Posts tagged lolita blog post

Here it is!  Finally, after far too long, the second part to Everyday Elegance!  At first, I had to put this aside to focus on finishing graduate school, and then I had to get settled into a routine for working on my novel, so this thing kept getting put on hold― but it’s finally done now!  So, my apologies to everyone who was waiting for this.  But let’s get down to business.

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Guys, I’m sorry that this post is showing up on your dashboards with the coding looking all messed up, so I’m going to hide the rest beneath the cut.  Besides, it’s longer post than what I usually do for these language of flower entries.

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Still Life With Camellias, Primroses And Lily Of The Valley In An Urn By A Goldfish Bowl by John Wainwright

Violetta: If that is true, then leave me.  Friendship is all I can offer you.  I don’t know how to love, I couldn’t feel so great an emotion.  I’m being honest with you― sincere… You should look for someone else, then you wouldn’t find it hard to forget me…

Alfredo: I’ll do as you say, I’ll go.

Violetta: So it’s come to that already?  Take this flower.

Alfredo: Why?

Violetta: So that you can bring it back to me.

Alfredo: When?

Violetta: When it’s withered.

Alfredo: You mean… tomorrow?

Violetta: Very well, tomorrow.

Alfredo: I’m happy… Oh so happy!

 

― Libretto from La Traviata, Giuseppe Verdi

The camellia takes its name from George Joseph Camellus, a Jesuit who travelled throughout eastern and southern Asia where the flowers are native.  Often depicted in eastern art, the camellia was originally cultivated in gardens in China and Japan, and it was commonly called the “Japan Rose.”  The camellia did not find its way to Europe until the 1730s; in England, a single red and a single white camellia were carefully cultivated at Thorndon Hall, Essex, and these were the first living camellias ever seen in Europe.  New varieties of camellias were gradually brought over with the expansion of the tea trade:

The [British East India] Company’s John Slater was responsible for the first of the new camellias, double ones, in white and a striped red, imported in 1792.  Further camellias imported… were associated with the patrons whose gardeners grew them: a double red for Sir Robert Preston in 1794 and the pale pink named “Lady Hume’s Blush” for Amelia, the lady of Sir Abraham Hume of Wormleybury, Hertfordshire (1806).  By 1819, twenty-five camellias had bloomed in England; that year the first monograph appeared, Samuel Curtis’s, A Monograph on the Genus Camellia, whose five handsome folio colored illustrations have usually been removed from the slender text and framed. Camellias that set seed, though they did not flower for more than a decade, rewarded their growers with a wealth of new varieties.

― Wikipedia

By the mid nineteenth century, the camellia was famous for its status as a luxury flower (though it would be replaced by the orchid before the end of the century).  Its popularity resulted in its being featured in Alexander Dumas’ novel The Lady of the Camellias; the heroine of the novel uses the camellia to communicate her feelings to her suitors, the red camellia meaning “perfected loveliness” and the white camellia meaning “unpretending excellence.”  Dumas’ heroine was inspired by Marie Duplessis, a Parisian courtesan who also inspired Verdi’s La Traviata.

Dress: Alice and the Pirates / Cape: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright / Tights: ModCloth / Shoes: Forever XXI / Headpiece: Alice and the Pirates / Purse: Innocent World / Jewelry & Other Accessories: Victorian Maiden, Forever XXI

Because a meaning like “perfected loveliness” isn’t really something you can depict with clothing, I relied mainly on the camellia’s association with Dumas’ novel, hence the use of Innocent World’s book bag in my coordinates. 

I mainly used red, since the red camellia is the most famous.  To convey the feeling of Dumas’ courtesan, I wanted an outfit that was slightly ero, so I decided to omit a blouse and go with a cape instead.  I tried to incorporate motifs and pieces that felt slightly more mature― feathers, corset lacing, fans, and sexier heels.  The overall feel is a little burlesque, which is what I intended.

Dress: Angelic Pretty / Collar: Innocent World / Tights: Anthropologie / Shoes: Axes Femme / Headpiece: Innocent World / Purse: Innocent World / Jewlery & Other Accessories: Innocent World, Forever XXI

The white camellia also has a meaning that is difficult to convey, so I tried to do the same as before, though with a shiro outfit.  Again, there is a courtesan theme, though here it is less burlesque and more boudoir.  The top part of the jumperskirt reminds me of a slip, and the fabric looks very light and airy, too.  Netted tights, the perfume bottle necklace, and the heavy use of a lace and pearls all make me think of a woman’s vanity table and the intimate setting of a bedroom.  But the use of the color white makes this outfit feel more innocent than sexy, so it isn’t quite ero.

