36 replies to this topic

[TRiPPY]

Does anyone else here read GLB? DiGi bought me a copy for christmas and I'm completely obsessed by its glossy colorful photographs and mad articles on how to make cupcakes. You don't really need to be able to read Japanese to apreciate it, the visuals are incredibly inspiring. I got the flower fairies issue which came with free stickers and the obligitory skirt and frilly top sewing pattern made for a size 0 person : D

I open it and want to make EVERYTHING. Yet i can't (well i could) but argh, any other EGL freaks out there?

Fashion photography is a big like of mine, i watch Americas next top model simply for the photoshoot arts. So yeah, I'm awful at photography, but damn do i admire it.

[Zoe]

Bump! :3

I love fashion as a whole - I've got three thick hardback books on the subject of Japanese fashion, and they're all full of photography. I'm always raiding the local bookstore for fashion books too! I'd like to get GLB but I don't know anywhere that sells it. D:

[SQUiD]

I've been a lurker at Cosplay.com for awhile, and to my recollectiom, you either buy it online in Japanese designer kind of stuff, or you make it yourself like a dirty american slave. The girls really entrenched in the culture can get really snooty, which isn't to stereotype.

Anyway, I know I'm too chunky for that crazy stuff, but damn if I don't like looking at it.

[TRiPPY]

The mag itself can be bought off ebay and is sometimes in stores like Forbidden planet and such. The whole point of EGL is to make your clothes yourself anyway, so that's nothing to be ashamed of.

And pah SQUiD chunkyschmunky, you don't need to be a twig to look good in EGL stuff. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look bad in it to be honest. Like regular clothing its all about knowing what to wear to compliment your existing shape. Buying premade EGL clothing in REGULAR NORMALPPL sizes is something of an imposibility however, not because of rascism or anything, geneticaly we are a plumper race of people so the sizes are very small. But thats not a bad thing because EGL stuff should be created by the person wearing it anyway, or at least altered to be unique to the wearer.


It's sort of like... trying to be punk then walking into hot topic and buying a pair of mass produced jeans with pre-made holes ripped into them, lol XD

[SQUiD]

Absolutely agree. XD I remember being a wee punk/gothtot, and I used to file holes into my jeans, and cut holes into my sleeves. And the 'dirty American slave' thing was just... parodying some of the insane EGL girls I've read the posts of.

Man, if I could even remotely handle a sewing machine, I would have the most epic wardrobe ever.

(Oops, off topic... >> )

[wyldflowa]

Mmm, I'm pretty gay for Gothic Lolita (don't call it EGL unless it's Moi-Meme-Moitie clothing dahrling). </ita snob> XD The Gothic Lolita Bible's price tags always put me off but now I'm getting more and more into the fashion (and my disposible income has grown to be able to afford the damn stuff) I'm gonna buy one or two just to have a look at really and to check the co-ordination tips and any sewing bits and whatnot. :3

I'm very into classic and Hime loli styles~ no cupcake patterns for me plz. X( It's hard to find things I really like as most of it is covered in frills and lace and crap when what I really want are some timeless, well-tailored pieces made of sumptuous fabrics~ *_*

The sizing is very annoying though - my favourite brand, Mary Magdelene (the only brand I'd really consider buying as well as maybe certain Victorian Maiden pieces) comes in one size - which I fit in all areas except my bust! XD Damn flat-chested Orientals! So my only real choice is to commission a replica to be made by somone, to make it myself, or to invest in some inventive corsetry. D: I know Baby the Stars Shine Bright do larger sizes (that sells out very quickly)... but I just don't like their little toy doll look~ >_< What can I say? I'm slowly heading down the route of burando love~

Mmm yes I likes me some loli. A loli outfit is going to be my reward when I get my comic done~ Best motivation ever.

