Merry Christmas!

Hello dear readers!

How are you? Today I'm writing to you from England. I'm back home for a little while to celebrate Christmas with my family. Today I'll be wrapping presents and trying to get over a nasty cough I've managed to catch. I hope it will be better by the big day tomorrow!

Here's a Christmassy outfit snap from the Secret Santa meet up in Tokyo:

Coat: Innocent World

Jumperskirt: Jane Marple

Sweater, handbag: Vintage

Tights: Bought on Takeshita Street

Photos by Aviva

Christmas is my favourite time of year, and I'm so happy to be back with my family, even if it's not for long. I hope you'll enjoy your day, where ever you are.

Merry Christmas!

Casual photoshoot

Hello dear readers! How are you?

Today I'm going to show you some photos from a shoot I did recently. The theme was casual but stylish clothes, quite different from my usual lolita look but fun to wear nonetheless. In fact I wore my Innocent World Bunny Gobelin coat for some shots so a little lolita style did sneak in after all!

The photographer was Michiko Agata. I had so much fun working with her!

The full set is up on Elegant Poupée's Facebook page here.

Thanks for looking and see you next time!

Sapphira

International Lolita Day

Hello dear readers! How are you? Perhaps you know about International Lolita Day, that happens on the 1st of June and the 1st of December, giving lolitas a chance to wear summer and winter outfits (providing they such things exist where they live!).  Did you do anything with your lolita friends on the 1st of December?

I went to a meet up in Tokyo to see an exhibiton of the Lichtenstein collection. I wore my new bonnet in honour of the occasion!

Lichtenstein is a principality in Europe with close ties to Austria (the Lichtenstein princes acted as advisors to the Habsburg family, according to the information at the exhibition). I've always thought principalities seemed like the most romantic sort of countries! I'm not sure why, but perhaps because I can imagine princes getting up to more exciting things than kings, haha. 

Outft shot with the exhibiton posters

The exhibition constisted of pieces collected by the Lichtenstein princes, very fine European art, mostly Baroque, including a splendid collection of Rubens. I wasn't a particular fan of Rubens before, but having seen those works I now appreciate him a lot better. When his paintings are on a very grand scale they certainly are majestic, and there was a one of the Lamentation which was very affecting. They used a portrait of his daughter for the poster (the picture on the right) which I have to confess I don't like at all and I actually find her face quite scary. I suppose I am a philistine, but he has this fleshy style which I think doesn't really suit tender subjects like a child's face.... Sorry Mr Rubens. But I do like him better than before!

The other lolis were very taken with Bruegel's The Triumph of Death! Maybe, just as with our clothes, it was all the little details that appealed to them. There were also tapestries, sculpture, ornaments and furniture, including a Baroque sofa that one of our group pointed out would have been perfect for a group photo! If the Prince of Lichtenstein had been there, I'm sure he would have let us, in fact I think he would have offered to take the photo.

We took another set of outfit shots outdoors, this one is a little clearer so I'll put the rundown here.

Bonnet: Triple Fortune

Coat: Victorian Maiden

Onepiece (you can't see it!): Juliette et Justine

Others:Offbrand/Vintage

After the exhibition, we hit Harajuku for shopping at Closet Child and Usagiyouhinten, purikura and tea at Christie's, a cafe off Takeshita Dori that's popular with local lolitas. 

The cafe is really nice! My cheese on toast was great too, even with the funny spongy bread they have here.

We managed to fit 8 lolis in the purikura booth! Quite a feat.

We also marked the occasion by taking a group photo at the famous bridge. Poor old bridge, I hope we brought back some memories of it's golden age to it. A sweet and mysterious person made the photo into a valentine!

Thank you very much to the dear secret maker and to all the wonderful people in our community. It was the first Loliday I've spent with other lolitas, and I'll keep it as a special memory always. I'm looking forward to the next meet up I go to!

I hope you had a lovely International Lolita Day, whatever you did.

See you next time,

Sapphira

Triple Fortune Tea Party

Hello dear readers! How are you?

Today I'm sharing my pictures from the Triple Fortune Tea Party last weekend. It was an amazing experience, and I'm so glad I went. The guests at Triple Fortune's parties always wear the most amazing outfits, and I felt rather nervous because I just knew that I could never come up with anything to match  them. My prediction was quite true, but I had a gorgeous time nonetheless!

I went with Claudia, Tomo and Aviva, who did manage to look every bit as fabulous as the other guests. It's the first time I'd met Claudia, though I'd heard about her from mutual friends. She's lovely, I hope we can meet again someday!

