Nutcracker Reflections

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The performance DVDs and photobooks from the Nutcracker performance I was part of in December recently arrived, and reminded to me to take a moment to pause and reflect on the show. The recording and photography are really nicely done and will be an excellent souvenir of the performances, which were a lot of fun!

I performed as the Marzipan/Mirliton soloist in the second act of the show, as well as part of the Snow corps. It was a lot of work to learn and perfect the choreography, but it was definitely worth it in the end. We originally only had one performance planned, but demand for tickets was so high that we actually added a second performance!

My only regret is not having had time to get the right assortment of pointe shoes and thus had to worry about whether they would last through both performances. Fortunately, with some shellac and jet glue, it worked out ^_^

As always, ballerinas are perfectionists, and looking my dancing in the video, I'm happy that my footwork and extensions through the legs has improved greatly, but going forward, I do want to focus more on extending that energy through my upper body and arms as well, because I think that was my weak point in both pieces.

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Goals for 2016

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I know it's already a month into 2016, but I have been thinking a lot about all of the things, big and small, that I want to work on or accomplish this year. I think a lot of New Year's resolutions end up fizzling out because they are often too vague or too unrealistic. Thus, in setting my goals, I chose mostly small things that I think are feasible, and limit myself to just one broad conceptual goal for this year:

Allow myself to be imperfect.

That is my theme for 2016 (and beyond, really). I am too often a perfectionist, and I feel like that holds me back from progress in improving my skills and just getting things done even if they are not 100% to my satisfaction. This year, I want to remember to allow myself to be imperfect, and to be able to finish and appreciate things that I do while still being critical of what I need to improve and learning from them. A lot of my smaller, more concrete goals are things I've wanted or hoped to do, but never actually achieved because I wouldn't allow myself to call a project finished until I thought it was perfect. Unfortunately, many of those projects have just never been finished. I would like to work on changing that this year.


And now for smaller, more specific things I would like to do in 2016:

- Explore more - Madison is such a lovely city with lots of venues both natural and urban to explore. I tend to be a bit of a shut-in if left to my own devices, and I want to push myself to venture out to places by myself more. Perhaps an expedition each month would be a good place to start!

- Send more snail mail - There's a certain charm to old-fashioned snail mail that I was reminded of over Christmas when I participated in a card exchange. I've also made a few new penpals, and I want to set a goal of writing each of them at least once a month.

- Dress up more - And take more outfit photos! Over the past year, I've stopped dressing up so much, only really putting on workout clothes to head to dance classes and rehearsals. I'd like to this year just dress up for no reason, and take pretty photos, even if I'm not planning to go anywhere special. I love wearing Lolita and the way the fashion makes me feel, and I think it would really help pick up my mood just to wear something pretty and froofy even if I'm just faffing about the house.

- Make more Youtube videos - I want to post a new video every month in 2016. Every year, I start out hoping to make more videos, but only ever sporadically finish anything I consider "good enough" to post, whether because of recording or artwork not meeting my own standards. I'd like to force myself to create and upload something every month this year, even if it's not perfect.

- Be more active in Youtube singing - In keeping with wanting to make and post more videos, I also would like to meet more people and make new friends who also enjoy singing covers of Japanese pop songs on Youtube. I used to be active in the groupdubbing community, but due to personal reasons as well as an overall decline of the community, I have become a mostly lone singer the last few years. I would like to reconnect with other online singers. To do so, I will push myself to search out and participate in chorus battles (starting with the Museical Trio Chorus Battle with some old friends from my groupdubbing days).

- Play more music - I have a lot of instruments, and am pretty good at playing at least half of them. I want to set a goal to play at least one of them for some amount of time every day this year, whether that's five minutes or a couple of hours. I love playing the piano especially, and I do miss it and want to make myself start playing more again.

- Record five acoustic covers - I'm actually trained primarily as an instrumental musician, I have no real voice training other than from choir, so it's actually a bit funny that pretty much all of my covers are just vocals (with a pre-made backing track). So, to change that, I want to make five acoustic covers this year (that's a nice round number...).

- Write a song - I have composed several pieces of instrumental music in the past, and I really enjoy it. It's something I want to push myself to do more, so I'm setting a goal of writing at least one song in 2016.


And some art-related goals for 2016:

- Share and be brave - I tend to be shy about showing people my artwork, because I consider most, if not all of it, to be mediocre at best. But in keeping with my goal of allowing myself to learn and grow while acknowledging my progress to reach where I am at the moment, I will reblog each of my own artwork posts at least once, preferably twice (this is my assignment from my good friend Jazzmoth).

- Start commissions - And in keeping with being brave, I want to set up a good commission information page, and allow myself to promote / advertise it once every 3 months this year.

- Do an Artist Alley - I have been thinking about doing an Artist Alley for quite awhile now, and I in fact have done several, but as an artisan / craftsperson rather than as an illustrator. I want to do an Artist Alley this year in which I feature some of my illustration work, even if I do still offer my small accessories for sale as well. To start modestly, I am currently thinking of trying for a table at Geek Kon because that is local to me and would be less stressful in terms of travel logistics.

