I recently went to a swap meet organized by LadyGrey of the SF Bay Area Comm. Much thanks to her for hosting such a great meet <3333

Here's what I wore! I wanted to wear something comfortable and summer-y. I know it tends to get warm in these kinds of places so I did not want to wear too much ^^

Dress: Mary Magdalene - Rose Garden JSK in Orange
Apron: Taobao (wish I remembered the brand)
Tights: Melody Basket
Headdress: Handmade by me

This dress is orange which is an unconventional color in lolita! Not really sure why... is orange just not very lady like? :thinking: :sweat:

The added apron makes me happy, it makes the coordinate definitely very suitable for the summer! I also liked how it kind of looks ethereal~~

Because it's really hard finding any orange accessories, I ended up making the headdress myself. I had a lot of fun doing it! I think these triangle headdresses are called babushkas (they're Russian)

I embroidered the little bear myself too! I've really been wanting to incorporate more cute elements in classic lolita. I hope it's not too cringe :sweat:

I'm just an amateur at sewing so I hope it looks okay~~~ I feel happy and accomplished I did it though!

Actually, getting started on projects is very hard for me. I have lots of ideas and feel inspired a lot... but I always think what I create will be terrible and never actually start. It's not even that I actively think it and can try to stop myself. I just... feel it. It sucks. This is something I need to work on changing. I hope you'll see more handmade things from me in the future!

Brown is a new color for me in lolita. I used to dislike it so much because I feel like it doesn't go well with my skin color. But now I just don't care... I wonder if those Korean color specialists are screaming now :sweat:

I need to be thankful for my friend Michelle.. she booked the table for the swap meet and shared it with me! So I got to be a vendor and sell things I do not wear anymore from my wardrobe.

Here's a picture of me at the swap meet. In hindsight, our table was heckin' messy hahahaha, but oh well...

I was able to sell a number of things! There often are not many classic lolitas (it's the least popular substyle of lolita probably) so I'm kind of surprised I was able to sell things! Maybe it's finally picking up in popularity ^^ I feel like dresses from Victorian Maiden are often slow to sell, but I was able to sell a couple! Surprisingly I got no bites on my Juliette et Justine dresses. Victorian Maiden tends to be more muted in their designs (like small florals like rococo bouquet) where as JetJ does the loud painting dresses. I thought loud dresses would appeal to lolitas more since it's more attention grabbing!

I'm kind of glad subtle is getting more popular because it's the style that captured my heart many years ago and made me fall in love with lolita. I like simple, put together looks that don't need to speak loudly to look beautiful~~ I used to feel so alone at meet ups because I was the only one wearing a subtle and probably "boring" coordinate.

I purchased this apron at the swap meet from a friend! I like that it doesn't completely cover the dress so you can still see the details of the dress!

This purchase made me happy... because I got to rekindle a friendship. I met her before at a previous meet up, but we lost touch. After we saw each other again, we talked a bunch and exchanged discord handles and will hang out 1:1 soon! That makes me so happy!

That evening I ended up going to Qamaria Yemeni Cafe with another friend!

They had a number of cakes in their cake display :drool:...

I ended up getting a slice of Dubai Chocolate cheesecake and iced pistachio latte. The pistachio latte has pistachio paste in it that is absolutely delicious ^^ I don't typically drink coffee, but it's really yummy! All in all, a delicious snack and a perfect way to end the evening.

I went with a friend I met through a mental health class. He jokes a lot and I like being around him because it makes me get rid of negative thoughts! I'm thankful to have friends like that!

Thanks for reading!

▶︎•၊၊||၊|။|||||။၊|။• New Kids on the Block - Valentine Girl

Why do I like such cringey music ;____; New Kids on the Block is a bit before my time, but I still like them a lot! I only started listening to them after they collaborated with Backstreet Boys on a tour (wish I got to attend daaaaaaaaang~)

hello~~~~~

another bunbun drawing by me!

▶︎•၊၊||၊|။|||||။၊|။• Ozma - Domino Effect

I feel nostalgic about this song.. it was released in 2001. I was 13 then. I really miss alternative music from this era plus 90's.

I was listening to Third Eye Blind and Apple music began to shuffle random songs into the mix that sound similar and Motion City Soundtrack came up.

I live under a rock when it comes to a lot of music (-‿-") This band seems to use a Moog (a synthesizer) and I quite like it.

Their music really started to get me nostalgic for music from that time~ I started listening to Gin Blossoms too (they sang the song for Friends, but had plenty of other good songs too.)

So I ended up listening to Ozma - Domino Effect. The song is about missing an opportunity to confess to a girl they like.

Now I'm listening to The Rentals too! They use a Moog too. I don't know why I like synthesizers so much? :thinking: They just have a cute, cool retro sound~ It kinda makes me feel like my aesthetic has a song to it!

No, Barbie Girl is not my aesthetic irl just because I like pink :hmphhhhhhhh:

Now I'm back my to favorite band when I was a teenager - Weezer! I loved them cos of how nerdy they were, but also >< cos the lead singer wrote this song Across the Sea. It's about the lead singer receiving a letter from a fan in Japan and describing how cute the stationary was, wondering what her room looked like, etc. It made me think a lot about myself since I always liked such cute stuff! Yeah I was a gush-y teenager, haha.

I really like this song Weezer - I Threw Out the Love of My Dreams. This song isn't sang by the lead singer, but a guest female singer. I felt inspired enough that I even sang a karaoke of it back in the day, but it is sadly lost to time. I used to sing a lot! I'm not great at it though haha. I was in choir a bit, I think it might be fun to join something again.

Life was so simple back then.. now I'm a divorced single mother >< I have many things to be happy about, but I wish I had someone to spend life with ^^ Hoping it will come true soon~

here's a preview of an upcoming post~ I'm a little worried how it looks like the wall is falling though haha!

thanks for reading my ramblings!