Lolita Blog Carnival: Beat the Heat

I ended up falling asleep without remembering to post this week's Lolita Blog Carnival topic! Oh, well. This one's perfectly suited to early June - start planning ahead your coordinates for summer with Beat the Heat - 5 Tips to Beat the Heat While in Lolita.

1. Chiffon Blouses

There's no doubt that the layering is really what kills most of us during the summer, and I'd rather just avoid JSKs altogether, or dare to go blouseless with the right dress. But if you really want to stick with your JSKs, then finding the right blouse will be vital.

Many of the brands are putting out chiffon blouses and have been for quite some time. It's a light fabric that's not nearly as stifling as the cotton, and many of them have lower necklines to help keep you cool. And don't count out long sleeves - on particularly sunny days, long, breathable sleeves can actually keep you cooler by keeping the sun off your skin!

2. Parasols

Following that line of reasoning, parasols are also going to be greatly helpful for keeping out of the sun and keeping cool, like having portable shade. I would recommend going for something with a longer handle, rather than something shorter like Baby's Petit Ribbon Short Umbrella, just because a longer handle will let you hold the parasol farther away from your head. You'll get all the shade, and less of the stuffiness.

3. OPs

F Yeah Lolita already wrote a post about this, but Miss Caro raises a lot of good points about why a onepiece will be your best friend during the hotter months, and it's worth sharing! Light fabrics, short sleeves, breath-easy necklines, OPs provide endless options that won't suffocate you in the heat!

4. Go Wigless

Chrissy from her Tumblr page!

I don't personally wear wigs, anyway, but I know for a fact that they get warm and fast. If you feel comfortable with your own hair, use it! There are tons of tutorials and inspirations on the internet (and in the Gothic & Lolita Bibles) if you need a little help. Easy staples usually include braids or buns, but there are plenty of other options!

5. Swap Out the Bloomers

Bloomers are great for keeping warm come Autumn and Winter, and even early spring, but you don't want to completely skip them during warmer weather. Why? Thigh chafing. Not only for those of us with wider thighs, either, you'll want to be wearing something beneath your petti to avoid the pain and discomfort! But bloomers, particularly longer ones, can be really warm.

How do we fix this? Swap out your bloomers for something that's not particularly Lolita, since no one's going to see them as part of your coordinate, anyway. Athletic shorts are designed to be breathable and help keep your body cool, and would be perfect.

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~Other Participants in the Lolita Blog Carnival~

✿Vanilla Bear✿
✿Poppy Noir✿

Share a Piece of Lolita Advice

This was the 365 Lifestyle Lolita topic for April 22nd, but I wanted to really think about this before posting. I've been a part of the fashion for about four years, now, but I still feel like I'm brand new, so being asked to give advice to Lolitas is a little... eh.

I feel more comfortable directing my advice towards new Lolitas, or people who are thinking about jumping into the fashion and are working on their first coordinate. I'm new enough that my own closet is still recovering from newbie mistakes, but I've been around long enough to recognize what my mistakes were, and how to fix them.

So, Floating on Macaron's First Rule of Lolita:

Your Dress is Not the Only Part of Your Coordinate

From lolitafashion.org

This really sounds like a no-brainer, but half of the people I see getting ripped on for being "ita" get it because they're wearing a dress and shoes... and nothing else. You need your petticoat, your blouse or cardigan, your headwear, your socks, and your accessories, and it all has to go well together.

Made with the Sweet LolitaMega Dressup game
on DollDivine

I whipped this up on a dollmaker, and it isn't terribly far off from what I was talking about above. Your dress can be as cute as can be, but this isn't a full outfit, and doesn't look like one. Not for Lolita, anyway. However, a blouse and a few accessories can fix this:

No, I didn't change her facial
expression; this is just what the
doll looks like with lip gloss on.

Lace-topped socks, a white blouse, a pink headbow, pink purse, and a floral corsage make a simple, but very cute coordinate.

My closet fell very hard into this trap: I have tons of dresses, but almost no blouses or proper accessories, and definitely not enough socks. Even my shoes are suffering, because two of my go-to pairs crapped out on me within the last year.

I'm currently holding off on buying new blouses for a few reasons, but that just means I can focus on saving to replace my shoes (I need two or three pairs at least just to round out my outfits) and to collect more accessories (thank God for OPs).

I know that Lolita fashion is expensive, and that even a cheap outfit will still run you around $100, but it's so worth it. If you put in the effort, you'll be rewarded with a very special, beautiful outfit.

What's your first rule of Lolita? Let me know in the comments below!