Party-Kei: Interview With Pixie-Locks

Previously, we've talked about Lolita and Larme-kei fashion styles. I really wanted to write a bit about a new style called Party-kei. It isn't a strict, established style like Lolita or Larme, but it is the brain-child of fashionable friend of mind.

Jillian, aka PixieLocks, has a seemingly effortless ability to turn tacky into stylish, kitsch into cute. She is the definition of a "What Women Over 18 Should Never Wear" rebel.

While Jillian has her own blog posts about this style, which you can read here and here, I wanted to ask her some questions about her thought process and inspiration.

1. How would you describe Party-kei?

Party-kei is like a glittery 90’s birthday party mashed together with modern-day “pop” Harajuku fashion influences. I wanted to combine the patterns and textures of the 90’s (denims, furs, a very Clueless/Mean Girlsy vibe) with the aesthetic of birthday parties like when I was little. I’d always been really nostalgic towards those sorts of themes- anything birthday cake flavoured, glittery party favour jewelry, streamers, confetti- birthdays were this weird and special thing that I clung to. I was feeling really lost in the fashion world and found myself jumping around from style to style never really stuck on any single one- so I sort of gave up and just wore what my gut told me to. I didn’t really say much about it in my blogs or anything for months and months but was constantly asked what fashion it was- so I slapped some confetti on a blog post and called it Party-kei!

2. How did you come up with the name?

I honestly can’t really remember how I initially chose it! Party-kei was something I just kept in my own noggin for so long that I didn’t really second guess it when I made the first post talking about it. I had a number of people concerned about it being confused with Cult Party-kei, and so I did a lil poll looking around for other names to avoid confusion. That just caused a whole bunch more headache, so I decided to leave it as Party-kei as I think it fits it pretty well.

3. What are your style inspirations?

Honestly, I love love love Aomojikei! Party-kei could easily also just be considered a kind of Aomojikei. I also take a great deal of inspiration from Kumamiki, a Harajuku fashion designer (and Youtuber! Her videos aren’t subtitled usually but she’s a cutie pie). Her use of super kitschy and straight up weird accessories (she had this ring that was a pig figurine. I wanted it so bad) has always inspired me. Also, the brand Irregular Choice has some super weird and creative shoes that have been a huge source of inspiration for me in my fashion design dreams!
Party-kei has also been compared to a style called Peco-kei, which is really cool! I didn’t know this style existed as it’s not very popular in the west, but we’re definitely jamming on the same wave-lenth. However, Peco-kei uses much darker colours than I tend to lean towards and also lots of logos from 80s-90s toys, movies, and brands. It’s definitely worth looking into if you like pop styles!

4. Where are your favorite places to get clothing pieces and accessories?

Oh man. Oh jeez. I’m just gonna go rapid fire; American Apparel (wonderfully weird designs), Spinns (nice and affordable place to get the latest Harajuku trends), WEGO (basically Spinns), Irregular Choice (kitschy as heck shoes), UNIF (some more weird american fashions, delightfully unique) and a lot of accessories can be thrifted or bought from straight up party supply stores.

5. What do you love the most about Party-kei?

I love that I don’t feel (that) pressured to “pick” a style and stick with it. Princess Peachie actually just uploaded a really good video on this called Balancing Your Identity In Alternative Fashion and it was eerily relatable. As a blogger I’m a huge perfectionist (even though it might not seem like it RIP) and I get really really discouraged when I feel my “brand” or “image” isn’t polished- which is dumb. And even though Party-kei is just my lil brain child that will probably never be anything more than that- it’s helped my peace of mind as a fashion blogger, and that makes me really happy. I’ve also gotten some really nice feedback from people around the world who’ve tried the style, and there’s actually been a Party-kei tumblr made as well as a facebook group! It’s a really wonderful thing to be able to connect with other people over a fun style like this.

Read More

You Are What You Eat, Breakfast Meet

Bacon is love. Bacon is life.

But no really, I love an American breakfast. Sometimes I go to iHop with my boyfriend in the middle of the night for some bacon, eggs, and pancakes. It was one of the things I missed when I was in Berlin, Germany for a month.

