Above is a large picture of angelic Pretty''s newest print, French cafe. It seems like French stuff is "in" with both lolita and mainstream clothes. i usually don't follow mainstream stuff, but I can't help notice that there is a french themed outfit in almost every shop window I pass by. I'm not very impressed with this print. The border thing on the bottom of the dress is way to big. There is an OP, a pair of socks, two skirts (one is really short and the other one is a normal loli skirt with an apron thing), a bow, and two jsks. This dress is available in pink, black, blue (not saxon blue), and red.
To me it just doesn't look as "sweet" as most of AP's other dresses and adds more evidence that Angelic Pretty might be turning less sweet. I was really hoping that after holy night story Angelic Pretty might go back to it's usually sugary-sweetness that we all love, but I was wrong. Maybe in spring Angelic Pretty will design more pastel explosion dresses!
I believe this was the first print of the new year (or the last print of 2010) either way Angelic Pretty started 2011 the wrong way. I hope that later in the they they will design better clothes.
OTT sweet is one of the most popular lolita sub-styles right now. It started around early 2009 and became extremely popular in 2010. OTT sweet started because of extra sweet lolita clothing that AP sold, so the outfit will mainly come from there. Some of Btssb's dresses can pass for OTT sweet but AP just does that style better in my opinion.
As you probably know, OTT sweet is just sweet lolita turned up 5 notches and dipped in syrup. It is my favorite style but I wouldn't recommend it for everybody. First you have to have the money for it. OTT sweet is probably the most expensive style because it centers around AP and their dresses are really expensive. You also have to buy a lot of accessories. It's also really hard to pull off. You have to know which accessories to use and what colors look good together. (it's that way in other lolita styles, but harder in OTT sweet because there are so many accessories and lots of color)
Now I will give some quick tips on OTT sweet to help anyone out who wants to wear it.
- accessorize: You need a lot of accessory for OTT sweet. Rings, bracelets, lacy gloves, wrist cuffs, necklaces, broaches, and head things are what you should look for. You can get accessories with hyper amounts of sweetness at Angelic pretty and various online stores (listed below) I have a strategy for hair accessories that I will share with you. Wear a big bow or a bonnet in the middle of your head (like you would for normal sweet lolita) as the "center piece" and put barrettes, bow clips, and random kawaii stuff around it.
- turbo cupcake puff: I know it's a term I use a lot, but you can't do OTT sweet with a lot of puff, it just wouldn't look right. I suggest wearing more than one petticoat to get the right amount of puff.
- Hair: Unnatural hair colors are an important part of an OTT sweet outfit. Any pastel shade can work and two conned hair has also been seen. It's best to buy wigs for this because you can have a extravagant hair style and a unique color without styling or dyeing your hair. You don't have to choose one specific hair color, it's perfectly fine to have baby pink hair one day, and saxon blue hair the next day. It's fun to coordinate your wig with your outfit.
- mixing colors: Mixing pastels is an OTT sweet lolita trademark. Instead of pink with white you should aim for pink with blue or pink with yellow. White blouses are just too boring for OTT sweet!
- Detail: Details like lace, bows, and ruffles are used a lot in OTT sweet. They are what make it, well, OTT. Keep in mind that there is a difference between a dress with a lot of lace and a lace monster. Don't buy a dress just because it has a lot of lace on it. it is good to have detail on blouses too. Bows, lace around the collar or a lacy jabot are great details to start off with.
Where to buy: Angelic Pretty is the best place to buy OTT sweet clothing and they also have accessories that can go perfectly with their clothing. Minty Mix is a store that sells wigs and sweets jewelery. kawaii goods sells various OTT sweet accessories. Chocomint sells a large amount of amazingly cute accesseries.
