Would you have ever guessed that I liked metal music? I wouldn't either - a young lady in frills and pastels liking such a gruesome and violent genre? But I do!
I actually grew up listening to a classic rock radio station, tuning in every morning as my dad drove me to school. My favorite songs throughout elementary school included "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane, "Voodoo" by Godsmack, "Thunderstruck" by ACDC, and "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon. Not typical 90s kid tunes. Oh I loved pop, and later emo and pop-punk. My group of friends listened to My Chemical Romance, Fallout Boy, Black Flag, Panic! at the Disco, and more in middle school. We were those kids.
But as I continued in high school, my love for classic rock and heavy rock resurfaced. My first serious boyfriend was a thrasher, a die-hard metal fan who took me to Slayer, Flogging Molly, and even Black Sabbath for my 18th birthday. It was with him that I started my first battle-jacket.
Now, I have a complicated relationship with the metal community and the attitudes/conceptions that go with it. A lot of the music centers around violence. Some bands even include mutilated women in their lyrics and on their album covers. This aspect has always bothered me. But on the other hand, metalheads can be really chivalrous and feminist. Despite common misconceptions, these men are often kind and will seriously knock out any punk who tries to molest or disrobe a woman in a mosh pit. I'm serious, it happens.
In addition to this disconnect between metal's lyrics and the actual members/fans, there seems to be a problem with women in metal. Many metalheads consider themselves to be feminists and adore their equally hardcore girlfriends and wives. However, most people see metal as a genre dominated by men - and don't think it should change. By this I mean that most fans I have talked to over the years agree that female singers have a "different" sound, that female vocalists don't sound as good as male ones do. Everything is black, grungy, and hard. There never seems to be room for femininity in the metal community.
As much as my ex-boyfriend loved that I loved his music, he saw me dying my battle-jacket bubblegum pink as weird. He thought that my idea of custom-embroidering the Slayer eagle logo for a backpatch with pastels and glittery thread was blasphemous. I didn't agree with that. I still think music can be and should be enjoyed by different types of people. I think that music is inherently creative and expressive, and constraining a music genre to a specific aesthetic with no room for growth and individual expression is suffocating and wrong.
What do you think?
Now for the fun part of the post! This is what my battle-jacket looks like as of July 2015. I'm pretty proud of it, the mix between sugary sweetness and heavy music.
I understand some of my patches aren't "true metal", or even related to metal in any way. But as someone once told me: your jacket is an expression of your personality.
Last but not least, my newest patch (which didn't arrive in time to make the photos above) from Sugar Bones on Storenvy:
Be true to yourself, and don't let anyone try to limit you. You can express yourself any way you please!
I don't write a lot of reviews, mostly because I am a brandwhore and nobody wants to listen to another Angelic Pretty review. But this time I felt really excited to write one. I have never heard of this indie brand before a post popped up on the Lolita Updates facebook page about an upcoming release of theirs. I hemmed and hawed for weeks until I decided to take the plunge and order from them.
I couldn't find any reviews on DaisyDaisy, so this might be really helpful to anyone interested in purchasing from them in the future.
My order consisted of the Candy Balloons OP and matching Candy in the Sky necklace. I feel like I'm the only one in the world who likes this dress! Both my mom and my boyfriend gave me "it's cute", which we all know means they don't like it but want to be supportive... But I had been eyeing it for a long time and loved it despite being the only one around me feeling that way. I'm dressing for myself, so what I think is what matters right?
Anyways, here is the cost of my purchase broken down: Candy Balloons -OPS: 175 USD Candy in the Sky -Necklace: 20 USD EMS: 30 USD Amount total: 225 USD
The ordering process - 5/5
DaisyDaisy takes all orders by email, which is okay because it prevents any mis-ordering and prompt communication. I love that everything on their Facebook page and website is in English as well as Korean, which is really friendly to overseas buyers. I was initially afraid she wouldn't ship to me in the United States, but it never rose as an issue. On the product pages themselves, a reasonable EMS price is provided. There aren't any other shipping options listed, but I didn't ask if they would ship out with any other method.
I first messaged her account on Facebook asking if "*custom sizing available" meant length and if she could tell me what the current length of the bodice was. She answered politely saying she could make it to any size and told me what the length for the skirt and whole dress was. I could do the math myself easily enough. The reason why I wanted custom sizing was because the dress on the model looked to be high-waisted, which I know I am not a fan off on my body shape. I was so excited to be able to give her the length of my favorite-lengthed BTSSB dress and bodice for to her adjust this dress to.
When I sent in the formal request to her email, every reply was fast and concise. She had me confirm the measurements and sent out a paypal request.
Manufacturing and shipping time- 5/5
It says on the website and in her email to expect 3-4 weeks to make the dress - custom or not. I'm neutral about the bespoke aspect of her business. Some people don't like to wait, and some people appreciate that each dress is made individually for them.
I sent in my payment June 19th, and she emailed me July 17th saying that my items were shipped out with my tracking number. Four weeks on the nose! Of course, EMS being as fast as it usually is, got my dress to my door on July 20th.
Communication - 5/5
I can only say good things about communicating with DaisyDaisy. Since I don't have any complaints, there isn't much to say at all. Every message and email was prompt, polite, and accomodating.
Here is a quote from one of her emails to me: "If there are any questions, feel free to write to me anytime. I will be happy to hear from you! :)" I just thought it was kind of her to say, even if communication is a given with any business.
Quality and overall fit - 5/5
I have nothing bad to say about the quality! The fabric is really soft, almost like pear-skin. The entire dress is fully lined, and extremely comfortable.
The fit... She made the dress exactly to the size I asked for, custom length and all. Unfortunately, I should have added a few extra centimeters onto my request for the bodice because it still is not at my natural waist. But it is definitely better than it would have been! I wish she would have added lacing to the back shirring to help pull it in a bit. When I first tried it on, I felt like I looked wider than I really am, and I like showing off my small waist. The cheap ribbon sent to me for a waist tie won't be much good for that purpose.
Conclusions
I would definitely recommend DaisyDaisy! Everything got 5/5 from me, and I am immensely satisfied with my purchase. Do I think the price is justified? Of course. The seams are all pressed, the stitches perfectly straight, everything is fully lined, and there are no misprints. It is a good deal to get anything custom sized for no extra cost. She even threw in a small bow clip as a surprise~
I have one small issue with this transaction. The necklace I bought for $20, I saw later on Storenvy for $8 from a Taobao reseller. I don't know what the details are about these products, but it was a little discomforting to see that...
Nevertheless, please check out my unboxing video down below, and I hope you consider ordering from DaisyDaisy yourself:
One of the girls in my local community, and now a wonderful friend, Tessa hosted a small meetup in her friend's apartment in San Francisco. Her friend Mouse(?) and she had previously had private afternoon teas for just the two of them, and Tessa had the idea to host one for our comm. There were five of us Lolitas at the beautifully-set table, with Mouse and another friend serving us the homemade tea service.
I really loved the small gathering, with only a handful of guests it is much easier to get to know one another. I don't like attending big meetups for one reason: it is really easy to get left out and feel overwhelmed by jumping between conversations and acquaintances. I never had a chance to talk in depth with these girls, and I enjoyed the opportunity to. Tessa said she was thinking of hosting more like these in the future, and I will try to attend every one!
I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos, I had to email them to myself from my phone since I forgot my camera. And of course, the quality greatly degraded through the magic waves of the internet!
Our teas for the afternoon were Earl Grey, Passion Fruit, Rose, and a butter Oolong.
First course was a wonderful cauliflower soup with ground pepper and locally baked fresh bread.
Second course was fresh berries from the farmers' market and homemade whipped cream.
Main course included crumpets, lemon & ginger scones, pumkpin scones, and three different sandwiches that all had cheese (and therefore inedible to me, haha).
For dessert we had rosemary shortbread cookies and a mysterious mouse-shaped cookie. I was too full to try it, but I do regret not tasting such a cute treat!
Tessa was such a sweetie, she even had prepared some cute goodie bags for us to take home!
