Full List of Posts

I previously was manually maintaining my list of posts and it was always out of date, so I’ve switched to a list by date. I’ve also added a list of categories at the top and a tag cloud at the bottom to help navigate.

All Posts by Year

2023 (16)

12/29 - AI Art & Lolita Fashion
For those who aren’t aware, Souffle Song has recently come out with an AI art print, and the most recent Royal Princess Alice print was
12/12 - Winter 2023-2024 Lucky Pack Round Up!
Lucky Packs, or “Fukubukuro” / 福袋 (sometimes called “Lucky Bags”, “Happy Bags”, “Happy Packs”, “Happy Sets” or sometimes “Special Sets”) are blind bags of clearance
09/10 - Upcoming JFashion Convention: Kei-Con!
Kei-Con is a Japanese Street Fashion convention located in Toronto Canada. This year the convention will be held from September 29th – October 1st, 2023.
08/22 - Lolita Fashion Exam
Sharpen your pencils, and put away your phone, it’s time to go back to school for a lolita fashion exam. This quiz is 20 questions,
08/07 - Top 10 Haenuli Dresses By Lolibrary Popularity
Recently in the Lolibrary Discord we were talking about the wishlist feature and which items were on the most wishlists. I checked a few ‘key’
07/18 - New: Atelier Pierrot Plus Size Bustle Corset JSK MTO
Atelier Pierrot is re-releasing their iconic Bustle Corset JSK in a total of 4 sizes and 5 colors! It’s Pre-Order / MTO and orders will
07/16 - Lolita History: Pretty
Lately, I’ve been really interested in researching older brands that influenced early Lolita history. This is what I know about PRETTY.
06/01 - Wardrobe Spotlight: Crowns
When May’s Bibliotheca theme, Royalty, was announced I was super excited because the print area of the classic side of my wardrobe is almost entirely
04/30 - Violets & Pansies in Lolita
This month’s theme for Bibliotheca is florals. I initially wanted to write about the language of flowers, but Mukashi no Sewing already had by the
04/09 - Lolita Shoe Care 101
Most lolita shoes are made out of pleather. Pleather is generally made from a thin layer of plastic bonded over a fabric layer. There are
04/05 - Waku Waku NYC 2015 Recap!
I’ve been going through my 210+ drafts to try to publish out some of what has been sitting in my WIP folder for a while.
04/01 - Response to: What is “Lolita”: Zipper Magazine – October 1994
In 1994, Zipper magazine, which would have been a competitor with Cutie, and with Kera when it started several years later, ran an article as
03/31 - Bibliotheca March: Trends in 90s Lolita Hair Accessories
This month’s theme for Bibliotheca is hair accessories and hats. I’ve written a few things about hair accessories in the past like the history of
03/14 - Angelic Pretty Spring 2023 Collection
While ChatGPT definitely can’t write a blog post about Angelic Pretty’s latest collection, I just got in my copy of the lookbook, so I can!
03/10 - Can ChatGPT Replace Me as a Blogger?
There have been a lot of really interesting articles in the tech world lately about ChatGPT and it's ability (or lack of ability) to write accurate essays, news articles and blog posts. So, for fun, I asked it to write me a couple blogs posts...
02/22 - Katsucon 2023
This past weekend I got to attend Katsucon along with my girlfriend who is one of the designers for Belladonna. I don’t usually blog about

2022 (24)

12/26 - Lolita Wardrobe Size VS Perception in 2016 and 2020
Let's look at how big people think their wardrobes are in 2016 and 2020.
12/25 - Bibliotheca December: My Favorite Things
When I first saw this prompt, my answer was “sleep” because I was exhausted. Now that it’s Christmas, I’m even more tired, so my answer
12/21 - (Crimson) Reflections: 10 Years of Blogging
Last month, in November of 2022, it was the 10th anniversary of me starting this blog. I did a wrap up post about the actual
12/13 - Raines Guide: Removing Ink From Clothing
A continuation of my collection of stain removal guides, this guide tackles ink/sharpie, tailor's chalk and heat-sensitive tailor's pens.
12/06 - Introducing Graciela & Grace
Graciela & Grace is a new American indie brand that just launched on November 11th. The new brand combines traditional craftsmanship and heritage techniques with modern fashion trends all with a lolita fashion twist
11/22 - Rating My Wishlist Items From 10 Years Ago
I got an email from photobucket saying they were going to close my account, so I went and logged in to back everything up. While
11/21 - Current Trends: Lemons!
For November's Bibliotheca theme of food, we look at the recent trend of lemon themed prints!
11/18 - Response to ‘A Critique of Lolita Fashion’
A look at 'A Critique of Lolita Fashion' featured in the September 1987 issue of Ryuko Tsushin, often cited as the first appearance of the term lolita fashion in print.
11/14 - Winter 2022-2023 Lucky Pack Round Up!
Lucky Packs, or “Fukubukuro” / 福袋 (sometimes called “Lucky Bags”, “Happy Bags”, “Happy Packs”, “Happy Sets” or sometimes “Special Sets”) are blind bags of clearance
10/06 - Mirror: Innocent World Hair Styling Tutorials
Innocent World Shinjuku was posting a bunch of hair styling tutorials in 2020/2021, but then they deleted their twitter when they closed the physical store,
08/19 - Bibliotheca Spooky Summer: Lolita Ghost Stories
I'm about as spooky as a marshmallow, so, I went and found a little lolita ghost... poke her for a ghost story.
08/10 - Long Lolita Ball Gowns
If you have ever looked at one of the many low quality reseller/dropshipper sites that sells lolita, you probably have seen them. Floor length, lolita
07/27 - Bibliotheca July Travel: A Spring Tea
I'm still not really traveling but COVID derailed our Christmas which led to having a tea party with 3 generations of my family a couple hours from my house, so that's going to have to count.
07/01 - 100 Questions to Lolita (2001 Quiz)
Tackling a Japanese 100 lolita question meme from 2001!
06/22 - Bibliotheca Junetorial: Identifying Mystery Items
This month’s theme for Biblotheca is tutorials! Also, if you came here from the Biblotheca site/ newsletter, welcome! I just applied to join in May,
05/18 - Lolita 101: Do I Have to Wear a Petticoat?
Some lolita are absolutely adamant that it’s a cardinal sin to dare to put on lolita without a petticoat. To the point where there was
04/30 - Gothic Lolita Market: Livestream Shopping!
Select shop Flores Astorum will be facilitating an English language livestream shopping event with Connie as host on the Gothic Lolita Market Instagram for the
04/28 - A Bucket of Substyles: Meta’s Coordinate Samples
Let's take a quick dive into the coordinate samples posted by Metamorphose English Online between 2004 and 2007 and how they were described.
04/22 - Angelic Pretty 2022S/S Collection
Let's take a dive into the latest releases and upcoming series from Angelic Pretty!
04/18 - Innocent World 2022S/S Collection
Innocent World recently did an Instagram live of their Spring / Summer 2022 collection as well as posting a lot of it to twitter and
04/18 - Innocent World Mini Review
I just got my latest IW order, and I thought I’d do a quick mini review. I ordered the Innocent World PhotoBook, Rose Lace Millefeuille
04/08 - Lolita Blog Carnival – What Are Some Things You Feel Shouldn’t Be Asked Anymore?
I'm a firm believer in there not being such a thing as a stupid question, after all, none of us are born knowing anything, and what is obvious to one person might not be obvious to another. That said, there are certainly a few questions that I think really shouldn't be asked.
04/04 - Raine’s Guide: Color Names in Lolita Fashion
A quick guide to some of the colorway names...
01/07 - 100Q To Sweet Lolita (2003 Quiz)
100Q to Sweet Lolita is a lolita quiz that was written around April of 2003. What you were supposed to do is answer all the

