Seven Reasons to Wear Lolita

My name is Emily and I wear Lolita Fashion.

If like me you have found Lolita fashion you will know that it isn't just a fashion but  lifestyle choice and for those of you still searching for your fashion and style choice here are a few reasons why Lolita is a brilliant one.

1        The Look - the roots are in historical fashion so the outfits have 'pouf', lace, ruffles and plenty of embellishments.  You can describe the fashion as cute or kawaii however it can also be elegant but it is always feminine and modest.

2      Hair Accessories - every style of Lolita Fashion requires adornment of the  hair often with more than one accessory.  Even before I started wearing Lolita fashion I always wore something in my hair, I feel undressed whatever the occasion with nothing in my hair.

3      Confidence - dressing in a style you love whether it is every day or for special occasions is empowering.  Feeling good makes you confident and helps on those days when the outside world seems to be a scary place.  I have always found talking with new people difficult however when I am dressed up I gain a confidence that I haven't had before and am able to go out and meet new people and work and talk at exhibitions.

4     Those Bags - every girl loves a hand bag and there is no exception in Lolita just more choice.  Who doesnt like a bag shaped like a cookie, a doughnut or maybe a more classic bag in an imprinted leather or a dark gothic bat shaped bag, there is a huge range to suit everyone.

                    

5     Variety  -  the fashion isn't limited to one colour or one style and although the silhouette is vital any theme can be incorporated into your coordinate.  The three main styles are sweet, classic and gothic but all of these can crossover e.g  classic/sweet, gothic/classic etc and there are other subgenera such as sailor, hime, punk and many, many more.  I like to mix my styles whereas others stick to just one style, again it is whatever makes you happy.

6    Creativity - it is a wonderful creative and exciting fashion and often it feels like you are making your own art in what you wear.  I am looking forward as well to designing more of my own border prints.

                                               

7   Finally the Puffy Skirts - not all the styles have puffy skirts but I love them, they suit  my shape and I have always had a love for big skirts from the 1950's, Victorian etc.  I love the contrast between a fitted bodice and the larger skirts.  It is fantastic to wear a fashion which takes its inspiration from the past but moves forward and experiments.

The above are some of my reasons for loving the fashion, I would love to know your opinions please leave your comments in the box below. 

AnimangaPop

Our first event of the year was AniMangaPop which is a small yet very succesful show hosted in Plymouth.  The venue was The Holiday Inn right on The Hoe.  

The organisers are 'Fantasy Events' who have teamed up with the 'Keep It Secret Group'.  Fantasy Events have over 20 years of experience in putting on shows and we found their organisation excellent and the show ran like clockwork. Keep It Secret started seven years ago and have their own Kawaii boutique stores in the South West. 

Due to the time of year we decided to travel down on the Friday in case of bad weather and it was a real treat to be able to set up the day before.

The photo above shows the stand nearly set up, we just needed to tweak it the next morning. Over the last few years we have been working on our display as it is difficult to have easy to carry display shelves which are attractive however  we are very pleased with the fold up shelves we have customised that you can see below. 

We also have a couple of perspex shelves which are great as they add height without distracting from the hats.

For our last two shows we have put our items together in colour families as we have found that this works better than displayed in types. What you can not see from these photos is our clothes rail and mannequin which we take to events.

It was great to start the day with a lovely breakfast and not to be eating breakfast nearer lunchtime which is what usually happens. 

This was a feast but lunch was just half a sandwich!!

It is always difficult to decide what to wear to a show but this time Emily chose 'Discovery of the Ocean Rose' OP in black, one of her favourite dresses, worn with 4 different hair accessories (a girl can never have too much in her hair), one of which you can just see is our tiny baby fawn horns which come in a multitude of colours.  These are sparkly green decorated with bows but a lot of them have crystals and pearls.  She wanted to wear the larger horns but they didn't quite go with her coord but at our next event she will be wearing  her new print which is an enchanted forest and the larger horns will be perfect.

The show opened at 9.30 for the VIPs and 10 for everyone else.  The show was really well organised with lots of performers as well as time for shopping. Scarlett Young who was voted UK Kawaii Star at Hyper Japan and appears on Japanese television was the first performer and also singing was Kelsey Ellison, a You Tube sensation.

There was also Momoiro Otome Ensemble (MOE), maid cafe performers and a great Kendo, Way of the Sword, performance, a Japanese Martial Art.

  

What is great about comic cons is the cosplayers, so many people put such a lot of effort and love into their costumes and it makes for a colourful and happy day.

These are just a few cosplayers which we managed to photograph.

There is also always a wide variety of different vendors such as artists, jewellery designers, cute things, bags, sometimes wigs but always the favourite the plushie store.  Below are the items Emily bought this time.

The Pocky came from Keep it Secret,  www.facebook.com/keepitsecret, the art from Anita Yip www.porukachii.deviantart.com and a suprise My Little Pony box from a collectibles stall local to Plymouth and inside was the character Discord.

We had a great day and look forward to the next one.

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Welcome to our new blog \('-')/, we have a very exciting year ahead of us,  visiting different places and events and would like to share it with you.   

Shinkurose as you may know is a UK based Indie Fashion House specialising in elegant and cute fashions.  We are very small comprising of Emily Braz, designer, maker, milliner and much more and Debbie Kendall, maker, milliner and general help.  

We will be sharing the different events we attend, advising on style trends, introducing our new fabric prints, dresses and accessories and anything else you would like us to explore.

Our first proper blog post will be on our first comic con of the year, AnimangaPop in Plymouth.