April Daily Coordinate Review // The good, the bad, and the ugly

I did the "thing" and completed a daily coordinate monthly challenge for April. Each day, I put together coordinates and posted them to Instagram. At first, the process was pretty methodical. I selected a main item and built around it. Then it become more exciting and fun as I  put together new combinations and experimenting with strange ones. Later, the challenge became one that were both inspiring and cathartic.

This challenge made me see my wardrobe for what it was and what it could be. I have a capsule Lolita wardrobe, it's small but practical. Given my current Lolita lifestyle, I don't go on many meets and I have to budget my money for other expenses and hobbies.  So my wardrobe reflects this balance. What was most interesting during this challenge is that it made me a more efficient Lolita. At the end of the month, I had coordinates constructed with pieces that I would never imagine pairing that worked so well but I had a few that I no longer liked and wanted to sell.

The challenge gave me a fresh start and the focus towards an esthetic that I could love and build a wardrobe around. I started out as a Sweet Lolita, but, as you will soon see, I leaned more on the classic side. As much as I love Gothic Lolita style, I realized it's not for me. Still I tried working with the few Gothic pieces I had, but I began to get disinterested, bored, and generally uncomfortable with the coordinates. 

Time to step on out and go through 30 days of beautiful outfits and some mulligans.

April 2015 Coordinate challenge, starring my dress form Alice Milky Kawaii Fawn Pastel Angel Smith Martinez the 3rd.

Lolitable Offbrand find: Flower pins, rosettes, and tights!

Who doesn't love inexpensive and wearable off brand accessories? Especially if you're changing your style or looking to add extra flare to your coordinates. These little finds will make your day, especially if you're like me and use off brand items to supplement your wardrobe so you can buy and save for Brand items.

Innocent World Order Review - Boleros!

Boleros! The staple item for any Lolita wardrobe. They're the best to wear when you don't want to deal with a blouse or want to add more elegant look to your coordinate.

In February, I purchased two boleros from Innocent World directly. The first bolero, French Lace Collar was from their regular sale section and the second Long Princess Sleeve Bolero was from their winter sale area. This is my second order with Innocent World, the first being the reservation and ordering for the Union Jack jsk. So I was familiar with their ordering process, communication, and shipping. Innocent World's orders include a shopping bag and a lovely hand written note. Like before, this experience was just as positive!

Now lets jump into the review of the two boleros!

First post in almost 2 years!

Since the post back in May 2013, much has changed in my life. (They were all good things!) Due to the changes, my attention shifted from this blog to focus on those new parts of my life.

The kickstarter was getting my first full time job!Along the way came friends, relationships, new places, new food, and a plethora of experiences that I never thought I would encounter. I'm very happy at my job, having made a year! 

In the last 2 years, I made new friends in Lolita Fashion. They have both inspired and mentored me into finding my style. For the first time, I can see that I feel content and 'complete' as a Lolita. The picture of me from Animazement '13 is a Lolita who was heavy into OTT sweet without any clear direction of OTT sweet. 

In 2014, I grew as a Lolita, I began to learn what flattered my body type, the fact that just because you fit into a JSK doesn't mean you look good in it, colors, and styles. I embraced my love for sweet with a definitive approach, purchasing Brand sets (jsk, headbow, and socks) to complete my outfit. I think that helped me the most, completing a set - it trained my eye and brain on how to put a balanced outfit together - like "Lolita training wheels". 

Through that experimentation of styles, I tried Gothic and Classic. Styles I never thought I would ever wear. I embraced those two styles with an open heart adding to my creativity and exploration in the hobby. Today, I am a Lolita of all styles, purchasing what I love and enjoy and making it work within my budget. 

Thank you followers and subscribers for still following this blog!

You can follow me on Tumblr under CameoWindow http://cameowindow.tumblr.com/

Animazement - Saturday Outfit Post!

Finally found pictures from Animazement that were taken by a very nice attendee! These are the only ones I could find from her set (there are more but they're a bit repetitive). I'm still looking for 4-5 other photographer's pictures to pop up but I'm very glad that these did!

I loved this outfit so much! The AP jsk was so comfortable (Fully back shirred ftw) and was put together with 50% offbrand finds, other 50% is the jsk. Which I believe makes the outfit because if you save for a Brand dress, whether it's new or second hand and you didn't buy the matching accessories, you can save more money going to accessories shops, thrifting, or looking for secondhand Brand accessories!

I had an amazing time and never felt happier as a Lolita and as myself. It truly was the best!

By the way, that fawn bag is adorable but it's just crunching up the dress on the side. Mental note to have it more in the front? Ah, it's still a good picture though :D !

