What I Would Like to See in Lolita Next

Hello, lords and ladies!

Lately I've taken a habit of writing different kind of positive lists into a notebook dedicated for this. I list things that inspire me, things I would like to do, places I would like to visit, things that I am thankful for, and so on. The most recent list I wrote under the title "What I would like to see in lolita next". I thought I'd share that with you, too. So, here we go...

♥ More natural, but still gorgeous make up styles
♥ Relaxed (e.g. curly hair kept loose) hairdos made of one's own hair
♥ Practicality, wearability, comfyness
♥ Dainty, elegant outfits with some historical influence - "old times" feeling
♥ Old school lolita influences
♥ Having fun with colours
♥ Luxurious details (such as lace, bows, frills)
♥ Great quality fabrics (e.g. cotton velvet, silk, linen) and shoes (real leather only)

I long for this fashion to move towards more relaxed, wearable direction. I wish to see outfits that are easy and comfy to wear, but not boring in the least. Oufits that are of great quality and coordinated with care and love to detail. Outfits that you can wear for a trip to your local library, or a nice cup of tea at your favorite tea shop. Outfits that even on a hot summer day feel good to wear. In short, I would like to see outfits that are less costume-like and more natural. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I am getting tired of this trend or always more, always bigger, always better. I would like to see something more simple for a change.

All that being said, I'd like to introduce you to a small, starting clothing brand owned by two Finnish ladies, Twin Flower. They make beautiful lolita clothes using recycled materials whenever that's possible. Their brand just happens to have just the kind of look that inspires me right now. All of the pictures used for this post are from Twin Flower (and posted with their permission) - so please do check out their Facebook page, and if you like what you see, remember to show your support to them. 

What would you, dear readers, like to see in lolita (or fashion in general) next? Feel free to discuss in the comments!

P.S. Since someone is most likely going to ask this, if I don't say it, I spill it out now; no, this blog post is not sponsored or suggested by Twin Flower. All of the opinions, as well as my adoration for this brand, are purely my own and genuine.  First I wrote my list by hand, then I thought about making it into a blog post, and only after that I had the idea that Twin Flower's pictures would go greatly with this post. They are saving me a lot of trouble by kindly letting me use their pictures, and I like to promote Finnish design whenever I get the chance, so this is a win-win situation all around.

P.P.S. To those (foreign?) readers that might not know about this; in Finland there is actually a law that forbids bloggers to do co-operation with brands without clearly stating it in their blog posts. So if I ever get a chance for a co-operation with a brand that I actually like (Hello, Twin Flower!), you can rest assured that I will most certainly tell it very clearly. ;)

The Greatest Source of Inspiration

What inspires me most right now is the nature, and especially flowers. The lilacs are in full bloom, among with many other flowers and plants. Rose has long been my favorite flower, but lately I've been really drawn to the smaller and more delicate flowers, especially wild ones.

It all started with this adorable little bouquet that my Mom had left for us when we came home from Rome. I was so happy to be home anyway, and it was even nicer when this was waiting for us. This bouquet helped me realise how lovely a simple jar with some small flowers can look, and so I kept the jar...

...and occasionally filled it with flowers...

 ...and since devil is in the details, I also added some white lace to uppgrade this cute jar into even more cute.

Finland really is at its best during summer. Everything is so fresh and green. This picture is from a walk with my Mom and Chico. Chico is clearly smiling. ♥ The road originates from the World War I era and was used to move cannons. This forest was an important air defence base during Finland's wars. It also happens to be one of my dearest places in Helsinki, so I take a walk there quite often.

Last weekend I went for a long, peaceful evening walk with my fiancé. We found a cliff full of wild violets. It is a magical place that I will definitely visit again.

We also took some flowers home. Lupines are considered to be weeds, but I think they look just lovely and make a wonderful bouquet, too. We found three different shades of lupines and I picked a couple of flowers in each shade.

I'm also enjoying the occasional blue skies! This is a rare sight in Finland during the long winter months (and sometimes in summer, too), so it's really refreshing. I just love Helsinki in summer, the city seems to come more alive.

What inspires you at the moment, my dear readers? Please share it in the comments!

Some Outfits, Some New Things

Good evening, lords and ladies!

