March Fashion: I love AP Melty Chocolate

I adore Angelic Pretty's Melty Chocolate JSK. This video says it all. Isn't she adorable. Enjoy the lovely photos (and stay tuned for more..... Smile)










Love
Andrea Nicole Baker

New Angelic Pretty Pullip

I just learned that Angelic Pretty, in collaboration with Pullip, DAL, & Byul will be releasing new dolls in March! The are currently accepting reservation from 12/4 to 12/19.

OMG! The Pullip is in Red Starry Night Theatre. That's the one I want sooooo much!

AP New Pullip
New Arrival






They are in 5 different Styles:
Starry Night Theatre (Pullip); Marionette Girl (little Pullip); Bunny dress (little DAL): Dreamy Doll House (DAL); Sugary Carnival (Byul)

AP Starry Night Theatre Pullip

Love
Andrea Nicole Baker

Angelic Pretty coming to San Francisco

I just saw the news on the Angelic Pretty English site that AP is opening its first store in the US, in SF in November. The location will be in the heart of San Francisco, Union Square Shopping District! That's where Baby The Stars Shine Bright, and Black Peace Now already reside. Don't have any more information but expect to hear more soon!












Love
Loli Andrea

Milky Berry One-piece (Black) by Angelic Pretty

Angelic Pretty's featured series for June 2010 is a strawberry-inspired print with a cream dessert border. White polka dots help give the print a bit of a retro 1950's look. Original lace is used to help detail the print. The one-piece version includes a fully shirred back. The OP also comes in black, white, pink and mint. take a look at this review of Milky Berry.

I adore the design of the dress and the gorgeous print. The border may be a bit much but it is sooooo darling and cute. it is just sad that Angelic Pretty does not sell these gorgeous dresses for tall girls.












Love
LoliAndrea

What kind of Angelic Pretty style are you?

Girls - Take this quiz and let me know the results! Enjoy!

What Angelic Pretty style are you?



My Result: Rose Princess
You love to feel like a princess! Class and extravagant elegance is the look you should go for, with a dainty handbag to match! Try wearing swirling floral prints or some lace gloves!

Take this Quiz - See MoreMy answers to the questions:

1. You are happiest when wearing? - Shimmering eyeshadow and lipstick
2. Favorite Month of the year? - October
3. Your ideal Holiday would be? - With a group of my girlfriends. Lots of fun!
4. What type of handbag do you like to use everyday? - A very sparkly sling bag covered in sequins or glitter
5. Which one of these words best fits your personality? - Friendly
6. If you could change your hair color/stye for the day what would it be? - long golden blonde curls, so silky it shimmers
7. When do you like to dress up? - I take time to dress up fancy every day, it makes me feel great.
8. What would you love to be from this list? - A Model
9. What kind of shoes do you like to wear? Peep-Toe Heels
10. What is your fashion essential? - PINK!

Love
Loli Andrea

Angelic Pretty

I admit that I adore Angelic Pretty. I know it is rather juvenile and definitely OTT (Over-the-top) Sweet. But the patterns are so gorgeous and delicious. I would own all the dresses if I was the right size. But being a tall girl the dresses are not made for my size.
Gallery of my favorite Angelic Pretty Prints,

Some history of AP that I found on the web. (This is from Wikipedia)
Angelic Pretty is a name of a Japanese fashion company specializing in lolita fashion, created in 1979. Angelic Pretty sells an assortment of sweet lolita clothing, accessories, coats, dresses, jumper skirts, blouses, cutsews, skirts, headdresses, petticoats and bloomers, shoes, socks, bags and more.As well as the brand's popularity in Japan, Angelic pretty is increasingly becoming one of the most well known Lolita brands world wide.

Earlier this year, the company opened an official English site to cater for their fast growing foreign customers.
Two of the designers which have made themselves well known throughout the lolita community are Maki and Asuka. Recently they have appeared at the American event PMX hosted by Cosplay Oneesan during November 2007 where a designer panel was held, and a recreation of one of the Japan Angelic Pretty stores.

