Lolita Blog Carnival: Favorite Indie Brands!

This week's Lolita Blog Carnival topic I have really been looking forward to, especially considering it revolves around the discovering and sharing our favorite lolita indie brands with you, dear readers! As a lolita indie designer, I am always on the look out for other indie brands that I can support, admire, and otherwise promote in the community. While indie brands may not be as popular or well renowned as their big brand counterparts, I find that they are just as deserving (if not more so) of praise and admiration from the niche following they do have, as well as from the lolita community itself.

Being an indie brand, of any kind really, takes a lot of gumption and an entrepreneurial spirit. Anyone can sew/design/create, but not everyone can do it well or with such beauty that the designer's talent, sweat, tears, and heart show through the finest stitching details that make a piece not just an item of clothing but a work of art. It requires an eye and a skill set that (usually, unless we're talking about natural god given talent like Christian Dior, or Coco Chanel, who had no training) is built upon a solid foundation of training in the field one wants to pursue---i.e. essential knowledge of garment construction, professional training of how a garment is put together/finished, pattern making, draping, tailoring, sewing techniques/finishes. All of these things, while being different parts of a whole, are essential in understanding why a garment isn't working, why something isn't laying correctly or fitting properly, or even seems proportionally off or unbalanced. These skills make a garment beautiful, through each little detail, something amazing is created. It is not just about being able to illustrate pretty pictures, but being able to turn those images into a living piece, breathing life into it from something two dimensional to a garment someone can actually wear. You cannot cut corners, every single stitch, every decision you make needs to be a professional, skilled finish that is done with precision and caution.

What I don't think you realize during your training, however, is that in order to be successful, or really even to get started as an indie brand is that you can't just rely on the creative side of your brain for a company to truly blossom or become established. A lot of indie designers are a one person show, meaning they are the creative spirit: the illustrator/designer/seamstress/pattern maker, the entrepreneur: coming up with the idea, research, putting idea into reality, the accountant: finances/keeping the books/Excel Sheets, the PR and Marketing person: running social medias/blogs/promoting the brand, and the businessman: running the shop/keeping track of investments/etc. In a big company, you have entire divisions or floors set aside for each of these tasks, but when you're an indie brand you literally have to invest your time into all it. There are entire days I have to dedicate to just one of these aspects, like logging in every single piece of fabric/trim/material into Excel sheets with dates/money invested/is it in inventory or not, and then check those against the financial spread sheets that calculate the price of each product---the list goes on and on and on.

Indie designers especially I think have to be strong spirited. Even if you are good at all of those things I mentioned above, it can be difficult to carve out a legitimate space for yourself even in a niche market like lolita. You have to gain a following, clients, repeat customers, and establish yourself as someone that is not only able to create, but someone that does it well, that produces quality work. But above all, I think you have to learn to accept the fact that there will be times when nothing is working, you get frustrated and feel like you won't make it, and everything seems to be going wrong. There are days you will break down, and want to give up. However, you have to learn to endure, and just keeping pursuing your dream if it's what you really want. Again, it takes a strong heart/spirit. In all reality, you have to accept that sometimes you will fail, you will make mistakes that cost you money or customers, etc, or that dream may continue to be a dream and really never take off. You have to be a realistic and accept that failure happens, and learn from it, make different decisions, and have enough strength to keep going. Being a brand/a designer can't just be a hobby if you are truly serious about it. It has to be your life, your first love, your every waking moment, where ideas are buzzing about in your head or even trickling into your dreams.

On that note, here are the indie designers that I truly admire for their skill, their eye, and there strong spirits. As indie designers, I admire them as a fellow designer and also as someone humbled by their great talents and often find myself striving to reach their greatness as mentors.

* Haenuli (Click Here) 

Though I have not yet had the honor of meeting the designer of this indie brand, I was able to see her garments in person at the last fashion show I participated in over the summer in Baltimore at Otakon's Ultimate Lolita Fashion show! And let me tell you, they are even more stunning in person than they are in the photos. If Haenuli's extremely decadent, elaborate, and exceptionally detailed hand illustrated prints do not blow you away at first glance then I can't say that much will. The intricacies of each print is part of what makes her garments so spectacular. I honestly can't imagine the mass amounts of times it takes her to conceptualize these and turn them into custom printed yardage. But my heavens, is her work beautiful! If the prints aren't your style, then take a closer look at the gorgeous tailoring, cuts, and fits of each her pieces---I believe they could rival some of the nicest big brand names, if not best them. I also adore her extereme attention to the little details---these are what make a garment amazing.

Source: Chokelate Tumblr

Source: Chokelate Tumblr

Credits: Haenuli

*I Do Declare (I.D.D.) (Click Here)

There are truly many things that I adore about Kelsey's work, but first and foremost is the designer herself. If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting her in person, you will know that Kelsey is one of the sweetest girls with such a light hearted spirit, and contagious laugh and smile. Her spirit radiates throughout her, filling the room with a kind of glowing warmth. Her designs are kindred spirits of who she is, ones with sweeping lines of elegance, tailored and classy cuts, and finished with the finest, most elaborate details. If you have had the chance to see IDD in person or on the runway, you too will be filled with a sense of nostalgia, of being swept back in time in a sort of Victorian whirlwind romance, and struck by the fine illustration skills that Kelsey prints on her garments.  I, myself, am not a terribly skilled illustrator but am always star struck by the amount of fine detail that is put into Kelsey's illustrations for her garments.

Credits: I Do Declare

Credits: I Do Declare

Credits: I Do Declare

Discover other neat Lolita indie brands/designers by reading articles from the rest of the LBC! :

 

Jessie Dresses Up

Geisha Baby 

Darkly Darling 

Sparkling Girl 

Suns in Our Hands 

Sweet Lolita Doll 

Tangled Lace