La Fleurette Révolutionnaire

Keep in touch!

kittyhot — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:43:17 GMT

Hey there! I've actually moved this blog over to http://kuroloki.blogspot.com/ Hope to see you there!

For some reason my background stopped working, even though it's the same one on the above blog, so to make things easier on myself I will just change my journal layout. I hope this didn't cause any issues for anyone trying to view my LJ earlier.

Day 5 Challenges

kittyhot — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:36:59 GMT

Day 5 – Is there a local Goth band or group in your area? (Goth)

I don't know anything about the local goth scene in a musical sense. I'm not even sure classic goth bands still exist here...? Scene and emo are the big things nowadays. I'm not even sure if "scene" is supposed to describe a specific music scene.

There is a huge goth meetup (from meetup.com) in Chicago, though. It's hosted by Scary Lady Sarah, who, from my perspective, has made quite a name for herself in the area and appears to be rather popular. She's also a DJ and runs a monthly event called Nocturna.

I'd like to join the meetup group, but they have pretty strict entrance rules, so I've been chicken and procrastinated...also, I think I'm still scarred from having to take an hour-long train ride down to Chicago almost every day for several years, and subconsciously try to avoid the trip as much as possible.

Day 5 – 10 items from your wishlist. (Lolita)

Hmm...this is either going to go very well, since I want to change my Lolita style, or very poorly, since I don't identify with it and don't give a crap as much.

1. A basic, black skirt. There is a specific one I want that was made by Meta years ago, but I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to track it down. The border has an eyelet pattern going around it so that it's not just a solid black skirt.

2. A brown or cream Classic blouse.

Yeah...so...how about some items from my universal wishlist?

3. A VW armor ring.

4. A black, full-length mermaid skirt with ruffles in the back or on the sides.

5. A simple, semi-formal dress, preferably black, that I wouldn't be embarrassed to wear to a party. (Wearing "normal" clothes makes me feel embarrassed.) The dress I once wanted from Xylem Clothing doesn't exist anymore (I figured that would happen). It had sort of a sweet look to it.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. I don't really keep long wishlists. I just look for stuff I like while I'm shopping and actually planning on spending the money.

Day 4 Challenges

kittyhot — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 02:16:58 GMT

Day 4 – Name a stereotype or cliche you can relate to. (Goth)

The fact that pretty much every female goth I like (mostly musicians) has red hair?

I was originally just going to post a bunch of their photos and let you guess what the cliche was, but I'm only here waiting on a Starcraft II update that is halfway done.

I admit I haven't been keeping up with my 'do, but...I have my reasons. It is a legitimate reason this time, not laziness or apathy.

Day 4 – 10 different kinds of food you like. (Lolita)

1. Gyros
2. Chicago-style hot dogs
3. Soggy Italian beef sandwiches (also Chicago style I guess?)
4. Burgers
5. Curry rice
6. Sushi
7. Shrimp Tempura
8. French fries
9. Strawberries
10. Lou Malnati's spinach pizza (sorry, I was at a major loss and this was my dinner tonight)

So except for strawberries, I pretty much fail as a Lolita. On the plus side, I bet you'll never guess where I live!

Aaaannnd Starcraft II (I almost typed "Strawcraft") has scared the living daylights out of me in order to let me know it is finished updating.

Until next time...

Day 3 Goth/Loli

kittyhot — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 19:37:36 GMT

I'm going to chicken out an not post any bad photos after all. Sorry to disappoint :D

Day 3 – When did you come out the Goth closet? (If you didn't then simply discuss the topic)
Closets and I are weird. I don't really have any closets, but I'm not that open about my differences either. I just don't deny them if they happen to pop up.

I've tried to keep things about myself secret, but that tends to backfire pretty hardcore. It ends up being something I'm ashamed of. When people talk about "such-and-such Pride!" they're not trying to shove it in your face, or sound superior, or whatever it is people think about Pride movements. They are choosing to be open about themselves, which promotes pride and a sense of self-acceptance, rather than carefully hide themselves, which promotes shame and fear of judgment from others.

