Recent Coordinates♡

These outfits are my first forays into natural kei style (except the last one, which is good old otome).  I still don't have nearly enough layers, but I'm in the process of remedying that!  The first and second use Pink House dresses, and the third and fourth use vintage Gunne Sax because I find the prairie girl look very charming. ♥  I expect my future posts will have more elaborate outfits along with complete rundowns of every piece. ✿

Natural Kei Wardrobe Staples

The first step to building a wardrobe for natural kei is to identify and acquire the basic pieces you'll need.  Choose a base color (like black, beige, or ivory) and a color palette to work with and buy things that match.  In theory, I'm a "light summer" so my color palette should be within that range, but I ultimately decide based on my own preferences.

Here's a breakdown of the basic pieces that you use for the many-layered look that is natural kei. ♥

✿Slip/Under-dress✿
The first layer in an outfit is often a simple midi-length sleeveless dress.  It's not printed but might have a few interesting construction details or lace trim.  Vintage slips work for this too!

✿Jumper-dress✿
A sleeveless dress that can be worn with a blouse or cutsew underneath, similar to a jumperskirt in lolita fashion.  It can be from knee-length to maxi.  Some of them can unbutton in the front, so they can be layered over a skirt/top combo or another dress.  A cardigan can be worn over it to add sleeves.

✿Over-dress✿
A dress with sleeves that can be worn over other items like an underskirt or slip.  Many of them unbutton in the front to reveal layers underneath.  They are knee-length to maxi and tend to have prints and/or more elaborate design features.

✿Skirt✿
Skirts in natural kei tend to be very full tiered or ruffled skirts, although simple A-line designs are also used in more casual looks.  They are knee to maxi length and may have a variety of design features such as pin tucks, small ruffles, or even quilting.  Many unbutton in the front so they can be worn over an underskirt.

 

✿Tunic✿
It looks like it's somewhere between a blouse and a dress.  The length typically falls between hip and mid-thigh, making it an ideal modest top to wear with pants.  A vest can be worn over it to add interest and maintain the visual flow of the outfit.

 

✿Blouse✿
Blouses are generally worn with a skirt or under a jumper-dress.  They tend to have prints only when they're designed as a set with a printed skirt.

 

✿Vest✿
A sleeveless top that is worn open in the front, usually over a dress or tunic.

✿Cutsew✿
A knit top, usually jersey material, which can be used similarly to a blouse but more casual.  As the name implies, it's cut and sewn instead of knitted to shape like a cardigan.

 

✿Cardigan✿
It's a sweater that buttons up the front.  They tend to have interesting knits like pointelle, raschel, or even the alternating rib and diamond patterned knit below.  Crochet details sometimes are added on.

✿Pants✿
Pants in natural kei are often capri or cropped length and details tend to be concentrated below the knee.  They sometimes have patches or embroidery to add interest.  Many are hemmed with lace and/or ruffles.  There are denim and khaki pants that tend to be worn with tunics, and there are also long bloomers and leggings which tend to be worn under dresses or skirts.

 

✿Apron✿
Although not an absolute necessity, they tend to add a certain charm to the look.  Since natural kei is more of an everyday fashion, they can be worn when doing housework to add a protective layer or hold small items (they often have a front pocket).

✿Corsage✿
A versatile accessory.  They can be fake flowers, berries, wreaths, or even tiny crocheted teddy bears.  They pin or clip on to an outfit to add interest and can also be worn in the hair or on a bag.

 



✿Footwear✿
Ankle socks and crew socks are popular, but as long as it matches, you're good to go.  Natural kei shoes are always comfortable.  Popular styles are clogs, platform sandals, and Converse or Keds style sneakers.  Flats with interesting details can be worn as well.

There you have it!  You can dress it up or down and accessorize however you want.  I'm still getting the hang of this style of layering, but it should get easier as I build my wardrobe.  Here are some examples of layering natural kei items for a complete look.  I'll be adding more of my own later.

Holy crap ~ This blog will be active again after two and a half years ヾ(´▽｀*)ﾉ☆

Hello again!

It's been so long, I wasn't sure if there'd still be interest in my blog.  I was shocked to find I'm still getting a few pageviews, haha!  The direction of this blog will be changing since my style has changed a lot in the time that I've been gone, so my fashion blogging content will be in tune with my new aesthetic.  I'm much more interested in longer cuts, muted or dark colors, and attention to construction details and trims rather than prints, and lots of layering.  Expect to see a lot more natural kei and mori girl!

I'll start off with a quick summary of what I've been doing:

I started classes at FIDM this July, with the plan of graduating in one year with a degree in Product Development.  Going back to school has honestly been a really life-changing, throw-caution-to-the-wind move for me because I'm studying a completely different subject for a career field that I have no experience with, but which I believe I have an aptitude for.  I'm taking six months off from working (apart from running the online store Miss Harajuku), so my budget will be very limited, but I'm determined to make do with what I have.  I'm selling off most of my lolita fashion wardrobe and putting a bit of that money toward the styles I'm interested in now.

New blog content: Natural kei

I've been delving into this style for the past several months.  It's very charming, and I wish there were more folks in the western j-fashion community into it!  There doesn't seem to be much information about it unfortunately (at least, in English).  The common things I've seen written about it is that it's a predecessor to lolita fashion that began in the 70's, that it's a prairie girl look, or that it's meant to look like a girl who lives in a fairytale village.  The last one is a bit iffy, but it certainly seems to have grown out of the romantic revival movement.  If you're interested in the evolution of lolita fashion from natural kei and otome, F Yeah Lolita has a great entry on it!  The style, to me, is not so much bohemian or victorian as it is shabby chic, which may be an odd phrase for it, but I think it really describes the overall feel pretty well.  It's a very relaxed and comfortable style, but the details are quite intricate and outfits are meticulously layered.  Any given outfit will have an abundance of pintucks, tiny ruffles, crochet work, embroidery, or lace.  The Pink House Catalog has some good examples of how their pieces can be coordinated.  It's expensive to buy direct from the brands, but fortunately for me, secondhand auctions aren't!  