Bluebell Wood by sitesorted on Etsy 

A filbert hedge with wild briar overtwined,

And clumps of the woodbine taking the soft wind

Upon their summer thrones; there too should be

The frequent chequer of a youngling tree,

That with a score of light green brethren shoots

From the quaint mossiness of aged roots:

Round which is heard a spring-head of clear waters

Babbling so wildly of its lovely daughters

The spreading blue-bells: it may haply mourn

That such fair clusters should be rudely torn

From their fresh beds, and scattered thoughtlessly

By infant hands, left on the path to die.

― John Keats

The English bluebell (not to be confused with the Scottish bluebell) is known by a variety of names, including auld man’s bell, bluebell, calverkeys, culverkeys, English bluebell, jacinth, ring-o’-bells, wilde hyacint, and wood bells.  It is considered one of England’s hardiest flowers, returning year after year, which is why it’s become an emblem of constancy.  Bluebells supposedly hate to be picked, which is why they droop very quickly after being gathered.

This pretty flower, commonly called the Wild Hyacinth, abounds in the spring months in our shady woods.  Nowhere have we seen it so profusely blooming, as in the Hazel copses around Godalming, a neighborhood full of picturesque beauty, where, interspersed with the wood anemone, and a host of other flowers, it appears to great advantage.  The French call it Jacinthe des Bois, on account of its fondness for woodland shades, a characteristic which Elliott, the Corn-law rhymer, has noticed in his vigorous verse:

Shade-loving Hyacinth ! thou comest again,
And thy rich odours seem to swell the flow
Of the lark’s song, the redbreast’s lovely strain,
And the stream’s tune ;—best sung where wild flowers blow,
And ever sweetest where the sweetest grow.

Keats, in his poem “Fancy,” was mindful of its shade-loving character, and calls the Blue Bell the Queen of May,― “Shaded Hyacinth, alway sapphire Queen of the Mid-May.”

―The Language of Flowers (1869), Robert Tyas

Dress: Dear Margaret / Blouse: Innocent World / Bolero: Innocent World / Tights: ModCloth / Shoes: ModCloth / Hat: Anthropologie / Purse: ModCloth / Jewlery & Other Accessories: Victorian Maiden, Forever XXI

I could’ve done something sickeningly sweet for the bluebell, but OTT sweet seems a little inappropriate when you take into consideration the bluebell’s association with the forest.  So, I instead tried to cross country lolita with some mori girl elements such as the bohemian necklace and the heavier boot.

Obviously, blue needed to be a prominent color in this outfit, but I didn’t like the idea of an all-blue outfit, since that would be too sweet.  A brown and blue outfit, though, feels more earthy and is more reminiscent of the forest.  Although I didn’t have the time to do it here, it would be a good idea to incorporate other emblems of the forest, such as branches, birds, nests, leaves, etc.

Although anemōnē is Greek for “daughter of the wind,” it is believed by some that this is a folk etymology and that the word actually comes from a Semitic language.  Regardless, the anemone has always been known as the wind flower, since the ancient Greeks believed that the flower would only open its petals when touched by the wind.  Thus, they named it after Anemos, the god of the wind.  Another popular story claims that, when Venus was weeping for Adonis in the forest, the anemone sprang up where her tears fell.

Still Life with Anemones by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Anemone was a nymph, beloved by Zephyr [the god of the west wind].  Flora, jealous of her, banished her from her court, and transformed her into a flower, that blows before the return of spring.  Zephyr has abandoned this unhappy beauty to the rude caresses of Boreas, who, unable to gain her love, harshly shakes her, half opens her blossoms, and causes her immediately to fade.  An anemone, with these words, Brevis est usus― “Her reign is short”― is touchingly expressive of the transitory nature of beauty.

In spring the green woods of merry England are covered with the flowers of the anemone.  Turn the eye whichever way you will, there it greets you like “a pleasant thought;” it forms a bed of flowers around the foot of the mighty oak, and below the tangling brambles, which you may peep between, but cannot pass,― there, also, are its pearly blossoms bending.  The Greeks named it the flower of the Wind, and so plentiful is it in our country that we might fancy that the breeze has blown it everywhere.  The gaudy anemone of the garden, the emblem of forsaken love, is known to all; but our favorites are the uncultivated offspring of the windy woods, which come long before the green leaves hang overhead to shelter them.

