No doubt many of you are in a
similar position where you either stand no chance of getting Lolita-related
presents from your friends and family (for whatever reason) or you’d just
rather that they didn’t because they’re likely to get it wrong. However,
getting Lolita fashion items for presents is an incredible thing, so it’s a
little sad that sometimes it’s a present from us to ourselves. Unless you
manage to get a chance to take part in some Lolita Secret Santa.
Other than the one I participated in
during my comm’s ILD meet, I decided to join the Lolita UK 2016 Secret Santa.
Every Lolita in the UK could take part and all the information and sorting was
done via Elfster. The rules, especially the timeline, were set out very
clearly: post your presents by December 10th to make sure they
arrive in time, spending limit was £15 and wishlists were meant to be kept
fairly generic, although I believe links to wardrobe posts were allowed (at
least I included one to mine from Lolibrary). The other bits, like whether you
remain anonymous or when to open the present, were left to the individuals.
So when my present arrived on
Saturday, as much as I wanted to resist the temptation, my boyfriend is an
enabler and I ended up opening it on the spot. And in a way I’m glad I did,
because the present I received from my Secret Santa couldn’t have been more
perfect!
Although I only specified vague
things, like preferred colours or style, the gift was spot on. I received not
one, but two berets! I’ve been meaning to add a beret to my Lolidrobe for a
while, yet kept hesitating and not doing it as I had no idea whether I’d look
good in a beret. Now I know that I needn’t have worried, although the berets I
received are a lot cuter than what I would’ve bought as they were customised
and fit my style perfectly. The ivory and gold one is probably my favourite,
but the tricolor (yes, I know, it’s a dark navy that photographs more like
black, but it is navy) seems so perfect for both dressing up and down. I have
discovered that they’d look best with a fringe so until I get one I’ll be using
them with wigs.
The other two little bits, a set of
bow clips and a bunny necklace, are fantastic as well. Even though I’m not
particularly a fan of bunnies this necklace is subtle enough for me and I could
probably use it at Easter to make my outfits more appropriate for that
occasion. And the clips I’ll probably use regardless of what I’m wearing, they’re
suitable for pretty much everything and who knows, maybe I’ll even clip them to
the berets?
Now I can only hope that my Secret
Santa likes the gift I picked for them. I felt a little bit under pressure as I
was buying for someone I’ve met before, but don’t know that well, so I remained
anonymous so as to not give them any expectations (I might reveal myself if I
see anywhere that she liked what I got her). I liked what I picked and I hope
she’ll find a way to use these.
How are things like with Lolita
gifts for you? Can you trust your loved ones to pick out something nice or do
you rely on other Lolitas and events like this to receive something from
another person? Whichever it is, I hope that this Christmas season, if you’re
celebrating, you’ll find at least one Lolita or loliable thing in your pile of
presents. xx
They look super cool. The Rabbit necklace is cute too. More something I would wear everyday than anything else.
ReplyDeleteApparently I have to rely on myself to get items.
I like the style of the necklace, but as I don't tend to do outfits around bunny themes it might have to wait until Easter. But I'd lik to use it sometime.
DeleteThat's a shame. Any chance for a similar Secret Santa over where you are? Or maybe there's an international one somewhere? That'd be nice, if difficult to coordinate with various currencies having different value (i.e. $5 might be to some, but a lot in other countries).
These gifts look like a lot of thought went into them which is lovely to see! I'm sure your recipient will appreciate what you gave them ^_^
ReplyDeleteI was always rather beret-wary as I'd had one in the past that just didn't suit me no matter how I arranged it. Turns out I just needed one in a different size and fabric and now I actually quite like wearing them (which is just as well as I always felt like something of a fraud for selling hand-customised berets and yet never wearing them myself haha!)
I've received nice lolita-related gifts from other lolitas before but for non-lolitas like my family members, I just link them to specific things I want that's within whatever their budget is. Saves us all a headache/disappointment I feel!
They so do! That Lolita really took the time to look at what I have and to think of something that I'd enjoy, that's the most heartwarming thing about this present.
DeleteSee, I'd never even think that the size or fabric of the beret could be an issue. However, I have now booked my hairdresser's appointment and am determined to get my fringe cut to make the most out of my berets.
I have tried that before, forwarding people links to specific items, but the cost of the items AND the postage puts most people off and they go for something easier to obtain. Though having said that, since my Christmas wishlist has to last until my birthday in January and I want to be surprised, I make it a point to make my lists as long as possible so that I won't know what I'm getting - so any Lolita-related gift on there would be drowned out by other, cheaper and easier to get gifts.