Life is like a box of Chocolates

Chocolate is one of the most loved motifs across all substyles of lolita fashion. Because it is such a versatile motif, we see it used and recycled by brands over and over again, not that we mind, of course. Easter is coming up so this months trend will be all about chocolate, yummy! I have never met a chocolate I did not like, unless you count the one that spilt on my brand new Angelic Pretty dress..

In 2005, Baby the Stars Shine Bright released a series called Early Summer Chocolate Strawberry Parfait, featuring parfaits topped with a little chocolate heart imprinted with the famous Baby 'B' emblem. But it was not until 2009 that Chocolate notably made it's bittersweet entrance to the world of lolita with Angelic Pretty releasing a series called Melty Chocolate. Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate! The print featured stripes descending into a large block of milk chocolate overlapped with chocolate treats sitting on laced doilies. It quickly became number one on the dream dress list for a number of girls.

Chocolate had entered the fashion scene but it did not take off until 2011 when Baby released their first chocolate centered print, Chocolate Fascinate Fairytale. Open your mouth because it's raining chocolate, this print featured tiny polkadots coating the background as chains of bows, flowers and petite chocolate pieces fall from the sky like rain into a cute, little town of solid chocolate houses. It did not take long for Angelic Pretty, Baby's competitor brand, to follow suit by releasing a series called Chess Chocolate. This print featured a harlequin pattern with gold opened canopies to display dark, milk and white chess pieces made of chocolate ready to be eaten on the Angelic Pretty emblem plate. The chocolate motif was then passed on to classic lolitas when Innocent World released their series, Original Chocolate. Creamy and smooth, this print featured various gourmet pieces of chocolate cased in a delicate dark brown paper cup. Ending the year on a bittersweet note, Baby released a series called Bon-Bon Chocolat Dance Dance Dance. This print featured scallops of blended dark, milk and white chocolate escorting prettily wrapped up pieces of chocolate in patterned foil.

Adored by the lolita community, Angelic Pretty released their third chocolate series in 2012, called Melt Chocolapin. This series was a collaboration with the Japanese actress and singer Kanda Sayaka. This print featured chocolate topped with confetti sprinkles melting on to a solid block of chocolate where bunnies are eating chocolate blocks and chocolate cake. It was marketed as a limited edition, special set including a headbow, a onepiece dress, a pair of cuffs and an eco tote. Shortly after, Angelic Pretty released a series called Polkadot Chocolate. Make sure you do not eat these mnm's! This print featured pieces of chocolate coated in candy shells similar to Smarties. Leveling up from cutesy to classy, Angelic Pretty released a more grown up series called Chocolate Rosette. Made especially for those with a finer taste, this print featured pieces of chocolate shaped like royal status symbols such as badges, coins, crowns and emblems on decorative polkadot and striped ribbons. Taking a break from the bold, graphic prints, Angelic Pretty released a textured fabric print known as Royal Chocolate. Break a piece off for each of your friends, this print featured a textured ongoing block of chocolate which could be split into rectangular pieces. Metamorphose released a series too called Teddy Chocolatier. This print featured brown teddy bears having a tea party with lots of chocolate goodies. Last but not least, Innocent World released a similar series to Metamorphose called Chocolate Teddy Bear. This print featured open and closed gift boxes, the open boxes display trays filled with blended milk and white chocolate pieces whereas, the closed boxes hide these delights.

Take a deep breath, that was quite a bit to read wasn't it? Did you enjoy your history lesson on Chocolate? But here comes the fun part, coordination and style tips!

Chocolate Style Tips

♚ Ash blonde and dark brown coloured hair have gorgeously rich chocolate tones. Let your hair down and style it with loose, soft waves or big, bouncy curls for a beautifully, natural style. Please remember wigs are your best friend for ease of style and a temporary change, ladies!

♚ Golden accents shimmer and shine by illuminating the person wearing them. Bring out the royalty in your coordinate by adding a couple of golden pieces - bows, crowns, glittery painted nails, star clips, the possibilities are endless!

♚ Knitted cutsews keep us warm on cooler days whilst making your coordinate adorable. Throw a dark brown cardigan or jumper over your shoulders for a casual cute look!

