Harajuku Fashion Walk/Vampire Cafe

Hello dear readers! Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've been busy, but I will try to catch up from now on! I have lots of nice posts I want to write :)

This post about Harajuku Fashion Walk is very belated, because I wanted to time it with the broadcast of Cool Japan, who were filming it. It turns out that they didn't feature the walk very much in the program though, but there is apparently a glimpse of my friends so I will watch it later.

Here are members of the Tokyo International Lolitas that attended the walk (photo wickedly stolen  from Tokyo Fashion)

We all tried to go for a vampiric theme in honour of Ni (the beautiful gothic lady in the centre) as it was her last Fashion Walk before leaving Japan to continue her studies. I miss her!

I don't have much gothic in my wardrobe, so I tried a sort of retro/aristocratic look instead. 

I did something slightly different with my make-up too. I usually do a 'cute' look but this time I tried to make my face look sharp. I angled my brows a little upwards and drew thick winged eyeliner without any shading on the lower lid, to focus attention upwards. I also put blusher only on the outer part of my face to look a bit paler, and used red lipgloss for a vampiric look.

Well, I have to admit I don't particularly look like a vampire, but I quite liked this outfit!

Hat, stole, gloves: Vintage

Earrings: Vivienne Westwood

Onepiece: Handmade

Others: Offbrand

Here we are all walking down Omotesando:

And near the station, which is the first meeting point:

Top hats! 

Amazing ladies! I want to frame this picture to always remember how wonderful Lolita can be <3

The camera crew filming:

After the walk a couple of us got crepes. This was the first time I had eaten a crepe in Harajuku, can you believe it?

It was Ni's farewell party at the Vampire Cafe that evening. It was too dark for my camera to take good pictures, but I have to say it wasn't the most fantastic place I have ever been. Apparently we weren't in the best room, but I don't know that it would have been a great deal better. Also the waitress almost set me on fire by creeping up behind me with a flaming desert that ended up tasting of lighter fluid or something....

The menu was a bit unimaginative too (they just added 'vampire' to the name of the dish, or set it on fire it seemed), but at least my pasta was yummy! It had a tortilla bat on it. You can also see the coffin-shaped drink menu in this photo.

It was a very nice day, even if the restaurant wasn't quite up to scratch and even if we are not famous tv stars now! I hope you enjoyed reading about it.

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Rock x Classic.... maybe?

Hello dear readers!

Thank you very very much for all the lovely comments on my last entry. I was so happy to read them all :D I'll keep you posted on any further news!

Today I have a new coordinate to show you. I really want to try some new things with my style, and try to incorporate different influences into classical kei lolita.

Now, I really love rock music, but my image is very much a that of a 'good girl'. Not just my image in fact, but me! Yes, I'm definitely a goody two shoes, not rock'n'roll at all. However, I think I can find a middle ground that I'm happy with, and try my version of rock style....

~Rundown~

Pierce, lace tights- Vivienne Westwood

Jacket- Topshop

Blouse- Vintage

Skirt- Metamorphose temps de fille

I wore a skirt with a classical print, and coordinated with a blazer for a masculine edge. I also wore a vintage blouse with deep ruffles for a gorgeous effect.

I made an attempt at mori (voluminous/piled up) hair; my natural hair has a fluffy texture anyway, so I did an easy version and just pinned it all to one side. I like the effect actually, if I do it again I'll aim for more volume at the top and add some hairspray.

On the 'hairless side' I pinned one pale blue and one dark blue rose to match the ones on my skirt. 

So readers, if you were in a rock band, which part do you want to be? Vocal, guitar, bass or drums? 

Personally, I'd like to be the vocal! And I would like a mic stand decorated with blue roses..... What a shame I have no talent at singing!

I hope you liked my coordinate.

See you next time!

Sapphira

xxxx

Horns hair tutorial

Hello everyone! I got a couple of enquiries as to how I acheived the 'horns' hairstyle I wore on Halloween, so I thought I'd make a little tutorial. The technique takes a bit of practice, but is essentially very simple. I hope you'll try it out!

First you need to section off your hair on either side. I take a section from the top of my ear up to the beginning of my fringe. If you like, you could leave a little hair on either side to frame your face.

Tie the sections into two ponytails. You can see from the picture that only a little hair is required to make the horns, but if your hair is short-ish you make need to compensate with more thickness. 

