Mermaiding and Sweet Lolita Fashion!
I recently got some nail pens and have been going to town with them! Giving them a bit of a rest now as I hate chipped nails and as soon as a single chip appears, I rip the rest of it off, looking to get a peel-base here soon in order to be kinder to my nails.
I really enjoy doing my nails myself as I do martial arts and am a fairly athletic person, long nails just aren’t practical, b it having my nails done always just makes me feel 100% more productive.
So, when I was really little, I loved watching wrestling with my dad. Until it got banned in the house because I told a little old lady at the store to “Suck it” because I saw it on TV. My mom was not happy. I’ve been seeking more glimmers in my life recently and apparently pro-wrestling is one of them. There is a video of me having “beaten” my dad and standing on top of him giving my own “mic work” holding a plastic little WWE belt. Coming back to it I have been pleasantly surprised to see the diversity of people involved, promos given in multiple languages, and that women get almost equal screen time now. It feels even better to watch it now. (Probably because Vince McMahon was a crazy person, we’ll see how his trial goes)
Wrestling is ridiculous, and I love it. Logan Paul is a character now?? Which feels surreal, and I find it hilarious. He’s just playing himself and getting scolded by older wrestlers and told repeatedly no one is there to see him. As an art form I love how much permission it gives itself to experiment and be silly. I find it inspiring. I want to make more “bad art” because of it. Some of the storylines are genuinely hilarious, or heartwarming. I also really admire the dedication these people have to an extremely specific craft.
I don’t think I’ve talked about this on my social media much, but martial arts have been an extremely important part of my life. When I was little I did Tae Kwon Do which seriously helped my family manage my adhd before I had access to medication for it. (I no longer take medication as I have largely grown out of the condition, but I definitely needed it for my adolescence and am so grateful that it exists) I remember having a birthday party with my friends I made at that dojo and my teacher having a little singing hamster that sand “Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting” Eventually after about I think 2 years, I started hockey and my parents no longer had the time or money for me to do both sports. However, at 11 I joined my current dojo that I have been going to on and off for 16 years! Had I been more consistent, my Shihan says I probably would be a black belt by now. I am currently working on preparing for my green belt. I am also considered an excellent fighter in my dojo, given my experience I have a good idea of what fighting looks like.
When I first started telling people I had gotten into wrestling a lot of people’s reaction was “You know it isn’t real, right?” Which is very funny to me, because absolutely I can tell it’s not real. But it makes it no less impressive, being able to safely choreograph fights with a scene partner is insanely challenging! Trying not to injure someone while fighting is much harder than you think. The pure athleticism and control, mixed with the campiness of the acting is so cool. I also love all of the theme songs.
I’m definitely thinking of trying to include more about my martial arts into my content going forward. In conclusion, I am so excited for Wrestlemania this weekend.
Drink some water, eat good food, and get some rest! Have a great day everyone. See you next time!
Content Warning: There will be some discussion of sizing and weight in this post. If that’s triggering to you please skip and do something else that’s nice! If you feel like you’d benefit from reading some thoughts from a plus-size lolita with their relationship to this fashion. Read on!
I went to declutter my wardrobe and the majority of my lolita wardrobe does not fit. I have gained a lot of weight from when I first started this fashion, and also have admittedly lost a considerable amount of tolerance for squeezing myself into clothes. (The second part of that is probably for the best)
First go round I told myself I was going to sell everything that didn’t fit, and then talked myself into keeping most of it. One thing that made this easier to justify is that I am actively trying to lose weight. That isn’t something I discuss on most of my social media as it is kind of a hot-button topic and I am afraid of the responses I could receive if I mention it. This blog is a bit of an exception as I feel like I have a slightly different audience on this site. I’m not trying to get stick thin, in fact I’ll probably still be considered plus size in lolita fashion if I get to where I want to go. (I am intentionally not mentioning numbers)
I have diabetes in my family and limited access to a primary care physician at the moment due to difficulties in the healthcare system where I live. So I want to stay ahead of it. Even though I am genuinely interested in improving my health and lifestyle, I’d be lying if I said vanity didn’t play a part in it. In the future, I’d like to be able to model for a wider range of brands. With all that said, I am fairly committed to this health and weight loss journey even if it’s slow going. Bringing it back to decluttering my wardrobe, this journey makes it very easy to justify keeping things that don’t currently fit.
It’s embarrassing to admit this but I have 2 full totes of clothes that I cannot wear at the moment. A lot of it is back from when I was a teenager, no matter what happens. I’m never gonna fit in that again and that’s alright. But it is still so hard to let it go. There is a lot of sentimental value in those early pieces of my wardrobe, some of it is from my comm members and were some of the first strong connections I made with my local community. In some ways letting those clothes go feels like saying goodbye to an era of who I’ve been. It feels silly to mention this to people I know in day-to-day life who don’t have the same kind of relationship with the clothing they wear. But I feel alright sharing it on here where hopefully someone who may be going through something similar or having similar thoughts won’t feel so alone.
Counter to the above, I’ve recently been aching for a drastic dramatic change in my life and I’ve committed to taking care of myself and trying to grow out my hair and not attack it with scissors or hair dye when I get stressed but I still want that change. So I’m seriously considering “starting over” What would it look like if you had to start over with your lolita wardrobe? Very well may be time for me to find out. It’s both scary and exciting for me and probably more productive than running away. Although I do have fun dreaming about that sometimes. I can’t say with 100% certainty that I am doing this, especially as my town’s post office still hasn’t come back from the flood last year making mailing packages difficult. But if I decide here soon to have a massive sale on my lacemarket, I’ll let you all know.
If I do start over, I want to focus on solid and sturdy pieces, things that are easy to clean and accessories that work across multiple styles. My favorite wardrobe colors have been black, pink, and red recently but I would still want to make sure I had some pastels too. I would want to commit to only keeping pieces that actively fit in my wardrobe available so I won’t be cluttering up my apartment. This would likely mean me needing to accept that many of my dresses wouldn’t be forever if I did keep that commitment. They would also need to change with the seasons of my life as well. I would still keep some things like the dresses that were anniversary gifts from my husband. In some ways the thought of having a free-flowing wardrobe like that itself is freeing and honestly not uncommon in the lolita fashion community. In some ways I feel like an odd ball for clinging so hard to every piece I’ve bought.
Thanks for giving this post a read and remember to eat good food, drink some water, and get some rest. Luna, out!
Luna By The Lake With Cake 