Yes, still here, still trying to make thing a thing again.
The Portuguese Lolita community has always been tiny but lately there seems to have a tiny boost in energy. I won't like, I am not really a big part of that boost unfortunately because I just cannot cope with...much of anything really but it is nice to see new people join and the overall enthusiasm.
Part of that brought something we used to have and stopped for a while: group orders. Now I try not to go too wild because our customs is... abusive to be honest but when I can join, I do.
The last group order I joined was an Antique Beast order.
For those who do not know the brand, it is quite old... 2000s dare I say? And the particularity is that they do not always accept orders, they open the opportunity to order until the slots are full and then they just do not accept orders until the next round. That makes it a bit inconvenient but also sort of makes you feel special when you do make an order.
I cannot fit into their clothes but I love the hair accessories so I jumped at the opportunity to add something else to my collection.
As this was a made to order and group order, I kind of "forget" I order things and when they arrive it is just a wonderful surprise again!
There were two fabric options for the bat headpiece, the regular fabric and fancier option but I already owned it in black and I like how it sits so I wanted to order the white in the exact same material. I guess i was scared it would be floppier or something.
Here's the black. I was surprised because the tag is red on the black but purple on the white.
The items come in plastic bags and there are no paper tags on the items, just a small glued on home printed "sticker" which makes it feel as indie as it comes. I think most people just imagine all japanese lolita brands to be these huge businesses but this really shows the reality of things. As I have been to Japan I know that's not the case. If you are reading this: if you have the means, do support your favorite brands as much as you can. I wish I could do that more often these days.
I particularly love the fact that the ribbon has this flower print detail. It is lovely.
I am also very happy I ordered something else. This piece is equally beautiful if not more, I am in love with it. I just hope I can do it justice. The ties are wide chiffon which adds some drama to it (who does not love some drama in their coords) and the ribbons have the same floral detail as the bat headdress even though they are a wider ribbon. There are little cute details everywhere. I really recommend that you get something from them if you love elegant gothic styles.
I really could not wait to try something on so I decided to dress in lolita again this weekend to celebrate this order. I went with my Moitie white op which is literally the only white main piece i have. I do love shiro coords but because I am plus sized it makes me super self conscious and I rarely wear it or invest in new white pieces. This means that headdress matches very little in my wardrobe but oh well.
After this I sat in my small couch and just browsed an old Gothic & Lolita Bible (boy do I miss them!). I don't have them all but I wish I did. I may hunt them down some day...
I love how inspirational they are. Did you know my favorite sections are always the "street snap" photos. I wish I was lucky enough to have been in one of these pages. It would have been such an honor. I am forever sad I missed the chance.
Looking at these photos does also make me regret many things I sold over the years, I wish i had all my old Metamorphose blouses and my fully shirred dresses. I wonder where they are now. Some I still know. I hope one day they return to my closet. Who knows. It would make me happy to at least wear them again, just one more time.
Do you have any sales regrets too? Do you think about it?
Hope you liked another rambling post, see you next time :)
Hello everyone,
Yes I know today's there's another thing being celebrated but I'm posting about our Christmas eve and day, that's right.
In my country we usually spend a lot on food that lasts for days and days until the new years eve comes and we get to do the same all over again. It seems like a waste but everyone is so happy during christmas it is worth it.
Some of the sweets are Bolo Rei, Rabanadas, Sonhos, Leite Creme, Aletria... and there's a lot of dried fruits and nuts as well.
Our Christmas tree has been standing there for a bit and on Christmas eve its always full of presents for all the family. I usually dress up for xmas eve and we like taking a family picture in front of it to remember the good times.
We always eat the same on Christmas eve, its always boiled codfish with vegetables. Everyone really likes it and it seems healthy but since we top that with a ton of desserts we end up becoming really really full.
We always watch movies and the like and just celebrate as a family. One of us always has to dress up as santa to deliver the gifts and this year that was my younger brother. Mari didn't think it was strange at all.
We opened the presents before midnight because it always takes so long we always finish after midnight. Mari's haul was of course the biggest, with kids that's what happens. She got her first box of Lego, a Car track because she loves cars, books, coloring books, fake food and kitchen wear for her Ikea kitchen, clothes, dolls food from japan, an Anpanman DVD to go with the snacks... a lot of stuff, She was a vit overwhelmed and surprised but in the end she was thrilled she had all this new stuff to play with.
The next day we all woke up and just decided it was pajama day, so everyone was in their pjs for the whole day!
Mari was excited and rushed to come down and play with her new toys.
After that it was time to go back to the kitchen.
