Lovely Day with Shinobu

 Hello dear readers! How are you today?

Today I'll tell you about my day out with fellow lolita blogger Shinobu.

We knew each other online while I was still in England and she in Mexico, and by a very happy coincidence we moved to Japan around the same time.

Earlier this month we met in Harajuku for a very typical lolita day out, of course including purikura!

Our schedule was as follows:

1. Meet at Harajuku station, Takeshita Dori exit

2. Go to Christie and have tea

3. Closet Child

4. Laforet

5. Purikura

This is a truly typical lolita day in Harajuku! 

I got a few things that day- flowers from H&M, a hat from Daiso I'm going to decorate, super-frilly Metamorphose socks (we had to discuss about the raschel lace, but I  finally decided to get them) and a brown parasol from Alice and the Pirates (too big to go in the picture).  

I got something else too, something very precious!

It was a present from Shinobu, her original illustration of me! I was very touched and happy. She is so kind and so talented (check her blog for more of her work!) All the little details of my coordinate are just right and the watercolours are dreamy and pretty. I am hunting for a nice frame to keep it in. Thank you, Shinobu!

I enjoyed everything that day, but the especially sitting and chatting in the cafe. It was very peaceful! I'm looking forward to next time with Shinobu :)

Here is my outfit. It was raining so it was hard to find a good location!

Head bow: Ange

Onepiece: Innocent World

Bag: Metamorphose

Can you guess the theme? It's 'Schoolgirl Lolita'. 

It felt like autumn term on that rainy day!

Thank you very much for reading, and see you again soon.

Sapphira

Outfit Video

Hello dear readers! How are you today?

Maybe you have already seen it, but I have made an outfit video.

I put together six different summer coordinates, as the warm weather has arrived here in Tokyo.

It's the first time I've made a video like this, and I'm really pleased that it has got a good reception so far! Between my poor editing skills and the geriatric condition of my laptop, I'm afraid the process caused me some tears, but it was worth it in the end. 

Here is the finished product!

And here is what I wore:

Outfit 1

Blouse- Anna House  

Jumperskirt- Innocent World  

Socks- Metamorphose

Outfit 2

Jumperskirt- Innocent World

Outfit 3

Onepiece- Innocent World  

Ribbon- Jane Marple

Outfit 4

Onepiece and socks- Metamorphose

Hat- corgi-corgi

Outfit 5

Onepiece and katyusha- Juliette et Justine

Outfit 6

Blouse- Metamorphose

Skirt- Jane Marple

Wrist cuffs- Angelic Pretty

All the other bits are offbrand, second-hand, handmade and vintage.

Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you very much for reading and watching.

Sapphira

Inokashira Park Zoo

Hello dear readers! How are you?

Back in March I went to do another day of cherry blossom viewing, this time at Inokashira Park. I had another special reason to go there, as you'll find out soon!

First, here's my outfit:

Onepiece, Jacket: Vintage

Hat: corgi-corgi

Bag: Metamorphose

Others: Offbrand

I think it looks a bit Ghibli-esque, which was appropriate as the Ghibli museum is not far from here.

The cherry blossoms were still a bit sparse here, but it was romantic to see the branches drooping down to touch the lake. 

So, here is the main reason I visited:

Guinea pig! And what a handsome one~

At the so-called "Molmott House" you can go in and hold a guinea pig for a few minutes. They were all remarkably good natured. I suppose they rotate the ones that are held so that none of them get stressed. There were hundreds of them, it seemed! I really liked my one, he was a dear little chap and I wish I could have kept him....

I also saw a racoon! Very cute and cunning.

Lovely camelia flower (I think that's what it is....)

Perhaps these are wallabies? Oh dear, I should have posted these when I still remembered all the names....

A magnificent fowl in the bird house, just sitting on the stair rail looking fabulous.

Ice cream! It was such a childish day, zoo and then ice cream....

Look at this dear little squirrel! Japanese squirrels are so small, and it's quite uncommon to see them apart from at the zoo. I saw a wild one in Kamakura the other day though!

This funny fellow may or may not be a spiny echidna *edit- he's an African porcupine. Thank you, clever readers! There were a pair of them living together, one lazy one snoozing in a box and one active one who rushed about all over the place, snuffing at everything as if his life depended on it. Finally he decided to go and wake the lazy one up. He gave him such a fright all his spines stood on end!