2021 (25)

12/29 - Current Trends: Pink House / Kaneko-Kei Influence on Lolita
I've been collecting/wearing vintage Pink House pieces for a few years now, and while my wallet is sad that Pink House is seeing a surge of popularity, it's been a great source of new inspiration.
12/28 - (Crimson) Reflections: 200 Blog Posts
This year, after 9 years of blogging, I passed the 200 post mark.
12/17 - Obsolete Words of The Western Lolita Community
I was reading post about the use of the term “replica” versus a stronger term like “counterfeit” or “fake”. One of the arguments against this
12/03 - Winter 2021-2022 Lucky Pack Round Up!
Lucky Packs, or “Fukubukuro” / 福袋 (sometimes called “Lucky Bags”, “Happy Bags”, “Happy Packs”, “Happy Sets” or sometimes “Special Sets”) are blind bags of clearance
08/06 - Reviews: Flores Astorum & Lapin Labyrinthe (Positive!)
Flores Astrorum is a new online select shop located in Tokyo, Japan. Run by Sunflower Seed Shopping Services, Flores Astorum partners with small indie brands in Japan to offer their items to international customers.
06/08 - Teddy Bear Picnic: A look at Teddy Bears through JFashion [Part 3 – Lolita Fashion]
In this last part of our three part series, we look at teddy bears in Japanese lolita fashion, and the specific bear mascot characters of several of the popular brands
05/28 - Teddy Bear Picnic: A look at Teddy Bears Through JFashion [Part 2 – Pink House]
Continuing our teddy bear series, today we are looking at Teddy bears and how they intersect with Pink House.
05/26 - Teddy Bear Picnic: A look at Teddy Bears through JFashion [Part 1 – Teddy Bears & Olive Girls]
The first part of a 3-part series looking lightly into the history of the teddy bear and where bears have popped up in specific Japanese street fashions.
05/25 - 2016 Lolita Laundry Statistics
In January of 2016 I ran a poll on rufflechat using a google form. I primarily asked questions about if people re-wore dresses or coords
05/21 - The History of the Genericization of Tea Party Shoes
Have you ever seen someone say they are looking to buy some TPS or Tea Party Shoes, but they don’t care what brand made them?
05/19 - Cat Ears in Lolita?
I made a silly tongue-in-cheek flowchart about wearing cat ears in lolita last winter to explain my thought process about when and where cat ears
05/07 - Review: Devil Inspired
This is not a paid review. Devil Inspired did reach out to me multiple times in 2017, but I did not accept because I’m not
05/07 - Printable Paper Dolls From Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple is a brand that was highly influential on lolita fashion. They currently focus more on Children’s clothing, though they do have a teen
05/06 - Sleeve Stoppers? Kawaii Sleeves? Armbands? What exactly are Wrist Cuffs, Sock Toppers and Chou Chou?
In their most common form, modern wrist cuffs, sock toppers and chou chou (aka scrunchies) are all constructed roughly the same way. However, in practice, these three things are all a little different.
04/01 - Angelic Pretty Designers Dismayed to Learn Western Lolita using Headdress-Style Cakes as Headdresses
In a rare Instagram live interview conducted using video conferencing to be COVID-19 safe, Angelic Pretty designers Maki and Asuka were surprised to see that
03/31 - Review: Strawberry Teapot – Positive
Strawberry Teapot is an up and coming lolita indie brand with a focus on laser cut acrylic accessories. Designed by the talented Sage Blossom whom
03/26 - News: Chinese Indie Brands & Xinjiang Cotton
A brief background on the situation with Xinjiang cotton and how it relates to lolita fashion
03/24 - Happy Equal Pay Day: Lolita Edition
Today is Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to promoting equal pay for equal work regardless of gender. Traditionally, cisgender men are likely to be
03/23 - Lolita Blog Carnival: How Do You Handle Lolita Now VS When You First Started Wearing The Fashion
One specific week back in November the Lolita Blog Carnival topic was “How Do You Handle Lolita Now VS When You First Started Wearing The
02/10 - Mini-Twitter Poll: What Got You Into Lolita Fashion?
At the end of January there was some debate / discussion on the impact of various different forms of media and how it impacted people
02/09 - Opinion: Perfect Color Matching isn’t Realistic
I’m still working on my wardrobe post, even though it’s February (why do I torture myself like this?). I decided to do a combined post
02/08 - BETTY’S BLUE Revival
Japanese Brand BETTY’s BLUE, founded in 1985, pops up in a lot of the same magazines as early lolita brands, like CUTiE and Kera. The
01/27 - Raine’s Guide: Removing Blood Stains From Clothing
Last time we talked about removing dye stains, this time we are talking about the other sort of bleeding. I’m sorry if you have to
01/08 - Silver Linings: 2020 Has Made Lolita More Accessible, and I Hope Some of the Changes Stay
This year has been a whirlwind of adaptation as everyone has tried to find a place of stability as the world battles a deadly pandemic.
01/04 - Raine’s Guide: What to do if the Dye in a Dress Bleeds
So you washed your new dress, or got splashed with water and the dye ran, and now you don’t know what to do. First of

