Let them eat cake! Or bread pudding's good too

When one looks up on online explanations of what Gothic Lolita fashion is, there always seems to be this one throwaway line which gravely announces that the fashion is influenced and inspired by the Rococo/Baroque period with its connotations of lavish, decadent gowns, stately French mansions, Marie Antoinette and the immortalised phrase of 'let them eat cake' (but this little gem of a flippant quote is supposedly hearsay) from Sophia Coppola's candypop coloured film.

 The fabulous courtesan, Madame de Pompadour, modeling the iconic look of a Rococo gown in her day.

Although I think most lolita dresses only really possess a small facet of a typical Rococo gown or even none at all. So when brands really does do a truly Rococo inspired dress, I immediately stand up and take notice.

The latest being Innocent World's Victorica Dress

It's called Victorica, alluding to Victorian?, but one can see its heavy Rococo influences. The characteristic half-sleeves, ribboned bodice and what I term as the 'curtained' skirt, all screams Rococo to me.

At one time or another, brands would come up with their versions of a Rococo lolita dress. My opinion is Juliette et Justine does it the most often and accompanied by very exotic sounding French terms.

Juliette et Justine's crème sucrée et fleur set.

And some examples of truly Rococo inspired dresses from other brands

Top: Metamorphose, Bottom left: Metamorphose, Bottom right: Innocent World

And lastly, this breathtaking recreation of a Rococo gown that works beautifully as a gothic lolita inspired Rococo dress as well.

Photo from Viona Art

I am an icicle on a snow-capped mountain

The weather here has turned horridly humid and the thought of piling on the lolita layers just makes me want to run screaming into the nearest aircon sheltered building. I really envy those who don't seem to feel the heat when in lolita because I do and very much so ><" Lolita is a lovely fashion but it can be inevitably very warm and scratchy to wear in tropical countries.

I tend to rash when I'm over-heated as I suffered from mild eczema as a kid and a rashy lolita is not attractive in the least, lol!

So here's some simple tips on how to stay relatively cool while still retaining the lolita aesthetics.

Wear a short-sleeve blouse under your preferred jsk

                           A cotton short-sleeve blouse can do wonders.

Try a bolero/cardigan instead

I myself am especially fond of Innocent World's short-sleeve ecru boleros. Not only are they breezy and light, IW make 'em in L size too.



Eschew a blouse, cardigan completely

Now, this is slightly trickier because not all lolita dresses can look good by themselves but there are quite a few that can.

A sleeveless dress that already has a collar can help make the outfit look less 'bare', while halter-necks are always good for that summertime style.

Pin your long tresses up!

It can compliment your overall look and also leave the neck cool.

Invest in a sturdy parasol

It provides shade from the sun if you have a need to venture outdoors and it can give your outfit just that extra touch.

Not a tip but a good sunblock is your friend under a harsh tropical sun

Not exactly lolita-themed but...

The Mori Girl (literally Forest Girl) look seems to be gaining a lot of popularity lately and I personally do like this fashion a lot as well. Maybe it's the emphasis on a loose and flowy garment fit with earthy, natural colours (markedly different from the stricter structure of the desired lolita form), a necessary dictate of this fashion, that I especially like.

And the concept and idea behind the mori girl movement is mostly to appreciate and savour a slower pace of life, enjoying a quiet solitude, living life at one's own pace, reading, taking introspective walks in a forest...well, as someone who works from 8.30am - 6.00pm, 5 days a week, deskbound, I naturally find this proposed lifestyle choice quite seductive, hurhur.

There's a small emergence of a blending between mori and lolita fashions as well. h. Naoto Gramm for example! I find this offshoot of h.Naoto to be rather a mixture of mori, gothic lolita and Miss Havisham's secret wardrobe.

Incidentally, I dabble in photography...although dabbling is a misnomer. Basically, I have a Canon DSLR, a half-way decent lens and I like taking portrait photos and...that's it! So now and then, I drag an unsuspecting friend and get her to model for me. I have done a few lolita-centric shoots and I plan to do more but for last Saturday, I had an itch to do a mori girl themed photoshoot with Alanna of Macaron Hearts.

We shot at an old railway way-station that was built in 1903 and would be shut down permanently this year. It's a rather ramshackle old place with its own quaint charm, something you don't see here much anymore, in rather determinedly modern Singapore.

The rest of the photos can be found on my flickr album if interested.

Mori or loli? Or Mori Loli? I think it's great though, when folks can blend two fashion styles of their liking together successfully. For me, I like and enjoy these two as separate fashions ^_^

Giveaway Result!

Wow! Thanks for all the entry comments, it was great to see so many people entering!

For the winner, I used a Random Number Generator and there were 35 entry comments in all so without further ado, the winning number is...

comment no. 14 who is Mia! Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone for entering! I really enjoyed reading all the comments about your favourite brands and I'll definitely be doing another blog giveaway soon!

Tea-Tray in the Sky - 1st Blog Giveaway

I know many lolita blogs do giveaways and they look so much fun to hold, not to mention, is also a cute and non-invasive way to highlight one's blog so...yes, Tea-Tray in the Sky will be having its first Giveaway!

And the giveaway free gift is a new Chocomint bracelet =)

Giveaway Guidelines

* Just leave a comment here and tell me what is your favourite lolita brand and why.

* Deadline for the giveaway is 26 March, 8pm (local Singapore time).

* A winner will be chosen at random and the name announced on Tea-Tray in the Sky on 27 March, local evening time.

* I will request the winner to contact me with her address. My email will also be put up along with the winner's name for contacting.

* Bracelet will be sent via registered airmail and postage fees will be borne by me. 

And that's it! Hope everyone have a fun time posting and I can't wait to see who wins!