Saturday 12 March 2016

White Goth

I think I have found my new style. For a few months now I have been looking for a style that was an elegant goth style but had colours such as light pink and white. I discovered a sub style of goth called White Goth. It can be any style of goth but instead of black the outfits are white. 


To be honest, I really love this idea of the style. I love big crosses and other religious symbols. Also, it would be easy to add in pastel pink pieces without looking like a total weirdo (a little weirdo is good though). 

Imagine looking like a white angel of death! AWESOME!!! I hope this isn't another one of those substyles that I love to death but I am to scared to try because of school and friends etc. My plan is to see what I have in my closet and see if there is any white goth outfits I can create. Then from their I will wear the style for a few weeks and if I like it I will order stuff online specifically for the style. 



Unfortunaly, when you type "white goth" into google images or pinterest, not a lot of topics appear. This makes me a little worried. 

Anyways! I will come later to give you an update of my white goth attempts and style. ~ The Kawaii Vampire

Friday 5 February 2016

The Forest Review

  




                                           ~ The Forest (2016) Film Review ~



   Over the weekend I went to see the horror film "The Forest" with one of my best friends. I enjoyed the film greatly and it was worth the 8 dollars I paid to see it.


  For those who might not know, "The Forest" is a horror film set in Japan's suicide forest or Aokigahara.
  
  The Aokigahara is a real forest located at the base of mount Fuji in Japan. It is nick named the suicide forest because often people will go their to commit suicide. It is unknown why so many people are drawn to this place to take their own life but their are many theories ranging from the paranormal to minerals in the rocks.


 The plot of the movie is about a young woman named Sarah who's twin sister, Jess, moves to Japan to teach English. Jess suffers from mental illness and goes into the Forest to commit sucide. Through the super natural connection between the two sisters, Sarah learns about Jess' desicion and drops everything in America to head to Japan to save her sister.



  When Sarah lands in Japan she meets an Australian journalist living Tokyo who says he knows a guy who often goes into the forest to collect bodies of the recently decreased. Sarah agrees to meet this man and the trio head into the forest to find her sister. In the forest they encounter many ghosts and demons of Japanese folklore. 



  I enjoyed the film greatly and it is perfect for lovers of Japanese culture and folklore. There is many details that the filmmakers included that made the film more believable like in the beginning when Sarah first arrives in Tokyo she drives passed Harajuku and a group of Lolitas can be seen talking and laughing for about 10 seconds in the film. 

  The film also has a strong Japanese horror film vibe to it. I kept on thinking they were going to start speaking Japanese and subtitles would appear on the screen because the cinematography was very simular to Japanese horror films. 

  Personaly, I found the movie was more suspencefull then scary. Though the visual effects are fanatstic they are not necessarily scary.

  Me and my friend noticed young childern (around 9/10) running around the theatre. I think the movie was definitely too old for them. The movie of course was rated 14A but there was no sexual content and I bieleve only minor swear words were said in the film  only once or twice. Other than having intensly scary topics and folklore, I don't know if the film deserves this rating. But I do not think it could be listed as PG13 but if there was a rating between PG13 and 14A this film would fall into this category.

   I loved this film and would recommd it to people who love Japanese Culuture and Horror Movies. ~The Kawaii Vampire




Watch the trailer for the Forest here: 





Photo Credits:

Chang, Justin. "Film Review: The Forest". Variety. 7 January 2016. Web. 5 February 2016.

Schumann, Rebecka. "Horror Movies coming out in 2016: Complete list of scary films premering in the new year." 1 Janauary 2016. Web. 5 Febuary 2016

The Forest poster. "The Forest Wikipedia". Web. 5 Febuary 2016 

"The Forest Trailer." Yotube.




Monday 25 January 2016

Dolly Kei




                                      ~Dolly Kei~ 


First off, I am sorry for not posting in a long while but I have been studying for my exams so blogging has been kind of on the backburner for the past few weeks. Also, I had to create a blog for an english project reviewing the book Me, Earl and The Dying Girl. So that blog was slightly more important then this one. I ended up getting a 100% on that project but that is beside the point.

Dolly Kei is a fashion I have only recently known about for the past few months. The Japanese altenative fashion is focused German fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel, Snow White etc.  

The style is similar to Mori Kei in looks. The styles can be overlapped. But what makes Dolly Kei different from Mori Kei is that with Dolly Kei the wearer usually try to mimic one character from a fairytale, Usually a grim fairy tale.


                   ~How to make a Dolly Kei Outfit~

Unlike Lolita fashion, Dolly kei does NOT have strict rules. But there a many elements that appear in many Dolly Kei Outfits. 

1. Woodland Animal prints. 

Often dresses that can be used for Fairy Kei have prints that feature animals such as deer, mice and owls, but of course many other woodland creatures can be seen. 

