Bye bye La Vida Frills, Hello new blog!

To all my readers: I have some exciting and yet weird news. For the past few months I have been working on my new blog to which I feel is more in going with well, me. I love Lolita Fashion, don't get me wrong - but we now live in a culture of the fashion where everyone and their mom has their own Lolita blog or tumblr or whatever, and I feel like I am ready to break my frilly shell and have a blog that is about everything I love including Lolita of course. So with that, La Vida Frills will remain as is, with no more updates and if you are curious to see the new blog, there is a lot of content all ready there!

Check out: Magic - Ala - Mode!

This blog is different, and its really just as different as me. It'll be frilly, nerdy and everything in between. Please check it out and follow it if you are interested. And to all that have started out with La Vida Frills, thank you for taking the time to read it and enjoy it and I really hope that that new blog is of your interests as well and if not, continue to read the old content on here and may you stay sparkly forever <3 p="p">

LVF Update: Return from Acen!

I'm home friends! Acen was an amazing experience that I can not really put into words, but in a few days I'm going to attempt to for all my readers. It was one of those joyous moments that only occur in rare instances for a few of us. Those special times when you get to be in the same room as people you've admired and respected for so long, that have meant so much to you and have created a complete and utter universe that you've embraced for many years. To be part of and to co-exist within that universe was a dream come true. I've been wanting to be in the same room as Maki and Asuka ever since I got into this fashion and bought my first Angelic Pretty dress in '08. The atmosphere was beautiful, as well as the hearts of many of the people involved. I loved every minute of it and in the next few days, expect a seriously epic post of epic proportions.  Until then, keep on frillin!

LVF Travels to Acen

Yes, it's official - I've been a big old poop with blogging lately and I'm so sorry! With moving to my new home and working at Tribeca Film Festival, I've been a busy little whisp. But I have to mention something that I think all of you frillies will be excited to hear - tomorrow I head to Chicago to attend Anime Central! Yes, I will be attending the Angelic Pretty Tea Party, and yes I'll be modeling the Indie Fashion Show! I couldn't be happier, seriously. With this and some other magical things happening in my life, things are going very grand. I can't wait to share all the memories and magical moments with my readers and bring some life back into LVF.

If you'd like up to the minute updates, check out my tumblr and twitter account! Hope to meet some of my readers there and to bring back some magic with me.

LVF's March Updates!

Hello my favorite frillies! March just flew on by, didn't it? I've been busy moving myself to my new home, but slowly I'm getting all this stuff ready for our new home. In the meantime though, March is going to be another busy and awesome month for me. Yesterday I went to a lovely tea party with some of the local girls from NYC to Cha-An Tea House and had a blast! A separate group of us went to shop/look around and then head dinner at on of my favorite places, Bourbon Street Grill.

For the rest of the month I got myself really busy with tons of fun and frilly things, as mentioned in my update post last month. This weekend will be a meet up to see my favorite Sci-Fi novel, John Carter (of Mars) come to the big screen, with a visit to the Museum of Natural History to add some spice to it!

The best part of this month comes the next weekend! First, I'll be getting a visit day with my beautiful friend from Chicago, Ellejay, and then I'll be seeing Newsies (the 1992 Disney musical movie) live on Broadway with my bestest frilly, Bianca. Seriously it's going to be the most epic frilly weekend ever.

There's even more excitement that's going on, but I have to pace myself to enjoy each thing. I'm hoping to be making videos of those events soon, but since my camera's been m.i.a (battery charger is lost sadly) I'll have to wait until it's found.

In terms of LVF, you might notice this months Coordinate of the Month and Video of the Month. The coordinate is one that has been going around tumblr that I just had to share. I love these two girls, they are just stunning and I'm hoping they are submitting this to the Twin contest going on right now cause they look amazing. The video of the month is of vlogger Peachie Princess, someone who I have become a huge fan of recently. Here she reviews a purchase from Kawaii Goods!

What are you guys doing in March? Anything exciting?

FUN ALERT: LVF has it's own video channel on Youtube! If you're interested in vlogs and video reviews, come check out our (slowly updating) channel here! And yes, there is content there RIGHT NOW!

Dress Up Time #17: Rumpelstitskin from Once Upon A Time

It's become no secret if you follow my tumblr, that I've become a little bit of a fan of Rumpelstiltskin from ABC's Once Upon A Time. At first I wasn't very much taken with the series as a whole, but after finally seeing the recent Beauty and the Beast themed "Skin Deep" episode, I became incredibly hooked to the whole series but especially with Rumpelstiltskin/Mr.Gold's storyline. He's been developed from a once one note and annoying character, to one of such complexity that it's a bit un-human to grasp the diverse differences between the two as if he's almost an entirely new character.

