Swap a Bow

On the 18th of january Cat and I organized our comms annual christmas swap meet. The rules are simple people are given a name and wish list of another comm member and have to buy a present for a maximum amount of €20. Everyone gets together on a certain date and we unwrap the presents together.
This was the first year for us to organize it, and I believe that even though there is still some room for improvement we did a pretty good job.

The swap meet was held at Summer Tales Boutique, where we arrived a bit earlier to arrange seating and to make the food table ready.

Around 13:00 people starting to arrive and I tried to take as much outfit photos as possible (I love outfit photos), as everyone once again looked wonderful. After everyone arrived and was seated we started unpacking the presents.

(not all presents were there yet when I took this photo, once all the presents were put on the table it was completely filled)

I was really happy to see that everyone had put a lot of thought into their present. I was coupled with Nienke, who had a very clear wish list, so I had a pretty clear view of what I wanted to buy for her (people were also allowed to make something, but as I have two left hands I didn't dare to try). I started out by searching for a headbow or wristcuffs to match her beautiful new Victorian Letter JSK, sadly I couldn't find anything that was to my tastes or in the right shade of red. Thus, I turned my attention to another point in her wish list, cute teacups. One of my favorite brands for cute tableware is Blond Amsterdam, which our garden centre happened to sell. Here I found an awesome breakfast set whit cute images of various breakfast ingredients (like eggs and bacon).
Having found the present for my own secret santa I turned my attention to a new problem, the possibility of people not getting any presents. Cat and I had decided that we should have some spare presents in case there would be someone without a present, we had found some cute items as extra gift, but luckily in the end that was not necessary.

I got an awesome fake fur tola necklace thingie (I'm not really sure what they are called, but they are cute ^_^ ), which is great for this time of year and matches with a big part of my wardrobe. It was package in a present box that was filled with small fabric stars (that I accidentally sprinkled all over my neighbor) and came with a nice note from Nienke.

As the meet was coming to an end people took the opportunity to talk to each other or explore the Summer Tales Boutique store. All in all I believe it was a pretty great day and hope there will be another swap meet next year.

Bonus pic, my outfit -_^

Lolita Level Up Quiz 2.0

Over at the F Yeah Lolita Blog there was a quiz posted to test your lolita level. I was pretty curious to see my own score, so I tried it out.

My score is 75, according to the quiz I'm an "experienced lolita"; "61-80 points is the realm of an experienced Lolita! You've probably been active in the fashion for a number of years, have a fairly large and diverse wardrobe, and have attended (and hosted!) your fair share of Lolita events. You're most likely well-known within your local, and online, communities. You're probably practically an expert on the fashion and have probably introduced, or at least guided, a few friends along the right path in the fashion. Your next step is most likely to do a closet cleaning or some wardrobe organization because you probably have a few years of accumulated clothes."
I actually did the wardrobe cleaning last year (though there might be 1 or 2 more dresses that will be sold this year), so I think the result is pretty accurate for me.

• You have a favorite brand
• You own a petticoat
• You own multiple petticoats in different cuts and/or lengths
• You own a parasol
• You own an item from a brand
• You own a novelty item from a brand (plates, mugs, stuffed animals, home decor, and other "non-wearables")
• You own an item from Bodyline
• You own an item from a Taobao brand
• You own an item from a Western indie brand
• You own an item you bought of eBay, Amazon, or a shady website and it came out okay
• You've bought brand directly from their official store
• You've bought a lucky pack
• You bought an item in reserve
• You own a complete Lolita outfit
• You've worn a complete Lolita outfit in public
• You've worn a complete Lolita outfit in public and it wasn't even on Halloween or at a convention

• You've bought and sold on an online Lolita community
• You've paid retail price for a rare secondhand brand
• You've paid double the retail price for a rare secondhand brand
• You've paid less than 20% the retail price for secondhand brand (ex: you paid $40 for a piece that originally cost $200)
• You've bought from a Japanese auction
• You've ordered from a shopping service
• You wear clothes you've made for yourself
• You wear a print you've designed yourself
• You wear clothes you've had custom made for you
• Have had brand pieces altered to fit your size or style
• You've been wearing Lolita for over a year
• You've been wearing Lolita for over 5 years
• You've been wearing Lolita for over a decade
• You have enough Lolita outfits to wear a new one every day for a week
• You have enough Lolita outfits to wear a new one every day for a month
• You've converted an interested friend to Lolita

