Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The Most Dreadful Semester of High School Commences...

Greetings my readers! You must be pretty upset at me by now. What is up with this girl? No posts for about a month with NO EXPLANATIONS? Well, I must say that I have not always been the best blogger. My posts are infrequent and sporadic. I truly am sorry, because I really like to post, too! However, just when you thought I couldn't let you down anymore, here I am to disappoint you again... or maybe I'm just being dramatic as I'm only reaching out to a few people (who are my followers). If those of you who don't know me in person haven't guessed my age yet, I'll just spill the beans. I tried to go incognito, but as my face is all over this blog, the original "let's be the mystery woman" idea failed... ^^;; I am a high school senior, with many things on my plate. I am interning at a laboratory, trying to get my college applications done, have a minimum of 4 hours of homework a night, running 2 school community service clubs, studying for the SAT, and trying to earn my driver's license before my permit expires. I'm an otaku and proud of it, and watch anime during my small slivers of free time to keep myself at least partially sane. So, until at least December, do not expect posts on this blog... at all. :'( This saddens me, too, but I do not think that I have the time. However, the good news is that when I finally am free from the last semester of hell (in my high school career, at least), I am planning on giving Unconventional Chameleon a makeover. Instead of using blogger (unless you're incredibly famous, it's difficult to gain a wide audience on Blogger, let's be honest here). I'm planning on transferring to Tumblr instead! Don't worry, I'll post a link to the new Tumblr page in case someone stumbles across the blog on Blogger and is interested in reading more. I'll try to make my posts sound better (my writing isn't as great as it could be on this blog, I know), make the background more lolita-esque (the bright tie-dye background fit with my insane, LET'S START A RIOT!, angsty, screw the mainstream clothing that I used to wear a year ago, but I have since then fallen in love with Lolita), and focus more on Lolita in the future. I'll also be writing more about Sherlock Holmes because, let's face it, the Victorian Era and Lolita go hand in hand, and the original Conan Doyle Sherlock is my idol and god. I'll probably be writing more about anime, too, and especially about the fashion in anime that is related a lot to Lolita (Pandora Hearts, anyone? ;D). I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting for a few months, but I hope to make the new blog better, and hopefully gain more followers. I'll be hitting the books for the next couple of months (dark under-eye circles and bloodshot eyes, we meet again). Expect to hear from me when I come out from the darkness and (hopefully) not any less sane than I used to be (which actually is not saying much) xD Ciao!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Red Vintage

I recently bought this dress at a vintage store, and I thought that you guys would like an outfit that I made with it: Jacket (Espirit); dress (vintage); belt (Target); shoes (Gap)

An Attempt at Gothic Lolita

G'day (or g'night) my dear readers, :)
I wanted to provide a post of my attempt at an gothic lolita/steampunk co-ord. I think it turned out quite well, but please let me know of what you think! I am open to suggestions and advice.
Excuse the derp face, please! ^^;;
A couple of years ago, my dad gave me a beautiful ruby jewelry set as a present. I can't wear the earrings because my ear piercings became infected and closed up a long time ago, but I love wearing the necklace and the ring on special occasions.
And now, for the purse! I bought a loli-able patent leather bag from Forever 21. However, I kept on looking at it and felt that it could use a bit of decorating! :) So, I got my silver sharpie and created a gothic-lolita design! I must say, I am quite proud of how it turned out. I also added my most favorite Sherlock Holmes quotations to inspire me each time I opened the purse. :D
Hat (a present from my grandmother); blouse (fanplusfriend); vest (Korea); skirt (fanplusfriend); stockings (American Apparel); shoes (Steve Madden); purse (Forever 21, with original decorations by yours truly ^^)
Now, don't grab any purse and start doodling all over it in Sharpie (if you want to decorate your purse, too)! Make sure that it is a relatively cheap purse. Also, make sure that you are ready to focus and concentrate (because Sharpie is not all that easy to erase!). Finally, make sure that you are 200% sure that you want to decorate your purse in a specific design! I am really warming up to Gothic Lolita (ironic that I'm "warming up" to a fashion that is considered quite dark and a bit morbid, eh? ^^;;). I think that it is elegant and very sophisticated. Unlike the Western version of Goth that includes black lipstick and white-face make-up, Gothic Lolita is all about looking refined and somewhat mysterious. Look at this link for a list of the different lolita styles (this is my favorite one because of all the cute pictures of the many lolitas ^.^): http://lolita-handbook.livejournal.com/3035.html. This is also a great source: http://hellolace.net/styles/. Adding Gothic Lolita pieces to my wardrobe is definitely at the top of my shopping list, and I think that my "new" purse will work beautifully!
Keep on creating new pieces of art, my readers, and don't be afraid to go outside of the box! <3

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Obsessed with Lolita

I have noticed that now that I have been exposed to Lolita and I have worn it a few times, I want to wear it all the time! I want to take every opportunity to wear lolita... and I don't think that it will be "a phase"... for a while, I think that I will wear lolita each time I have time to "dress up" a little. :) It makes me feel very special, and I have noticed that my love for dressing my dolls up (that I had when I was little) has transformed into a love for dressing myself. I met with a family friend recently, and she saw my lolita blouse from fanplusfriend. She called it "a work of art"! That made me feel very happy and excited because I feel that lolita is bringing me further into my goal of making what I wear into a form of art! Sorry that this post has a lot of "stream of consciousness". I hope that you like my outfit, though:
The blouse truly is beautiful, and the collar is covered with beautiful butterfly lace! :D The heart-shaped necklace was given to me by the family friend that I met that day, and it went perfectly with the rest of the co-ord!
My mother gave me these adorable spoon-shaped hair pins! She said that she used to wear these when she was younger. :D
I would describe this co-ord as classic lolita! This is my first time trying classic, and I am very happy with how it turned out! I am open to any suggestions and advice on how to make it better, though. :)