- Make more art - Because I am still at a stage with my art that requires some amount of inspiration to really get good results, I am hesitant to put any hard numbers on this goal, and will let it rest as a broader overarching resolution. I would like not only to draw more overall, but to also explore different repertoire, even if I am not good at them. I want especially to learn how to retain the dynamism and spontaneity of my sketches in the polishing process for my more refined pieces.

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Ballet and Pointe Shoe Update

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It's been a little while since the last time I talked about ballet, and it's not because I've been doing it less. In fact, I've been very busy with dance, and even tried a few auditions in the spring. I got to perform in the Ruth Page spring show with the other girls in the Waltz of the Hours from Coppelia, which was both terrifying and wonderful! Terrifying because it's a lot more pressure and expectation than UBallet shows, but wonderful because I've always wanted to have a chance to perform with the girls there. I'm happy I got to do it once before I moved away.

After coming to Madison, I've been finding various studios and groups that I feel comfortable with. I even auditioned for a couple of Nutcracker productions, and eventually chose to do the Verona Youth Ballet production. I'll be dancing in their version of Snow (set to the Snow Pas de Deux music rather than the Snow Waltz due to their being so few people in it), as well as dancing the lead role in the Marzipan divertissement!

I don't tend to take many photos in the studio, but I did a couple of quick snaps before one of my Nutcracker auditions. My motto is "Less is more" for audition settings, and usually just aim to have simple but very neat dress, hair, and makeup. I do like to add a bit of sparkle to my bun though, just as an eyecatching focal point.

Going into the audition venue, I try to wear something to keep me warm during waiting periods and while I'm warming myself up. Whoever thought ballerinas were chic is probably somewhat mistaken...

I've also found my current holy grail pointe shoe since my last ballet musings post. I went in for a fitting at Allegro in Evanston, IL, and was fitted with Russian Pointe Almaz. I never realized until I did this fitting that my problem with pointe shoes wasn't necessarily that they were too wide or too untapered, but that the crown of the box was too high for my foot. While I do have a fairly tapered toe are, the crucial point is that I need a low crown for the shoe to actually fit along my foot so I don't keep sliding into the front of the box. I've been loving my Almaz since I switched to them back in February or March, and hoping my feet won't change too much anytime soon!

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Finding the Ocarina of Time

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I've always felt like wind instruments have a certain old-fashioned charm to them that fills my yearning for woodland and fairy beauty. Ocarinas especially capture my imagination, with their airy almost ethereal sound and their unusual rustic-looking shapes. Of course, now you can get ocarinas in all sorts of interesting and modern designs, but I think I still associate them most strongly with mostly round and gourd-like forms.



I have had my ocarina for a while, but never really spent enough time learning to play it beyond just fiddling around once in a blue moon. I finally decided to buy a couple of simple songbooks for it so I can more easily get comfortable playing actual songs, instead of just twittering around blindly. I'm especially enjoying the "Anime" one because it turns out to exclusively contain songs from Studio Ghibli films, which I adore.

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Happy New Year!

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Another year has zoomed by and it's already four days into the new one! One of the things I was dissatisfied with last year was my lack of productivity. One part of it is allowing myself to define productivity as something other than academic achievement, but the other is actually pushing myself to produce more things of whatever type. And since the new year started conveniently just about the time I was having all these ponderings, I've decided that it can be more sort of New Year's Resolution!

I've decided to challenge myself to a personal project for this year. I've tried Project 365 and failed horribly because honestly, I'm just not a photo type of person, and I don't enjoy it enough for that sort of thing to not just become a chore. However, I thought, maybe it would work better if my goal was to just create *something* every day, whether it's taking a photograph for memories, or drawing a picture, or creating a musical snippet. So that's what my goal is this year - to try to make something every day. I might not make it, but I think it will at least push me to be more productive *and* to accept the idea that productivity has a vast definition.

So without further ado, here's to a wonderful and productive 2015!



This fruit tart looks shiny and delicious! It is very shiny. Emily thinks the fruit look like fake fruit from furniture store displays.

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Christmas Redux Pt. 2 ~ Friends (aka Family No. 2)

In addition to my family, I also got presents for K- and Miss M. It's a running joke that they might as well be married, since they are such close friends and are together all the time, so I decide to get them matching travel mugs (they are also both addicted to coffee).

I was inspired by a travel mug I saw in CVS, but the mug itself was really really ugly, so I decided to just have my own custom printed. I found Tervis through a quick Google search, and they seemed to be reasonably priced and have no minimum order (I had no need for 100 coffee mugs...).

The design I put on them was text-only, so I can't say how nicely actual images print, but what I got was nice and crisp, and the mugs themselves were really sturdy.

To top off their presents, I filled K-'s with gummy bears, since he loves those, and I filled Miss M's with foldover elastic hair ties that I made myself. And then I drew them some bird-tastic cards so I could include a little note for each of them ^_^

I'm really happy that they liked the mugs, and hopefully it'll be something useful for both of them! I know at least the gummy bears and hair ties will be well used :-P

Christmas Redux Pt. 1 ~ Family

Now that Christmas has come and gone, and all my presents were safely kept secret until they were to be opened, I can make my posts showing off the things I designed!