2020 (25)

12/22 - Lolita Blog Carnival: 5 Holiday Gift Ideas For The Lolita On Your List
It’s super close to Christmas (December 22nd to be exact), so I’ve decided to bend the topic a little and do 5 last minute holiday
12/04 - Winter 2020-2021 Lucky Pack Round Up!
Lucky Packs, or “Fukubukuro” / 福袋 (sometimes called “Lucky Bags”, “Happy Bags”, “Happy Packs”, “Happy Sets” or sometimes “Special Sets”) are blind bags of clearance
11/24 - Black Friday / Small Business Saturday / Cyber Monday Lolita Sale Roundup 2020
I’ve rounded up a list of new releases, sales, lucky packs, coupon codes and more for this mega-sale weekend from a variety of Lolita, gothic
11/21 - Getting the Right Chinese Shoe Size
A lot of people struggle when buying shoes from Chinese indie brands because they look at sizing conversion charts, and pick a size that way
11/20 - An Informal Survey of Brand Reach: Top 50 Lolita Fashion Brands
I ran a poll on Rufflechat and the basic premise was this: people were asked to select every brand they owned a single item from. Here are the results...
11/10 - Review: Fluffywuffs – Positive
I met the owner of Fluffywuffs online more than a decade ago via online forums where we both did art for a dress-up doll system
11/06 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : Trends I Thought I Would Never Get Into, But I Now Love
After wearing lolita for over 10 years, there are some things that I originally was not a fan of that I've come around on.
11/05 - Review: siriusbound – Positive!
Siriusbound is based in France and sells a variety of pins and art prints.
10/30 - Don’t Miss it! Gramarye: This Weekend’s Digital Lolita Event
The last digital lolita event I attended seemed to have been missed by a number of people I know due to poor visibility of posts
10/30 - Ordering From Angelic Pretty Japan: 2020 Update
This is an updated version of my 2014 guide to ordering from Angelic Pretty Japan.
10/16 - The Return of Swimmer!
Variety＆Fancy Shop PATTY’S seems to have acquired swimmer and will be re-launching the brand this fall. They have started a page on their website with
10/15 - Lolita Myths: Alterations Always Lower Resale Value in Lolita
Before we get into alterations, lets first talk about what resale value is. In short, resale value is the monetary value of an item when
07/03 - Timeline From The “Cute” Empire
In the back of The "Cute" Empire there is a timeline. This is a translation of that timeline done for academic / educational purposes.
06/30 - Review: Starlight Deco Dream – Positive!
Seven years ago, I bought a sailor moon inspired necklace on etsy, but over the years, I lost track of the brand and in my
06/25 - Pandemic Shopping Review: Wunderwelt – Positive
I ordered 3 items from Wunderwelt in April 2020, and due to COVID19, they arrived in late May.
06/19 - Pandemic Shopping Review: Tenshi Shop + Yamato Shipping – Positive!
This is just a very quick review because I noticed that not a lot of people write reviews anymore, and that’s kind of a shame.
06/19 - Sweet Mildred Mini-Review / Patreon Info!
If you haven’t heard of Sweet Mildred, they are a US-based indie brand that sells beautiful hair accessories, handmade clothing and a variety of other
04/24 - Finding the Measurements When they Aren’t Listed
You find a dress on an auction site overseas and you fall in love, but, the measurements aren’t listed. What to do? First, check lolibrary!
04/06 - Review: A. Gato Designs
A. Gato Designs is a well established indie brand local to me. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the designer at several events, as well
03/06 - Lolita History: ATSUKI ONISHI
Before Akinori Isobe founded Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, he designed for a brand called ATSUKI ONISHI.
03/05 - The Curious Case of the Term “Headbow”
Headbow is one of those things that has major consistency issues in English. Specifically "Head Bow" vs "Headbow" vs "Alice Band" vs "Alice bow".
02/20 - Lolita Fashion 101: What is a Salopette & Are They Lolita?
What is a salopette, really? And... are they lolita?
01/31 - No-Sew DIY Headbow Storage
Easy no-sew DIY project for making a heabow display / storage rack out of paper towel rolls.
01/10 - Lolita Fashion 101: What is a Cutsew?
What exactly is a "cutsew", why is it called that, and how do you care for them?
01/02 - Just Take the Lace Off! Fixing Bodyline L511 – Checker Flower OP
A new-sew alteration attempt to salvage a bodyline dress with some really scratchy lace

2019 (28)

