2025 Wish/Need/Replace List

Reviewing one’s wishlist on an annual basis after being in the fashion for over a decade is an interesting process. Because on the one hand, not a lot of changes need to be made. On the other – it is precisely the subtlety of those changes that makes the difference in these. Just like in 2024, I’ll share my 2024 wish/need/replace list gains and removals before showing what these sections look like for 2025, since I found the section to look well and be offer that neat wrap up to one year before beginning another.

Photo from Pexels.com by Jess Bailey Designs.

REPLACE

Last year I was left with only one item to replace and that was an ivory JSK. I managed to sell my Rosier Fleur by Alice and the Pirates and find this one from Atelier Pierrot (which I keep calling the Whip JSK even though there are notable differences between mine and this one) sometime around mid-summer. Even though it is still just a teeny bit shorter than what I’d prefer, in every other aspect it is fulfilling precisely the role that I wanted it to.

Shamelessly using a picture from the 1 Dress 4 Looks Take 71.

In theory this means that there are no more replacements needed in my wardrobe right now. And that is how it feels. I feel like this year will be focused more on non-direct replacements (i.e. getting rid of one item in favour of another one that is different). The purpose of this section was to make sure that I get better quality/better fitting versions of what I had already, so whilst there are still a few bits like that in my wardrobe, I don’t think that they need to be monitored quite so closely since they’re less urgent. If that changes at any point in the year, it will be duly noted in my quarterly reviews.

Sure, I’d love to replace my pearl jewellery with something proper, like antiques, but it’s nowhere near important enough to warrant putting down here.
Photo from Flickr.com by Rebecca Wilson.

NEED

As in previous years, it is the need list that shapes my focus the most, more so than my wishlists. In 2024 I managed to put my foot down: between finally finishing that beret and realising that I’d been doing just fine without the extra jewellery, that list got whittled down to just one item. One that will admittedly be much harder to find, but also one that isn’t that urgent.

The state of events at the end of 2024.

On the flipside, rather than kick off 2025 with only that one item still on my need list, I am once more adding to it. Some of these required some very honest reflection on what differentiates a need from a want, and my conclusion here was that if having something would reduce my stress levels and make me do fewer mental gymnastics when it came to coording, then that was enough to constitute something a needed item. 

At the same time, the true moment of honesty was realising that my actual big needs were all in my non-lolita wardrobe, which I don’t give nearly as much thought and attention to as the EGL side. Some of them would be more expensive purchases in an effort to invest in quality for the years ahead, so scaling down the lolita need list was just as important as identifying the right things to go on it. I am quite quickly approaching a point where my lack of attention to the non-lolita clothing will start to bite me, something which I would very much like to avoid.

Long story short, I survived. The Big Thinking About My Need List, that is. And here is what the lolita need list for 2025 was eventually whittled down to just two items:

Need list for 2025.

• Long boots in white or brown
• Wine underskirt, preferably in a stiffer fabric than chiffon

Yes, the sax bolero has been demoted to a wishlist item instead of a need, whilst a wine underskirt has been upgraded from a wish to a need. Between my wardrobe moving away from blues and wearing that one wine OP as an underskirt probably three times now, this needed to be re-evaluated. Also, items that will help with wearing the fashion in different weathers, as well as ones that will add comfort trump all else. I admit to falling sway to a few too many coord pictures with lolita-specific boots (I don’t know if they’ve ever fallen out of style, but I certainly noticed more of then in the last few months than previously). But I live in a wet place that gets cold easily, if the boots also happen to be comfortable enough to walk a whole day in, then they count!

WISH

Unlike 2023, last year was not successful in tracking down wishlist items. Part of me is happy with this because the main pieces that I did buy are just as great for my wardrobe, but part of me makes me more determined to track at least one or two down this year. 

That being said, the wishlist isn’t entirely without changes. Whilst the specific prints remain the same, I’ve added some bits into the last row of the main pieces list. I’ve hinted at this in the 2025 Goals post, but effectively, having come to terms with some pieces requiring more dressing up than I can be bothered to on a WFH day (and not being willing to sacrifice dressing up on a WFH day), I’ve decided that it’d be good to include between 3 to 5 main pieces that are very casual and easy to throw on. No more than that and preferably sticking to skirts and OPs, though I wouldn’t say no to maybe one of these pieces being a JSK. Ok, fine, this is me saying I want more Physical Drop clothes. There, I said it.

