New Dress Commentary

New BBTSSB dresses in online-store!
Stands for Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, a japanese lolita brand. They have a store in San Francisco that I really want to go to and browse in.

Its very cute and classic, even though I'm not a Shiro lolita, or a sweet lolita. I might have said before that I'm a classic lolita. It looks like a toned down sweet lolita dress. They also have off white, pink, navy, black and white, and pure black.

http://www.babyssb.co.jp/shopping/baby/jumper/136206.html


Yes, its a nice dress, but the reason I posted about this is that the sizing is reasonable! This dress could be a lower sized plus size dress, as the size is:

Length：90cm(35.43inch)
Bust：85～104cm(33.46～40.94inch)
Waist：81～100cm(31.88～39.37inch）

The dress looks a little short. Its wider around than it is long. I have a problem with that. I wish lolita brands in general would have more "long" or "tall" sizes. Over 40" in length, because not everyone is 5' even. So 36 inches is 1 yard, which is 3 feet. So 2 feet (24 inches) of you isn't being covered if you're 5'. That might be ok, might come up to your knees or slightly above. If you're 5'8", for example, you're 68". 68 - 35 = 32". Almost 3 feet of you isn't being covered. That means mid thigh is uncovered.

Love Ring Present Box
http://www.babyssb.co.jp/shopping/baby/jumper/135263.html
Ugh, the name is a little rough. =.= I dislike how lolita clothes and other items have Japanese-english names that don't quite make sense in translation. It feels tacky, it sounds tacky and broken english-japanese-ish. Kinda like they're trying to be  'kawaii-otaku'. ITAIII! T_T

The sizing here isn't exactly plus size.
Length：92cm(36.22inch)
Bust：88～99cm(34.64～38.97inch)
Waist：68～80cm(26.77～31.49inch)

People wonder why others make replicas of dresses. Much of the world isn't one size fits all. The dresses and clothing that comes in stores is. Incidently, you cannot copyright an idea in US copyright law. http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/unprotected.html . The US government holds that a piece of clothing cannot be copyrighted. If a design is copyrighted, because it has a specific use, the article of clothing can be modified significantly to create a different article of clothing. The popular myth amongst lolitas that one can copyright a dress is preposterous.
If dresses were copyrighted, there wouldn't be derivatives of the wrap dress. Or, designers would be paying royalties to the original wrap dress creator.

I don't know Japanese copyright law. I might look into it.

Another question is does a dress from a brand have a specific utility? Utility as in the difference between a generic shoe and those shoes where each of your toes is hugged, and supposedly you're able to run better.

I have lots of ideas about lolita fashion. I need to organize my thoughts about it into a researched discourse.
For one, I would expand the sizing.
I believe also that there are many different patterns and styles that can be experimented with.
I want to see more patterns being created and given out, and in multiple sizes. I think that companies won't do that, because they know that they are in a cultural niche, and they want to control the style and flow of money in the community.
There is a great deal of lolita dependence on brand clothing.

I feel like I want to write a book about this, nonfiction. That would require research, however.

Designing Designs, and alternatives to buying brand

I think my friends are somewhat tired of me talkinga bout how sorrowful I am over not having access to my lolita stuff. Last night, I caught myself looking at bodyline dresses and considering prices and fits.
x_x  I know that most bodyline dresses can't fit me. But (some) are so pretty! And not all are sugary sweet hyper sweet lolita!

To be honest, some of those angelic pretty prints and the knockoffs from bodyline look like they'd give you diabetes if you look at them too long. I like Bbtssb more than angelic pretty because at times they tone down their prints. They also have slightly larger sizing. =.=

I am on an ongoing adventure to find clothes for the plus sized lolita. Unfortunately, one of the only ways a plus lolita can dress in lolita is altering a dress, getting a custom commission, going to a brand shop like F+F and getting custom sized, or making your own.

