NYC Adventures

Last week, I found myself perusing the stores of NYC's Garment District with my friend Jessi. We were on a mission looking for silk and trims. Jessi is trying to start making floral headdresses, and was seeking out pretty laces; while I was on a quasi-insane quest to find silks for a line of clothing for a fashion show that I hadn't been formally accepted to yet. In particular, I was looking for either dupuioni, shantung, or taffeta in rose, mustard, navy, and white/ivory stripe. While I found a lovely mustard shantung, and a very nice two toned navy taffeta; rose eluded me (and my budget). I found out from Jessi that the fabric stores prefer cash when you're trying to negotiate with them, so that somewhat limited my purchasing power because I was a little financially unprepared, but in the end, I wound up with some great deals! The best probably came from Hamed Fabrics, where I got 6 yards of a beautiful semi-sheer ivory striped silk for only $10/yd!

Semi sheer striped silk  |  Mustard shantung and navy taffeta

A lot of the shops had fabrics much glitzier (and in some cases, gaudier) than I needed, and looking through the piles was a little like finding a needle in a haystack. There was so much to see that sometimes, I missed things completely, only to have Jessi point it out to my oblivious self. I disappeared into some stacks of fabric more than once to come out empty-handed, but in the end, I came up with some stuff that I'm really happy with. Jessi is an absolute doll, and did most of the haggling for me since I'm really awful at it, so I owe most of my bargain success to her. She also has the patience of a saint, between waiting for me to emerge from the giant fabric piles, and having to deal with some occasionally sleazy sales guys.

My sewing-related haul

As usual, we made the Lolita pilgrimage to BTSSB/Tokyo Rebel, Kinokuniya, and Laduree. I picked up a lovely Innocent World umbrella at Tokyo Rebel, as well as something special at BTSSB. ;) I also got two of my favorite Japanese sewing books, Otome no Sewing vols. 6 & 7, at Kinokuniya, and a small box of macarons at Laduree. 

 

My non-sewing haul (stock photos)

My new parasol is great, and I'm very happy with it. It's nice and compact, and doubles as an umbrella in rainy weather. The macarons, as expected, were delicious! My box consisted of one chocolate, a sea salt caramel, a pistachio, a rose-lychee, a Marie Antoinette tea, a cherry blossom, an orange blossom, and a raspberry! I also got a beautiful little Plaisir Sucre pastry for my husband. He shared some with me when I got back, and it was divine! 

Fooooooood (well, sorta.)

My next update contains some big news, so keep reading, and thanks for stopping by! :)

Mini Update!

I haven't had the time to update this blog in several months, and even though I've had plenty of great ideas swirling around in my head, I haven't had the energy or the time to make a solid post. My health has been in decline since the spring, with lots of new, subtle, and unpleasant symptoms bogging me down. I was really depressed for a while, and my anxiety and OCD were driving me crazy (hahah). I also began to notice that I was tired all the time, and that I was beginning to have a lot of problems with memory, concentration, and speech. As it turns out, those new symptoms were actually really scary side effects from a medication that I'd been on for the past 2 years. My medication created such a disturbance in my sleep patterns, that over the long term, I was actually beginning to experience various forms of cognitive impairment. (<_<);; I've fired the doctor who put me on that crap, found a new one, and am actively working to get transitioned off of that medication. It has been a rough road, as anyone who has experienced Antidepressant/SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome can attest, but I'm starting to feel optimistic about the coming weeks. I am out of work right now, and taking some much-needed time for myself, so expect a lot of updates in the coming weeks.

Here are some of the topics I'll be discussing soon:

• Lolita Sewing Project Updates - Burgundy Corset Skirt, Headbow, Matching Bolero
• Making a Matching Headbow Out of Waist Ties
• Bodyline's Best Bets - Pieces Sure to Satisfy Even the Most Picky People

I also hope to join the Lolita Blog Carnival, and over the next two weeks or so, I'd like to debut my own webshop for handmade Lolita accessories and jewelry! I've toyed around with different branding ideas and names in the past, but I think I finally have something that I'm happy with, and I'm really excited to get started. I will also be remodeling my crappy sewing room over the next month or two and turning it into a proper Lolita sewing room with white furniture, curtains, and decor. :) I'm going to post lots of pictures when I finish!

Dream Dresses / WTB List

Every Lolita has a dream dress or two. Me? I've got a friggen' list. Really, only a few of these are super-high on the Want To Buy list, but I'd love to own all of these one day. Some of them are really more dreams than reality, though, due to the immense popularity or rarity of them. As you can see, I'm definitely a Baby girl, but Moitie and Innocent World also have a big chunk of my frilly little heart. All of the dresses on my Dream / WTB list are listed with my preferred colorways, and in some cases, sizes. My favorite colorway is generally shown in the picture. 

AATP:

Lady Lilith OP Size M (Bordeaux) ♥♥

Treasure Hunt in the Mystic Island Mary JSK (Ivory) ♥

Queen's Coach OP (Black, Navy)  ♥

AP:

French Polkadot JSK (Black, Navy) ♥♥

Milky Berry Halterneck JSK (Mint, Black, White) ♥

Strawberry Parlour Tiered JSK (Black, White) ♥

Freshly Picked Strawberries Shirring JSK (White, Black, Red)♥♥

Classical Pintuck OP (Brown, Wine) ♥ - Owned it! 

Atelier Pierrot:



Shirring Bustle Corset Skirt (White x Black, Navy x Black) ♥♥

 

Bustle Corset Skirt (Wine)♥

BTSSB:

Chained Berry Memoir Print Jenny JSK (Blue, Black, Red, Milk Tea) ♥

Cherry Cherry Fallin' Cherry Frill JSK (Black, Mint, Offwhite) ♥

Cherry Cherry Fallin' Cherry Ribonetta JSK (Black, Mint, Offwhite) Size S / M ♥ ♥

Baby Juicy Love Love Cherries Scalloped JSK (Black, Mint) ♥ ♥

 Cherish My Juicy Cherry Candy JSK (Sax, Red, Black) ♥ ♥

Cinderella OP (Rouge)♥

IW:

Antique Doll Hamiel OP (Any, esp. Navy or Grey) ♥♥

Birdcage JSK (Wine) ♥

Strawberry Gingham JSK (Blue) ♥

Castille JSK (Wine/White) ♥♥

Rococo Rose Border JSK (Chocolate, Smokey Green) ♥

Annette JSK (Any, esp. Mint) ♥♥

Belle Yu Tea Rose JSK (Any, esp. Wine) ♥

JetJ:

Crème sucrée et fleur Set (Any, esp. Blue or Rose) ♥

Echelle du Sphinx OP ♥♥


Mary Magdalene:

Antoinette Fleur OP (Any, esp. Blue) ♥♥

Farutetto JSK (Any) ♥♥

Irena Fleur JSK (Navy, Grey, Green) ♥

Petit Fleurs OP (Pink, Black) ♥

Meta:

Berry Stripe Sundress (Black) ♥♥

Gingham Cherry Ladder Lace JSK (Navy, Black) ♥

Moitie:

Jewelry Print JSK (Green, Red)♥

Cross Arch Lace Up JSK (Black x Cobalt, Green, Cobalt)♥♥

Dot Frill OP ♥

VM:

Lace-Up Doll Dress  (Mint, Rose) ♥

Lady Doll Dress (Navy, Wine) ♥