Time flies. In between my last post in2017 and today a lot has changed.
I have been into lolita on and off but the love will always be here even if one day I do decide to stop.
Age does make a difference so if you are young and you are reading this, wear all the clothes, live all the life, do it before you are trapped (in whatever way, let's not get into that now).
Anyway as you know if you follow me since the start... (how long as it been? An eternity now, right?) I am a huge fan of the classic lolita brands, and some pieces will forever have my heart but also cause me pain. One of which is my dream coat (which has never and will never fit me), the
So, when Kurumi announced her collaboration with Shimamura and the Noel de Memoire Series and I saw that coat, I knew I had to get it... even though I shouldn't spend a penny on anything.
At first it seemed super cheap but then adding shipping, taxes etc, it was still sort of expensive, like a second hand coat and there are some things I'd like to improve, we will talk about that later.
As always, I asked the best shopping service in the world for purchases in Japan for help. She was the best as always and helped me. I did not know what I wanted, if only the coat, if I needed the accessories too... it is not fun to shop on a tight budget.
It took some months for the actual items to be made and launched (I made the order in August and they were ready in December?). I paid the remaining amount and she shipped it really quick. It arrived in less than two weeks and after dealing with customs, it quickly came to my door. I wanted to film an opening video but it had been a while since i got something and was too excited.
I knew what it was, first I was not expecting anything and the Calbee on the box and all the lettering gave it away, it got me really excited!
There was also something else inside. One day a relative who stayed over broke one of my novelty items which i loved and seeing me so sad this person said "find a replacement and I will pay for it". I did not know if i could but i posted about it on facebook and who contacted me? My shopping service saying there was one for sale on mercari. I bought it!
Broken box. (never found that missing piece)
New box! Yay!
And now for the main bit, the coat!
When I opened the box I was really nervous. When you are plus sized you always wonder if things will fit, what if it didn't? I did not want to go through the hassle of trying to sell this especially since I was not sure if anyone else would be so much into granny couch stuff that they'd pay over retail price (shipping and all the fees).
Looking at both here they look perfect, right? But then I tried them on and I have a couple of issues:
1. The length:
One could tell that it was long but I always assume that long on a Japanese person does not mean it will be as long on me, but this one is... I am unsure if it is far too long. Still debating on this.
2. The size:
That is my fault, I orderd a 3XL which means it is perfect on the bodice (bust/waist) but then the sleeves are super wide for me. I mean i can work with it but would prefer them to be a bit tighter. I just have one of those odd bodies... I usually say that being plus sized is worse than being petite because the issue is to have the garment actually fit you. If it is too big you can always get it tailored, but if it does not close... its not the same. So I am ok with this.
3. The cape:
Did I really need it or did I just love the coat on the model and wanted to look like her? I find it a bit useless now that I have it. Also it is way too long for my taste. This one I should probably have gotten in a smaller size. I really need to get it altered to wear it, I do not like how long it is at all.
4. The quality and thickness:
Its not warm at all, it looks like a winter coat but it is more of a spring/ autumn coat which might not make much sense visually speaking. But at least that might give me some time to get it altered so I can wear it still this year? Hope so...
The quality of the lining and fabric isn't the most amazing thing I have seen but I was expecting that due to the price range.
I have another cape from Victorian Maiden for reference but that one is actually too small for my large shoulders and its not from a coat but a piece to be worn over a top. Something in the middle length would work better for me.
As you can see the print is more dainty on the VM cape and the one on the right is a bit larger. The lace is also extremely beautiful on the VM cape and very tiny on the larger cape. I am not sure if I should find new lace and add it to the trim as I will be making it shorter.
Lining of my Victorian Maiden cape
Lining of the Kurumi x Shimamura cape
And this is the length on me. As I said, I do not hate nor love it, I think I may be too attached to my dream impossible to fit Victorian Maiden coat which makes my brain think this shouldn't be this long. I am not sure. I did not wear the cape because I really dislike it as it is. I was just trying the coat on anyway.
Overall, I am happy I got the coat. I would probably not have gotten the cape maybe or would have bought two sizes down hoping it would be shorter. The good news is that with the extra fabric I'll probably be able to make a rectangular headdress out of the excess material. The bad thing is, I don't own a sewing machine and am too scared to do it myself so I have to find a seamstress (and I know 0) around me to help.
If you are interested in looking at the entire line, here's a link to the complete collection. I also liked the beret, the scarf, the boots with the fur and the skirt.
FEBRUARY
I have trying to get back in touch with wearing the fashion again.
For various reasons I have not been wearing it as much or did not wear it as much last year. This year I plan to change that.
