Disney World Photo Shoot with Mary!

My lovely readers, I hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas holiday with both your friends and families, and that Santa was kind enough to bring you many cute presents! May you all have a wonderful new year, and may much happiness come with it!

A few posts back, I let you know that we were sending off Red Bunny Tea Party and the Alice in Wonderland dress to have it's own special photo shoot in Disney World! Well, the photos are in and
I am very proud to introduce you to our first ever, Pop Princess Spokes Model, Mary B!

And I would very much like to thank the photographer that generously offered to do this photo shoot, Matt. I would also like to thank Mary's boyfriend and prince, for making sure she had everything she needed to be the perfect princess!

♥ Meet Mary!

Why hello, Mary! Isn't she beautiful?

Q. Mary, would you tell us a little bit about yourself?
A. Questions like this are so hard for me because I never know where to begin, haha. Currently I am doing small side work as a freelance artist while I work as a cp in Walt Disney World and it's my eventual goal to be a concept artist, hopefully for Disney. I have done some modeling work before and I have been published in two anthologies for my poetry. My free time is spent drawing, playing video games, hiking, and admiring cute things on the internet.

Q. Were you super excited to be the first spokes model for the Pop Princess brand?
A. Of course, I was! I'm still excited! Even after my first shoot with the two dresses it still feels unreal and magical. I love Pop Princess very much and lolita is very close to my heart so this is a dream come true! I'm very blessed for this wonderful opportunity.

Q. Out of the two dresses, which was your favorite to model and why?  
A. Oh gosh, that is such a hard choice! They both are so beautiful and comfy in their own way. Red Velvet Bunny is so darling it makes my heart stop when it's in front of me. The print is so sweet and the material is so soft, warm, and breathable. It's perfect for spring, fall, and winter wear. It gives me that glowing cheeks, giggly feeling of being beautiful. Alice in Wonderland is breathtaking too! I am so in love with the cut, detailing, and the print! Alice is different from Red Velvet Bunny in that it gives me a more mature, beautiful warmth in my heart when I have it on. I could gush forever on these dresses! To be honest, I don't have a favorite because they are both so beautiful in their own way! I've worn tons of dresses in my life, but they are the first ones that make my instantly feel like a princess when I put them on. 

Q. So Disney World?! How awesome is that! Could you tell us a little bit about how the photo shoot went? Was it a good experience?
A. Disney World is fantastic! I went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot for the shoot. It was so much fun, even though it was crowded with the seasonal rush we were able to get some great shots. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. My photographer and I had a great time.

Q. What were some of your favorite moments of the photo shoot?
A. There were so many wonderful moments, but I'll try and narrow it down! One was when I went to see Alice in each dress and she went on and on about how much she loved my tea party dresses. Another was all the kind people stopping me to ask about the dresses and tell me they loved them.

It almost looks like Alice and Mary are dueling to see who has the better outfit!

I think they decided Mary's was the most awesome! Look at them hugging it out!

"Mom, Mom, I think this is a REAL princess!!"

A. My favorite moment hands down though was when a mother came up to me with her husband and two kids to ask if I would take a picture with her daughter who was to shy to ask me for a photo. The little girl was so nervous and she told her mom that she got a picture with a real princess! It was the sweetest thing ever! 

Q. It sounds like you had a lot of fun! :3 Thank you for working so hard, Mary!
A. No, dear, thank you! I'm so honored and happy to be the first spokes model for Pop Princess! I hope everybody enjoys the photos from the shoot. <333



Everyone clap a little at your computers as a standing (or sitting!) ovation for Miss Mary and her photographer, thanking them for their hard work and cute efforts! Isn't she adorable? :3

Let's see the rest of the photos!

As soon as the dresses arrive back from their adventure in Florida (ETA: one week?), they will be up for sale in the Pop Princess shop! : 3 Keep an eye out!

[EDIT Dec 31: UP FOR SALE!!!! Alice JSK and Red Bunny OP]

I hope everyone enjoyed this lovely interview, and photo shoot featuring Mary! <3

*Credits: Photographer Matt
*All designs belong to and are copyrighted by Pop Princess / Annika Simmons
Please do not repost without proper credits/permission

FRILL 2013: All Lolita Convention & Pop Princess Feature!