12/31 - MEGAMOTH 60mm Lashes By Dollfille
As some of you might be aware, I’m not exactly a makeup guru. However, I have the pleasure of knowing someone who really is, and
12/06 - Lolita Blog Carnival: 5 Print Ideas for 2020!
Here are the top 5 print motifs I want to see in the next year!
12/06 - Angelic Pretty Spring Summer 2020 Collection!
Let's take a look at the newest Angelic Pretty collection, as previewed at the Fairy Mirage Tea Party!
12/04 - Lolita Fashion 101: What is a Meetup + Tips for Hosting a Meetup
A meetup is basically a chance for people who wear lolita to meet up at a specific location and spend time together. Meetups are generally
11/27 - Small Business Saturday 2019
A number of independent Jfashion brands and small retail shops are having specials and sales this year for Small Business Saturday or Black Friday!
11/14 - Winter 2019-2020 Lucky Pack Round Up!
Lucky Packs, or "Fukubukuro" / 福袋 (sometimes called "Lucky Bags", "Happy Bags", "Happy Packs", "Happy Sets" or sometimes "Special Sets") are blind bags of clearance merchandise that you can buy from Japanese stores at the end of the year.
10/25 - Why Don’t Lolita Brands Just Make More Sizes!
One of the really common things that comes up when ever people talk about the most famous Japanese lolita brands (and even some of the
10/24 - The Complicated Ethics of Design Replicas
In fashion, the design of a garment can not be copyrighted. This means that if I was a fashion designer and I invent a fancy
09/16 - “Sweet Heart” Ita Bags That Are Perfect For Sweet Lolita
These sweet heart ita bags are prefect for sweet lolita, and thoughtfully designed to be practical and functional.
07/31 - Honey Cake Switching JSK: What Does “Switching” Even Mean?
Have you ever wondered why some Jfashion items use the term "switching" in their names and what they mean by that?
07/16 - Is Pink House Lolita? Japanese Lolita Respond in 2004
There is a translation of one of the lolita history timelines that I mirrored here quite a few years ago because the original had gone
07/05 - The (Controversial) History of “Bittersweet Lolita”
Ask a group of lolita about”Bittersweet” and you are almost certain to get at least one person who vehemently dislikes the term, and you likely
06/30 - Why is Light Blue Called “sax”?
The tradition of calling light blue lolita clothing “sax” is a long one. References to the color are seen online fairly early in lolita history.
06/27 - Happy Pineapple Day!
Pineapples (パイナップル) are also one of the stranger motifs that periodically pops up in Japanese Street Fashion.
06/26 - What Color Should My Petticoat Be?
good petticoat (or three) is one of the most important things in a good lolita wardrobe. However, when you are just starting out, it can be hard to figure out what petticoat to buy.
06/10 - New Japanese Brand : Lieblich & Elegant
New Japanese brand Lieblich & Elegant has burst on to the Japanese lolita scene seemingly overnight.
06/05 - Loki Doki Doki Shopping Service & Seven Dreams Shoes Review – Positive!
Back on March 27th, I was scrolling through facebook and I saw a post from Loki Doki Doki advertising these super cute sweet lolita shoes
05/24 - Lolita Blog Carnival : 5 New Releases + My Thoughts on Them
This week’s lolita blog carnival topic is “Share 5 New Releases & Your Thoughts On Them”, and it couldn’t have come at a better time,
05/13 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : My favorite Lolita print
This week’s 52 week lolita topic challenge topic is number 49, my favorite lolita print. I’ve been working on this prompt on and off for
05/10 - Lolita Blog Carnival : The Importance Of Lolita Fashion Publications & Their Impact
As some of you might already know, I collect lolita fashion publications, particularly older ones. I’ve posted scans of a tiny percentage of my collection
05/02 - Lolita Laundry 101 + Brand Washing Guide
I started collecting brand washing information on rufflechat back in 2016, but it never really had an easy to reference home. I’ve created a resource
05/02 - Angelic Pretty Series or Vintage 90s toy?
Test your knowledge of 90s toys and Angelic Pretty series names with this quick trivia quiz!
04/25 - Theme Trend for Spring/Summer 2019 : Lemons!
This spring / summer lemons are on trend in lolita. This trend isn’t totally new; we have seen prints featuring lemons over the past 2
04/23 - 52 Week Lolita Challenge: Impulse buys that were totally worth it
This week for the 52 Week Lolita Challenge, which I’ve now been working on for over six years, it’s number 31, Impulse buys that were
04/19 - Resellers, Drop Shippers and Shopping Services : What to Look for in a “Middleman” When Buying from Chinese Indie Brands – Part I
Earlier this week, I talked about how I felt that the community had come to fundamentally misunderstand what Milanoo was (and wasn’t) as a company.
04/16 - Milanoo: Myths and Misconceptions in Lolita
Before I begin, I want to start this out with a disclaimer. I don’t like Milanoo and I’m not going to shop there. That said,
04/12 - Lolita Blog Carnival : Where Do You Like To Go Dressed In Lolita and/or Where is Your Dream Place To Go?
This week’s prompt for the lolita blog carnival is specifically “Where Do You Like/Would Like To Go Dressed In Lolita”, which I’m interpreting to mean
04/10 - Lolita Blog Carnival: Key Differences From When You First Started Lolita To Now
One of my goals for, 2016, I think it was, was to publish more of the posts that I started, but never finished. I never

2018 (5)

03/21 - Dealing with Smokey Lolita Clothing
A while back, I bought this listing for an Innocent World Rose Trump One Piece from Winter 2006 on Mbok. I usually read the item descriptions,
03/19 - Favorite Lolita Shoe Shops
Most people are already familiar with the fact that the major Japanese brands make shoes. I own shoes from Innocent World, Metamorphose and Angelic Pretty
03/07 - How The Western Lolita Community Is Failing Chinese Brands
Recently, I made a change to one of my resources pages. For a long time, I’ve had a page called “Taobao brand list“. Which, it was.
02/09 - Lolita Blog Carnival: What Makes A Good Wardrobe Post
This year I didn’t make a wardrobe post. I’ve only bought a few things this year, and I’d much rather do a video and show
02/02 - Lolita Blog Carnival: What Made Certain Prints Like Iron Gate & Cat’s Tea Party, Etc, So Popular?
This weeks Lolita Blog Carnival topic is “What Made Certain Prints Like Iron Gate & Cat’s Tea Party, Etc, So Popular?”. For those who aren’t

2017 (10)

