Favourite Lolita Brand – Angelic Pretty

I think everyone has clothing brands that they have a special place in their heart reserved for. For lolita, mine is Angelic Pretty. My dream dress list could have the majority fulfilled with a giant, debt inducing shopping spree there (If they happened to re-release all my favourites at once!). So I have decided to do a post showing you why I love Angelic Pretty! It will show my (more recent) dream prints from them, so it will be biased towards the style I like. They also do some more gothic style stuff too!

All Images belong to Angelic Pretty, though I had to find some via tumblr/other blogs! I have linked where I found the Image so click the pictures for that (since most the dresses are no longer in stores.)

Melody Toys

This is their newly released print. I chose the high waist JSK to show you here because it’s my favourite of the series! I just love the cute detail on the top of the dress and those ruffles around the sleeves. This one is still being sold on Angelic Pretty (I found it on the European Site) so snap it up now while you still can! Though beware it does cost about £150!

Misty Sky

I was annoyed that I didn’t get myself the Light Blue JSK when I had the money saved up, but I left it too late! 😦 Hopefully they will do another re-release at the exact point I have money again 😉 For those of you that dislike lolita shapes of dresses, Black Milk did a very similar print for a skater dress (see here) that you may be able to find someone selling since unfortunately it has sold out! I find the cloudy blue sky print so charming and relaxing. The floaty material of the AP dress is so lovely too.

Romantic Rose Letter

Another one that I didn’t decide I liked enough on time to get! My favourite was the skirt, I wasn’t a fan of the shapes of the top halves of this set. The print is lovely though, as is suggested by the name, it is very romantic. I would have loved to wear it with lots of floral hair accessories. The socks are really cute too. I love the ballet-style ribbon effect.

Sugar Hearts

The JSK is my favourite, it’s just such a cute print and I love the shape and the flowy light fabric. I think it would be really great in summer. I could make a ton of cute love heart jewellery to go with this, along with matching nails.

Ok so now I have shown you my favourite brand and why, what is your favourite? What would be your dream print from there? I would love to hear from you all 🙂

How to dress Hime Gyaru

A while ago I did a post on how to dress lolita so now I am doing one on how to dress Hime Gyaru. It’s much more difficult to do a “how to dress” for any gyaru style because part of the style is that it is supposed to be innovative and different. This means that lots of different things can be considered Gyaru. So this post is specific to Hime Gyaru (although other Gyaru styles share similar make-up, and some aspects of hair are similar too.)

Hime Gyaru is all about looking princess-like. So while obviously you do not have to stick by the recommended clothing, there are some ways you can make your co-ord more obviously Hime gyaru. This guide is intended to be used to help people just getting into the style to put together a co-ord or to get an idea of the style, not to stop other Gals from adding their own flair and developing the style further to suit them.

Dress

Or a Top and Skirt as the case may be. In general pinks, florals, lace, bows, ruffles and cute details are apparent in the dress. This gives it a more princess-like feel. Short dresses are more common than long ones, and the shape of the dress shown in the picture above lends itself easily to Hime Gyaru. Careful not to make the skirt too puffy or long or you risk looking more lolita than gyaru. Many Hime Gyaru will adopt a Hime Kaji (Casual Hime) look as it is easier to wear everyday.

Hair

Big hair is something that is very common in the gyaru look, as is using lots of hair accessories. Many Gyaru will use extensions or half wigs to make the hair bigger and longer. The idea of the hair is to make it look big, glamorous and princess-like. Though some Gyaru will have more natural hair styles.

Shoes

Hime Gals tend to have very pretty shoes! I am jealous I do not have a pair of my own. Girly prints, fabric and decorations are all over Hime Gyaru feet. I think it really finishes off the outfit and ties everything all together.

Nails

Hime Gyaru tend to have very ornate nails. Cool patterns and decorations fit so well into the style. The look is very over the top. Of course if you need to use your hands it might not be convenient to get massive fake nails, well groomed short nails or cute nail art on natural nails can look just as lovely.

 Accessories have kind of been covered with Hair and Shoes. You can also use jewellery or bags that are decorated in the Hime style (eg. Lace, Pinks, Over the top girly deocrations) and these will tie the outfit together perfectly.

Feel free to experiment with the fashion! The whole point of Gyaru is to rebel from the norm and part of that is dressing in your own style! Try to develop your own personal spin on the style!

*~*Hope you have enjoyed my guide*~*

Fimo Cane Nail Tutorial

Today I finally found my fimo canes ❤ So I made a tutorial on how to do Fimo Cane nails. This look goes well in a Hime Gyaru, Decora or Lolita outfit, or even just for a casual day.

First I cleaned my nails and cut them. Then I applied a clear coat to protect my nails from any discolouration from the coloured varnish. The clear also helps when removing the polish.

This is what the fimo canes look like. There are lots of different designs you can get, and it’s easy to find a large pack of them online for quite cheap. Try eBay or Amazon.

The blade is sometimes provided with the canes or you can buy one from an art shop or online. Use it to cut the cane into little slices, the thinner the better.

I always cut all the pieces I need before applying the nail varnish, otherwise it gets tricky to cut slices with wet nails and the polish can be smudged easily.

I used Revlon Bubblegum-scented pink as my base colour. It’s a really lovely dark pink colour and when dry it does smell exactly like bubblegum. The smell becomes less obvious under a top coat but it’s still there. Any paint that goes over the edge of your nail can be removed later using a cotton swab dipped in nail polish remover.

