Outfit Repeater - Or Is She?

To me, a non-American, Groundhog Day means two things: a random thing people decided to judge when spring will come by that I know mostly from cartoons and the most popular example of media centred around being stuck in a time loop. And because we, the Bibliotheca bloggers, are a feral bunch who will rally for silly stuff with much greater might than is actually warranted, this is February's theme. Here I will go down the route of time loops and talk a little bit about outfit repeating.

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com.

It may seem odd coming from me. I may be an outfit repeater outside of lolita fashion, but less so within it. This isn't for any inherent bias against the idea, I fully support outfit repeating and encourage it. My reasons for not doing it myself are more my own internalised pressures and I'm on my own journey of tackling these.

However, I also realise that the lack of visibility of outfit repeating ends up perpetuating the myth that it's somehow not acceptable. This post isn't aimed at trying to convince you that this is not the case - it isn't, but if you don't see it, I get that it's hard to believe it. I encourage you to go on your own journey of finding that out for yourself.

What I would like to do here is offer some accessible tips to help you trick yourself into feeling like a repeat outfit is different after all. For whatever reason you may find yourself in situations when outfit repeating is unavoidable, so hopefully with these couple of ideas you will be able to convince your stubborn brain otherwise with these “Um actually” moments.

Hair and makeup

This is literally the first Advanced Coordinating post that ever was, which I of course encourage you to read (or watch) as it goes more in depth than I will now. Your coord may not be the pinnacle of versatility, but even within substyles there are more than just one hair and makeup look that will work. Do not underestimate the power these have to change an overall look, this is probably the only truly free thing you can do since all it will cost you is your time.

The comparison I did for that first Advanced Coordinating post. A picture says a thousand words.

Take advantage of the seasons

Those living in climates with varying seasons may find that there are things possible here that will trick both you and others at the meetup into thinking that you have more coords than just the one. Whilst not every outfit will work equally well in summer as it does in winter, the layered nature of lolita fashion lends itself well to adding or taking some away. The same OP and tights combo will look differently with your winter boots and coat on than it does with a straw hat and tea parties. And before you start on the “but I don't have lolita winter-wear” thing – practicality first, folks. You need to be warm before you are stylish. It may not be the ideal coord you want, but it still looks different to what you had.

Whilst not exactly the same outfit, the principle of it is the same. And it looks so different with tights vs high socks alone. Left is December 2023 and right is September 2023.

Swapping layers

By this I mean specifically what is on top and what is under. Yes, blouses are supposed to go under JSKs – but you're the only one stopping yourself from wearing them the other way around. Some of the sheer blouses work lovely as outer layers, while the opaque ones trick the eye into seeing a dress as a skirt. Same with boleros and cardigans – why not wear them under for a different look? If you're worried about items sitting alright against your skin, I'd suggest wearing a thin T-shirt or something like that underneath to act as the barrier you want.

This is the closest thing that I have to a direct example of layers being swapped. Dress, shoes, and beret are all the same here, and a big chunk of the rest is the difference that wearing a blouse over the JSK makes vs having it under.

Power of accessories

This one will work better for people who either have a little bit more already or who are quite consistent with the style or colour scheme that they go for. Although by all means, try your chocolate-themed accessories with that kuro coord you have, you never know. When in doubt, even swapping out one or two quite big or visible pieces, like a handbag or a headpiece, can make a big impact on a look. This trick works particularly well with solid coloured pieces which get most of their interest from accessories and textures, though I've done it with sweet prints as well. Just get yourself out of that box.

Same dress, socks, and even vibe with the hair styling. But whilst both of these are quite elegant vintage takes, they are very different.

Give it time

And if all of the above fails, may you find comfort in this: people don't judge you anywhere near as much as you judge yourself. Moreover, not only people in your comm won't care that you've turned up to meetups wearing the same thing, good people probably won't even notice because they'll be too busy listening to what you have to say or engaging with the activity. We all have our own lives and worries, so even with monthly meetups people will likely forget that you wore the same coord last time as well. You're the only one keeping track of what you wore and when – others are likely doing that for themselves and won't keep tabs on you too. Though if you're really worried, leaving it longer between meetups will definitely do the trick.

In this case the wait wasn't even that long, only a month - but if I already forgot that I wore that same thing, then others definitely would have.

I know I said that this post isn't to try to convince you that repeating outfits is absolutely fine and then slipped into doing just that. But ultimately that is the point that I want people to take away from this. Lolita fashion is a luxury hobby. Most of us save up for long periods of time to afford the next purchase and it has taken us years to build the wardrobes that we have. We've all been at the stage where repeating outfits was inevitable and the only people who are ever mean about that are anonymous online trolls with nothing better to do with their time than to hate on others – and who cares about them anyway? Be kind to yourself, be kind to the environment, and re-wear your outfits.

If you want to know what other madness you may find under the theme of Groundhog Day (because really, what could people have to talk about that that's also J-fashion-related?), then make sure to sign up to the Bibliotheca mailing list. I know that I'm eager to see other people's takes on the theme.