2.Use Colours such as Brown, Red and Green

Many Dolly Kei outfits use darker colours that can be found in a forest. Most commonly these colours are Brown, Red and Green but I have also seen outfits incorporating colours such as Blue and Black! Hey, maybe in a few years, Dark Dolly Kei will become a thing on the streets of Harajuku. 

3. Fur

Fur is a common theme for Dolly kei. Fur can be added on to anything from collars to boots to bags. 

4. Layers. 

Dolly kei is all about layer different prints, colours and patterns. Don't be afraid to layer skirts on top of each other or sweaters under one or two coats. 



5. If you are a fan of Angelic Pretty...

Recently, Lolita Clothing Brand Angelic Pretty released a print called "Classic Fairy Tales". This print freatures animals such as deer and has many woodland plants as well. This print is avaible in one pieces, Jumper Skirts and skirts. Colours offered are Green, Blue, Red and Brown. The photo below shows the "Classic Fairy Tale" Jumper Skirt in Green. 





It is fairly difficult to find information on this substyle because it is so new to the streets on Tokyo, but fortunely there is almost zero rules to this fashion. Making it easy for people who already own pieces from either Mori or Lolita styles to turn them into a Dolly Kei Outfit. My advice is to just find what you like best and have fun.

Love, ~ The Kawaii Vampire


Photo Credit:

"Mori Girl/Dolly Kei" Cuteippon. 13 August 2012. Web.

"Japanese Street Fashion: Dolly Kei" Hello Kitty Devotee. 14 July 2011. Web.

"Classic Fairy Tale Green JSK" Angelic Pretty. Web.

Friday 18 December 2015

Intro to my Blog














                                          Photo: Unknown. If artist know, please comment below.


                                ~Why did I create this blog?~


I guess I should start of about why I have created this blog and what I am planning to blog about. First off,I created this blog because I want to improve my writing and what is better then to write about stuff I am passionate about. Also, I have a love for alternative fashion. Fashion such as Goth, Pastel Goth, Emo etc. I have a even greater love for Japanese alternative fashion, anything from Lolita to Visual Kei. From Decora to Otome Kei. Fairy Kei to Dolly Kei. You name the Japanese sub style, I will probably be fascinated with it and have already have spent hours on pinterest and youtube looking for how wearers of such style wear it.


japan street style via tokyofashion.com

Photo Credit: (Ivett Horvath)


The start of my love started back in December of 2014. One day I was looking for fashion on pinterest (link to my pinterest at bottom of page) when these images kept appearing. The images said something a long the lines of "Lolita" and then "Tumblr" so I assumed, because I didn't really know how Tumblr worked at that time, that there was a popular blogger on Tumblr who posted these lovely dresses with giant bows. 


Follow for more Fashion  https://plus.google.com/b/107036109625129641251/107036109625129641251/posts
The first ever Lolita photo I had seen that made
me fall in love with the fashion.

Photo: theheianprincess.tumblr

I only discovered that Lolita was a fashion and not a person was when I was scrolling through my suggestion box on Youtube about three days later. The video was titled "Why Lolita is Called Lolita" by the channel, Deerstalkers Pictures 2. This video went into great detail, which was perfect for me, who knew next to nothing about Lolita fashion. After that I probably spent an hour on Youtube watching videos of this new fashion I had found. 
Why is Lolita Called Lolita? [Kawaii Fashion School ...

Video: (Deerstalker Pictures 2)



Living in Canada, I had heard of alternative fashion such as Goth, Emo and Scene but I have never heard of a fashion that wasn't, how I would discribe as "Hardcore". I have nothing wrong with these fashion (I'll probably blog about this fashion in a later time) but they weren't really me. Lolita was a cute style that I felt like it was a way that I could express cute myself. The only problem is that, unlike goth, you can't wear it school or work or walking down the street without getting weird looks from strangers. 

This made me do research on other fashions that weren't so OTT (over the top) but still "Kawaii" (Japanese word for cute). I came across sub styles such as Gyaru and Otome Kei but it didn't have the bell shaped skirt that I love about Lolita. Some of my close friends who know about my love for Japan and fashion suggest I wear Pastel Goth, a fashion that (at least in Canada) isn't seen as weird. But still I don't think I can be a Pastel Goth because there is some elements that I don't like. For example the upside down crosses and references to Satan or other demonic creatures. I have nothing wrong with people who like these things but I am very superstitious person who has had a lot of paranomal experiences who is afraid of demons so I am not willing to joke about Satan or other dark creatures. 

So I am basicly stuck to looking at photos on the web wthout being able to wear these clothes in real life.

The point of this blog is to help me explore the world of alternative fashion and to hopefully help me figure out my fashion personality.

As always, feedback is always welcome. ~The Kawaii Vampire



Works Cited

Ivett Horvath. "Street Style- Japan" Web. Feburary 5, 2014.

theheianprincess.tumblr

Deerstalker Pictures. "Why is Lolita Called Lolita?" Youtube.