Brand Spotlight: Mary Magdalene

True, for a brand spotlight, Mary Magdelene isn't the usual up-and-coming brand you'd expect, but I'll explain my choice. Mary Magdalene, though an already acknowledged and well-settled lolita brand, seems to me always under-represented, be it on the internet, in blogs, or in magazines. One of the reasons might be that Victorian Maiden or Innocent World, having much of the same concept, are more covered by media.

Influenced mainly by the victorian era, the brand's name translates its concept: that of  maiden devout and modest, a victorian ideal. It might seem obvious, as all of lolita is influenced by rococo and the victorian era, but I find that in this brand, the inspiration appears more clearly.

                               



The choice in design reflects their concept. The lines are elongating, most cuts using princess seams (all vertical seams) and emphasis being laid on the natural waist . They prefer solids rather than prints, or opt for sparser floral prints than their rival counterpart, Victorian Maiden. The colours are often demure yet elegant pastels/ dusted colors (does that make sense?) , or jewel tones for the autumn-winter collections, in blues, greens or deep reds, edging towards brown.

Mary Magdalene prefers embellishments like pintucks, often seen on their bib-collars, to swathes of lace. Lace is used sparingly but tastefully, in the highest quality. Mary Magdalene also has a slightly retro look on some of its dresses, coming from the use of sailor collars or double rows of big buttons. The necklines are either very high for a modest look, or contrarywise, rather low considering the lolita dos and don'ts, but this gives their dresses a more aristocratic, princessy ball-gown feel I love.
Hair corsages are usually elegant roses pinned to updoes or old-school rectangular headdresses.

      

All in all, MM is a brand that focuses on elegance and modesty, and perhaps a touch more of maturity than can be seen in other brands.

These last two are among their sweeter style. I absolutely love the first one, recently featured on their website, but I'm not sure about the cut of the last one's bodice. Mary Magdalene is one of my favorite classic brands, of you hadn't guessed ;)

Link to their website!