The most important steps (and the ones I don't mind sharing) include:
- losing the excess weight (I went from a size 40 to a 46)
- improving myself stress wise
- putting myself first
- saving so that I can go back to buying nice things
- reconnecting with hobbies as a whole
Until I achieve that, instead of waiting like I keep doing, I have decided to at least wear the fashion for myself and post more in my accounts as a boost to want to continue. I need that stimulus otherwise i lose interest and just go back to being a couch potato.
This saturday I decided I wanted to try a dress that fit me but I did not wear yet and just hang out with myself having tea and working on understanding a bit more about bullet journaling (hobbies). I started off with the dress, tried going without a wig but could not deal with lolita without bangs so I had to get some... and then to hide the gap I needed to add a hat but it looked silly on its own and i wanted to hide the braid elastics so I added some bows... and then more bows and then more cherries to fit the theme.... and suddently this ended up not being that casual at all.
I realised I cannot do casual lolita at all. Totally failed haha but I think it looks cute.
This dress is VERY short however. I wish it was at lest a palm longer skirt wise. But I do love the dotts on the straps and Emily Temple Cute Jsks with full back shirring are the best dresses for people my size. I kid you not, totally recommend them.
There's a lot I want to unpack in this photo but I won't, not yet. I will leave you with the lovely Bordallo Pinheiro tea set which I love and matching the ETC vibes perfectly.
What about you, what have you been doing?
Also please leave your blog/instagram/etc links so I can support and follow you.
As only some of you know, I have been quite sick. I have been in and out of doctor's offices and taking a ton of tests to try and feel well again.
I was in Japan for three weeks recently, we arrived last weekend to Portugal. I was unwell for the most part of the trip and even went to see a doctor there as well. Still I managed to have a handful of nice days out of this trip and one of them was the day in which I got to see my friend liemzie again.
My husband took some outfit photos before we got to the meeting point and I really like them, they remind me of Momoko living in the japanese countryside haha. I am almost 100% sure there's not even a single lolita in that small town.
The pieces I am wearing were all gotten during the trip because I did not take anything lolita with me. Fortunately this dress does not need a petticoat! I did feel the lack of accessories but it wasn't too terrible wearing this outfit, it was sort of light and fresh.
We had to change trains in Tennoji station and there's a Axes femme store there where i got something i will need for a future outfit. The shop girl was super nice, we always made jokes when we went there.
We also had a lovely lunch there, it was like going to an upscale posh restaurant, the food was incredible and it was like 10 euros a person. It was cheap. I love eating in Japan, high quality for affordable prices. I have never had a terrible meal in Japan.
After that we went to Osaka station to meet my friend. I was a bit early but so was she! Great timing.
Since I have no clue on what to do when i'm in Japan, she, again, decided on what we could do.
We visited a limited store with really nice handmade things. It was a lot of fun and i wanted it all.
It was in this lovely mall with a ton of exhibits and activities. There was a train exibition too and I got a little something there too.
Me and the lovely Liemzie with... flamingos. :P
Picking out our favorites, look how focused we are!
I liked this store a lot, i considered buying the straw hat with the black ribbon and bows.... When we got to this stall we got stopped by a bunch of older ladies who started complimenting our looks and asking us questions. It was really funny at first. They wanted to take photos with us and the artesan showed me a book she published...
... but then it came to a point where they wouldn't let us go and we got a bit bored. I even got something from the lady's stall in the end haha. look how unconfortable we both look!
After checking the pop up store out we left the mall and went to our next stop.
The Osaka (limited time only) Gudetama Coffee. How cute (and silly) is that?
Better photos on one of liemzie's fabulous blog posts.
The entrance for this café.
my husband got the matcha pudding, it looked so sad!
Liemzie still had not had lunch so she had something more nourishing.
Our table! I misbehaved and had matcha latte.
Fun facts about this place. There were only about 8 things one could pick so the choices were limited. Although Gudetama is an egg there are no egg related recipies which seems strange. The waiter did not place my cup on the individual paper in front of me. I thought it was odd but them Liemzie told me its because some people want to take them as souveniers. It sounded lovely but also silly because that means they serve no purpose.
Other than food there's merchandise on display and even statues of Gudetama around the place. The coffee will move to Tokyo next so that means all of this will be gone soon.
Hep Five has the most amazing Purikura area I had ever seen. There's a couple machines near the normal game and UFO machines but then there's a top floor that is actually exclusive to girls and or couples! So a boy cannot walk around there alone, ever!
They have costumes for rent and girls apparently come over with bags with clothes and then change clothes for purikura and then back to their normal clothes. There is an area with mirrors and beauty appliances (like hair curlers and dryers etc, not kidding!) for people to freely use to make sure they look their best.