All in all it was a lovely day, especially the guinea pig who I will never forget. He was ever so much nicer than the orang utan I held at Singapore Zoo who wouldn't stop picking his teeth and made a dreadful photo souvenir.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Thank you so much for reading and see you again soon.

Sapphira

Kawaii International 1 Year Anniversary

 Hello dear readers! Happy Easter :)

Do you know about the program Kawaii International?

It's a really nice show about Japanese fashion. If you haven't watched it, I really recommend it! It's usually on once a month, and you can see more details here: 

Program web page⇒ http://www.nhk.or.jp/kawaii-i/ 

Streaming page ⇒http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html 

They just celebrated their 1st anniversary! They made a special show for it, and showed some of the viewer contributions they have had such as competition entries. They talked about my entry for U Kimura's handmade competition! I took some screen shots.

My photo is next to Cadney's! *starstruck*

I entered my handmade bonnet (tutorial here).

This is actually one of my favourite coordinates that I have ever put together, so I am really happy that they showed it. Thank you, Kawaii International! And thank you for reading, too.

Sapphira

xxxx

Black and brown coordinate

Hello dear readers! How are you?

I went to Shinjuku the other day, and decided to try out a black and brown outfit. For a long time, I didn't like this combination, but recently I started to think it looks very pleasing and elegant if done nicely. It also gives me a chance to wear my black items which I seldom use, like this chiffon blouse with tiny imitation mother-of-pearl buttons.

Headbow, JSK: Innocent World

Necklace: Chocochip Cookie

Bag: Metamorphose

Others: Offbrand

It's pretty simple, but I think I got the colour balance right. 

I went to a restaurant in Lumine Est, I'm afraid I forgot the name but it specialises in udon, soba and pasta. You can choose your main dish, plus two side dishes and a drink. I chose two desserts as my side dishes!

Warabi mochi (the one on the right) is my favourite! My friend went for rice and pumpkin. They were good too!

The main dish was cold noodles with yuzu soya sauce and mentaiko. It was really refreshing! This was actually the day of the dust cloud so it was good to eat something clean and healthy tasting after all that yuckiness.

I also got some fake glasses at 3coins, I've been thinking about getting some for a while since they look so good on Japanese girls here. The popular huge ones don't do much for me though, they are basically the same size as my face and look a bit mad. These middling seized ones are quite big enough I think.

I poked the lenses out when I got home. After all, if they are fake, you may as well make no pretence at all! I don't know if I will wear them often but it was fun to try them out for 315yen.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! See you again soon,

Sapphira

xxxx

Very Beary Coordinate

Hello dear readers!

How are you? Here in Tokyo the snow is melting more each day. Yesterday I thought I had caught yet another cold, so I took cold medicine and a power drink (the kind with chinese herbs and whatnot) and went to bed. This morning I feel much better.  It's just as well, I can't tell you how angry I was at the thought of going through all that again! I seem to catch cold very easily. I hope this is a sign of intelligence but I fear not.

Anyway, here is today's coordinate!

Hair Accessory: Handmade

Blouse:Vintage

JSK: Innocent World

Tights:Swimmer

Bag: Metamorphose

Others: Offbrand

Oh dear, my petticoat looks a bit flat here! In this outfit I combined beige and dark brown, with some red accents. There are teddies on my tights and on my dress!

My blouse collar had beige embroidery on it originally. I went over the embroidery with coloured threads, I think it looks much cuter now!

Adding embroidery to a collar is really easy. You can draw the design on with a tailors chalk or pen and then just stitch over. If you have a blouse you're a bit bored of, I reccomend doing this!

That's all for now, see you next time!

Sapphira

Giant katsudon!!

Hello dear readers!

Do you like Japanese food? I love it! How about katsudon? How about.... GIANT KATSUDON??

OK, it might not look so huge at first, but compare it to the other plates on the table. It's pretty big!

This restaurant is in Takashimaya, and I really think it's the best katsudon I've ever had. So delicious! 

Here's my coordinate for the giant katusdon day:

Hat: corgi-corgi (KERA shop)

Necklace, JSK: Innocent World

Cutsew: axes femme

Cuffs: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Socks: Kutsushitaya by Tabio

It's finally cooling now here in Tokyo! I'm looking forward to putting together some nice autumn coordinates soon.  Before that though, I've got a frilly and fluffy coordinate in mind for the Marie Antoinette meet up with the other Tokyo International Lolitas!