[SQUiD]

I might end up dominating this topic, but Wyld, you make EGL sound more and more lucious to me. My closet is conflicting enough, you don't have to help! XD

Oops, am I getting too off topic? XD;;

[Nemoide]

I know a lass who often remarks that she wishes she could dress like a Gothic Lolita in this country and get away with it. As an eccentric sort of dresser myself I generally respond with "DO IT and don't care about other people thinking you are not dressed acceptably"!
I have another friend who owns one or two Gothic Lolita Bibles but is so into anime (and anime merchandise) she does not have the money to afford any of the clothes.

That is my experience!

[wyldflowa]

I might end up dominating this topic, but Wyld, you make EGL sound more and more lucious to me. My closet is conflicting enough, you don't have to help! XD

Oops, am I getting too off topic? XD;;

Nah nah, I'm sure this topic can merge into just general nattering about lovely loli clothes~ I don't even have a physical wardrobe right now (I just moved recently) so I'm holding off buying anything simply because I have nowhere suitable to store it... XD But you should just go for it! I mean, even if it's just one piece to wear for cons or whatever, just get it and enjoy it and have fun wearing it~ you don't have to adopt the style completely. Just add a few bits of lace to some exsisting shirts and wear a poofy skirt and you've got instant casual lolita~!

I know a lass who often remarks that she wishes she could dress like a Gothic Lolita in this country and get away with it. As an eccentric sort of dresser myself I generally respond with "DO IT and don't care about other people thinking you are not dressed acceptably"!
I have another friend who owns one or two Gothic Lolita Bibles but is so into anime (and anime merchandise) she does not have the money to afford any of the clothes.

That is my experience!

Like I just said before - you friend can adopt just little things into her style - adding frills to exsisting tops, a string of beads, a cute cardi, a bow in her hair... a person doesn't have to go the whole out and out frilly toilet roll cover look; just adding a few little things to make you feel that little bit more fabulous. ^.^ Little additions are affordable too~ some lengths of lace will set you back a few quid at most (make sure it's nice venise or cluny lace, not the nylon stuff) and just added around the bottom of a shirt can really make a difference.

Also, check out Anna House for super cheap stuff - the prices are in Hong Kong Dollars - just run them through a currency convertor and give yourself a happy little suprise! XD Yes, that is a £6.50 petticoat, seriously~ 8D They do custom orders too IIRC~ so if you do have any special requests or possibly even a design you'd like made then giving them a bell is certainly worth it. From what I hear their stuff is beautifully made with nice materials~

*spreads loli love*

[TRiPPY]

O__O *BOOKMARKS*

[SQUiD]

*froth*

WYLD YOU CAN HAVE MY BODY.

This is amazing, and it comes in my sizeeeeee. ;o; Some of these dresses are so cuuuuute.

[TRiPPY]

ToT MINE TOO!

When i win the lottery I'M BUYING THEM OUT WITH MY FAT FAT BRITISH MONEY. OWNERS AND ALL.


holy crap their postage is only £9... thats psycho! Where the hell did you find this place?

[wyldflowa]

Dude! I have dibs on that first pink dress! ;o; I'll be doing a bit of a big order with them soon (I'm getting some shoes and blouses and things so I'm ending up with like, £24 postage or something) so if anyone wanted to squish in with that and save shipping then gimme a bell~ XD I'd only charge extra shipping from me to you - it's no skin off my nose, I'd be paying the full amount off them anyways, unless like, you ordered 20 items or somethng... then I'd split shipping accordingly.

I find stuff like this trawling Loligoth livejournal communities and suchwhat... mooching around and not actually posting. XD

Rakuen Fashion's stuff is also quite cheap - about £60 a dress - but this is also including a petticoat and headdress. I'm personally not too fond of their styles, but they're there if you want to pick up a full outfit in one fell swoop.

Also, Fan + Friend~ their stuff isn't uber cheap but they have a good range of styles and do custom sizing. You have to be really careful to measure things absolutely right though as there have been stories of them completely fluffing the sizes up.