For my family (mother, father, and sister), I decided this year to draw them all little graphics representing things that they enjoy and do. I then had those graphics printed on various things ordered through Zazzle.

For my father:

Printed on a mousepad and a mug.

For my mother:

Printed on a wall clock.

For my sister:

Printed on a notebook and a tote bag.

Everyone was really pleased with their presents, yay!! Overall I was really pleased with the printing quality, as well as the general quality of the actual items! The only really disappointing one was the tote bag. The graphic came out really fuzzy and with really bleedy edges, and I didn't realize how yellow the "natural" color option was, so it distorted the colors pretty badly. All the other items were great, and the printing was nice and clean!

[Lolita Blog Carnival] New Year's Resolutions for Lolita Fashion in 2014

I'm actually terrible at keeping resolutions of any sort; it's almost like making them curses me to fail. However, I enjoy making lists of things, so I thought this would be a fun one to do!

1. Sell pieces I don't really wear anymore.

I've been amassing a closet in various buying spurts over a span of 2 - 3 years now, in terms of main pieces as well as accompanying accessories. I'd obviously like to continue developing my wardrobe, but I have limited space in my apartment, so it would be good to filter out things that no longer fit with my current tastes.

2. Collect more simple headpieces.

Since I do wear Lolita on a semi-daily basis, I'm usually too lazy to deal with elaborate or fussy hairstyles. Unfortunately, very large bows/flowers/etc. don't look very good on plain hair >_< I'd like to accumulate (buy OR make) some more simple headpieces that I can wear with plainer hair.

3. Learn how to use clip-in bangs.

This is probably seems sort of random, but it's something that I've been thinking about for a bit. Now that I'm dancing so much, it's actually kind of a pain having bangs cut into my real hair, because they're hard to pull back cleanly when I'm dancing. I think the best solution would be to invest in a couple of good clip-in bangs (I'm thinking one blunt cut and one side-swept), and just grow out my own hair. This way, I can have the best of both worlds?

4. Develop a better petticoat collection.

I have quite a lot of petticoats, most of which are medium-poof at best. While I do have one that I like for more daily wear, I'd like to get at least one REALLY poofy one so I don't have to wear 3 or 4 petticoats at a time to get the amount of poof I want for heavier skirts or more elaborate outfits. I tend to get a rash on my waist from elastics as-is, and multi-petticoats don't help that.

5. Go to more meetups.

This ties into a more general life resolution I want to make regarding my socialization patterns. I don't think I'll stop being shy, but the last year or so I've really sort of isolated myself into my own world due to a lot of converging issues. But honestly, I miss hanging out with people, which only makes me feel worse. Since I always really enjoy Lolita meetups, I think forcing myself to go to more of them will really help me actually feel better about life in general ^_^

So there it is, my list of Lolita resolutions!

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Make sure to check out all the other blogs in the Lolita Blog Carnival who participated in this topic!

~ The Cute Lifestyle | Mary Hazelbelle | Her Lumpiness | Lace Teapot | Breiðholt | Lolita Glamour | Beyond Kawaii | New Vogue Children | Fire Extinquisher | Wearable Magic | Northern Star | Hello Batty | Ramble Rori | Jess Cosmic Delight ~

[Lolita Blog Carnival] 3 Trends You Could Never Get Into

Finally, another Lolita Blog Carnival post! This week's topic is three trends you could never get into. It was actually rather difficult for me to think of anything, since to me, a lot of things I don't happen to wear just happen to be things I don't wear, rather than things I would categorize as "can never get into." However, I did manage to find three trends that I do not follow.

1. Food Prints

Even as a beginner Lolita, I had some very strong print theme preferences that I still have now. I still love anything related to music, literature, and ballet. And I still feel weird wearing, or thinking about wearing most prints featuring food. It's not that I dislike those particular prints, and in many cases I actually think they're really beautiful, but whenever I think about wearing pictures of food all over me... I just feel weird. So it has always been a conscious decision when cultivating my wardrobe, that I did not buy print items with food as the primary theme.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="420"] Photo: Angelic Pretty[/caption]

I was extremely tempted to buy a "Jewelry Jelly" skirt when Angelic Pretty came out with it, I just thought the lavender colorway was perfect. And I literally came within inches of clicking the buy button, and then my instincts kicked back in and I didn't. And I still have never gotten it even though I still admire and drool over it whenever I see a friend wearing that print. It's beautiful, and I adore it, but I just don't do food prints!

I think there are only two things in my wardrobe that are "exceptions" to my no-food decision.



I do own the "Forest Harvest Festival" print from Innocent World, which technically has jam jars on it. However, when I bought it, I decided they were just one of many things in the print, and incorporated enough that I didn't feel like I was wearing FOOD, since my main focus was on all the cute animals and the autumn aspect in the print.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="340"] Photo: Angelic Pretty[/caption]

I also caved in to temptation and bought "Sweetie Chandelier" from Angelic Pretty, which technically has gummy bears and cupcakes on it, but I felt like they were sufficiently incorporated into the chandelier aspect that again, I don't feel like I'm wearing OMG CUPCAKES but rather chandeliers, which happen to have colorful bear-shaped and a few cupcake-shaped candles on them.

