Lolidrobe Reassessment Post 2024.03

Time has entirely crept up on me. One moment it was TQiD and suddenly we’re in Halloween month, what? I guess it was because it was a proper summer of ups and downs with a lot actually happening.

New additions

Because of the switch between jobs, including one month at a lower wage, I had a period of relatively strict no-buy in August and first half of September. So the majority of what you see here was bought outside of those periods of time. I tried to focus on not even browsing places to avoid the temptation. And if I dare say so myself, I think I did pretty well, I am proud of myself. Or was up until the new September calm had arrived.

• 2 JSKs (1 classic in ivory, 1 gothic in black x gold*)
• 1 skirt (1 sweet in ivory*)
• 6 tops (1 classic cutsew in green, 1 sweet cutsew in deep pink, 1 classic cutsew in beige, 2 classic cutsews in ivory, 1 classic/gothic vest in gold*)
• 1 apron (sweet/classic in ivory)
• 1 overdress (classic in wine*)
• 2 pair of legwear (1 sweet in offwhite, 1 sweet in pink*)
• and 1 accessory (1 sweet beret in pink)

Although the lot of Axes Femme cutsews was meant more for my non-lolita wardrobe, there is no denying that they were used in lolita too. Yes, even the sleeveless ones. Sometimes you just need a layering piece, be it for warmth or for casual vibes during heatwaves (not that we’ve had many of those over the course of the summer). And despite the no-buy, when Haenuli came for my wallet with the Jean of Arc print literally at the start of that no-buy, I treated that as the last huzzah before tightening my purse strings. With all the principles of girl math, by the time it ships in February 2025, pulling all of the various bits of money from the most random sources will feel like it wasn’t part of the no-buy in any way at all.

Possible new looks

However, the absence of purchases means that there are fewer actual new looks that I could make. That being said, the things that I did buy wound up being items that I got mildly obsessed with, so at least they got to see the light of day pretty quickly.

Coord from September 2024.

Coord from July 2024.

Coord from August 2024.

Replacement and need list progress

Ding-ding-ding! Pretty much within a day of the last reassessment post going up I bought an ivory JSK, from Atelier Pierrot no less (used, but still, it’s the addition of the brand that matters). This completes my replacements list for now. I may have another look at what I own, but I feel that at this point my replacements are contained to the strictly non-lolita side of my wardrobe. That is a big success, I am feeling very pleased with myself!

As for the needs list, I have made a decision that I am actually fine without the blue earrings and the necklace. I feel like I’ve been managing well enough without those or with what I have so far, so there really isn’t any need here for more. However, I will still look for the right sax blue classic bolero (which at this point may be a unicorn search or a commission waiting to happen), as I feel like it would compliment enough of my main pieces to make it a warranted addition, even in light of my realising that I suit warmer tones more than cool ones. We are also firmly in beret season and guess what? I have it now! Mine isn’t quite as warm as a wool one would be, but it is exactly the shade of pink that I was after and that takes complete precedence. Which… makes my need list… nearly complete? Wow… With the newfound confidence with that beret, obviously part of me thinks that I totally could just trace the pattern of a Millefeuille bolero and make one myself, but for now I’ll reign that in so as to not get too far ahead of myself.

Current wishlist

Still keeping this section in one, but there has been some movement on the non-dress wishlist. I now have an apron that includes a bodice as well as a skirt, so I can tick that part off. Mine is mesh, which I think will actually work with my style better than a solid fabric one would. And I guess I could potentially count the wine overdress as part of that list too, since it wasn’t just about the apron or the corset, but layering pieces in general? No, that’s retrofitting the events to what I want them to be.

New Year’s goals: progress summary

• Did I finish the craft projects I started in 2023? I finished one! The blog post about how the beret got made is up here. That only leaves the collar, but in a true crafter style, I found another project to distract me, which is on a bit of a deadline, so we’ll have to see about the collar…
• Did I learn a new hairstyle? I didn’t learn anything new as such – but I have been experimenting once again. Since trimming my hair, I found double braids to work a little bit better on me, which I employed heavily over the summer. And as shorter hair curls better, I tried both the more Rachel Maksy floofy style and went back to the Lucille Ball-esque, haphazardly pinned curly tuft at the front, which worked pretty neatly. It is still not quite what I meant, since the aim of this goal was to have something for the WFH days when my hair is freshly washed and I feel like dressing up – nonetheless, it is progress.
• Did I sort through my bags? Once again, no progress since the last reassessment post. After the initial success of getting rid of a few (one may have to wait for the bring and buy next month) and rearranging how they sit, I have stopped trying. I think that in the grand scheme of things, trying to fix the bag that I was going to use as a test subject isn’t a cost-effective solution, so I may just buy a new strap. That doesn’t help me with the one Innocent World bag that is peeling so much Thanos may as well have snapped his fingers at it, but I may need to ponder this some more.

I am welcoming October with a much easier breath, in a new job, with financial security, and plenty of things happening within the lolita fashion community that are keeping me excited. It is a good time to be in the UK Northern comms and I’m excited to experience all the rest of this year. Just like that. Happy to be here, happy to be witnessing our community during what seems to be the true post-pandemic high and flourish, and happy for anyone who’s here for the ride along with me. Also, as you’re reading this, Spy is about to be at mine again, which I am definitely happy for!