Summer of Steam

Inspired by the oncoming warm weather ‘SoS’ is a steampunk inspired classic/sweet line with the aesthetics of a classic dress and with modifications it can become a sweet and even something more steampunk.

It’s only in the beginning stages of development, and there have only been a few pieces.

The scallop bottom skirt and pleat style lace will have bows – shown to the left of the image, on each peak of the scallop.  There will be a print, but its undetermined at this moment what it will be.

For the pants, I’ve been toying with the idea of stripes though I’m not sure how it’ll look once its done.

This is the first jsk idea I had for SoS, a bodice style with the matching scallop as it had with the skirt. Shirring in the back to accommodate size range and corset lacing to pull everything together.

Other items in the pieces for Summer of Steam would include a waist corset, a vest, a blouse and maybe a few other items.

Within in the next weeks and months I’ll hopefully develop this into something more and maybe even have a skirt made with a finished print! 

On another note, the end of the year is coming, and so with this post I'd like to wish you all a lovely New Year.

Lolita Fashion Designs by Anna

Hello bloggers, Anna here again to update about my Thanksgiving holiday and give you a little taste on how I draw (though most of it is quite old.) I hope to post more once I have time but school is giving me a fair amount to chew on.

So Thanksgiving.... It was really simple actually. Just me and my mom so we didn't cook much. We bought what we thought was just turkey breasts, but it turned out it was a whole turkey without the legs and wings! So needless to say we had a lot of turkey, but it was good.

On to the art pieces. I drew these all awhile ago, ranging back from a couple months. My library has a great area called the Story Lab which was funded by a grant by the Paul-Allen Family Foundation. With the grant we were able to have five brand new macs, five tablets, two laptops and a lot of other amazing stuff. So, me being the ever artist, I decided to try my hand at a Mac drawing program called Acorn. Feeling my way out on acorn gave me the nice opportunity to make some nice Lolita designs. I apologize if they aren't the best.

This is actually done in MS Paint haha.

There is a weird pig tail obsession, and the skirts look the same... Let's hope they get better next time!

On a side note, I apologize for lack of postings. Because of school and looking for a job I can't think of much to post. Is there anything you want to hear from your lovely plus size friend? Anything a frillybutt wants to talk about? Please message me and comment!

Go away, sick days!: Ways to not be a sick Lolita

Day Zero: You don’t know how its happened but you’re infected. A sneeze, an unwashed hand, but you’ve got a bit of a sniffle and a headache as you drift to sleep.

Day One: That sniffle is now a stuffy nose and the headache is still there. You still don’t feel well, but you keep trekking through. 

Day Two: You feel horrible. You’ve got a temperature, that stuffy nose is now so bad you can’t breath through your nose. Lips are dry- you’re dehydrated. Coughing hurts, breathing hurts, you’re sore tired and you feel bad. The infection is full blown.

This is me, but with redder hair.

This is how I felt last weekend when I was sick (I still kind of am sick….) I have good info, so here is the question I’m going to answer for you. How would a perfect frill loving Lolita get over an icky cold?

Yummy and warm? Count me in!

Stay warm!

When resting, you want to be warm and cozy in your bed so you don’t need to move around. I usually have extra blankets at the foot of the bed, and I kept them on hand with me. My mom even made all of the kids in our family an afghan that keeps me so warm! If I get cold, I can just toss it on, too warm and I roll it back to the foot of the bed.

I don't know if this is really water, I just love the design in the bottle!

Stay hydrated!

The best thing to do while lying in that fluffy warm bed is to drink lots of liquids. When I’m sick I make sure to drink extra water, juice (mostly orange), hot cocoa and soda. Soda? Why soda? Well I learned this recently (and it works for me) if you have a sore throat, you drink a little lemon lime soda (or sprite) and the bubbles soothe your throat! I did this and it actually helped! So for me, I actually have little cups decorated for water, soda, etc (this is when I wish my camera wasn’t broken.) 

I just got this, I'm so excited to read it!

Stay entertained!

When you’re lying in bed with all your delicious drinks, there must be something to do other than watching TV, right? While I lay in bed, I took to reading, drawing, you can even do little crafts like knitting, crochet or even making simple friend ship braclets.

This is so cute! I would love to have this as my bedroom, or maybe a classic version.

Stay rested!

Another thing, if you want to get better you should rest! I usually relax myself with a cup of nice tea and I’ll slowly drift off to sleep. If you can’t sleep, try taking your medicine before the tea, as the warm water will break down the pill faster and you will be able to go to sleep sooner (if you take pills.) 

Helpful tips to stay comfortable and recover quickly!

• Stuffy nose and tired of blowing it? Use fix or eucalyptus oil. The breathing in the mentholated fumes will make your sinuses clear up.
• Wash your hands and appliances. Your phone has germs on it from you sniffling on it all over in day Zero and One. You can get sick again unless you properly disinfect your phone (and then was your hands.)
• After a certain time, ignore people. Being home alone can be boring, but if you’re trying to sleep and people keep texting you, you just want to throw your phone right? Instead, why don’t you either turn it on silent, or even send a mass text. Tell your friends you want some rest and if it’s an emergency to call later, turn the phone off and get some sleep!