2. Wigs

The long wig with big pigtail clip-ons has become fairly standard in Lolita fashion, particularly within the past few years, and particularly amongst sweet Lolitas, who I see wear them in all sorts of awesome pastel colors.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="339"] Photo: Gothic Lolita Wigs[/caption]

This was something that I saw on other people and thought "Aww, how cute, now I want a wig like that!" I think they began to become more common a couple of years after I got into the fashion, and coincided right when I really started accumulating more of a wardrobe and trying to get better accessories and stuff to match. So I figured, hey why not, thy look so cute! However, after trying an actual full set (wig + pigtails) once, maybe twice, I decided it's not for me. Not only do I not really look particularly good with so much hair, but it gave me horrible migraines and was just plain uncomfortable.



I even tried just the clips with my own hair, or just the long wig without the clips, but even that was not exactly awesome. It looked better, but still gave me the headache. I saw everyone wearing the beautiful long fluffy crimped wigs that have become popular in the past year or so, and thought I'd try one on... Too much hair for my face/head. The only wigs I've found that both look decent on me, and don't induce a headache, are shorter bob styles. So if I ever want to have different length/texture than what my hair naturally does, or colorful hair, that will have to suffice.

While for many people, wigs are an easier alternative to wrangling with their natural hair, I actually felt they were more of a nuisance for me, because I'm very blessed to have natural hair that does not tangle easily. So I would spend hours having to detangle wigs, which is something I wasn't used to having to do with my hair. As I developed my tastes in Lolita, I also found that I tend to prefer simpler hairstyles, and don't really go OTT with head accessories, so natural hair just looked better for fitting that aesthetic. Since coming to that realization, I've mostly stuck to using my natural hair for Lolita, whether for daily wearing or for fancy big meetups, and keeping my wigs for costuming and cosplay purposes.




3. Painting Dresses

These dresses featuring classical art prints seemed to generate quite a frenzy when Juliette et Justine first released them. I'm sure dresses featuring classical art existed before then, but they suddenly popped up on the radar after JetJ got into them. I actually can't remember the exact timeline, but it felt fairly recent, within the last couple of years. Everyone seemed to be talking about them, and everyone wanted one.



Since then, JetJ has continued releasing more and more dresses with classical art. For a while it seemed like every set of new releases had one. People started getting their own fabric printed and sewing their own, even Bodyline seems to have finally tried dipping into this trend.



While I love classical art, I just have never really gotten into this print trend. I've seen some dresses of this theme that do look very elegant, but other ones suffer from awkward image placement, or just look like a haphazard collage of classical paintings stuck on a dress. Overall, it's just not something that I am very interested in wearing (I don't need Queen Elizabeth on my butt, or cherubs on my chest), and not a trend that I see myself getting into.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="344"] Photo: Juliette et Justine[/caption]

So there they are, three trends I could never get into - one thing that has always been a conscious choice from the beginning, another that I tried once or twice early on and decided just did not fit my aesthetic preference, and a third that is more recent and something I have never actually tried because I just never found it fitting to my tastes.

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 Make sure to check out all the other blogs in the carnival who participated in this topic!

~ Lemontree111 |  Alice in Lolitaland | Hello Kitty Loves Disney | Ice Age | Pretty Little Habits | Lolita Glamour | Dollhouse Diaries | Under the Parasol | Her Lumpiness | Lace a la Mode | The Bloody Tea Party | Starry-Eyed Lolita ~

Discovering Russian Pointe

Over the past spring and summer, I became increasingly dissatisfied with how my pointe shoes felt on my feet, and how that was impacting my pointework. The narrower size of Grishko 2007 felt better width-wise on my right foot, but was tighter-fitting overall than I preferred, and it still didn't feel very nice on my left foot. The narrower box actually accentuated the twisting problem I have with my left foot in any pointe shoe I've ever worn. The shank has a tendency to twist off to the side, resulting in a very unstable feeling whenever I go up on pointe. I stopped by Motion Unlimited and had myself re-fit for pointe shoes, and ended up getting Grishko 2007 in size 4XXX (so, up one size, but down a width). While that did feel a little better, it was still not really ideal.

In search of a better-fit pointe shoe, I decided to try Russian Pointes. Luckily, I decided just in time to get an in-store fitting just before their flagship store closed down. The lady who did my fitting was very nice, and did a very meticulous job. Unfortunately, my twisty left foot defied all of her fitting efforts, and she had to call in some additional consultation. I tried on every single model that they had, some in multiple sizes and widths. Finally, we did find one that felt good, and had the least twisting on my left foot: the Dolce! Unfortunately... that is the model they just discontinued... I bought the one pair in my size/width that they had left in the store for a huge discount, just to try it and see if I really wanted to keep using them.

