2017 Summer Sales

Jun 30, 2017

Brands participating in summer sales season for 2017
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: ,

Ouji and Aristocrat Sewing Patterns and Tutorials List

May 16, 2017

This list contains sewing patterns suitable for formal boystyle, specifically ouji and aristocrat. For lolita sewing pattern lists, please refer to F Yeah Lolita and Miss Carol Belle's Lolita Fashion Sewing and Pattern Archive. For sewing help, please refer to Sew Loli or Lolita Sewing Collective. 

(List is still in progress) 

Patterns

Gosu Rori

Patterns are in Japanese.
  • Vol. 1
    #08 double breasted swallowtail jacket
    #10 gothic coat OP
    #11 sleeveless punk blouse, long layered skirt
    #13-14 punk blouse, neck tie, skirt, breeches, arm band, tie
  • Vol. 3
    #14 bat collar blouse with jabot
    #15 above knee and mid-calf breeches
    #17 punk skirt belted pants
    #18 punk sleeveless swallowtail blouse
    #43 sweet/classic square collar blouse with sausage sleeves
    #44 pleated front bell sleeves blouse
    #46 frill long sleeve blouse, visual kei bondage pants
    #47 mini crown
  • Vol. 4
    #01 bat capelet and mantle
    #09 tie, and front zipper pants
    #10 punk blouse with lace trims
    #11 sweet capelet and peter pan collar long sleeve blouse
    #14 short necktie
    #15 mini hat
    #33 sailor parka and sailor breeches
    #36 pleated collar blouse
    #41 BJD punk chain shirt, bondage pants
  • Vol. 5
    #04-05 punk sleeveless blouse, asymmetric skirt, bondage pants
    #09 gothic long coat
    #49 mini hat
    #51 bell sleeves blouse
    #52 corset-back vest
    #53 aristocrat long skirt
  • Vol. 15
    #17 side flare blouse
    #18 pleated frill jabot
    #19 short pants
    #20 ribbon mini hat
    #21 bow tie
    #22 cuff sleeve frill blouse
    #23 suspender breeches
    #24 jacket with hood
    #25 punk zipper belt long pants
    #33 punk breeches

Gothic & Lolita Bible

Patterns are in Japanese. 

Otome no Sewing/ 乙女のソ－イング/Sewing Book of Girls

Patterns are in Japanese. Come in S, M, and L size. Each book contains 20+ patterns and a few tutorials.
Extra links: size reference/sewing advice | overviews of books with pictures | resizing patterns tutorial
  • Book 1
    #01 juliette sleeve peter pan collar blouse
    #10 short sleeve high collar yoke blouse
    #27 frilly juliette sleeve blouse with bow tie
  • Book 2
    #01 long sleeve bow tie blouse
    #08 mini pom pom beret
    #09 cape with pockets
    #10 round collar capelet
    #25 hooded capelet
  • Book 3
    #01 long sleeve peter pan collar blouse with bow tie
    #11 short sleeve peter pan collar blouse
    #14 wrist cuffs
    #15 mini sailor hat
  • Book 4
    #01 frilly high neck collar bell sleeves blouse
    #04 short capelet
    #13 ruffle bloomers (can be adapted to pants)
    #22 long sleeve blouse with back shirring
    #26 mini top hat
    #27 short capelet
    #28 suspender short pants
  • Book 5
    #01 long sleeve peter pan collar blouse with bow tie
    #08 short sleeve blouse with bow tie
    #14 corset-style bodice
    #37 sailor beret
    #38 short sleeve sailor OP (can be shortened to a blouse)
  • Book 6
    #05 echarpe
    #10 long sleeve bow tie blouse
    #15 boater hat
    #17 long capelet
    #18 suspender knee length short pants
    #27 sweet jacket with heart pockets
    #30 coat with detachable capelet
    #36 sweet jacket with heart pockets and fur trim
  • Book 7
    #02 long sleeve peter pan collar blouse
    #10 detachable yoke with bowtie
    #29 long sleeve peter pan collar blouse
    #34 sailor cutsew
    #36 beret
  • Book 8
    #03 fur stole
    #05 detachable sleeves/arm warmers
    #09 corset cummerbund
    #10 wrist cuffs
    #14 capelet
    #15 long sleeve peter pan collar blouse
    #16 suspender breeches
    #17 mini hat
    #29 mid-length cape
    #30 jabot blouse
    #31 suspender breeches
    #39 long sleeve bowtie blouse
    #46 mid-length cape
  • Book 9
  • Book 10

