The Wonderful World of Axes Femme

 Dear my fellow frillies,

    If you have been in the fashion for some time, you may have seen the name "axes femme" floating around on Lace Market or Closet Child (you'll certainly see a lot there). For those unaware, Axes Femme is a Japanese casual women's clothing brand that's been around for as long as many of your favorite EGL brands have existed. For a brand that has been around for over 30 years, I'm surprised I don't see more J-fashion enthusiasts wear it in the West. They are one of my favorite brands for affordable EGL and other lolible items. Today I want to share my love of Axes Femme to the frilly world~!

    Axes Femme describes their business on their Japanese website as "offer[ing] feminine daily wear that incorporates the stylish spirit loved by Parisian women during the Belle Époque, France's golden age, into a modern style". I think that is a very accurate description of their flagship line at least. They have expanded into many other styles nowadays. They currently offer 13 clothing lines, each specializing in a different fashion style, demographic, or product. There have also been three additional lines that are discontinued. Below are all the active lines available on both the Japanese and Western websites:

• axes femme - classic, elegant, and feminine; very French inspired
• POETIQUE - even MORE romantic and dreamy, otome style
• NIBBLE POISON - the brand describes this line as "dark kawaii", I would just say it's generally gothic and girlish
• axes femme kawaii (now called Chalmiere) - sweet, gothic, and classic EGL
• REZEN - unisex and modern wa style
• axes femme for MEN (now called AXES-X) - was originally for men, but later rebranded to be unisex when the name changed
• Purple Label - for mature ladies
• Axes Femme Kids - the same classic elegant style now for little girls!
• Fickle Bebe - draws inspiration from modern "ryousangata" styles, seems to be aimed at teens and young adults
• AICE - a collaboration line with multiple J-pop groups
• ROSE ROUGE - elegant and feminine jewelry and accessories
• Axes Femme Vintage (now called PASTEQIDOR) - upcycled vintage pieces as a part of a larger sustainability initiative (more on this later!)
• myu:lorét - hard to describe this line, but the brand uses the hashtags "modern mori", "cottagecore", and "shoujo girl" when advertising new releases of this line on X

Discontinued lines include:

• Nostalgie - I could not find a lot of information on what this line specialized in, but it seems it leaned towards a "mature" image
• Red Label - items created with customer input via polls on their blog; this label is no longer advertised on either website so it is presumed closed
• Axes Femme Home - kitchenware, decor, and household textiles. I wish this one stuck around :(

    Axes Femme started officially in 1988 as "AXES", a wholesale storefront. In 2002, they changed their name to the name we now know them as: Axes Femme. They also started to manufacture their own clothing at this time. By 2006, they had 36 shop locations across Japan! They were hardly slowing down; two years later, the first online webshop opens as well as new offerings: their Nostalgie line, Kids, and Home lines. Then in 2012, the Poetique line launches. The following year is when we start to see Axes Femme expand to the West. Shops are opened in Shanghai and Paris, but eventually closed over the next decade. You can still read about a lolita's firsthand experience shopping in the Paris store here. 

    Fall 2014 sees the launch of the axes femme Kawaii line, their first step into EGL fashion, with the prints Sweet Halloween and Sweet Swans (though they still had Poetique labels on them). The first print released with Kawaii labels was Classical Marine. Eventually in 2019, the Official Axes Femme YouTube channel opens. Their uploads are varied and sporadic now, but still contain great content on previous releases, coording tips, and interviews with staff and their CEO Akinobu Igarashi. The next year, new clothing lines open: Red Label, Axes Femme Vintage, and axes femme for MEN. 

Poetique Sweet Halloween (2014)

Poetique Sweet Swan (2014)

    In the following five years, a lot of movement happened. 2021 saw the opening of a brick-and-mortar shop for Axes Femme Vintage in Fukui prefecture (where the Axes Femme headquarters is located!). Additionally multiple lines rebranded, if that wasn't confusing enough. axes femme for MEN rebrands to Axes-X and shifts focus toward more unisex clothing, Axes Femme Vintage rebrands to PASTEQIDOR, and most recently, axes femme Kawaii rebrands to Chalmiere in 2025. A separate webshop is opened dedicated to their EGL line. And finally, most MOST recently, this year saw the grand opening of Axes Femme Taipei Lab. 