After about a month of wearing those, doing more pointework than I had been before, since I was taking variations and partnering classes all of July, I decided that the Dolces were definitely the new preferred shoe. Miss M thought they definitely looked better on my foot, and that I looked more stable on pointe too. Cue scouring the internet for dance supply stores that still had stock for my size and width. All of the sites I found had them on clearance sale, which was good news. I snagged two more pairs, which hopefully will last me for a while yet. After that, I will have to resort to finding either a European, Japanese, or Russian shopping service to get my Dolces TT_TT

The first pair lasted me all of summer, and I started in on the second pair about two weeks ago. The pointework load is even higher now though, so I'm expecting the second pair to wear out faster. The first pair is actually still usable, so I've been rotating the two pairs in hopes of prolonging use of both of them. *crosses all fingers and toes*

Watashi wa Watashi ~ Minegishi Minami [no3b/No Sleeves/AKB48]

"Watashi wa Watashi" from no3b 1st Album - no3b
Original by: Minegishi Minami
Cover by: Kyttyee

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This is one of those songs that just hits a deep chord with me, in terms of the message carried in the lyrics. I've included a translation below for those who are interested. The title is "I am Me" which is something that I often have to remind myself of. And you guys get to see a slideshow of random pictures of me ^_^

Over the past months, I've been trying very hard to find the "me" that has been hidden under layers and layers, and years and years, of expectations and constraints placed on my first by other people, and eventually be myself as well. I can't say that I've found myself yet, but I feel like I'm beginning to accept my own interests and ambitions for what they are, rather than what I feel like they "should" be. And it's okay to not be perfect, because nobody really is.

And this song is just such an excellent narrative of the journey that I'm on right now.

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Translation: http://stage48.net/studio48/watashiwawatashi.html

The road I am walking on now
is the road I wished for before but
I hate the self that becomes worried
just from the wind blowing slightly

The dream that I saw in the past
shone radiantly
with no doubt nor
anything else;
the far future that I believed in

Why are there tears welling up
and overflowing?
Even though I know
I'm blessed with happiness
If I stop now
I won't able to walk anymore
I'll try hard and keep going

The colleagues that should have started together
are going very far ahead
The times that I can't see their retreating figures
I think my own feet are slow

Our respective ending destinations or
the speeds to reach them are all different but,
to the regret
and frustration,
there are times when I might lose...

I am me aren't I?
I'm alright
I simply said
that I wanted to be spoiled by someone
Though I'm always laughing and
acting cheerfully,
I am weak just like everyone else

Why are there tears welling up
and overflowing?
Even though I know
I'm blessed with happiness
If I stop now
I won't able to walk anymore
I'll try hard and keep going

I am me aren't I?
No matter who I am..
People live their lives by their own pace
no matter who they are
I'll definitely find it;
a path that only I can walk on
For a little longer I'll slowly continue on

[Lolita Blog Carnival] 1 Piece, 4 Seasons

I joined the Lolita Blog Carnival quite awhile ago, but did not have sufficient time/inspiration to participate in posting until now. So this is my very first LBC post!

I love the idea of seeing how people use the same article of clothing in coordinations fit for a variety of weather conditions, especially as it is something that I often have to do myself. Funny enough, I was looking through old outfit snaps and realized I didn't really have a full-range season set for any main piece in my wardrobe. Maybe I tend to wear certain pieces at only certain times of year!

As it turns out, my trusty Emily Temple Cute Pippi Longstocking print skirt was the winner - the one piece I wear year-round! Given how much I love this skirt, that's no wonder at all ^_^

Spring


Shirt: JCPenney's
Socks: Sockdreams
Necklace: Chocomint

The print itself is perfectly fit for spring - what better to do than read books under blooming trees? In Chicago, it's actually still pretty chilly in the spring, but not cold enough to warrant many layers. Spring always makes me feel more pastel, so pairing the skirt with a light blue turtleneck and long socks was perfect. A birdcage necklace finishes it off to add a point of interest on top.

Summer


Shirt/Socks: Target
Brooch/Hairbow: Lemontree11

For summer, I stuck with emphasizing the blue bits in the print, as I don't often wear yellow/green (not entirely flattering with my skintone). It gets pretty oppressive in the summer here, so short sleeves, short socks, and hair up were definitely a must. The adorable bunny brooch I got from Lemontree11 fits in perfectly with the whimsy of the print and adds a nice touch to a very plain shirt.

Autumn


T-shirt/Cardigan/Tights: Target
Shoes: StrideRite

Sage green is a color that I associate very much with autumn, especially when paired with brown, hence the t-shirt and tights in this outfit. The weather becomes cool fairly quickly, so cardigans and layers really come in handy (not to mention, I just really love cardigans).

Winter


Cardigan/Tights: Target
Boots: Sugar

For winter, I usually turn to darker colors. I decided to use black to coordinate with the rickrack trim on the skirt hem. I love stompy boots with Lolita outfits, and I especially love these particular ones (I have them in two other colors as well). Not only are they conveniently waterproof, the floral pattern adds a touch of fun to the outfit, which goes well with the idea of Pippi Longstocking.

