(click here for picture, saved for the chance they remove one day.)
15 November, 2010
14 November, 2010
The terrors of ye olde Walmart
Oh, Walmart, the glorious tales I could tell of you. This is amoung them. Today I went to one of the local Walmarts. I try to avoid shopping at them, but this one is special; it has one of the ever-elusive fabric sections.
I like to experiment designs on cheaper fabric, in case I don't like how it turns out- that way I'm out $10 of Walmart discount fabric on a skirt rather than $30-$50 of fabric from a different store. That way, too, no matter how it turns out, my roommate Astrid inherits a nice skirt for casual wear. I almost always make such things in her size for that reason.
I found a fabric that caught my eye; I knew she would like it, and I thought it was cute. I'm lacking a camera currently, so I ganked a stock picture of it from the manufacturer's website.
I take it to the fabric to the counter for cutting and ding the bell, only to receive no answer. I ring it again. Ten minutes pass, and nobody comes.
I walk to the electronics and have someone paged. Twenty minutes pass, to no avail. I ask another passing employee, who says he'll page someone, then proceeds to stand there and chat to his friend, very clearly ignoring me.
At this point, I threw the bolt onto the rack and started to leave in a huff, deciding they'd lost a sale. As I headed out the door, though, I was greeted by a manager who asked me how my experience was.
I explained in no uncertain terms how I'd pissed away nearly an hour when she apologized profusely... and proceeded to present me someone from the shoe section to cut my fabric.
The shoe girl was better than nothing, perhaps, but completely unaware of how to do anything. I can't blame her for being unable to do a job she was never trained to do. First of all, when I'd asked for three yards... she tried to cut me three one yard pieces rather than a continuous length.
When she finally cut it, it was cut off grain, slightly sideways. I actually ended up with about a fourth yard more than I bought, due to the crooked cutting.
Forgive the bad quality of the photo. It was shot on my cell phone. It does show the terribleness of the cut, however.
To add insult to the injury, when I took it to the cash register, it rung up for nearly $10, more than the $6 on my fabric ticket.
I've written them a rather firm letter, though I doubt it'll change anything. Anyone know anywhere else to purchase cheap fabric for experimentation?
I like to experiment designs on cheaper fabric, in case I don't like how it turns out- that way I'm out $10 of Walmart discount fabric on a skirt rather than $30-$50 of fabric from a different store. That way, too, no matter how it turns out, my roommate Astrid inherits a nice skirt for casual wear. I almost always make such things in her size for that reason.
I take it to the fabric to the counter for cutting and ding the bell, only to receive no answer. I ring it again. Ten minutes pass, and nobody comes.
I walk to the electronics and have someone paged. Twenty minutes pass, to no avail. I ask another passing employee, who says he'll page someone, then proceeds to stand there and chat to his friend, very clearly ignoring me.
At this point, I threw the bolt onto the rack and started to leave in a huff, deciding they'd lost a sale. As I headed out the door, though, I was greeted by a manager who asked me how my experience was.
I explained in no uncertain terms how I'd pissed away nearly an hour when she apologized profusely... and proceeded to present me someone from the shoe section to cut my fabric.
The shoe girl was better than nothing, perhaps, but completely unaware of how to do anything. I can't blame her for being unable to do a job she was never trained to do. First of all, when I'd asked for three yards... she tried to cut me three one yard pieces rather than a continuous length.
When she finally cut it, it was cut off grain, slightly sideways. I actually ended up with about a fourth yard more than I bought, due to the crooked cutting.
To add insult to the injury, when I took it to the cash register, it rung up for nearly $10, more than the $6 on my fabric ticket.
I've written them a rather firm letter, though I doubt it'll change anything. Anyone know anywhere else to purchase cheap fabric for experimentation?
20 October, 2010
Londonian Gothics and other lolita vidya
I'm an active fan of video games, and I'm surprised, really by the lack of video games in existence with any sort of lolita theme. No, I don't mean games with lolita characters- I mean outright full lolita themed.
Not counting visual novels, which are another beast altogether, one of the only ones I know of is Londonian Gothics: Meikyuu no Lolita, a game by MegaCyber.
It was one of the first games I ever owned on my DS, sometime back in 2005, I believe. It has brought me much joy over the years.
The basic story is as follows: You play as a young girl in Victorian London named, of course, Alice, who lives in a mansion with her butler Michael and maid Lucille. Alice's father, Nabokov (a decidedly un-English name!) is a scientist and when he goes missing one day, Alice decides it's up to herself to find him, and she sets off to the sewers of London in search of him.
I've seen the gameplay of this game compared to PacMan several times, but I'd say it's more like the lesser known but similar classic game Ladybug. You wander about semi-random dungeons full of monsters and locked doors. In order to pass the locked doors, you have to touch orbs positioned in places around the rooms; once they're all touched, the door opens.