Sorry if I made you hungry!

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxxx

Out on the wiley, windy moors

Hello dear readers! How are you?

I had a very nice Jubilee weekend, despite having to work on Tuesday.

Sunday was my leaving party, I did karaoke with my friends! I had such a fantastic time, I'm so happy to have made some good memories before I leave. Lucky we have a karaoke box here in Sussex too!

Here's what I wore:

~Rundown~

Onepiece: Innocent World

Socks: Mikazuki Momoko

Bag: Metamorphose

I tried to give a playful look to this onepiece by coordinating with short socks and a high ponytail. Carrying a big bag makes one look slim and dainty in comparison! The only problem is I get tempted to fill it up with useless things and it gets heavy....  

My sweet friends gave me really pretty bon voyage cards, a cute British souvenir to remind me of home and even some yen to put towards something for my new apartment.

As you might have guessed from the title of this post I performed Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights, which was one of favourites of the evening along with Prince's Raspberry Beret. On top of those we also did Karma Chameleon, Time After Time, Summer Nights, I Got You Babe, Total Eclipse of the Heart, All Around My Hat and many, many more. Two hours in the karaoke box passed quickly!

I say 'performed' rather than 'sang' partly because I really put my all into karaoke (dance moves and all), and partly because my voice is so bad I don't know if it counts as singing....

And here's the souvenir:

It's perfect for two reasons, firstly I used to go to Shepherd's Bush a lot while I was at uni to get fabric, and secondly I love shepherd's pie! I know British food is not highly rated, but I love it.

So readers, do you like doing karaoke? What do you like to sing?

Sapphira

xxxx

Happy International Lolita Day!

Happy International Lolita Day to all my lovely readers! What are you doing today? Whatever it is, I hope you have a wonderful time. If you're having any Jubilee celebrations, I hope you'll enjoy those too!

Today I went shopping with my parents and I continued with packing for Japan, which I started yesterday. I took my VM coat to the dry cleaners too- it's strange having to pack winter clothes along with summer things!

Here's today's outfit:

~Rundown~

Hat: corgi-corgi

Cutsew: axes femme

Jumperskirt: Handmade, purchased on egl sales community

Everything else: Offbrand

My fashion point today was 'Wear this dress, because you won't see it for at least 6 months!'

I'm trying my best to narrow down which pieces to pack, and this JSK didn't make the cut. Sorry, my dear JSK! It's even worse deciding on which shoes to leave behind.

Tomorrow I'm doing karaoke with a few close friends, it's my farewell party :(

It should be fun though! Maybe I'll take some pictures to show you, or even a video so you can hear my marvellous contralto..... Only joking!

Thanks for reading,

Sapphira

xxxx

Country Classical Lolita

Hello dear readers! How are you?

This weekend I was spending time with my three close friends. Happily I will see one of them in Japan in a month or so, but it will probably be a long time before the four of us are all together again. Oh, it's rather sad! It was a wonderful weekend though :)

Today I'll show you my most recent coordinate. I wanted to wear my handmade bonnet again, and I combined blue and brown together for a slightly non-traditional look. 

~Rundown~

Bonnet: Handmade

Blouse, gloves: Vintage

Jumperskirt: Innocent World

Basket: Disney Sea

Everything else: Offbrand

I thought that today's coordinate matched the background particularly well. The basket, bonnet and lace gloves give a bit of a 'country loli' feeling.

I feel the need for a fluffier panier these days! I will put mine in the washing machine today I think, that should help a bit. 

I hope you liked my outfit! Thanks for looking.

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Straw half-bonnet tutorial

Hello readers! How are you? 

As you can see, I've changed Elegant Poupée's appearance a little. It still needs some work though.

Today I've put together a tutorial for you. I'll explain how I made the straw half-bonnet I wore for my recent photoshoot (it's very simple!) as well as sharing some general bonnet tips.

~STRAW HALF-BONNET TUTORIAL~

This bonnet was constructed from an existing straw hat. There are just five simple steps to make it.

I started with an ordinary straw hat. This one is quite small, meant for children to decorate for Easter. It's constructed in a continuous strip of woven straw, which makes it very easy to work with. This tutorial may not work as well for other types of straw hats!

1. The first thing to do is cut a slit into the brim and up to the crown. Then cut away the top part of the crown (half-bonnets have no back to them). Cut along the edge of the woven strip for a neat finish. It sort of looks like a half bonnet already, doesn't it?