The Christmas day food is also the same. We cut the boiled stuff from the previous day and mix it together with garlic and olive oil and that's called Roupa Velha or Farrapo Velho. It is absolutely delicious and I adore it! Other than that because that's just the first course, we have the xmas turkey with chestnuts as a filling. It is served with rice, potatoes and some greens as well.
And after that there's dessert again, which means we again are too full to believe. In the afernoon we just relax and watch tv.
And this was my Christmas haul this year:
- Tutuanna sock lot + japanese candy lot (mother in law)
- Ralph lauren Home Monogram Grey/Cream Throw (a student) - Cute Pjs - Moi-même-Moitié incoming op (husband) - Themic socks, home slipper style socks, xmas plate, chocolate (mom) - Tea cup and tea (work partner) - Christmas chocolate (students) - Lolita themed necklaces and hair accessories (secret santa from my comm and penpal) - Makeup from kiko - Lady Gaga Fame fragrance - 24H Dna Platinum cream + samples (student) - Bio/Organic olive oil + bottle of port wine (from the xmas japan dinner)
I had a fantastic time this year, it was better than last year but I totally spent too much money (we even gave my mom a new washing machine). But everyone was super thrilled with their gifts and i like feeling like Santa, it makes me happy.
I hope you had fun too and if you have posted about it, please link me to the post, i'd love to read about your night/day too.
Hello! How is everyone?
It's been more than a month since I have last posted so I hope you will forgive me.
[8th November] Lolita event in Vigo, Spain
I am going to post about something very special to me, the weekend me and my familly spent in the neighbor country Spain (Vigo).
The lolita community there invited the Portuguese community to attend an even they were planning and I made sure I organized my life in a way to be able to attend.
In the end only me and another girl, my friend Vania, bought the tickets and so I booked a room for us and we arranged all the details.
I packed the day before and just planned an outfit at the last minute as usual. We woke up very early because we wanted to be there on time. We put all our things in the car and we started our journey.
It was raining and we drove slowly for safety reasons but eventually i managed to get there more or less on time. I finally found the venue which was very central and got in. I was greeted by my dear friends and felt quite at home. I got instructions to get dressed in my own outfit first because I was looking dreadful in leggings and a top and no makeup. While getting dressed i found out that i had left all my makeup and my wallet with my husband so Maria saved me and helped me by doing my makeup for the day. <3
The table at the entrance with the gift bags and the photo corner.
The table with all the yummy prizes. Again I did not win anything, I am so unlucky... not even at such a small event *sigh*
Some of the guests
Indrolita and Fidel David stalls (can you see? Many things were sold, I was happy to hear that)
Maka's korean beauty products stall. She was super sweet and put up with my silly newbie questions quite graciously i must add.
When the time came, I was ready and i mingled and chatted with people as well as looked at the products the stalls had available. The stalls belonged to the special guests of the event:
Fidel David - facebook
Indrolita - facebook
Maka - Youtube
I couldn't buy anything which was annoying and i really liked some of the pieces there because of course Fidel is an amazing designer (his stuff was gone in minutes) and Indrolita makes some great things which are totally my style... and i was also very tempted to try Korean beauty products as well so Maka stall looked super interesting.
After this is was time for the munchies!
After eating I was still hoping that my friend Vânia would appear but soon lost hope. I later learned that her boyfriend had gotten really sick making it impossible for them to travel even though she had gotten the event ticket and hotel room for them both to take part in this. It was quite sad as I know i'd love to have spent the day with her.
I finally got called to go back stage where we'd change into our fashion show outfits. I did not get to practice like the other girls probably did because i arrived just in time for the event and it was my first time participating in a fashion show (ok there was another time but there were like 5 people watching and it was in the dark in a club a long long time ago) so I admit I was ridiculously nervous.
I did not know how i had done until I watched myself on tape in Maka's vigo week report video (0:50). I was happy I didn't do too bad. It was actually a lot of fun and i'd do it again if i could!
We then sat for the panel and listened to the special guests intro as well as the Q&A session.
Everyone got together and we took a group photo. I was a bit sad i didn't get to be in the group shot in my own outfit because now everything looks so black haha.
After this everyone changed back into their regular outfits and returned the stunning pieces back to the designers! Nooo...
Anyway here's some photos of me and some of the really nice people that attended, some who are dear dear friends (hopefully forever).
I wore: triple fortune bonnet; mille fleurs shirt; MmM op; Btssb bag; Queen bee boots.
My dear friend Maria who looked absolutely beautiful in her handmade dress! and on the left is Míriam, she was picked by the guests as the best coordinate from the whole event. Her dress sparkled, it was so pretty!
