How To Save Money: Buy Second Hand

This is one of my favorite ways to save money. Shopping at second hand stores and places on line is so much fun. You can find clothing and more at discounted prices and it is always a surprise as to what you are going to discover. My local Good Will and Salvation Army often have Loli-able items for very cheap. Cute blouses and sweaters tend to be the easiest things to find. I have had no luck finding a skirt or dress that even comes close to Lolita. One day.

The egl sales comm is my go to place on line to find Lolita clothing at great prices, usually. Sometimes people price things a bit high but that does not happen too often. You can find anything and everything on the egl sales comm. I have purchased many items at great prices. One of the best things about it is that the sellers are from all over the world and many of them from the USA and Europe. This means that a lot of sellers from the US can give me good shipping prices, plus no customs. Yea! The total price is often raised because of the expensive shipping and customs. Another bonus to shopping on the egl sales comm is that you can often talk down prices. Not by a lot buy by a little. People are often kind enough to cut you a break and knock down a few dollars.

Even when I don't have money to spend on clothing I still enjoy browsing and seeing what there is. Every once in a while you find a great deal. I have seen brand dresses and skirts being sold for $50! You have to be quick though. The great deals get scooped up extremely fast.

Heart, Ace, Spade, and Club Rings for Sale

Sweet Suzette Rings

 Prices

$5.00 Per Ring

$2.00 Shipping Anywhere in the World

 All rings are on adjustable in size.

 

Buy 3 or more get a free surprise gift. (It's a pair of earrings. Surprise!)

Just let me know which rings you would like by listing the number to scoop up and give me your paypal e-mail address. If you want to do cash in the mail, check in the mail, or money order that is fine too. 

The Winner of the Sparkly Star Rings

First I want to say Thank You So Much to everyone who entered my giveaway. It is so nice to have long time readers and brand new readers side by side. I think most people can come together when there is free stuff involved. People love free stuff! I do. Anyhoo, onto the winner.

Our lucky winner is......

Congratulations!

E-mail me at AmanoUsagi@gmail.com so we can get those rings to you.

I am sorry to everyone else that didn't win but all hope is not lost. To everyone who did not win I want to offer a consolation prize. If any of you make a purchase from my Etsy shop or anything from here when I do a sales post you will get a free ring. Nice and easy. Just let me know that you entered the giveaway so I know to add your ring to your purchase.

What is Milanoo and Why you Should Avoid Them

 When you are starting in Lolita and looking around the web you might have stumbled upon any of the site below and not even known it. They look fine at first but there is something wrong with them. They belong to a company called Milanoo. 

Milanoo has a terrible reputation and for very good reasons. The claim to sell fine bridal wear, Lolita clothing, formal wear, and oodles of other women's wear at greatly discounted prices. This is not the case. This company does many shady things and you should never consider them a source for your Lolita wardrobe.

 They flat out steal pictures from brand websites, Photoshop out their watermarks and put their own ones in and claim the designs to be theirs.I have heard so many stories on egl and Lolita blogs about girls getting scammed by them and it is sad. Especially since it usually happens to newer Lolitas and they are so excited for their new Lolita dress and what shows up in the mail is not what they ordered. They will receive a lace monster, cheap satin dress that no Lolita would ever want to wear. I have also heard of girls just getting ripped off, damaged goods, bad customer service, and more.

Once you know your stuff these Milanoo sites are easy to spot. They don't go by the name Milanoo so they are being tricky. Milanoo has a nasty habit of owning a site but denying that it is them. Why would you deny owning a site and shop unless your name wasn't good? 

Ways to Spot a Milanoo Site:

Terrible Photoshopping

The words cosplay everywhere on the site

They are selling lingerie/sexy clothing as well

The pictures look just like brand picutres

They sell sexy maid costumes

 

If you are not whether a shop is reputable  just ask. Most of the people on egl will tell you if they have ever bought from a site, if they are good, if they are Milanoo, or whatever else you will need to know. Plus, if you do a post on egl asking about a site and it does turn out to be another Milanoo site, now everyone will know and it will save some guys and gals from some heartache. 