Then there's a ridiculous amount of purikura machines of all styles! Unbelievable.
One of the purikura machine corridors.
We look so happy and silly, this is one of my favorite photos!
This machine was hilarious... it was about... being manly? I did not even understand but we ended up making a video punching a non-existant boxing bag. How silly is that?
And these were some of the costumes one could rent. They claim that one could dress in maid and lolita... so those maid outfits are both? So japanese people are confused on what lolita is too. XD
We then visited a bunch of nice stores! Most of them I never went to before!
Axes Femme, again! Liz Lisa, BABY, the stars shine bright, Ank Rouge... and some more. I saw a lot of things I wanted... shopping in Japan is so easy....
We also visited a Rilakkuma pop up store thing. You can read about it on liemzie's blog.
She got the cutest Rilakkuma ever!
And we took another silly photo, this time we couldn't do it together.
After this we finally said goodbye to Liemzie because it was getting quite late. It was so nice to see her again. It will be the last time we will be able to meet in Osaka too because she is moving back home. I am going to miss having a friend in Osaka but i'm sure we will see each other again in Europe.
When she left we went to a couple character stores where I spent more money. I mean common, look at how much fun these stores look! Look at the colors!
We finally sat down and had dinner. My husband wanted chinese and I ended up having a really yummy meal. I felt better these days, i thought i was better so I took some risks.
After that we went home, I was super tired but very happy. It was a great day, probably the best day of all the trip.
Despite being sick for a long time and only being allowed by the doctor to go back to work 3 days before the event date, I decided to still go ahead and travel to Paris for the Tea Party. This could not have happened if it wasn't for the goodness of my friend Aliki and my new friend Melodie since I did not want to book a room without knowing for sure if I would be able to travel and they just let me stay with them at Melodie's. I will never forget what they did for me.
FRIDAY
Anyway I went to work as scheduled on friday and took my trolley so I could go straight to the airport after that. Its not that I like travelling light but Ryanair only lets people take a carry-on trolley and a smaller handbag.
I arrived and got some wine to give to Melodie as a thank you gift (and because Vinho Verde is my favorite and uncommon outside Portugal) and then got in the plane. I used to love flying but now I feel very uneasy to fly on my own. I have a new irrational fear of flying and always think "what if the plane crashes". It really sucks and I know it makes no sense though.
Anyway fortunately it all went well and soon I was in the ryanair bus and then the metro. I am an idiot and I ignored Aliki's address instructions and decided to go with my gmaps documents and therefore ended up getting lost and having to pay a fortune for a cab ride but that was ok, I was super happy and excited to hang out with Aliki (at that point i did not know i'd fall in love with Melodie too).
When I finally got to Melodie's place we chatted for a bit and then went to bed. Boy was it hot in Paris, as soon as I got off the plane I felt as if I was already in Japan for the summer.
Melodie was apparently very worried because I "got lost" at midnight somewhere in Paris which made me feel a bit guilty for making her worry like that, Aliki was right about her, she is such a nice person. Indoors it was super hot too and I felt sweaty and gross haha. We might end up sleeping a bit more and ditching our first plan which was to go to the Rin Rin princess crepe signing session, its too hot and we do not want to arrive at the tea party with running mascara and reeking of sweat.
SATURDAY
Aliki was already complaining about the weather at 9am which is adorable. I understand though, I'm not a fan of heat either but was still super excited to be in Paris.
We got dressed quite fast but still had to get on a cab to get to the popup store to pick up out tea party tickets.
Unfortunately when we got there the lovely shop girl told us we should go to the hotel directly and did not need to make that stop which was a bit waste of money and time (we wish we knew in advance but that's not what we read). We then got back in the cab and the driver after taking a photo of us haha finally left us at the hotel gate. I actually knew that hotel already, i had been in front of it once when i was visiting the eiffel tower with Vania a couple years before. I had no idea what it looked like inside though.
We got the vip treatment from the start with fancy dressed people opening the door for us and greating us at the gate, that's always fun since its not normal for me to be in such places.
There were already some girls inside and we decided to go to the bathroom to check our makeup. In there we saw a lot of girls getting ready. Apparently a lot of lolitas (maybe because of the heat? Not sure why) get dressed in the hotels for these events. I was a bit surprised but it was nice, like being in a huge dress up party. Rosalynn was there and I was super happy to see her.
Aliki, the perfect tea party partner. <3
This sheet was later used to cast the votes for best coordinate.
Delicious french pastries.