Now twist on the ponytails. This makes the hair easier to work with.

Start to create the horns by wrapping the twisted hair around the base of the ponytail.

To make the correct shape, you'll need to have more hair at the base of the horn and less at the top. I find that when you have wrapped it a few times, if you hold the tip of the horn then continue wrapping the hair around the base the shape will form nicely.

When there's a little hair left, be sure to tuck the end into the base of the horn to hide it. This will also help to secure it in place.

Slide two hairpins crossways into the bottom of the horn to anchor it.

Repeat the process for the other side.

Finish with a light coat of hairspray, and you're done!

Hint~ Wrap the hair as tightly as possible! Once you have made the horns, you can adjust them by pulling the hair gently with your fingers. Before pinning them in place, maneuver the horns so they are as symmetrical as possible.

I hope this was useful! Good luck if you try it out, and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. 

Elegant and Sophisticated Lolita Fashion Show at Hyper Japan!

Hello readers! I think the fashion show at Hyper Japan deserves a post all to itself, so here it is! Thanks again to my lovely Asako for her photos.

This photo courtesy of Saoirse Clohessy

All the models, minus Wing! I'll show you her beautiful coord a little later. Doesn't Amy (second from the right) look like she stepped out of a painting? She designed the dress and bonnet, and her mother made them. She also made a bag out of an antique book! I think her book bag beats Innocent World's and Alice and the Pirates', much as I love them both.

The show started off with an introduction from Tania (left) and Kyra (right). We're so lucky to have these lovely girls in our community, they organise so many wonderful events including those at Hyper Japan. And of course they are both very pretty! 

Tania's looks remind me of Arika-sama, so I really think these kind of aristocratic outfits look very good on her. The print of her Moitié skirt looks gold in this picture, but in fact it's silver and matches her shoes and the ribbon decorating her bonnet perfectly. I don't have a good picture of her by herself yet, but I'll add more photos later!

Oh, I don't think I've ever been so jealous of another girl's outfit in my life! This beautiful coat and dress set is from Juliette and Justine, and they remind me why this is one of my favourite brands. These items are not the only thing to be admired however- I loved Kyra's hairstyle too!

Dodo is so cool <3 I love her eclectic and exciting style, and her hair and make-up skills are amazing. I think the Vivienne Westwood sandals make this look, and she is someone who can really carry them off!

Pretty Chrissi again! It's a simple outfit, but beautifully put together and stunning on her.

Mae is so cute! She had an adorable character onstage (and off).

Wing seems to look more and more amazing each time I see her. The golds and browns of this outfit are a beautiful combination, and make for a really gorgeous and rich impression. I want to try to introduce more gold into my wardrobe! But I think I'll leave that until Autumn. Rebecca looks very cute in the background! She was wearing a strawberry print, with strawberry buttons and strawberry cake accessories. She even had a strawberry hairpin to fasten her headbow!

Finally, my outfit!

Onepiece, hair accessories- Handmade

Parasol and necklace- Innocent World

Everything else- Offbrand

I tried shiro-loli for the first time! I'm very proud of this coord, because I made the onepiece myself (it's the one I wore for graduation). Although I did enjoy making my final collection, I feel that this is the prettiest thing I have ever made, and now it has so many good memories associated with it. I want to make ever so many more clothes in the future, and I want to improve my skills in design and making. Lolita fashion has been around for many years now, and I hope someday I'll be one of those people who will help keep it going. Lolitas and Lolita designers have given me so much inspiration and happiness, so it's my dearest wish to be able to do the same for others in the future. 

All the Lolitas watching joined us on stage for the finale. One of the Baby staff picked out her favourite and awarded them a prize! The elegant girl wearing the black onepiece and floral garland was the well-deserved winner. Katie (the model in the red Metamorphose blouse) looks very aristocratic in this photo! I love to see blonde girls wearing Gothic, I think it's so striking.

My dear Amy, Rebecca, Katie and Tania, I'm sorry I don't have non-blurry individual photos of your beautiful outfits yet, but I will post them when I have them! Also, if anyone wishes to have their picture removed from this post, please let me know.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the fashion show! I certainly enjoyed being in it.

By the way, my livejournal is down at the moment, so I'm sorry for not replying to comments there. I feel very rude! Hopefully it will be sorted out soon.