Played by the very talented Robert Carlyle, Rumpel is that great 80's character mixture of incredibly creepy and incredibly attractive based on that. Similar to actors Gary Oldman and David Bowie, Carlyle seems to have mastered this technique and really gives a performance of the ages that I hope becomes recognized by many and hopefully an award. It's something I haven't seen on television in a long time, in addition to a really good fantasy series in general.

But I can't mention Rumpel without discussing the current thought on everyone's mind, The "Skin Deep" episode. Yes, as I've mentioned in the previous post I have a thing for various retellings of my favorite fairy tale. But by god this could be one of the best and most unique tellings I've seen. Though I had my doubts about de Ravin (Belle) based on interviews and etc, she really nailed her character and is stunning in both the conventional and non-conventional senses. Rumpel's story arch grew with this story, and the way that this romance (though short) was spread out was just beautiful in every way. Rumpel's range in emotion is fantastic. Also that cliffhanger (le sigh).

So with that, I decided we needed to have a different take on Dress Up Time, and with that I decided Rumpel was my next choice! Check out the coordinate below for some gold spinning fun.

Yes, most of this is Alice and the Pirates. But why not? To me, AatP is the most perfect fit for Rumpel's style. The dark fairy tale appeal of the brand just works, especially that coat that reminds me of the coat he wears here. I chose to go with a bold colored dress as opposed to a print, and this red colored jsk works perfectly with some of the red in his outfits. I also chose those floral tights, as to go with the theme of Roses and his relationship with Belle. The boots are just extremely Rumpel looking, along with the necklace which holds significance in the episode "Desperate Souls".

So, are you now interested in checking out the series or wanting to become a magical wizard like Rumpel over here? Then go and wear such a thing! Be sure to check out LVF for more Once Upon A Time themed posts in the future, as well as more Dress Up Times to come.

Del Toro's Beauty and the Beast - LVF's Fan Cast!

So it's no secret that I love the fairy tale known to be "as old as time". Beauty and the Beast has continued to capture my imagination regardless of it's versions in media all around, and probably is one of the main reasons I wear lolita in the first place. Maybe it's my secret fantasies of living out my fairy tale dreams in real life, and one of those is stumbling upon an abandoned dark castle that is home to a lonely tortured soul who enchants me with magic and we discover incredible mysteries inside the castle and about each other as people. I know many people either love or hate this particular fairy tale, but I can never get enough of it.

So with the recent announcement of (my favorite director) Guillermo Del Toro's version and the premiere of the latest episode of Once Upon A Time, a felt the need to make a delicious fan girly post of who I would like to be cast in Del Toro's and going into deep details as to who and why thus should be cast. Again though, this is just my opinion, and nothing is set in stone from my understanding (other then Belle's casting) So let's have fun with an idea of it!

First let's discuss my favorite of our two leads, The Beast. Let me just put this out there, this is a hard decision. This is my all time favorite character in history of characters. I loved specific Beasts more than others (Disney's, Vincent from 80's TV Series and Natvor from the Czech version) and to me the Beast can only be done right with following a few key things that the gentlemen I chose could follow perfectly. If you see from the collage above, the casting of our hero can only one of two ways. Either Del Toro will go with a more striking and frightening actor with piercing eyes, or they'll go with a more handsome actor that can do both the rough physicality of a typical "Beast" archetype and be the typical handsome prince at the end. Personally, I hope they go for a mixture of both.

If they go with the first path mentioned, I'd hope they'd go for Doug Jones. Yes, everyone and their momma knows he'll be in the movie in some way. He's Del Toro's muse and has taken on many beastly roles in his films in the past, including my favorite Fauno from Pan's Labyrinth. Jones would bring a fantastic creepy performance that also can be heart warming and beautiful. Another person that could give a similar but a bit more vocal performance could be Gary Oldman (check out his take on Dracula for starts) or Paul Bettany, who I think is always cast in the worst movies but is incredibly talented. Cillian Murphy could also do this, but have a great physical and vocal mixture of tortured and those eyes.

If they went on the second idea mentioned, I think Charlie Hunnam would be perfect. Charlie is a younger actor, who has incredibly good looks but is known to play real mean and angry characters such as Jax from Sons of Anarchy. He also could be incredibly powerful if they were to include scenes of The Beast doing physical actions. This also is very true for Tom Hardy, who if you've seen Bronson, is one of the most gifted young actors out there that is incredibly scary but has very kind eyes. I could see him really diving deep into the role.

But who would be my number #1 choice? Michael Fassbender. I will always support Fassbender in any movie he's in regardless of the role, but this truly would be the most perfect role for him. First off, it's pretty obvious, Fassbender is delicious. But at the same time, Fassbender is an incredibly frightening person at times. He also is not shy to extreme make up, especially in Blood Creek, where he plays a Natzi zombie. Fassbender also can do romance beautifully, just look at him in Jane Eyre. So yes, Fassbender is my number one choice.

