Hello everyone! How are you guys today? Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing 23 year old Lolita, Laura Andrews.
Lolita Laura Andrews in a dress she made.
Laura: How are you?
Ame: Pretty good ^_^.
Ok, let’s start this thing!!!
What got you interested in Lolita?
Laura: I hope this doesn’t sound too lame, but when I was young I really liked anime, and then I started learning more about Japanese culture as a result.. and I think the first time I saw anything “lolita” was when I found out about the book Fruits.
The dress she's wearing on a dress form.
Ame: Hahaha, not lame at all! I LOVED anime when I was a kid, FRUiTS, huh? That’s pretty cool.
What were your first thoughts about the fashion?
Laura: I’m not exactly sure! I think I was exposed to it little by little over a long period of time before I really got into it and started wearing it. I have always been interested in fashion, so I am pretty opened minded when it comes to new things.
Ame: That’s great ^^.
So, when did you start wearing Lolita? What was your first dress?
Laura: I didn’t start wearing real Lolita clothes until last fall (although for a long time before that I was always wearing frilly dresses that weren’t Lolita). I actually made my first dress.. but the first dress I bought was the fruits parlor replica from Bodyline.
Laura Andrews (so cute)
Ame: How would you classify yourself (Gothic, Sweet, Classic….)
Laura: Definitely sweet.
Ame: ^__^.
What is your favorite brand? Have you bought anything from this brand?
Laura: I can never pick between Angelic Pretty and Baby. I have a lot of AP accessories like socks and wrist cuffs. I have one dress from Baby that I bought at Closet Child when I lived in Japan. I really love the brand dresses, but I love making my own too. It feels so much better when I get a compliment on a dress that made versus a dress that I bought.. so I tend to spend most of my money on making my own clothes.
Ame: I totally know what you mean! And the dresses you make are really gorgeous too!
You lived in Japan? How was that?
Laura: It was incredible! I only was there for 3 months because of tourist visa restrictions.. but it was great. It ended up being a kind of sabbatical for me and it gave me a ton of inspiration for my work (in addition to making clothes, I also do a lot of art).
I really miss being able to just walk into all the brand stores and look at the dresses whenever I want haha
Nail Set from Kawaii Nails
Ame: AW!
You say you do lot of art, does that relate to your kawaiinails site?
Laura: Yes it does actually! I designed the site and learned how to code it and everything myself.In addition to doing graphic design, I also work on conceptual projects.
Ame: That’s pretty amazing! As for the nails, do you design them yourself?
Super adorable nails from KawaiiNails
Laura: No, I don’t design them, unfortunately! I have a lot of respect for the nail technicians that do make them, they are incredibly talented! In the future, I would like to have some way for customers to easily design their own nails.. maybe some kind of flash interface built into the site. It won’t be soon, but it’s definitely one of my goals for the future!
Ame: Hahahaha ^__^. That would definitely be awesome!!!!
What are some of your other goals?
Laura: My other passion is sewing, so I am trying to get my clothing line going. I have been designing my own fabric and getting it printed at Spoonflower. My prints are very sweet lolita inspired, but more abstract. There isn’t a huge demand for hand-made lolita clothing, but I hope that by using my own prints, it will set me apart from other designers/seamstresses.
Ame: Absolutely! I love buying handmade Lolita clothes! I hope it gets popular!
Anything else you’d like to say to our readers?
Laura: I just want to say thanks for reading, and I’m very glad to be a part of the Lolita community!
CHECK OUT HER SITES
Kawaiinails
Laura Andrews
Etsy
