Disclaimer: Usually I’m someone who doesn’t post twice a day. And originally this post was meant for yesterday, but I was too busy to finish is, and anyway, it’s the holidays, and about everything is special during these days. Oh, and I tried to incorporate all brand names in the text at first, it’s horrible. You’ll find the polyvores when you click the respective pictures, which is far more convenient.
I haven’t done a Porcelain Sunday in ages! Well, today won’t be one, but there are inspiring pieces and matching outfits, so it is pretty much the same. Two of my very favouite holiday pictures, and very different ones, too.
Barbie in The Nutcracker
I love the original ballet. I love Tchaikovsky’s music. I love the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. But I must admit, the version I hold dear most is – right – the Barbie picture. It’s not animated that well and has an incredible amount of not-sticking-to-neither-tale-nor-ballet, but so incredibly sugary and sweet, a very depiction of the Sugar Plum Fairy herself. Whenever I’m sad and need comfort that feels like a marshmellow but without the calories, I turn to this movie.
- Dress: With the Sugar Plum Fairy theme I decided to go for something between Classic and Sweet Lolita. The dress represents the more classic and festive side. I also wanted to go for hues of plum instead of pink in contrary to the movie. The dress has a nice mid-19th -century feel about it thanks to the bell sleeves and the flap at the back (the original story was written at the beginning of the century, though). Also, the skirt looks quite light due to the pale colour which also is a notion and quality we associate with ballet costumes.
- Blouse and Skirt (and Corset): I chose the blouse mainly chose it for the rich, reddish plum colour. While the classic version of my Sugar Plum Fairy interpretation balances the parts of blue and red equally, the more sweet take is more on the red side. The Skirt is Alice and the Pirate’s Twilight Circus, a print that I like quite much. It shows stage performances (kind of) without turning directly to ballet. In relatiom to the Barbie picture I’d link the motives to the sweets-inspired supporting characters. The corset I put in mainly as an additional piece and another block of colour to the blouse. I think it’s pretty and I already used it back in my Ero Lolita Matching Monday.
- Headdresses: The alice band with the large round lace piece which in my head belongs to the classic side strongly reminds me of another Tchaikovsy ballet, Swan Lake (there’s a Barbie adaption of this, too, by the way, but here I’m more of a Princess Tutu fan ^^), where the leading lady often wears a headdress (on both sides of the head) made of white feathers in a rounded shape (a bit tangled, this sentence, isn’t it…). Plus, it looks like something sweet covered in layers of cream to me. The oldschool headdress was a choice of heart in this case, I just like the style.
- Tights: Lacy ones, but striped ones would have been great with these outfits, too. The main point is to choose something light and sugary.
- Bag: It’s far too expensive even for Lolita, but I liked the shape so much. Something shaped like sweets could be nixe, too, and again it’s a pastel pink/ plum shade.
- Shoes: The fur-trimmed rain boots with Art Nouveau artwork are meant for the dress, while the Neosens 20s style shoes are for the sweet version. Of course it could be the other way as well, but I liked the contrast of the pale blue of the low Ludwig heels with the more red-toned rest of the outfit. It also matches the bolero jacket I thought nice with the plum blouse.
- Accessoires: For jewelry I took things that had either to do with ballet or with sugar. There are so many sweets-themed accessoires out there, one can’t even count. The heart-shape cutout gloves are of the same brand as the purse, and I thought they would make a neat addition together with the parasol.
Hogfather
A much darker tale is Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather. A beloved Yultide classic in my inner circle since its release and the book wonderful per se (it’s Discworld) Hogfather tells the story of Hogswatch eve events mostly settled in Ankh-Morpork revolving around Susan Sto-Helit, Death’s (adoptive) granddaughter, Bilious, the Oh God of Hangovers and several other very unique characters. Actually it’s a bit like Charles Dickens with a dark fantasy twist. With the coordinate I aimed for something between dark Victorian/ Classic Lolita and very wild and strong Mori Girl.
- Dress and Blouse: I wanted to incorporate the dress in a coordinate ever since I saw it first. It’s exceptionally versatile and can become everything with the right accessoires. Rather plain to match Susan’s current profession as a “kind of Goth Mary Poppins” (Terry’s words) it works as a base for the other pieces of the outfit rather than as a piece for itself. The blouse is one of my favourites, and I mainly used it as it is winter and I wouldn’t go out without sleeved with that weather.
- Jacket: Even with the Hogfather theme I wanted a bit of Victorian decadence in this coordinate. The elaborate fabric with a flowery woven-in pattern and the puffed long sleeves made it perfect for the cause.
- Hats and Scarves: Here’s the wild compound for the theme. I decided to go for a brown and a grey version. (Faux) Fur is a perfect way to incorporate something either very aristocratic (advised for Lolita) or very strong and primal (Mori, rather) into your outfits, depending on glossyness, texture and colour.
- Ruffle Collar: A break from the toughness of the fur elements, the ruffles fall softly and ad a more usual sense of Mori Girl to the outfit, feminine and elegant, yet not too shiny and perfect.
- Accessoires: I know, I know. It’s Hogfather, not Deerfather, but I really couldn’t find anything wild boar-related. Things with antlers, on the contrary, are quite easily found, and do transport the right feeling, too. H&M for example has cute antler-shaped rings at the moment (which sadly didn’t fit on my fingers, but as I don’t really wear rings often, it’s not that much of a loss).
- Shoes: The granny boots are a hint on Susan’s occupation as a nanny again. The brown colour way seemed nicer with the brown fur set and the black one with grey, so I used both.