♚ Large, backpacks and shoulder bags are very handy and stylish. Carry everything you need for the day inside a bag which is shaped like a yummy block of chocolate to give all your friends cravings!

♚ Flat tea parties, heeled ankle boots or laced knee-high boots in a dark shade of brown are stunning. Feel a spring in your step by donning a pair of these cuties that look like you stood in a puddle of melty chocolate!

I hope you enjoyed this entry everyone, thank you very much for reading! I have not decided on a trend for April just yet, do you have any ideas? Ohh also, please send me suggestions if there is something you would like to see a post on in the future! Do you like Chocolate? How about wearing it? See you soon~ I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

Making Lolita Friends

It is no fun dolling yourself up if you have to do it all by yourself especially if you have no one to show that coordinate you worked so hard on to. Are you crying uncontrollably because you spilt tea on your brand new Baby JSK and you just know that it will not come out? What about your devastation over Black Peace Now going bankrupt? Should you buy Day Dream Carnival in Ivory or Pink? These are things that you would love to share with your friends but, they may not understand it very well, if at all. So what can you do? I think it is about time you meet your fellow lolitas, don't you?

The best place to start searching for lolitas in your area would be the EGL, scroll through their master list of live journal communities and check out those which are in your locality. Write up a short introductory post and express your interest to join the community, members will most likely direct you to their private group. Meetups are rarely organised on these public live journal communities as they are viewable to everyone and it would be quite a dangerous risk to take.

The first few meetups can be quite scary especially if you are a shy like me. You are meeting in a social situation with people you have never met before. Staying speechless for the duration of the meet is not very polite, which will not help you make friends at all. But please do not worry, you simply need to exercise the art of small talk to get the ball rolling. It is perfectly normal to be uncertain of what you should speak about but keep in mind you have something in common with every single person there, you each love lolita fashion.

Giving a person a compliment is a great icebreaker as it makes them feel good about themselves, maybe you love the print they are wearing or the way they have coordinated their outfit or even how they have styled their hair and makeup. Follow this up by introducing yourself, let the person know that you are new to the community and if you are lucky they may introduce you to some of the other lolitas. Try to continue the conversation with a steady flow, keep calm and think about what you say before you say it, if you are in doubt you should say less, rather than more. It may take a while to get over the nerves if you are not upfront naturally but, remember that practice makes perfect - you'll get there soon!

It is also a good idea to take some time to consider what approach you take towards friendship. The most comfortable way for you to make friends is known as your 'friendship style. As for me, I am quite shy when meeting new people and prefer one-on-one conversations as I can get to know the person I am speaking to better. I would look for a person who is sitting or standing alone and approach them to start up a conversation. Whereas, if you are the life of the party you could casually approach a group and join the conversation with ease however, if you tend to be quite boisterous it may be a good idea to tone it down a little bit because others may not appreciate it and you do not want to appear obnoxious.

After the meetup, keep in touch with the lolita's you have met in person by friending them on social networking sites such as Facebook, Livejournal or Tumblr. Strike up a conversation when you are both online and get to know each other better, you may have met your new best friend! Instead of waiting for the next meetup to be held, why not make an effort and organise a day out? You could grab a coffee, see a movie, hit the arcade, do some shopping - the possibilities are endless (but, make sure it is something you both like to do)!

Unfortunately, some of our friends will live further away and seeing them on a regular basis may not always be an option but, you can still have a wonderful friendship. Besides chatting online, you could also become penpals, writing and sending letters like this is a much loved hobby amongst lolitas as it involves cute stickers, glittery pens and pretty paper. With all friendships, online and offline, do speak about lolita but try to speak about other things too, this will grow your friendship.

Please do be careful, though. We often forget that lolitas are really not that much different from ordinary people, they both will have good days, as well as bad days. Some will be bubbly, some will be cutesy, some will be funny and some will be shy but on the other hand some will be judgmental, some will be mean and some will be rude. Do your best to not judge others, give them the benefit of the doubt however, if there is someone you really do not like do not force yourself to like them, simply be civil at meet ups. This however, does not apply if you are being bullied or have fallen into a toxic friendship, address the issue with an admin or moderator of your lolita community if this is the case.

