gyaru – Luna By The Lake With Cake

When Something You Once Loved Becomes Clutter

It’s been slowly time for me to face the music, the majority of my Lolita dresses are now clutter. That is heartbreaking to realize. The hours of love and care and saving of money put into obtaining them just for them to sit in my closet for months on end at this point.

It’s not that I am “leaving lolita” or “quitting the fashion” as those sales on Lacemarket often exclaim when people are trying to sell large lots of items. It’s just that lolita fashion has slowly no longer become a central part of my life. I still love dressing up, but what fits me and who I am has changed as I have changed and it’s hard letting go. I mentioned in my last post that I have been really drawn to Gyaru lately, and I have been! I also haven’t really let myself collect pieces with the same fervor that I did when I got into egl.

Honestly, that’s probably a good thing. I have greatly refined my tastes and spending habits. I am much better with money than I was when I got into Lolita fashion. However, even if I were to fall in love with the fashion again head over heels the same way I did when I first discovered it the dresses in my closet no longer fit my style even within EGL. I now know that I prefer the way drop waists and A-line silhouettes land on my body, and that empire waists are a nightmare for me. This unfortunately eliminates 80% of the dresses I own!

I brace myself for selling 80% of the dresses I own. In some weird way this feels like a failure, even though I know it’s not. I’ve just grown, my tastes have changed. There is nothing wrong with that. Lolita Fashion in its own way often feels like a way to stop time. To give ourselves the girlhood we may have never had, to make up for something we missed. To become women who never gave up the privileges of girlhood or chose to take on the burden of the expectations of womanhood. Honestly, I think that’s part of the appeal.

Maybe once I sell what no longer fits who I am, I’ll discover that I’m not quite ready to move on in the way I think I am. But maybe I will, and that’s okay too.

If anyone has any tips for moving large amounts of items on Lacemarket, any comments are greatly appreciated.

lolita fashion

Unhinged Temporary Press on Nail Tutorial

First things first, this is absolutely not a technique that would be approved by a nail tech. But it works well for me, and my nails seem pretty okay. I take no responsibility for if you try this and it goes wrong.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, my personal style has been drifting a lot more towards gyaru than egl these days and it’s been a bit of a learning curve, as well as interesting to try to find my way back to this blog. Gyaru has been fitting my much more active lifestyle better in general, however there is one little problem with it. The nails! For my day job I work blue collar work, for hobbies I play the guitar and do martial arts, the iconic long nails just do not work for those moments in my life. I do still very much enjoy the look though! I like wearing nails for filming, taking photos, and going out, but I do kind of need a way for them to be secure for the duration of the activity, but then be able to be taken off. Here’s the method I have recently developed!

Putting the Nails On

1.) Gather your supplies, you’re going to need nail polish remover, brush on nail glue, a hydrating/protective base coat and possibly nail clippers and a nail file.

2.) Clean any nail polish or glue residue off your nails, cut and file if necessary

3.) Apply 2-3 layers of a hydrating/protective base coat. You want it thicker so it better protects your nails when you take them off later.

3.) After that use brush on nail glue to apply your nails, the kind I have dries surprisingly fast so I usually brush the glue then immediately press on the nails after each nail has had glue applied.

4.) Nails are applied!!

Removing the Nails

Honestly, removing the nails is very simple but can take some time, patience and good sense. These will not just “pop right off” which is sort of the point, I wanted temporary nails that could survive a night out. I did due to that forget to take pictures during this process.

Very basically we are going to gently slide a tool under the fake nail and gently separate it from our natural nail. Do not force or tear. You’ll do that until each nail is off. I personally reccommend using an ingrown toenail tool like this one and using it curve side down to gently separate.

Honestly there will be some glue and polish left on your nails, (which is kind of what we want since it means we didn’t get our actual nailbeds) if it bugs you just use some nail polish remover to clean off. Sometimes I honestly just paint over it since the glue can be a good “rough up” to grip it without having to buff into my actual nail.

So there we have it! A perhaps unadvised temporary nail tutorial, do this at your own risk, but it worked well for me!

lolita fashion

Tips for Selling Clothes Online

A sustainable way to offload your clothing and make a little money is to sell them online! That way you know they aren’t directly going to a landfill and will be enjoyed by at least one more owner. Here are some tips on how to do so efficiently!

1.) Wash Your Clothes

Once you have selected the clothes that no longer serve you, please wash them before you sell them! Fortunately I have never had to deal with clothes coming to me that have been dirty but I have heard some unfortunate horror stories from some fellow lolitas before. It is always good to make sure your buyer won’t have any weird smells or stains on their clothes

2.) Pick the Right Platform

If you’re into alternative fashion different platforms tend to sell different clothes better than others. If you are a lolita I highly recommend using lacemarket, if you wear gyaru Depop seems to be the best bet. Those are the only styles I really wear so if you want to do any other styles I encourage you to do your research to find where you can sell the easiest and the fastest.

3.) Disclose All Damage

It’s important if your clothing has any stains or tears that you disclose that in your listing. If you are honest and up front with it most of the time you will still find a buyer and keep your reputation intact. Most secondhand websites have a public rating system and it will become more difficult to sell if you have a lower rating.

4.) Post about Your Cleanout on Social Media!

If you have a social media account post about your closet cleanout on social media and include links to your listings! People who follow you will often like your style and it can help get your items into a buyers hands much faster!

5.) Be Kind and Polite in All Communications

Be sure to use your platforms terms of service and common courtesy when interacting on your chosen selling platform. You may receive shipping questions or negotiation questions. It can get repetitive, so it’s important to remember when replying to people that even if it’s the 25th time you have answered a question, it’s most likely the first time that person is asking.

6.) Have Detailed Descriptions

Be sure to include as much information as possible in the descriptions of your items! This will help your buyer make informed decisions on what they want to buy and will help you not have to answer so many DMs and questions.

Thanks for reading and happy selling!

Where I can be found!

💖Youtube💖

https://youtube.com/channel/UCUeJDPVQ_i2GZWVAKh177rw

💖Blog💖

Luna’s Blog

💖Instagram💖

https://www.instagram.com/lunabythelakewithcake/

💖Twitter💖

https://twitter.com/lunabythelake

💖Tumblr💖

https://lunabythelakewithcake.tumblr.com/

💖Tiktok💖

https://www.tiktok.com/@lunabythelakewithcake

💖Twitch💖

https://www.twitch.tv/lunabythelakewithcake

Ways You Can Support My Work!

💝Patreon!!💝

https://www.patreon.com/lunabythelakewithcake

💝Swagbucks Referral Link💝

https://www.swagbucks.com/profile/r_19165683

(This is a no cost way to support me and my channel!, you can also earn gift cards for yourself by answering surveys. If you sign up using my link I will receive some points towards gift cards myself.)