Friday, July 6, 2012

Summer To Do List

Well, summer is finally here and I have graduated from high school. It seems like just yesterday....I kid. I fricking hated that place. :D But I'm done and I'm off to Philadelphia this August for Temple!!! And I have decided to make a checklist of things to do.


1) Attempt to dye extensions. -- I wanted to make some pastel pink extensions for myself because I have an obesession with pink hair. But I wanted to also make a few for my friends before I head off to college so I'll have a lot to do.


2) Get into gyaru fashions -- I've recently been intrested in many gyaru fashions, particularly Kuronaba and Hime. I have to go shopping for college anyways so why not buy some fabulous clothing in the name of fashion? Plus with me hopping off to college, it'll be a lot easier to wear gyaru than lolita because I can pack so much more of it, no petticoats taking up space in the tiny closet. But it's been hard to find any Hime style clothes in plus size so


Big hair and makeup! I cannot resist.


3) DO SOMETHING!! - I have excessive laziness issues and need to get up my rump to do something, like craft or sew. Many crafts I'm excited to take on are from Magic Pearl Heart; Craft all the hime!!*0* And I'm excited for Mana Starre's Mickey Mouse ears tutorial. Or maybe I'll bake some more; I already made brownies and I am taking a cake decorating class.


4) Wear more fashionable clothing - Most of the time I wear something along the lines of "Pajama chic". Since I am off to college, I've decided to update my wardrobe. My favorite store is Forever 21, they have one of the greatest plus size sections that I have ever seen. It's cute and in trend which is something a lot of places don't seem to get. Big girls wanna look good too. 


5) Style my hair - I have a weave while my real hair is growing from some pretty harsh breakage. The problem is though if you pin a weave up, you see the braids underneath. So I am trying to figure out how to do more with it. Tight curls are fun to do though, they make me feel all bouncy and free. They also look pretty good after you give them shake and run through with your fingers.




So nothing too intensive but fun none the less..and I have a month and a half to do so. Time to get off my bum and get to work. I hope yo'll are having a great summer and I hope it stays that way :)


xoxo Beka


PS: Only one picture is mine and I hope you can guess which one. ;)

Friday, September 23, 2011

Senior Project Paper

I figured that with me going to start on alot of senior project....projects, I might as well share my actual paper with everyone. It's not great, I will warn you now. I wrote this in about a week with very basic notes because my teacher wouldn't understand this, most likely. I looked back at it, a whole year later, and I wonder....What the hell am I talking about? I literally took what I saw....an I don't even.. The paper is pretty good for someone who has no idea who the fashion is. It covers basics and doesn't really go all out. But I know alot more than I did when I wrote it and it suprises me how little I did know. Also, when you (Source #), ignore it. It's to match up with the actual research for the paper, which I did not post. So without further ado, I present my Senior Project Paper.


free photo effects



Japan is full of items that we Americans use today. Anime, the Japanese form of a cartoon, ramen noodles, and most importantly, clothing. Sometimes, though, the clothing can branch out in to ways of life. Like our Goths and preps of our school system, these people have lives revolve around the clothing. Gyaru or gal fashion, Lolita, Fairy Kei, and Visual Kei all revolve around the clothing and, sometimes, it becomes a lifestyle. The best thing about the culture is that you don’t have to stick with one particular fashion; there are actually subcultures within the subcultures.

Gyaru or gal, the English translation for the word, fashion is an interesting type of subculture.  First and foremost it’s not cosplay, getting dressed up in costume or fashion for fun. And secondly, anyone can be Gyaru. It’s not limited to just Asians, or skinny girls. It can be big or small, short or tall. But it does get expensive with everything you need to do. Clothing, hair, shoes, accessories, nails, etc… You’ve got to take care of it on a regular basis. No one wakes up perfect looking. A shop girl interviewed by Universal Doll, a gyaru blog, spent 5 hours that morning getting ready which means she possibly got up at 4 in the morning to get ready.

Now up keep is a harder than it seems. Most people would think getting their hair done would be a trim. No, for gyaru girls hair must be done to a tee and is often bleached. Their hair is done every month for about 6000 yen to 16000 yen. Now that may not sound like a lot and honestly it wasn’t back when the economy was kicking. Then is might have cost 30 to 100 dollars. Now it’ll be about 70 to 200 dollars just for a haircut and dye. Nails are a different story. Most think that getting their nails done is just paint and maybe a bit of art. But to a gyaru gal it’s a whole lot more. It’s all about the art. All gals need the art for their nails, from sweet treats, such as lollipops and tiny cupcakes being glued on, to giant crystals in intricate patterns. But all of that gets really expensive so what do gals do? Coupons and lots of them, from magazines to websites, girls need them to keep up with all their needs for the sake of fashion. (Source 2). But even so, a gal grows up eventually and moves on to college. But she doesn’t have to get out of gyaru just because she’s older. She can attend Blea, a college and a high school that is supposedly called a gal school (Source 2).  There they can learn gal trades for future jobs such as nail art, hair styling, and even decoden. Decoden is the art of applying jewels, cabochons, and other items to different items. Some of the more popular items to deco are phone cases, jewelry boxes, and even nails. But even so all gals have one common goal; to become a shop girl. It’s most gyarus dream to be in apparel (Source 2).

