Being a Princess

A few days ago, someone asked me about being a Hime-kei, after being drawn in by the personalities.  She had just posted in a Lolita forum, and unfortunately didn't seem to have a good reception, as it was her first ensemble and she hadn't accumulated much in the way of the fashion, so she started looking up the fashion I was into instead.

Unfortunately, it seems that shortly after asking, she just kind of... left.   It was a little sad, because she was really nice....  It was great to have someone to comfortably talk to about my fashion who would even be a little interested.

Well, I figured I might as well post my thoughts on the matter, since I had a lot to say, and I can use this format to say all that I originally wanted to.  Perhaps then someone starting off could at least know what to look for when attempting such a fashion.  I get a lot of traffic from people looking up Hime-kei lifestyles anyway, how could I have a blog about learning to be a Hime-kei without a post talking about what I know about it so far?


First off, I'd like to post a link to this entry from a girl who translated Takemoto Novala's report on this fashion.

I read it myself, and for the most part, I did agree about the similarities of Lolita and Hime-kei.  In fact, I'm sure this is how many people discovered Hime-kei, and may have even migrated from Lolita (as I did).

However, she states that the one difference between the styles is the Hime-Gyaru's love of sparkly things as opposed to the Lolita not caring much for them.

I can't really agree with that, since I think that's more of an opinion thing.  There are probably Hime-Gyarus who prefer the floral side to the diamond side but I guess this is just nit-picking.  I will say that personally, as much as I love sparkly things myself, it wasn't the glitter that attracted me to Hime-kei.  In fact, the first picture I saw of a Hime-Gyaru, she was adorned in roses and pearls and held a satin bag.  But I digress.


I will also note that this is all opinion.  These are all just things I have discovered not only through research, but personal experiences, as limited as they are.  By all means, if you can tell me more or expand on something, I'm always learning, and you can post away.

Still, someone asked me about it, and if she has that question, it might be on someone else's mind as well.  After all, a search on the fashion mostly leads to either a little blurb about what it is, a ton of people who reposted that silly article about one woman who couldn't control her spending and depended on her parents to take care of her just to buy Jesus Diamante, or a person who read that silly article and now has a negative view on the whole fashion.  Seriously, who wants to be associated to that?  I remember reading all of those things and for a while feeling bad that this was the fashion I chose to follow....


So I guess I'll start with the misconceptions I've noticed around.

Upon Dreams 3

With me, I tend to have a lot of dreams that always mean something.

I mean, I never have a dream where it's just a random assortment of adventure.  My mind is always trying to tell me something through my subconscious, and it's usually about something that has happened recently.

Sometimes my dreams are obvious to figure out, and sometimes I need a little time (and some help from my favorite dream dictionary).  I think this is the case for everyone.  Dreams always have something in them that you're supposed to pay attention to, even if it seems crazy and weird.

Well, anyway, this was one of those easy to figure out dreams.  But it was what happened after I woke up that baffled me.  Well, you'll see.


We were going on a huge road trip, me and my family.  My aunts (including my Aunt Pam who I hardly ever see), my uncle, my little cousin, and Poppy, who was driving the car.  I was sitting in the front, looking a little older, maybe 2 or 3 years so.  I don't know where we were headed, but we were taking a lot of things, like we were all moving, and not just travelling.  I noticed my mom and grandma weren't there.

We were going across a lot of places, and we saw mountains and forests, but I was told it was only a few hour trip.  We were generally enjoying ourselves, though a little tired, because of having to sit in a car a lot.

The Next 12 Weeks/Respect for Japan

As you know from my previous post, my official Hime debut is on June 4th, which is only 12 weeks away.

Previous to this decision, I was really just kind of drifting along.


I mean, I really wanted to be a Hime-gyaru, but with there being no sense of urgency, I was just going along with everything.  I wasn't really pushing myself like I should.

Sure, I'd put on my shoes and walk around in them for a little bit.
Or I'd try out a makeup technique now and then.
But there were a lot of days when I was just lounging around, when I thought, 'Maybe I should try something,' only for me to just go back to lounging around.

But now that I have a due date of sorts, I've got to step it up.

Earthquake and Tsunamis

My grandma woke me up to tell me that Japan experienced a huge earthquake early this morning, followed by a tsunami and many aftershocks, and that tsunamis are now headed along the coasts out in the west, such as the Philippines and New Zealand.

Obviously I can't say something like "I hope they are safe" because I know that they aren't.  All I can hope is that they can rebound from this.  I know their losses were great....


