Anna House Review

I have always been a fan of Anna House since I purchased my first first dress. I've been stalking their online store for a couple of years now, and gushing over the pretty clothes. Although I am extremely happy with the Anna House OP I own, I have never actually bought directly off their web shop as I purchased my dress through One Day in Paradise. Yet after buying my first order from them...I dare say I am pleased. 

I had purchased Top 016-1350/White/Small and Other 018-1339/White/Medium from their webshop. My order came extremely quick, and it's only been a little under a week. I wasn't expecting to get my packages until after my birthday, so I am extremely surprised and happy. I feel like I have gotten a little pre-birthday gift now ^w^ (my birthday is on Monday)

They were packaged nicely and put in bubble wrap as well

I excitedly tried both the bloomers and the blouse on after giving them a thorough examine. The material on the blouse looks and feels nice, although regretfully it's a little see through at the back and you can see my bra straps (this will not work very well in hot weather). Besides me nitpicking at that little detail I am overall extremely happy with both of my purchases. The blouse has really cute buttons, a detachable bow and fits me really well. The bloomers are also very comfortable and don't seem scratchy or itchy on my legs either. Both are extremely nice for the decent price they are, and I am extremely pleased overall.

Lace up and detachable bow

Although a little more pricey then Bodyline, I have got to say I think I am going to purchase off Anna House from now on. Just by looking at the images you can already tell that the clothes are better quality, and compared to my stiff uncomfortable Bodyline blouse this feels way more comfortable and fitting. Anna House looks more professional and their clothes are much better quality.

Overall I give it a 10/10 for my order

As a side note I'll be ordering two new petticoats, two pairs of Bodyline shoes and possibly a new dress, I am also recieving a Mystery Garden dress for my birthday. So expect more reviews soon :)

The Difference Between Cosplay Lolita and Lolita Fashion

You've all heard it before, but whether or not you know what it is is the big question...

Cosplay Lolita! What is it?

Well from my understanding and from my own opinion, there are two categories of Cosplay Lolita. One for the Lolita which is not quite right in some ways and convention only appropriate, and someone cosplaying a Lolita character from an anime.

As everyone who is a Lolita should know already, Lolita Fashion is not a cosplay. So why is there such a thing called Cosplay Lolita? The point of this article is to point out the major differences between a Cosplay Lolita and  a partaker of the Fashion, and to bridge the understanding of why Lolita Fashion is not Cosplay and in fact a fashion.

Not Quite Right

Animal ears- Sometimes it can look alright....many other times not so much. When combining animal ears into Lolita Fashion there are ways to make it work, and it definitely can. Although this is extremely hard and should only be a challenge for the experienced Lolita. The ways in which they don't work is what makes it stand out. When combining animal ears you can easily make it work by having a bunny hoodie, or matching it up somehow with the colour scheme or print on you dress, not just randomly shoving a pair of cat ears on your head. Wearing a random pair of cat ears and a tail is all right for conventions and a bit of fun, but this then makes your outfit fall under the category of Cosplay Lolita, and not Lolita Fashion.

An extremely cute outfit. There is nothing wrong with how she is dressed,
 but this is convention appropriate only. What she is wearing is not Lolita
 Fashion but  Cosplay Lolita, this is because of the cat ears and the lack
of a blouse and many other contributing factors.

The Widely Misunderstood Brolita

A Brolita pen pal of mine

Imagine you were looking on the internet at this cute, adorable well dressed young girl wearing the most amazing Lolita dress and striking a super adorable pose. You'd stare at the picture and wonder who it was right...what if you discovered they were a guy...would you get freaked out?

To the Lolita community a male wearer of Lolita Fashion is commonly known as a 'Brolita'. Just like the female counterparts they enjoy dressing up and wearing cute and elegant Lolita clothing. Many males wanting to wear Loita Fashion generally stick to the more masculine styles such as Ouji or Kodona. Yet the 'Brolita's as they are commonly known, are the ones that generally cross the line drawn by society and dress themselves to their best in cute Lolita garments.

Many people mistake and greatly misunderstand Brolita's. Many assume it to be a weird fetish, or claim that a guy dressing up in this way is a ridiculous notion. Yet Brolita's are human just like us, and very much the same as every other Lolita on the planet.

Just like girls who wear Lolita Fashion, not everyone gets it right. There will be guys even after many years of being in the fashion who still may look ita, and people who call their garments Lolita when they are clearly not. Yet those guys who wear Lolita the right way and follow all the rules, are still Lolita's.

Mana

These guys wear the clothes for the same reasons anyone else would. They may wear them to feel pretty, be creative or just to feel happy. Some people think that a guy wearing Lolita Fashion is a concept so hard to fathom, but why should the men miss out on all the fun? Some guys can even wear Lolita Fashion better than some females.