But like all great subcultures, there are subtypes with in. One of a gyaru subtypes is called Hime Gyaru or Princess Gal. Hime means princess when translated from Japanese to English and that’s what the style tries to portray (Source 3). They’re influenced by the Rococo era of France European of royalty (Source 1). Another type, which would describe many high school girls, would be Kogyaru which is a girl who dresses gyaru even during school by wearing her skirt shorter, having dyed hair, and super loose socks. But people think that gyaru that is just for girls is wrong. Gyaruo is the male counterpart for the girls (Source 3).

But there are other fashions in line; Such as Lolita, which appeared around the 1980s (Source 6). Using influences from the Victorian of England and the Rococo era of France, they combine that elegance to make one doll like figure not slutty as the word connation may say because of Nobakov’s book (Source 6). Now there are many terms you need to know to be a lolita. There’s caplet, which is basically a small but elegant cape that’s used to cover your shoulders (Source 8). There are JSK which is the shortened abbreviation of Jumperskirt. Then there are OPS or One Pieces, which are like jumperskirts that can be worn without a blouse (Source 8). The big difference is that Ops usually have sleeves and a jumperskirt usually has just straps. But there are many normal  things such as bows, skirts, and coats. Coats in the lolita world are a bit different though. They’re heavier, longer, and flare out to accommodate the poufy skirt. But what gives the skirt the cupcake or a-line poof that you see in all lolitas? It’s a petticoat (Source 8) that’s made out of tulle or organza. Next part of lolita fashion is the shoes. All the brands release shoes in different styles but the basic shoe style is the Mary Jane (Source 8). But you need more to a lolita outfit than just a skirt and shoes. You need a blouse to bring together an outfit. Try to find something cute but elegant (Source 8). There’s also the use of hair accessories to complement an outfit. So as you can see, Lolita is an expensive hobby (Source 8).

Now like in Gyaru, there are subtypes. The first type to emerge was Gothic Lolita, which was created by Mana of Malice Mizer, a J-pop band. It references Western Goth fashion and also gives off the aura of the Victorian Goth (Source 8). My personal favorite is Sweet Lolita which is the most over the top of all the Lolita types (Source 6). But in contrast it’s also the most childlike with its pastel colors, bows, lace, and many frills (Source 6). Hime Lolita is a lot like Hime Gyaru but it incorporates all the elements of Lolita into it instead. Shiro and Kuro Lolitas are can be of any style as long as the shiro is an all white outfit and kuro is an all black one. Classic Lolita is more demure of all the styles, looking like a dress from a church or garden party with all the floral prints (Source 6). But while most dresses in the Lolita world have a cupcake shaped skirt, classic dresses have a more a-line shape to them. Sailor Lolita is inspired by the sailor style uniforms that many Japanese students wear (Source 6). Wa Lolita is influenced by the kimono, giving off the traditional Japanese feel (Source 6). A more difficult style to pull of is punk Lolita, incorporating all the elements of Eastern punk and Lolita (Source 6). There’s also the Guro or Grotesque Lolita and that sounds like the name, disgusting but still cute (source 6). And the newest style to appear on the Lolita scene is Pirate Lolita and yes….it’s exactly what you think it is. Take the poufy skirt and blouse and just put a historical and fantasy pirate outfits. If you think that Lolita is only for girls, well that’s also wrong. There’s a style that copies the younger boys like knickers and caps, calling this trend Ouji or Boystyle (source 6). Just remember that Lolita is not cosplay, costume play, or a costume in general!

Many lolitas can’t stand not having Lolita in their life. It’s not desperation; it’s just a love of the fashion. Sooner or later, it becomes their life and they become a lifestyle Lolita. And yes, just because you have a love for the fashion doesn’t mean you don’t have a life. Mostly you try to emulate the fashions’ beginnings in the Victorian and Rococo era with tea parties (Source 9) and other lovely crafts, such as embroidery. And as many lolitas live like this everyday, most choose to wear Lolita everyday. As mentioned before Lolita is an expensive hobby and to afford clothing that often is crazy. But one of the things to have is a strong petticoat that will stick with you through thick and thin (Source 9). Most lifestyle lolitas actually have blogs, talking about how they live their lives, making them beautiful everyday.