Mmm, also see Double Decker for cheap-ish shoes... I'm about in inch away from buying some rocking horses from here - they do a deal for two pairs for $100! Considering Vivienne's cost about $800-$1000... I wants. Lookit theeemmm... looooove theeeemmm... ooooh... *o*

Mmm... I can dish out more links if wanted~ XD

[TRiPPY]

o_O Double Decker do like PSO FORCE SHOES! XD

ps) LINKSPLZ
I bookmark all this stuff and print it out for inspiration folders.

[Maki Izumii]

ooh, some of that stuff is quite lovely! I'm more into J-Rock clothing though, This Ebay Store being my favourite place to go

[TRiPPY]

Ahahah damn the next dreamer i put up lives on Jrock fashion XD *BOOKMARKS WITH LOVE* I had to study lots of it to make his wardrobe. This store wiiiiinnns.

[SQUiD]

Seeing as this has turned into a JFashion fest, I wanna see how people feel about Visual Kei, Deco, and Fruits.
(Ignoring the fact that I would be sooooo Fruit/Deco if onnnnlllly.)

[wyldflowa]

ooh, some of that stuff is quite lovely! I'm more into J-Rock clothing though, This Ebay Store being my favourite place to go

Unless you've bought from them before and are sure of the quality of their merchandise, I'd steer away from Ebay sellers. The images they're using look distinctively stolen to me so you have to be careful you're not shelling out your $$$ thinking you'll get something that looks like their pics and ending up with a cheap imitation instead~

When I think of J-rock stuff I think of Putumayo~ I'm not even into that kinda thing but I think Putumayo's stuff is cute~ XD

Seeing as this has turned into a JFashion fest, I wanna see how people feel about Visual Kei, Deco, and Fruits.
(Ignoring the fact that I would be sooooo Fruit/Deco if onnnnlllly.)

Visual Kei; eeeh not for me really. I like it when it's subtle - which it very often isn't! XD As long as it's not all the bloody stuff they have sometimes I don't mind it.
Decora; I like it... but I often don't like how uncoordinated it looks. If the whole thing works together then it's lovely~ peeps wearing it look like the embodiment of sweet shops~ but when they get every last bit of plastic tat and hang it off their person... I don't like it so much.
Fruits; Much love~! Too cute for words~

I love all the gyaru styles~~~ Ooooh to be a himegyaru and to have the time to do my hair up like that~ XD Jesus Diamante <3

[Maki Izumii]

Yeah, I havn't bought anything from there and I've kinda been a little wary of eBay since I got a bogus copy of Harvest Moon: More friends of Mineral town for the GBA (never EVER buy GBA games off Ebay D:, there are so many counterfiet ones, it isn't funny) but a lot of the photos on the store are awesome and are good for designing outfits, like Lynne said =3 (In fact, Kas now sports an outfit that has a distinctive J-rock look about it)

Anyway:
Vis Kei: Ehhhh, I don't like a lot of it, but the clothing is good (just not makeup/hair/etc). I loathe the fandom that Vis Kei bands get as well.
Deco: Cute, but I reeeally wouldn't do that e_e
Fruits: Same as above, really.

Though hehe, I was at a friend's anime store the other day and she had some georgous lolita dresses that ACTUALLY FIT ME HOMGWTF D: she let me try them on in the storrrre <3. I wouldn't be caught dead in that stuff in public (well, not 'till I lose weight, anyway) so yeah.

[TRiPPY]

Can someone explain the differences of what each fashion is? I mean i see a lot of it but I'm never actualy sure of what it 'technicaly' is. My favourite stuff is the kiddy gaudy plastic colorful crap coupled with POLKADOTS. And frills... though my current skirt i wear is probably as much frilly as I'm going to wear in public. At christmas DiGi took me to a shop at Camden called AngelPretty and got me 2 skirts (BUY ONE GET ONE FREE D: ) so i got a pink one that looks like something off a cake (wheeee <3) and a tartan red one with bows all over it. I wear them ontop of my trousers. Then a few months later the shop burnt down T_T Nuuuu! Evil conspiracy!

[Feniiku]

I'm not brave enough to wear fashions like these around my area (or at all, to be honest XD) but I do love looking at them. I'd like to know the differences too, but purely out of curiosity since I don't intend to wear it lol.