Maki is from the Saitama prefecture. She started working for Angelic Pretty in 2003 and is one of the main designers. She majored in Illustration from a vocational school. Before graduating she brought some of her art to Angelic Pretty to answer their ad and was offered a job, working her way through school. Originally she wasn't interested in clothing design as "you can't draw scenery on clothes, so I thought I would prefer drawing." She is in charge of designing socks as well as choosing the base cloth and thread.

Asuka is from Kanagawa prefecture. She started at Angelic Pretty in 2001. She is another of the main designers, however she also oversees all press work. She majored in Design during high school and entered a vocational school for clothing and accessories. Similar to Maki she answered an ad that Angelic Pretty had placed and was offered a job. She designs shoes, bags and parasols.

Official Japanese Site
English Site
Cosplay Oneesan, Angelic Pretty's fashion events organizer for United States
Angelic Pretty on Facebook
Virtual Japan Review of Angelic Pretty
Angelic Pretty pictures (photobucket)
Angelic Pretty Pullips

Watch this wonderful video by Mishi of Angelic Pretty original Prints.

Love

LoliAndrea

Gothic and Lolita Bible #35 (Dec 2009)

I received the Gothic and Lolita Bible vol 35 (Japanese version) in the mail a few weeks ago. I love the English version (which I can read) but the Japanese version is also full of interesting pictures and content.

As the cover alludes to, this season's issue is all about the winter colors of black and white, or as it's put in the mook, "angel" and "devil" styles. Angel and Deamon fashion special, a look into the rooms of japanese lolitas, The Lady of Habsburg fashion story and a peek at the new prints from Innocent World and Angelic Pretty's "Dessert collection". On the first cover is a page of Angel vs Devil stickers. Nice touch!

One major difference between the English and japanese versions is that there are mny more ads for the major brands. Full page spreads for Angelic Pretty, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Innocent World, Mary Magdalane, H. Naoto and so much more. There is a lot more of gothic, kuro and shiro Lolita styles in this issue than in many of the recent ones, which have focused more heavily on sweet Lolita for spring, summer and fall.

There is also a special insert section about make-up. How to be an Angel or Devil. Sweet Angel, Classic Angel, Gothic Devil and Cute Devil. Unfortunately the instructions are in Japanese. But you get a good idea of the look from the photos.

On the inside back cover is a gorgeous photo of Angelic Pretty's "Dessert collection". This photo does not really do it justice. It is gorgeous! There are many Angelic Pretty New Items Gifts surrounding the dress. The dress is gorgeous! 100% sweet, of course. So many different shades of my favorite color - Pink.





The Lady of Habsburg fashion story has the most gorgeous photos. Wish I could read the text, This is one of them. Quite stunning. What could be much sweeter?

One other thing that I truly love is a look into the rooms of japanese lolitas. Four wonderful color pages. All the way from Gothic to Sweet. The issue is worth buying just for that.


Love
Andrea Nicole Baker

Dal Maretti Angelic Pretty Lolita Doll - Thanks for the lovely present

I received such a cute and wonderful present this Holiday! The photo is one I took this morning. Isn't she adorable? This is what is known as a Pullip doll. They actually have the original printed fabric.

Angelic Pretty is a name of Japanese fashion company specializing in Lolita fashion, created in 1979. In their own words, they are a brand for girls who never forget to dream, and who want to stay being lovely. Angelic Pretty sells an assortment of girly clothes, accessories and shoes. Including sweet lolita coats, dresses, JSKs, blouses, cutsews, skirts, headdresses, petticoats and bloomers, shoes, socks, bags and more. As well as the brand's popularity in Japan, Angelic pretty is increasingly becoming one of the most well known Lolita brands world wide. The company opened an official English site to cater for their fast growing foreign customers.

Love
Andrea Nicole Baker

What's wrong with Cuteness?

I was reading this interesting article "Addicted to Cute" in the December 2009 Vanity Fair. The Author's (Jim Windolf) premise is that: "America has been flooded by a tsunami of cute–we’re drowning in puppies and kittens and bunnies and cupcakes–that is transforming marketing (the geico Gecko), automobiles (the Smart car), and movies (Up). But is the world bound to sour on all this sweetness?"