I've only recently started to get into goth, and I think I'm too old to go over-the-top on a daily basis anyway, so I don't know if anybody has really noticed. My friends know what kind of things I like and what I'm into at any given moment, and I think my family just thinks I'm strange.

Day 3 – 10 things you hate in lolita.

1. People who don't dress Lolita going around and telling others what Lolita is all about, and worse, criticizing others' Lolita outfits. I don't care what your reasoning is for not dressing up or how many years you've "studied" Lolita, you don't get to tell somebody how to be "more Lolita" without ever having experienced the art of coordinating your own outfit. It's different if they ask for your opinion and you offer it humbly.

2. Cliquism. I am sad to say I was guilty of this once. You don't know how heavily the Lolita community relies on cliques until you aren't in them anymore. You can be a kind and accepting person, and still be part of a clique. Tell me you aren't just a little wary of people who you don't recognize, but who try to pass themselves off as knowledgeable Lolitas?

3. Certain Sweet Lolita aesthetics that were inspired by Angelic Pretty...the OTT, super-saturated colors with prints and accessories made with sweets. I don't care if you like it and want to wear it, it just makes me a little ill.

4. People who wear Lolita that isn't suited to their body type or personality. Just because you put the perfect outfit together doesn't mean it looks good on you...

5. The fact that my favorite brands have never offered overseas shipping! UGHGHGH.

6. When people say that Lolita is ONLY a fashion. If it were only fashion, people would not identify as "Lolita", and we wouldn't ask people what Lolita means to them. Maybe the people who say this are just trying to counter the people who ask whether their toothbrush is Lolita enough. I still don't think it's good to speak in extremes like that.

7. The absence of Aristocrat and male styles in the modern-day community... A long time ago, I felt like all of the styles were fairly well-represented, with a dominance of Lolita styles. Nowadays, there are very few people who not only dress in these styles, but wear them well. Even though Lolitas have always accepted me as an Aristocrat as part of their community, it's still intimidating to be the only person who is different. A freak among freaks, if you will.

8. I don't know if this still happens, but I really dislike the way males used to be treated in the Lolita community. Lolitas used to ask their boyfriends to dress up in some kind of Dandy or pseudo-Ouji style while they wore Lolita, and essentially treated them as accessories...that was the actual phrase used at the time. On top of that, at several meetups, some mildly sexist comments were made, like "You have to hold the door for the ladies!" or "Don't worry, the men can do the dirty work!" "The men will protect us!" etc. I felt like "the men" didn't appreciate the comments.

I've run out of things to hate, so here are a few more things I LOVE about Lolita :D

1. I love it when somebody not only takes the time to coordinate a cute outfit, but also practices how to act and speak while dressed that way. I think it takes a lot of dedication and skill...and I know it's not easy, because I suck at acting.

I know you don't have to do this to be a Lolita, and some people are even offended by it, but I think it's the sweetest thing ever! It's such a pleasure to meet such a person as long as they seem genuinely kind. Please, if you enjoy doing this, don't ever let someone tell you to stop.

2. I love hearing about how Lolita gives individuals a sense of confidence and wholeness. I think it's such a beautiful phenomenon, and it makes me happy to know that something I love allows people to find themselves and live a confident life. These are the people who make Lolita wonderful and fun for everyone else.

Day 2 Goth/Loli Challenges

kittyhot — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:02:01 GMT

Day 2 – Share photos and experiences from your Baby Bat days.
lol! I don't think I have Baby Bat days, do I? I explained last time that I only had a mild interest in goth as a youngster, so I never really got dressed up.

On top of that, I have some kind of curse that makes nobody want to take photos of me AND/OR makes all of the people who took my photo forget to give them to me. Recently I've been asking my husband to take photos of all my outfits, but of course I forgot to ask him to take my photo the first time we went to Darkwave Night last month.

Well, I CAN share some of my experiences. Like when I was in middle school, how I was dying to, er, dye my bangs neon green. Should I be grateful I never actually did this? I mean it's not like I had the clothes to match...lol.

And what happened, how did my hair preference go from neon green to blood red?

