Silk and Shears DIY: Ghost-Inspired Lace Cross Headpiece

Hello everyone! Happy Friday the 13th in a September, and welcome to another Silk and Shears DIY!

Today, metal band Ghost released a new single! My love for Ghost is so strong, I was inspired (at the very last minute I admit!) to make a Lace Cross Headpiece inspired by Cardinal Copia's colors!

For this little project, I referenced to Moi-même-Moitié's Lace Cross Headbow for inspiration!

Level: Intermediate

This DIY is just a little bit above beginner's level and for those already familiar with a sewing machine and have a pretty good sense of what is good lace quality. (We will discuss different kinds of lace and such in another post!)
Also, although there are many ways that this sort of headbow can be made, I wanted mine to be more like a hat than a bow, hence why the head piece from this tutorial is going to turn out a bit different than Moitié's.

Materials Needed:
-Black Fabric (Use a slightly sturdy fabric for this headpiece. Any opaque cotton or polyester-like fabric will do.)
-Interfacing
-White Wide Lace Trim
-1 Large Rose (This is for the center of the cross, but you can choose whichever center you would like!)
-Black Netting or Tulle
-1 Hairclip
-Sewing Machine (You may also sew everything by hand if you so desire.)
-Hot Glue (Fabric-Tac is the easiest way to go, but since this piece is for Cardinal Copia, we're using hot glue today~!)
-Hand Needles and Thread

Let's start!

Step 1
Cut the pieces.

First, cut 2 short strips of fabric, and 2 long strips of the fabric.
The long strip 10 inches long, the short strip 7.5 inches long, both 2.5 inches wide.

Cut pieces of interfacing using the fabric pieces as a pattern.
Iron the interfacing on.

Step 2
Cut the lace.

After the strips are cut and ironed, take out the wide lace and cut to as long as the main cross strips are. This lace is supposed to run down the middle of the strips.
Cut one piece for the front of the cross. Repeat for the short piece.

Once all the lace pieces are cut, sew them to the main fabric.

Overcast stitch the raw edges.

Step 3
Form the cross!

Sew the short pieces together, and the long pieces together making both parts of the cross.
Leave an end open on each piece to be able to turn inside out.
Turn the pieces inside out and take a look at the lengths of each piece before you continue.

Now there is a reason the pieces will be too long.
It's so you can easily adjust the length to however you would like.

To do this, cut to the length you want from the open end of the piece, overcast stitch the raw edge very carefully, then close with a blind stitch.

Pro Tip: It's always good to have too much fabric.
While you can always cinch in fabric, you can't recreate it once it has been cut, so be a little bit generous!

Iron the pieces down to press them as flat as you can.
Form the cross and sew or glue them together from the center.

Step 4
Time to decorate!

Get the tulle or netting and cut a wide strip or two of it. Sew the ends together using an overcast stitch.
You want just enough to form a flower that is just a bit bigger than the rose.
I cut my netting about 5 inches wide.

Form a netting flower by gathering it to the center.
For delicate fabrics like tulle or netting, I recommend gathering by hand.

Sew or glue the rose in the center of the netting flower to form the center piece for the cross.
Place the completed rose and netting piece in the center of the cross.
Sew or glue it to the cross. (I do a bit of both for extra reinforcement and for hard-to-reach places.)

Step 5
Create a little backing for the cross by cutting a little circle out of fabric and interfacing.

Iron the interfacing to the circle and overcast stitch the edge of the circle.
Sew or glue it to the back of the center of the cross.
Hot glue the hair clip to the backing.

And we are done!

Thank you for viewing and following this tutorial today!

Please remember to follow me on Instagram @silk.and.shears

If you have any suggestions on what I should do a DIY on next, feel free to leave them in the comments. I'll have more DIYs up soon!

See you next post!


-Blandis

The Origins of Lolita Fashion: Part 2 - The Gothic Lolita Aesthetic

Hello everyone and welcome to Part 2 of The Origins of Lolita Fashion!

Last time I wrote about what the fashion is and a little about the history of the early Goth and Punk movement that inspired the fashion to come onto the streets. (Read Part 1 here.)

Today we talk about the fashion itself: The inspiration behind it, and the biggest contributors to the fashion's foundation.

We now answer the question: "How did Lolita fashion become what it is?" 

Now while Goth and Punk began around the late 1970s, Japan's Gothic and Punk movement began in the late 1980s to the early 1990s.
At that time, Japanese youth were inspired by all the different sub genres of Rock music, including Goth and Punk, to stand out and break away from a corporate, traditionalist, and conformist culture through fashion and music. At that time, different types of J-Rock such as Visual Kei emerged from that era. Rock bands formed and quickly gained popularity underground, most notably Malice Mizer.

Malice Mizer: 1992-2001
One of the most famous Visual Kei bands.
Guitarists Mana and Közi originally formed the band.
They have had three lead singers over time: Tetsu, Gackt, and Klaha.
(Klaha Era of the early 2000s shown above.)

Lolita fashion was born within this movement.

It rose from the idea that girls should break away from the the norm, which at the time for women and girls in Japan was the "domestic and obedient wife" model, and instead pursue their own ideas, their own aspirations, and their own ways of living out life instead of centering themselves and everything they do around taking care of a husband, and doing whatever he tells her to do.