Details:
» JSK - Angelic Pretty's Glass Bottle of Tears in pink
» Blouse - from Macy’s
» Tights - Joe Boxer
» Shoes - off brand
» Jewelry - Claire’s, BCBG, and other
» Hair accessories all off brand
» Wig - “It’s a wig” in Rafaella

From the Lolita panel, I was a OTT (in between) Sweet Lolita! *Not sure what my face is*

First Anime Con! - Animazement

Today, I attended my first Anime convention, "Animazement"! I was dressed in Lolita and was an example model for OTT Sweet for my friend, Sakuraohki (please check out her Etsy, she makes gorgeous steampunk/victoria themed items that work very well with Gothic & Classic style). There were other Lolita's from my local group who were also models. Everyone look beautiful and had such lovely coordinates! Such a range of styles like sweet, old school, gothic, and classic. It was a great experience to represent Lolita fashion and help my friend with her panel!

Totally has an Instagram filter :|

Details:
» JSK - Angelic Pretty
» Blouse - from Macy’s
» Tights - Joe Boxer
» Shoes - off brand
» Jewelry - Claire’s and other
» Hair accessories all off brand
» Wig - “It’s a wig” in Rafaella

After the panel, I wanted to take in the entire convention from the artist alley to the dealers room. There were panels on many different subjects, but I decided to walk around instead. There were many brilliant cosplays, especially of my favorite fandoms and characters like Dr. Who, Fili & Kili, Game of Thrones, and Trigun (one of my fave Animes). I didn't take any pictures of them because I just wanted to take it in and there were so many things I wanted a picture of.

The Artist Alley was very unique in that there was a variety of original works ranging from comics, art prints, stickers, hats, jewelry, and more. So many talented artists and writers. I was impressed with their skill and dedication. I'm glad they were given such a showcase as this convention to present that work to the masses!

Here's the only pictures I took of the artist alley, dealer's room, and one attendee.

One artist was giving out free business cards featuring one of their original characters! I took one with the character Snow-by-Night, I loved the color of her hair and her look! I'm definitely going to read their story! Please check out their website snowbynight.com

 

It took me a bit of time to find the dealer's room, but when I did, I was completely amazed at all the items for sale! There were weapons, steampunk accessories (the watches were glorious), wigs, plush dolls, anime figures, manga, and much much more. I could have easily spent 24 hours walking around and figuring out what I wanted to buy, especially the Anime dvd sets and steampunk accessories. Ah and all the Dr. Who merchandise that was everywhere! I had to yield self control for I could have done serious wallet damage. I do regret not buying the Battlestar Galactica patches I saw.

 

My spoils were small and very adorable! I purchased a narwhal necklace from Tastypeachstudios ! All of her items were very cute, but she's also a very talented artist as every item was an original piece. Plus the lady, I don't know her name, who I believe is behind Tasty Peach Studios, is a Lolita! She was wearing Angelic Pretty's Milky Planet - new release, and looked so cute in it! Above all, her personality was so bubbly and she was so sweet!

I bought a gift for a friend which I won't describe because it's a surprise! For my mom and myself - since we both love super cute giraffes, I purchased this adorable plush. Isn't she darling?! They had bigger ones but I could bring one that big into my room - already run with plushies - so I settled for the smallest size. She doesn't have a name yet :O!

Wow, overall I would say I had a memorable experience - but in such a way that I'm hooked. I want to attend future conventions, as a cosplayer and as a Lolita! I'm not sure what I'll cosplay but I think I want to do something Battlestar Galactica related! Everyone was so nice and sweet when they asked to take my pictures or ask me about my outfit. I've never been this happy attending an event like this but also as a Lolita. I was so comfortable and felt so elegant. It was very special :D

What an amazing day!

 

My apologies on this post if it doesn't make much sense, I had a migraine in the morning and still recovering from it -_- while at the con.

Small Fashion Haul; a few Loliable items!

Today, I went shopping with my mom at a local mall! Whenever I venture out to such a location where there is a variety of shops, I always look for Loliable finds to add to my wardrobe! I had a very good haul with a few items that I've been trying to find. Being that it's Mother's Day weekend, there were sales everywhere, so all of these items were purchased at a welcomed discount!

I bought this blouse from Macy's for $14 (50% off) ! It matches the lavender/lilac in my BTSSB Sweet Jewelry Princess jsk perfectly! It's hard finding a blouse of that shade but with more importantly that collar! A very good find indeed.

There was an accessories shop that was organized by color! That made it so easy to pick and choose bows to match specific items in my wardrobe that I need at this time. They were $1 each! The pink bow is really quite pink but the flash, made it seem a bit peachy pink.

These colorful beauties were purchased at Payless! They're very comfortable too.

Last was a gift from my mom. It's a BCBG bracelet that spells FEARLESS. I've been want this for about a year now but totally forgot about it for whatever reason. I chose this one for very personal reasons and will wear it everyday <3 !

I'll do a coordinate picture with the blouse and the shoes soon! If you have any ideas about the shoes and recommendations with how to wear them, feel free to share!