Review

Hi guys, I ordered a lolita skirt from fanplusfriend, and I must say that it is very beautiful! I wanted to write a short review here in case anyone was interested. It is very pretty and very good quality! I'm very happy with it! The fabric is a bit thick, though, so if you live in an incredibly warm place, you might not want to wear it now (in the summer), but since it's a skirt, it's bearable. :) The only downside is that I had to wait a few days longer (than expected) to receive it because they took some time making the bow brooch/hair clip that comes with the skirt. When I asked them (after telling them I ordered "a week ago"), they answered quickly though (and it was just me being impatient ^^;;).
Order date: June 29th; Date I received it: July 9th
Communication: 4/5 (I would have liked to have known that they would take time making the bow, as it said "instant shipping" skirt on the website, but they answered very quickly when I asked though)
Price: 4/5 (If you are not quite familiar with Lolita clothes, you would believe that this skirt is quite expensive. However, Lolitas will become very excited because the price is not bad for lolita)
Quality: 5/5 The lace is very nice and everything is sewn perfectly on the skirt. The hairbow/brooch is nice as well! There are even two crystals that hang off the bow from delicate chains (the crystals are probably made of some sort of plastic, but hey, at least they look nice ^^).
The fabric is lovely! I am fanplusfriend's loyal customer. I have never had a problem with quality with their items. The fit is always perfect (but that's probably because I fit perfectly into one of their set sizes, so I don't need to order custom size). Yes, they're a bit more expensive than Bodyline, but they have a wider selection that caters to a variety of lolitas (while I've noticed that Bodyline is mostly meant for sweet lolitas).
I hope I helped anyone who was planning on buying the skirt! :)

Clothes that tell stories

I apologize for the very sad lack of posts! I have had two issues: 1. I have been very busy, as I just took on two internships this summer. 2. My computer literally started falling apart (the wires that connect the display screen of my laptop to the keyboard got loose and the computer screen cannot stand on its own...). So, yes, I am quite stressed. However, I have an outfit that I threw together to show you:
dress: Hardware; sweater: Espirit; belt: Los Angeles Zoo (I know, shocking, right?)
I have recently realized that outfits tell a story. Each article of clothing and accessory that goes into an outfit combine to tell a story about the experiences of the person who wears it. And I believe that putting these elements together is an art-form. So, I think that I will post differently sometimes from now on! I will blab on about my personal problems in colloquial language in the first part of my blog. Then, I will go on to show you an outfit. Finally, I will tell you guys the story of the outfit. Hopefully the stories won't sound too pretentious! ^^;;
Of course, I will do it only when I have a bit of time on my hands, but I will try to do it if I am ever inspired by a story!
Well, here I go...
The story: The birds on the dress fly across her body to resemble freedom. She is reminded of summer days and the salty scent of the ocean. The 6-year old sweater surrounds her in comfort and nostalgia; she remembers less stressful days and recalls how her imaginary world used to look like. The belt hides the elastic band that is in her dress. She searched for months for a belt similar to it. She originally saw them in a store nearby her school, but the merchant demanded that she pay $120 for one. Though they were made by artisans, she felt that the price was too much. Finally, she embarked on a journey to a world filled with lonely animals that are kept in captivity, and saw this belt in a gift shop. The price was about $30, and this belt was crafted by artisans as well. Happily, she went home with the purchase. She combined the different articles into an artwork that she wished to symbolize happiness, freedom, nostalgia, and triumph.
That's the story~ Tell me what you guys think! :)

Monday, June 25, 2012

Living in a Fairy Wonderland

When I saw this shirt, I immediately became transfixed. Since I was young, I have always been enchanted by dark fairies. I imagine them wearing dark eye-makeup and having a clothing palette of dark blue, deep violet, and black. They have a refined elegance, and their stoic nature makes them so mysterious! I can imagine a dark fairy wearing a shirt like this, or lying down in a field of flowers that have a similar color palette as this shirt does. I kept on looking towards it, and my mother got it for me as a birthday present! :D :D Oh, now that I am an admirer of dark fairies, I suppose I should enter more into my character and be more like :1 haha. A dark fairy would, of course, wear this shirt with a bell shaped dark skirt, but there was a high likelihood that I would need to sit down on the ground that day, so khakis it was! :) Also, my father was very generous and bought me a BEAUTIFUL Swarovski bracelet for my present. The crystals are enchanting and I love it! Now, for the story about the ring. My class had our ring ceremony this year (code name for: we got our class rings). I thought that the design for our class ring (from the school) was quite disappointing, and as my friend deemed it: "fugly"... Thus, my closest friend and I decided to get our rings together! :D I suggest that you, too, my readers, get your class rings with your best buddy, also, because every time I wear the ring, I am reminded of all the happy memories that I have with my friend and all of the funny jokes that we shared! :) ps: It turned out that the ring did not look all that terrible in person... >.> And that, is the story of my outfit.