Anime Central Recap

ACen was the most fun I've had at a con in ages! I was really surprised since I was mostly running around by myself. I was worried that I would end up getting bored! In the end, I met so many amazing people and hung out with my good friends and had such a successful and interactive weekend overall. <3 <3 

Get ready for a picture heavy post~

DAY ONE

^^

Before I left the house!! I ended up walking a full mile in this coord. Not fun under 80 degree weather. 

Indie lolita fashion show~ 

I modeled this gorgeous classic style dress for Adrian, who was so sweet and amazing. 

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with friends~ I stopped by the Yugioh panel, but it was lacking and lost my interest. I hurriedly wandered over to the loli swap meet and sold a couple things. I met a lot of really sweet lolis from the community!! One of the things I will really miss about Chicago is the huge loli group. :'( 

DAY TWO

I based this coord off a Rei Ayanami goth loli figure from 2008. 

(too obscure to be recognized though, heheh)

I was about to shop and meet up with people when I miraculously ran into one of my gyaru idols, Lisha!!! 

She was so sweet! Her gyaru is always on point!!!! I was very impressed and so happy to meet her in real life. It was a wonderful surprise! 

You can read her ACen recap here~

After only a few hours in my loli coord, I started to feel a bit sick. :( So I changed into something a bit more comfortable, which just ended up being Swagg Rei.

Diamond encrusted snapback completes the look.

I caved and I bought the OTK Eternal Rose Bouquet socks from the Angelic Pretty and Harajuku Hearts booth.

I chilled with my buddy KGD until 2 in the morning! @o@ We spent a lot of time just drawing and chatting. She is really sweet! 

DAY THREE

I wore gyaru, but I didn't really get a good picture of my face. ;/ 

The day started off with me running into tumblr fandom acquaintance Suukarin. She was super fun and I had to stop to draw her something. <3 It was amazing to just randomly run into so many people that I knew!! One of my favorite things about cons is meeting up with people. :') 

I also got to talk and take a photo with Frances, blogger from howagirlfigures and the english rep for GoodSmile Company! I've been a fan for almost three years now, and I was finally able to meet her. She's living her dream, which is truly motivating. :) 

My swag bag

After winning rock-paper-scissors for a giant poster at the GoodSmile booth, I had to head home. I was so tired and still feeling a little sick from my fever the week prior. 

Featured: The giant GoodSmile poster, four YGO One Coin figures, YGO manga and pink card protectors, Bakushipping doujin, AP socks still packed, offbrand socks, bloomers, and the Baka and Test OVA DVD + free poster. 

Got home and rolled in all the goodies I bought from the weekend, then took a loooong nap.

In the end, I really wish I had taken more pictures. I can think of at least 50 more things I should have documented...  ;( But I am happy to have 100% of the memories as well!! Sometimes I just get to talking and having so much fun that I forget to photograph. x)

Thanks to everyone for contributing to my super-fun, super-expensive weekend!! ;o; I hope we can do it again soon! xx

Expanding my closet.

I've been going crazy with Japanese street fashions these days! Yesterday, I bought a few pieces from the second hand shop for a mori kei coord, and a sweater for a potential dolly kei coord.

I thought that maybe dolly and mori would be perfect to try out while I wait for my hair to grow out again. :'| I love love love gyaru style more than anything, but wearing wigs more than once a week is a little tough for me. 
I've just given up on trying to subscribe to one style, and I'm embracing it all and making my closet grow!! Dolly, mori, lolita, and gyaru are all styles I love a lot! 

Sweater, scarf, long white dress with slip, and a ruffley blouse that was half off. I also bought that cute print at a small gallery opening I stopped by. It's an E, so fate told me to buy it! (●´∀｀●) There's also a necklace and hair clip, but they're not in this shot. 

There were some pieces that were PERFECT for cult-party, and though I loved them I ended up not getting them because... money. If you follow my twitter, you know that I spent a lot of money yesterday. ~(>_<~)

^^^
A few days ago I came across an ebay listing for this SUPER cute dress. I ended up buying it and it only cost me $35! I've been having good fashion karma recently. （＾Ｏ＾☆♪ It arrived three days ago and looks wonderful! Though theres a rip in the petti that I must fix.

I've been making pretty good money off commissions. I was saving it up just in case I was able to go on my school's Japan trip, but... unfortunately, I didn't even get on the wait list. (´；д；`) I want to talk to my relatives. I really want to go back and practice my Japanese! And see all the wonderful sights! And shop! 

Instead, I'm using the money to buy some fashion accessories and the like.  （○゜ε＾○）I hope to be able to go Japan eventually! Now that I have matured and know more of the language, I know I could have a great time.... time to dream! 

Serious Fashion Talk: "Identify as..."

gyaru & lolita

I'm having some feelings about fashion/style. Time for a tiny lecture! 

As someone who jumps around between enjoying fashions just as often as she fandom hops, sometimes I worry about being accepted by a community? Here in Chicago, I spend a lot of time trying to 'invent' myself. Not re-invent!! My entire life has been a tale of brain-washing and put-downs that resulted in me being influenced very easily and never living for myself, always to please or help others. Though that's good, too!! I don't mind being the punching-bag or the 'martyr' and I love to be as kind as I can (but my cynical Sagittarius nature gets in the way sometimes or bugs people).

It's when you can't dig yourself out from under all these "feel wrong" layers that you begin to realize something strange happened in your development! When I moved away, I finally was able to start inventing my own fashion without any judgment.   

lolita

Gal and Lolita are both communities where I can dress up exactly how I love to and hang out with a bunch of wonderful people. I'm really trying to ground myself here in Chicago with some friends who share a similar interest.
This brings me to my main point; feeling a fashion or lifestyle as "right for you" or "relatable."

For me, that's gyaru (particularly himegyaru). I don't know what it is, but it really calls me. That sounds so silly, I know, but it just really feels like it fits. The kitschiness, the pink, the hair, the make-up, the superficiality, and even the cattiness! Even the negative aspects of gyaru are things that I can see in myself. There are so many different sub-styles to draw from, endless possibilities and lots of fun to be had! I feel like a gyaru and "identify" as such.

himegyaru

This doesn't mean that I can't occasionally dress lolita! (This is a point where I get nervous about some of the elitism in some J-fashion communities.) I don't "identify" as a lolita, but I know a lot about it and I love the fashion. On days when I want to go to a meet-up or just look kawaii as fuck, I've got some lolita to do the trick. Some people really strongly see themselves as lolita, even though they may not dress in the fashion. (just ask albinwonderland about that!) 

And of course, there are days when I could care less and wander around the city in skinny jeans and a t-shirt. Though these are days that I feel very little confidence in myself. I feel like an underdressed princess, because my brain is still stuck in fashion mode! 

 

            how i feel inside                                   how i look on the outside

I suppose my tiny wish is that no one says "You can never be gyaru!" because I occasionally wear lolita. But my main wish is to grow and improve!  I know how catty some gyaru can be, and starting to get seriously immersed in the style (and finally meeting other gyaru!) stirs some nervousness in me... but I'm not afraid and I'm incredibly excited! 

Though every time I tell my friends "I'm going gyaru!" they squint at me and say "those tan girls? they're so.... euuugh." (I think their mind immediately goes to MANBA haha) It makes me a little sad that they think that way, but I think that I've been trying to please other people for too long.

I think it's time to seriously jump into gyaru!

If you want to follow some more regular posts on gyaru, as well as health and fitness, feel free to follow project-euphemia on tumblr!