All of these outfits are on the simple/casual side for Lolita, bordering onto otome. It makes sense that ETC is a brand that caters more to otome style, plus I wear these outfits on a daily basis and thus wearability is a big factor in how I create outfits. I hope you enjoyed looking at my cross-season coordination of this skirt as much as I enjoyed wearing it year-round!

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Make sure to check out all the other blogs in the carnival who participated in this topic!

~ Make Lovely | Tangled Lace | ロリタ の 世界 | Lemon Tree 11 | Minimalist Lolita | Sparkling Girl | Fashion Fairytales & Sewing Secrets | Suns in Our Hands | F Yeah Lolita | Her Curious Elegance ~

Eternal ~ Akanishi Jin || Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Merry Christmas everybody!!

This year has been one with lots of big changes in my life, and as the time to reflect comes around, the overarching feeling I have this year is one of gratefulness. I have so many wonderful people in my life, both old and new, who have supported me through the low points, and helped my celebrate the high points in this past year. I chose this song, "Eternal" by Akanashi Jin, because I feel that it really captures much of the immense gratitude I feel towards everyone who has helped me become who I am.

Many thanks to all of my friends and subscribers who have stuck with me through all these years and offered their encouragement and friendship! For those who managed to stick with me through changing channels, website revamps, and whatnot, thank you so much for your loyalty (and perseverance!). To my new friends who found me after my move, I am so grateful for your support and I hope to continue to share little tidbits of my life and interests with you ^_^

To everyone, I hope you have all had a wonderful year, with much to celebrate and love, and here's to hoping we all continue to be awesome together in the coming new year!!

Wishing you all peace and much love,
Kyttyee

Catching Up & Pointe Shoe Comparison

Long time no update!!  I've been quite busy with life in general, as well as with fun  things like Midwestria!  Hopefully I'll have the few photos I snapped from that edited and uploaded soon, but in the meantime, I will just say that I had a fantastic time and was extremely pleased at how friendly and laid-back the entire convention was.  I loved it, and I really hope I can make it again next year!

With the increasing amount of dancing I've been doing, my pointe shoes were well and dead.  In fact, Maan and I took about a week-long break from our privates because the new pointe shoes I had ordered just weren't arriving.  And then Chicago Dance Supply had their October Wednesdays sale and I thought hey, what better than 50% off pointe shoes??!!  As it turns out, they didn't actually have the exact specifications I had originally wanted, but I tried on a few slight variations in width/shank and now have three different versions of the Grishko 2007 pointe shoe to try out.

My original pair was a size 3 XXXX width with a medium shank.  Once broken in, these were far more comfortable and easier to dance in than the Bloch Serenades I had been wearing previously.  The only slightly complaint was that the box sometimes felt too wide, and my foot would slide forward if I was having a slightly skinnier-foot-day.  That's how I got my bruised toenail, which was a wonderful adventure.  I now use gel caps on my big toes, and have a permanently glued-in piece of gel padding above the big toe area of my left shoe to make it the same length as the second toe on that foot (my two feet are different shapes, yes...).  I tried sticking the Gaynor Minden box liner in there, but that made it too small, so I gave up on that and just padded my big toes.

The current new pair is still a size 3 XXXX width, but now with a soft shank. Obviously these are breaking in much faster than the previous pair, and I have a feeling I'll wear these out in half the time if not sooner.  Even on the second wearing, my feet already feel like they did in the previous pair after a few months... so...  I have the same complaint with these in that the first time my feet kept slipping forward the tiniest bit in the box, but the Gaynor Minden liners made them too too tight.  I'll be interested to see if the narrower pair I got for half-price fits any better (or if I can even get my foot in them at all if I'm having a fat-foot-day...).

The comparison sequence for now has me concluding that if I really need to break in some shoes pronto, soft shanks are fine, but I do still prefer the feel of a medium shank.  Another possibility is that I could use a soft shank on my left foot and a medium shank on my right foot, as they have differing extremes in tendencies to go not-far-enough or too-far over the box.

Lilac Fairy and Italian Fouette Reprise

Now that I've started doing the Cardio Hiphop and Zumba classes where there's some arm-work with free weights, more of my private sessions are being devoted to pointework rather than being split between Pilates reformer work and pointe exercises.

This means more time for practicing doing things en pointe, and also more time to be learning variations! This past week was the Lilac Fairy Variation from Sleeping Beauty, in which I attempted a reprise of the Italian fouette.

I love this variation because while it's not super complex, it's actually more difficult to pull off looking floaty and calm than one might think. Or maybe I've just been really off balance lately (also true). In any case, it was delightful to learn, even if executed messily.

My favorite rendition of it is probably that by Marianela Nunez (who just overall is such a beautiful dancer):


Instead of her crazy fouette sequence at the end, I tried to do Italian fouettes, although that didn't work out so well by the end of the session when I was too tired. Will definitely keep practicing this one though ^_^

Perhaps next I should learn the Bluebird Variation. Apparently the boys have learned the male part of that, so it could be fun to actually do a little bit of partnering (and it's simple).

Also... NEED NEW POINTE SHOES. Soft shoes too, but those are somewhat less urgent.