12/06 - Winter 2017-2018 Lucky Pack Round Up!
I’m not doing so great this year, sorry guys. I’m really busy and really tired, but I wanted to try to get some of the
07/31 - Lolita Blog Carnival : What Would You Find Appealing To Have in A Con For Lolita Fashion?
This is actually last week’s Lolita Blog Carnival topic; but somehow, between packing for my move, visiting my family and attending a baby shower, I
07/27 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : How I First Found Out About Lolita
Today’s post from the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 10. How I first found out about Lolita. I used to do pixel art for a
07/14 - Lolita Blog Carnival : Plans Derailed! 5 Things In My Wardrobe That Just Didn’t Work
When I was new to lolita, I was the worst at impulse buying things just because they were cheap. Over the years, I got better,
06/23 - Lolita Blog Carnival : 5 Underused Print Ideas
This week’s topic for the Lolita Blog Carnival is 5 underused print ideas. A lot of the motifs in lolita are pretty common, and it’s
05/22 - Angelic Pretty In Paris Photo Book & S/S 2017 Sneak Previews
Angelic pretty has announce a new E-Mook, Angelic Pretty in Paris Photobook. It will come out on May 29th, 2017 and features the model Risa
05/07 - Milkribbon: Cute and Sassy Lolita Pins
Milkribbon is a new indie brand from Germany that currently specializes in cut wooden pins. Per their website they “are inspired by folkloric European myths,
05/06 - Girlism: A Chinese Lolita Fashion Magazine
I’ve been “reading” Girlism since they started publication (I say “reading” because I can’t read a single word of Chinese, so it’s more of just
01/17 - Review: Their Story by HaeNuLi Shin
HaeNuLi Shin is best known in the lolita world for her self-titled lolita fashion brand, Haenuli. I first learned abut Haenuli’s fashion brand at a lolita convention
01/16 - Sweet Mildred Lucky Pack Opening
I purchased a “Small Accessory Luckpack” from sweet mildred on Etsy as part of her Small Business Saturday Sale. Each pack contained a zipper pouch,

2016 (16)

12/06 - Bodyline and Rape Culture in Lolita Fashion
First of all, in case it’s not obvious in the title, this post will talk about sexual assault, sexual harassment and rape, though it will
11/29 - Angelic Pretty Spring 2017 Line!
Angelic Pretty had their winter tea party last night, and snaps are already surfacing that hint at their new pieces for spring. Here is a
11/28 - Lolita Wardrobe Survey
A facebook friend posted this Lolita Survey from the Lolita Amino app (which I joined, but I don’t quite understand; I really hate typing on my
11/28 - Winter 2016-2017 Lucky Pack Round Up!
Luckypack reservations started really early last year, so I’m going to start the list today, even though it’s still November! Lucky Packs, or “Fukubukuro” (sometimes called
11/25 - Lolita Blog Carnival : My Favorite Indie Brand(s)
This weeks lolita blog carnival topic is “Your favorite Indie Brand”, but I’m going to be honest here; I know so many indie artist that
11/16 - Angelic Pretty’s Weak Winter 2016 Collection
It’s getting cold outside again, and Angelic Pretty is bringing out their winter line, which is usually full of rich reds and blues that are
11/14 - Baby the Stars Shine Bright Winter 2016 or GoodWill Auctions Item Details?
06/28 - Why Does Lolita Have So Many Rules?
One thing that seems to really rub some people the wrong way is the number of “rules” that you have to follow when you are
06/22 - Coming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Cirque du L’･toile
Angelic Pretty just published a new e-mook, which has a showcase of their Autumn 2016 line and comes with a tote bag that features their
04/21 - Peppermint Fox Pin Review: Positive!
Peppermint Fox is an Otome brand based out of Australia which makes clothing and absolutely darling little pins. I ordered a couple pins from them
04/01 - Coming Soon From Juliette et Justine, April 2016!
I managed to pick up Juliette et Justine’s April 2016 catalog today, and I wanted to share some of the upcoming pieces. I think this
03/22 - Coming Soon From Baby the Stars Shine Bright: Card Captor Sakura Collaboration!
In honor of Card Captor Sakura’s 20th anniversary, it’s been announced that Tomoyo Baby the Stars Shine Bright will make a collaborative piece based on
02/21 - Buying and Selling Lolita Second Hand – Common Listing Mistakes and Questions
Most people understand the basics; you make a post to egl-comm-sales, or lace market or lolita sales groups on facebook as a seller, and as
01/17 - Lolita Content Collective: Fighting the Lightness of Lolita Web Content
Over the past couple days, I’ve been talking with a couple people in the lolita community about the lightness of content available related to lolita
01/14 - Lolita 45 Questions, A Decade Late
This is a questionnaire that was passed around on EGL back in the summer of 2005, 10.5 years ago. You can see the original post
01/11 - Review: Sammy Dress [Negative!]
So, first things first. Sammy Dress uses a milanoo like template. I had a bad feeling about this even though I didn’t see negative reviews

2015 (17)

12/17 - Lolita Blog Carnival: Changes That I Will Make For My Wardrobe In The New Year
So, I’m actually a bit late on this one, but it’s a great Lolita Blog Carnival topic and so I thought I’d go back and
12/16 - Asking for Lolita for the Holidays
First of all, if you are a lolita, and the person buying for you isn’t a lolita, and hasn’t specifically expressed a wish to want
12/13 - How to Buy Putumayo Outside of Japan!
Putumayo is a great wash and wear casual lolita and punk brand. Most of the clothing Putumayo makes can be washed on the gentle cycle
12/09 - Winter 2015-2016 Lucky Pack Round Up!
Luckypack reservations have started super early this year, and a few of these have already sold out online, unfortunately! I’m going to include them anyway,
11/27 - Black Friday / Small Business Saturday / Cyber Monday Lolita Sale Roundup
Angelic Pretty USA Special set online and in store – Friday, November 27th at 11:00am Pacific time Baby the Stars Shine Bright SF 50% off
11/11 - Raine’s Guide: How to Set Up A Payment Plan With Paypal
::2022 Update:: – The Paypal interface has changed and this is no longer accurate. Payment plans are basically the layaway of second hand lolita sales.
10/29 - My Personal Moral Compass And Lolita : Why I’m Boycotting Anime Matsuri
For many people, lolita is more than just a fashion. It’s a community of people. People who are a little quirky, and a little kooky,
10/19 - 10 Myths We Need To Stop Telling To New Lolita
There are a lot of myths that I see tossed around, especially to newer lolita. 1. Quality lolita clothing is always made of cotton When
06/24 - Wearing Lolita to a Wedding (When you aren’t the Bride)
It’s June, and we are right in the middle of wedding season! I know that there are many lolita out there who are in their
06/15 - Coming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Luminous Sanctuary!
Luminous sanctuary is a new Angelic Pretty series which seems to feature a Pegasus in front of stained glass. My issue of Kera hasn’t come in
05/28 - Coming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Dreamy Planetarium
It’s getting warm again in the northern hemisphere, and AP is gearing up for summer. The last few years have brought us a chiffon sky
05/26 - Shop Review: Miss A
Miss A is an online discount shop for jewelry that apparently was started in 2007, but I only just heard about them on FB when
05/22 - Lolita Blog Carnival : Design a Complete Coord for Under $100 USD
When I first looked at this week’s Lolita Blog Carnival topic, my very first thought was “the petticoat is going to either suck, need to
05/20 - Coming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Fantastic Carnival
In the front few pages of this month’s kera was a tiny teaser for a new Angelic Pretty series, “Fantastic Carnival”. Keeping with Angelic Pretty’s
05/19 - Coming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Castle Mirage Series
Castle Mirage was the final piece of the Angelic Pretty S/S 2015 Fashion Show. It was modeled by the band Truckstuck, and made a bit
05/08 - Lolita Blog Carnival : Packing Tips for [a Lazy] Lolita
Since this is a lolita blog carnival post, I’m going to assume that a lot of people are going to post about this topic today
01/12 - Innocent World Happy Pack A (Size L)
Innocent World has lucky packs each winter called “Happy Packs”. This year they had three options, A (30,000 Yen), B (50,000 Yen) and C (80,000