Meeting people that share common interests with you is wonderful. I have made some beautiful friendships since joining my local lolita community and I could not imagine life without these girls now. Everyone should do their best and work hard to grow friendships with their fellow lolis because, lolita friendships are very special and there is nothing like it. If you would like some more tips on making friends please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

The Frilly Dictionary

Speak to any lolita about the loli-culture and you could say that we have a language of our very own! I wonder what that would be called - lolish? lolan? lolinese? All Silliness aside here is my little dictionary of the most common words within our culture to help everyone out!

Alice Deco a la Mode: A Japanese lolita magazine filled with photos and tutorials.

Bloomers: Loose shorts with gathering at the bottom and worn as an undergarment underneath a skirt.

Blouse: A woven shirt with feminine details like peter pan collars and frilled edges.

Bonnet: A large brimmed hat of fabric with ribbons on each side which meet and tie up under the chin.

Brand (Burando): Expensive, high quality accessories or clothing produced by a company which is then sold under a Japanese brand name shop such as Angelic Pretty, Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Metamorphose. Burando is how Brand is pronounced in Japanese, it is often used by Western lolitas to be silly when joking about lolita problems.

Brolita: A boy who dresses in lolita fashion by following the style coordination of a girls outfit.

Cutsew: A jersey or knitted fabric shirt styled similar to a blouse and is worn for casual lolita.

EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita): The main lolita livejournal community on the internet for Western lolitas. When the community begun the term Elegant Gothic Lolita went hand in hand with Western Lolita thus the title however, this is no longer the case. Elegant Gothic Lolita is rarely used unless referring to this community. 

Elitist: A lolita who believes she or he is better than all the others and only tolerates those who will uphold their unrealistic standards.

Gothic Lolita Bible (GLB): A Japanese mook which contains articles, photos and sewing patterns. It is released seasonally for lolitas.

Headdress: A circular or rectangular headband often decorated with bows, flowers, lace or other accessories.

Ita: A derogatory label placed on a person who does not wear the fashion correctly, usually by wearing cosplay pieces, not following coordinate anatomy or showing too much skin. It is derived from the Japanese word 'Itai' which means 'oww'.

Jumperskirt (JSK): A dress which does not have sleeves and is worn over the top of a blouse.

Kamikaze Girls: A comedic novel written by Novala Takemoto about a lolita and a punky biker girl who become friends, it has been made into a manga and also a movie.

KERA: A Japanese magazine which contains articles and photos of Harajuku street fashions including lolita.

Lace Monster: A poorly constructed dress which has too much going on aesthetically, usually covered in scratchy, unappealing lace. These dresses are considered very ita.

Loliable: An accessory or a piece of clothing that has not been made for the lolita market but it could easily be worn in a coordinate without breaking outfit structure.

Lolify: Taking something and making it appear more lolita-like with beads, bows, cute colours, lace, ruffles and other accessories.

Lucky Pack (Fukubukuro): A packet of brand accessories or clothing which is sold at a low price during various times of the year. There are visible packs - see contents and blind packs - surprise.

Mook: A conjunction of the words 'book' and 'magazine'. It contains content which would be featured in a magazine and is the same size as a magazine but, the pages are thick and the binding is sturdy like a book.

Off Brand: Accessories or clothing produced by a company or a seamstress that is not recognised as being at the same standard as the big Japanese brand stores.

One Piece (OP): A dress which has sleeves and can be worn without a blouse.

Petticoat: An undergarment styled as a skirt made up of tulle to create the poofy silhouette.

Replica: Brand accessories or clothing recreated and produced by a seamstress sold at a much cheaper price than the original. 

Rococo: An 18th century artistic movement that the lolita culture draws inspiration from. 

Shopping Service (SS): A method of bidding on Japanese auction websites and purchasing from webstores that do not ship overseas. The person who manages your order will usually charge a 5 - 15% commission for their services. 

Wristcuffs: A wrist accessory made out of gathered lace often decorated with bows, flowers or other accessories. 

What do you think about these words? When starting out as a lolita did you know what they meant or did you have to do a little research to find out what they were? I would love to know! If there are any words or phrases that you do not understand which are not on this list please leave me a comment below and I will get back to you with what it is!