Also, during my Visual kei days, me and two others dressed up like VKers (not quite goth, but close enough). My friend was Kyo, I was Gackt, and I forget who the other person dressed as. We wore these really OTT gothy-Visual outfits and makeup, and the other two even put on whiteface. I didn't because, ahem, Gackt did not wear whiteface when he was in Malice Mizer.

So we went to the mall to show off our fashion sense >_> Many odd comments and stares followed. Visiting Hot Topic was a riot. I was really pissed off that the clerks there didn't "get" that no-whiteface was supposed to be my gimmick; they just thought I was afraid to wear it, and when one girl gave me a really patronizing "Aw, that's ok!" another grouchy girl said "No, it's really not."

LOL MEMORIES

OOH OOH WAIT...I do have a few photos from my bad newbie gosurori days, does that count? I'll make a new post and call it Day 2 Part 2.

Day 2 – 10 things you love in lolita.

1. I was born to be a tea fiend. Lolita allows me to express my love of tea through tea parties! Who else do you know besides Lolitas who have tea parties? Besides Republicans I mean...those don't count.

2. Gothic Lolita mixes my two favorite aesthetics, dark and cute. I knew I'd found home when I discovered Gothic Lolita.

3. Lolita allows me to express a type of femininity that differs from both the mainstream, and from the type of woman that certain kinds of feminists seem to want me to be. It allows me to be with other women whom I can relate to.

4. Ouji allows me to express a kind of quasi-masculinity and has opened me up to appreciate the world of men's fashion and Dandyism.

5. It embraces a type of modesty that blends well with my personal style. I used to wear pants or shorts underneath my skirts, so hello bloomers! It's not so much the modesty as much as my opinion that flashing your underwear or certain body parts to everyone by accident is really tacky. It's different if it's intentional and part of the fashion statement, but I don't dress that way.

6. Most real-life Lolitas I've met are very open-minded people from all walks of life who accept alternative lifestyles from others. It's true that there are some rigid, dogmatic people, and some snobs and drama-mongers, but most of the people who love Lolita to death and wear it as often as possible are very easy-going and accepting of others. I'm happy to be part of a community like that!

7. It's so versatile. Once you've mastered the rules, you can bend them slightly to create new and unique forms of Lolita! I've seen people do Hobo Loli, Communist Loli, and all sorts of interesting themes. It might not seem this way to newer people, who probably hear left and right about following the rules and fitting into substyles, but you can totally personalize Lolita into your own unique style with some effort and creativity.

8. Coordinating an outfit is a pleasant challenge. Well, it's pleasant when I have all the parts I want...it's much easier for me to create an Aristocrat outfit than a Lolita one because I've invested much more time and money in the former and not the latter. Even when I don't own everything I want, though, it's fun to go window shopping via the internet and put outfits together in my head!

9. The people who manage to follow through with Lolita over the course of time aren't easily hurt or upset. I admire that. I think it's because you have to put up with so much drama from the more insecure Lolitas, and you get used to that as well as the rude comments people give you about your fashion sense. I've watched some pretty epic drama break out in other communities over relatively petty circumstances that would never have fazed Lolitas.

10. I've tried to give up Lolita for good many times, but always come back. There is just something about it that speaks to the deepest part of my soul, as though it's my home and I belong here no matter what changes and no matter what drama ensues.

Goth and Lolita Blog Challenges / Day 1

kittyhot — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:14:08 GMT

The Goth Challenge by Juliets Lace...