Dear Girls,

Just a quick update! ^-^ Which I'm very excited to announce, since I just found out this morning...
Pop Princess will be attending FRILL 2013 as both a guest, and a featured indie designer in the Frill boutique and fashion show this upcoming June 1-2! <3 :jumps up and down: How awesome and exciting is that?! This will be Pop Princess' 6th fashion show, 2nd designer panel, and first EVER ALL LOLITA CONVENTION!

Image belongs to: Affriliation.com

Frill is the first convention specifically for lolitas (and dandies!) that is held down in Georgia for a weekend of frilly goodness! This will be the second time that Frill and all its cutie company have hosted the convention, there first time being last year in 2012! (When I first heard about it I was like, "Nooo, how did I miss something so awesome?!" So I was determined to find out about it this year!)

I think Victoria Suzanne Alice took some of the cutest photos, and did an interview back when Frill had their very first convention last year. Read Here it's super cute! And makes me even more excited to attend in person!

Hope you are as excited as I am! ^-^ I gotta get to sketching and designing asap! <3

I hope to see some of you there, and finally meet in person!
xoxoxo
Annika

Lolita Blog Carnival: Your Dreamiest Dream Dress!

Angelic Pretty: Twinkle Carnival JSK

 Now, I may be a little biased on this article of picking my "favorite dress" for the Lolita Blog Carnival since the gorgeous Twinkle Carnival arrived at my door just a couple weeks ago from Sweden! But my love for it is simply too much not to share, and is therefore the choice for my favorite dream dress! Especially considering I have pined after it for so many years, and finally, finally found.

So why is it my favorite dress otherwise? Besides, that it is stunning and even more beautiful in person. *o* I didn't realize until it got here in person that, TC is actually made from a lovely shantung material which gives the fabric a bit of texture and a low luster shine. While the shantung is a polyester blend, it is of a high quality, which gives it a lovely hand, drape, and appearance of silk dupioni shantung.

 I also appreciate the amount of tiny details that were put into this dress, it makes the garment what it is: extraordinary. I love the careful choice of chemical laces, and that Angelic Pretty went with a golden, soft netting instead of a cheaper one that would have been scratchy. I love the great care that went in to the top stitching, for example at the bias bound neckline.

Of course, being a seamstress, my favorite part of seeing any kind of clothing, brand or not is how a garment is constructed, from the inside out. I am fascinated with putting the pieces together, of figuring out the time of techniques, stitches, or variables necessary that make up a garment. : 3 But I won't bore you with that, suffice to say this dress is truly skillfully put together. I especially adore the built in petticoat!

Finally, the cherry on top of course, the print itself. The darling glitter ponies on TC are what bring the subtle sparkling of the tulle, and the shimmer of the lace edging together, and make this garment fit for royalty. I, for one, have always wanted to know how one makes a glitter print!

 

Finally, since I was unable to participate in the recent International Lolita Day, some candid shots (with sneaky cameos of Miss Cookie) of me in Twinkle Carnival! <3 Oh, I can't believe it is mine!

***

Want to see more dream dresses? <3 Check out the other LBC blogs beloooow! : 

Secret Window

Red Tonic

Suns in Our Hands

A Lace Jail
Commercially Alternative
Angelic Nostalgia
Lemon Tree
Darkly Darling
Rainbow Star Candy Shine
A Life In Disguise
Under The Parasol
Hello Batty
Pastel Unicorn
Le Boudoir 

Up in Coming December Design Releases for Pop Princess!

My lovely readers, I'm sorry for continually disappointing you with my lack of writing. I sometimes wish I had a clone to do the mundane things in life, like working, while I get to frolic about sewing, designing, and writing. Work is keeping me exceptionally busy, busier than I thought it would and as such I have not been able to do much in the ways of designing to be able to show new things for you. So for now, the production will be a bit slower than usual, especially since my carpal tunnel is acting up because of work. <3

On the flip side though, I suppose that allows me a longer time to conceptualize the designs and continue to refine my process by going a bit slower. : ) There are two new designs which I'm delighted to share with you, that will be released this upcoming month of December--but first,
they are making a trip to Disney World where they will be on location for a photo shoot with our very first Pop Princess spokes model! (I'm looking forward to introducing you to her, she is adorable! For now, I am keeping it a secret to surprise you!)

I've also decided to budget, and purchase a nice digital SLR camera over the winter month as I think it is time for me to be able to show off the details and beauty that the garments I make deserve. I feel I am short changing not only you, but myself as well by not being able to capture them professionally.