"Lolitas do not recognize any authority. They follow only the values they have chosen for themselves, regardless of what anybody might say." 

-Novala Takemoto

That kind of attitude was inspired by the heart of Punk.

Most of those girls were of course told by conformist women that they will never be able to get a husband if they dressed in Lolita, to which the response was always, "Good."

If that doesn't define what Punk is all about, what does?

As for the Gothic Part, most people in Lolita fashion argue that Mana, former lead guitarist of Malice Mizer and designer of Gothic Lolita brand Moi-Même-Moitié, pretty much set the standard for the Gothic Lolita look.

Mana took a lot of inspiration from the Romantic period, and also from the traditional Catholic aesthetic. It shows in Malice Mizer's aesthetic, and in some of the religious motifs found in the dresses Mana designed for Moi-Même-Moitié.

Album Cover for Malice Mizer's "Bara no Seidou"

Lace Cross JSK

Stained Glass Print JSK

Divine Cross JSK

Another contributor to the fashion is one of the most iconic Punk fashion designers that I believe EVERY Lolita should know of, considering that she was referenced to in Novala Takemoto's Lolita fashion manifesto Kamikaze Girls a few times:

The one and only Vivienne Westwood!

Vivienne Westwood in the late 1970s

One of the original Punk designers during the UK Punk movement, she became very popular among Japanese youth, especially when she introduced the Rocking Horse shoe on the runway in 1985.
Later on the shoes became a staple in Lolita fashion!

The Iconic Rocking Horse Ballerina Shoe

The high-fashion brand of the same name made its way into Japan during their Gothic and Punk movement. Other notable pieces are the heart bag, orb jewelry, and three strap shoes. Other brands soon followed these trends that Westwood set.

Heart Bag

Orb Earrings

Three-Strap Mary Jane Heels

Westwood pieces have been featured in a lot of manga and anime that feature Japanese Street fashion, and have been also featured in the fashion magazine for Lolita fashion, Gothic Lolita Bible. (The magazine discontinued in 2017.) Here are a few scans from my own GLB volumes.

Novala Takemoto (Right) shown wearing a Vivienne Westwood Orb brooch.
Gothic Lolita Bible Vol. 5 

Vivienne Westwood Orb Pearl Choker Necklace and Plaid Blazer
Gothic Lolita Bible Vol. 20

Vivienne Westwood Jewelry featured in an ad for Japanese brand retailer I-LOVE BRAND.
Gothic Lolita Bible Vol. 20

Vivienne Westwood Accessories picked by the woman above.
Gothic Lolita Bible Vol. 20

Closet Child ad along with an Old Baily ad featuring Vivienne Westwood.
Gothic Lolita Bible Vol. 20

Vivienne Westwood Accessories.
Gothic Lolita Bible Vol. 7

Orb earrings, an armor ring, and red three-strap shoes that resembled Westwood's were featured in the Murder Mystery visual novel DanganRonpa on the character Celestia Ludenberg, a Gothic Lolita Gambler.

Celestia Ludenberg Character Design
DanganRonpa Official Artbook

Vivienne Westwood was also referenced to in the manga/anime NANA many times! Nana Ozaki, a front woman of a Punk rock band, is often seen in Vivienne Westwood. (For any Lolitas looking for an anime to watch or a manga to read, NANA is a really good one, and I highly recommend it!)

(And while we are on the subject of NANA, back at the Alternative Press Music Awards in 2017, I spotted Andy Black, front man of Black Veil Brides, sporting a very familiar look! He was wearing the popular chain necklace from Japanese Punk fashion brand Sex Pot ReVeNGe.)

Left: Ren Honjo from NANA
Right: Andy Black, Front man of Black Veil Brides, at the 2017 APMAS

No one really knows exactly who in particular started Lolita fashion in the first place, it pretty much just came out on its own. 

Why it's called "Lolita," no one really knows that either, but most argue that the name just sounded cute, and it suited the look very well.

(Just to clarify for some of you, Lolita fashion has NOTHING to do with the novel, "Lolita." They just happen to have the same name!)

But where did the frills come from? Now most say that Japanese girls took inspiration from Victorian and Rococo styles and modernized them to fit the lifestyles of most Japanese youth involved in the Goth and Punk movement. (Vivienne Westwood also happened to be heavily influenced by Victorian and Rococo.)

Marie Antoinette: 2006
A Biopic based on the life of French Queen Marie Antoinette and her reign before the French Revolution.

Victoria: 2016-Present
A British TV show based on the life of Queen Victoria.

While today Lolita fashion is mostly worn at organized tea parties and meetups, most Lolitas back then would go shopping, and/or attend underground rock shows or concerts. This meant that practicality was needed much more than aesthetic, hence why the fashion was simpler when it first began.

AKIRA in the live-action movie adaptation of the manga Ai Ore!
Ai wo Utau yori Ore ni Oborero! (Ai Ore! Love Me!)

But now comes more questions!

Why the long skirts? Why the long socks and high collars? Why have the shoulders covered? How could such a conservative fashion style come out of a movement that well, wanted to get away from that?

Wait until the next part, where we bring Western sexism in!

Thank you for reading, and I will see you next post!

-Blandis