• You wear brand with your "normal" wardrobe
• You don't have a "normal" wardrobe because you only wear Lolita
• You know how to handwash your Lolita clothes
• You know how to wash a wig
• You've worn a wig, circle lenses, or false eyelashes
• You've worn a wig, circle lenses, and false eyelashes all at once
• You own a pair of rocking horse shoes
• You own a pair of tea party shoes
• You own a purse shaped like something ridiculous
• You own an old school rectangle headdress
• You own a bonnet
• You own Lolita roomwear or pajamas
• You own a Lolita item that was released this past year
• You own a Lolita item that was released over 6 years ago
• You own a Lolita item that was released over 10 years ago
• You own every item released in a favorite print/series

• You've worn something on your head that was never intended to be worn on a head
• You've worn a trendy accessory (deer horns, halos, peignoirs, eyeballs, etc)
• You've worn Sweet Lolita
• You've worn Classic Lolita
• You've worn Gothic Lolita
• You've worn Old School Lolita
• You've worn Boystyle
• You've worn one of the lesser worn Lolita substyles such as Punk, Ero, Wa, or Guro
• You know the difference between a JSK and an OP
• You can name at least 5 prints
• You can tell which items are from which brand just by looking at them
• You can tell which items are from which brand just by looking at them, even if they're not a print
• You can tell which year a brand piece came from just by looking at it
• You've taken Lolita outfit snaps
• You've traveled to visit a fancy looking place just to take outfit snaps
• You've started a trend that others have followed

• You own a Gothic & Lolita Bible
• You own every single Gothic & Lolita Bible
• Your picture is in a Gothic & Lolita Bible
• Your picture is in a Gothic & Lolita Bible because you're a model for a brand
• You own a Lolita sewing pattern book
• You've made something from a Lolita sewing pattern book
• You've seen Kamikaze Girls
• You've read Kamikaze Girls
• You've met Novala Takemoto
• You've met Misako Aoki
• Misako Aoki has made you an official Lolita ambassador
• You've met one of your favorite Lolita designers
• You've learned how to sew/craft just so you can make your own Lolita clothes/accessories
• You've decorated your house/bedroom to match your Lolita wardrobe
• Your Lolita wardrobe is part of your decor (ex: you display your hats on a shelf, keep a mannequin dressed up on display, etc)
• You've been interviewed for a newspaper/magazine article for wearing Lolita

• You've made friends through Lolita
• You've made friends in foreign countries through Lolita
• You've celebrated International Lolita Day
• You have a separate facebook profile just for Lolita
• You're known by a different name when you wear Lolita
• You've twinned with someone
• You've tripleted with people
• You've been part of a group of clones
• You've taken purikura in Lolita before
• You have a purikura app on your phone
• You've had to explain what you were wearing to a stranger
• You've been called a princess by small children
• Old ladies have complimented you and remarked how nice it is to see young people dressed so nicely
• You've been called Bo-Peep
• You've been asked if you were in a play
• You've been asked what you were cosplaying as, or compared to an anime character

• You're a member of online Lolita communities
• You're active in online Lolita communities
• You mod an online Lolita community
• You mod an online community of over 1,000 members
• You've attended a meetup
• You've attended a tea party meetup
• You've attended a brand sponsored tea party
• You've traveled multiple hours to attend a meetup
• You've hosted a meetup
• You've hosted over 6 meetups
• You've hosted a meetup with over 20 attendees
• You've been to a Lolita swap meet
• You've attended a large scale Lolita event or convention
• You've been on staff at a large scale Lolita event or convention
• You've been to a Lolita panel at a convention
• You've hosted your own panel at a convention

• You've seen a Lolita fashion show
• You've modeled in a Lolita fashion show
• You've seen a brand fashion show
• You've modeled in a brand fashion show
• You own your own Lolita clothes/accessory line
• You've hosted your own brand's fashion show
• You have visited a Lolita shop
• You've traveled to another country just to buy from Lolita shops
• You own and run your own Lolita shop
• You're friends with a brand shop girl
• You are a brand shop girl
• You run a Lolita blog (traditional, tumblr, vlog, etc)
• You run a Lolita blog with over 1,000 followers
• You have been called "e-famous"
• You have been called "e-infamous"
• You've been featured on TV for wearing Lolita