Me and one of the hosts and a dear friend, Cristina. She did such a great job organizing the event, I was really happy to be there to support her. <3
Fidel is so dapper, look at his shoes. Such a gentleman too. <3 The whole feeling of the event was very casual and friendly, just like I like it.
The next day we were supposed to have lunch in Vigo and walk around Vigo for a bit but ended up returning in the morning instead. We felt like something was missing and did not want to go home so we had lunch at our favorite restaurant (we go there way too often though haha), Ichiban. Definitely the best (by far) Japanese restaurant in my town. It's so authentic it feels as if we are on holiday (or home).
We took a stroll around the area, it was nice out, i couldn't believe it had rained so much the previous day, the weather can really change dramatically in a night!
And this is my "haul" from the trip:
1. Pack of cards and pins that everyone got from the event as a gift.
2. A snail nutrition mask i got at Maka's stall. I already used it and its by far the best mask I have tried. I cannot vouch for the effect of it on my skin but I love the quality of the actual mask and how i felt when i used it. I've been wanting to order more and I think I will soon.
And here is Maka's video blog on her week in Vigo, I'm modeling at 0:50 and you can get a clearer sense on how the whole thing went by viewing it. <3
I really hope you liked reading about this special weekend, thank you for reading all the way till here.
Today I have decided to post about my recent shopping experience. It was the very first time I have ever gotten a dress made by a chinese company via taobao.
There's only one reason why I did not do it earlier which is Portuguese customs. I tried (a very long time ago) to order a very small package, i think it was like 5 pairs of tights which came to the total of 30ish euros. Because of such a small amount and the issues customs posed it ended up with me sending papers twice and the items still not arriving to my home. I just gave up and never saw the things I paid for ever. That made me completely ignore everything taobao related and just admire the pieces from afar.
But, lately, I've been in a facebook group for a spanish community in which people just talk about new taobao based releases and one of my greatest friends, miss Christina, is a very active member of it. I then decided to ask her if she could add a dress to one of her orders and she said yes. So unfortunately I have nothing to say about the purchase process.
When the dress arrived it was folded and inside a transparent plastic bag, the sort that makes a lot of noise when touched.
The first thing i noticed was the fabric. It was decent but since I'm used to the light chiffonesque fabric used by japanese brands, usually Moitié I must admit I was a bit disappointed... and then I remembered the price tag and it went away.
The other thing I notices was the store tag, it was simple and thin like the sort you'd get when you buy clothes in a regular chinese store here. Then I remembered it'll be detached from the item and it was ok.
After that seeing it layed down on the bed it looks fabulous. The dress is well made, the cut is perfect and the whole thing has two layers and therefore lining.
Dress out of the package,
The actual print is very good, perfect and no issues with it at all. Might be a bit harsh for those who are not into macabre stuff though.
As you can see it is double layered because the part where the print is places is a bit see through.
Seams. The outside ones look perfect the inside do look like they need some work, loose threads etc. But it looks sturdy enough.
Back shirring, the shirring stretches a lot and looks sturdy, i am not a big fan of the ribbon type chosen but that can be replaced if one wants to.
lining on the bodice, it looks very well made. no issues there.
The store tags, the placement is good, the tag is easy to detach and keep. Of course the tag design isn't the most good looking and the paper tag is thin but that's ok, its all about the dress right?
Overall I am happy with my purchase. There are only 2 things that I am not as happy with which are: - the thickness of the fabric -
Because it is very light and since i'm bulky and well plus sized when worn if i tie the back as I want to, the bodice does not stay straight like a thicker or corseted top would, it just lets you see every single bump and imperfection of one's body so I do not recommend it for plus sized girls who might have an issue with that.
- the durability - I had an incident with this dress. I wore it for some shots which i'll share next and took it off fine. When i was pulling up the zipper to hang it, it got slightly stuck in the fabric which is rare but happens. I pulled it up more while holding the fabric which is the only thing one can do... it left not only a hole but also the color went from black to white meaning that the fabric quality is not the best, as we expected of course. So now my dress is ruined and needs mending. Not what I was wanting from a new piece regardless of who made it and the price tag.
Outfit info:
Half bonnet: triple fortune
Headbow: Moi-même-Moitié
Shirt: Mille Fleurs
Jsk: Taobao (Dark Box)
Socks: Primark
Shoes: C&A
Accessories: Claire's, taobao, Moi-même-Moitié
That's it for today, I hope you liked reading about my experience and that it was somehow helpful. I am not very good at writing reviews I suppose.
.jfif)