―The Language of Flowers (1852) by Henrietta Dumont

Dress: Mary Magdalene / Blouse: Victorian Maiden / Coat: Victorian Maiden / Tights: Anthropologie / Shoes: Axes Femme / Hat: ModCloth / Gloves: Innocent World / Purse: ModCloth / Jewlery & Other Accessories: Forever XXI, H&M

The anemone is a cute little flower, but it’s associated with so many sad stories, which made it kind of tricky for me to put together an outfit― do I go for classic or gothic?  I tried to go for a hybrid of the two styles, and I’m not entirely happy with this look, but I think that certain aspects do a fair job of representing the flower’s meaning.

I went with a mostly-gray color scheme (there’s also some black and cream), since gray is about the saddest color I can think of; black just looks oppressive, but gray really makes you feel depressed and empty inside.  The other important piece of symbolism is the feather motif that I tried to incorporate with the necklace, brooch, and purse.  The anemone is the “wind flower,” and, although you can’t really depict the wind, the idea of rustling feathers and flight can give you an impression of a cool breeze.  I also included the coat with the capelet, since capelets make me think of windy days.

Other motifs that would be equally effective are leaves, tree branches, and such, since the anemone has an association with the woods as well as the wind.  This also means that you could incorporate pieces like scarves and ear muffs to bring in a bit of a mori girl element.  I was going to try adding some mori girl pieces, but I held off, since I really wanted to keep this mostly classic with a hint of gothic.

The amaryllis (hippeastrum) is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, but we often associate it with the winter, since it’s become extremely popular to sell as an indoor plant around Christmas.  The Dutch were the first to grow the plant commercially during the 18th century, and, in the 19th century, the amaryllis finally found its way to North America.

Hard to Say, Easily Red by Suzie Baker

“The number of species in this genus, as well as some kindred genera of the same natural order, is very considerable.  Florists say that they are very haughty plants; for, notwithstanding the most assiduous care, they often fail to yield the reward of flowers.  This is doubtless a great loss to the floriculturist.  The most haughty is the Guernsey Lily, a flower of charming beauty, resembling in its bearing and magnitude the Tuberous Polianthus, commonly known as the Tuberose.  The Guernsey Lily is of a rich cherry-red colour, and, when lighted up by the direct rays of the sun, appears to be sprinkled, or to use an heraldic term, semée, with golden spots.  The name of these lovely flowers is derived from the Greek verb amarussein (άμαρύσσειν), to sparkle or dazzle, which is very characteristic of their brilliant appearance.

“The dazzling splendour of the Amaryllis when in full bloom, has sometimes a parallel in society, where a haughty belle in the grandeur of her prime beauty, set off by the skill of a fashionable modiste, eclipses the quiet attractions of as fair but more retiring sister, which are often destined to outlast those of her proud and disdainful rival…”

―The Language of Flowers (1869), Robert Tyas

Dress: Angelic Pretty / Tights: ModCloth / Shoes: Victorian Maiden / Hairpieces: Innocent World / Gloves: Innocent World / Purse: Etsy / Parasol: Victorian Maiden / Jewlery & Other Accessories: Forever XXI, Etsy, Peruvian Connection

Although the amaryllis comes in other colors, the red is the most famous, so I decided to put together a mostly-red outfit.  Perhaps some of the reds are different shades, but I mostly used wine red, since that color is very rich and elegant.  There are also some hints of brown and purple, and then the gold jewelry to keep the red from becoming too overwhelming.  I chose to limit my metallics just to gold.  There’s nothing wrong with silver, but I wanted the main color scheme to be red and gold, which makes me think more of Christmas (without being obviously holiday-oriented).

In terms of style, this outfit is very OTT classic.  I wanted it to be very showy, and I wanted it to “sparkle” like the amaryllis, so I used a lot of velvet pieces, which will give the outfit some extra sheen.  The OP also has some satin bows and trimmings, which add more shine and texture.

I’m sorry that this blog post is so late, but it really turned out much longer than I expected.  Much, much longer.  However, I included lots of outfits, so you can always scroll down to the end if you don’t feel like reading all the text.

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