Bodyline Osaka

There is a really big Bodyline shop located in Osaka. It is right in the main shopping street (nearby the Disney Store), so it is hard to miss.
As per usual there is a neurotic Disney remix playing in the background. As this store is pretty big, with 2 floors, they sell almost all the items Bodyline advertises online. The ground floor holds the "normal" items, like socks, shoes, blouses, and wigs. The second floor holds the lolita dresses, cosplay suits, etc.
When I gave the blouses a closer inspection I found some really nice ones hanging between the awful pieces. There was one slight problem, the blouses I picked out were a size M, and I wasn't sure if that would fit me. At the Bodyline stores you are not allowed to try things on (while in the Tokyo store you are allowed to try shoes on), and there is a no returns rule, so I wasn't sure what to do. However, one of the shop girls (I'm really sorry for them seeing as what kind of crazy outfits they have to wear) told me the second blouse was half price, so I caved in and bought 2 blouses, plus a pair of shoes. The blouses turned out to fit perfectly, so I later returned to buy some more.

Metamorphose Osaka

The Metamorphose Osaka store is hidden away really well. To find it you have to pass an alley past a few other shops and then take a small stair down. But searching for this store is well worth it.
Upon entering the shop I was greeted very friendly by two shop girls, of whom one was really energetic. I was looking around the shop when I noticed the Princess Wardrobe Pinafore JSK Set. The energetic shop girl quickly came to explain the different sets (mostly in Japanese so I just smiled at her most of the times).  She showed me the different cuts and colors, and when I tried to ask if it would fit my size she happily noted that I was allowed to try it on (I did not know you could try special sets on). I had picked out the ivory pinafore set, and everything fitted great, so I bought it. As I was used to by now the shop staff escorted me to the store exit with my purchase.

Kera shop Osaka

This will be a bit of a short post, as I wasn't that impressed with the Kera shop.
The Osaka Kera shop was pretty small, with only half of the shop dedicated to lolita. The shop was pretty crowded and with the small walkways between the clothes it was sometimes a bit hard to move around in the store. Most of the brands here I had never heard of, and I'm not really sure if that was because they are just plain not well known brands, or just not popular overseas. I had come to the Kera shop in hopes of buying some Triple Fortune items, but I couldn't find anything by this brand.
I did buy 2 GLBs, one being the new issue (it felt so nice to finally have a chance to read a GLB while it is still was current).

Innocent World Osaka

One of my favorite brands is Innocent World and it just happened to be that the main shop is located in Osaka, so I couldn't leave Osaka without visiting it.
We had a bit of trouble finding the shop, because it is located in a pretty normal apartment building and our only clue was that it had to be on the 5th floor. After some searching and a bit of help from the locals we found the right building.
This being the main shop I expected a pretty big store, but the size disappointed me a bit. However, what this shop lacks in size it makes up with what they managed to put in there. They were selling both the old and new releases (like the popular flag dress that was just released back then). The shop had a nice classic look, contrary to the 2 sweet shops I had visited before. In the back of the store was a display where the shoes were shown too.
While I was browsing the clothing a shop girl offered to store our shopping bags behind the counter, we really appreciated it as we were carrying quite a lot. After I had selected some items I wanted to try on the shop girl guided me to their fitting rooms (I learned quite quickly that in Japan you should always ask if you can fit something, plus I couldn't find the fitting rooms), it turned out that they were hidden behind big mirrors. The fitting rooms were just as elegant as the shop and quite roomy compared to normal fitting rooms.
After I had tried everything on and selected a few extra things I went to pay. While I was trying on things my mom had found a beautiful necklace that she bought for herself. After paying we were escorted back to the elevator where I was handed my new purchases.

Angelic Pretty Osaka

The Angelic Pretty store in Osaka can be easily recognized by the pink storefront. Upon entering the shop I was greeted by the friendly shop girl, who then minded her own business (I like to be able to look around for my self first).
There is just one word with which I can describe the shop interior, PINK! Everywhere you looked you saw pink, from pink shelves to the pink carpet. The decor is really cute, as were most of the dresses that were sold here. I'm not really into sweet lolita, so after browsing a few racks I left empty handed.