Bunny Bear Contest Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the Bunny Bear Contest, it was so much fun to read through all your name suggestions. It was hard to make a choice as many of the names you thought of were adorable, my readers certainly have great imagination!

After much deliberation I decided to choose the name Teacake! It's cute, European sounding and just plain sweet; everything that our fashion embodies! Congratulations to Alice Princess, you are the winner of a brand new Bunny Bear cell phone strap/keychain. Now you can carry your own Teacake around wherever you go! Please e-mail me so I can mail you your prize!

Thanks again to everyone who entered, please look forward to the next contest!

Blooming in the Light of the Internet

The online EGL community, hosted on Live Journal, is the major hub for lolitas all over the Western hemisphere. The community serves many purposes including loli education, brand announcements, hot issue discussions and connecting lolitas to others in their area. This week, for the first time since 2001, the EGL community is closing.

Despite this closure being only temporary it got me pondering, where would we be without the community? Would the concept of a Western lolita even exist? 

It is true that before the community was up and running there were a few lolitas rocking the frills outside of Japan but hardly enough to constitute a subculture. Through many years of trial and error, coaching and posting, the lolita community became large enough to attract the attention of overseas brands who recognized us and opened new shops around the world.

When I was a new lolita the EGL Community was pretty much the only resource available to me. At that time there were very few lolita blogs (not even the infamous Lolita Charm, now Parfait Doll), so I spent my lolita-in-training days pouring over every post on the site. It was an invaluable resource to me, without it I doubt I would have gotten very far in the fashion at all.

My question to you, dear ruffle-butts and ruffle-butt admirers; did the EGL community serve a significant role in your lolita life? I can't wait to hear your responses!

Dress Up Box: Casual for Class

This was my outfit for school today! It's difficult to see but I was wearing my corset which is surprisingly comfortable! With my two mini petticoats under it my skirt become quite short but I think that it looked rather cute that way (and maybe just a little bit ero). 

It was my first time wearing lolita to my classes this year, I've been apprehensive about it since I changed my major and was unsure of how my teachers would react but I was happy when they inquired about what I was wearing and said that they liked it.

Outfit Rundown:

Corsage: Forever 21

Necklace: Handmade
Top: Alloy

Corset: Bodyline

Skirt: Lolita Princess
Socks: Claires

Shoes: Target

A New Look

Hello everyone! Have you noticed the new layout? Her Curious Elegance has been growing and evolving since the day I started writing, and I felt that it needed a bit of a makeover. Pink is my favorite colour so it was a natural choice for me, I hope that you like it!

For those of you who want to remember the old banner, here it is! It was so kindly made for me by my friend Dalliann, a few years ago, and I will always treasure it!

There will be more  changes to the layout coming soon, so look forward to an updated Her Curious Elegance!

Lolita Style Poll

I recently realized that I've had the same poll on Her Curious Elegance open since 2009! It just recently ended and now there is a new poll for you to vote one, I'll try to switch them out more often in the future.

Here are the results of the last poll. The question was "What is your favorite lolita style?"

My readers answered:

40% Classic

27% Sweet

16% Gothic

5% Aristocrat

5% Kodona

5% Other

I was surprised with the results, I thought there would be an overwhelming majority of sweet lolitas as that seems to be the most popular these days. It's great to see such a variety!

Make sure to enter the Bunny Bear naming contest before it ends, the winner will be chosen soon!

Secretly Tough

Once upon a time there was a lovely girl,

Who dressed in the finest of clothes,

She did not know how to make any friends,

So she stayed in her room sewing bows.

When she did leave her house she was shocked to find,

All her peers called her nasty names,

But she kept her head high, walked quickly and,

Wore her frills the next day just the same.

She often wondered what was wrong with the world,

It was all she could do now to bawl,

Because all of the people she seemed to meet,
Didn't seem like people at all.

One morning she awoke to find the streets still,

Silence was widely spread,

Not a peep could be heard from a living thing,

But oh the noise of the undead!

The town was filled with her neighbors,

Who had once been alive and well,

The girl cried and ran back to her house,

As a zombie clawed her with a yell.

The poor dear was shocked and very scared,

But the time to be meek had passed,

It was now or never, she had to be strong,

At her door all the undead massed.

She ran down the hall and grabbed a box,

That she'd ordered just for fun,

Thank god in her AP lucky pack,

She'd received a pink shotgun.

In her jeweled and ribboned shoes,

She kicked down her front door,

As the zombies clambered in,

She shot them to the floor.

Shot after shot they kept coming,

Blood covered her cute dress,

She yelled "Do you know how much this cost?!",

And added to the mess.

At last all of the undead souls,

Were now at rest and free,

So the lovely, secretly tough girl,

Put on a pot of tea.

Lolita Challenge Day Ten

Here is what is in my lolita bag. It's not terribly exciting, lolita bags are infamous for not having much stuff fit into them. All I usually carry are the essentials; my wallet, sunglasses cell phone and keys (not pictured as they are not cute).

The Princess, The Pauper and the Lucky Pack

 

I'm not sure who the first brand was to come up with the concept of lucky packs but I'm very glad the idea caught on! For those who don't know, lucky packs are a way for lolita brands to clear their unsold seasons inventory. The customer can buy a lucky pack for a fraction of the cost of the items inside, often times a $150 pack contains $500 worth of items! So what's the catch? The company puts a random assortment of clothing into a bag which the customer can't see before they buy, so the buyer is really taking a gamble as they may not like all of the contents.

When buying a lucky pack it's best to choose one from a brand you love, that way there is a good chance that you will like the style of the pieces. Some brands take care that all the items match each other creating a ready to wear coordinate, others just include items at random, however if you have a good solid foundation of lolita basics you should be able to match almost any item you receive. Many of my friends solely buy lucky packs as it's the only way they can afford brand and they all have beautiful wardrobes.

There is no doubt that Innocent Worlds clothing is the epitome of classic lolita. The garments are always well constructed and exquisite in nature making it one of the premier classic brands. I would say that it's hardly a gamble to buy an Innocent World lucky pack as everything inside is almost guaranteed to be of high quality. Their lucky packs have always been known for good value for money, but the recent release has boggled my mind a bit.

The newest released lucky packs are their "Oddment Packs", an assortment of items they could not sell due to slight flaws. Usually these flaws are so small you can hardly notice them as Innocent World won't sell you items that are too damaged. These packs include clothing at five times less than the brand new price so they're definitely a great bargain. When I saw them posted I thought "Fantastic! Now I can finally add some Innocent World to my closet!". Then I looked at the prices and reeled away from my computer. The small lucky packs cost 52,500 Yen which is roughly $672 and the large packs cost 84,000 Yen which converts to a whopping $1089! Though the packs are worth around $3250 and $5200 respectively it's still an intimidating amount to spend on something you aren't sure you'll love.

Maybe oddment packs are a luxury that most people can't afford, but I feel that if I had over a thousand dollars to spend on lolita clothing I would not want to spend it on a random assortment of not quite perfect items. Lucky packs, in my opinion, are supposed to save you money. I feel like I'm missing something essential as to why these packs are so expensive but as far as I can tell buying these lucky packs will make you look like a princess, but on the average college students paycheck you'll end up a pauper.

Her Curious Bulletin Boards

This semester I'm a Resident Assistant at my school. RA's look out for all the residents safety, plan fun events and decorate the halls! I made a video to show my first hall decorations which are decidedly girly. Kaylyn makes a special guest appearance! I hope that you like it.