The restaurant where the party was held was very nice, though rather dark. There were all sorts of interesting knick knacks and European decorations. Aviva and I were afraid we wouldn't be fed, but we had some nice little things like bruschetta (or a Japanese version thereof) and cheese and crackers, and tea and coffee and hot drinks. There were desserts but they ran out rather fast.

More pretty things....

After the free time for eating and chatting, the designer gave a talk. She was cool!

You can see lots of lovely hats in this picture! The designer is the black-haired lady speaking into the mic. She was quite androgynous and graceful with a marvellous Takarazuka-like voice! Kakkoi!

Sneaky photo! The talk was mostly about Victorian fashion and the designer's work for Arika Takarano. After the talk, we had a photo session. Midori was there, so we got to take a photo with her! She's so cute and cheerful and her smile is very sweet.

I'm at the back! I was pleased with my hat, which I had decorated with chestnuts and roses, though not the rest of my outfit....

Photo by Aviva

There were a lot of guests, so we went into groups to take photos. I think this was the "queens" group? I think there was an ojousama group, mens group etc.

Look at her flower eye and green wig! And the girl on the right had a tea party on the hip-shelf (I don't know quite how else to call it) of her dress, with tiny tea cups and cakes! 

Another group....

I'm happy I got a picture with this girl, I thought she looked amazing. Her blue dress is gorgeous and her whole outfit suits her perfectly. 

This girl was another of my favourites. I absolutely love her 18th century style outfit, and she made it by herself! You should have seen all the tiny ribbon roses. I think she looks like Marguerite St Just.

I got a photo with Aviva the marvellous musroom maiden too! She had fastened little mushrooms to her Triple Fortune bonnet, and made a necklace with a mushroom in a cage. Everyone got so excited when they saw the mushrooms! It's such a cute and original idea.

There were about six bonnets and a few stoles and opera hats for sale at the party, but the bonnets were being sold by lottery. There was one that caught my eye, dark brownish green with pale blue and green roses and champagne-coloured ribbons and lace that was just about the loveliest bonnet I've seen (they only seem to have pastel coloured 3F ones in Atelier Pierrot when I go, and I don't like to buy online). I had a funny feeling that if I entered, I would win that lottery. 

And I did! I suppose a Triple Fortune bonnet is one of the most hankered-after items for classical girls, and I'm no exception. I'm glad I held out for this one, it's just as perfect as can be! 

I love my bonnet!

Everyone who came to the tea party got a tote bag with a gold Triple Fortune logo, and my bonnet came in one with a navy logo.

I had a fantastic time, and I hope I can go to another Triple Fortune party someday! Next time I'll use all the wonderful inspiration I got from the marvellous guests I saw, and try my best to make a really great outfit. Improving and developing your style is one of the most fun things about wearing lolita!

I hope you enjoyed the photos. Who's outfit did you like?

I got into the Marui snap!

Click the picture to make it bigger. I'm on the top left!

Yes, my little photo is in January's KERA! I can't tell you how happy I am.

I always looked at these snaps and dreamed about being featured. Now my wish has come true!

I recognise some of the people I saw that day, like the super cute AP twins on the bottom left of the page (you'll have to check the magazine itself I'm afraid). Everyone looks great and I'm so thrilled to be included!

If you come to Japan when a KERA snap is on, I really recommend you go and show your support for the magazine. You might see your photo soon! Just check KERA for the dates and locations.

Now I want to see if I can make more of my wishes come true!

See you next time,

Sapphira

Junichi Nakahara and autumn colours at Hiro-o

Hello dear readers! How are you?

Today I'll show you some pictures from a lovely day out last week. Aviva had the idea to go to a park to admire the beautiful autumn leaves, and I suggested Arisugawanomiya Memorial Park, since it's close to a shop I've been wanting to visit.

The shop's name is それいゆ (Soleil) and it's the official shop for the artist Junichi Nakahara. Even if you don't know his name, it's likely you've seen some of his pictures of beautiful girls. He was producing work from the 1920s into the 1960s, as a fashion designer, illustrator and doll-maker.

Entrance of Soleil.

The shop was full of pretty things, prints, postcards, clothes made from Nakahara's designs,  useful good like umbrellas, mousemats, notebooks and so on decorated with his images. I wanted to get a book, and there were lots to choose from! Luckily the shop was not too crowded or cramped so we had time to pore over the items and decide our purchases at leisure.

I settled on a book which is a nice A4 size with lots of great pictures and a wide selection of his work. I'm sure I'll never tire of looking at it! His work captures the essence of the era in which it was made, and it's so stylish, nostalgic and sweet all at once. I even felt inspired to make some drawings of my own again (it's been ages since I drew anything properly), they are rather dreadful but I might show you sometime. 

