The Kodona Code: Introduction

There are a great many helpful 'getting started' guides to lolita fashion, the most comprehensive and well known is probably The Lolita Handbook on LiveJournal.
But what about Kodona? It is always mentioned, but never gone into in depth. So, to right this, the fabulous http://fyeahkodona.tumblr.com/ got in touch with me and suggest we collabourate on making a boystyle guide to help inspire some new princes!

The guide will be split up into sections, that I will post as individual posts here on Goths Just Wanna have Fun. Once they have accumulated a bit, I will make a Page for the Kodona Code for ease of use.

I hope you all enjoy our efforts!

Daily outfit + New hair colour.

Here is an entirely off-brand kodona co-ordinate. The long, pink brocade waistcoat is one of my favourite peices of clothing <3

Also, as you can see I bleached my hair. I am naturally dark haired, so it will still take some toning and so forth. so far I'm enjoying being blonde!

Mehr Musik

First, "Labyrinth" by Oomph!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3lndvRhS_M

Appeals to the gothic lolita sensibilities on an obviosu level for the Alice in Wonderland theme, but also in many more subtle ways.

Being introduced to Oomph through this song reminded me of a similar band I liked when I was in school called Diary of Dreams. My favourite song of theirs was Butterfly Dance:

"Hello? Are you listening to me?
Hello? Why wont you speak a word to me?"

Such a nostalgic song to me.

While thinking about how much I enjoy german music in general, I felt the need to share one of my all-time favourite songs.
As silly as it may be, Die Unstillbare Gier from the musical Tanz Der Vampire.



"Tanz der vampire" is based on The Fearless Vampire Killers, and the soundtrack has long since been a favourite of mine. I listen to it so often, but have never had the oppertunity to see the show live. One of my dreams is to see it performed one day.

January Glasgow Meetup

On Saturday just passed, the Glasgow Loli contingent gathered for tea, cake and vintage clothes shopping. A few of numbers could not make it, we ate extra cake on their behalf! You were missed!
We started the day in the Willow Tea Rooms, which is an old Art Deco place in the town centre. Complete with genuine Charles Rennie MacKintosh furniture.

From there, we went to scout around the vintage clothes stores, where I bought a little vanity case for use as a handbag and the others bought some lovely things too.

After all that exausting shopping we needed more tea, and went to another cafe to re-fuel and then take some pictures together.





My Outfit Rundown:
Bonnet by BTSSB
Wig from MintyMix
OP by Metamorphose
Jacket from Innocent World

What makes a 'True Lolita'?

WARNING: Might raise some unpopular opinions, and I apologize for that, but please respect that this is simply my opinion and you do not have to agree. Thank you.

Something that came up recently in a topic was a mention of lolita going maisntream, and the horrors what would entail. It made me think, and eventually wonder, why are other lolitas into lolita?
Personally, it's just my style. I like the way it looks on me, and I like the way I feel wearing it the way I do.
If Lolita were to 'become mainstream', sure there would be a lot more branches of the style cropping up. Cheaper clothes, highstreet Lolita.

Even things that we wouldn't consider Lolita right now, would become part of the fashion, even things you don't like. But that wouldn't mean that the Lolita you know and love would be gone. That wouldn't stop you from wearing the fashion the way you want to wear it. Would it?
A lot of Lolitas seem to consider mainstream a Bad Thing, or as if it would 'taint' them.
Newsflash girls, if you're only into something to make yourself stand out, it's probably not what you really want is it?
To me, a 'true lolita' is someone who loves the fashion, feels good in it, and wears it comfortably by choice. Wearing, or in fact doing anything to seperate yourself, or for someone elses aproval, is in fact the definition of being a poser.

I remember back in high school, when there weren't many goths in my school. In fact, there were two of us. And the 'emo' phase hit.
Suddenly, eyeliner, wearing black, stripes and dyed hair and all that stuff was popular.
My friend said to me "At this rate, we'll have to change fashions just to stay in the minority!"
My mind boggled a little bit. I wasn't trying to be 'be the minority' or be seperate or stand out or any of that... I just liked how my fashion looked.
It seemed like a dream come true to be able to go to any random highstreet shop and find something I'd actually like to wear. But it opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of people, if not most people, are more interested inother peoples opinions of them, than their own opinion of themselves.

Being yourself does not mean being as seperate from everyone else as possible, it means being YOURSELF. Regardless of if what you want is 'mainstream' or not.

Fashion evolves and changes. Our Lolita is going to change, and things that are not currently considered lolita, will become a part of the fashion. Do you remember just a year or two ago when people would ask on the comms "is it okay to wear a wig with lolita?".
Now, thats pretty much expected.
Or 4-5 years ago, when it was asked "are polka dots really lolita?".
What about when you were just not considered lolita is your skirt was above knee-length? Or you didn't have a proper headdress?