This was a small post I'm sorry for not having much. Finals are coming up for my first term in college and its been kicking my butt! In recent news I got a follower for my blog (I nearly cried in joy) so I'm really excited to keep going with my dream blog and to get more people who love what I'm doing (that sounded really weird haha.)

I am wondering actually, is there something they want me to talk about? Be it Lolita, fashion in general, maybe even something that isn't Lolita? Please comment me with an idea and maybe we can brainstorm something to do together!

Items every plus size Lolita should have

The anatomy of a Lolita outfit is very big for every frilly girl and boy. A skirt, a jsk, the blouse even the accessories in the hair (and possibly everywhere else). Every Lolita has items they couldn’t live without. A necklace that goes with your favorite skirt or that pair of shoes you couldn’t do without. Every girl (or boy) is different so please don’t take it from me! For me though, being the lovely size I am, I need a few things going out in Lolita, even if it’s just to the mall to meet friends and chat over bubble tea. When reading and find you're itching to look at some sites I found while writing this blog, they're at the bottom!

Both taken from torrid.com The one on the left shapes everything, the one on the right mainly shapes the backside.

Stomach Tucker/girdle/ Tummy Tucker: I love these things. I wear them all the time for everything formal. It makes my stomach look smoother and with less bulge. With tuckers, it’s not a real big deal on how to wear them, you just slip them over as if you’re putting on bloomers (under panties I hope but hey, if you go commando then do what you do) and adjust, then slip on real bloomers! I got mine from Torrid, but you can get it at a lot of places that sell plus size clothing.

 Taken from foottraffic.com The pairs of tights on the right are wool and supposed to be very very soft.

Stockings/tights: I prefer these over OTK’s because for me the elastic on the socks digs in, or the roll down and get annoying. The plus side with tights, you can get opaque tights, tights with designs and motifs as well as wool tights which make you oh so warm in winter. MakeLovely’s blog has a great article about socks and tights, so I’d look up this article right here. 

Shoe Insoles: Tired feet hurt, and a usual plus size girl has flat feet (I do anyway), and because of that I always have insoles in my shoes, and I always am able to switch them in and out of each pair. The best part is that with most insoles, you can cut them to fit your feet, and there are different types for different shoes. Shoes are a big thing, which leads me to the next item.

Images taken from clobbaonline.com These look cute, but are they nice on your feet? I don't think so...

Comfortable shoes: I know that rocking horse shoes and tea parties are the must have in Lolita shoes (along with Mary Jane’s) but honestly I can say that after wearing them I get sick of wearing them and after a long day of walking and chatting, I like to slip on a pair of flats. Most of the time with the shoes I love, I get lovely (disgusting) blisters and my feet tend to get sore after a day of walking. Usually if the going gets tough, I would maybe (not on a regular basis) take a pair of shoes with me.


Link List: Having trouble finding the links to the places I talked about? Here you go!
Spanx
Torrid

Foot Traffic
Avenue
We Love Colors 
Mod Cloth is a little expensive, but they had me salivating at all the cute clothes and things you could get for a good wardrobe in and out of Lolita.
Clobbaonline 

So my frilly guys and gals, I hope this simple add on to your generic Lolita anatomy guide to spice it up and lend a helping hand of course. 

Calling all frilly children

Calling all frilly children: An introduction

Lolita for me is tapping into a sense of beauty that is no longer seen in America today. The tweens go for slutty clothing while women my age either wear the same or look like a refined thirty-year old (I’m currently 19). I will admit I love anime and manga and I have dreamed about dressing anime characters into a Lolita outfit (I’ve heard it’s a big no-no in the Lolita realm) and I’ve designed a really cute ideas for Pokémon Gjinka’s. I have been into anime for six years, and Lolita for four, though I have only worn it in public for two.

I got into Lolita because of my love for anime, I began reading a manga called Nana, and found out it was based on the novel Kamikaze Girls, and they had made a movie! I read the novel, watched the movie and fell in love with the fashion. After that it was a secret thing. I didn’t know very much but I really wanted to know more. I was blessed with an amazing opportunity of buying nine volumes of the Gothic and Lolita Bible for a steal price of 90 dollars. 

After being bought and poured over, my love for the fashion only flourished. I loved the refined look of the women and men in the book and often doodled myself wearing my own designs and hoped to one day wear them in public. Again another opportunity came up, though it wasn’t a miracle. I go to a convention every year, never in cosplay or dressed up really (save for the masquerade) so I decided to make a Lolita dress for the con. 

The dress was plain black and white gingham with pleated white lace trip and square neck with a matching white blouse, and a black parasol I got as a birthday gift. It was boring, I had no petticoat but bloomers, but I was happier than can be. Two years later I made a better dress and felt much more confident. I even had a picture taken! 

Being plus sized, I have been made fun of. I will openly admit that I am overweight by nearly all standards of how people should be. I know it is an unhealthy weight. I have weighed more, and I have weighed less, and I am currently working on losing weight. I don’t ever want to encourage a girl to lose weight if she feels she is happy, no matter what others say.  

On a better note, I hope that my blog posts, drawings, inspirational junk and other things really give plus size girls (and boys, maybe) ideas to take and grow from! 

What you will see from this blog:

• Tips for both regular and plus size Lolita.
• Reviews
• Artwork
• Spotlights
• Inspiration