Now we move on to Fairy Kei, a style in my opinion that looks like Claries and Hello Kitty had a baby and that baby just threw up. It’s a mess of rainbows and girliness combined with an 80’s pop (Source 10). Sebastian Masudea, who opened the fairy kei stores of 6% Doki Doki and Nile Perch, is said to have ushered the style in (Source 10). Many of the clothing are from the American 80’s era of crazy colors and classic characters such as Barbie, Popples, and even My Little Pony (Source 11).

Visual Kei is our final fashion that we will cover. Now the “visual” aspects of things come from the emphasis on the appearance of the performer (Source 13). Many Japanese Rock bands or J-Rock bands have a lot of visual kei aspects such as wild costumes, weird and strange decorations, dyeing their hair, and even wearing makeup (yes even the guys) (Source 13). 
So in conclusion, there are many subcultures of America but when you look at a different country,

you realize that there are more than what you already have. So instead of wearing Emo or Goth, try

Fairy Kei or Gothic Lolita. Now you’re not limited to just these fashions. There are tons of other

subcultures that you can enjoy and love the life.

Ok...Blogspot messed up my spacing -__- Ru'.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

New Newsey News

Sorry for the horrid absence again, lets just say my self-esteem got in the way. Horrible self esteem + bad months = Not blogging. But I really shouldn't use it as an excuse and I'm sorry I left. But I have a list of news to share with you.

  • NEW STUFF! I went to San Fransico this summer and bought a few items, so look out for those in upcoming pics. I'll probably get them up as soon as I get home from school (doing this at 11:30 on a Sunday with incompleted homework).
  • Gotta love being a HS Senior! But that also means crazy shit is going on, like photos, SAT, applications, AP classes, etc. Lots of stuff and lots of people to get around.
  • Loving that Senior Project which the ENTIRE senior class has to do and pass in order to graduate. Mine is on Japanese Subcultures so I will start sharing the details and my progress with you. The first thing to do though is plan out things. Look out for a bunch of 'personal' style posts having to deal with it.
  • Now, if you don't know, I'm friends with Tori of Happy Unbirthday who also owns an etsy shop by the same name. She's a super nice gal and she's my mentor for senior project, so be on the lookout for her. Also she's convinced me to enter the realm that is TUMBLR! So here's mine ----> http://fashionfrillsandfluff.tumblr.com/  So enjoy the random posts of cute and weird. Also here's a link to Tori's ---->  http://happyun-birthday.tumblr.com/ Enjoy her cute/creepy pages.
And that's really it guys. Due to senior project, I shall be posting for once >.>; So this may actually turn into something. So I hope you enjoyed your break because I'mma about to take over your blogroll! MUAHAHAHAHA! And that's all the time I have for tonight, school and such. So goodnight all and hope you wake up in the morning feelin' like Winehouse (Forty points to the person that gets it).

Until I blog again,

Beka <3

Monday, January 24, 2011

My triumphant return!!

I posted a stupid challenge on livejournal about a couple of years back but was too lazy and broke to ever complete it. But now that I'm officially established as a sweet lolita... I dunno if I can do it. Now the year of the lolita challenge is this. I am going to attempt to wear every single lolita style ever thought of in one year. Now that my sound hard, it may sound easy, it may just sound crazy. But I never got around to it. Why? Everything else got in the way. Emotions went haywire for me and I might end up having a few posts about it.  But, I'm sad to say the challenge had failed. But this is not a time to be sad. No, this is a time to try work other things out. This is a year where something good will happen. Good things have already been happening, like my awesome french teacher and the fact that Micheal (my lovely bf <3) is always there to talk to. This is 2011. This is my year! This is the Year of the Lolita :3


www.commentsCod.com
 
PS: You guys have probably wondered where I've been. Well >.>; Emotions were at it again. My school work got so stressful and I just...I just fell into this deep dark hole after the meetup with Tori. I tried to perk up again and I did see her before Christmas, which I shall post pics of later, but things were just not working out with me. Shit didn't just hit the ceiling, it was on the walls, all over the floor, in the food. It was a hot mess. If someone asks, I will type up the whole story but it was just a bad year 2010. But it's 2011 now. New semester. New boyfriend. New start! I have tons of new ideas and old ones that need to be worked on as well.

New ideas:
Get back into blogging - I think the reason I stopped blogging was cause I didn't have a schedule. You don't excatly need a schedule but it's good to have a routineish thing going for you. Helps you and your readers in my personal opinion.

Clean my room - Your probably wondering how that benefits you the readers. Well, my room is like many other beginner/lazy lolis room. You can see the floor which is a good thing but it's not to my liking. The drawers are kinda cramped up with loads of old vidoe games, books, test papers, etc. My new vanity, which I shall be eventually taking photos of, is cluttered up with makeup stuff. My special shelf on dresser is cluttered :( My poor dollies. This injustice will not be ignored!