    It's amazing (and a little insane) the amount of movement this company has had. It is obvious they love to experiment with what products they carry and which audiences they want to target. I love that they make it their mission to appeal to everyone across borders, ages, and genders. They also are committed to zero waste, which is not something you often see in J-fashion brands. In 2024, Axes Femme launched the line PASTEQIDOR, which centers on upcycling vintage Axes Femme pieces and using leftover fabric to make new items. This is done through a clothing recycling program held in store, as well as offering cleaning and alteration services to extend the life of their clothing. 

        The best part of this program is that this line works exclusively with local disability agencies and proceeds of PASTEQIDOR sales go directly back to them <3 Additionally, the upcycling work is supported by local designers and social welfare agencies. You can read more about their sustainability initiatives through their international site. However I want to be clear that while this is a great start, they do not publically announce their numbers, such as how much they recycle every year or how much still goes to landfills. We also know that they manufacture in China, as is a common practice with other Japanese clothing brands. So we do not know how fairly their garment workers are treated. 

    So... is Axes Femme perfect? It's debatable. The perception of the brand (at least online) is vastly different in the West than it is in Japan. Over here, they have the reputation of being cheap and easy to order, perhaps with sometimes questionable quality. I own five dresses from their flagship and Chalmiere lines. The fabrics vary greatly. My Fluffy Bear JSK has a softer lighter feel than my Circus Doll JSK, which is made from a heavy polyester. I think both are well constructed but one feels significantly cheaper. This is consistent with other reviews of their clothing. They use lots of polyester, though poly is not inherently evil. They also have frequent releases that lean on current trends, which is a strategy fast fashion companies use. The reputation in Japan is far cruder. The perception is that Axes Femme is only worn by older women or mojo 喪女 ("loser" women who are unattractive or plain). Wow, harsh.

Axes Femme Kawaii Fluffy Bear (2nd Release) (2025)

Axes Femme Kawaii Circus Doll JSK (2025)

    Whether you love her or you hate her, Axes Femme doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. They have been a staple in the J-fashion space for a long time and I think more fashion enthusiasts should check them out and formulate their own opinion. Speaking strictly in an EGL context, I think Chalmiere is a wonderful brand to pad out a beginner's wardrobe. Many of their JSKs are plus-size friendly (by my observation, up to <110 bust). And their jewelry is surprisingly good quality! Alas us large foot havers might struggle to find shoes as they only go up to a Japanese size 24.5. But I think they are still worth looking into!

    What do you think of Axes Femme? Do you own any of their pieces? Let me know!

Love & laces, 

♱ Sara ♱

♱ཐི ʕ.•ﻌ•.ʔ ཋྀ♱

The Sheglit AI Fiasco: Did We Learn Anything?

 Dear my fellow frillies,

    If you a lolita and were NOT one of the many lolitas who made the mass exodus from X (formerly Twitter, may she rest in peace), then you might have seen some drama occur with the gothic and classic brand Sheglit occur last month. Today I want to discuss what happened and what lessons we can glean from the event. 

    In late April 2026, Sheglit's official X posted AI-generated images of a model wearing an OP soon to be released. Sheglit claimed they will use AI models to showcase new releases in real life. 

The suspicious post

    This was followed by immediate backlash by both the Western AND Japanese EGL communities. Everyone expressed their disappointment that Sheglit would use AI to advertise and model dresses. There was even some confusion if Sheglit was also planning to use AI to design pieces in the future. Sheglit responded with this statement, posted originally in Japanese but I have translated here: 

Sheglit's response to the backlash

The official response

    I wasn't following closely enough to see what the response to this statement alone was, but it must have been piss poor, as they followed with yet another response that contained an actual apology: 

Finally, the apology

    So that's the drama. All of this happened in the span of two days. It was honestly wild to watch in real time. I was frantically taking screenshots and sending them to my comm's discord because I had never seen any lolita brand do this before. As of writing this blog post, I discovered this HAS been done two years ago by Sufflé Song, but shocking nonetheless. What I still do not understand is in what world would they think this would be acceptable in OUR community? If they were trying to show designs in a more wearable sense, why couldn't they have hired models like other brands do?

    Discussions among my comm circulated various theories. One member suggested it was probably a push from higher above as more and more companies are enforcing AI use to appear as modern and progressive. Even my own job has encourage use of CoPilot in daily work tasks. Another member suggested it's pure laziness and cost saving. That is certainly a big reason why companies are adopting AI.