Day 1 – How did you come across the subculture?
Day 2 – Share photos and experiences from your Baby Bat days.
Day 3 – When did you come out the Goth closet? (If you didn't then simply discuss the topic)
Day 4 – Name a stereotype or cliche you can relate to.
Day 5 – Is there a local Goth band or group in your area?
Day 6 – Hand write your favourite lyric and take a picture.
Day 7 – Ten of your favourite goth bands.
Day 8 – What's your worst and best experience with non-Goths?
Day 9 – What genre of music do you dislike?
Day 10 – What do you hate and love about the subculture?
Day 11 – Is Goth a lifestyle for you?
Day 12 – What's your gothic inspiration?
Day 13 – What was your first band t-shirt?
Day 14 – What was your best and worst DIY disaster.
Day 15 – Your favourite or most expensive item in your wardrobe.
Day 16 – What's the most casual you've ever dressed?
Day 17 – Your favourite Goth brand.
Day 18 – Worst hair experience.
Day 19 – Share beauty advise and take a photo of your make up.
Day 20 – If you could dye your hair any colour what would it be?
Day 21 – What body mod do you have or have you considered?
Day 22 – If you could attend any Goth event what would it be?
Day 23 – Your favourite artist or photographer.
Day 24 – Name the best websites for Goths.
Day 25 – Did you ever consider leaving the subculture?
Day 26 – Show a photo for every year (or month if you're new) that you've being into Goth.
Day 27 – The worst thing you ever did to a newbie.
Day 28 – Do you consider yourself an eldergoth?
Day 29 – What do you think will happen to Goth in the future?
Day 30 – Make a list of blogs you regularly read and link to them.

The Lolita Challenge by therandomlolita...

Day 1 – 10 things about your lolita bubble.
Day 2 – 10 things you love in lolita.
Day 3 – 10 things you hate in lolita.
Day 4 – 10 different kinds of food you like.
Day 5 – 10 items from your wishlist.
Day 6 – 10 things you can’t live without in lolita.
Day 7 – 10 people who inspire your lolita style.
Day 8 – 10 songs that inspire you for lolita.
Day 9 – 10 things you will never do in lolita.
Day 10 – What’s in your bag?
Day 11 – One day in your lolita life in pictures.
Day 12 – A picture of yourself before lolita came in to your life.
Day 13 – A picture of your favorite sweets.
Day 14 – A picture of your dream item.
Day 15 – A picture of your last lolita purchase.
Day 16 – Your outfit for the day.
Day 17 – What do you want more then anything right now?
Day 18 – A picture of your favorite lolita style.
Day 19 – What’s in your make-up bag?
Day 20 – A picture of a lolita friend.
Day 21 – Your favorite fictional lolita.
Day 22 – A picture of your room.
Day 23 – A picture of your handwriting.
Day 24 – A picture of you from a meet.
Day 25 – Your favorite lolita themed artwork.
Day 26 – Your Facebook profile picture.
Day 27 – One song that fits your favorite lolita style.
Day 28 – A picture of the perfect lolita location.
Day 29 – A picture of a lolita you would love to meet for real.
Day 30 – A photo of yourself taken today and 3 good things that’s happened over the last 30 days.

I found the Goth Challenge first and since I'm still not fully immersed in goth subculture, I thought it would be very fitting of me to do a Lolita Challenge. I'm glad I found one! Otherwise, I was going to modify the Goth Challenge.

If you know of another 30 day Lolita challenge, that would be cool if you let me know. I think these things are fun.

So I'll go through them side by side, what do you think? Here's day 1...

Day 1 – How did you come across the subculture?
I...don't even remember. For the longest time in my teen and young adult years, people would ask me if I was goth, and so many people asked that I started to assume I was one after all. I didn't realize it was an entire subculture for awhile, though. At first, I just thought it was an identity expressed through fashion. When I started to do internet research and found out it was a subculture, I stopped agreeing with people that I was goth, because I didn't associate with or even know any other goths. I didn't want to identify myself as something that I felt so far removed from and knew so little about.

I also didn't like the music whenever it was that I tried out some old New Wave/trad Goth tracks. Since elitist goths were all going, "It doesn't matter what you wear, it's about liking Goth music," I figured it would be a lie to call myself a goth, even though I admired certain parts of the subculture and enjoyed dark things. This was before I knew about any other types of music associated with the goth scene. I was still listening to Visual kei.

Shortly after all this, I discovered Lolita and fully identified as that. I even stopped hanging out with Jrock fans to be with Lolitas.

Day 1 – 10 things about your lolita bubble.
This is like my own little Lolita world, right? Hmm...can I skip this question? I mean, the whole point of giving up Lolita for over a year was to get me OUT of my Lolita bubble and wake up to real life.

