Ladies of Middle-Earth inspired coordinates!

I've been inspired by my interests recently to create coordinates that reflect that character, fandom, and my love for Lolita fashion.  The next posts are going to be coordinate inspired as I have many ideas to work out and share with my readers! Though, in between those posts I will try to get into other topics so it doesn't get too repetitive.

This first post is all about the beautiful and badass women of Middle-Earth as portrayed in Peter Jackson's, Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you've read the books and saw the films than you may be familiar with these ladies and their character history, if not I have add a link to their LOTR wikia pages next to their name.

A reminder that these are Lolita inspired coordinates not an exact likeness to the costumes. So where the hairdresses may look out of place for medieval, fantasy costume they work very well for a complete Lolita coordinate. This also applies to handbags which were purposely left out.

The Etsy items are examples of what I wanted to add as accessories. They are more "guidelines" to items that I would suggest. I say this because if you're interested in completing the outfit with any of the recommended Etsy items, there is a chance that they could be out-of-stock or not made anymore.

Arwen [Wikia Link]

Once Upon a Frilly Time - Part 1: Storybrooke

I have been swept away by ABC's television show, Once Upon a Time. I didn't watch the series when it aired originally as I wasn't that interested (I was distracted by hockey and baseball to be honest). The entire first season is available to stream on Netflix, so I took advantage of that and marathoned the episodes for a few days. After the pilot, I was completely hooked!

Fairy tales in many forms, whether a Disney adaptation or in a book, have been in my heart and memory since I was a young child. Thus, the natural progression to watching OUAT and enjoying it started rather organically. I love the way the show explains the fairy tales, with the dual worlds, but most of all the show represents women in a positive way.  They are empowered  intelligent, beautiful, and most of all they are independent.  In short, they're badass.

Now begins the series of Lolita coordinates inspired by the female characters of Once Upon a Time.

This entry will focus on the main and some supporting cast: the Storybrooke version.
Note: None of the characters have a handbag added as in the tv show they are rarely seen carrying any of the sort. However, I know Ruby may have had a basket but I didn't feel that handbags would be that significant. There are other minor characters I left out because they show up may be 1 or 2 episodes and either are not reoccurring or rarely seen after that.

The coordinates were chosen based on the character's attitude, general clothing style, and personality. Plus, I have to be honest, I definitely picked items that I like and would definitely wear!

Emma Swann

Angelic Pretty - POP'N ROCK Riders Jacket

BTSSB - Ribbon collar cutsew

BTSSB - Saint Helena jumperskirt

Rocket Dog Rachel Boots [Zappos]

First meetup in Raleigh !

Last Saturday, I attended my first Raleigh area Lolita meetup. The event was hosted at Davenport & Winkleperry, a Steampunk cafe and bar. The meet was also a "swap-meet", so there were items that were being auctioned, traded, or bought. I've never been to a swap before and I didn't buy anything but the best part of it was seeing the items of different brands that I've never seen before, first hand.

There was such good eats like delicious chocolate chip and peppermint cookies and tea sandwiches in yummy varieties.  Though the food and setting was grand the people who I met were wonderful! Everyone was so warm and inviting. My first meetup was a very memorable and the experience was one that I've always dreamed of having!

I hope to make new friends in this community and attend more gatherings in the future.

Here is a picture of my outfit snap from the event:

JSK and headbow: BTSSB

Tights: Betsy Johnson

Cutsew: Offbramd

Shoes: Offbrand

Jewelry: Offbrand

Wig: Clair Beauty wig

Petticoat: Malco Modes

Victorian Christmas Traditions

Christmas is widely viewed as a commercialized holiday.  Today the focus is on the size of a flat screen tv, the latest toys and gadgets, and anything else you can buy.  All this hinges on how much money is saved, from Black Friday until a few days before, the advertisements scream "savings". 

The topic of this post is Victorian Christmas and how the traditions shape today's holiday. The two aren't completely different, granted there wasn't Amazon.com in the late 19th century but there was commercialization with the creation of Christmas industries that are still popular today.