Brighton Japan Festival

Last weekend I took part in two Lolita fashion shows as part of Brighton Japan Festival!

~coat is by Innocent World~

I arrived at the festival quite early somehow! I had a chance to eat some takoyaki before the show. I don't know if it's my absolute favourite food, but it must be somewhere in the top ten! I'm really fond of Japanese mayonnaise too. All mayonnaise is good, but JP mayo is more eggy, and therefore the best! 

Now you know how greedy I am, on to the first fashion show! This was the "Sweet Lolita Catwalk"; you've basically seen my outfit before but for the show I changed my hairstyle to a shoulder-length wig and my shoes to the plain white mary-janes, to make it even more ama-loli!

JSK- Metamorphose

Bow- Handmade

Everything else- Vintage and offbrand

My lovely friend, ichigo_shock, who organised the catwalk, also provided us with these cute balloons!

I always get nervous about this sort of thing, but once I was on the stage I really enjoyed myself! The audience were very smily and nice, so I think that helped. 

All the Sweet Lolita models came out together at the end. The other girls all looked so amazing, and I loved how everyone had their own style! I felt very inspired seeing their wonderful coordinates, and I want to try harder with my own, especially with accessories.

You can see the wonderful Herajika in the picture above, looking as usual as if she leapt from the pages of GLB! In the strawberry dress is azura_mel, one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen <3  

There was a gap between this show and the later one. I took the opportunity to look around the festival. There were quite a few things going on. and a fair few people, though the weather was rather grey and dreary. This somewhat mis-matched couple came to soak up the atmosphere:

Too cute!

On to the second show, the Gothic Lolita Catwalk! This one was also really fun; I tried to channel a bit of 'vampire romance' into my walk.

OP- Juliette et Justine

Tights- Vivienne Westwod

Corsages, sash- Handmade

Everything else- Vintage and offbrand

I don't really have many strictly Gothic items, but I did my best and I think this coord could be called "Classic-Gothic" at least! A bit difficult to see in these pictures, but I wore a sheer blouse, chiffon sash and lace tights. Please use your imagination!

I changed my wig too! I haven't worn wigs before, only extensions occaisonally, so I was a little apprehensive of them falling off my head into the terrified audience. Luckily they stayed on! And they kept my little head nice and warm too. 

With beautiful Herajika again (she made that bonnet! So talented!), and you can just about see a glimpse my friend Wing's fabulous gold shoes.

I had a lot of fun at the festival! I hope you enjoyed the pictures. See you again soon!

D live

Hello everyone! I wasn't going to touch this blog until my work is handed in on Tuesday, but I had such a great time seeing D that I want to write about it while the memory is still fresh.

I LOVE D!

I actutally haven't been to any lives before, so though I was excited I was a bit apprehensive too. I'm a very reserved person and I thought I would end up standing stock-still like an idiot throughout the whole thing. 

I did freeze up a bit at first, since seeing them on the stage made me shy (I didn't realise Hiroki was so handsome! It doesn't come across much in photos, but in real life....). However, very soon it began to feel as if the crowd and the band were connected, and I lost myself in the perfomance. Asagi was wonderful and his voice never faltered. The whole band were really energetic and seemed to be putting their all into it. 

The lovely friend I went with recommended that we buy D flags, since she saw them in Japan and was the only one without flags! I was glad we got them, since the flag dance was one of the best bits for me. 

For my outfit, I tried to reflect D's vampiric theme, in black, blue and white. I didn't have time to take a good outfit shot since I had to rush from uni, so apologies for the mirror shot in my housemate's room.

~Skirt is Metamorphose, everything else offbrand~

The waistcoat, cravat and high-collared blouse make my outfit a bit sharper than usual I think! 

For my make-up I used blue eyeshadow in the crease to make it more showy, and pick up the blue in my skirt and earrings. I was thinking to use false lashes but I didn't want them flying off in the middle of the concert.

As well as the flags, I got a gorgeous coffin-shaped USB!

It's so well made, though as it's metal it's rather heavy. I had one of my flags signed at the suprise autograph session afterwards!

While Tsunehito was signing my flag, I looked over to Asagi and he gave me the sweetest smile! All the band seemed to be very happy to be there, and I really felt that they are such nice people. It was wonderful of them to come to London, and to give their very best even though they were only playing to about 100 people. 

I want to see them again before too long. Thank you, D!