, it is a good idea to post photos of your coords in a beginner-friendly environment, for example Facebook page Lolita Fashion Mentoring.  

About Mean Lolitas

DO NOT post anything on EGL Livejournal until you are a little more seasoned as a Lolita... 99% of all Lolitas are very tolerant to beginners, BUT there are some "back-pages" where the-not-so-tolerant Lolitas' complain, moan and bitch about anything you post that can be considered annoying, wrong or "ita"... and the comments on these pages can turn rather ugly. 

So please beware.

If you are posted on one of these "back-talk" pages, just keep your cool.

Read my blog post about dealing with net-haters.

You can also read Northern Stars post about "Wank comms".

Don't take anything personal - they really know nothing about you!

If you can stomach rude comments, read them and think about what the not-so-tolerant Lolitas' are trying to say (inbetween the hate):

Maybe you have come of as annoying online, can you change how you phrase yourself? 

Or maybe you have written something wrong/ faulty - can you delete your comment?

Have you been interpreted as rude? Can you say that you are sorry?

And again, keep your cool.

There is no need to defend yourself, just keep your head down and out of the fire, and eventually people will forget all about it.

Always be polite, it is actually the most elegant way to deal with this :)

Don't read, post or comment on these rude pages about other Lolitas, either.

Do become a tolerant, open and elegantly polite and nice Lolita. 

And remember, that most Lolitas' are really wonderful creatures and they do care, and they love to share their experiences. So if you find someone nice online that has a lot of experience, ask them nicely if they perhaps could answer your Lolita beginner questions or join a Lolita mentoring community. (I highly recommend Facebook Group "Lolita Fashion Mentoring")

Here are a few other links to various blog posts on the topic:

Northern Star - Rules of Lolita etc

FYeah Lolita - Following the rules of Lolita

Good luck!

Big hugs/ Mary Hazelbelle

How to advance from a Lolita-newbie to a Lolita-apprentice... The Lolita advancing ritual.

Lolita can be an easy fashion-style, if you buy everything from ONE brand and ONE coordination in ONE colour straight from the rack :)

But this isn't the reality for a lot of Lolitas' out there!

The reality is that many of us choose to buy from different brands, indie-brands, vintage stores and DIY. Which leads to a wardrobe full of items that may or may not be easy to wear together.

As a newbie-Lolli, the instant crush on the fashion may lead to a lot of impulsive shopping.

This happened to me :) I have now, more than 6 months later, a huge wardrobe full of odd-matching items in various colours and patterns and styles :P Which makes coordination rather impossible!

So, in order to advance from a Lolli-Newbie to a Lolli-Apprentice,
I'm going to make the following Lolita advancing ritual that's applicable for any Lolita; Master, Apprentice or Newbie ;):

(c) Romancing Home

1) Make a cup of tea

2) Spread your entire wardrobe in your room. Hang outfits on your door, on your curtain-rod, spread out your accessories on the bed and line up your Lolita shoes on the floor.

3) Sit down in a comfy armchair and bring out your laptop.

4) Surf the web and save pictures of all the Lolita-coords you love (and would be likely to wear).
Lolita coordinate database
EGL Daily Lolita

Lolita-coords

5) Choose the top 25 of these pics.

Use perhaps pixlr to make a collage.

6) Now look at the coord-photos - pick out the 6 colours that always seem to pop up.

7) Make a note of these 6 colours - do they harmonise together? If not, make slight alterations and finally choose the 3 most basic colours. These colours will be the base foundation of your wardrobe. Leave the other 3 colours for accenting your base colours. Eventually you will end up with the Lolita colour-chart for your style! :) Ramble Rori has a great post about Colour coordinating your outfits.

8) Now look at the designs of the clothes in the picture coords that you love. Are they Sweet, Gothic or Classic? Are they frilly, lacy or more simple pin-tuck? Do you prefer JSK+blouse or OP? Are there a lot of boleros, capes or cardigans? Bows, Headdress, Flowers or Hats? Printed or Solid Socks? RHS, chunky heels or Classic Mary Janes? Etc, etc... If you are really into categorising (I love that ;) LOL) you can make a simple table of the items appearing in the coords on the pictures- simply look at each picture and mark for every coord what item appears:

Comme ça:
JSK - IIII
OP - II
Bolero - III
Hat - I
Tea Party Shoes - II
Classic Mary Janes - IIII
Flowers - II
Bows - IIIII II

In this way you can decipher exactly which items that occur most often in the coords you like.
(You can do the same thing with the colours!)