Everything below is from Tumblr. It is not my making but the work of gothiclizzie

Submission: Milanoo and known aliases. (a.k.a. Places you should never buy from)

lolita-tips:

submission from gothiclizzie:

Thought I’d toss this out there since there seem to be quite a few questions coming in from people new/newer to the Fashion.
This is an up-to-date List of Milanoo & their known Aliases.

http://www.milanoo.com/
http://www.trustedeal.com/
http://www.lolitashow.com/
http://www.ahappydeal.com
http://www.miccostumes.com/
http://batmj.com/
http://www.yescostumes.com
http://sugarbaggers.ecrater.com/
http://www.iloveonsale.com
http://www.lolitaclothingstore.com
http://www.lolitacostume.com
http://www.kimooa.com/
http://www.cosplaygate.com/
http://ucosplay.com/
http://cosplay.ec51.com/
http://www.swissmasaishop.com
http://www.ukonsale.com/
http://www.donhot.com
http://www.51agogo.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SparrowClothing
http://www.victoriasbox.com/
http://www.intimates21.com/
http://www.my-lolita-dress.com/
http://www.wholesale-dress.net/
http://www.lightinthebox.com/
http://www.cosplaywholesale.com
http://www.mltailor.com
http://mall.ec51.com
http://www.chromfashion.com
http://www.jobridal.net/
http://www.doitstyle.com
http://www.ropalolita.com
http://www.topb2c.com
http://www.littlecoral.com/
http://www.joyfay.com/us/
http://hihotbuy.com/
http://www.oyeshop.com/
http://www.funnyanimation.org/
http://www.cosplaysky.com
http://www.cosplaysources.com
http://www.dhgate.com/
http://www.sanseed.com/
http://www.lolitatrend.com
http://www.cosplaysources.com/
http://ulolita.com/
http://www.cosplaystore.biz/
http://www.bridalgownsinlove.com
http://www.cosplayonsale.com/
http://www.lolitashop.us/
http://www.whatabeautifullife.com/
http://www.sinomart.com/
http://www.cosplaypub.com
http://www.zentaichannel.com
http://www.dress-shop.com/
http://www.cosplayzentai.com/
http://www.dress-shop.com
http://www.dresses4sale.co.uk/
http://www.dressinlolita.com
http://www.dressinwedding.com/
http://www.everbuying. com/
http://www.lolitawear.com/
http://www.cosplayshopper.com/
http://www.ftcline.com/
http://www.18shiji.taobao.com
http://www.aliexpress.com
http://www.artdzn.com
http://www.bestbridalweddingdress.com
http://www.beltal.com/
http://www.btbone.com/
http://www.cheapmorphsuits.com

End of Contest Reminder! Enter Today!

I am just putting up a reminder post to get you entry in to win the sparkly star rings today. Tell your friends so they can enter and share the rings if one of you wins. You can enter all day but when Saturday is done, that is it. I will do the drawing and reveal the winner tomorrow, Sunday. Good luck to everyone. I wish I had the money enough for everyone to get rings but I don't and I am sorry for that. Happy weekend everyone. Enjoy your spring days.

Oh, and don't post here to enter the contest. ENTER HERE.

Daily Lolita Highlight: Yunaka

I haven't done a Daily Lolita Highlight in quite some time and there is one reason for that. I haven't been looking at Daily Lolita much lately and by lately I mean the past 2 or 3 months. I find that I fall in and out of love with it. I look at it everyday for while and then I just stop cold turkey. I don't make a conscience decision, it just happens. Anywhoo, I found a really nice one for you. You won't be disappointed.

Yunaka, is a Lolita who traveled from France to the US to go to a few events and she got all dolled up for the occasion. It is especially fun and special to travel somewhere new and show off your Lolita best. I don't travel much but when I do dressing up is important to me and I think it that way for a lot of people but especially the Lolita crowd. 

 Gothic Lolita is just amazing. I know it is not as eye catching as Sweet Lolita but just like Classic Lolita the subtleness is what I like about it. It doesn't scream, "Look at me!" but it just as lovely. her outfits are mostly Moi même Moitié and I am a bit jealous. I don't have anything that is Moi même Moitié but these pictures are making me really want just one thing Just one. The black dress in the right picture. Her shoes  are from a seller on ebay and I really love them too. A chunky heel shoe is very flattering.

 Not only she really cute and her outfits really cute too. Her friends are really cute.They remind me of a play set of dolls. Done up all perfect. I want to play with them and take them on little adventures. Little Lolita adventures like finding the perfect bag to go with the new JSK. This lucky Lolita got to go to a con, see a band, eat cup cakes, meet local Lolitas, and more fun things on her trip. I don' think I could think of a more fun trip for her.

Constructive Criticism in Lolita

I find this to be a difficult subject to talk about at all and even more so when it comes to Lolita. Lolita is a very difficult style to master let alone get a grasp of. There are so many rules and finer points that it takes a lot of work to have a successful coord. When a guy or gal start to try wearing Lolita it is usually a rocky start. The only way I think one could perfectly pull it off would be if they followed the fashion for some time, had a bit of money to spend, had a Lolita mentor, and spent a good amount of time planning. Many of us do not have this so it is understandable that most of our first attempts are Ita, lace monster, Hot Topic, cosplay'ish messes. 