Commercial Sewing Patterns

Commercial patterns come in multiple sizes and are readily available to most areas. They will usually have to be modified to fit the ouji aesthetic.
  • Burda2459 Men's Pirate & Casanova
    2461 Children's Prince & Mozart
    2471 Napoleon Men's jacket, vest, pants
    2767 History 1848 Men's coats, vest, pants
    6871 Mens Wear, Sports Wear
  • ButterickB5687 Misses' Cape, Jacket, Skirt and Pants
    B6108 Shawl Collar Jackets, Bibs and Skirt
    B6255 Misses' Oversized Collar Coats
    B6340 Men's Banded Jacket, Breeches and Jodhpurs
    B6339 Men's Single or Double-Breasted Vests
    B6400 Misses' Boned, Back-Pleat Jackets
    B6433 Misses' Banded Jacket, Jodphurs, and Breeches
  • McCall'sM4139 Misses'/Men's Lined and Unlined Cape Costumes
    M4321 Men's Shawl Collar Vests, Bow Tie and Cummerbund
    M6228 Misses'/Men's Lined Button-Front Vests
    M6770 Ruffled Jacket, Bustle, Skirt and Pants
    M6800 Misses'/Miss Petite Flared Coats, Belt and Detachable Collar/Hood
    M6818 Floor-Length Coats, Capelet, Cape, Necklace and Dickey
    M7003 Men's Notch Collar Coat, Vest, Pants and Tie
    M7023 Misses' Low-Cut Vests
    M7140 Misses' Ruffled Jacket, Skirt and Tournure
    M7256 Misses' Ruffled Coats
    M7335 Hats in Five Styles
    M7374 Men's Collared and Seamed Coats
    M7399 Single or Double-Breasted Vests and Flat-Front Pants
    M7456 Seamed Jacket, Stirrup Leggings and Cape
    M7457 Men's Embellished Jacket, Pull-On Pants and Cravat
    M7513 Misses' Notch-Collar, Peplum Jackets
    M7555 Underbust, Corset-Style Vests
    M7585 Men's Three-Quarter-Length Coat and Vest Costume
    M7616 Misses' Lined Costume Vest and Jacket with Shaped Front and Back Hemlines
  • Simplicity
    1039 Men's Cosplay Costumes
    3677 Misses' Pirate Costumes
    4923 Men's Costumes (Pirate)
    5794 Misses' Capes
    8075 Misses' Steampunk Costumes
    8235 Men's Cosplay Costume Pattern
    8361 Hats in Three Sizes
    8408 Men's Shirt and Vests
    8263 Misses' Capes and Capelets
    EA251701 Men's Cape Coat
    EA258101 Miss and men's costume coat
  • Vintage

Miscellaneous Tutorials



Found a pattern to add to the list? Comment below and I'll add it in!
Disclaimer: I am not a seamstress.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

The New Ouji Overview Part 1: Terminology

Apr 18, 2017

lolita (left), ouji (right)

Terminology

After several years of putting off the original Ouji Overview, I decided to start from scratch with a new and improved Ouji Overview! I hope you find this version more in-depth, but I've left the old one up if you prefer to read that one instead.

What Is Ouji?

Ouji/ouji-sama/王子, literally "prince" in Japanese, is the more masculine clothing style that is often associated with lolita fashion. Dresses aren't your thing? Don't worry, even if the style is more masculine, it can be worn by all genders. Ouji includes a wide variety of looks often combining pirate, punk, cute, and/or gothic elements.

Synonymous style terms include:
-ouji style
-prince style
-ouji-kei
-王子系

Or it can be referred to as the all encompassing terms:
-boystyle/boys style
-men's style

Ouji style is based on the menswear mainly from the historic eras of the 18th and 19th centuries and adds a modern, fanciful details to it. The most important element of an ouji outfit is pants. Like lolita, there is a wide variety of substyles and themes which I will go into detail in later parts.

varieties of ouji

Why Not Kodona?

Though the term "kodona" is widely used in the online international communities, "kodona" is not the proper term for the style. The term kodona has previously been sourced from a Gothic & Lolita Bible interview with Plastic Tree's vocalist Ryutaro to describe his personal style. However, this is incorrect. I asked several fluent Japanese readers to read the interview and according to them the word kodona does not even appear in the spread. Nobody really knows why the international community latched onto the word kodona.
Ryutaro's interview from Gothic & Lolita Bible Vol. 1
The origin of kodona is still unknown to this day. Googling any variation of 大人 (otona) + 子供 (kodomo) will fetch zero relevant results. If you were to go to Japan and ask a lolita off the street about kodona fashion, most likely they would have no idea what you are talking about. We've even asked brand designers in person and they don't know what kodona means. Alice and the Pirates designer Tomomi Nakamura, also known as Cathy, refers to the style either as men's style or ouji style. The term kodona doesn't translate well into English either. It would be the equivalent of calling yourself an adult child which has negative connotation.