(Of course you can choose to have several parallel wardrobes going on - e.g. One Classic Brown/Rose/Ivory wardrobe + One Gothic Rococo Floral/Black/Ivory + One Sweet OTT pink/mint/sax. But be-aware that this will truly complicate shopping and will cost you a lot more! In the end, my opinion is that you'll get a nicer wardrobe if you build one at the time. So for instance, choose 2014 to be your Classic wardrobe-shopping year, 2015 to be your Gothic and 2016 to be your Sweet. This way you can build three wonderful wardrobes within three years (and not ending up with three half-good wardrobes and having to rob a bank!) F Yeah Lolita has an excellent post on how to create a Lolita Wardrobe.

9) Compare the designs of the clothes on the pictures, with the items of your wardrobe in front of you.

10) Sort your items in piles of "Matches my ideal Lolita style", "Does not match" and "Maybe".

11) Put out all the "Do not match"-items up for sale on EGL-comm-sales or Facebook-sales-groups :)

12) Coord the remaining items. 

(Leave the "Maybe"-pile for now, keep these items stored in your wardrobe for a rainy day, these are the items that you might regret if you sell them immediately. Re-evaluate them within a year: If you do not use them within 12 months, you're probably never going to use them - so sell them! If you have used them a lot, obviously just keep them :).

13) Ask yourself:

Which items are you missing in your wardrobe to make those amazing coords? (compare with your pictures!)

14) Make a SPECIFIC shopping list of the items you need.

With SPECIFIC, I mean really SPECIFIC - colour, length, design, brand, etc. So you don't get tempted to buy something "half-good" just because it's at a low price!

15) Pin this shopping list on your desktop (of your computer or your IRL desk or maybe both). Save your money and don't DARE to but anything else than the items on your list :)

Happy efficient shopping!
This will hopefully help you to spend money on better items and help you to reach another mastering level in Lolita.

So this is how I did:

My top 25 coordinates

Mostly coords from Fanny Rosie and Fancy Melody <3

Some of these coords aren't Lolita! But I really feel for them, so I'm inspired by them anyway.

I will probably forever style myself in the Limbo-land of Vintage and Lolita ^^ haha

Basically, it's skirt + chiffon blouse + grimoire tights + short jacket + lace-up booties

Most occuring clothing items:
Skirt
IW Book Bag
Lace Boots
Short Jacket
Grimoire Tights

The 3 most occuring colours:
Brown
Navy
Antique Pink

Accent colours:
Cream
Wine
Green

Style:
Classic Lolita

Fabrics:
Wool
Chiffon
Cotton with prints/paintings
Leather
Velvet
Corduroy (Manchester)

Fanny Rosie has made a great wardrobe post, and when I'm scanning through her items, I realise that these are the brands I like best:
Mary Magdalene
Juliette et Justine
Innocent World
Vintage

<3 I'm seriously in love with Fanny Rosies' shoe collection <3

So my shopping list for 2014 will be as follows: 
(Cold weather edition)
*drum whirl*

> A brown short jacket with a bow.
> Two simple wool Lolita skirts, Brown and Navy.
> Two chiffon lace blouses, Cream and Wine.
> Two hats to match the wool skirts, Brown and Navy.
> A bolero, Brown (preferably JeJ).
> An all-matching Bambi fur collar.
> A pair of classic, sturdy and walking friendly Oxford shoes in Brown leather.
> Grimoire tights, 2 pairs.
> Decorative flowers in my 6 colours
> Antique-looking jewellery
> IW Book Bag or something similar :)
> If I can afford it :) A special OP or JSK from a nice brand!

So, now I'm pinning this to my desktop and sticking to my well considered purchases :)
I could even make a budget for the following months, so I can plan to save money for EGL comm sales. (especially after Lucky Pack season! A lot of IW pieces ends up second hand :)

For better coords for all Lolitas!

Love /Mary Hazelbelle

Must have items... Innocent worlds book handbag

Of course I seem to fall in love with items that already have been released and are nowhere to be seen! 

Innocent World

...but now, I really MUST HAVE the Innocent World book handbag! It was released in 2010, so hopefully some Lolita out there is getting tired of it and wants it to come to a new caring, loving and cherishing home ;) ...my place :3

I'd love to theme it up with Juliette et Justine's library skirt!

That's so smart - I could even wear it to work!

Check out these beautiful coordination's with the Innocent Worlds book handbag:

Autumn in Paris!

London

Toronto