So you can imagine how ecstatic I was to hear that there was a breakfast meetup being planned in my local community. It was pretty pricey, but the 45$ was well worth it. We ate at the Laurel Court inside the Fairmont in San Francisco. The room was oddly dim for a breakfast room, but the decor was fabulous and the food even more so.

When you see the banner below, made by the wonderful Chobi, you'll see why I knew I would be bringing my Honey Cake onepiece out of the closet for this meet!

I haven't worn Honey Cake in maybe two years, so I was excited to plan out what I would coordinate with it. I had a few different ideas I considered, but when I remembered that my aunt had made me a buttered toast scarf several years ago I decided to go with an egg-and-toast theme.

I carried the toast into my ankle socks, from an indie Japanese brand I purchased at MaruQ, the handmade scarf, and one of my earrings shaped like a poptart (Get it? toaster stredel? Teehee). My egg accessories were my necklace and other earring, which unfortunately you can't see. 

OTT isn't usually what I go for, but I was too excited to use all my food themed items. The two pins are from Peppermint Fox, my biscuit bag is from Swimmer, and my foodie rings are from various offbrand and Etsy purchases.

Now back to the food!

We got to choose from: sticky warm pecan buns, fresh waffles, an omelet bar, french toast and caramelized banana sauce, heaps of perfect bacon, fat sausages, bowls of different kinds of fruit, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, a whole case of pastries and bread, oatmeal, cereal, cold cuts and cheeses, potatoes, eggs benedict, fresh orange juice, smoothies, and champagne or espresso drinks (for extra).

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is.

I helped myself to two whole plates of food. Some girls had even more! I would have gone back for thirds of bacon and fruit but my stomach was desperately telling me to stop.

And I'm glad I did, because after brunch was over I went to Japantown to purchase a parasol from BTSSB and ended up getting pearl tea. If you know me, pearl tea is my lifeblood second only to bacon, tacos, and ice cream.

In the Japantown mall there is a pearl tea place that sells drinks with an option of having cotton candy on top. I'd been meaning to try it, and I finally had the chance. I ordered kiwi green tea, and the cotton candy they had was the traditional blue mystery-flavor.

Thank you so much for reading! Please take a second to follow me on bloglovin and my social media in the right-hand sidebar. 

Read More

What Keeps You In Lolita

The Lolita Blog Carnival is a group of lolita bloggers who get together each week to discuss a singular topic. This week's topic is what keeps you in lolita fashion. I decided to participate in this topic because it is something that has been on my mind for a while.

I have been so busy and over-booked this year that lolita seems to be on the back-burner. Not that I haven't been buying anything... But I haven't really been filming videos for my Youtube channel, maybe one a month. I haven't hosted any meetups since last July when I hosted a Halloween in July dinner meet. 

And then I went to Germany. I had made it my mission to wear lolita (despite only bringing offbrand as to minimize any potential loses) whenever I went to a palace. I had planned for months to visit my dear friend Poppy Noir, and once I was in Berlin I found a few local girls who took me out a couple of times. You can read all about it here and here.

Photo credit Nora de Anda

It was these visits with internet friends and new friends that re-kindled my love for lolita fashion. For me, it isn't just clothes. I'm not a lifestyler; I don't wear lolita to work, school, or lounging around the house. I wear it on special occasions and when I specifically go out somewhere with friends who will also be in lolita. 

For me, lolita is about the culture. The friends you can make who you would never have met. This fashion acts as an ice-breaker, a common interest to tie together complete strangers. I will cherish forever the relationships I've made because of lolita.

This is what keeps me involved in lolita. Going to picnics, tea parties, afternoon coffee breaks, and spending the holidays with good company. Although I may not spend as much time as I would like with them, I really love my local community and the friends I've met all over the world.

Other blogs who participated:

The Fat Flat Cat

Cupcake Kamisama

Read More

Berlin Blogging: Schloss Sanssouci

I went to Potsdam twice on my trip. Seeing the Sanssouci palace and gardens was just that splendid! In reality, I went the first time with two of my classmates for one of our assignments and the second time with a few of the Berlin lolitas.