[wyldflowa]

Can someone explain the differences of what each fashion is?

Uuuuh, to save this being an epic post of pictures I'll throw in some links~

Lolita Fashion.org has a detailed lowdown of the main lolita styles with example images to boot~ They also have a huuuuuge section of links of just about every brand of loli there is~ XD Avant Gauche also has just about every bit of loli advice you could need and lots and lots of GLB scans to peruse~

This site has detailed descriptions of all the main gyaru styles~

"Fruits" isn't technically a fashion... more of a blanket term for colourful Japanese fashion coined from the book of the same name~

Decora is short for decoration I think... basically they put on *everything* they own... that's what it looks liek to me anyways. XD The LJ Decora community should give you an idea of what it's about... that poor cat. ;O;

I'm not sure how Visual Kei is defined really, I know it's "Visual Rock" but I'm not sure of the actual definition of the style... A google image search comes up with some cool pics. It's inspired by punk and glam rock but other than that I'm not 100% sure~ ^^;

[TRiPPY]

Wow Decora is really interesting... the kind of thing I'd enjoy drawing... but some of it looks a bit OVEROVERDONE... yes the cat... poor thing XD;;

Visual Kei always makes me think of David Bowie and Marilyn Manson in a blender with lots of camera bloom lol. I quite like the style myself... it's a shame some of the music isn't up to the standards of their appearance. I know its sort of the equivelant of watching a french mime art band XD; But i love their makeup. Mana will forever go down in history as being the funniest guitar player ever.

I think Ganguro girls are awesome, ok sometimes they can look a bit scary but god damn they have guts (especialy to do that in Japan). I never knew there was a male equivalent! Teehee cuteness...

[SQUiD]

Yeah, I love the ganguro look (and I LOVE Deco, I just couldn't pull it off to save my life.), but I really like being pale, and I bake way to easily to tan. Not to mention how *shudderew* I would look dark. XD (I was waiting for soemone to mention them.)

VK is Malice Mizer (Mana is prettier than meeeeee ;o; ), Larc~En~Ciel (Die fangirl hardcore what, and I love Shinya, too.), that sor of thing. I dunno if X-Japan would count, I think they're mor Classic Jrock. XD Like the Guns n' Roses of Japan.

Deco is what I WOULD BE IF ONLY I COULD PULL IT OFF. My fashion sense leans toward Fruit, but alas, I can only be SO gaudy at one time. And my legs aren't nice enough for short skirts. ;o;

(Edit: HAY LOOK WHAT I FOUND. http://drag-my-soul....s...&qh=boost%3 This reminds me of Lynneroo's NiGHTS makeup, so I keep seeing her. I'm all "HAY THAT'S TRiPPY MAKEUP.)

[NNR07]

Wait.

Is it the Bible with Prophets dressed in Gothic Lolita style?

If so count me in.

*BRICK'D*

[TRiPPY]

OHGODOHGODOHGOD

*epic nosebleed*

I just found the most amazing ebay store ever!
http://stores.ebay.c...USE-TO-BE-USUAL

they have EVERYTHING.
*choir of angels sing*

Thought I'd share with you guys since this is the best random browse i ever did do. Check out that friggin hand jewelry! I could totaly cheat and make some! XD

[wyldflowa]

If you're looking for the shoes on Refuse to be Usual, this ebay store does a number of very similar styles for faaaar cheaper.

I was going to buy some rocking horse shoes from there and instead went to 69th Department - real leather and wood for my feets darling.