Chocolate-themed for Valentine's Day

My boyfriend and I went out on our Valentine's Day date early, since Monday was my only day off this week.  We had a lovely dinner at the Cheesecake Factory ♥

I wore an outfit that mixed AP's Royal Chocolate and Polka Dot Chocolate series.  I've been dying to wear it since I missed their last two tea parties.  The otk socks from those series would have been great with it, but for some reason socks with this skirt made my legs look kind of stumpy, so I went with tights instead.

I would absolutely love to coordinate with the Royal Chocolate sweater and ETC chocolate tights (which I will probably never find for sale unless they're re-released).

The chocolate tights from Celeste Stein might work too, if not with this outfit, then with my Regimental Latte salopette.  I wish the stock image showed the actual tights, not just a small portion of the pattern.

Here's one more sweets-themed coord I wore recently:

Stuff I want but can't buy just yet

I spent a lot of money building up my work wardrobe for Baby/AatP (especially on that Gloria OP), so I'm holding off buying more clothes for a month or two.  I would love to do more reviews of online shops or shopping services when I have some extra spending money again.  Here are a few things that are kinda sorta on my wishlist:

Jane Marple collaborated with Disney to make some adorable Snow White items.  The best one, imo, is the OP, but I probably couldn't justify spending $458 + shipping on it.  But I still want it ;_;  The skirts cost less, but aren't as interesting.  They also have a cutsew that's cute, but again it's a steep price at $159.  I can appreciate that the brand uses nice materials and has tends to have better construction than lolita brand items, but I still always buy it secondhand and just lust after the items on the webshop. 

MILK has a rather unique print out called "My Undy Camisole".  Yep, it has underwear on it, and cats, for some reason.  They're all hanging from a clothesline.  I don't get it, but I like it anyway.

I also kind of want this.  My new iPhone definitely needs to be more kawaii.

Wardrobe post and an explanation of my hiatus

I know I don't have too many followers on here, but I still feel like I owe an explanation for my absence.  I was way in over my head with work.  I got a second job and ended up working every day of the week for two months!  I just didn't feel I had the extra time and energy to keep this blog going. 

The good news, though, is that I can wear lolita/otome at my second job because I am now working at Baby the Stars Shine Bright!!!  It's a dream come true, I know :)

Here's the only outfit shot I've taken in a long time.  It's what I wore to work yesterday, the beautiful Gloria OP from Alice and the Pirates.

I somehow managed to make a wardrobe post for EGL this month.  I just took a few pictures at a time in the mornings before work and edited them when I got home. The full post is here: http://egl.livejournal.com/19057202.html  Here are some of the pictures more relevant to this blog:

 AP Sugary Carnival Parka and Metamorphose pants.  I love AP's printed parkas ♥
This is what I'm going to wear on Valentine's Day since it's all chocolate themed.  It's the Royal Chocolate skirt and the Polka Dot Chocolate hooded t-shirt.
Country of Sweets was my first print, and I still adore it.  The knit I paired with it is also AP.

 Emily Temple Cute!  The pink/red skirt has jars shaped like bears on it.
Here's an outfit I've posted before - the ETC umbrella print skirt with a BtSSB blouse.
The last skirt is ETC's "wardrobe print" paired with a cutsew with printed roses.

 The pink skirt and salopette were both from Baby's online winter sale.  It's nice that the brand puts out casual items too, not just lolita.  Also, can you tell I like cutsews?  The cutsew I paired with the salopette is handmade from a GLB pattern.  I don't really want to try that again.

 MILK "hearts and roses dress" with a JM cutsew.  The dress is adorable up close.  It's a flocky print on wool!  I just sold my Sugary Pansy dress in the middle.  It's adorable, but kind of ended up looking like a tent on me.  I've posted the outfit on the right before - it's ETC's picnic print and a blouse from Modcloth.

 All these skirts are from ETC (the one on the left is technically Shirley Temple 160).  They're all casual looks I would wear out any time.

 JM dress and belt.  The dress fits fine, but the belt is too big, so I might try to sell it.  The outfit in the middle is Peace Now.  I really need to get around to wearing it some time!  The pants are from Heart E.

 ETC's "tea time" print is still a favorite of mine :)  The dress is the middle is handmade.  The one of the right is MILK's tulle flower dress and it's adorably retro.

 My two Innocent World a-line jumperskirts along with my new Gloria OP ♥

 Here's another JM dress with music note embroidery.  The JM tapestry skirt in the middle is paired with a tanktop from h.Naoto GRAMM (my favorite line from that brand).  Then there's ETC's tweed "rabbit school" skirt.  The print is hard to see, but it does have a rabbit with a book on it.

 Here are all my long skirts.  Left to right: Jane Marple, Metamorphose, Black Peace Now, and h.Naoto GRAMM.

And lastly, here are two of my coats.  The pink one is from MILK and the teddy bear coat is from Metamorphose.  The skirt it's with is ETC.  I have no idea what the print is called, but it has crowns and cursive writing.  The dress is a corset dress from Excentrique.  It's probably the only Japanese brand dress that fits me perfectly.