Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Degrassi Next Class Netflix Review

I don't often write about TV series, but in the rare moment  - when the moon is in the right spot - I get that itch to give you some thoughts on some current TV I am giving a try. This time around, I'm talking about Degrassi. No, not the 80's TV series, nor the early 2000's reboot - I'm talking about Netflix's Degrassi Next Class. Why yes, dear readers, incase you had no clue, Netflix recently got the rights to produce and stream the new season of Degrassi, the same time it comes out in Canada. And rather than waiting each week for a new episode, you can stream the entire season, from start to finish, in all its overdramatic brilliance. 



Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Galentine's Day Meet Up: Roses, Roses, And More Roses

This past Saturday, my lovely friend Crystal ran a fantastic meet up at the famous Rose House in Flushing, Queens! This has, and will always be, one of my favorite tea rooms in all of New York City. The place instantly smells like roses, and has the kind of charming, fairy tale like atmosphere that I am a complete sucker for. And, of course, it brings out my inner Beauty and the Beast geek like crazy - so many visual and delicious dreams come true here.

So since this was to celebrate Valentine's Day and roses, we were all told to dress in accordance to the theme. For my coordinate, I chose to go a little outside of my comfort zone: I wore, for the first time in my entire Lolita Fashion life, a piece from Alice and the Pirates - and let me tell you, it felt great. Though I can't say it is the color scheme that I love the most, it embodied the feeling of romance and adventure that I get from going to Rose House.

 



The dress I picked was one of the big birthday presents from my parents, called Dancing Roses of the Dark Night. A lot of people dismissed this print as something just "typical AatP", yet if you give it a closer look, you can see that it is actually a Beauty and the Beast print. How? Well, the most obvious clue is the Rose in the Bell Jar, just like the iconic image from the Disney adaptation. Next, you can see the staircase is covered in roses, much like 2014 live action version, and the silverware on the table is very Disney mixed with Jean Cocteau specific imagery. And if you know anything about this blogger, you know that anything related to my favorite fairy tale is a must have in my collection. The minute I tried this JSK on, I felt this instant connection to it, like it was meant to be. And spoiler alert: It totally was.

So in keeping with the Rose theme of the meet up, I felt it was time to show off this pretty new piece of mine. I was so nervous about wearing straight up Classic/Gothic Lolita, a sub-style I haven't really dabbled in too often. Every time I had, I felt like I wasn't being myself, and got that sort of sheepish feeling. But this time, I think I finally cracked the code on how to rock this non-pastel sparkly side of myself. Incase you're curious, here's the results below....

Picture taken by Parfait Doll

I wanted to achieve a super princess look, so I chose to wear my new Atelier Pierrot blouse underneath. The veil is from Lily of the Valley, who make tons of other beautiful accessories and dresses too! The lace on this piece is actually snowflakes, and though some would feel that could be a weird choice to compliment the rose print, I thought the veil could represent the snow going on both around this time of year and in the Beast's castle, specifically during the Disney version. The cross necklace is from Forever 21, and though I wasn't trying to evoke any religious imagery, I guess I sort of ended up looking like The Virgin Mary! (I swear it wasn't on purpose!)

Rose House Tea Set - Picture by Parfait Doll
Rose House of course was lovely, as it always is. Me and my dear friend Victoria of Parfait Doll, shared a really yummy tea set. At first it looked small, but by the end we were both very, very full. My favorite dessert that we got was the chocolate cake that reminded me a lot of the movie The Road to El Dorado for some reason - mostly because it had these Aztec patterns on the bottom ring of the cake. And since my tea set partner in crime is a blonde, and I'm a brunette, I guess that makes us Miguel and Tulio - frilly style!


After some flower themed games, and laughing with friends, I got to spend the rest of the day venturing around Flushing - an area I don't know as well as I'd like to. I even got to see the local Sanrio store, and get my hands on one of the Japan La Little Twin Stars shirts I wanted - for half off! Leapin' lizards, that was a good deal my friends. 

Our frilly crew then parted ways, and I have to say this was one of my favorite meet ups in a really long time. Being in Lolita Fashion for almost 12 years (#Scary) I've been getting a little jaded when it comes to meet ups - but this one still had that super special feeling that I loved from my past frilly adventures. But more importantly, I love getting to see my friends sparkle and shine in these moments - we might have tough days here and there, but these meet ups are a great way to enjoy our friendships (new and old) with each other. 

