Lolitas in the Rose Garden

I attended a lolita picnic on Sunday at the Municipal Rose Garden in San Jose.  My sister and I were about an hour late (my shift ended as the picnic was starting) but everyone was still nibbling.  Everyone was asked to bring food to share and there were some delicious treats including petits fours and my favorite cookies, snicker doodles.  \(^o^)/ I didn't post all of my photos, so follow this link for more! ^^

In this photo I'm wearing my new Pony in Sweet Dreams JSK from BTSSB (see my previous posts).

I had to cut Bouncy Brown from the close-up because her eyes were closed. (T_T)  She wore Milky-chan the Fawn from AP.

< photo deleted at Bouncy Brown's request XD >

Bouncy Brown and Katie have matching heart-shaped sunglasses! ♥ It was super bright and we had a hard time keeping our eyes open for the photos.  Katie (right) is wearing a red coordinate from BL.

Katie blends well with roses. ^^

Ashlyn is wearing My Favorite Things from BTSSB.  The red is beautiful!  She coordinated it with her new socks (pink bows at ankle).

My sister Erica (left) is wearing a JSK from BL.  She's holding a cute pink x white parasol I found at a local English tea house.

Pony in Sweet Dreams

My most recent purchase arrived in the mail the other day, the Pony in Sweet Dreams Babydoll JSK in white.  I obtained the set (including head bow and socks) second hand from the EGL Comm Sales.  The prior owner indicated that there is a light stain somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. ^^  This print is a 2009 release from Baby the Stars Shine Bright that came in black, white or pink.

This is a shot with the entire set.  See my earlier post for the AP blouse with the pink jabot.  I thought this JSK would make an excellent casual summer dress that I could wear without a blouse, but the dress is too low under the arms and exposes the top of my bra.  It can be worn without a bra, but it doesn't seem conservative enough for lolita. (T_T)

My little brother isn't so little, 6'5" (O_O), so I had to crop this one so that I fit in the frame.  He makes me feel small... ^^;

I love the look of the dress, though, and it can be worn without a petticoat for a more casual look.  I've already coordinating it with my new pink AP blouse and cardigan, both which are super cute!

Here's the top of the dress.   I really love the lace across the neckline, but I need to iron one side (it keeps folding down from being shipped that way).  There's a detachable bow that I removed because it was too busy with the cardigan.  It's in one of the shots above.

The JSK has pink bows and pink in the print, but there are also blue and purple accents in the print that will be fun to accessorize with.  The fabric seems durable and feels like thin canvas; the lace is also thicker and less prone to wear.

Note the purple nails - I was excited for the dress to arrive and had them already decorated in matching colors when it came.  Overall, this dress is very comfortable and cute without being OTT.  It's something I could use as daily wear.  I think this is my favorite dress yet!

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Shopping Spree!

I was ready to drive up to the San Francisco BTSSB store to reserve the new Treasure Hunt in the Mystic Island aqua Alvida JSK from AATP, but when I got up in the morning the Japanese website had it already listed as sold out (T_T).  One of the girls at the BTSSB store told me that she had the dress in the cart and just barely missed it because it sold out in under 8 minutes!  For me, it has to be this style and color... the striped lace and ribbon makes this dress beautiful!  Since I already had planned to go to the store I decided not to let the trip go to waste!

On my way to the City, I intended to go straight to BTSSB and then go to AP if I had time, but I accidentally took a wrong turn and was headed straight for AP!  Not one to challenge the fates of frilly fortune, I took it as a sign.  Fortunately, when I arrived at BTSSB later on they had just finished unpacking a new shipment!  

In light of my failure to reserve the dress of my dreams, I splurged a little.  I found a cute white blouse with a pink jabot and a cardigan in pink at Angelic Pretty.  I wanted a white blouse with short sleeves, so I chose one with removable sleeves.  Sometimes these sleeves won't fit around my arms (because I'm a rock climber), but this style had elastic around the short sleeves that stretches enough to fit comfortably.  I think the pink jabot is hideous with the blouse, but fortunately it's removable.  I'll probably find that it looks amazing with one of my dresses; the lace on the jabot is actually amazing!    The lace on the blouse and jabot is soft and wide and has various designs with stars!  In my opinion, lace can make an item worth the cost.  I paid an extra $50 to get this blouse over another because the lace had better designs in it.