Love & laces, ♱ Sara ♱

♱ཐི ʕ.•ﻌ•.ʔ ཋྀ♱

Monthly Haul: May 2026

 Hello my frilly friends~

    Earlier this month, I moved apartments and cities to live on my own for the first time! So suffice to say frilly purchases have slowed down. Given my current financial situation, I need to be strategic with what I choose to add to my collections. My wardrobes in all styles are fairly sizable enough that I could justify not needing anything else. To be able to say that is such a luxury in this era of high tariffs and shipping costs. 

    That being said, I do think I have been lacking in my EGL media collection lately. Someday I would like to own every Gothic & Lolita Bible that was ever published, but for obvious reasons, that will take some considerable time. So to fill my spring days as I unpack box after half-smooshed box, I have been scouring Lace Market for any editions of GLB that need a home on my shelves. With great luck and determination, I dare say I have been successful! Let us take a look at all the little bitties I bought in May.

New additions

    Some clothes that I did justify buying were on my wishlist. The JSK I bought as an impulse buy because I am weak for chocolate prints.

• 2 head pieces (1 classic in ivory, 1 sweet in brown)
• 1 blouse (classic in ivory)
• 1 JSK (sweet in brown)
• 1 pair of tights (gothic in black)
• 1 handbag (sweet in dark brown)
• 1 pigtail wig (brunette - works for any style but purchased mainly for sweet)

    Those are all the clothing I bought, but I also acquired some mooks as mentioned. I bought a bundle of four mooks (GLB Boudoir, Vol.19, Vol.41, and a copy of Gothic Lolita & Punk). I do not much care for the GLP issue but Saboten is coming up in the summer so I might have an opportunity to sell it. I am not familiar with that mook; there is no articles or comics or add-ins. Just flatlays of brand's new collections. That would be nice to look at but does not serve me personally. In a separate bid, I also won an issue of GLB Vol.52. So that is five volumes of lolita mooks!

A very modest May haul

Coords of May

Casual sweet coord to go mattress shopping with my parents

Old school sweet coord for summer ILD; we watched Kamikazi Girls!

My makeup and wig for summer ILD

Casual kuro coord to go see Backrooms in theaters

Wishlist Progress

    Only three items out of all my purchases were on my wishlist. That is 43% of my entire haul. Not great, but could be worse honestly. My classic wardrobe is severely lacking, which is why the blouse and bonnet were so crucial to have. The wig is for experimenting with hair looks. Late last year I got color typed as a deep autumn, so brunette is ideally my best hair color. Unbeknownst to me, I have pitch black hair right now! So while I figure it out what to do with my natural hair, I want to play around with a brunette wig. 

EGL Goal Progress

I'm sad to say I did not make much progress in my EGL goals this month. 

• Sell anything that does not fit: I have a giant pile of lolita and normie clothes that need to be sold or donated. Actually I am a bit overwhelmed by it. I set a goal of posting three items per day to sell, but I haven't been sticking to it. Eventually I need to buy a couch, which will go against the wall where my "mountain" is so if I want to have friends come over and be able to SIT, I have to prioritize this soon. 
• Host more meetups: This month was busy with moving and planning what to bring to the ILD potluck (I made it easy for myself and made a charcuterie board). I will forgive myself this month.
• Decorate a lolita-esque room: Definitely want to do this, but I have been slow to unbox. I will decorate as I empty boxes. 
• Learn to sew a rectangle headdress: I asked my mother if she still uses her old Singer and turns out she does not and agreed to pass it down to me! The bobbin has been broken for a while, but honestly I used to be pretty crafty with a sewing machine. Once she digs it out of whatever cabinet its been lodged into, I might be able to fix it myself (and YouTube).
• Be more consistent on blogging: Well I am posting today, aren't I?

    As summer approaches, I am feeling the draw of sweet country lolita ebb closer. This year I am focusing on building out my sweet and classic wardrobes. It might sound shocking to my readers who know me as a true goth through and through, however it has been fun playing with bright colors and pastels! Anyone who knows me personally knows I like to change my appearance every six months (a hyperbole but also, not really). Call me a cameleon if you will, but I like exploring what fashion has to offer. Let's see what's in store for this summer. Happy ILD everyone!

