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.

Happy New Year- 2014

I couldn't help but wear Lolita as soon as I got home ^^'
Tea and Gingerbread for afternoon tea

Well my New Year was spent slaving away at McDonald's for eight hours, but hey look on the bright side of things...all this money for more Lolita.

I hope you guys have all had a good New Years, and hopefully everyone looks forward to the oncoming year. I hope everyone is healthy and happy for another year, and I wish everyone the best for whatever challenges they may face.

I myself will be going into year eleven once the school year commences, so I am rather apprehensive about the year of 2014. I will continue on with my passions and hobbies, Lolita Fashion especially, but the focus on studying will push everything back a bit.

My Lolita Fashion New Years Resolutions-

* Get at least one pair of Tea Parties

* Learn to coordinate better

* Get more Casual/Daily Outfits

* Wear Lolita more than once a week

* Own something from Baby the Stars Shine Bright

* Own at least three blouses

* Buy three more versatile dresses/Skirts

* Become more confident wearing Lolita

* Buy a new A-line petticoat

* Buy a small bell shaped petticoat


What is everyone else's goals for 2014?

Fabulous Lolita Themes Thursday: Hello Kitty

Well I absolutely adore Hello Kitty, so that's what I decided for this weeks theme :)

Myself in my own Hello Kitty Lolita dress

Myself again

DeviantArt

Etsy

Polyvore

Found on Google images 

Etsy

Angelic Pretty Hello Kitty Dress

There is a Baby Hello Kitty Dress *-*
Too bad the photo is so bad quality...

Merry Christmas ^w^

http://mushrambo-blood.deviantart.com/art/Merry-lolita-Christmas-342248041

My Christmas Tree

I have had quite a nice Christmas myself so far. I got so many things, mostly little Hello Kitty trinkets, but the main thing I am happy about is my new laptop and the Royal Albert tea set. I am very appreciative of all my gifts and I am very happy to spend this time with my family.

Unfortunately because this is a new laptop and I have a really old version of Photoshop my father is apprehensive about installing it on my new PC, so I was not able to edit a nice picture for you all. Enjoy this lovely piece of art, which is not mine and from DeviantArt.

Gingerbread House I made

I have had a great Christmas, spending time with my family and overall a great Holiday so far. I went out to the movies dressed in Lolita with a new friend on Monday, and I am finding myself having a great time everyday. I am gaining more confidence with wearing Lolita out in the public now days (it helps having supportive friends, who I am very thankful for) and I hope to save up and buy some more clothes soon. With the end of the year coming to a close soon, the excitement of my birthday in February shouldn't be too far off.  I am getting a new dress from my parents for my upcoming birthday (it has yet to arrive), the Mystery Garden dress I talked about in a previous post.

I hope everyone else is also enjoying themselves and having a great time with friends and family. I wish you all the best for the new year.

The Royal Albert Tea Set my Nanna gave me. I have the matching tea cup
and plate set already, but I chose to use the Hello Kitty tea cup
 my sister gave me for Christmas. Isn't it such a great gift :)

You can see my pop in the background :p

The Young Lolita- Dealing With Difficult Parents

I have touched upon the topic of self esteem and dealing with society's reactions, yet I believe learning to deal with parents reactions can be just as daunting. For a young Lolita, the only things getting in your way may be money concerns and parents....

I get mixed emotions from my parents no matter what outfit I am wearing. Sometimes they hate my fashion, sometimes they love it. Although this can be the same with any outfit, and any fashion that anyone wears. 

Whether you are trying to work up the courage to show off your first coordination, or you just need the courage to be able to get past the fear of what your parents may think, there are many different things you can do to help.

Research- This is one thing, I regret to inform you, I did not do. Before you purchase your first coordination, research as much as you possibly can, ask for advice online from other Lolita's and learn exactly what the fashion is as a whole. As you research you can show your mum or your dad some of the things you find. Find pictures of 'actual' people, and definitely not anime characters. Although some people get into Lolita Fashion through anime, the two have nothing to do with one another. Showing your parents pictures of anime characters will get them to believe that the fashion is cosplay, or something real people don't wear.