Being a Lolita this hits pretty close to home. Especially being a Sweet Lolita. I think that every Lolita style (with the possible exception of Guro/Gore Lolita). has it's cute features. He even snubs his nose at cupcakes! OMG!




He states that this is "All part of a broader cultural movement defined by a special fascination with all things cute—a movement that has sprung to life against a backdrop of war, economic breakdown, and more Wi-Fi.". He also mentions the web site, Cute Overload, which gets over 100,00 hits a day. It is full of videos and photographs of cute puppies, kittens, babies, etc. I will almost admit that it is a bit over the top. But some of the photos are toooooooo cute!

Honestly, this is just human nature. To be attracted to the cute and adorable. Whether they be babies, puppies, kittens, bunnies (or especially) adorable Lolitas! The Author admits that "To some degree, we can’t help ourselves. In the 1940s, ethologist Konrad Lorenz proposed—correctly, as it turns out—that we instinctively want to nurture any creature that has a cute appearance."


I most certainly agree with him about the Geico Gekko. The nasty giant insurance company attempts to market it's image of cute thru a cute fully animated reptile. "The little guy is now fully anthropomorphized, with a more rounded head, big eyes, and other characteristics we unconsciously associate with infants who need our care. The gecko’s cuteness tricks you into forgetting that it represents something that’s not cute in the slightest—a giant insurance company, which must deal in matters most uncuddly, such as injury, death, and arguments over claim payments."

But it was when the author made disparaging remarks about my cute cupcakes that I decided to take most of this "tongue in cheek". "Cuteness has also insinuated its way into our lives by way of our taste buds and stomachs. The nationwide hunger for what may be the cutest food item in culinary history, the cupcake, seems to have kicked in around 2005. A studied childishness is a big part of the cute movement, and the cupcake’s surge in popularity is a reversion to the gustatory pleasures of that time in our lives when sweet plus soft plus damp equaled yummy."


As I read more I wondered if us Lolita's were safe from his sharp attacks. The closest he came was his diatribe on Japan.

Social misery and cuteness seem to be linked. The precedent we have in this area is Japan. A cuteness craze got started there, influenced strongly by the Disney films Bambi and Fantasia, in the defeated nation’s bleak postwar culture of the 1940s and 1950s. It has continued to the present, under the name kawaii.
Japan is the cute capital of the world—it’ll drive you nuts,” says a man who lives there part of each year, but who must remain anonymous because his wife is a Hello Kitty saleswoman. (The cute industry is hard on dissidents.) “When you get the cuteness here, it has usually been pets. But now that America is starting to get into the animation from Japan, it’s starting to seep in. It’s like a 10-year time lag. When I was in Japan 10 years ago, the cuteness wasn’t quite as bad as it is now. And now I see a lot of the same things in America that you saw in Japan back then.”
You can read the detail he goes into about Japanese Society and it's need for attention by being ultra cute. Maybe. But having visited and worked in Japan (but I'm certainly not an expert) I'm not sure I buy into that.



In closing he postulates that "Maybe the cuteness has come for us because of the huge change we’ve gone through in the last decade in terms of our relationships with our machines. Those born in the 1960s or earlier remember a time when (even as full-fledged adults) they did not have something beeping in their pocket, a time when they were not tethered to the Web, a time when they could be truly alone. It’s not a new thing to note that machines have become an integral part of middle-class life in our increasingly digital age. But maybe this is another reason for the cuteness craze.".
Hello! The industrial revolution happened a long time ago! I don't think people have changed a bit. What has changed in that the internet, cell phones and the media have put all of this out there (for you to enjoy or ignore).

In Summary, I adore cuteness. Judging from the reaction I get when I'm out in my frills, bows and lace so do others!
There is just too much evil, hate and bad things in this world! Maybe this is escapism but I'd rather focus on the good rather than the bad. Jim, the Angelic Pretty images in this post are there to make my own personal statement.

Yours in Cuteness
Andrea Nicole Baker