2023 Wish/Need/Replace List

I’ve spent some time looking over my wardrobe post and last year’s lists to make sure that I kick 2023 off with as accurate an idea of things that I actually need and should focus on as possible. These posts are what I refer back to the most, so although changes are inevitable, the more I get right from the get go, the more focused my experience over the year tends to be.

Image from AdobeStock.

REPLACE

By the end of 2022 I have managed to get rid of a couple more things, but sadly not replaced any. There are only a few very minor additions to that list because thankfully all of last year’s overhauling resulted in getting rid of bits that don’t fit my size or style so well.

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I do need to be a bit firmer in terms of actually committing to getting these replacements. There is being specific about what I want and there is being overly picky. By the end of this year I would like to have replaced the socks, the shoes, and the bonnet at the very least. Only time will tell how manageable that proves to be.

NEED

The need list is the one that saw the most changes as I seriously pondered the topic of what would fill the gaps within my wardrobe. With how specific the sweet side of my wardrobe is now and how broad the classic one still is, identifying the missing pieces for the sweet side became easier, even though it’s the classic one that needs those fillers more. This right here is the best stab that I could manage at tackling both.

Top two rows are for sweet things and bottom two - for classic ones.
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To describe the above in some specifics, my needs for 2023 are:

• Sweet
• A brooch in red and a neutral shape.
• A necklace in navy and a neutral shape.
• A pair of white OTKs/tights with a neutral navy pattern
• A pair of white OTKs/tights with a neutral sax pattern
• A pair of ankle socks in sax
• A pair of large neutral earrings in sax and/or mint
• A pair of large neutral earrings in red
• A wide belt in sax
• Classic
• A long sleeve bolero in sax (Millefeuille style)
• A short sleeve blouse in ivory (cotton or mesh, not too high a neckline)
• A romantic headbow or headdress in pink
• A beret in light pink
• A flat or small headbow in wine red
• A bracelet in gold x emerald green

I’m not deluding myself that this is everything, it definitely isn’t. Even with a sense of direction and a comprehensive wardrobe spreadsheet it can be hard to put a finger on what I may be missing until I actually try to use it in a coord. There are also a few bits that I would say are needs (e.g. a couple more cutsews or a few more pairs of walking shoes), however, I am considering those in general, for my wardrobe overall, rather than specifically for lolita, so I’m hesitant of putting them on this list to hold myself accountable for. Those are more of your ‘if they happen, they happen’ kind of pieces, the ones that I’ll be checking for every now and then on Vinted, Mercari or in charity shops, but not really be bothered about being regular or strict about doing so. Still, even if all I manage this year is to add the pieces I named up here, that’d be a pretty solid addition to my collection and a boost to my wardrobe’s wearability.

WISH

Ever since the slight revamping last year the main pieces wishlist feels like the one that’s been the most consistent, withstanding the majority of the changes. Because yes, as far as the printed main pieces go, these haven’t changed much beyond my recognising that just because I don’t think acquiring the Axes Femme Coca-Cola JSK is realistic, it doesn’t mean that I want it any less, so that was went in. And I tried to pad out the bottom line with some ideas because even though that’s meant for some daily pieces, having something to go by would still help me instead of chasing the elusive “I’ll know that I want it when I see it”. Although let’s be honest, that’s still very much the case.

Top row are things that I just like and want. Middle is for things that I am justifying wanting on the basis that they'll be for seasonal wear. And the bottom row is for things that I'd like for more daily wear.
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To aid in finding these, as not everyone is familiar with print names, here is what’s in each tier:

• 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 will accept either cut and maybe even prefer the other one)
• BtSSB’s Bless from Michael JSK in Harajuku-exclusive emerald green
• Meta’s Memories Garden JSK in ivory (any JSK cut without a bustle)
• Meta’s Vintage Fruits OP in red
• Axes Femme Coca-Cola JSK in red
• 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 (for my actual Christmas print)
• 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 black A-line skirt, as non-fussy as possible
• A short sleeve cotton OP

With the non-main piece wishlist I’ve allowed myself to be specific with the Innocent World Millefeuille boleros instead of just skirting around the subject. I want them all, let’s just list what’s left to get and have it out in the open. The rest, like the main pieces wishlist, has remained relatively unchanged as I’m not necessarily chasing after anything in particular at this point.

Top row is for the Millefeuille boleros. Middle is for layering pieces. And bottom is for accessories and everything else.
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And again, to list these for the sake of clarity, here it is all listed in text:

• The Millefeuille boleros
• pure smooth in any colourway;
• the 2010 tulle lace also in any colourway, but only as long as it’s this specific lace (the Lolibrary page seems to include pictures from all kinds of releases);
• shell lace, 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 that there were more of the rose lace made than of the ribbon lace, I am trying to stay realistic by keeping my options open).
• Layering pieces
• An overskirt in white or ivory
• A front-lacing cottagecore corset vest/bodice in some ivory-based gobelin
• An underskirt in navy, preferably in a fabric than has more body than chiffon (I don’t mind chiffon as the frill, but it would lay better over a petticoat)
  
• Accessories
• A wine vintage hat, either a percher or a wide brim
• Something from Q-Pot’s soap series

THE INKLINKS

This can only be based on what I already know about, either through early sneak peek previews or because I’ve been stalking something for a while. No doubt there will be plenty of surprises in store with what does actually get released, but if I can anticipate and prepare for at least one thing, it would still help either by building up a bigger buffer for all those purchases or by curbing my spending urges with reminders of what I’m actually looking for.

My bank account feels very endangered already.

The pieces above are:

• Lady Sloth’s Bestiary JSK in ivory
  
• Lief’s Boulangerie print in white
  

It always feels great to refresh these lists. As nice as ticking acquisitions off is, having a clean slate fills me with motivation to look for these things and a sense of lightness as the weight of past needs or wishes is dropped. What I should really be focusing on is my non-lolita wardrobe, as that is all kinds of all over the place, but that’s at the same stage as my wardrobe overhaul was this time last year, which means endless procrastinating.