Before I got here, I was worried about getting to Potsdam from Berlin. As it turns out, you can easily get there with just an extension ticket from your normal transit pass (although I found out on my second trip that I had been getting the wrong extension and thus paying twice as much!)

Although Schloss Sanssouci, meaning without worry in French, was obviously beautiful and memorable, I think the Neues Palais two miles down the sprawling gardens was my favorite. You can see the front of the Neues Palais in the photo below. It is in my top favorite palaces. Only preceeded by Schönbrunn palace and Empress Sissi's apartments in Vienna...

The first visit to the Sanssouci Gardens was perfect weather, so we spent a few hours strolling around the gardens. We also managed to tour the Orangerie, the Chinese House, and the New Quarters. These gardens used to be orchards and orange groves for Frederick the Great, so the intricately floral version of Rococo decoration and architecture could be seen in every building. I had never heard of Frederician Rococo before, but it is amazing to see. I wish I could show you the photos I took inside each building, but I was only allowed to take them for personal use...

The gardens are so numerous that you could spend a full day walking around in them. Some of them are spacious lawns with fountains and stone benches; some are simply gravel paths weaving through tall grasses and trees; some are elegantly filled with flowers that remind me of one of the favorite movies The Secret Garden.

The second trip was much more sunny and hot, so we didn't spend too much time outdoors. One of the girls was late, so we sat chatting in the shade until she arrived. We only ended up having time to see the Neues Palais (Potsdam has nearly two dozen different castles, churches, and historical buildings you can visit with your 19 euro tour pass).

Funnily enough, I got most of my souvenirs for family at Sanssouci. Most shops have really tacky, kitschy things. This shop had much more "classy" but expensive souvenirs.

From top left to bottom right: 

• I got one of my grandmothers a blue-grey peacock thing; I cannot tell if it should be a kitchen towel or decorative table cover but she can use it how she likes.
• I got one of my aunts a colorful peacock thing, much like the one above. 
• I got my mother a microfibre peacock sunglasses pouch. I'm not sure why Sanssouci loves peacocks so much because we didn't see or hear anything about them there!
• I got one of my grandfathers a small bag of floral tea. I could only read half of what is in it, but what I could translate in my head sounded lovely.
• I got myself a cheap paper fan because there is no air conditioning here! I also grabbed a wipe for my glasses; this is probably the most practical thing I could have gotten.

Read More

Berlin Blogging: Chocolate Afternoon

I am so happy that I was able to meet with a few Berlin lolitas while on my trip. Marching_duck reached out to me on Instagram, seeing I was here, and organized a mini-meet for me at a cute café. Since I wasn't too familiar with Berlin's transit system, she took the time to meet me near my hotel so I didn't get lost.

I am blown away by these girls' hospitality and kindness!

We ate on the upper floor of Rausch Schokoladenhaus, which was amazing. I ordered an Eisschokolade (thick, chilled chocolate with vanilla ice cream) and a Schwarzwald-Becher (black forest sundae). The four of us split a small tower of truffles. We were so stuffed, we couldn't finish the truffles! I did manage to eat one that had sea salt and one with passion fruit. 

 I really loved how derpy these girls are, it made me feel welcome. Nothing was awkward about the trip, I had such a good time!

After a couple hours in the café, we took a stroll around the plaza chatting and taking outfit photos in front of this building. I assume it was a church. Here in Europe, anything decorated seems to be a museum or a church.

An older English woman offered to take our photo for us, but it didn't turn out so well. With my camera, she got her thumb in every shot and with Kia's polaroid we were all so washed out it was pretty much a waste.

Outfit rundown:

• Blouse is from Infanta
• Jumperskirt is handmade by my mother; I had her line it with thin cotton for the summer heat
• Hair clips are from Innocent World; I wear them so seldom I forget I own them
• Everything else is offbrand; I didn't want to risk losing my brand in travel.

Read More