Victorian Maiden

I recently discovered that Victorian Maiden has FINALLY made some changes to their site and that it loads so much faster now. A couple of weeks ago you had to wait for almost an hour for each page to load, but now it only takes about a minute or less. So, because of this incredible improvement, I took the time today to browse the VM site completely and found so many things that I felt definitely would improve my wardrobe. :)

All pictures were found here: http://www.victorianmaiden.com/

I have wanted a classic OP without a capped sleeve for quite some time. Capped sleeves seem somehow too sweet for me, and they make my shoulders look really wide, so this dress is a very nice alternative. The summer makes most Lolita dresses unbearably warm, but there are ways to make a slightly cooler outfit without wearing just a Jumperskirt and nothing else. A shorter sleeve on an OP helps a lot, just as a nice cool cotton is better than a heavy velvet. Pair this with a nice parasol and a fan, and you can be just as comfortable in the summer as if you would wear ordinary clothing.

This under-dress is something I have been looking at for a long time, but never bought. I mean, it's meant to be worn underneath a regular dress so it will not be seen, and it is bound to make your outfit a lot warmer than it already is. That might be nice in the winter, I suppose, but now that summer is fast approaching it hardly seems appropriate. However, there is something about this lightweight undergarment that calls out to me. And for some reason I feel it would be most comfortable to wear this summer.

Even though something might seem like it would make an outfit warm and uncomfortable I have found that that is not always the case. For example, I have been adviced against wearing bloomers in the summer, for obvious reasons, yet I still prefer to wear them all year round. In fact, I do not sweat quite so much when I wear them. You see, without them, the petticoat and the dress fall much closer to my legs as I walk and as the day wears on, that friction can get quite unbearable, not to mention the fabric likes to stick to my skin. It is most uncomfortable. However, when I DO wear bloomers, they provide a nice barrier between my skin and the skirt and that immediately takes away that friction and as a result I don't feel half as warm.

Oh dear, I feel I have strayed a bit too far off the topic. But I rather like the idea of wearing something so nice and light under my summer dresses and, as long as I do not wear velvet or something equally hot and heavy, I imagine it would be nice and flowy in the breeze.

Once again I am drawn to a very light weight dress for the summer. Flowy cotton can be such a relief on a hot day, especially when it is loose fitting like this.

I would very much like to try pairing the loose dress with the under-dress like this. Once again it is light and I imagine it would be very comfortable to wear casually to a nice picnic underneath the branches of a large oak tree.

One of the things that I love the most about Victorian Maiden is the absolutely beautiful hair corsages they make. Big, lovely roses paired with dainty little leaves and shiny pearls... Doesn't every girl in the world dream of wearing something like this in their hair?

They come in many different colors and can be worn in so many ways...

I wish I could afford to buy one of each kind.

I know it might seem frivolous and silly to go on and on about clothes like this.... In fact, I am pretty sure it IS frivolous and silly. But to be quite honest, this is the only thing I can seem to smile about nowadays... so I like to sieze every chance I get to enjoy myself, even just a little bit.