In your default black dress, you have no powers and are defenseless, except that you can jump. Throughout the dungeons, though, you can collect sewing materials and find hidden sewing rooms. Because, you know, the cavernous sewers of London are chock full of rooms with working sewing machines. Each dress you make grants you a new power, such as the ability to shrink, or the ability to cast lightning.
In order to fully enjoy the storyline, Japanese skills are needed, but to play the game, you don't need to be fluent... or really able to read Japanese at all, I suppose. It's mostly a matter of memorizing the symbols for different dress components if you can't read.
I've managed to find a copy of the trailer on ye olde Youtube.
Does anyone know of any lolita themed games? Were they enjoyable, if you played them?
Not counting visual novels, which are another beast altogether, one of the only ones I know of is Londonian Gothics: Meikyuu no Lolita, a game by MegaCyber.
It was one of the first games I ever owned on my DS, sometime back in 2005, I believe. It has brought me much joy over the years.
The basic story is as follows: You play as a young girl in Victorian London named, of course, Alice, who lives in a mansion with her butler Michael and maid Lucille. Alice's father, Nabokov (a decidedly un-English name!) is a scientist and when he goes missing one day, Alice decides it's up to herself to find him, and she sets off to the sewers of London in search of him.
I've seen the gameplay of this game compared to PacMan several times, but I'd say it's more like the lesser known but similar classic game Ladybug. You wander about semi-random dungeons full of monsters and locked doors. In order to pass the locked doors, you have to touch orbs positioned in places around the rooms; once they're all touched, the door opens.
In your default black dress, you have no powers and are defenseless, except that you can jump. Throughout the dungeons, though, you can collect sewing materials and find hidden sewing rooms. Because, you know, the cavernous sewers of London are chock full of rooms with working sewing machines. Each dress you make grants you a new power, such as the ability to shrink, or the ability to cast lightning.
In order to fully enjoy the storyline, Japanese skills are needed, but to play the game, you don't need to be fluent... or really able to read Japanese at all, I suppose. It's mostly a matter of memorizing the symbols for different dress components if you can't read.
I've managed to find a copy of the trailer on ye olde Youtube.
Does anyone know of any lolita themed games? Were they enjoyable, if you played them?
06 October, 2010
Well.
Truly I have found myself to be a man of scattered mind, as I have failed already in updating this blog weekly.
Tonight I've reinstalled some software on my computer for art, and so I'll be posting some designs soon. If there's anything that shows up that you particularly like, PLEASE let me know. The reason for this is that my designs are things I've made for myself and my little sister Astrid, who is a lifestyle lolita. We both have fashion styles that don't uniformly fit into what is popular or even what is always considered "lolita" or "dandy". That and we like elements that aren't usually common.
That being said, if enough interest is expressed in one of my designs, I will make it for others to buy. Some things I make, though, will always be one of a kind objects.
In other news, someone needs to tell Born of Osiris that they can't call 21 minutes of music an "album".
Tonight I've reinstalled some software on my computer for art, and so I'll be posting some designs soon. If there's anything that shows up that you particularly like, PLEASE let me know. The reason for this is that my designs are things I've made for myself and my little sister Astrid, who is a lifestyle lolita. We both have fashion styles that don't uniformly fit into what is popular or even what is always considered "lolita" or "dandy". That and we like elements that aren't usually common.
That being said, if enough interest is expressed in one of my designs, I will make it for others to buy. Some things I make, though, will always be one of a kind objects.
In other news, someone needs to tell Born of Osiris that they can't call 21 minutes of music an "album".
22 September, 2010
Starting this out
Hello there and welcome to my blog. My name is Michaelis, but just "Mik" will do. Considering how my attention span can be, this blog may go a while between updates but I'm shooting for a once a week type thing.
I'm a lifestyle dandy. Most of my clothes are self-made, but I do enjoy brand as well, of course. My favourite Japanese brands include Alice and the Pirates, H.Naoto, Black Peace Now, and Moi-même-Moitié. My favourite Chinese brands are R-Series, HMHM, and Fan Plus Friend. I must admit a love of Bodyline, as they're like the Walmart of lolita. Cheap and decent enough for the price you put out. I also have a love of Suppurate System, though they're mostly jewelry.
I'll be posting my picspam, my designs I'm kicking around, clothing reviews, and all the like on this blog, so have fun with it.
I'm a lifestyle dandy. Most of my clothes are self-made, but I do enjoy brand as well, of course. My favourite Japanese brands include Alice and the Pirates, H.Naoto, Black Peace Now, and Moi-même-Moitié. My favourite Chinese brands are R-Series, HMHM, and Fan Plus Friend. I must admit a love of Bodyline, as they're like the Walmart of lolita. Cheap and decent enough for the price you put out. I also have a love of Suppurate System, though they're mostly jewelry.
I'll be posting my picspam, my designs I'm kicking around, clothing reviews, and all the like on this blog, so have fun with it.
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