Japanese Shopping Service Haul - From pearls on an AP bag to a mummy cookie pin - Here's the review!

Early this month, I received a shipment from my shopping service Tenshishop with items that I ordered directly from the brands Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, Alice and the Pirates and Angelic Pretty.

The items were selected to match and coordinate with the newest addition to my wardrobe: Angelic Pretty's Cameo Window in pink and go with the overall theme of my closet. I purchased that dress quickly off of Closet Child as the tiered version of the jumperskirt come up for sale second hand at that good of a price! When it comes to Cameo Window, I'm like a Pokemon trainer, "gotta catch 'em all!".

Metamorphose's Dark Night Jumperskirt Review

At the end of the summer, I purchased Metamorphose's Dark Night jumperskirt in Ruby. I chose the medium length because I wanted a more elegant look to go with gothic style, plus I wanted to add this dress in my work wardrobe rotation.

On to the review!

How Theresa got her frilly groove back...

The path a Lolita takes exploring this fashion is never a straight one. It has forks, u-turns, and roadblocks. When you think you're content or happy with the fashion, suddenly there's congestion and bumper-to-bumper frilly traffic, so you get stuck, lost, or you take the nearest exit and leave the fashion for good.

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!

The Darling Hobbits - Inspired Coordinates

To wrap up the series of Lord of the Rings trilogy inspired Lolita coordinates, I end with the darling and courageous Hobbits of the shire. Featured in this post will be Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. The coordinates will be reflected from the costumes worn in Fellowship of the Ring, as that is when you'll see their most Hobbit-esque outfits.

One thing I did notice from all four hobbits is the palette was very warm and centered around Earth tones. I don't think that these are colors you would find too much in Lolita fashion which makes this post both a challenge and an adventure!

*For the sake of this experiment, no shoes will be added to the coordinate, instead I thought Hobbit slippers would do the trick :D
*I placed the Hobbit costumes post Lothlorien so they all will have the same capes.

*Style Note: Merry and Pippin share items of the same print, in different styles (JSK vs. skirt). I did this to show the friendship and bond between the two over the course of the trilogy.

Hi Sugary Quinn, Goodbye The Frill Zone

I changed the blog name from The Frill Zone to Sugary Quinn.

I hit a creative speed bump. While I did love bringing sports and lolita fashion together, I wanted to focus more on fashion. I'll still write some sports posts but they'll be more personal in nature than analytical. I also need to finish the Lord of the Rings coordinate series. That will get posted tomorrow.

Sugary Quinn is also my Tumblr name now (sugaryquinn.tumblr.com).

The significance behind the name centers around my favorite book as a child: Princess Nevermore by Dian Curtis Regan.  The main character's name is Princess Quinnella, when she comes to Earth, she shortens it to Quinn. (Not going to reveal anything else because it would just be spoilers) A constant companion of mine all throughout elementary and middle school, this book sparked creativity at me at such a young age and gave me a fantasy world that I loved.  I wrote my first fan fic, fan art, and even cosplay (when I was like 8 with Halloween costumes), and even dressed up my dolls like the characters in the book.

The only other book to touch me as much as this one is The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman.

The funny thing is, if I remember my AOL screennames from 10+ years ago, the all centered around this book and The Golden Compass! 

I added sugary because it sounds sweet and fun, it's short and to the point. 

I'll be adding some other topics such as Fairy Kei and Cult Party Kei, both of which are very popular and have intrigued me for a few years now. Why not give it a try and talk about it!? Plus, I may give the fashion a try, I know I've been wearing Lolita fashion for years and did decora a bit before that, so I'm really excited to have some off day wear. I need some more pastels in my life!

These gifs are added to express my emotions right now with the name change.

Literally, a month since my last post...

A whole month...where the frilly hell have I've been? Since the last post, I've been diligently trying to find work; filling out applications and going on interviews. I'm one of the millions of millenials trying to find work! We're a lively, dedicated bunch that have been dealt a hard hand, but I like many make the best of it. I stay positive, optimistic, and I still enjoy life despite the lack of funds. 