Now let's discuss other casting choices for other characters. For me personally, I'm hoping this version that Del Toro is going for is the original story mixed with a good backstory to The Beast, rather then the whole general never explained nonsense that happens at the end of most based on text versions.

So, let's go with that basis. First off, who should play the other leading man, Gaston? Though not always included in every version, I think it'd be great to have him in Del Toro's. Personally, I'd like a really slimy yet attractive kind of actor. Someone that could work really well would be Timothy Olyphant or Karl Urban. Both typical handsome, but can play evil really well and can turn from the hometown hero to villain in a second. If they wanted someone younger that would look good next to Emma Watson (who I'll get to that in a second...), William Moseley might be really great as well. He's been known for playing the good kid, but I think there's a lot more fight in him, which also goes for a fellow co-star of his, Ben Barnes.

In other roles, I'd love to see Daniel Day Lewis or Jeremy Irons as Belle's Father. Usually a rounder shorter actor plays the role, but I'd love for a different change in that casting and either of the two would be wonderful. If they were going to go with a more older gentlemen, I'd love James Cromwell to take on the role. For Belle's sisters, I'd love Chloe Sevigny and Mena Suvari to play them. In my head, I'd also love for Doug Jones to play a gender-less magical being that is the person that puts The Beast under his curse. Basically, if Doug Jones did every single role in the movie, I'd still be excited.

So what do you think would make the perfect cast for Del Toro's version? I'll be honest, Emma Watson would never be my first choice for Belle. Though she is beautiful, she isn't the best actress nor do I think she'd make a great Beauty. I'd personally love them to pick Chloe Moretz or Haliee Steinfeld. They are both young, pretty but not exactly the prettiest. They can both do the gothic tale justice with their acting and their visual appeal. Watson has too much model appeal and too much of an already devoted fan base of a specific character to break into this role. It's obvious she is being considered because of money interest, but I hope another is chosen instead.

Overall though, I have hopes for this version being a future favorite. Del Toro has never let me down when it's his own solid project. He has an incredible understanding of horror and fantasy, and knows how they work together very well. This could mean that this version would be a classic among Jean Cocteau's and Disney's. Personally, I'm hoping Del Toro's is as good as the Czech verison, Panna et Netvor. Check out the whole movie here (it's the picture thats above), it's stunning to say the least.

So comment below who you'd like to see in the movie and your thoughts on it overall! I'm interested to hear your take on the tale as old as time!  

LVF Monthly Update: February!

Oh child, I've been out of commission and I apologize! January has been filled with tons of birthday activities that have been keeping me incredibly busy and thus have made any sort of updates on LVF very  slow. But now let's get on with some updates and soon to be posts!

First up, this month's coordinate is featuring the ever awesome Ellejay of Sherry and Cookies. I consider her to be one of my best out of town friends and I miss her incredibly! This Teddy Bear's Cafe coordinate is stunning, casual and fun! I love the edition of the hat and the donut bag is always a plus with the print. In terms of this movies Lolita Video, I actually chose a vintage trailer instead! If I haven't said it enough here, I love The Swan Princess. It's probably one of the most underrated animated movies of all time, with very few flaws and fantastic music/animation for an independent studio flick. If you need your Swan Princess fix, a while ago I made a Dress Up Time with the princess herself, Odette.

In other news, my birthday happened only a few short weeks ago! I turned the ever non-impressive 22 (or at this point I'm just adding numbers, so I turned 4 actually!). To celebrate my birthday, I began with a small group of pals got together to celebrate not only mine but my beautiful friend Crystal's birthday, with karaoke and seeing our favorite Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast on the big screen. Sadly I didn't get to take a lot of pictures since I was busy being a hostess and singing 80's rock ballads like View to a Kill with extreme passion. There was one photo snapped of me and the other birthday girl, sadly with my hair looking not so great due to the weather, but here it is none the less!

On Monday the 23rd was then my actual birthday, and I celebrated with my amazing boyfriend Brian! We spent the day mostly at my house cuddling, with him being a good sport and letting us watch together not one but 7 episodes of Jem and The Holograms Season 1! I'm a lucky lady to have such a glitter accepting boyfriend. Then we ended the day by going into New York, having dinner at Aspen Social Club (aka Gaston's Tavern) and seeing (for my 9th time and his first) Phantom of the Opera starring my favorite Broadway Phantom, Hugh Panaro. It was truly a magical night that I'll soon not forget! 