You don't have to wear a wig. You don't have to wear polkadots.
You're don't have to reject wigs as a matter of principle, and if you choose not to wear polka dots it doesn't make you more or less of a lolita.
What makes you A Lolita, if you are one, is the same as what makes you You - doing what you want, to express yourself.

I have faith that most lolitas are True Lolitas. Why else would we go to so much effort and spend so much time and money on the things that we do? We all know it takes a genuine love for a hobby to dedicate so much to it.

Lolita is a fashion, not a uniform. Lets Enjoy it :)

Everyday Outfit; Goths in the Cold!

Just as the weather seemed to be creeping out of the true depths of winter, we got another layer of frost! Brrr. So here I am in casual lolita, being eaten by a giant snake. I mean, wearing a big cosy scarf.
Jsk: WestMend
The rest is Offbrand.

Although I bought this JSK a little while ago, this was the first time I got to wear it. It really is lovely and comfortable. I bought it to wear casually, a simple black jsk is a wardrobe staple for any gothic lolita I feel. However, during the day one of the shoulder straps broke. the stitching just clean came apart. Easy enough to fix, but a little annoying.

irrational want; Pantomime Chic?

Victorian Maiden may be one of my favourite brands. To look at. It's quite beyond my price range at the moment, but with some diligent saving, I may be able to make a purchase. The problem before was always having to choose something. Suppose you had the money to buy one item from your favourite brand? What one item would you go for?
Tricky, isn't it?

I believe I have found something I want enough to save and spend for.

These knee-breeches. The slightly longer length, and ballooning shape is so unique. And yes, it reminds me a bit of a pantomime prince. They're just a little bit rediculous looking.
To me, that's part of the charm.



The set with the waistcoat is absolutely stunning. (It would even go with skirts; as shown)The only down side to the waistcoat is that it is halter-necked. Nearly all brand waistcoats are, which bothers me a little as I have a kind of pet-hate for halter necks and open backs.
If it were just a full waistcoat, I'd seriously consdier splashing out on both peices of the set.

2011, Year of the Dandy?

Is it my imagination, or has there been a massive increase in interest in kodona and the boy-style side of our beloved fashion? Todays valentines post opened my eyes to it, as there were four valentines for soem well-deserving dandys in our community!
I will never completely abandon Lolita style, of course, I love it equally to Kodona/Ouji, but it is quite exciting to see the latter become more popular. maybe there will be more development on that side of things this year?
Lolita has evolved and changed so much, so many sub-styles and obvious 'eras' have come and gone. Maybe it's time for the princes to catch up?

Boy Dandy Photoshoot

Today, Harry (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xargon_dragon) and I went out and about for another photoshoot. This time with a dandy theme rather than lolita. (mostly out of us both being utterly enamoured by the red coat.. haha)
It was cold and misty, which added a nice atmosphere. Some of the ice was still on the ground, making it all slippery at some points! Luckily I didn't fall. Although it was a close one!

Wardrobe, Sales, Blog and Art

I really have no idea what do do with the layout of this blog. Or what sort of banner to make. Any and all suggestions will be gladly recieved!
So far, I'm leaning towards black and white. My favourite colour is dark red, but it's just overpowering as a main colour. Maybe red accents somehwere.... who knows.
For now, please be patient while my blog has a sort-of identity crisis and changes appearance often!

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This month's theme on EGL is to show your Wardrobe. I took this picture;

and it occurred to me that I have a lot of clothes that I don't wear, or don't fit me. As heartbreaking as it is to let go of some of the pieces I really like, there's no point in having them hang in my wardrobe unworn!
So, here's a shamless link to my clear-out sales post :
http://community.livejournal.com/egl_comm_sales/13483913.html?style=mine#cutid1

There may be more to come later if I can bare to part with any more!

~~~

On the subject of organizing, I've been putting together a portfolio as I intend to apply to Art School this year.
Going through my work, I came across a few lolita pieces some of you might like to see;




(more at http://anubis-chiyuki.deviantart.com)

Of course, my art school portfolio has more varied styles and media and frankly, more 'art school friendly' paintings and drawings that are not so focused on Lolita or cutesy style such as these.

~~~

My photographer friend, Harry and I are planning another photoshoot for this week. With a more dandy theme than lolita this time, so look forward to that!

What are you reading?