As you go through this process of research, show your parent or guardian that this is something you like. Point out that dress you see online, tell them you think it's cute. Point out that girl on Tumblr and say how you like what she wears. Just show them as much of the fashion as you can, and get them warmed up to the idea that this is something that you like.

Don't lie- After hinting at the fashion for a while and telling them how cute you think it is, you may want to embrace the first step of buying or eventually wearing your garments. I can't stress how important this point is, don't lie to your parents. If they are confused and don't understand something, do your best to explain it even if they don't understand or believe you at first. Don't say Lolita is cosplay just to get them to buy you something, as they will forever believe it. Don't sneak behind their backs and buy items they don't want you buying, or getting your friends to buy things for you. Even if your parents don't understand Lolita, being deceitful or lying  to them is just going to make them ban it from you all together, or hate the fashion even more. 

Budget- Some things parents hate about Lolita Fashion is the price. If brand is your thing, a parent may not understand that or want to buy these things for you. No way is any parent going to buy, or even see a reasonable reason for you buying that $800 dress. Start out with off brand for your first coordinate if you can, and show them this is something you love. Wear your off brand coordinate as much as you can and work your way up to the more expensive things gradually.

If you are old enough to get a job, then I highly recommend you do so. If you show your parents this is something you will work hard towards to obtain yourself, you are showing them you are responsible. If you are not old enough to get a job there are other ways you can still get the things you want. Collect birthday and Christmas money, do odd jobs around the house, ask to baby sit a younger sibling or relative etc. Even if you can't earn much, work hard at it to achieve what you want.

Be gradual- If you aren't a very feminine girl then of course your parents won't want you to buy that Sweet Lolita dress, or see any point in you wearing something at all feminine, elegant or cute. If you are always wearing band t-shits and skinny jeans for example, your parent may just groan and see this as a phase you will grow out of, and a total waste of time and money to buy these clothes.

Although it may seem like a pain, the best idea is to gradually introduce more feminine or Lolita like outfits into your wardrobe. And even if you do own Lolita already, start wearing dressier clothes when going out with mum just to prove that you can be girly when you want to. Show your parent of guardian this is something you love, and you will do whatever it takes to get it. 

Unfortunately though no amount of advice I can give will entirely change a parents mind. Some people get lucky and have parents that love Lolita Fashion for various reasons, others have parents who don't care what they do, and some have parents who hate and despise Lolita Fashion to no end. Unfortunately we can not change a parents opinion sometimes, and while we live under their roof we have no choice but to abide by their rules.

Misako Tea Party

Well before I jump right into the deep end and tell you all about the title...*ahem* I am sorry for leaving the blog and not posting. I have no reasonable excuse or lie to tell you, I just got extremely lazy. I will attempt to actually post again from now on.

Now that is all cleared up...

Yesterday I went to a Lolita High Tea. After weeks worth of excitement and waiting, and a long eventful trip...I finally had the amazing opportunity....the opportunity of seeing Misako in person.

This wasn't just any normal meet up, not only was it the very first one for me, it was a chance to meet Misako...here in Australia! Misako Aoki, model and Kawaii Ambassador...what Lolita wouldn't love this opportunity?

It is a about two hours by train to Sydney from where I live, so we broke the trip up and went half way by car and half way by train in order to shorten the journey. Although in retrospect I didn't even travel very far, there were Lolita's there at the High Tea from all over.

I was bored and excited so took selfies in the car ^^'

I was rather nervous at first, as this was of course my first meetup. However my nerves soon settled down in no time as I realised how friendly everyone was. I talked to a lot of different people, made friends and had a lot of fun. Words just can not describe what an opportunity this was for me. Seeing so many different Lolita's packed into one room was just mind blowing, and having the chance to see Misako...it was just...just...I can't even put it into words...

Following are the pictures I have taken from the event. I felt very under dressed compared to all the other Lolita's, as I am an off brand casual Lolita. It made me a little sad as everyone else looked so pretty, but I'll get there one day.

The food was downright amazing 

The scones and that strawberry cake thing was the best

Misako >.<

We all laughed when she was given a stuffed Kola

She was give a card with all our names in it.
We each wrote a different message for her and
we put little hearts on the Australian map to
show where we were from.

The Yen ring I won and the cards she gave everyone

Here's the group shot which I took off Misako's Twitter