Monthly Haul: February 2026

Dear my fellow frillies ~

New Purchases

    This was definitely the month for buying only what I needed. I made one big axes femme haul for some basics pieces fill out my sweet and classic wardrobes. For the longest time, I have been needing more EGL undergarments; all of my petticoats are black, which I suppose for darker swassic dresses is perfectly fine but majority of my main pieces in those styles are very light colored. So a white petticoat is extremely necessary. 

    I also need a hoop skirt for the summer. I actually don't find the crunchy organza of my petticoats uncomfortable because they have a lining in them and I can wear sport shorts or cotton bloomers underneath, but still I have been curious about how hoop skirts might work for me. The rest are just some spring basics as it starts to get warm here in Arizona. Last year I bought my first main piece in red so since then, I have been on the look-out for red "base pieces" (blouses, socks, shoes, etc). Ankle socks and a straw bag will do very nicely for summer. 

    The second haul I made this month was made at Arizona Matsuri, a Japanese culture festival held every year in downtown Phoenix. I made a few purchases walking down the vendor stalls. My favorite item I bought was a handmade straw bag made by a shop vendor who used to be a loltia herself! It came in handy to hold my water and smaller purchases throughout the day, but only until hours later did I realize I already bought a straw bag earlier this month! Silly me :( I guess we'll have to see which one I like the best and sell the other one. 

    Lastly, I took advantage of Atelier Pierrot's winter sale and scooped up some daily items, such as a wallet and AirPod case, to frillify my life. I also got a skirt and a corset in a fun color. I have a handful of corsets but for some reason they are all black! So I figured one in an accent color would be put to good use. The skirt was a shameless "well I just want it" type of purchase :P 

My February haul~!

Coords of February

Wishlist Progress

    Currently I feel my gothic wardrobe is in a good place that there really isn't much that I would consider a wishlist item. The things I do want are more "nice to have" shoes or other accessories. I'm noticing a lot of these items are just basics in red. I never noticed how little red accessories I own, despite having a few dresses with red accents. My list is as follows: 

• A long-sleeve blouse with hime-style sleeves in white
• A pair of wristcuffs in bordeaux
• An overbust corset, preferably in red or another accent color
• A Néant Glass coffin ring in white
• Metamorphose platform heels in red [they are currently sold out in my size :( ]
• A pair of Victorian granny boots, maybe from American Duchess
• A non-retractable parasol in black
• A long straight wig in red

    My classic wardrobe is very small, to the point where I am still collecting my first starting basics. So that being said, I need: 

• A high-neck blouse in ivory
• One long-sleeve bolero, either in dark brown or ivory
• Legwear of some sort in bordeaux and dusty pink
• A small structured bonnet in ivory
• Shoes in bordeaux and dusty pink

    Finally in my sweet wardrobe, I'm just mainly padding out my accessories with other colors. As mentioned earlier, I'm trying to introduce red into my color palette. There were many items I purchased in my axes femme haul that were on my wishlist so I feel really productive! I am in the process of collecting red basics such as: 

• A short-sleeve blouse in red
• Short-sleeve boleros in pink, sax, and/or red
• One pair of wristcuffs in red (but a brighter shade than the pair I need for gothic)
• A pair of simple tights or OTKs in sax
• A pair of tea parties in red
• A non-retractable parasol in pink

EGL Goal Progress

Sell anything that does not fit

    I plan to move in a few months, so this is one of my top priorities. I have started to audit my existing wardrobe for pieces I do not reach for very often and ones that do not fit anymore. It just takes a while to take photos, decide prices, and write up sales posts on multiple platforms. I want to try to maximize sale potential so I plan to post in my comm's Discord and on Lace Market. I hope to get around to it next week.

Host more meet-ups

    I haven't hosted many meet-ups so far this year, but I did "substitute host" a meet that was originally hosted by another comm member, who had to quit due to family emergency. I had a lot of fun taking over responsibility though! There's a lot of good horror movies coming up so maybe I will host movie meets for some of those.

Be more consistent with updating EGL Instagram & blog

    Lately I actually haven't been wearing lolita often, so when I finally did put it on after so much time, I remembered how good I feel. I missed that feeling. This is why I don't post coords often on Instagram, but I want to feel motivated to wear the fashion more. So I made it a 2026 goal to try to post more, on my lolita account and also here, on my blog! I miss writing too, so look forward to more posts from your favorit curator!