2014 (15)

12/23 - Innocent World Happy Pack C!
Innocent World has lucky packs each winter called “Happy Packs”. This year they had three options, A (30,000 Yen), B (50,000 Yen) and C (80,000
12/01 - Winter 2014-2015 Lucky Pack Round Up!
Angelic Pretty [source] – Kera Shop 12/16, AP JP Online ???, AP USA Online ???, In AP Shops ??? Mary Romance Doll set (メアリーロマンスDoll set)
10/29 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : My Wardrobe Turnover
Today’s post from the increasingly poorly named (considering I started in 2013) 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 5. My wardrobe turnover. First of all
07/15 - Comming Soon From Innocent World – Union Jack Series
When Maison de Julietta shared this image on Facebook a few days ago, I absolutely fell head over heels in love with the new Innocent
07/10 - PayPal Verification and What it Means
The other day I stumbled upon this petition posted by a page I follow on Facebook. And at face value, it seems like a great
06/13 - Lolita Blog Carnival: 5 New Lolita Holidays To Celebrate!
This weeks topic from the Lolita Blog Carnival is a humorous one; we were charged with inventing 5 new lolita holidays to celebrate. Considering that
06/12 - Bodyline Oddment Luckypack Review
After seeing this photo of 17 mismatched detachable sleeves that someone got as part of an oddment pack from bodyline, I basically laughed so hard
04/13 - Registering for Anglic Pretty Japan’s Web Shop
Angelic Pretty has launched their new japanese online shop. You can order from them internationally if you use Tenso. The first step is to register
03/16 - Comming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Crystal Dream Carnival and More!
May 2014’s issue of Kera has dropped and with it came two new Angelic Pretty Prints. Crystal Dream Carnival and Berry Garden. Let’s start with
02/10 - Lolita Blog Carnival: Lolita Designer I’d Like To Meet
I’m writing this last week’s Lolita Blog Carnival post right after returning from New York where I attended a tea party with special guest Misako
02/02 - Lolita Fashion History: What Makes a Lolita Coord According to Kera in April of 1999
As some people probably know, I have a fairly large stash of lolita publications. Among them are some of the earliest issues of Kera. I’ve
01/30 - A Raine-y Wardrobe ~ 2014 Edition
Last year I shared my wardrobe and my library. This year, I’m going the more traditional route and just sharing my wardrobe. Alice and the
01/16 - Lolita Blog Carnival: 3 Prints In My Favorite Colorway
When I first read the theme for today’s Lolita Blog Carnival post, I was a little torn as to what my favorite color way is.
01/03 - Lolita Blog Carnival: 2014 Trends I Predict
So quite by accident, my last post was on the same exact topic as the Lolita Blog Carnival’s last post, which reminded me that it
01/02 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : Favorite thing to put on my head
Today’s post from the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 4. Favorite thing to put on my head. Which, is pretty easy to answer, because the

2013 (52)