Duck Lake, Because I'm No Swan

Progress with ballet has been steady albeit slow. I think I've crossed the last of the sharp increase period and now am back in slow grinding mode. But I shall press on, and there are definitely concrete improvements (particularly in my pointework).

In fact, I finally managed to do a double pirouette en pointe in my private lesson this week! My teacher has been nudging me to attempt them for the past few lessons now, but I've always either chickened out or just outright failed when I tried. However, on Tuesday I actually did a really nice double! Not even a fake one, it was complete with suspension at the end, and to think it was actually kind of by accident, and on my left side too. Apparently I am a leftie for turns this week!

What's funny is that my turns in soft shoes have been completely disasterific. If I can just figure out what exactly it is that I'm doing so very different when I turn in pointe shoes, maybe my turns will all improve overall. I think being terrified and thus extra careful/concentrated has something to do with it, but I can't identify the physical ramifications of this mindset.

In any case, I've learned three more variations over the past few weeks. About a month ago, I learned the second odalisque solo from Le Corsaire. We did it in one lesson, and that was it, since it's short and fairly simple. It's so cute! (Scroll to 3:57)

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h-qxOMkYCI&w=420]

Then, about three weeks ago, we started the first solo variation of the pas de trois from Swan Lake Act I. It took I think 3 lessons to finish learning it. I love it because it's a lot of fun to do ^_^ Made me realize I have rather low stamina for these sorts of things though, haha! (Scroll to 2:24)



And during my last lesson, I learned Odette's variation from Swan Lake Act II. It's not a complicated variation, and slow enough for my brain to process in realtime, but it's deceptively easy-looking. I actually find it quite difficult, and I certainly can't do it well. My arms flail all over the place and I have the worst sense of balance for those rond de jambes at the beginning T_T But I'm really pleased to be learning it, since it's one of my favorite variations ^_^ (Scroll to 2:53)

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOwGEj0yoIo&w=420]

Onwards and upwards! Hopefully we will work at least a little bit more on the Odette variation. My teacher also mentioned that we might revisit Giselle's Act I variation, which I learned the steps to during class (in soft shoes), but never actually attempted in pointe shoes. And here's to trying to do more double pirouettes and hopefully not breaking anything ^_^;;

[Lolita Challenge] Day 7 – 10 5 people who inspire your Lolita style

Well, originally it was 10, but I honestly just couldn't come up with anything substantial on 10 people, so I went with half that instead.

1. Misako Aoki



Her style shares a large majority of the aesthetics that I love and try to incorporate in my own outfits. Although she tends to use more JSKs and OPs than I prefer to, she's a fantastic inspiration for color coordination, using cute but still subdued accessories, ways to combine motifs, etc. I also love the way she does her hair and makeup, and definitely take a lot of inspiration from her as I slowly learn how to do my own styling better. I absolutely adore that her hairstyles are generally natural-looking and not overly elaborate, which is great for wearing on a daily basis.

2. Oli (lemontree11)

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="420"] Image from http://lemontree11blog.blogspot.com/2012/06/fairytale-boutique-grand-opening.html[/caption]

When I first began my foray into Lolita fashion, I signed up on the (I think now defunct) lolita mentor Livejournal community, and was very very fortunate to be paired with Oli as my mentor. Not only does she dress in a lovely style that is really all her own, but she is also a fantastic artist and seamstress. We share a lot of common aesthetics, and she's offered me really great advice about the fashion. I adore her outfits, her artwork, and the dresses she makes, and really enjoy writing her as a penpal!

3. AMO



While she is not really a Lolita, what I take inspiration from is the etherealness of her style. She pulls it off perfectly from the clothes down to the hair and makeup. I look to her for ideas when I need to create a more porcelain-doll type of makeup look. I also adore the fact that she has lavender hair, and wish I were brave enough to do something like that ^_^ When I want to go for a lighter more floaty sort of outfit, I think about the sorts of things AMO uses in her outfits and try to incorporate the features that I especially like.

4. RinRin



First of all, she is an incredibly sweet girl and was really lovely and encouraging to me, offering me all sorts of useful tips and help when I was being an awkward penguin trying to model for Angelic Pretty at ACEN 2012. I like that she has a lot of range in the styles she wears and pulls them all off fantastically. I love watching her makeup videos and taking some ideas from them for when I need dramatic styling. I also like the way she styles her hair, and while it's more elaborate than I can manage on a daily basis, I've definitely borrowed some inspiration for meetup hairstyles!

5. moco



I find myself always feeling a bit wistful when I see girls who are in high school and already have such a well-developed sense of personal style and confidence. I definitely did not have the awareness or the self-esteem at that age. This girl wears a range of styles, but mostly tends towards cutesy styles like Lolita and Fairy Kei. She also changes her hair color a lot (which I think is super cool). I love looking at her photos, just to bask in the adorableness and wish that I could wear the things she wears (still don't have the confidence to really pull them off).