• The first option, altering a dress, is very tricky. One must find cloth that is exactly the same. You might have to decimate a bow that came with the dress, or apply a neutral color. The most common sizing fix is to add panels of space underneath the arms. That is often where the seams, zippers or buttons are. 
• The next idea is to let the skirt and bodice out. If there is shirring or gathering at the bodice or skirt, one could take a seam ripper and let some of the gathers out, and resew them.
• If one follows these ideas, the bottom of skirt width may not be enough. Therefore, another way to add width would be to add panels.
• If one is tall, adding ruffles of a plain color or a nice quality lace is ideal to add a few inches to the hem. I did this with my Bodyline dress, which was four inches too short.

Most of these ideas involve knowing at least basic sewing. I grew up being a crafty person. I played with my sewing kit when I was in daycare. (I was somewhat of a nuisance, I admit, because I left needles around... x_X) But I essentially taught myself. Back stitching, running stitch, basting, and overcast hand stitching are basic. However, if you need aid in this, there are plenty of tutorials on Youtube. My mummah taught me the basics of knitting and crocheting, and I learned the rest on Youtube.

Custom commissions are slightly more tricky. If you don't feel like learning to sew, or are just awful at it, good news! You can simply transfer the work to someone else! There are listings on the major EGL communities for seamstresses all over.  [I will list some here.]
Generally, you can get feedback from these seamstresses from their shop pages, whether it be etsy, artfire, eBay, or livejournal.

There are cheap lolita clothing shops all around the internet. The problem is, you have to make sure the dress or accessory isn't ita. Ita means painful in Japanese, and basically, its a dress that's tacky, horrible, ugly, or cheap looking. Lolitas strive to be as far from Ita as possible. It takes some skill to not be ita, and every lolita goes through an ita period. Cheap dresses tend to be ita, so check with an online lolita community to get feedback before you purchase an ugly dress or skirt. Some brand clothes have been ita offenders, so also check this out.
Some different  low cost japanese, chinese, or korean stores:
Taobao
Fan+Friend
Bodyline
QutieLand

These sites all offer custom sizes, all the way up to around US size 20 or 22. They also offer men sizes, which mean skirts and torsos are longer.

Making your own dress:
Slightly more hard. There are lolita sewing circles and knitting circles you could join.
I will list more about this later, though.

I'm thinking of making this blouse: http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/andrea-blouse. I only have cotton broadcloth with me, so I will have to double it up. Most free burdastyle patterns don't have instructions. However, basically just stitching the seams and hemming, using fraystop and lining helps. Every handsewn project will be different, and is a step to learning how to become a good seamstress. Everyone makes mistakes, it just takes practice.

http://www.burdastyle.com/search?key=lolita+skirt#

When I have time, I hope to make a small guide on handsewing lolita clothing.

I have plenty of lolita clothing designs. I would love to make my own line of plus sized lolita clothing, sizes 10 to 22, or at least lolita patterns. The problem is, I'm a game artist now. I feel like I have to devote all my time to achieving this goal. I love both, but I don't know which I love more: crafting lolita items or drawing for video games. I don't like choosing... I guess this subject is for another time.


Stay frilly y'all.




-MNR

Drafting Patterns

I tend to draft my own patterns because I can never find ones I want, or ones that fit me. This goes for mostly sewing and knitting. With crochet, I'm still pretty inexperienced.

Not to say that I'm amazing in either of the three. My mother taught me the basics of sewing when I was little, and I had a sewing kit and fooled around making little purses and dolls. Then I stopped for several years. And when I was in my late teens and early 20s, (which I am now, being 20,) I have picked it up again, and have started patterns.

From my last post, I discovered that I found lolita when I was 13 or 14, but only liked drawing it. I feel now that I may like sewing it then drawing it. But I still love designing lolita themes and dresses.

With knitting it was the same way. I learned from my mother. I must have gotten bored with only knitting scarves, and how long it took, because I put them away until a couple of years ago as well. I then learned from youtube how to knit, purl, increase, decrease, knit socks, knit in the round, seam, and other fancy terms, that would allow me make actual garments. Now I have a ravelry account, and am working on designing my own patterns.

I find it funny that my mother wants me to teach her how to knit and crochet. Especially since SHE'S THE ONE WHO TAUGHT ME. I didn't know that's something you could forget. There are no hard feelings, it's just that that is somewhat strange/funny.

