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:

2013 New Year Resolution - The Wishlist

Original graphic from hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year! 2013 arrived and brought with it the promise of a new start for many resolutions and goals. From choosing a healthy diet, adding a fitness routine, or saving money, people all over the world are choosing a different path for the new year in hopes of a positive result. After all, isn't that the best part of a new year to work hard towards a goal to see what will happen in 364 days? It's an extreme example because humans aren't perfect and will power sometimes fades but I believe that's the beauty of the challenge.