Now the tsunamis are starting to hit our coast.  I know Hawaii was already hit.  Many people underwent a vertical evacuation.  We just had our first Tsunami wave in Oregon, and it looks like San Fransisco is starting to get hit too.  They're small now, but they're getting bigger by the minute.  Don't anyone get tempted to go out to the water!  Please stay away from the coasts!

To all my readers in those areas, my thoughts and prayers go out to you.  I only wish there was something more I could do....


If you know the name of someone and want to know if they are among the death toll or the missing you can go here and find out.  I have no idea how good it is, but perhaps those with family or friends out there can find find out if they are safe.  It may still be early though.  They still don't know all of the damage themselves.


I owe Japan a lot for the person I am and the joy that I've recently found, so should the option come along, I hope that I can help in some way!
And I hope that the tsunamis headed out to other countries and our own aren't too severe.  Especially our own state of Hawaii.  Please be okay!

My Future Debut

As you know, I'm learning to be a Hime-gyaru (and a Hime-kaji too, technically, but I put them under the same category).

This blog is mainly about my life and my discoveries.  I wanted to see how far I've come so I'd have some motivation to keep going, as well as to maybe help others who are also starting out in a similar style and are beginning their own research.  My ultimate goal is to be the American version of Himena, lol.


Lately, I've been accumulating a lot of nice things.   It's great, because for the first time in my life, when I see myself in the mirror wearing these clothes, I don't see me wearing nice clothes, I see myself finally in my own skin.  This style was one of the best things to come along into my life.

I've been practicing walking in heels, and while my test runs are still a little shaky, and I tend to get exhausted after only 10 minutes, my steps are a little more sure, and I think if I continue, I'll be able to last a little longer.

I'm practicing my makeup, and gathering a few more things for my collection.   Just recently, I bought some cute baby pink lipgloss, in fact.  My dream is to one day own some Jill Stuart eyeshadows and some Yves Saint Laurent lipsticks, but I guess that'll come in time.  Until then, I'll be glad to use what I have.

As you can see, though this may be just a fashion to some, I'm taking it very seriously.   It's because I'm really passionate about it.  I'm really happy to have found my niche and gained the ability to finally portray myself the way I've always wished I could.   I can finally show everyone who I am on the inside even just with what I'm wearing on the outside, so I want to make sure I get it right.  For once, I feel comfortable in my own skin.

Sayaka Leaves Ageha

I just found out today that Sayaka Araki left Ageha in March's edition.

I feel like that came out of nowhere!
Then again, I can't read Japanese.  Maybe they talked about it in February's edition.  They did have a huge picture of her on the first page.

I wonder who will replace her.  Lately, it seems the main girls are/were Sayaka, Sakurina, and Satomi.  Maria and Rin are there occasionally, Riho is pretty much being phased out, and Shizuka... well, she's probably there all the time, but every time I see her, she looks completely different, lol.  (probably just a me thing)  And to be honest, I actually forgot about Rina, lol.  Shows how much I notice her around.

All of the other girls are just guests, it seems.  Yep, Sayo, Himena, any other girls you see all the time, they're just considered guests.

They'll need another main model, I think.  I wonder who she might be.


I wasn't a huge Sayaka fan, but she will be missed.
Besides it being her last issue, March's edition seems like something I want.

Had a huge adventure yesterday, but I'm not going to talk about it until a week from now. XD

More Yumetenbo Reviewing!

My order came in Saturday!   Which is great, because I ordered Sunday night and they sent it Wednesday morning.  One week!  I guess if you're not ordering on a holiday where lots of money is exchanged, you'll be fine.

Anyway, I've been keeping my purchases a secret.  Originally it wasn't meant to be a secret, but I was first worried that I'd jinx myself and everything I posted would be sold out.  By the time I knew my order was confirmed, I just felt weird posting a random entry just about what I got, only to later review them.

But now that they are here, I guess I should review!


The theme seemed to be 'comfort'.   The outfit and boots I got are so soft~  I was also able to confirm, if you are definitely a size 8.5US, you can definitely wear their LL shoes, regardless of the type.  You might still have trouble with these particular boots, but I'll get to that in a bit.

As always, Yumetenbo's service is pretty up there.  You send a message, they'll get back to you next day with English you can understand.  This time, in order to avoid the address issues they had for my last order, I typed in exactly how to put in the address in a message.  I think you can use their 'Special Notes' section to do so next time (I didn't, because I wanted to see if the way I did it this time would be correct.  It was not....  They definitely would have sent it to New York again, only to find there's no such zip code, lol).

It's picture heavy below the cut!