12/31 - My Lolita New Year’s Resolutions
There are a number of things that I have realized that I don’t do the way I want to and would like to change this
12/15 - Raine’s Guide to Shopping Services
For people new to lolita fashion, shopping services can be a somewhat odd concept. However, once you get more comfortable in the fashion, they prove
12/09 - Winter 2013-2014 Lucky Pack Round Up!
It’s that season again! I’ll be updating this post with lucky pack info as it becomes available. So far my personal favorites are the Angelic
12/03 - Comming Soon from Angelic Pretty: Imai Kira Collab, Roses, Circus and more!
A number of very lucky girls attended Angelic Pretty’s Winter Party, this year dubbed the Glorious Night Carnival and got to see an early preview
11/23 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : Purses That I love
Today’s post from the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 27. Purses That I Love. I’m not really sure if this is just supposed to be
11/16 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : Plan For a Trip! A Week’s Worth of Lolita Outfits I Can Fit in a Small Suitcase
Today’s post from the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 21. Plan for a trip! A week’s worth of Lolita outfits I can fit in a small
11/11 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : My “Signature” Outfit
Today’s post from the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 48. My “signature” outfit. This is actually hard for me, because I actually haven’t been wearing
09/19 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : Something That I Made
Today’s post from the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 33. Something that I made. First and foremost, I’m not a seamstress. When I got asked at
09/04 - And I Was Like Baby, Baby, No…
Anyone who is my friend on facebook was subjected to a burst of intense rage directed towards BTSSB/AatP the other day when I opened up
08/25 - Comming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Holy Laturn (for Halloween)
In the latest Gothic & Lolita Bible, AP showed previews of their new Halloween print, Holy Laturn (Did they mean Lantern?), and their Tokyo Blog
08/15 - Coming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Fancy Paper Dolls & Coat of Arms Tartan
Lavender collared JSK pictured above. Coming 9/14 from Angelic Pretty: Fancy Paper Dolls Fancy Paper Dolls will be in the latest issue of Kera, and
08/03 - Coord Post: Star Night Theater
This past weekend I went down to VA, and while there I went to a meet at the Science Center and saw an Imax on
07/22 - Coming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Melty Royal Chocolate
Melty Royal Chocolate is a re-hashing of Angelic Pretty’s previous Royal Chocolate Series. It has the same chocolate bar style print, and then brings in
06/25 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : My First Meetup
Today’s post from the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 17. My First Meetup. I guess technically, my first meet up was the lolita meetup at
06/24 - Coming Soon From AP: Musee du Chocolate
I know, I know, I’ve been really quiet lately. I’ve been pretty run down. Turns out, I had an infection in my tear duct (similar
05/27 - Coming Soon from Angelic Pretty: Dream Sky Re-Release
According to the latest Angelic Pretty catalog (Summer 2013) that was just released May 25th, Dream Sky will be re-released this summer. There is no
05/20 - Coord Post – Toy March at Fiesta Asia & National Zoo
Quick outfit rundown Angelic Pretty: Toy March Jumper Skirt, Toy March Headbow, Pink Headbow, Star Night Necklace, British Ribbon Necklace, Carousel Necklace, Socks, pony ring
05/20 - 52 Week Lolita Challenge: How strangers react to my clothes, and how I react to their reactions
I know, I know, I’ve fallen a bit off the bandwagon with the whole 52 week challenge. I’ve been really worn out lately, and got
05/16 - Getting the Right Japanese Shoe Size
One thing that a lot of lolita have mentioned time and again as being hard to figure out is shoe sizing. Fortunately, once you get
05/11 - Adventures in Tumblr Land
So, up until just over a month ago, I never really used Tumblr. I made an account, and it basically sat dormant. In my mind,
05/02 - Milky Planet Re-Release Japanese Web Shop Popularity
With the Day Dream Carnival release, I posted the times at which each item sold out after the fact (I was storing them in a
05/01 - Coming Soon From Angelic Pretty: Milky Planet Re-Release
Angelic Pretty has just put up info about a re-release of their popular Milky Planet print. The re-release has an one piece with an apron,
04/27 - New from Innocent World: Fairy Tale,19th Century France
Innocent World Fairy Tale Series Innocent world just introduced a new series, Fairy Tale. It’s currently up for reservation. The OP in this series is
04/27 - On Homophobia, Complexities of Language, and Degrees of Dissention
I got into a bit of a debate this past weekend on BtB over an issue that is, in my opinion, very complex and very
04/16 - Comming Soon From AP: Dreamy Baby Room
Angelic Pretty apparently just released this in the latest issue of Kera today, but I haven’t a copy in hand yet, so I’m going by
04/12 - Ladies (and Girls) of the BTSSB Print “Fragrant Rose Memories”
Fragrant Rose Memories is a print from Baby the Stars Shine Bright, which was released in 2012 (Shown above is the Vivienne JSK). At some
04/02 - Day Dream Carnival Re-Release
Angelic Pretty Tokyo just posted up this announcement about the Day Dream Carnival Re-Release. So, based on my google-translate-fu, here is a summary. ::edit:: (And
04/01 - Puppet Circus Re-release?!?!?!
So I was on Angelic Pretty’s site, looking at the OPs and I was trying to see if they still had the page for an
03/30 - Advice I Dissagree With: Garment Fit
So, I recently started using tumblr and I decided to follow a popular tips-and-tricks tumblr feed for lolita. Why? I don’t know. Half the time
03/22 - Day Dream Carnival – Online Order Popularity
Sometimes, I get curious about what color/cut of a popular Angelic Pretty Release is most popular in Japan. (I also have an older post of
03/14 - Coming Soon from Innocent World: チョコレートファウンテン (Chocolate Fountain)
Every now and then, Innocent World takes a dive into the super-sweet world that is normally dominated by Angelic Pretty and makes a brightly colored,
03/11 - Coord Post: Royal Library at the Baltimore Museum of Art
Yesterday was my birthday, and my local lolita comm, Charm City Lolitas happened to have a meet at the Baltimore Museum of Art, which was
03/11 - 52 Week Lolita Challenge: 5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style
This week, for the 52 Week Lolita Challenge it’s question number 1; 5 pieces that every Lolita wardrobe should have, regardless of style. There are a
03/08 - Coming Soon: Angelic Pretty Eternal Rose Collection
The latest GLB (#47) had a big spread on Angelic Pretty’s upcoming collections in the front. One of those, which I haven’t hear much about
03/06 - New from Angelic Pretty: Whip Show Case
Angelic Pretty has just launched the info page for their new print: Whip Show Case ( ホイップShow Case ), which comes out this Saturday (March
03/05 - Advice I Disagree With: Why Buying a Petticoat First is a Bad Idea
One thing I keep hearing people suggest to new lolita that I absolutely and totally disagree with is the advice to buy a petticoat first.
03/01 - Katsucon 2013 Coordinates – Deco Loli!
In February, I attended Katsucon in Washington D.C. Saturday, I wore Angelic Pretty’s New Year’s Lucky pack print; Dream Fantasy. Below is a photo taken
03/01 - 52 Week Lolita Challenge: My Favorite Lolita Brand
This week, for the 52 week lolita challenge, it’s question 6; my favorite lolita brand. This is really hard, because I have two. First of all,
02/23 - Post-Wearing Review: Bodyline shoes178 – Neutral
I picked up Bodyline’s Shoe Model shoes178 in Dark Pink, size 25, to match with my Bodyline Candy print skirt. I ordered them on December
02/20 - The Replica Documentation Project
The western lolita fashion consumer is different from fashion consumers in almost every other designer-centric fashion circle I know of in one, stark way. It’s
02/12 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : 3 things I wish I was told when I was a new Lolita
Today’s post from the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge is 15. 3 things I wish I was told when I was a new Lolita. 1. Consider
02/03 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : The ways in which I do not fit the cliche
Last week, for the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge, I looked at 42. The ways in which I fit the cliche, so this week, I’m
02/02 - Coming Soon: Angelic Pretty Etoile Twins
Angelic pretty just formally announced their new series 双子のエトワール or “Etoile Twins”. Those of you who follow their Tokyo blog may have seen these preview
02/01 - My Lolita Publication Library and 90% of a Wardrobe Post
I’ve had quite a few people ask me to share my library, so I’m going to do something a little bit different. This is a
01/30 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : The ways in which I fit the cliche
Today, for the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge, I want to look at 42. The ways in which I fit the cliche. This is sort
01/30 - Review : Taobaoring – Neutral
I recently ordered two dresses, four blouses, some hair clips, and a bunch of shoes through taobaoring, and while I will be reviewing the items
01/25 - Second Hand Sales Pricing & Manners
I don’t buy from the EGL Comm Sales as much as I do from Mbok for a few reasons. Mostly, it’s just because I tend
01/21 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : Parasols: Vital or frivolous?
Today’s post for the 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge; 46. Parasols: Vital or frivolous? Well, considering I own all of 1.5 lolita parasols (the half
01/18 - Coming Soon : Angelic Pretty Day Dream Carnival Series!
Ever since I saw a few heavily photoshopped photos (see the collage below) and heard that this series featured carousel horses, I’ve been hooked. But
01/15 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : The item in my wardrobe that was the hardest to get
47. The item in my wardrobe that was the hardest to get This is kinda a fitting one because in the past couple months, I’ve
01/12 - 52 Week Lolita Topic Challenge : Bloomers or no bloomers?
Over on FYeahLolita (which is an amazing blog) I recently saw a post about a 52-week Lolita Challenge for bloggers. Now, 52 weeks, unless I’ve
01/04 - Lesser Known Brands: Pina Sweet
Pina Sweet is a brand that has been in the Gothic Lolita Bibles for years (usually appearing next to Princess Doll). Unlike larger brands, they

