Brrrr! it's finally started dropping cold here, the first frosts have killed off the last of our garden flowers, and I'm starting to reach for my coat before I step outside.

We're all set over at Candy Violet to help you wrap up warm, and get ready for the up coming party season however!

There are still 2 Atelier coats and bonnets left, as well as our luxurious velveteen dress sets perfect for these crisp cooler days (with removable sleeves they are stylish in warmer weather too!)
( Photos!!!... )
I hope you'll be dressing fancy with us for the Fall/Winter season, and amazon.com now has universal wishlists, so you can wishlist us for the holidays!

***!!!Our Shops will close December 14th until the New Year!!!!!***

A friend pointed this out to me today, there was a zombie dressed in Candy Violet on Cake Boss! Ok I'll admit I'm an Ace of cakes girl, but it's always funny to see where our clothes pop up! She's around the 1:55min mark

We put together 8 nifty gift sets over at Candy Violet today! perfect for the holidays, or for any lolita or quaintrelle looking to get a head start on her wardrobe!

( Set photos under here... )
We have some 2nd chance dress sets, including Visions of Versialles! We also have a sweet set with teacup and t-shirt since quaintrelle is both style and lifestyle. I'm sure there's a collection up there for you!

( More Photos!... )

It's item of the month time!!! Get double reward points on Victorian Promenade dress sets and skirts till November 7th! Also since our designs are made for walking we're offering 10% off all labels with the coupon code: promenadepromo till November 7th as well!

Remember you must sign in as a customer to receive points.

Photo features Victorian Promenade dress set in wine, plus from our atelier section Victorian half Bonnet in wine and Train Satchel.

The time has come! The new atelier updates are now up!!!

The new theme is "Stroll About Town". The Victorians loved their wool, their day wear, and promenading around the town arm in arm with a best friend or beau. That's what this atelier event is all about! Coats, bonnets and purses, everything you need to stroll around town this Fall and Winter.
( Photos!... )
I always think a nice coat is the most important thing in a girls wardrobe as the weather gets colder, it's the one thing we wear almost every day!! I hope you like the new items, they also go well with our Victorian promenade items from our regular catalog. Let's get dressed up this season!

Depending on how well these items sell will determine the future of these atelier events, if they are not quite your size or favorite theme, you can still help spread the word and help make this event a success!

Last few weeks for Visions of Versailles!  These items will all come down on September 30th!!!!!!!

New event starts up October 1st, a new theme, and new item focus, so this is a last call for all you Rococophiles!!! 

The Summer is almost over, and that means so is our first Atelier event!! Next month these Items will be taken down making way for the next atelier theme.

All of the Visions of Versailles dresses were based on dresses worn by the women who lived there
( Let's take a look at the portraits that inspired the dresses!... )
After the launch of the first items many people asked for Small and Large sizes, Going through some more of my favorite portraits I was able to design 2 new dresses (Royale and Lamballe) in these sizes. Since the Smaller and larger sizes haven't sold as well as the mediums our current plan for the next event is to create just mediums once again, so any remaining stock doesn't go to waste. Any one interested in these other sizes, we still have these 2 dresses up for a while longer, and if they end up selling as well as the mediums I'd love to add some more of these sizes to the next event!

I hope every one will enjoy the rest of this event taking a romp through 18th Century France! I wonder what time and place we'll visit next event?

There was such a positive response to our first round of atelier dresses, that we just added 2 more by popular demand!

In a size large and a size small, inspiration this time came from Marie Antoinette's daughter Madame Royale, and  best friend the Princess de Lamballe.
( Full photos under here... )These are the last items in the Visions of Versailles event. I hope you can give them a good home!

A lot of people seem to think there is a disconnect between the items I make for myself, the atelier section and what  I sell in the  main shop. Whilst old items haven't been able to represent the same ideas and styles as personal and atelier projects  in the past, it's all been because we have to grow to get there.

Here are a few things people have been telling me or asking me lately, and I thought it might be a good post for the blog!

"I want the stuff you sew"

I swear I want to be able to give you the things I sew!!! I've always wanted to be able to offer a catalog filled with designs like every single one of my personal projects, and we're getting there! Some items were impossible from the need for specific corsets etc, but this has been something I've been able to pattern draft around. The next obstacle was faith in and from the community...

"You can only make it if it sells"

The mantra I learned early in studying the business of fashion. Because personal projects never had to sell, I've always enjoyed the freedom of working to my own mind. Historically the Western lolita scene has been hesitant to accept a change in style from within, viewing anything different and not Japanese as "not lolita". For a designer this made it difficult to really push the envelope.

Production of a new design costs in the thousands, and if a design doesn't sell leaves me with both personal debt, and a lot of boxes taking up finite space. As a result in the beginning we had to play it safe, sticking to traditionally accepted styles of lolita. These days attitudes have changed, and people are more willing to accept something new from a designer like myself. Something which will make my job, and collections more and more interesting in the Future!

"I love the new designs/direction this year"

I heard this a lot over the weekend, and since we launched the new items last month. The main reason designs this year have been so much more exciting than in the past is our customers! Our customer base grew a great deal in the last year or so, and as result we've had the funds to invest in new more exciting designs. My job is in many ways the least important part of Vivcore, it might sound cheesy, but you guys really are the most important people in making new things happen. The money made from current designs is what allows new items to be produced. I have a brain and a studio full of new designs waiting to see the light of day,  they just need investment.

"I LOVE X but I'm so waiting till you sell Y"

This is the one statement that really breaks my heart. Without sales from our current line, we won't be able to bring out the next.  Not only this, but the longer a new item sits in our shop, the more food, vet bills and mortgage have to come out of the proceeds, and the less we have for future investment.

The Goal

This post isn't just a big "give me money" post at all, it just seems a lot of the time people don't really know about how things happen on this end, and how big a role you guys play.  If you are one of the people who say they love my designs, any small amount of support, buying a casual skirt, or petticoat puts us a long way towards becoming the label you want us to be.

Vivcore has never been a vanity brand to me (hence you'll see me about in person, but not all over online). I knew I wanted the same chances for events, jobs and shopping as the Japanese girls enjoyed, and thought I might be able to bring that to  the girls on this side of the planet. I wanted to bring style like lolita to all the girls who wanted it, to make it so girls of all kinds of different shapes and sizes could get brand quality clothes to fit them and make them feel happy. My dream is to be able to have a catalog as big and varied as the Japanese brands, to hold events and even offer jobs (design and other) to the talented people out there who really want to make this fashion their life too. I'm getting there, but it will never be able to happen without your support.

That said we've come so far, and I would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU!! To all our customers who believed in us supported us and got us so far!!  I'll keep working hard make sure your faith in us pays off! For every one who likes the items from this year, if you see a girl in some of our earlier items, say a big "thanks" because she's the one who's made it all happen.

We have 3 lovely new items available at Candy Violet!!

We have the new ultra versatile Victorian Promenade Dress Set, Victorian Promenade Skirt, and our long awaited Classic Bolero!! As well as these new items the Candy Violet website has a whole new look, and easier shopping interface. It's also much simpler now to fill your cart with items from both Candy Violet and Cute Salad at the same time.
( Come see the new faces... )
I hope you'll pardon our dust as we tidy up some cosmetic details over the next couple of days, and enjoy our new items and website!