I was also treated the next day by my mother to seeing War Horse at Lincoln Center! I can't recommend this show enough and how it's a must see if you go to New York or London. The movie was incredible, the book was one of my favorites as a child, but the play is the best of all the three versions. It's a sight to be seen in person and can't really express the impressive nature through video, though seeing this is adorable regardless.

But what is up next for LVF? I'm very excited to be celebrating Valentine's Day with friends, along with going to various shows and concerts in the coming months. Like...

- L'arc~en~ciel at Madison Square Garden

- Newsies on Broadway with my lovely friend Bianca 

- Jesus Christ Superstar with my boyfriend

Yes. Lots of things are happening! 

Did I also mention I'll be going to Anime Boston in April too? So pumped! 

BUT what about the frills? There are some new additions to my wardrobe on their way, and I'm incredibly excited for them to arrive! I'll definitely be wearing them all the time at the events I'm going to.

Enough about me! What are you all up to? I hope something fun and magical none the less! Keep looking at LVF for more new content to come. I'm getting pumped myself for it!

Fun LVF Shout Out!

Whose gonna be watching Drag Race tonight? I'm so excited! 

If you want immediate frilly friendly updates, 

check out the LVF Twitter page by following @sparkle_buttons!

LVF's Thoughts on Manila Luzon's "Hot Couture"

It's no secret that I love Drag Queens, and if I had my choice of specific queens that would rule the world, Manila Luzon would be at the top. This native New Yorker, is to me, a true talent above others. As Ru would say, she has uniqueness, nerve and talent (along with beauty to match!) Back in 2011, I was introduced to the new crop of queens on season 3 of Drag Race. I wasn't sure my feelings on most of them, but the minute Manila walked into the room I knew it was drag love at first drag sight!

Now exactly a year later, we come to a magical moment for Ms.Luzon - the release of her first music video Hot Couture. I can't exactly explain how excited I've been for the unveiling of this high definition epic, but trust me it was well worth it! The behind the scenes clips and teasers gave me hopes that this would be a glamour filled classic, but I had no idea what magical visuals I was in store for.

But let me just say that when a video starts off with a little kid version of my favorite Drag Superstar, I knew I was in for a good time. There are many incredible outfits and shots, all shot on one of the nicest cameras I've seen. The editing is fun and in sync just right. But the best moments come towards the end (Can we say Manila Antoinette anyone?) The pink orgasmic outfit towards the end was to die for. Thus I definitely say if you are at all of fan of beautiful things, frills and magic - by god, Manila knows how to serve it to you on a platter honey!

With a song that is catchy as hell and a video that is beyond even more fun to boot, Hot Couture is a masterpiece that I think even the legendary Miss Paul could take some lessons from (I'm just saying, her videos need an HD upgrade which then otherwise would be perfect!) Overall Manila has produced what I think to be the best music video from the Drag Race alumni, and should definitely keep up the good work. I can't wait to see what comes up next! My suggestion? Have Raja write some rhymes and do a collab honey! Diamond Crown Couture anyone?

So what are you waiting for, get a move on and watch Manila's video right now! 

Dress Up Time #16: Belle from Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Well hello there readers! It's been a while, but after an amazing vacation and a wisdom tooth removed, I found some time to make a new post. The best part about this post is that it's in celebration of the re-release of my favorite fairy tale and one of my favorite Disney movies, Beauty and the Beast!

So how do you celebrate such an event? Why not dress as every girls favorite book worm, Belle! Belle is more then just her name appears to tell us (Beauty, incase you didn't know!) but she is perfection with perfect flaws within her. She has become a symbol for all of us who are considered the odd girls of our town. Also why Belle is so loved is that her "want" or "goal" in life is much more provocative then say Ariel who wants legs or Cinderella who wants to dance with the prince. No, what Belle wants is something beyond those more literal items or events. Belle wants adventure and a life grander then she lives. This is what makes her beyond the usual Disney heroine and adored by all.

With that acknowledgement, it is then a great question - how does a lolita go about bringing Belle into their look? Well since this is a special Dress Up Time, why try not one but three of Belle's looks!

You can do as many variations on any of Belle's outfits. Personally, I'm a sucker for her "Something There" dress. Though I chose something much more princess looking then the casual appeal it has in the movie, it looks more realistic. I also decided to go with a more refined tone on her yellow ball gown dress. I thought a nice simple bolero is a good touch. But whatever way you decide to go about it, make sure your version of Belle has tons of roses in the details. Roses are the important symbol within the movie, along with (but not shown) mirror necklaces or pendents would be a lovely touch as well!

No matter which way you go about it, you can have a ton of fun making your own version of Belle. Her outfits in the movie are devoid of details and thus it's even more fun to fill in the lines yourself! So, feel brave enough to go into the Beast's castle in your frilliest garb? Try it! I'm sure I'll do something similar to this when I go to see the movie in the next few days.