Shoe Candy

My new Minna Parikka shoes are like candy. The colour is so lovely, and of course I can't resist anything with a bunny theme. I can't wait to coordinate them with... well, everything I own. *-*

Candies and Tea

Good evening, lords and ladies!

Today me and fiancé went out for a date. It's been ages since we last time did that, so it was about time! We had a lovely time. ♥

I wasn't very happy with my outfit, though. I have been so busy and stressed out lately, that I wanted to wear something casual, so as to not draw too much attention. I never like the attention I get in lolita clothes, and even less so when I'm stressed out, tired etc. Maybe it's because of that stress I didn't like this outfit; maybe that's what's taking the fun out of dressing up. Even though I am super busy, I'm also really grateful for my job, which so far seems really great. And in the Summer I can only concentrate on work! Can't wait for that.

So, first we went to Sweetheart candy shop. It has such a cute, pastel coloured decor! The selection of candies is small, but selected and high quality. I really recommend you visit it, if you come to Helsinki (or live here and haven't been there yet)!

After that we had green teas at The Ounce tearoom. 

In the end we did some light shopping. The tea caddies are from The Ounce, and the pretty pocket mirror is from Bijou Brigitte. The tapes with the lace pattern are for sealing my letters with - much cuter than using ordinary tape. I have been looking for something like this for a long time, and now finally got lucky in Tiger.

Sundae

Good afternoon, everyone!

Yesterday I met with our The Carnival of Decadence fashion show crew for rehearsing, and after that those who had some spare time stayd for tea at our place. This was, of course, a great excuse to wear lolita.

I actually wanted to wear my newest dress (BtSSB's She Is Sleeping JSK) but I didn't have time to iron it, so I had to go with my plan B. I'm not too crushed about it though, because I really liked this outfit, too. When Spring comes nearer, I start to grave for lighter colours. Me in pastels = a sure sign it's Spring. Or possibly Summer.

{Dress, bag - Baby, the Stars Shine Bright / shoes - Minna Parikka}

A detail shot of my accessories. Even though I don't like pink as much as I used to (not in clothes, anyway), it can really add something to an outfit (or home decor) in small amounts. I especially adore this very soft shade of pink.

 

Life via Instagram: Easter Holidays

Hello, everyone!

I hope you all had nice Easter holidays? I lost a dear, old fluffy friend on Monday, but apart from that it was a relaxing holiday. I have mourned her in a calm manner; not much tears, remembering the good times we had. Of course I am very sad, but crying won't bring her back and will only make me feel worse, so this is a good way to go about it, I think. Well, anyway, here's some (more happy) pictures from Easter...

1. An Easter surprice for my fiancé. I filled it with his favourite Belgian coconot chocolate pralines and hid it inside my bunnybearbag for him to find.

2. We ate lots and lots of chocolate.

3. I wore this outfit to see the Cinderella movie. I really liked this colour combo.

4. My "official" Easter shoes. I wore these last year's Easter, too, and thought that well, why not.

5. I bought pink tulips again.

6. What would an Easter be without our own Easter bunny? Nothing. ♥

P.S. I changed my nickname in Instagram into maricaranette. I think it suits me better.

Tara 13.2.2003-6.4.2015

 I do not mourn for you, for you were old, and had such a long, good life, and were so much loved. I mourn for us, who must remain behind and miss you. This is the end of an era, and the world won't be quite the same without you. Good bye, dreamer. ♥

Reasons to Travel from 1932

And they are still valid today, I think. I could have almost written this same list myself, I agree so completely.

Source: this isn's happiness.

Lolita Blog Carnival: How Would You Re-Do Your Wardrobe

Hello, everyone!

This week's Lolita Blog Carnival topic can be interpreted many ways. I took this approach; how would I re-do my current wardrobe, or how would I like to do things as a beginner, if I knew then all the things that I know now.

Well then, how would I like to re-do my current wardrobe?

 Re-do is quite a strong, almost chaotic word. I wouldn't want to re-do anything. I'm quite happy with my wardrobe as it is; most items match with each other (or don't match, but still work together nicely, when I don't feel like being all matchy). I have been building this wardrobe many years (about nine, to be exact), and I believe I have already found my own style in lolita. One of my friends described it very fittingly, saying "Your lolita style is very champagne shaded." I wouldn't dramatically change anything, but of course there are always those little things.

I would like to add more non-print dresses to my wardrobe, for example. I especially like old school pieces, or else pieces that have old school feeling to them. Applique, embroidery, ruffles, laces and bows are all lovely details, which you get less in printed garments. To be honest, I've grown a little bit bored with print dresses, or at least I have so many of those that it'd be a nice change to have more dresses without print.

Those just seem to be very hard to find! I would also like to sell some dresses that I don't wear that much anymore (and actually I have sold and swapped some dresses during the least year or so). The biggest single flaw in my wardrobe is the absence of a nice, roomy chocolate brown bag! It's not that I mind mixing different shades of brown, but it just would be a nice thing to own. The problem with this is that I'm very picky, and nothing is quite what I am looking for (not even the bag pictured!).

Okay, what would I like to do differently now compared to what I did nine years ago?

The short and simple answer to this is: nothing.

And here comes the long answer for those who care to read it; I wouldn't do anything differently. I made a lot of mistakes, and I looked quite horrible for the first years in this style. Things were very different back then. There really was no brand, neither new nor second hand, available outside of Japan. Almost none of the brands shipped abroad, and even if they did, I couldn't afford anything from them. There was not many indie brands, either, and certainly not Finnish ones. So we had to make-do with flea market, goth shop and offbrand finds that were even remotely loliable. It does tell something about the passion behind the fashion; people really wanted to wear lolita so badly, even though it was so hard!

I have also tried almost every lolita style there is (such as wa, ero and hime, too). I started as a (wanna-be) gothic lolita, as that was The Thing then. After that, I fell in love with sweet lolita, quite possibly because I wished to forget my "gothic lolita" days. Then, after some years in sweet, I started to crave for more mature, elegant, yet still cute look, and started to change my wardrobe more towards classic and sweet-classic, the state it is now in. In the past nine years, I have re-done my wardrobe three times. I think this is it.

 Me in 2009.

And yet, I'd like to do nothing differently. I can see now that the mistakes I made all thought me something and helped me work towards the goal of being a good lolita. Now I am one, even if I say so myself. And all the style phases I went through felt right at the time. I certainly didn't like classic lolita nine years ago, so why would I want to tell my younger self to buy classic instead of gothic lolita? My younger self, being even more stubborn than I am today (having worked on that, too) would simply tell me to shut up and let her wear what she really wants to wear.

The most important thing; even if I  - and many of my friends, who still are here after all these years! - were not very good lolitas, we were still having fun. Even though we did everything wrong and didn't realize it, we had fun. I would never change that fun, those moments with my precious frilly girls, for anything. What's happened is in the past, in the memories, and I'll let it stay there. Now I'm mature enough to smile at my mistakes, too. And the sense of style developed eventually, too.

What would you, dear readers, like to change about your wardrobe, current or past? Feel free to discuss in the comments!  

P.S. Check out the other LBC participants this week, too.

Courtly Dreams For Burgher

P.P.S. Happy Easter holidays, everyone! ♥