[Lolita Challenge] Day 6 – 10 things you can’t live without in Lolita

Wow... I'm generally not terribly high maintenance, so I don't even know if I really have 10 items, but I guess I'll include things that I enjoy living with if I have them XD

1. A good petticoat (collection) - Since the silhouette is such a key part of any Lolita outfit, having a good petticoat is a definite must. I actually have a collection of petticoats of various shapes, lengths, and fluff-factors allowing me to accomodate casual to full-on, as well as different skirt cuts.

2. False eyelashes - This is a key part of my Lolita makeup routine, since my own eyelashes are sparse, pale, and uncurlably straight as sticks. I skip falsies of some sort only for the most casual of meetups, or if I'll be doing something where I anticipate getting things in my eyes and needing to rub them a lot.

3. Cutsews - I love my Lolita blouses, but I find cutsews really much for versatile in terms of creating my own more wearable style, since I like to wear Lolita on an almost-daily basis. I also find them more breathable and comfortable than blouses for hot summer days, since they are lower cut and don't have collars. Cutsews are also just more affordable for me, so I can get them in a variety of colors for easy coordination.

5. Garters - Most brand OTKs stay up reasonably well on me, but I also have a bunch of socks from places like Sockdreams in just solid cotton for daily wear. However, these don't stay up so well, so garters are indispensable!

6. Parasol - I burn at the drop of a hat, so a parasol is necessary, especially in the summer. Plus, I've found it can be as much as 5 degrees cooler under a parasol, so they're really nice for outdoor meetups.

7. Two-way brooch/clips - I love these because I can wear them in my hair, on my shirt, on my purse, pretty much anywhere. I hate the satin ribbons that came with my Bodyline boleros, so I just cut them off and fasten the boleros with an easy brooch. The dual backing is an awesome invention; more versatility!

8. Flat iron - I generally prefer to use my own hair rather than wear wigs, just because I tend to get terrible wig headaches if I wear them for too long, and I just overheat way too easily. I love my flat iron because I can use it to straighten hair AND to create curls. I like looser/larger curls, which I don't have the right curling iron for, but my flat iron does them beautifully. Also great for giving my bangs just the slightest curve/swoop so they don't look so flat ^_^

9. Boleros/Cardigans - These are just great for layering, or for creating modesty with JSKs that I don't like to wear a blouse/cutsew under (because of conflicting necklines, etc). I also like a light cardigan in the summer because they're thin enough material to not overheat me, but they also help me keep from getting sunburnt.

10. Shirring - The hidden zippers used in a lot of Lolita dresses are the most frustrating things ever. They tend to get caught at the waist, and apparently are prone to breaking (though I have yet to experience this myself). However, with even just partial shirring, I can usually worm my way into the dress without undoing the zipper, or at least just undoing it a little bit (not past the point where it tends to stick). I also think partial shirring is nice because it allows the dress to fit more snugly on a variety of sizes and shapes, so that it's flattering on more people than if the dress was one fixed size.

[Lolita Challenge] Day 5 – 10 items from your wishlist

Ooh! Ooh! This is a fun one ^_^

1. Metamorphose ~ Telephone JSK (Denim)



This is one of my ultimate most-wanted items. Unfortunately, it's quite old and very hard to find, and I'm apparently always too slow to hop on it when it does show up once in a blue moon T_T

2. Angelic Pretty ~ Fancy Melody JSK or SK (Black)



Another old and rare item among my most-wanted. I'd be happy with either the JSK or the skirt.

3. Emily Temple Cute ~ Glitter Constellation JSK (Pink)



Among the slew of constellation prints that have come out recently, I think this is my favorite. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to buy it right now, and given that it's ETC, I'll probably have a hard time finding it second-hand by the time I do have money for it XD

4. Baby the Stars Shine Bright ~ Sleeping Beauty SK (Navy)



I want this to add to my fairytale theme collection.

5. Angelic Pretty ~ Dreamy Dollhouse Salopette (Lavender)



While I'm not particularly fond of toy prints, I do find this one really cute, and especially, I looooove the design of the salopette. I tried stalking mbok/yahoo for awhile, and it popped up a few times but it was always the wrong color or I got outbid T_T

6. Baby the Stars Shine Bright ~ Leatitia Raseine JSK (Mint)



One of the prettiest floral-print dresses, in my opinion. I don't anticipate being able to find it easily though. However, I think my favorite part is really just the design, so I could probably make something similar myself ^_^

7. Angelic Pretty ~ Rose Toilette SK (Mint)



This print is just very delicate-looking, especially in the mint colorway. But it's also one I don't see popping up often, especially in skirt form (skirts seem to be resold less frequently in general).

8. Emily Temple Cute ~ Swan Print JSK (Grey)



One of ETC's newer prints, I'm hoping I'll be able to find it second-hand. Because swans are awesome ^_^

9. Angelic Pretty ~ Tiara Rose SK (Lavender or sax)



I'd prefer the lavender colorway, but sax is pretty too. I love this print, and while I'm not crazy about the JSK design, I would love it as a skirt.

10. Innocent World ~ Alphabet Rose JSK (Pink)



I'm not sure if I prefer the short or the long version, actually, since both are really beautiful in their own ways. Either way, I really love the simplicity of the design combined with the delicateness of the print.