#briarinfrills

[briarinfrills]

highlights of gothic & lolita bible…! ୨ৎ

volume 31

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

[briarinfrills]

highlights of gothic & lolita bible…! ୨ৎ

volume 16

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

hello~! i thought i'd start a new series on my blog highlighting some of my favorite issues of gothic & lolita bible..! it gives me a chance to study sweet lolita from my favorite time periods (early 2000s - 2010) and share some of my favorite scans as well. not all of my favorite coordinates i'll post in this series will be sweet but will most likely be the large majority of this series, rather. (⁠˵ ´⁠ω⁠`⁠ ˵)

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

[briarinfrills]

ah yes, the rare and only old school coordinate i own. it's super simple and incredibly comfortable..! despite wearing a casual a-line petti with this one piece i feel like i still get a great amount of poof. i really love how classy and elegant wearing this coordinate makes me feel as well..! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ i'm sincerely glad i could coordinate my new purse with this look alongside my ita bag for my oshi i've been working on for a bit. my oshi, shirayuki himeno, is actually the one who designed this one piece and the headdress i'm wearing in this photo set..! she's super talented, especially considering this was her first ever clothing release of any kind. ( • ̀ω•́ )✧ give some support to @/h.shirayuki.official if you have the chance~!

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

coord. details below! ⬇️

op: h.shirayuki, “classique doll op” (2023)

shoes: lofty

bag: bow bag - unbranded, bought secondhand from japan / ita bag - bought nwt from japan, unknown brand

otks: roji roji

headdress: h.shirayuki

[briarinfrills]

(*´∀`)♪ i wore this coordinate out on a date with my wife for my birthday this month that was indeed very overdue..! it was really fun to have fun while looking cute~!

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

coord. details below! ⬇️

jsk: metamorphose temps de fille, “room print” (2008)

blouse: chinese indie, bought secondhand

shoes: lofty jp

bag: unbranded, bought secondhand from japan

otks: roji roji, “bear bunny polka dot otks”

kc / headbow: alice and the pirates

cardigan: axes femme poetique

bracelet: unbranded pink pearl bracelet

[briarinfrills]

briar in frills rambles…! ୨ৎ

a guide to misako aoki for newer lolitas! ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

if you're newer to lolita fashion, especially sweet, you might be wondering who this beautiful, cherubic model is that graces coordinates from your favorite brands such as angelic pretty, baby the stars shine bright, etc.. or maybe you've even heard of the brand "m x petit"? not to wonder any further as this cutie is legendary lolita icon: misako aoki, also known in japan as aoki misako. ✨

misako has long since graced the lolita scene with her presence, specializing in her style of choice: sweet lolita 🍬, while also adorning other styles as can be seen via her social media page / through magazine shoots she still does present day. (,,>ヮ<,,)!

her introduction into lolita fashion is nothing short of special, whimsical, and only something someone could dream of..! it went a little like this... ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝) it was 1998 when misako was scouted at the age of 15 to wear lolita fashion. she'd already been in the industry at such a young age, modeling for a popular magazine of the time when she was discovered. so, when this opportunity came it must've been nothing new to her (minus the lolita fashion she was given the opportunity to wear). while she said at first she was not a fan of the fashion, modeling in it made her confidence and love for it grow. thankfully she grew to love it, because she'd have no idea how much of a pioneer she'd come to be in the future of lolita fashion.

her successes in lolita fashion were not just in photoshoots and becoming a well-known nationwide cutie, it was also recognized by the government of japan! ( ∩´͈ ᐜ `͈∩) in 2009 misako was appointed by the japanese foreign ministry to be the ambassador of kawaii - a title which she was a little reluctant to use at the time, but quickly grew fond of when it came to recognizing what her role entailed as a national ambassador. for example, her duties consisted of her traveling the world to spread the word of all things cute and lolita~! she was even a guest at a large scale convention in america known as anime expo..! (づ> v <)づ♡

misako at foreign expos (left: anime expo, 2012 + right: japan exo, 2014)

in 2013 misako was appointed head of the japan lolita association, founded by omura beauty fashion college, and shortly after published her own book in 2014 detailing her experience as a legendary lifestyle lolita. meanwhile, all of these years of lolita and you'd expect her to be tired from carving out her own history, right? no! misako managed at some point continue pursing higher education and successfully in the end managed to become a successful nurse alongside her career as a lolita model and cultural icon. (´▽`)

she's truly nothing short of amazing and i admire her so much. she is my biggest idol as a lolita, as she still presently wears it at 41 after all this time and has no intention of stopping ever it seems! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و i hope to be just like her in the future, as she really did help cement such a wonderful fashion at a time where it was most opposed, alongside many others of the time.