My Lolita always revolved around the local Lolita community. I started out going to every single meetup, but stopped going when the meetups got expensive, and never managed to pick up my same old pace again as the community grew and more meetups were being held. When the meetups started happening less frequently, I was struck by some curse that made shit pop up on days meetups were held, which was frustrating to say the least.

So I guess I don't have 10 things and will just stop talking now. Otherwise I'll ramble on and on. I don't want to live in a Lolita bubble anymore. I want to live in a Roku bubble with a little Lolita on the side.

My Favorite Brand

kittyhot — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 19:45:20 GMT

Today's answer for Loliprompts:

What is your favorite brand, and why? It can be any Gothic & Lolita brand, and it doesn’t have to be Japanese. If possible, please teach us about the origins as well, and include any other trivia you like!

My absolute favorite brand, since about 2005, is Atelier Boz. Let's go over the pronunciation first, because I have too much to say about that. In English, you could roughly pronounce it AH-telly-ay BOWS. "Atelier" is French for "studio," as in a design studio, and Boz was a childhood nickname of Charles Dickens.

Dickens apparently adopted it from the nickname Moses which he had given to his youngest brother Augustus Dickens, after a character in Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. When pronounced by anyone with a headcold, 'Moses' became 'Boses', and was later shortened to Boz.

Thank you Wikipedia

I'm not sure that this is exactly where they got their name, but it seems to go with the theme of Victorian England, doesn't it? Well, in my head, that's where it came from until they tell me otherwise.

In Japanese, it's spelled アトリエボズ or ATORIE BOZU. I guess if you listen to the French pronunciation on Google translate, the middle vowel does sound pretty "uh" or "oh" -like.

Ok, I'm done being a word nerd now! I am satisfied.

I love the Aristocratic Gothic look that Boz tends to create. I love how their flowy garments (such as skirts and dresses) are often heavily layered, asymmetrical, and/or cut in pointed shapes rather than round shapes in order to give it that edgy/spikey look when the fabric drapes down. If I could ever afford it, 90% of my wardrobe would consist of nothing but Boz.

I also extremely appreciate how they have a men's line, and how a lot of their men's clothes are unisex. Dresses for men? Like, masculine and elegant dresses for male bodies? Yes thank you please. My husband also loves Boz, which is fantastic, because it means we can potentially twin one day.

One of my pet peeves is that a lot of people confuse Atelier Boz with Atelier Pierrot. The second label does not exist anywhere on Boz's site, and I don't recall seeing them combined on any other official site, so I am 99% positive that they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. As I mentioned earlier, "atelier" simply means "studio."

Intro to Lolita

kittyhot — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:17:47 GMT

I have no idea if this is going to last, or if it's going to be another one of those short-lived whims I have. So I'm going to try this out for a month or so, ok?

I'm going to start using this journal to fill prompts from Loliprompts, which is maintained by me. The most recent entry is a hiatus announcement, since I gave up for Lolita for (by this time) a little over a year. Whether or not I keep adding prompts depends on how my re-entry into Lolita goes.

So today's prompt, and an ideal first entry, is this:

How would you describe Lolita fashion to a curious person you met in passing, whether online or on the street? Suppose they have little to no knowledge of Japanese culture or any alternative fashions, but are interested in hearing what you have to say.

It's very difficult for me to tell somebody who has no prior knowledge of Japanese fashion what it's like to wear or be a Lolita. It's so unique from any other fashion or subculture, and I hate having to rely on Lolita stereotypes in order to give them a quick feel for the fashion. On occasions, I have suggested that it's sort of like goth or punk in that it's an alternative style with a bit of a subculture surrounding it, but Lolita is very much its own thing separate from either of those two, and I'm worried that people will equate it with a subtype of goth or punk instead. In addition, most people don't even know what "goth" is besides some attention-seeking fashion statement from high school.

Most of the time, I'll say that it's Victorian- or vintage-inspired since those things are currently popular and most people know what they look like, but that's not entirely accurate either, since some types of Lolita take inspiration from earlier time periods.

If somebody stopped me in the street and actually wanted to hear what Lolita was about, in full detail, I would probably have to invite them over for tea because I would not be able to express my thoughts briefly enough.