Here's a few pages from the book:

For my outfit, of course I was inspired by Junichi Nakahara! Since I like retro style and have black hair and a short fringe, it wasn't much of a stretch for me but I was still pleased with how the outfit came out. This photo was taken in the park.

Doesn't the park look lovely? All those different shades of red, rust, amber and yellow!

People were fishing in the lake. I expect they have to throw the fish back, but it must be pretty stressful for the poor old things. But I think a lot of people come to feed them too, so it isn't all bad.

I loved this bridge!

Here's a collage of my outfit (getting a bit addicted to doing these collages) so you can see my teddy bear tights from swimmer! This outfit is more on the retro side, so I thought it would be fun to put in a cute detail like that.

Coat: Victorian Maiden

Skirt, necklace: Innocent World

Tights: Swimmer

Bag: Metamorphose

Others: Offbrand

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! See you again soon,

Sapphira

Looped Braids Tutorial (version two)

Hello dear readers!

How are you? Do you remember my looped braids tutorial from last year?

Lately I've been doing a different version of the looped braids, and I've made a video to show you how!

This is the style you'll achieve:

Here are the written instructions:

1. Part your hair down the centre and put it in two high ponytails. Use an elastic that matches the colour of your hair.

2. Braid the ponytails and use a small elastic in the same colour to fasten the ends.

3. Loop the end of the braid over the base of the ponytail from front to back, ensuring that you leave enough at the end of the braid to wrap around the base and cover the elastics.

4. Fasten the braid at the base with pins. You can use U-shaped pins or bobby pins, whichever you find easier. Do make sure they're fastened on tightly!

5. Finish by adding a hair accessory to match your outfit like a ribbon or flowers.

The video:

It's a very doll-like style, and you don't need any wig! It's especially practical for hot weather but cute in winter too. I think it looks nice either with a big ribbon like the one I used, or with two small ribbons on either side. 

I hope you'll easily be able to do acheive this style using the instructions, picture and video as reference. Since it's my first time making a video, please let me know what you think and feel free to suggest improvements.

Thanks for reading and watching!

See you next time,

Sapphira

CANMAKE Candy Wrap Lip

Hello dear readers!

Do you know the cosmetic brand CANMAKE?

It's a popular Japanese brand, with cute packaging and reasonable prices. 

Since we got into the often grey days of autumn I feel my complexion looks a bit dull, so I went shopping for some lip gloss to cheer it up. I haven't tried CANMAKE before, but I always thought their products look very pretty. This red gloss (the colour is Lady Strawberry) caught my eye. Red lipstick is quite difficult to pull off, at least in my experience, but somehow a gloss is much easier and has a far softer effect. 

What do you think? The top picture is without the gloss, and the bottom one is with. I definitely think my complexion looks brighter with the lip gloss! You only need to apply a little to to get this colour and it has a nice moisturing effect since it's formulated with hyaluronic acid, honey extract and shea butter.

I'm sure I'll get something form CANMAKE again, perhaps an eyeshadow set since they also look so cute! Here's their English website, if you are interested:

http://www.canmake.com/en/index.html

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I've been working on a few things lately, for example a new hair tutorial, photoshoots, and an autumn themed hat for the Triple Fortune Tea Party! Aviva and I are going this weekend, I'm so excited! Please look forward to these future posts :)

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Hakone

Hello dear readers! How are you?

Today I'll share my pictures from the trip my mother and I took to Hakone. We had a great time!

First, we took the Romance Car from Shinjuku. It's a fancy train that takes you to Hakone in style! I don't know that it's terribly romantic, but more a bit romantic than the local train I suppose.

Hakone is famous for it's mountain scenery and hot springs. October /November is the best time to go to admire the autumnal colours, so we took the views from train, cable car, furnicular railway and even pirate ship!

 Our good ship:

Can you see the red torii gate at the water's edge?

For all it's tourists, Hakone is a sleepy sort of place.

We had lunch in such a cool café! Well, my mother didn't like it unfortunately.

There were dolls in glass cases, and all sorts of interesting knick-knacks. 

If there are any lolitas in Hakone (I can't imagine it, somehow) I think this would be a good place to have tea!

In hopes of seeing Mount Fuji, we went to the former Imperial Gardens which is supposed to be an excellent viewing spot. It was too cloudy to see Mount Fuji sadly, but the view and gardens were lovely nonetheless.

We also took a walk through the ancient cedar avenue. It's so beautiful and restful!

We also went to the onsen at night, which was lovely, but of course I don't have any pictures of that!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! What do you think of Hakone?

See you next time,

Sapphira