Main pieces wishlist for 2025.

For the record:

• Fanciful wishes
• Meta’s Airline JSK in navy
• Mary Magdalene’s Arabesque Rose in ivory (original release with shirring)
• Angelic Pretty’s Antoinette Decoration JSK in ivory (now prefer the non-bustier cut)
• BtSSB’s Antoinette Bouquet JSK in wine, the 2012 Memorial Series cut
• Seasonal wishes
• BtSSB’s Kumya’s Christmas Market JSK in either red or sax
• A sailor collar OP in navy or ivory (any brand, as long as it’d fit me, preferably in cotton or linen)
• BtSSB’s DOKI DOKI Strawberry Magic skirt in red
• Daily wishes
• Innocent World’s Cool Rose JSK in wine
• A floral skirt, preferably fully shirred
• A solid fully shirred skirt in an earth tone (warm brown, emerald green or ivory), pink or, at a push, wine red
• A solid short sleeve OP with an open neckline, preferably in cotton or natural fibre, in ivory, green, pink or, at a push, wine red
• A solid JSK in a simple design in an earth tone (warm brown, emerald green or ivory) or wine red at a push (alternatively, a small neutral pattern such as florals, will do)

The non-dress wishlist side enjoyed a little bit more of a success thanks to grabbing the Cross Lace bolero from Innocent World, as well as grabbing that mesh apron. Whilst not a major feat by any measure, it is a success nonetheless.

The state of events at the end of 2024.

In 2025 I would really like to continue incorporating more layering pieces. The bow top from Naddine Atelier was such a fun addition that I still haven’t explored fully and at this point, it’s items like these that make my wardrobe stretch further. So although the bulk of this wishlist remains the same (factoring the changes mentioned already), there are a couple of additions that have found their way here.

Non-main pieces wishlist for 2025.

In text this wishlist reads:

• The Millefeuille boleros
• the pure smooth Millefeuille in any colourway;
• the shell lace Millefeuille, which I originally wanted in brown, but now that I have the 2012 original lace one in brown I will take shell lace one in any colourway;
• and a pink Millefeuille in any kind of lace (they were only ever available in rose and ribbon, and given how hard ribbon lace is to find second hand, I am trying to stay realistic by keeping my options open).
• Layering pieces
• A front-lacing cottagecore corset vest/bodice in sole ivory-based gobelin
• A long sleeve bolero in sax (Millefeuille style)
• A classic gobelin or solid ivory bustier, vest-like in shape or at least with a deep scoop neckline
• A wine red overskirt, organza/tulle/chiffon/lace/mesh, mid length rather than full
• A gold overskirt, organza/tulle/chiffon/lace/mesh, any length up to knee-length
• Accessories
• A wine vintage hat, either a percher or a wide brim
• Angelic Pretty Girly Sticker pochette

THE INKLINKS

Usually my annual wish/need/replace lists end with things that have been previewed at some point and that I foresee myself getting. Not this time. There hasn’t been a single preview (not from EGL brands anyway) that had me thinking that I was in danger. This is good in that hopefully I will be given the space to save up in the run up to The Great Lace, where I hope to maybe indulge in some US-based indie brands’ clothing (and save on that sweet shipping). But it’s also not good because it means that stuff can take me by surprise. But let’s stay positive.

Looking back on the whole post, this is such a scaled down list compared to what I’m used to putting up here. Which isn’t a bad thing, as I said, I should be focusing more on my non-lolita wardrobe before it becomes an urgent problem. That being said, with how structured EGL fashion is, I find it easier to be specific (and to know where to shop) with it. Outside of lolita the choice is so overwhelming and, sadly, second hand clothes sellers lack the discipline and specificity that I am used to from lolita shopping, which makes the shopping experience so much worse. Still, let’s not get too pessimistic. As my overall aim for 2025 is to have a more restful year and to be creative in other areas of my life, a scaled down wishlist will hopefully help me achieve that.

How are your wishlists looking at the (still) start of the year? If you haven’t updated yours yet, why is that? And if you have – what was the main principle guiding you with what was allowed on the wishlist and what wasn’t (if you had that)?