I paint one nail with the base colour at a time, then use tweezers to stick the fimo slice onto the wet nail polish. I reckon if you painted the base colour then waited for it to dry, you could still use nail glue to attach the fimo slices, this would probably be more secure than my method but I don’t want to spend money on nail glue.

Keep going nail by nail until you have completed your first hand, I always do my right hand first because I am right handed. This means that I don’t have to use my non-dominant hand while it has wet nail polish on it.

I usually apply a clear top coat over my nails. I believe that this secures down the fimo slices a bit more so they will stay on for longer. It also gives it a nice glossy finish.

And you are done 🙂 Usually the fimo slices won’t stay put for more than a day or two since they can flake off while you are doing things. If you haven’t used fimo slices before then the sensation of having things on your nails can feel very odd. I really love the outcome, I think the 3D effect on the nails looks awesome and can tie in very well with any outfit.

*~* Hope my tutorial on fimo nails has been useful to you *~*

Some popular Hime Gyaru brands

While I have never been to japan to experience the Hime Gyaru culture for myself, I have been told that some hime gyarus are quite picky with brands when shopping. I myself don’t think that brand is important when dressing hime gyaru, and I know that many other Hime Gyarus probably feel the same. Obviously, you don’t have to be wearing one of these brands to be hime gyaru. Though that being said I do think some of the brand clothing is just adorable and would love to wear it. Thankfully, all the brands have some very decent sales, so one day I may be able to afford some stuff from it XD Here is an outline of some of the more popular brands ~

La Pafait

I see La Pafait pictures come up a lot on Tumblr, they have some really cute dresses, and I find it very easy to find pieces that are more obviously Hime Gyaru on their website than some of the other brands. It is very pink and princess-like. Which does make it easy to put together a Hime Gyaru outfit that matches and is true to the style. I would assume that this makes it quite an easy start point for beginners, as with all Hime brands it’s rather pricey. Shop is here

Jesus Diamante

Jesus Diamante is one of the more famous brands. I find it looks more high-class than some other brands do. The designs are a more grown up than La Pafait. The prices here are ridiculously high. I would guess that the average of prices here is higher than the other brands. All of the dresses I have found just browsing it now have cost quite a bit over £200! While I definitely think their clothes are lovely, and I would love to own some, I just can’t justify buying anything from there anytime soon. I reckon this is part of what makes it so desirable amongst Hime Gals, the price tag that’s fit for a Princess. Shop is here

Ma*rs

Looking on the Ma*rs website, I struggled to find much that was the classic pink and Princess-y style of Hime Gyaru, until I found Himena Osaki’s range she has made through them, called Princess Melody. A lot of the other Ma*rs stuff could be worn as Hime Gyaru, I find much of it is just less obvious. Princess Melody has some really adorable things :3 Some of the winterwear in particular. It’s also on the pricey side, but they often have good sales on so you may be able to find a good bargain. Shop is here

Liz Lisa

Liz Lisa is amazing, the clothes just all look so cute and pretty :3 Very feminine and soft. I imagine lots of it could be worn in a Hime outfit or just as standard clothing. While I wouldn’t call it cheap, it seems to be on the less expensive side of Hime brands, and they also have some very tempting sales on. ❤ Shop is here

*~*Hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to some famous Hime Gyaru brands.*~*

Gyaru Nail Art

Gyaru’s are known for their love of over the top nail art. But nail art can suit any other style you want, some of the more over the top ones would look wonderful in a Decora outfit.

The way many of these nails are created is by sticking cabochons or slices of a fimo cane (shown in the picture below) to the nail using glue or sticking to the nail polish itself. You can also draw on your nails in varnish using a nail pen or a cocktail stick dipped into the polish.

I’ve used both the nail pen, cocktail stick and fimo slice methods before. Unfortunately, I have lost the photos of it since I accidentally wiped my phone 😦 I loved the effects I could create, and it’s surprisingly easy. The fimo clay slices felt weird on my nails and they did fall off quickly, maybe because I didn’t use proper glue. The Fimo canes are available on places like Amazon or eBay and you can often get a big pack of different designs for quite cheap.

Here are some pictures for inspiration ❤

A more over the top Gyaru one using cabochons.

Fimo clay slices and some cabochons. This looks similar to the fimo ones I did 🙂

Very simple but kawaii 🙂 I really want to try this.

Pretty 🙂 Must be irritating to do anything with nails like this though 😮

Loooove this one 🙂 So Awesome ❤

Hime Gyaru Inspiration

These are my Hime gyaru inspirations ^-^ They inspire me to try out their make-up, hair etc, and develop it into part of my own style.

Himena Osaki

She comes up a lot in Hime gyaru fashion, very kawaii :3 She has really lovely dress sense.

Momoka Eri

Her style is very elegant and regal, just like a real princess. She is more Lolita-esque than the others here.

Rina Sakurai

I really love Rina Sakurai, her face and hair are just impeccable :3 I think she’s probably my favourite, though I see more (and prefer more of) Himenas outfits.

Tsubasa Masukawa

Admittedly, I don’t know very much about her. But whenever I have seen her she looks awesome.

*~*Hope this has inspired any of you looking for some inspiration :3 *~*