This is the current stack of books on my bedside table. I'm sure most of you know the feeling; you have a pile of books unfinished, or even unstarted, but you still want more books!
It's due to that exact urge I've ended up with such a pile of in-progress books. And yes, my amazon wishlist is full of more that I'm dying to get to! BUT, it would be silly to buy them right now.
Anyway, here's a little what's what of what I'm currently reading;

The Cormorant; at the top is The Cormorant, by Stephen Gregory. In honesty, I only bought this because I love his other work so much (particularly The Perils and Dangers of This Night).
Despite it's tiny size, I've been reading it on and off for the last few months.
It is essentially about a small new family, who inherit a cormorant due to the passing of an uncle. The cormorant itself is a scary beast, and the book is incredibly eerie so far.

The Book of Unholy Mischeif; by Elle Newmark. This one seemed so promising, it's set in venice and is about a street-boy who is taken in as a chefs apprentice. The higher classes are all a-buzz with talk of the secret to eternal life.
Sounds like exactly my sort of book, but I haven't really got into it properly. Still, I'll keep going and may it will pick up.

Against Nature (A Rebours); Huysmann. I have been reading this on and off for longer than any book I have ever read before. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but very slow going.
I intially picked it up as it was very influential in some art movements in the 1800's. I later found out that this is the book that inspired Oscar Wilde to write Dorian Grey, and (for those of you who have read Dorian Grey), this is the infamous 'yellow book' he becomes obsessed with.

The Blood of Angels; another Stephen Gregory novel. I haven't started this one yet.

Black Butterfly; Mark Gatiss. Gatiss is a personal hero of mine, and I love the Lucifer Box series. It took AGES to find a copy of Black Butterfly that wasn't part of a set of all three, and I already have the first two.
However, now that I have it I've been absolutely devouring it.

Angelglass; I did my best reading this, I really did. But it just hasn't gripped me and I might have to give up on it. I hate doing that, and have only ever given up on two other books in the past.

Dance Dance Dance; Murakami. My Mum gave me this book, knowing it would be of interest to me as I like a lot of Murakami's other work and in this book there is a lot of mention of the band T-Rex (who we both adore :)).
I'd actually forgotten I started this a while ago then lost it. Oops. Well, I'm back into it now!

So, thats my current stack of books. What are you guys reading at the moment?

Antique bright red, Hunting Tailcoat

The coat I purchased recently, is no ordinary coat! It's a genuine, victorian, red hunting tailcoat.
(My reasoning for breaking my 'no more coats' promise was that this one really IS something special).
I only bought it two days ago, and was amazed it arrived so quickly. Unfortunately it is in quite bad condition, but this was detailed in the seller's listing and was not a surprise.



I put together this outfit pretty much as soon as I opened the parcel hehe. The coat fits as if it were made for me!



The tails <3. The tail pockets are even in-tact and completely functional.
The breast pocket is a little ripped, but I can sew that up. It's missing a button from the back, but it's not a big deal and can be replaced.

Bonus Picture;


Avec Dalek :D

BluePink Kodona Art Post

To say I've become infaturated with sweet kodona would be an understatement.
Here's something I drew over the festive season;

(http://anubis-chiyuki.deviantart.com/#/d35kht2)

I don't do digital art as often as traditional, so this was a fun bit of practice with my Wacom tablet. Part of last year's resolutions was to become more proficient in digital art. I deffinately succeeded in that. While it's nowhere near amazing, I'm much better than I used to be!
Here's hoping that trend continues.

2011 Resolutions

So, it's 2011. A whole new year, a new start.
And a new blog layout. It will change, often, because I like to mix it up a little. Hopefully soon I'll make a banner that looks nice too although I'm not sure what sort of thing to go for.

My new years resolutions this year will be much the same as most year's;

- Take More Pictures.
I haven't been too bad with this one in 2010, but there were a lot of outfits that went unblogged due to lazyness.

-Buy less Coats.
This one is off to a bad start as I won an ebay auction for a new coat yesterday. There are 17 coats in my wardrobe. 17! Nobody needs that many coats! Everyone has their weaknesses I suppose, for some it's shoes or handbags or makeup. Mine is coats.
However, the coat I did just buy is an antique hunting tailcoat. So, excpect many photos of that!

- Update regularly.
I probably wont ever impose an 'update scedule' on my blog, as I find that pointlessly stressful and wouldn't enjoy blogging as a hobby if I started putting pressure on myself. But I'd like to try and make my posts a bit less sporadic, as there were huge gaps and then floods of posts all at once last year.

- Post more art.
My main hobby is drawing and painting, and lolita influences quite often spill over into my art. So I might start posting my things here.

- Kodona
A new resolution for 2011. Do kodona properly. I've always worn a 'casual' version of the style whenever I didn't want to wear lolita, or it wasn't appropriate to. But it's grown on me a lot, and I'd like to start building up a proper Kodona wardrobe and look.

- Eat more cake and drink more tea?
probably not physically possible!

Happy New Year everyone, I hope 2011 brings good things for us all!