I'm still active in Lolita fashion, attending meetups and keeping up with everything. I haven't bought anything recently so my wardrobe is stuck - with good reason of course. I do have a credit card with no balance, but nothing says "hey I don't care about my financial situation or the fact that I have no job" than a BTSSB shopping spree! I've been tempted, at my lowest moments, severely tempted but I know in the long term, it's better that I not make the foolish choice.

 Seriously, though Innocent World and BTSSB will always be the death of me.

Other than that, the NHL season has distracted me greatly. I probably should have warn you all about that, especially when the lock out ended. I run a fan site for an NHL player that takes up pretty much all of time, especially on game days. I'm very dedicated to it and since it's debut it's grown to be something I am extremely proud of. That's the short of it...I could ramble on but I rather not, my hockey rants can be rather passionate.

Lastly, fandom...nerdgasm fandoms. I'm a huge nerd, like sci-fi, fantasy, books, nerd. That sentence didn't make much sense but basically, I've finally watched Dr. Who (the new Dr.) for the first time and I am irrevocably in love with the show. I'm currently still with the 10th Dr (played by David Tennant) and I never want to leave. I don't want this season to end, it's so brilliant.  Best life choice ever.

I am going to get back into posting, I need to finish up the coordinate series and then I'm going to brain storm, make collages, watch more Dr. Who, browse EGL-Comm-Sales, and drink some tea to get ideas for future posts.

I hope you enjoyed the gifs.
I tried to keep it spiffy.

P.S. The Hobbit happened....and yeh. Blame my 10+ year love for Tolkien-verse and Peter Jackson.

exactly...oh and Aidan Turner, is like the "Decoration Dream" of my celebrity crushes.

TFZ sits down with Ivy Frozen Productions

A few weeks ago, I interviewed the designer of Ivy Frozen productions. She was very gracious and took some time out of her busy schedule for the interview. I have been a fan of her work in handmade Lolita fashion for a few years now and was honored to interview her on behalf of TheFrillZone! Please check out the links at the end of the interview to learn more about Ivy Frozen Productions!

Fellas of Middle Earth - Inspired Coordinates

To continue with the fantasy inspired coordinates, it's time to start with the great men of Middle Earth! This post will include two men and one elf: Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas. The coordinates are heavily based on the character's custom (a generalization) however, I did try to bring in characteristics of their race or personality into each outfit. If you're feeling particularly fancy you can get a replica sword or prop to go with any of these coordinates! Check out the great selection at Replica Dungeon.

One attribute that is missing from each outfit would be a headpiece, I leave that up to the discretion of each Lolita as I thought large Alice bows or headdresses wouldn't work for these. There are plenty of sources to get ideas on what to adorn the head with such as Etsy, Forever21, and accessory shops.

The next post will feature Gimli, Gandalf, and Gollum/Smeagol. I'm not sure if I will do a coordinate post for minor characters. The four hobbits: Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin shall be in a separate post (I have to do those four justice...I can't wait to start!)

Aragorn [Wikia Link]

Sitting in the eye of the hurricane

My recent happenings around Raleigh, have been centered around a local NHL team: Carolina Hurricanes. As you can gather from my header, I do greatly enjoy NHL hockey but my two favorite teams are the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. However, I try to support whichever NHL team I live near with the exception of the Islanders back when I lived in NY. The Hurricanes are a great team and I happen to like a few of the players on the roster. Specifically goalie Cam Ward, center Eric Staal (C), and his brother, Jordan Staal, also a center.

Last week, I attended one of their first post-lockout team practices at Raleigh Center Ice. Was that an amazing experience! I've never attended a team practice before so it was all new and totally amazing. First, it was very cold in there as you can imagine for such a small rink and second, I got to see my favorite players on the ice!

Here are a few pictures: