Afternoon, all!

  I've had such a lovely response for this blog! 28 followers in 24 hours feels like a whole country or something XD I have followed you all back, let me know if I haven't. I have to say, some of you have awesome content, posts to backgrounds!

  Okay. So I've been thinking today about the ol' lifestyle vs. fashion debate that I mentioned in my last post. It seems most people are solidly in one camp or the other. If we look at them as two extremes, one side is internet savvy, memespouting and like to have things other then lolita in their lives, while the other side is sweet, polite, very ladylike and fully appreciates the context of the fashion.
  So I wonder which is better?
  I was wondering that all day yesterday while I tried on my outfit for Friday's meet (I look like a sausage in an outfit but you can't have everything). I questioned myself this: if each point of view had an absolute side, if they LIVED by the ideas I mentioned above,  if I HAD to pick one side or the other and live that way, which would it be? Lolita_Secrets, burando elitsism and 4chan? Or cupcakes, unicorns, rainbows and Daily_Lolita?
  I did decide in the end, but I had to be awkward about it.

  I decided neither was the best. I wouldn't be happy in either of those situations. I love frills, I love sparkles, I love pink things (I think I'm OTT Sweet at heart XD), I'm eager to help people (painfully so) but I also love forever alone guy, I was part of the raid on Britney's page where myself and [board name censored] convinced her fans she had just died in a car crash, I was a pretty decent player in the Hot Topic Race Guy incident and I have people with names like Hubert Cumberdale on my Facebook who will alert me if a troll event is about to start. Whenever I tell people that yes, I browse /cgl/ and YES GODDAMMIT, I AM A /B/TARD, they automatically think "Oh my god, she must be scum". I honestly think /b/ made me open minded and /cgl/ made me more self aware.
  I digress. What I'm trying to say is - why do we have to be so focussed on one side or the other? Just roll with it, lolis! I see a lot of posts on Daily where the cut has a name like "Follow me down the rabbit hole..." and it's all I can do not to scream STOP TRYING SO DAMN HARD! You don't have to! Being lolita does not mean being Alice! It doesn't mean wishing you lived in the Rococo era, it doesn't mean you HAVE to eat macarons and be super skinny at the same time. But, rebelling against the sweet stereotype doesn't have to mean showing off about how you smoke, drink and do drugs in your loli - if you brag about that, it shows that you want people to know, you want them to notice you for that, you're being yourself and you want people to know about it. That's completely fine! But you know, it's okay to do those things and NOT brag about them. It's okay to post a D_L and not use whimsical language and act like you fell out of a Disney film. My first (and only to date) D_L post was titled "Lol-ITA". I tried pretty, flouncy sounding names but it just wasn't me.That's not to say that some lolis aren't really that fairytalish! I'm sure they exist. But ever real one, there must be three of you lovely frillies who only think you have to be like that.
  And maybe that's why we're seeing so many Leaving Lolita sales lately. Maybe some of us are getting tired of putting on a front, whether it's sugar-sweet or Ichiko-tough.
  I feel awful when I think that some of my brother and sister lolis might be leaving something they love because they feel it turns them into something they aren't.

  Lolis and Brolis, your frills should add a little flair to who you already are. Please, don't let them take over the personality you had before - wouldn't we all rather see a foul mouthed, drunk loli having fun and being herself than a porcelain-pretty doll sitting awkwardly because she isn't sure if she's 'doing it right'? Unfortunatly, the first ever loli I saw in real life did this. She was about twelve or thirteen, dressed head to toe in Angelic Pretty, and she spoke to no one; we were all too loud and cosplayer for her. She was too busy being ladylike and it made me so sad... if you ever read this, Girl With Grandma, I thought you looked beautiful.

 
  Okay! So, in other news, I took this photo and felt like sharing:

  Isn't it a show up? This is my 'workshop'... I think it was a desk once. The place is covered in clay, glitter small plushes and rhinestones. 

  This is Mameshiba. I have four of these critters - this one is my Travel Mameshiba (because he always clips to my bag) and he's very style concious. He has to watch me in case the colours I choose clash. If that happens, you don't wanna be there. Bean rage, err'where.

  Aaaand, because I haven't done one yet, an outfit post!

  Not sure what I was going for here... it's definitly not lolita (don't worry, I know that! XD) I think I could call it Fairy Kei 'Inspired', as I'd been watching a lot of FK and Decora videos on Youtube that morning. ^^
  Outfit rundown? Outfit rundown.
  Hoodie: 'Tralala' Cat Hoodie from EGL Sales
  Wristcuffs: DoL Melty Chocolate (the pink just isn't right for the JSK so I can't wear them together. Protip: When ordering PinkxWhite stripe MC, order WHITE or BROWN wristcuffs... the pink sucks.)
  Skirt: New Look
  Shoes: Bodyline. I've removed the ankle straps because they always feel like too much.

  Okay, that's all for today! I'm going to Becky's cosplay picnic tomorrow, so I've got cupcakes to make and an outfit to throw together... it's not 100% cosplay so I think I can improvise, but I have no idea... XD

  Have a good day lolis and brolis, and if I don't see you through the week, I'll see you through the window!
            Vivi