Societies views on what is and isn't feminine is what really ruins it for men. A guy can't wear a dress because that is what 'man' has decided. Since the beginning of time dresses have been considered something worn by only females, so a male wanting to dress this way is considered wrong. What you call feminine and masculine is only one person's view and perspective on life, if a man wants to wear a dress then he should be able to. He may not even consider it to be feminine, he may just like it. There is nothing wrong with a male being into this fashion, or even cross dressing in general if it is done right. If it isn't harming you then there is nothing wrong with it.

Also believe it or not Mana is a guy...

Being a Lolita you probably would have heard of him in some shape or form, even if you do not know about him exactly. Mana is a Japanese musician and fashion designer best known for his role as lead guitarist in the Visual Kei band Malice Mizer. His clothing label Moi-même-Moitié helped popularise Gothic Lolita Fashion, and helped to evolve it into the Fashion we know today.

Yes a popular and very significant Lolita Fashion idol is in fact a guy. If this guy can be so greatly respected, why can not all other males in the Lolita Fashion community be respected as well?

Also another thing that would be worth checking out is this Lolita Fashion documentary called Sugar Coated. It shows the views of a small minority of individuals within the Fashion community, and in fact has a brolita in it. This will help you get a better understanding of how they feel wearing the clothes they do, and exactly why they do it.

The know how of Casual Lolita

As amazing as Over The Top (OTT) Lolita Fashion is let's face
it, it's just not practical for everyday wear. An over the top Lolita outfit will not only make you stand out and look a little crazy, but will be very impracticable in your everyday life. Although...why should you have to get rid of your frills for everyday life? You should wear what you feel happy and comfortable with shouldn't you? Even the over the top lifestyle Lolita will have an occasion or an event where dressing down is required. So here's the simple do's and don't's of dressing down your frills.

Cardigans, cut-sews and t-shirts

Casual Lolita still retains the basic elements of Lolita Fashion, yet is a more toned down version of the style. Casual Lolita is best described as what a Lolita will wear when 'not dressing up'. So don't forget to keep the key ingredients of a Lolita outfit in mind when creating a coordination.

A great casual Lolita outfit can be made with any colour or Lolita sub-style, as long as you remember to match colours, prints etc...like you normally would with any Lolita outfit.  

To keep things toned down for everyday life and for comfort, there are many options. Many brands sell simple cut-sews for this purpose. A cut-sew will be more comfortable than a blouse paired with a skirt, and will have a more causal toned down look. There are many affordable cut-sews out there for the daily Lolita, with Bodyline cut-sews being a great option, and affordable second hand pieces can be acquired from EGL sales and even Closet Child from time to time.

Amazing Lolita Documentaries

Well I wanted to just compose a small post today on what I believe to be amazing Lolita documentaries. These documentaries will not only help those new to the style and learning about its roots but help everyone learn the sense and feeling of community and what Lolita means to individuals around the world. Some of these documentaries I found to actually be rather inspiring.

Halloween for a Lolita

Well everyone knows that Halloween is just around the corner, so I thought I'd write a post on Guro Lolita for you all. Fist of all, what is Guro Lolita?

Although Lolita is not cosplay Guro Lolita is a more 'costume' type look from the standard Lolita. The idea is to imitate a broken doll, and just like the name implies Guro means gory. The style can be pulled off with any colour, but white covered in fake blood is usually the easiest to pull off and the most often seen. A Guro Lolita outfit can be as simple as wearing a Gothic Lolita co-ord with an eye patch or as complex as splattering your entire outfit in fake blood.

How do you go about creating a Guro Lolita co-ord?- Creating a Guro Lolita co-ordination can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Just remember though this is not a costume and just a build on the normal Lolita style. Guro Lolita is all about being cute yet downright creepy, like something straight out of a horror movie, and you can go about this in many ways.

The stereotypical Guro Lolita is one wearing a white dress covered in fake blood. Although this sounds nice it can be very hard to do and not always the best option, but there are other ways to go about it. Covering an entire garment with fake blood is not also messy but will ruin a perfectly good dress. You could always buy a cheap off brand dress but the best way to go about it is to wear a cute blood splattered apron. Purchase a cute Lolita half apron or make your own and have fun splattering it with fake blood or paint. Paint is usually the ideal option as it is permanent and makes less of a mess, meaning you can wear it for more than one Halloween event.

Don't forget creepy motifs like medical symbols and crosses. You can also go crazy with makeup a little more than standard Lolita and make yourself look really creepy with eye patches, fake bruises and stitches, bandages and gauze, fake knives, broken dolls, bloody teddy bears, arm slings...you can go as crazy or as simple as you like as long as you keep your outfit true to Lolita.

And here's me in Guro Lolita on the left 

Bodyline Review

My second time purchasing off Bodyline and I can now say I am apprehensive about buying online without looking up proper reviews first. I purchased Bodyline L110, Bodyline L130 (OWH), Bodyline PAN079 and as extras ACC701 and ACCESSORY988 (beg).