Dictionary

Some terms and abbreviations often seen in online communities.
AATP: abbreviation for the brand "Alice and the Pirates", one of the more popular brands for ouji items; Japanese equivalent “A/P” or “A&P”
BPN: abbreviation for the brand "BLACK PEACE NOW"
CC: abbreviation for “Closet Child”, a second-hand Lolita store
CoF: abbreviation for “Closet of Frills”, a Facebook group that is the most active place to post coordinates
community: a group of people having the same interest, in-person or online; often abbreviated to “comm”
coordinate: an outfit; often abbreviated to “coord” or “code (コーデ)”
DS: abbreviation for "direct sale"
EGA: abbreviation for "elegant gothic aristocrat" which refers to one line of Moi Meme Moitie
gay: 基佬 "ji lao" slang for what the Chinese call ouji, this is the most common term on Taobao; sometimes seen as handsome gay 帥基 "shuai ji"
GL&B: abbreviation for the publication "Gothic & Lolita Bible"
IW: abbreviation for the brand "Innocent World"
Mbok: Japanese auctions site; short for “mobile auction” because the site is primarily accessed on a phone
MmM: abbreviation for the brand "Moi-Meme-Moitie"
ouji accessory: joke term from this video
OTT: abbreviation for “over the top”
PT: abbreviation for "pants"
SS: abbreviation for "shopping service", someone you pay to buy something for you
Taobao: a Chinese marketplace similar to Amazon where one can buy items from individual shops
WTB: abbreviation for "wanting to buy"
WTS: abbreviation for "wanting to sell"
WTT: abbreviation for "wanting to trade"
WW: abbreviation for the secondhand shop "Wunderwelt"
Y!J: abbreviation for “Yahoo!Japan” auctions

Related Styles

Boystyle is an umbrella term for multiple styles, ouji included. All ouji is boystyle, but not all boystyle is ouji. If ouji isn't your taste, try checking out some of these related styles.

Lolita 

Lolita fashion is the "sister" style to ouji. Despite being very similar to each other, ouji is not considered lolita because lolita dresses are defined by the silhouette of wearing a petticoat. It is incorrect to refer to ouji style as "ouji lolita/kodona lolita/boy lolita" or "brolita" because no petticoats are used in ouji.

Aristocrat

Mana in femme aristocrat (left) and homme aristocrat (right)
The terms ouji and (gothic) aristocrat are used interchangeably with each other, often incorrectly. While they both share eras of influence, the former adds fantasy and child-like fun to a vest and knickerbockers, while the latter aims to be more historically accurate with a mature elegant feeling. There are femme and homme versions of aristocrat. Information in this ouji guide can be applied to masculine aristocrat as well.

Gothic/Punk/Visual Kei

Visual kei band Versailles wearing costumes designed by Alice and the Pirates
The gothic and punk subcultures are well-known, so I won't bother explaining them here. The Japanese goth and punk aesthetic puts a softer and/or more elegant spin on the styles due to cultural differences and the influence of kawaii culture.
I'll liberally mention visual kei here as well since most of it has gothic and punk influences, only bolder for stage purposes. Visual kei is an overall bold look with large emphasis on styling hair and makeup. It is not uncommon to see ouji clothing used in visual kei or visual kei styling elements used in ouji style.
  • Resources: None that I would recommend. Just look at a band you like and take inspiration. 

    Dandy

     “Neo Classical Goth” Harajuku Style by Tokyo Fashion
    Dandyism started in the 18th century originating in the Western hemisphere. A very simplified  definition for dandy is a formally and fashionably dressed individual. The look of a dandy changes as fashion evolves. To a small degree, some forms of ouji can be considered a minor form of dandyism.

    Dansou

    Dansou model ROOT modeling ouji style for Alice and the Pirates
    Dansou is not a specific clothing style, but the action of a person, usually female, crossdressing as a male in a strictly fashionable sense. The goal is to pass as male, so non-clothing elements such as makeup, hair, and posing need extra attention. Dansou can wear ouji style, but not all oujis are dansou.
    Want to mix and match all of these things? No problem, there will be overlaps. Style is limitless, so don't get too worked up with labeling yourself.

      Additional Ouji Resources



      ← Table of Contents  |   Part 2 →

      Posted by at No comments:
      Labels: , ,
      Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)