2. Now we have to determine how much of the brim to cut away. I did this by cutting away at the brim bit by bit and trying it on until I was happy with it. This is what I ended up with. You can refer to the photo at the beginning of the post to see what size we are aiming for.

3. Of course, we are now left with rough edges where we have cut into the straw. We'll cover those up by stitching ribbon or bias binding around. As you can see, I incorporated the bonnet ties into the binding. At this point, the bonnet is basically finished! That was easy, wasn't it?

4. We are missing one important thing though, and that is a little decoration to make our bonnet pretty. Since it's a straw bonnet with a country loli feeling, flowers, fruit, cotton lace or gingham ribbon might be nice. I coloured in these white foam craft roses with marker pens to match my chosen colour scheme, and tea-stained the doilies I bought from Daiso in Singapore to make my bonnet adornments.

5. Since the shape of the bonnet has somewhat unsightly corners, it's better to arrange the decoration to cover them. Although, the corners are much less noticeable when worn. Sew or glue your decorations on firmly. Well done, your straw half-bonnet is finished!

My tutorial was the cheat's way to do it, but if you'd like to try something a bit more professional, how about taking a look at this lovely tutorial from Tyler of Lily of the Valley?

Bonnets take a bit of confidence to wear, so for now I'm starting small and simple. I would love to wear a more grand bonnet for a photoshoot or Lolita tea party! Maybe when I've gained more confidence I'll wear one for going to buy milk or post a letter.... There are a few brands whose bonnets make me dream of that day!

Triple Fortune http://3-f.jp/

The milliners that make a classic lolita's heart beat faster! I tried on a most beautiful pale blue bonnet in Atelier Pierrot two summer ago, I regret so much that I didn't get it. 

Ophanim http://ophanimgothique.blogspot.co.uk/

A brand run by Caro of Fyeah Lolita. Check the bonnet gallery for pictures of her wonderful creations! 

Kaleido Waltz http://yaplog.jp/kaleidowaltz/

The website hasn't been updated forever, so I suspect this brand is on hiatus. However we can still enjoy beautiful pictures of these lovely and intricate bonnets. Sumika-san, the designer, is so stylish! Perhaps you've seen her snap in KERA or Gothic and Lolita Bible?

Thank you very much for reading today's entry. I hope you found it useful and perhaps even interesting! Which bonnet brands do you admire? Do you know what happened to Kaleido Waltz? Have you made any bonnets?

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Photoshoot: A country girl by the sea

Hello readers! How are you today? I'm happy it's the weekend!

I mentioned in my last post that I had a photoshoot with Lauren Pinhorn coming up. It went very well, and I now have the fruits of our combined labour to share with you....

The photoshoot location was Brighton, and we took in many of the sights, including the pier, the boardwalk and the Royal Pavillion.

The day was so bright and warm, and the sea was beautiful and blue. The conditions were almost perfect, only a little too bright perhaps, I could hardly keep my eyes open!

The character I thought of for this shoot was a girl from the countryside going to see the sea for the first time. She was so excited to see it, as soon as she arrived she rushed from the station to the pier, taking her case with her.

****

Lauren was great to work with, and we managed to take hundreds of pictures. While planning the shoot we talked about what sort of look we wanted for the photos. Brighton was a great location for the Victorian theme we chose!

If you look at Lauren's previous work, the thing that stood out for me was the natural quality of her photos. I felt inspired by this and therefore I didn't want to look too posed (although you know I am a poser!) which is why I tried to inhabit the role of a character.

I really like the way she edited the pictures, giving them a graininess that evokes the period of early photography. The colours and saturation also bring back the memories of that day and the feeling of the warmth of the sun.  

I hope you enjoyed the photos, and didn't feel too sick with my wordy nonsense! 

Please do take time to look at Lauren's website and blog:

http://www.laurenpinhorn.com/

and

http://laurenpinhorn.blogspot.co.uk/

Thank you, and see you next time!

Sapphira

xxxx

Brown x Bordeaux

Hello readers! How are you?

I liked the colours of the last coord I posted so much that today's has the same theme:

~Rundown~

Blouse- Vintage

Skirt- Innocent World

Everything else- Offbrand

I hope you liked my outfit. Next time I want to post a nice springtime outfit, so let's hope for fine weather~

Hope you're having a nice weekend! Thanks for visiting.

Sapphira

xxxx