We eventually saw all the girls we knew that were there, I was thrilled to see everyone again and to meet the girls I had in my facebook friends lists but never had met before. <3
During the event we saw Ap new releases in a fashion show (See all the outfits here), took photos with Maki, Asuka and Rin Rin, chatted with a bunch of amazing attendees, got photographed by the talented Marie, ate and drank amazing stuff, voted for best dressed who got amazing gifts, got lucky in the raffle for the first time! and even got super cute freebies from Angelic Pretty. It was a bit short though, I wish it had lasted longer!
Fashion show outfits, aren't they all lovely?
Marie's lovely photo of me in the photo corner.
Taking photos and seeing friends. ^_^;
Ada and Rosalynn, I love them and I love this photo <3 <3
Photos with Angelic Pretty designers, Maki and Asuka. How perfect are they?
The table with all the prizes, so amazing! I was dreaming of owning that brown choco bag.
Out of the raffle prizes there was this one chocolate bag that someone really wanted...
And DAMN I ACTUALLY WON IT!
Rin Rin was adorable, super nice. I remember her back from when she posted outfits like the rest of us and told her that, she was quite happy to hear that it seemed. <3
The three special guests saying goodbye.
Group Photo for the Angelic Pretty tea party 2015
We said goodbye briefly and went to the pop up store so we could finally see what was available. Got there and we did not want anything so we left and returned to the house.
Still bummed about losing my sunglasses somewhere in Paris.
We told Melodie about the Tea Party, took a shower and ordered chinese food. We also opened one of the wine bottles which was super cool and therefore tasted heavenly. We chatted a lot and eventually went to bed. It was a fantastic day, and I think it was the most fun I have ever had in a lolita tea party of this size.
SUNDAY
When I woke up it was late, for some reason I did not remember to set my alarm the night before and Aliki did not want to wake me up so we ended up getting ready a bit on the late side. We finally got ready and we realized we might not make it when the bus did not come to the stop on time and we had to wait 20min for the next one to arrive. Aliki freaked out and she wanted to get on a cab and the cab driver just left us at some reason place we could get to ourselves by metro (and maybe faster too). So we went to the gardens and to the only fountain I could find and we were 10min after the fashion walk start time so of course we did not see anyone. We walked there for a bit and then just gave up.
I was a bit sad but it was ok, I had such luck the day before I knew I shouldn't push it, it had been enough luck to last for a while. I never get that lucky so I should just take it!
So we took a couple photos around the area, had a cup of coffee at starbucks, took photos with a million tourists (all of which were super nice) and made plans for lunch. I had limited time because of my flight and because i still needed to pack.
I am in love with this bag and feel like wearing choco themed everything now.
Melodie told us the restaurants around the pop up store were good and not too pricey so we went back to the Ap pop up store which was close. When we got there Maki, Asuka, other lolitas (I got to say goodbye to Ada <3) were there. All items had a 20% discount too but i still did not buy anything. i behaved very well this time! We got to hang out and chat a bit but then left because of the time.
We looked for a restaurant for a bit and decided to eat at a sort of supermarket/fast food/bento place and the food was glorious. I got to miss japanese food a bit less which is great, all of that for 10 euros. Parisians are so lucky, i cannot believe how easy it is for people to eat/ stock on japanese stuff there. I have to ask people to mail things to eat certain things.
We got to the house pretty fast and I got ready very fast too. I think I lost my sunglasses in Paris though which sucks but i suppose I can just buy a new pair.
Aliki and Melodie and I parted ways and it was quite sad.
The ride back to Port Maillot was so easy that it made me feel really stupid about missing the way when I had arrived. haha
At the airport I got some small gifts for my daughter and husband as I always do. <3
And had something to eat. Love smoked salmon.
The flight was ok, portuguese people, the way we behave on planes is really awkward and funny so that makes any trip lighter. I was more relaxed. I also wanted to hug my familly really bad, boy had I missed them. I had fun but i couldn't wait to see my daughter and kiss my husband.
When I saw them it was really nice although I knew Mari was sick. We had to take her to the emergency later that night, that was terrible.
If you'd like to see what it felt like to be in the TP, this video is a great example. It is all french but just watch for the nice outfits and lovely venue. Also can you spot me from time to time? :P
This is now my final week at work but I tried my best to post this as soon as possible. We have some small meetings coming up in the Portuguese community too which is exciting. If this keeps up I might regain my 100% level of love for lolita which I had slightly lost recently due to my community being so inactive and me being so busy and stressed.
Ah and I almost forgot, this is my haul from this trip:
1.Melty Ribbon Chocolate boston bag (brown) - raffle prize
2. 3 clear file folders from Angelic Pretty - attendee gift
3. Big Angelic Pretty Paris 2015 badge - attendee gift
4. flyers, cards, number pin, thank you card, etc - Paris TP/shop freebies
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