When I was a Lolita and went to meetups, this scenario (strangers wondering what Lolita was) actually popped up often enough that I feel like I should have a canned response if I want to get back into Lolita again. Oh well. Maybe I'll elaborate at a later date.

kittyhot — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:56:41 GMT

I think I'm going to revive this journal for Lolita usage. Is anyone still reading?

I was almost going to make a new one, and then I remembered I started off my Lolita interest with this one anyway. It's pretty nostalgic. It's been 11 years since I got this...

I'm going to pay for a name change, though, so that people stop making fun of my high school LJ name. Even if I had made a new journal, I would have wanted to change the name to something people will recognize me by.

Notes for Loliday

kittyhot — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 05:07:08 GMT

Severly edited at ...um, 12:10 AM Eastern. Stayed on the comp too long again.

PURPOSE OF THIS DAY:
--To have a special occasion that we can wear nice loli attire for.
--To meet other lolies in our area.
--To educate the masses on our cool fashion (hopefully it won't be bastardized by the mainstream, but whatever happens happens.)

Possible names for this day:
1. International Loliday
2. International Loli-Fashion Day
3. Gosurori no Hi/Rori no Hi [or Hibi? I think that's "days"] (Gothloli Day or Loli Day in Japanese)

We should NOT call it "Lolita Day" because...(because if we call it Lolita Day..."Oh, I'm dressed up for Lolita Day!" "You're dressed up for WHAT Day?????!!!" Heh...)

Old personal notes: it could also be Gothloli Day, or EGL Day (in honor of our wonderful LJ community :P)

AHH! Or we could make some REALLY CUTE nickname for it, like International Lolly Day--Well that sounds retarded, but I like the nickname idea.

Possible dates:
(This will be a biannual event.)
--So far, the majority seems to be rooting for early December and early June (so it's not too hot or too cold) so the first weekend of each is probably best.

--If we decide to do it that^ way, is Sunday or Saturday a better day?

Old personal notes: I think we should have it ...maybe the first (or second) sunday of December and of June? That way they're always at the same time of year, but not necessarily the same date, because that date won't always fall on a Sunday, and I like the idea of having them on Sundays in appreciation of the original lolies in Japan who dress up on Sunday cause that's their free day. Unless sundays are bad. (For Mormons and other Christians and such...)

--A couple of specific dates have been suggested. Should we do specific dates instead? (I kind of like the first idea better, but that's my opinion.)
June 12th, Dec 18th
July 16th (the day I proposed the idea) and the day we post the website. But we are going to do the website soon (I think?) so I'm not sure if that would work out as well?

We have formed a basic Planning Committee:
--The purpose of this committee is to, instead of have ideas randomly fly around with only one person (or NO PERSON) to set them in stone, we have a small group of people to discuss them and choose the ideas that work best, and be in charge of votes (if necessary). This info will then be posted on the website (see below).
Committee:
kittyhot
missmeganmaude (Website)
abbie_chan
jrocker_kei

Loliday website:
Content to be included on the website will be
1. Days of the event (obviously)
2. Purpose of the event
3. Picture gallery (hopefully!--or a link to a photobucket gallery or something) of the event once it happens.
4. Mailing list to inform lolies of new info periodically.
5. Tons of other stuff maybe?? *shrug*

WHAT TO WEAR
You can wear anything you like as long as it falls under the umbrell--er, parasol of lolita and gothloli fashion, or is lolita-inspired. Of course you COULD wear ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING you like, but if you want to represent the fashion of COURSE you have to follow certain guidelines.

As someone pointed out, I think it's nice to have a special day ESPECIALLY for lolies, and all kinds of 'em, not just gothlolies (I guess I tend to lump all lolies with "gothloli" but that's just me!). Not like there are rules EXPLICITLY BANNING you from wearing anything else that day, including other Tokyo-fashion ("You are under arrest on behalf of the Loli Squad for NOT WEARING LOLI GARB TODAY!! >:O!!!") but gothloli is gaining such popularity that I thought it would be nice if we had our own special day outside of Harajuku.