The Sugar Fairy Cake Knit Cardigan was super cute and came in lots of colors.  I chose light pink, which comes with a mint and dark pink cupcake on the bottom.  The other theme of this cardigan is butterflies!  There is a gold embroidered butterfly with "AP" on the chest and the buttons are shaped like butterflies.  ^^  The buttons are difficult to button and undo, but it might stretch a little as I continue to use it.

I also purchased a set of white and pink lacy wrist cuffs and a pink bow ring.  Again, the wrist cuffs have a cupcake pattern (my favorite <3).  

Afterwards, I went over to BTSSB where I purchased my first Usakumya purse! I always thought the neon dark pink eyes were creepy, but when I tried it on in the store, I realized that the eyes matched the lollipops in the Angelic Pretty Miracle Candy skirt I was wearing. ^^ I instantly fell in love and Usaku-chan and myself continued to peruse the store together.

I was surprised to find that the bunny head is a hood and it peels back to reveal a bear underneath!  The zipper for the pouch is across the top of the bear's head (creepiness continues) and the entire body can be filled with personals.  The neck is a little tight, so my big wallet doesn't fit into the Usakumya purse.

Finally I got a parasol.  I was more concerned about the waterproof capabilities than the UV protection, but the employee assured me that the parasol was just as good as an umbrella.  She told me that the print won't run, but the company logo (in gold) will come off and run if you store the umbrella wet.  Just a little warning...

The pink with polka dots is simple enough while the frills give it a decadent look.  Perfect contribution to my wardrobe! 

Cherish My Juicy Cherry Socks

I just received a pair of Cherish My Juicy Cherry socks from Baby the Stars Shine Bright.  This was my first time reserving an item through the San Francisco store and it was an excellent experience! d=(*^_^*)=b  I put the socks on reserve as soon as they were available and they arrived in the SF store last Thursday, about 28 days after I reserved and paid for them.  Once they arrived, the store emailed me and gave me the option to pick them up at the store.  I was traveling this weekend so I paid an additional $9 to have them shipped to my house.

The socks are white with big dark red cherries and dark pink flowers and bows down the outer and inner leg.  I was surprised to find pale pink flowers in the pattern because they didn't show up well on the photo from BTSSB.

I intended for these socks to match with a cherry patterned skirt from In the Starlight, but the colors are a little different.  The skirt has bright red cherries and the socks have dark red cherries.  The pink accents also clash a little.  (T_T)  I really like the socks, but I am still trying to decide if I will wear them  with the skirt or not...

KERA May 2012

The May issue of KERA was released!  This issue has a spread featuring Mayu Watanabe, from the idol group AKB48, wearing Dolly-kei.

This is the season for fruit in the lolita world.  Angelic Pretty, Innocent World and Baby the Stars Shine Bright all released fruit-themed dresses this month.  Angelic Pretty's Strawberry Parlour gets my vote for cutest pattern, with ice cream-filled waffle cones and dessert glasses around the bottom of the skirt.  Small strawberries, cherries, and bows are scattered across the print.

Innocent World has a spread showcasing its new Strawberry Gingham JSK and skirts.  Overall, I like the look of this dress the best.  The gingham pattern really ties the dress together.  The pink gingham and the red strawberries compliment each other and make me feel that pink and red definitely go together.  The balance of the entire piece is good and I like that the strawberries are big and identifiable from a distance.

BTSSB's Cherish My Juicy Cherry promo was republished from the previous issue.  Part of me really likes this dress and part of me doesn't.  The cherries around the bottom are too large and draw attention away from the rest of the dress.  This is aesthetically disturbing because, in my opinion, the pink and red clash.  Maybe I'm the only one that thinks that these two colors shouldn't be used together.  Admittedly, IW's Gingham Strawberry pattern "does it right".

The new Poison de Lamour dress from Alice and the Pirates is beautiful.  This dress has a Romeo and Juliet theme and the style of the dress matches the print perfectly!  Overall a romantic ensemble!

Visit here for more scans from this issue of Kera! ^^