Saitam Photography x Starlight Deco Dream!

I got to work with two of my favourite people on the internet, Saitam Photography and Starlight Deco Dream! I'm super thankful I was offered this opportunity. Here are the results of our effort together! Everything is styled by myself, retouch and photography done by Saitam, and the gorgeous wigs and jewelry supplied by Starlight Deco Dream and their wig line, Mahou-kei!

The first outfit has been in the making for almost a year now! I posted an inspiration board for it here last July! The moment I received this beautiful puffy split wig from Mahou-kei, I absolutely knew I had to try and replicate the split with my shoes! It's like fate shined down on me because I found my favourite pair of lolita shoes in mint in my size on sale soon afterwards, and then I squirreled this coordinate away, waiting for when I could do the photoshoot with it.

Another outfit that I have been impatiently waiting to wear. I was inspired by Sae, Takulu, and the other Angelic Pretty clones to make a coordinate using Mahou-kei's beautiful blended wig and the only full set I own--Magical Etoile! Saitam Photography did a fantastic job editing the close-up shots!

The last outfit I wore had a totally different feel to it--this time I went for a Cult Party-kei outfit coordinating the new guro faun tights I ordered from Ophanim. I highly recommend her tights to everyone! They were thick and comfortable, and the subtle print really displays the red splashes beautifully! I am also in love with Starlight Deco Dream's heart wing earrings here.

I hope I get to do more collaborations with them in the future! Please check out their businesses and show your support!

KIRAMEKI Mag + Date night.

I am sooo sorry for the lack of updates--my life got so busy and I completely forgot to queue up some posts to fill up the empty space. ;A; Hopefully now I'll be back to the usual groove and will post some catch-up stuff in the future.

Until then, I have a really exciting announcement to make! One of my newest friends, the amazing photographer behind Saitam Photography, has given me the fantastic opportunity to be a permanent staff writer and designer behind his new magazine, KIRAMEKI! It is a magazine hoping to focus on alternative fashion and lifestyles, with a Japanese twist~

I was put in charge of the "Fashion Showcase" section, which is very similar to the street snaps in Kera and Gothic & Lolita Bible mooks! We're accepting all kinds of fashions from all corners of the globe, so if you want to share a photo, make sure it is 300 dpi and large enough to be used on 8.5" x 11" paper and send it to kiramekimag@gmail.com! We're hoping to have all our submissions in by mid-May so we can release the magazine in mid-June!

Since this is our first issue, we are looking for anyone who is willing to contribute graphics or editorials to the magazine. We are all just pouring our passion and time into this magazine, so we cannot promise any sort of reimbursement at this time.

If you own a company that you are interested in advertising, we are willing to let you advertise for FREE in our first couple of issues! All we require is an ad that is 8.5" x 11" sent to the e-mail provided above. C=

Lolita 52: How lolita has changed me.

Sorry for the late 52 post! I got caught up at work and only realised it's Wednesday in the evening and I had nothing lined up for the day, oops!

This week I randomly drew topic #52, and it is a very heavy one. "How lolita has changed me." (I guess my need to pose with food hasn't changed much at all though, haha!)

It's safe to say lolita has changed me in a multitude of ways, and I think a lot of the friends I've made and the experiences I have would just... Have not happened if I never got into lolita.

For one thing, I had a lot of body issues as a kid. I was underweight for as long as I could remember, and was very short compared to... Well everyone I knew. This led to a lot of criticism from both peers and my parents--always forcing me to eat more or making fun of me for my gangly figure. I wore children's clothes well into high school, when most people had already graduated to "trendier" adult fashions. I was still running around wearing Limited Too stuff (I think now the store has been renamed Justice)!

I only filled out in the last year for the most part, but until then, I struggled to find clothes to fit (don't even get me started on my bra-shopping meltdowns), and hated how I could never get that "sexy" look that most girls aspired for.

When I saw the sizing for most lolita brands, I was stunned. My first response was, "Whoah, clothes made for someone short and puny like me... Clothes that remind me of Cardcaptor Sakura!" And the rest is history.

Finding pretty clothes that fit also led me to really care a lot about myself and embrace my girlier side. Up until that point, I was a huge tomboy who had no interest in wearing make-up or looking pretty. Really, the only thing "girly" about me was my long hair (although thanks to a couple hitches in the road it ended up being short against my will from time to time). I also just had zero confidence.

Really stepping out of my comfort zone and wearing something that I both liked and made me feel beautiful really helped me develop as a person. My first time really going out and wearing lolita in every day life (not including anime conventions) was my freshman year in college. My parents (even somewhat to this day) are not really supportive of my hobbies, so, finally being out of the house with a little bit of my own money to spend, I commissioned a replica of Angelic Pretty's Loving Princess one-piece from Fan+Friend. It's an eyesore now, but I loved it then. It was everything I ever wanted in a dress!

I had two non-lolita friends who supported my fashion choices and cheered me on, and my first trip was to the mall with both of them. We had a great time, and to put the cherry on top, a bunch of kids dressed in scene/punk recognised the style and screamed from nearly half-way across the mall, "LOOK, a gothic lolita!!" We exchanged Facebook URL's after hanging out for most of the night, and it was such a great experience. Thankfully it was a good experience, or my shaky confidence would have probably made me turn give up immediately.

Oh my goodness, I actually found a picture of the outfit from within the depths of my Facebook. @3@ It's a bit embarrassing to look at now, haha! I remember pouring hours and hours of effort into the crown I wore here. Wowowow, 17-year-old me.

But lolita has really changed me--I have more of a "no fucks given" attitude, and I met so many great friends through the fashion that I am still in touch with today! I guess being so open with your "weirdness" really gets you some long-lasting friends, and I'm thankful for that.

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the month! I'm finally going back home and next week is going to be packed! I have a photoshoot and a lot of meet-ups planned for next week, hopefully you will see the fruits of all that in the future! I use Instagram and Twitter pretty often, so check me out there for more real-time updates.

Check out my other topics under the "Lolita 52 Challenge" label!

Avina x Galaxxxy Rocks!

I am thrilled to announce the newest opportunity in my life--a chance to be a spokesmodel along with one of my best friends Meggie (of SweetieCakes)--for the Japanese brand galaxxxy! I made a silly little promotional image using a print I hand-drew almost a year ago. I'm glad it's finally seeing the light of day now!

Lolita 52: My first meet-up.

This week's topic for the Lolita 52 Challenge is #17, "My first meet-up."

The only reason I know when the meet happened is because I have one photo dated "April 4th 2009." I wish I had more photos of it, but I actually organised my first meet-up. I wore a pretty terrible outfit (I was attempting hime-lolita by wearing open-toed shoes and elbow-length gloves) and it was completely off-brand. Most of the meet-ups were really far away from my school campus, and I didn't drive at the time, so I tried to arrange something at the mall near me.

If there were any photos, there would have been very few because a security guard approached us and requested that we stop taking photos at the very beginning of our meet-up... What a shame. =| We went to a candy store, shopped around at Forever 21 (especially after one of the girls mentioned that their coordinate was mostly from there), and of course, ate lots of delicious food. I think that's actually when my love affair with Forever 21 started! Up until that point, I had given up on finding anything I'd like in local stores.

But really, the memories are great. I met some awesome girls, Aviva, Wendy, Le, Luci, and a lot of them I still keep in touch with to this day! 

Looking back on it, I was only seventeen when this meet-up happened, a freshman in college! Time has really flown by... It looks like the 4th anniversary of my first meet-up is fast-approaching too! This makes me want to do a little transformation timeline. *A* Alas, I am not at home right now with access to all my photos, so that is going to have to be saved for a later date.