Week 5: Your Style... Outside of Lolita
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| How I look all the time, obviously! ...Just kidding! I wish! |
STOP THE PRESSES! This breaking news just in...... Lolita aren't always dressed to the nines in their ribbons and frills every single day!? What! Sac le bleu! How can this be? Perhaps you ought to sit, dear reader, your cheeks are flushed with this sudden shock. If only I could offer you an appropriate swooning chaise, that way you could faint in the most elegant way possible.
^-^ Nah! I'm just teasing ya! Try as we might, I know very few Lolita who actually walk out the door on a daily basis dressed in their cutest curls, pastel accessories, and frilly outfits. Sometimes it just isn't practical, or there isn't enough time. I mean, it takes a lot of time and effort to transform our "normal" caterpillar selves into pretty pretty butterflies! (Unless of course you are
Princess Peachie, whom we all know to be magical! Just look at how effortless her transformation is. She weaves her magic spells, twirls and twirls around so cutely, and suddenly she is donned in her best Loli gear! Seriously, I think that girl could look cute in a paper sack!)
Cute dolly transformation takes time, and I can't imagine trying to wear it every day! There were times where I was waking up at 6 am to drag myself from a warm bed to head to oil painting class, and I was lucky enough to sleep walk through a shower and eat, forget about looking nice, ha ha. It's not that my appearance was every slovenly by any means, but it was more about being comfy than looking cute for me.
When it comes right down to it, I am just... lazy. Ha ha. For me dressing up all frilly, fancy, or cute is more of a spur of the moment or occasion kind of thing. I just don't do it every day because I would rather pull out a pair of jeans and some kind of top, and get on with my day. (Don't tell, but I even have just all out PJ days where I shuffle around in my whale slippers and do my designs, ha ha.)
So the burning question on everyone's mind... What does Annika look like sans-frills and cuteness?
Let's find out!
☆Every Day Style:
I am, and probably always will be, a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl. I find them to be comfy, cute, and practical for daily outfits. They don't require any real thought on my part, since most of the time I'm bent over a sewing machine with only my kitty to see me anyway.
So on a pretty regular basis you can see me in a pair of skinny jeans, a
t-shirt/tank/sweater, and my Harajuku Lover high top sneakers. (No, I
don't care they almost never match what I'm wearing! They have CIRCUS
animals on them, guys, really cute ones! And "Num Num Nutritional Facts"
which tell me that I am 4 grams of Smiles and 100 milligrams of
Scrumptioness!)
It's funny, and I've only begin to notice it recently... but most of my "normal" clothing is a lot more monochromatic with darker hues and tones than the pastel cuteness I'm normally drawn to in my sweet lolita attire. I feel like my style really changed and evolved when I went to college, and got a chance to surround myself with new people and new things. Believe it or not, I actually used to have pretty long hair and wore some ridiculous 60s flare style jeans back in the day, with a twist of punk/gothic thrown in there. (No you will not be seeing those photos, hahaha.)
I remember going into a Forever21 with my buddy, Kellen, and trying on my first pair of skinny jeans (the ones in the photo actually) and feeling soooo self conscious in them since I was used to my flare jeans. And I walked out, dead serious, and said, "Kellen, be honest. Do these make me look too small?" He laughed... for like, ever. Yup. That happened.
Here's another shocker for you.... I don't wear make up, um, well ever really. *o* I used to wear it a lot back when I first started college, because I've always been really shy about my complexion and have always had a bit of trouble with acne. About a year into my relationship with my ex, he told me he thought that I actually looked prettier without it. So I stopped using it, unless for a special occasion or if I just wanted to look cute. I know a lot of girls feel like they have to "put on their face" before they walk out the door, but I'm not one of them. Yeah of course, I'm still insecure about my blemishes but I feel like a fresh face is like a blank canvas, it's who you really are, so why not show that on an every day kind of basis? (Plus, I'm still lazy. : p )
Sometimes you'll see me switch into my contacts, but not very often. My glasses are more of a necessity than a fashion statement. I'm fairly certain that I should be declared legally blind without them, ha ha. There are times when I throw on a dress, or a cute skirt with accessories, but that's only if I am feeling really bubbly and want to twirl around being all cute. Otherwise, this is my daily style!
☆Fancy Occasion Style:
When I go out to a nice restaurant, or on a date or something, I want to feel beautiful and I think my wardrobe for fancier occasions reflect that. Unlike my sweet lolita, which is a frilly opulence with over the top pastel color cuteness, my fancy style consists of tailored cuts, minimal colors designs, and more sleek style. Most of my dresses for these sorts of things are dark tones, mostly black, but I do have a gorgeous vintage lace dress I wear.
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| Photography by the cutest, sweetest, Xandre King |
I pair my dresses with only a hint of accessories; usually a string of pearls, pearl earrings, or a very delicate chain with a pendant. In the words of Coco Chanel, "
A woman can be over dressed but never over elegant." Depending on the occasion/weather, I will either be wearing suede strappy pumps, knee high leather heeled boots, or a low elegant heel. When I go out, I want to feel beautiful and elegant, with the hint of demure smiles and a touch of make up. As you know, I often have trouble looking my age so when there's a special occasion, or outing to a nice restaurant, I want to be able to have a glass of wine without that awkward conversation of, "Are you really x years old?"
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| Miss Emily & I. Yup, me with make up, weird I know. |
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| This dress is a genuine Giorgio Armani that I found at a thrift store for $18! *o* |
☆Other Street Fashion Sub- Style(s):
Back in the day, the first real street fashion that I was heavily influenced by was definitely
Decora! I mean, I was head over heels for the photography book,
FRUiTS by Shoichi Aoki, and scoured the internet for inspiration of those girls dressed head to toe in their rainbow outfits and ridiculously cute accessories. (I had to be the most colorful person at our high school, and I was AWESOME. Ha ha, just kidding, but seriously so much rainbow.)
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| If you're wondering what that says: "Love Child of Rainbow Brite & Strawberry Shortcake." I once met a guy who was convinced that this was fact, and not fiction, and that these were my true parents. What an odd, memorable dude. |
I still have sooo many rainbow accessories, hair clips, bows, and what not that you would not believe. It fills an entire plastic drawer, that's how much I have. I guess my style was a cross between
Decora and raver kid with as many colors and accessories as humanly possible, ha ha. I even did the rainbow eyeshadow! And I have an awesome plastic silver/rainbow sparkly tiara to go with it. I love that thing.
Now, I'm uncertain as to weather or not I should include this... since the sub-style is so closely related to Lolita. But about a year ago, I fell in love with the casual lolita style of
otome. I became absolutely enamored with Emily Temple Cute (and it's sub brands, especially it's children collections! Can you say WAY too cute?!)
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| Emily Temple Cute Umbrellas NOP | | | | |
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Otome is a style that let's me still feel cute in a toned down
frilly way, while still allowing me to incorporate my mainstream, every
day pieces/accessories. It's a chance to get that fuzzy, warm Rococo feeling without all the accessories and massive petticoats!
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Well, I hope you enjoyed seeing me in my normal, frill-less habitat, ha ha! It's very strange doing a post that's about me..... o.o just sayin'.
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See other style from cute bloggers, under the Lolita Blog Carnival umbrella-ella-ella-a! ♥
