As I mentioned in my September coords roundup post, the picnic outfit would’ve been perfect for this prompt since the headbow works so well with that dress. However, that was worn in September and not in October, and whilst I know that the challenge rules are what I make of them, since I agreed to do one prompt per month, it only seemed fair to not cheat at the last minute.
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Click to enlarge.
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| | Innocent World Revival Sweets Teddybear JSK | Axes Femme blouse | Innocent World Tulle Lace Millefeuille bolero | Innocent World OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Angelic Pretty Royal Unicorn headbow | offbrand earrings | Latte Galaxy brooch | Slightly Ghosts Forget-Me-Not pin | |
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All those laces together make me very happy.
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A better look at the headbow as working with the dress.
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This is the actual coord for this prompt that I ended up wearing. Taking the “printed headbow” to mean strictly “from a print release series” (as opposed to just having a print on it), out of 43 headbows and headpieces like that I only had 6 printed ones to choose from. So I really had to make sure to get the coord started with one that offered me the biggest variety of options. But then I was also comparing that against my list of last worn main pieces, which narrowed me down further. In the end the Royal Unicorn one felt the most versatile and immediately usable - and this is how this coord was born.
Well, there was the extra step of looking back at everything else I’ve done with this dress so far and trying to get some inspiration. The September 2020 look was still one that I really liked, so my goal was to achieve something with a similar feel without entirely replicating the coord. Of course, the Millefeuille bolero will give off a very different vibe than the less frilly Axes Femme cardigan I had on then, but other than this I feel like the look came together how I wanted it to. The headbow worked in my opinion as the beige base colour was carried on throughout the coord with the tones of beige and ivory, whereas the sax that the cameos are woven in on the headbow is the main colour of the whole look.
The whole coord was worn for a relaxed meetup in Manchester. On my scale this sits firmly in the very much meetup appropriate middle, not too fussy, but not too casual either. We spent most of our time at Mala Secret Garden, a place I had been past countless times and kept meaning to check out, yet never actually did. This was a wonderful opportunity to finally do that and I am absolutely sold. It’s a sort of food hub with a couple of various stalls selling a variety of foods and drinks with an outdoor-indoor sort of atmosphere and vibe. We went during the day on a Sunday, which was very chill, though started to get busy the further into the day it got. I imagine it turns into quite a bustling night out venue later on. Definitely a positive experience and definitely a place that I would happily go back to.
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A little 180-degree view of inside the venue where we sat.
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Incorporating nature into your interior decor is on point here!
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Such a cosy nook there, definitely will be back to Mala Secret Garden.
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Finishing the challenge with a coord that was worn to a chill meetup feels like a cherry on top. Whilst I think that doing the challenge as intended and outlined in the prompts, on a weekly basis, is certainly doable and would encourage people to wear frills more often, as someone who doesn’t need the additional encouragement I’ve found it much easier to refer back to it on a monthly basis. There are enough reasons and opportunities in my life to wear lolita, so for me having some sort of a prompt to inspire an outfit is more useful, especially on days when I have the desire to dress up and no specific ideas jumping out at me.
With that being said, many thanks to this challenge for being that opportunity for almost a full year. As we venture towards the end of 2022, my calendar is brimming with plans that will involve dressing up one way or another, so I should be good until 2023. But I am always up for a good prompt challenge, so if you know of any, especially ones that aren’t necessarily tied to a specific holiday or season, send them my way, please. I would love to continue doing something themed once a month and if I know about something now, then it will give me the time to find a way to fit it into my life come the new year.
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