Here's some outfits (and new things), originally from my Instagram account, that I now want to share with you, too.

Let's start with the most recent. This is my "modern witch" look from yesterday. I think my new rose headband suits Midsummer perfectly. I wasn't actually aiming for a witchy look, but it turned out to be one.

Then some closeups of the accessories. I got this Heart of The House necklace (by Kalevala Jewelry) from my fiancé a little while ago. It's so lovely!

And the rose headband. 

This dress is also quite new. It's really versatile, as it can be dressed both up and down. I've worn it to work, as well as to parties.

Again, some closeups. Minna Parikka's Lin shoes...

...and Ivana Helsinki's Moomin bag.

An older outfit, with Minna Parikka shoes and Charming Girls headbow.

A while ago I also finally bought these fairy tale book boxes from H&M that I'd been eyeing for ages. They are so cute! I'm going to store my jewelry in them.

I still haven't got time to sort through the Rome pictures, but I'll get to it some day, I promise. :')

Mimi's Graduation Party & The International Lolita Day

Hello, everyone!

Some time ago Mimi graduated, and The International Lolita Day was a perfect day for her and all of us to celebrate that.

Let's start with my outfit. I went for bunny themed accessories.

Sanni also took some stunning portraits of all of us. Here are mine.

Here's all of us derping around! The idea behind this was breaking Misako's rules. We are fabulous, even if I say so myself. ♥

And in the end, traditional food pictures. The food was delicious and there was plenty of it. All in all, it was a lovely and fun day, and I hope our party girl Mimi enjoyd it, too. Gongrats on your graduation once more, sweetie! ♥

Hellocon 2015: The Carnival of Decadence Fashion Show & My Outfits

Good evening, everyone!

We came home from Rome yesterday, and it was a wonderful trip indeed. I'll post pictures from Rome later - there's so much of them it will take some time to sort them out.

In the meanwhile, we shall return to Hellocon 2015 for a moment! I'd like to show you my outfits and the fashion show me and Mimi organized. Let's start with my con outfit. I decided to wear my Magical Etoile JSK by Angelic Pretty, as it suits both the circus theme and the guests of honour. I also got to meet Maki and Asuka briefly. They were very cute and kind and had prepared a special message for the lolitas of Helsinki - adorable!

Here's a better picture of my outfit.

{Dress - Angelic Pretty / purse - Baby, the Stars Shine Bright / shoes - Minna Parikka / star hairclip - Essin Maailma / the rest - offbrand}

And then on to our fashion show, The Carnival of Decadence! I really love how balanced it turned out - all the outfits were equally amazing  on their own, but they also really worked together nicely. I'm so proud of all the models, too - they did great! ♥ (Do watch the video in HD, please!)

Here's all of our lovely models in the order of appearance.

 Lauren, our fabulous pirate. She is wearing Alice and The Pirates.

Alice, playing the role of the Carnival guest, also in Alice and The Pirates, if I remember correctly.

Nita, she was a magician. Her outfit was self made - amazing job there!

Inka, the chocolate seller. She threw chocolate into the audience and wore Innocent World and Angelic Pretty.

Cheetahbird, the Carnival guest disguised as a cat! She wore Juliette et Justine.

Elfie the snakewoman, wearing a lovely dress by Victorian Maiden.

Lydia Toivo, the flower girl. She gave pink roses to the audience and looked absolutely adorable in Angelic Pretty.

Veera the swan princess and her epic prop, Teppo the Swan! Veera wore Moi-même-moitié while Teppo rocked a pretty crown.

Me as Ursula the mermaid. My dress is from Cloudberry Lady, and the octopus in my hair is called Inky the Pinky.

Mimi as the dramatic gothic vampire queen. Her dress and parasol are also self made - the parasol especially was astonishing!

Hanna and Karakuri as the circus pony and its trainer. Their outfits are selfmade. The print on Hanna's dress was designed by me.

In the end, all of us together. Thank you so much, all of you lovely ladies and lords, for making this fashion show not only possible, but very special, too! ♥

Well, my dear readers, I guess that's it for now. Did you find a favourite amongst the fashion show outfits? If you did, please do share that in the comments! I might do one more post of Hellocon 2015, so stay tuned for that, too! ;)