Lolidrobe Reassessment Post 2024.01

Spring is threatening to actually stay and even waxing my legs hasn’t coaxed that cold snap yet (sorry for the tmi), which has me contemplating changing my wardrobe out soon. I mean, it is April now, right?

New additions

Every year for the past few I feel like the first quarter is the slowest one to pick up with these purchases. And probably every year, whilst some of that feeling has a basis in reality, it’s not as little as I would have liked to believe.

• 1 pair of tights (sweet in pink x red)
• 1 pair of shoes (classic boots in gold x red)
• 1 bag (red tartan backpack)
• and 8 sets of accessories (1 sweet brooch in red x gold, 1 pair of angel wings*, 1 pair of sweet earrings in red, 1 pair of sweet earrings in gold, 1 pair of classic earrings in gold, 1 sweet brooch in pastel tricolour, 1 classic brooch in gold, 1 gothic headpiece in white*)

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Admittedly, this is skewed by the fact that despite making many purchases in Japan that were already in January, I am excluding Japan from this list altogether. That was its own separate time zone, outside of the strict confinements of what is 2023 and what is 2024. It means that the list above is much shorter than it otherwise would have been, since the end of my trip is when I did the most shopping. Also, plenty of my purchases have been in that grey area where my lolita and non-lolita wardrobes overlap (basically everything that’s not a main piece or a blouse), so if I were to be stricter with separating them, there would’ve been even less.

To be honest, I would like to keep this level of fashion spending carry on through most of the rest of this year. It’s not like I actively need stuff (well, I do for my non-lolita wardrobe), certainly not in any major quantities, and at some point the time really comes to call a spade a spade and say that this is just a habit and not meaningful spending in any way.
Also, I know that the wings have technically arrived, but I could not be bothered to dig them out from the bottom of the wardrobe for this picture. You all know what a pair of costume angel wings looks like.

Possible new looks

Since I excluded Japan purchases from the list above, it’s only fair that I exclude them from showing how the new additions help me create new looks. Which basically removed January from the picture, but let’s be honest, this year in particular January was very long and deserves to be forgotten a little. Some of the new bits I got over the last three months are either for specific events or more for autumn/winter season, so they won’t see any wear for a good while still to come. But this is what flatlays are for, am I right?

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Picture from March.

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Picture from February.

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Picture from February.

Replacement and need list progress

It’s no longer much of a list as much as just an item to replace. Once I came close to actually finding an ivory JSK that I liked, but ultimately decided that the colour was not quite the right shade for what I wanted. I even messaged an indie brand about commissioning one, but got very much ghosted. And despite checking so many other places, from second hand sales sites to Taobao resellers, there has been nothing that appealed to me aesthetically. So for now I am still holding on. I want it to be the right thing for me and not just any first thing I find.

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Nothing has happened on the need list front either. This is more due to these items being so much more specific than the broad criteria I have for an ivory dress. Admittedly, the pink beret should be much further along than it is, which is entirely on me… The rest, however, just has not appeared. And I have looked – and been looking since.

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Current wishlist

I find myself at an odd point where my wishlist is pretty specific. I do keep checking various second hand sales places daily, but either these items are ones that people are holding on to or, if they are up for sale, they are not at price points that I am willing to pay. Part of me wonders how much healthier it would be if I stopped checking these second hand sales sites, but the fear of missing out still has me in quite a strong grip.

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This holds particularly true for the non-dress part of my wishlist, namely because of the Millefeuille boleros. They are my collection items, my Pokemons if you wish, so they rely on my being on top of checking places and sometimes on being quick about buying them. Admittedly, I probably could have gotten myself a wine underskirt by now if I didn’t procrastinate, but still. My shopping mood for this first part of 2024 has been focused so much more around my non-lolita wardrobe which feels in a much more immediate need of a refresh.

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New Year’s goals: progress summary

For 2024 I kept my goals a lot smaller and much more targeted. Did that work though?

• Did I finish the craft projects I started in 2023? No. I have had some motivation boosts, first in terms of getting advice on how to go about one of them and then to get something specific (but completely different) done for a friend as a present. I keep telling myself that I can just do a little bit at a time, but it is yet to translate into actually doing that.
• Did I learn a new hairstyle? No. It’s hard to learn without knowing specifically what it is that you are trying to learn. As I said in the original post about my goals, the big princessy curls are a nice goal, but not what this is about. I have experimented a little bit more with looks, but it is not quite the easy and effective go-to hairstyle that I was hoping for. I should probably take a long and hard look at some hairstyles and actually pick a specific one to practise, the vague nature of this goal is not helping.
• Did I sort through my bags? I made a significant start! Mid-March I had a burst of energy and managed to shuffle things around in my wardrobe so that bags now have enough space, as well as got rid of a few. One (maybe two) I would like to attempt to fix first, which will require a few more specialist supplies, and one I already managed to sell with another one due to be listed in a few more places. This is seriously better than where I was at the start of January and I feel so much better about it!

I would love to say that I am welcoming the advent of spring with open arms and a newly refreshed attitude. But the truth is that as I am writing this post I am actually full of flu, a blocked nose, and shivering a little despite the fluffy pyjamas and a blanket. What is keeping me going is that a few times already I was able to roam the outside in lighter jackets (and even overheat once or twice). I keep looking at Vintage Fruit and my green Physical Drop OP longingly, waiting for the right time to wear them and enjoy looking like a 10/10 cutie patootie.