I've only recently started drafting my own knit and sewing patterns. Most of what I know I know from online searches and Youtube. Unfortunately I don't go to the library enough. The problem is, for most of the hours I am out of class, the public library is closed. It's such a shame.

I've learned to draft my own lolita patterns. I usually look at actual dresses, see what shapes the pieces are constructed in, draw them onto paper, and take my measurements. I also got a very rudimentary pattern for a jsk from egl on Livejournal. I just need to learn tailoring, which I've been getting much better at, being large-breasted. Bust darts are your friends, boys and girls. Burdastyle has helped me learn tailoring.


I'm working on a new steampunk corset styled tank top with ruffles. When I can, I will put up my preliminary picture and pattern. It will be my bust size range, with is 44-48. Right now, or soon, I have to finish up a paper and send it to my professor...
It will be knit in caron simply soft and is designed to be worn with a lolita skirt. I think lolita clothes should have more of a DIY aspect, and knitting and sewing your own outfits is moving into an untapped market.

I have some dreams about this.
I've always wanted to create a line of lolita clothing for American sized women and men. Making a line of lolita knitting patterns may be a great way to start. Victorians knit and did other crafting quite a bit. What can be more lolita than crafting your own clothing and accessories?

Themes I'm interested in: Aristocrat, regency, rococo, romantic era, medieval, ethnic, industrial, steampunk, pirate, sailor, fantasy, and to some small extent, visual kei.


How I learned:
Knitting:

Crocheting:

Sewing lolita:


-MNR

Thing Related Depression.

I fell into a depression that has lasted about a week, is why I haven't blogged much or done much.
It is caused by a variety of things. It started when I got my dresses from bodyline. It was exacerbated by difficulties with friends lately. I can never say when a depression ends. I don't want to jinx it.

Due to some unfortunate events in my life, not too horrible, but bad enough, years ago I acquired clinical depression, stress and anxiety disorders. I don't know, but I mihgt also randomly be hallucinating.

A lot of what I have to be depressed about lately is my appearance. I'm definitely not the standard american, or what the media wants the standard american to look like, or what guys at my school want the standard girl to look like.  I wish I was but oh well. No matter how much I diet, or starve myself, or liposuck, I will never be a size 2. And that should be ok.


What does the stereotypical lolita look like? Almost across the board: long blonde hair, baby blue eyes, pale complexion with rosy cheeks, looking about 16-18 years of age, skinny and of a "perfect" height and weight.
Sometimes, it will be a brunette female, with the same features.
Even lolita designers, stars, and lolita laypersons show their ideal image of the lolita as being such. (I've read GL bibles, watched videos, read japanese designer's descriptions, seen drawings on brand sites, seen the kind of models used, and see what japanese women do to their faces, hair and skin to make them look more European/white.)

Do you ever see anything different? Do you ever see clothing modeled by a tall lolita, or a black lolita, or a larger lolita, or a hispanic lolita, or a slightly older lolita (like 28 or something)? It annoys me and torments me. This is because the designers are making clothes for the smaller people. It's not one's fault for being skinny or tall. It may be one's fault for being overweight. But it's also not one's fault for being different.

It is not going to change the fact that I am a lolita. It's just that... oftentimes I don't feel part of the culture. Many times, I want to escape from the culture, or I need a break.

Dress#1, too short.

Dress#2, chest didn't fit.

I thought Bodyline was different. That they catered to a wider variety of lolitas. The dresses I purchased said that they fit busts between 34in and 44in. In the US, this means that the article of clothing fits these sizes comfortably. Or that's how I read it. What it actually meant was that the maximum possible stretch was 44in. Also, the dress comes up 4 inches above my knee. The other dress, I was able to fit one breast into. ONE. I'm so frustrated. Some of it is poor choice on my part. Nevertheless I felt (feel) like an ugly giantess, or like the ugly duckling, because I see other lolitas wearing them and looking so cute. Usually me feeling ugly is associated with me being alone and unloved, not being pretty to other people, and not fitting in in social situations.