For now, a few sneak peeks... <3

Red Velvet Bunny Tea Party OP:

When I first got the red bunny fabric, I wasn't certain what I was going to do with it until the weather started to turn colder and I thought to myself that girls would want to look very pretty but still be able to keep warm. I was between a lovely silk and a deep, cushy top of the line velvet. As you can see, I went with the velvet and it is GORGEOUS, just gorgeous. My camera just can't capture how lush the fabric is in person. I adore it so much, I've decided to do another but in black!

I went ahead with a lovely mutton style, full sleeve with a bias bound keyhole and a 3/4 length, that allows the buttoned up cuff to rest just above the elbow which accentuates the fullness. It took me some time to dye the lace by hand, about 3 batches, to get it the right kind of shade that would accent the red in the bunny fabric, but also work nicely with the richness of the velvet.

I wanted to keep the one piece dress simple, but elegant by using a minimal amount of design features: red pearl faced buttons, scallop lace, and a lovely double faced satin ribbon on the back. You know what else makes this dress awesome? : o There's (literally) 144 inches of skirt gathered into that waist line... I sort of want to have a contest to see how many petticoats it actually fits..... : >

When I was finished, I topped it off with a lovely and beautiful velvet waist bow that is removable. I even made a cute matching head bow to go with it! (Had I had more velvet I would have sooo made a gorgeous red velvet bonnet with roses! *o*)

Alice in Wonderland Frame JSK:

This next one, I am also EXTREMELY excited for!!! This is one of the most gorgeous prints I have seen in a long time, and am honestly grateful I got my hands on even a little bit of yardage considering how rare it is and super super expensive.*o*

 This extremely decadent print, featuring Alice in Wonderland, is set off by its pale pink background, and was carefully illustrated with the up most care for even the tiniest details. Vines, roses, and ribbons criss cross down it's front until your eyes reach the gilded frames setting off Alice, The White Rabbit, and a set of tea cups, and is finished by a scalloped set of ribbons and printed lace.

I wanted this jsk to have a more classic feel than my other work, but was originally inspired by antique pinafores worn by little girls in the Victorian era which featured the big ruffles along the shoulder. After importing some rose and scallop trim, I went through great lengths to painstakingly hand dye the yardage needed to match the dress. It took about 4 dye baths to get the color I was satisfied with using a bit of bordeaux, scarlet, and true red from my chemical powder dyes I acquired when I was attending CCAD. (Mrs. Grebennik would be proud!) The rose and scallop trim are really gorgeous, and I think compliment the design well!

 

As you can see, the bodice features a bit of shirring at the bust line with tiny pin tuck gathers, as well as a pinch of gathering at center front where the bow is placed. The bodice is sewn in three separate sections to allow for the scallop chemical lace trim and roses to be inserted properly, and also gives

it a smoother, more flattering fit. I also realized these sections would need a touch of interfacing to stiffen them, especially with the pull of the lace up ribbon.

Then lastly, I decided to go for a removable beaded bow at center front of the bodice. I wanted something that wouldn't overpower the overall design, but just add a hint of something cute as well to compliment the neckline.

This pattern took quite a lot of work, and caused me a bit of frustration in order to get the corset like panels in the right place, lining up the print as best I could, and then that darn sweetheart neckline decided to give me a bit of trouble as well! And then of course all the top stitching looks lovely, but took some time to get right. But, all's well that ends well. Initially, I was going to go with a 5/8" wine colored ribbon, but in the end went with the 1/4" because I felt it worked better with the criss cross design of the roses.

Now of course, the main event which is really what makes this dress so beautiful and stunning... the print itself. Here are some close up shots! <3

Ah, I feel quite satisfied with this piece, even if it did give me some trouble and frustration! Sadly, this yardage is so rare that this is the only one of its kind right now. However, I hope to find some again through my sources and save up for since I know it will be at least $100+ dollars if I do find it!

Both of these prints will be headed to Disney World this next for an exclusive photo shoot with our very first Pop Princess Spokes Model! : 3 I am very excited to introduce you to her, as she is a very sweet girl, and lovely! Can't wait to share those photos as well, how exciting!

Look for these dresses to be up at Pop Princess after the weekend of the 21st, perhaps even sooner, depending upon how the shoot goes! So they will be up no later than the week before Christmas!

So what do you think, my loves? : 3 Would you like to see more designs like this? With velvet and trims?

xoxo
Annika

*All designs/illustrations are copyrighted and belong to Pop Princess/Annika Simmons.*
Please do not redistribute photos without permission, or proper credits! <3