Replica reviews - I....am plus sized. I am fluffeh. And I am down proud of that fact. BUT!!! Many brands don't get the whole bigger than 85 cm thing (looking at you AP with your tiny waist skirts). So many I buy replicas, like many a loli do to save on a bit of cash. There are, also, alot of plus sized girls who do wear lolita though by altering the items they recieve. I am to lazy to do that and if you think about it, I can get alot more for my buck even if it's less quality.


Brand dress = 280
Alterations = 45 - 90 depending on how severe and what needs done.
So your about 400 dollars and that's one dress. One dress of excellent quality and made to your size.
I however like to know that I can use that money and buy a replica, of lesser quality but still ok, and purchase more. Call me cheap but it's the way I think. Most places will charge your for plus sized items cause they're custom made and take a lot more time. CLOBBAONLINE has Fantastic Dolly replica up for $57.95 not including shipping. My guess, cause I have yet to inquire them, that the replica itself will cost about 10-30 dollars more. Qutieland doesn't offer the replica....yet. It probably will in the future but that's my guess. I will post a warning though. The Fantastic Dolly replica was orignially posted with bad lace on the Dream of Lolita website. While they have new photos up on the site, CLOBBA still has photos of the bad lace on the JSK and the OP. So be warned.

Speaking of replicas, I actually did get my Qutieland order in...on Halloween! Wore my new Wonder Cookie Jsk to a party. I haven't uploaded any pics from my camera in months. I should get on that. >.>

Stop being lazy so much - This...this is my Achilies heel. I'm constantly lazing around and need to stop. It's causing so many problems like weight gain :(  What I need is a hobby but haven't really found one yet. Maybe blogging shall be the cure?

Lose weight - This is what started the whole blog and I have yet to do jackshit. So it's time to get off my ass and start hauling it. Walking more, eating better foods, and even *shudders* working out with my mother. Yep, it's come to this point. Maybe I should join a gym or a class. I'll find something.

Tutorials - Well, I have been wondering how this was going to work so I decided to figure out what I can do. I can teach everyone how to clean their room :D Eh joke but I don't think there's a fun way to do so. Makeup is not my biggest thing but I can teach you what NOT to do with makeup. And there's always the fun crafts that all the others do as well. The only craft I can really tell you how to make is...well. how to make ruffles and aprons. Only the half apron though, not little heart at the top.

Other randomness - I looked over my past entries and I noticed that I never did my interview with Lucky. Well, to catch you up, college is going good for her. Many lolitas that will be attending college soon or in the future should be aware of what might happen, what will probably happen, and what will happen. Yeah, some things you can't avoid. I'm also making plans to go to Animazement soon so as soon as I have the tickets, I'll let ya know.

Well, that's about it. I'm back and I'm not going anywhere for awhile. It's good to be back, it really is. Typing like crazy for about an hour is just so much fun :D And really tiring on a school night. So I'll be back later in the week with something. So until then, stay awesome!

xoBeckyxo

PS. You know the drill, nothing is mine unless stated. geeze...

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Me and Tori - Crabtree Meetup :3

Well today was a fun day! I went out in lolita for the second time in my life to host my very own meetup. It's was in the Crabtree Valley Mall.  Me and my new friend Tori aka Marrisa (she has so many names o.o) just hung out like crazy and did all the girly things. I'm in ebony and she's in ivory but we're decked pink from head to toe. It was the funnest thing ever.

 We walked aroudn and looked at everything we could get our hands on. Claires, Wet Seal, Forever 21, you name it. We never did make it to the Cheesecake Factory cause so many people kept stopping us.


All in all it was the best damn thing to happen in September for me.

PS. Sanrio Suprises was giving out Lucky packs and I had to grab one. Lookit!


Before


After:

1 stuffed frog
1 neckalce
1 nail art stickers
2 hair bands
1 stamp
1 bento box (not pictured)

Best frigging day ever!!!!!!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Sorry...

Sorry about the non updating status in a long while. I've been stressing out over some internal and external problems. I will be able to blog as soon as a few things are over and I get back to my normal self... what ever that may be. So thank you for understanding and I'll update when my stress isn't so high.

PS. All NC lolitas, don't forget about the meetup at Crabtree Valley Mall on September 11, 2010. We will meet near Sanrio Suprises. The store is located near Popalops and the Food Court.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Qutieland Problems

Well, it's offical. There won't be a review for Qutieland due to one thing. Apparently Paypal thinks that Qutieland has been working with fraudulent byers and won't let us pay. It even went as far as to suspend my mothers account for trying to pay them. So no Wonder Cookie Jsk....no Dreamy Dollhouse skirt...nothing. I am really sorry you guys. I did try but....it's not happening.