I'm going to alter the dresses. The second one will need a LOT of work in the chest, and will need a new underskirt.

The shoes I purchased, if anything, were a little big. I was amazed. So there are these 4' 11 japanese lolita running around with size 10 feet? I expected the shoes to be the same proportion. But I saw shoes there that were too big for me! I"m a little dumbfounded.

I know I need to lose weight, I've been told by everyone, I've been looked down on, criticized, harassed, yelled at, teased, ignored, excluded, overlooked, etc, one of the reasons being for my weight. I don't need to be reminded everywhere I turn by the media too. One of the reasons I can't stand the media. Portray unrealistic images of women. Being plus sized and pretty CAN occur at the same time. Being plus sized and healthy CAN occur at the same time. I've eaten all sorts of salads and vegetables, drinking water, for the past two weeks. (Been drinking water for longer, exercising for longer) Cutting back on meats, portion sizes, doing light exercise when I have time. And then in front of me in the dining hall there are these skinnier girls (typical model size) that are eating several plates of food, among them pizza, fries and burgers. Is it fair to call me unhealthy because of the way I look? Is it fair to call me ugly because I have extra lbs? My metabolism is extremely slow, and I try when I can. A lot of plus sized lolitas do. And then there are skinnier lolitas that eat whatever they want, sit around all day and fit into the smallest brand sizes. Are they healthy because they look slim?

No one is saying that fat is healthy. No one is saying that skinny is healthy. What is correct is to say that healthy is healthy. Whether that is small or large.

You hear the ugly things people say on Lolita secrets and some forums. Downright unladylike and bitchy and inhumane things. These are the sort of things that become rumors and become 'true' in the social spheres, even if they aren't. Like all people that can't fit into brand being fat and ugly, and needing to get out of lolita. Or that men can't dress in lolita, or that lesbians can't be lolita, or that you're too old for lolita (when in fact 30 years old is still young.)
Those people can be ignored. But when people start believing them and imitating them.... it's just horrible. ( One of the comments about 'fat girls' was that they stretch out brand clothes and therefore are bad people. If you're stretching out brand clothing, that means that you're a pretty small American woman, I've realized. How can you call a size 8 american fat??? But it's no-one's business what you do to your clothes.)

I'm depressed because this is the norm, and I am very alone in my geographic location. It seems like many of the males at my school are looking for females of a lighter complexion, straighter, longer hair, shorter, and less heavy. I am what I am.

I'm 5'8". I didn't know I was tall for an american female or world wide female until I looked it up on wikipedia.

I just think.... everyone of any size deserves to feel pretty and be pretty.  Since smaller sizes are catered to all the time, and at especially low prices (places like bodyline and f+f), I think that it's time that larger sizes are catered to.

If I had time, I would create my own lolita fashion line for plus sized females (and maybe regular sized males), maybe from sizes 14 to 24. I would make dresses and skirts for ladies with large breasts and posteriors, women between 5' 5" and 6' or maybe apple shaped individuals. I design tons and tons of clothes already. It's just that... my first priority is getting my degree and entering into the game design field. There were larger victorian women, with large breasts and bottoms. (They had intense corsets, so no large stomachs.) They didn't just go naked. :/ Brands make victorian inspired clothing. So why no clothes for larger females?

I had to get this off my chest. There is no one to say these things, so the converse of each of these statements is considered true. It is not the japanese brands' faults for making clothes for small japanese women. It will be their fault if they don't start realizing that people outside of japan like that fashion, have money, and want to purchase their clothes.

I would love to start exclusively sewing my own lolita clothes, especially since brand clothes will never cater to females with 46DD/E breasts. However, I do not have a sewing machine, so handsewing takes months. And that is when I don't have projects. I can draft my own patterns to proficiency. Drafting and tailoring for other people, however, is a monumental feat.


I am trying to drag myself out of this depression. It is a hard thing to do alone, or even with a therapist and meds.
Sorry for the depressing post. Again, getting things off of my chest. Hopefully I'm in a mood to dress lolita again. I really try....

-MNR