Love my Gals and all the Galentines they provide! 

So what did you do/are going to do for Valentines Day? Are you having a themed meet up, or just some special time with that certain someone in your life? Are you doing anything for fun for yourself? Comment below and gimmie the scoop!



Monday, February 1, 2016

Magic Princess - Castles, Scepters, and Black Rings - Oh My!

Hey readers!

I've been pretty busy since my last legit blog post here, catching up on all things from the Holidays, Lolita Events, and more some. But, as I don't like to disappoint, I thought I'd write a little bit about something I am excited about - and it is frilly - trust me.

I don't often get the chance to purchase things when a big new brand release happens - but when the opportunity presents itself, I always attempt to do so! This time around, I noticed that Angelic Pretty was releasing a new collection - and not just any - but one that spoke to my inner pastel royal. What dress might that be? Well, if you couldn't guess, it's Magic Princess!


The print is covered in sparkles, tall pastel castles, and beautiful Magical Girl inspired scepters. Seriously, this dress is my everything for so many reasons. From the variety of colors it comes in (I truly love every one of them for different reasons) to the detailing on each of the three cuts (the underbust JSK being my personal favorite design) this collection is one from my dreams. 

When many of my friends saw that I had purchased this dress, many of them immediately were like "Well of course you got this, it is so you!" which made me really happy - since (in all seriousness) this is definitely the kind of image I want people to think of when they are thinking of me. Pastels, castles, elegant but nostalgic pictures of royalty - this is definitely my kind of print. 

There are many reasons why I fell in love with this print, but mainly it is due to a key memory it tapped into for me. Many of you know my love of all things 80's/90's (since that is when I indeed was a child) and as such, one of the things I was obsessed with as a kid was the board game Pretty, Pretty Princess. 


For those of you that never got to experience this "masterpiece" of game design, let me go ahead and explain the basic "plot" or point of this 90's relic. Essentially, you and your fellow friends, who I assume are supposed to be poor folk, happen upon a box of magical princess accessories, including a crown, ring, necklace, bracelet, and earrings - each in specific colors. Your objective is to collect all of the items (in your designated color) so that one of you will become "The Pretty, Pretty Princess" - who, let's face it, is the one of you with the most bling by the end of the game. Oh how times have changed - imagine if the US president could win their seat in the White House based on how many color coordinated pieces they collected? Would sure be a different world, right? 


I can't say I remember much of playing a complete round of the game, but I do remember the accessories that came with it. The colors and images were pretty iconic in my mind, and though the objective of the game at the end was a bit silly (your reward was looking at a mirror? *shrug*) it still was a piece of my childhood that I will never forgot as a whole - specifically the one time I got the infamous "Black Ring" and felt the weight of the Pretty, Pretty Princess world on my shoulders. Trust me, when you had that thing on your finger, it was bad news. Of course now, my inner teenage goth kid would be proud to wear that piece - oh the irony!

                                          

So, now returning to our time machines from our past board game adventures, I'm sure many of you are curious to know which version of Angelic Pretty's Magic Princess I ended up purchasing. Well, as much as I loved the look of the underbust JSK, I decided to go for comfort and pick the fully back shirred JSK cut, with the super cool and interesting military style buttons on the front. The color I picked was the Sax colorway, which was the one that stood out the most to me. It showed off the print the best, and made the gold details pop better than any of the other versions did. Currently, it seems the Yellow version is the most popular, which I can totally see why - it is very unique, and a nice warm yellow instead of an annoying canary type that most AP yellow prints come in. 

Sadly, I couldn't afford to get any other items from the collection on release, including the coveted crown purse. But, in all honesty, having just the JSK is fine by me. I think it is absolutely perfect, and I hope I can rock it in a super romantic coordinate for Valentines Day. I know it is breaking tradition for me to not wear red and pink together on that day - but the call of my Pretty, Pretty Princess sisters is strong, and I must answer it by wearing this masterpiece. 

I'll be sure to make a post (and video!) when I receive this! So, did any of you get Magic Princess? Which color and cut is your favorite? Comment below and tell me all about your purchases! 


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