2012 (11)

12/06 - Coordinate Ideas: Don’t Egg Me On
Meta has really outdone themselves this time. It’s odd, when I think of Meta, I tend to think of their raschel lace monsters, their questionable
12/01 - Quick Coord Post: Happy International Lolita Day!
Today is the first Saturday of December which is one of the two dates of International Lolita Day (which despite the name, happens twice a
11/23 - The Look for Less: AP Sweet Border Print Look with Bodyline
There are three main ways to buy lolita on a budget. One is to buy things on sale/buy lucky packs, another is to buy second
11/20 - New Release: Putumayo Magic Frame
Before I get to the lovely frills, I just want to give a couple words of caution. While I love a lot of the designs
11/18 - Coming Soon : Angelic Pretty Jewel Ribbon Series!
The AP-Tokyo blog posted some photos, and the most recent issue of Kera also has pictures of a new AP series; Jewel Ribbon (ジュエルリボンシリーズ). I
11/16 - New Release: Angelic Pretty Misty Sky
Angelic Pretty came out with a new series the other day; Misty Sky. It follows in the foot steps of some of their other popular
11/14 - Cute New Release Roundup – Angelic Pretty
So, AP has been putting out all sorts of cute things lately (more frequently than usual even), and so I wanted to take a moment
11/13 - Second Hand Coordinates Under 15,000 Yen #1
One thing I see a lot from new lolita is that it’s impossible for them to afford brand because it’s just so expensive. While I
11/13 - Enchanted to Meet You, of a Matter of Course
So, before I go any farther than this, I’d like to make it perfectly clear; I’m well aware that there are more blogs out there
10/01 - Coord Post: Haenuli Sleeping Beauty
I got my Sleeping Beauty OP from Haenuli this past Friday, and so I put together a very quick coord with it… Sorry, my camera
02/02 - Flash-Back LJ Post Import: Review: From Japan + FedEx + Putumayo & Amazon Japan [Mostly Positive]
From Japan (http://www.fromjapan.co.jp) is a shopping service I recently heard about and it’s pretty cheap compared to most of the others I’ve used, so I

2011 (4)

09/24 - Flash-Back LJ Post Import: IW Oddments Lucky Pack Opening (Fall 2011)
Product Name Oddment Items Lucky Pack A Product Number 113005 Price ￥52,500 Expected deliver date Early October 2011 Because I’m exhausted, from left to right:
07/05 - Flash-Back LJ Post Import: IW Lucky Pack (Summer 2011)
I bought the Summer 2011 Innocent World Lucky Pack A: (￥52,500 version) and here is what I got… Black x offwhite boloro with pin-on bow
04/30 - Flash-Back LJ Post Import: IW Earthquake/Tsunami Charity Lucky Pack A & B
In 2011, Japan was hit with a major Earthquake and Tsunami. Innocent World chose to release a charity lucky pack instead of their normal Golden
04/02 - Flash-Back LJ Post Import: Closet Child Review – positive
Now, before I start, I do want to say that I’ve ordered from them twice before with no problems. One of those past orders had

2010 (3)

10/29 - Flash-Back LJ Post Import: Innocent World Halloween Lucky Pack!
So! my innocent world halloween B (JSK) (15,750 Yen) lucky pack came today! I opened it up and found: Nicholos Fruits Handkerchief :: http://lolibrary.org/node/828 Madeline
10/11 - Flash-Back LJ Post Import: Review: Taobao Spree compared to Qutieland, Infanta, Dear Celine, Dream of Lolita, and Boguta
Well, truth be told, I started browsing TaoBao for shoes (but ended up getting bodyline shoes on half-off instead. XD) and in the process I fell
08/10 - Flash-Back LJ Post Import: An*Tai*Na shoes (Qutieland) post-wearing review
I saw quite a few reviews of An*Tai*Na shoes right after they were shipped, but very few about them after they were worn. So, a

2004 (1)

04/01 - Mirror Post : “History of GOSULOLI” timeline in Rococo Vol. 1
I own quite a few mooks, magazines and catalogs relating to lolita fashion, going back to 1998. And one thing I’ve seen in a few

Crimson Reflections

Because sometimes the world is too complex for black and white

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