Now, there is a large difference between a constructive criticism that will help someone improve and a flat out insult. But, this means both parties (giver and receiver) must have good communication skills. The person criticizing must know how to give a criticism in a polite way and the person being criticized must know how to take it. Don't see it as an attack and really try to understand what they are saying.  On Daily Lolita I see a lot of first timers putting up their pictures which takes a lot of courage and most of the time there is room for improvement. 

Telling the truth is a necessity in my opinion. One thing I see happening is people giving out compliments and accolades and no constructive criticism. Sometimes you will see pictures posted where a new or even not new Lolita will break several rules or will not pull something off well but no one will say anything. Perhaps it is just a pet peeve of mine but I feel this does no one justice. I am not conservative and think we all need to follow every Lolita rules but most of them are in place for a reason. For example, a modest skirt length is a very important part of Lolita and I feel it should be observed. When I see a skirt worn and it is practically mini skirt length it just gets me.

Helpful Tips for Constructive Criticism

*Start with a complement 

*Don't be bossy. Try wording such as, " I would try...." or "You might want to think about...."

*If they are breaking an important Lolita rule supply them with a link such as the Lolita Handbook to clear it up for them

*Stay positive

*Tell the truth

Helpful Tips for Receiving Criticism

*Don't take it as an attack

*No one is perfect, so don't worry if you make a mistake

*Fashion is an art not a science, there is wiggle room and differing opinions

*If someone is just flat out being mean ignore them, they are not worth your time

*Really try to hear what the person is saying

Please remember there is a time and a place for constrictive criticism. Some people don't want or need your advice or opinion. A lot of posts on Daily Lolita ask for it and it is more than welcome there. Your Lolita friends, family, and community probably welcome it as well but that is still on a person to person basis. Use your best judgement on handing it out.

Pastel Eyeglasses and Chains For Sale

 I wanted to make a Lolita accessory that hadn't been done before so I did a little brain storming session and came up with eyeglasses with a chain. I don't think I have ever seen them in a Lolita coord but I think it would be a nice addition. I have reading glasses (which I don't use enough) and I would love to make a chain for myself that is pearls and pretty pastel colors. Glasses make a lot of girls look really cute,  and Lolita and cute go hand and hand. And what better colors are there other than pink and blue.

These cute eyeglasses and chains are for sale because of two reasons. One, they are super cute and who wouldn't want anything and Two, what am I going to do with 3 of these things. I popped the lenses out because they had a high magnification and that is not good for your eyes. You can wear them as glasses or just around your neck as a cute necklace. I wore a pair out just around my necklace one day to try it out and I got a few nice compliments. It was nice.

The eyeglasses with chain are $25.00 each and the price does include shipping. I will wrap them up nice and cozy for shipping so they will find their way to you safe and sound. If you have any questions don't hesitate. Just leave a comment if you would like to purchase one.

450 Followers Giveaway! Sparkly Stars Rings!

Hello Ladies and Gents! It has been quite some time since I have done a giveaway so when I noticed my follower count hit 450 I thought it would be the perfect time. I have been writing on this blog of mine for a couple years and I have loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute. Some of the background tech stuff gets a little annoying sometimes. But, I do love all of it. 

It is nice to have regular readers and regular commenters. It really means a lot to me. 

Onto the giveaway. I have been making my own charms and I think they are super cute. Sparkly stars are really cute too so the giveaway is for two super amazing cute rings. The pink and the gold go together well and are great as a set. They kind of remind me of the stars brooch/hair clip that so make Lolitas wear. This is going to be an easy giveaway to enter. You don't have to jump through too many loops.

Just leave a comment. That's it. you can write whatever you want. I don't care. Tell me your favorite color, your favorite print, your dream dress, or your cats name. Your choice. You can follow me if you want (I would like it as well) but it has no sway on winning or not. 

I will post the winner on April 21st. Make sure you check in to see if you are the winner. Good luck everyone!

CLOSED!!

Minecraft Chest Purse for PAX East 2012

If you play Minecraft than this should look familiar to you. I wanted to make a purse that looks like a chest so I could carry around a few things with me when I am walking around. It is big enough to store chap stick, gum, and asprin. I didn't want to paint it all by hand so I had a paper craft pattern printed out. I think it came out well. I made the frame out of cardboard and took the hinges from a small jewelry box. It still took me about 11 - 12 hours to make but it is worth it I think.