fun things to note:

in 2014 misako collaborated with baby, the stars shine bright to release a pullip doll of herself which comes with her own btssb coord and a nurse's uniform to represent misako's other profession as a nurse. ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

afterword: thank you for reading! i really enjoyed writing this, although most of the information came from already available sources. i tried my best to keep everything in my own wording, but it is nice to format things onto my blog for those who may not have the energy to do some digging on their own! i hope you enjoyed nonetheless, cuties! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ꕤ*.ﾟ

riri ❤︎₊ ⊹

[briarinfrills]

frederick's 30 days…! ୨ৎ

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

day twenty-three — is there a motif you love but don’t think fits in your wardrobe? (๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝*

i really love gothic / more classic-ish leaning motifs. below are things i used to have on my old wishlist that no longer really fit into my style or preferences as much as it used to..! while i don’t ever plan to search for these motifs for my own wardrobe, i do admire them so. some aren’t exactly the aforementioned, one can get the idea of how my wardrobe used to lean! ❤︎💭

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

[briarinfrills]

frederick's 30 days…! ୨ৎ

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

day twenty-one — what motifs do you wish there was more of? (๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝*

i wish there were more jsks that gave the maiden in love feeling similar to baby's 2015 release titled juno's boquet ~oath of the maiden~ I..! honestly everything about this jsk feels like a pink frilly maiden waiting for their true one and only love. (ㅅ´ ˘ `) i wish the parisian romance motif would make a comeback as well..! love, love, love the mode girl series for that~!

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

[briarinfrills]

lolita talk…! ୨ৎ

rebuilding with intention — reflections on a tiny wardrobe ⋆˚࿔

˚˖𓍢🏰✧˚. ⚜️⋆

hello cuties~!

today’s little lolita talk is something that’s been sitting in my heart for a while now. consider it a gentle and quiet warmth… due in part with my own wardrobe feeling very small these days and this cute little post from 2009, it felt like the perfect subject to speak on. ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

not too long ago, i found myself in a place where my wardrobe had been reduced to just a few pieces due to switching substyles (gothic to sweet). for the longest time, only one main piece. that one piece that's so evident on my blog, the room print jsk by metamorphose temps de fille, became an anchor for me. something i reached for time and time again.. (╥﹏╥) so much so that i became a liiiittle tired of it.

but, even then, i wore it so much that it began to carry a memory all its own. every time i put it on, it felt like a thread tying me back to myself, reminding me with every wear truly how much i love lolita, even when i'm limited to a single piece...! it was whimsical and dreamy and so very me, and even now, just thinking about it makes me feel warm. ✧₊⁺

though i had once believed that i’d need an expansive wardrobe to really be “in” sweet lolita fashion, to feel legitimate, expressive, or even present, this experience reminded me otherwise. slowly building back from almost nothing taught me that a small wardrobe can be every bit as full of magic. a single dress can hold a hundred different moods if you let it. a favorite piece can be a storybook you never get tired of reading...! (⸝⸝> ᴗ•⸝⸝)

even now, with just a few more additions, i still find myself returning to that jsk again and again. and every time, it feels a little different - sometimes with a new bow, or a different blouse, or a change in season. and every time, it still feels just right. ♡

what i've learned is this: rebuilding isn’t about making up for lost time or catching up to some imagined standard. it’s about reconnecting. about curating joyfully, gently. about allowing yourself to find the magic in each new piece you welcome, and also in the ones that have stayed with you the longest. ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

i truly believe there’s no rush in this fashion, it's considered a slow one for a reason. the perfect pieces will wait for you. whether you have one dress or twenty, what matters most is how you feel when you wear them. and if your wardrobe is tiny like mine, know that it can still be mighty with the heart of it's wearer.

there’s kind of an elegance in choosing slowly, in loving deeply, and in wearing the same piece again and again because it feels like you. just like we spoke of in our last post together…! these gentle musings are as much for me as they are for you. ♡ for a while, it felt like i’d drifted a bit.. not quite away from sweet lolita, but away from feeling like myself when thinking about it. i haven’t worn my frills in some months now, and yet, writing these words helps me fall in love all over again… though i suppose, i never truly fell out? sometimes, we just need to remember what makes our hearts sing.. and this is very much mine. ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)

˚˖𓍢🏰✧˚. ⚜️⋆

thank you for sitting with me through this reflection, cuties~! this was very much a quiet post, but an important one to me. ♡ thank you if you read this far. and if ever you feel like chatting, please don’t hesitate to flutter into my submission or ask box anytime~. i’m always happy to hear from you, truly. ♡

˚˖𓍢🏰✧˚. ⚜️⋆

afterword: i’ve missed writing here so very much, i can't speak it enough. it feels like returning to a comfort place - where tea is always warm and the vibes feel just right. thank you for welcoming me back after this quiet stretch… i’ll be sharing more musings and magical little things soon. until then, au revoir~!

see you soon, briar 🎀 ❤︎₊ ⊹