I'm sooo painfully pissed off they haven't arrived yet in time for the goddam london expo - I've ordered an outfit too from Fan Plus Friend and only just got shipping confirmation today... so unless UPS perform a miracle and deliver them tomorrow I'll have to go the expo in normal person's clothing. ;_;


Holy crap those thigh high converse things and the 7" stilt shoes on RtbU are just splendid... and I want to eat their accessories section... *_*


EDiT - Also, I've been playing around on Sweet Rococo.com - oh god the clothes designer thing is sooo fun~ XD

[Minimanasama]

ahh I haven't logged on in soo long but after seeing the topic name Gothic Lolita Bible i knew i must right this second xD. my friend collects GLB and i love visual kei along with EGL/EGA but i kinda stay away from moi-meme-moite cuz of the prices =p. im more into the h. naoto clothing and stuff like such. a visual kei wardrobe and band has been my dreams for 8yrs or so now considering i was introduced to that stuff at the age of like 9 ^.^

[Metaria]

Eee, all these links to love. <3

I'd love to sew my own Lolita clothing. But I need to improve my sewing skills a little more, buy a new ruffler, and decide whether or not it would be wise to wear all that fabric and petticoats in 100+°F weather. o_O But until then, I study up on the translation aid provided here for when I come across a Lolita pattern in Japanese.

As for visual kei...I like it, but only a few bands - D'espairsRay, Malice Mizer, Versailles, L'Arc~en~Ciel, and Blood. Most of the time it just seems too over-the-top for me.

[Minimanasama]

those are great bands ^.^ i was so sad when malice mizer broke up. kozi and mana have their things and tetsu has nil and gackt/klaha have solo things. kami's dead R.I.P. but yuki....w/e happened to yuki do you know? lol its like he was thrown into a dark void of non existence O_O

[Metaria]

Yuki wrote the lyrics for one of Kozi's singles, but other than that has basically dropped off the face of the earth. ;-;

[SQUiD]

I've been really researching Lolita fashion lately. Yeah, remember when, a couple of years ago, above, I said it was tempting?

T_T IT IS SO TEMPTING.

The main issue is that I simply don't know what style to go with. I'm thinking Shiro and Classic...

[Chao Freak 1]

Fuu~ How did I miss this thread~ I only skimmed through a GLB once in a book store~ I have some coolio EGL coats, and button up shirts and vests, but I never care how I look early in the morning, so unless I sleep in, I'm just stuck with a Sonic hoodie and my TRiPP pants. They're red. 83
I've got my parents into Steampunk though, and since you can tie in the two, I could be getting some more neat EGL crap~

[StarsOfCASSiOPEiA]

I'm looking at this and wishing that most of it lived in my closet. x.x (XD)

I'm the kind of person to probably slave away and make my own, lol- I'll have to sit down and do that sometime, I guess? XD

[SQUiD]

Oh, for those of you interested, the Gothic Lolita Bible in English. I'm not too huge into Tokyopop for various reasons, (one of which is the Labyrinth manga. Eeeewwww. ), and I'm not even remotely interested in 'Gothic' lolita, but I've been considering picking one of these girls up, regardless.

[StarsOfCASSiOPEiA]

Oh, for those of you interested, the Gothic Lolita Bible in English. I'm not too huge into Tokyopop for various reasons, (one of which is the Labyrinth manga. Eeeewwww. ), and I'm not even remotely interested in 'Gothic' lolita, but I've been considering picking one of these girls up, regardless.

Some bookstores carry it too- I've seen it in Barnes & Nobles (or was it Borders? *can't remember*) not too far from where I live. It was over with all the art/drawing/fashion books and not with the magazines, though.

[Ten]

Visual Kei isn't actually a fashion style. It's a blanket term for bands who dress in various "wilder" fashions/costumes aside from normal clothing. Basically, bands who put a lot of emphasis on visual appeal in the form of costumes and makeup--they can go from Malice Mizer and old-skool Dir en grey to Psycho le Cemu and a few other bands that I can't think of off the top of my head. It's a level of portrayal than a singular fashion that has set boundaries, kind of like Fruits, I guess. It's not just "gothic" stuff, either. PLC used to do some of THE cutest costumes ever. If a Jband went around in steampunk or full cyberpunk, that'd make them be considered a V-kei band, because that image would then be associated with them.

If, uh, that question was ever not answered. I couldn't tell. SO MANY LINKS. D8