2017 goals

Happy New Year, everyone! Let’s hope that 2017 will be a lot more pleasant and kind to us all, and I wish you that brand gods are kind to you and your wallets.

Just like last year I set myself some goals to enable me to engage with Lolita fashion more, my 2017 SMART targets will focus on continuing that engagement as well as curbing my spending a little bit since I don’t need as many builder pieces as I did before. Having said that, as I plan on going to Japan this year I’d like to take that opportunity to set myself some goals specific to that. Therefore I will divide my 2017 goals into general and Japan-specific ones.

Edits made to the post (8.01).

For those not familiar with the acronym, SMART targets are ones which are: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound, and it’s a technique used to foster success by encouraging setting goals which embody all of these qualities. For example, “I’d like to wear Lolita more often” is very vague, not particularly forceful and doesn’t really tell you when that goal will be met. On the other hand, “I will wear Lolita at least once a month” is more specific, shows more determination in how it’s worded and specifies exactly how often to wear Lolita to determine if one was successful.
EDIT: It has turned out that I won’t be able to go to Japan this year after all. I’m still really gutted over it. I won’t delete the original Japan-related goals as these might still be applicable for when I do eventually go back and as you have taken the time to leave a relevant comment, but for obvious reasons these are no longer my 2017 goals, leaving me just with the general ones.

Sorry for the pretty long intro, let’s get to it already!

General 2017 Lolita goals

1. Always have at least £300 in my bank account available to purchase a dream dress

This is a repeat from last year, but I think it’s a good habit to have. Even if I don't spend that money on a dream dress, it's still an emergency fund should I need it. Despite the weaker pound since Brexit, £300 remains a decent chunk of money, especially considering how the dream dresses I have left now aren't quite as popular to warrant this much money, but keeping that sum the same allows for adding shipping costs and/or tax/customs into that equation.

2. Save money and limit spending for my trip to Japan.

Between now and April I have four months which, with careful saving and a bit of a spending ban, could provide a very decent chunk of money for that trip. I don’t have a particular sum in mind that I’d like to reach, as I don’t know what I could anticipate buying, so the more I have the better. To achieve this I decided to not buy any new items of clothing, Lolita or otherwise, or cosmetics unless:

• it costs under £10;
• it is to replace something that's damaged and is urgently needed;
• it is a dream dress, in which case it falls under goal no 1;
• it is part of winter sales or is a wishlisted item that I need (see here).

3. Try a Wa-Lolita outfit

I've been thinking about that for a while now, it's even on my Lolita Life Goals list. But it took Sanakanin's Kimonogatari post series to make me realise that this may be a lot more doable than I thought. I already own a yukata, as does my Mum, so although neither is in a colour that I tend to wear with Lolita, I'd like to try coording these somehow at home first. Then, if it turns out that I like it, I could maybe get myself some cheap used yukatas or kimonos whilst in Japan and potentially expand my Lolita wardrobe (as well as get some wear out of the yukatas I have now because let's face it, you don't really get to wear these things outside of Japan). I have some reservations about how a while girl would look and be perceive in Wa-Lolita, but hopefully I'll manage not to be thought of as culturally appropriating Japanese clothing – and if it doesn’t work out, I don’t have to wear it outside of my house!

4. Whatever happens, do not miss Summer ILD

I was silly enough to have made other plans last year, I won't let this happen again this year. I'm making sure I have that day free, no matter what! Winter ILD was so much fun, I’m sure the summer one would be just as great, if not better.

5. Apply to model at a Lolita fashion show

There’s no guarantee that I’d get picked, however, applying gives me a better chance. With the next Tea Party Club anniversary event celebrating their 10^th year going and having Angelic Pretty as their special guest, it would be a bit of a dream come true to model for them, but I’m more focused on the experience of modelling than who would I model for. Should I be able to go to a Lolita event outside of the UK, I’ll certainly apply to model there too, but TPC is the one I know I’ll be going to this year.

Photo by Luis Orellana on Flickr

Japan-specific 2017 Lolita goals

1. Try on a sack dress

As much as I doubt that they'd suit me, I'm a total believer in trying something that's not my usual thing. Who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself? That way, should an adorable print I fall in love with come out in only this kind of style, I'd know whether there's any point in getting it.

2. Try on an unshirred Angelic Pretty OP

Measurements on OPs tend to be out of my range. However, many of them are out of my measurements by only a little bit, and they almost never take into account things like fabric movement or stretch. So, if possible, I'd like to try on a couple of Angelic Pretty OPs that maybe I could just about fit in and see what happens. If it turns out that I could fit into one of them and won’t look like a sausage, I’d have a reference point for the future, should I ever find an OP I like which would have similar measurements.

3. If possible, try on AatP's Sleepless Masquerade in the Twilight JSK I (and buy if it fits)

I've fallen in love with this JSK since it came out, I consider it a dream dress. At the time, when I was in Japan, I never dared to even try it on, not wanting to be faced with disappointment when ultimately it didn't fit (or worse: when it did fit and I didn't have the money to buy it). Now that I could indulge a little, should it come up somewhere second hand, it'd just be the size that's an issue, so hopefully I'll find it somewhere and can solve this conundrum once and for all!

4. Try on an Angelic Pretty cutsew (if possible)

There’s quite a lot of praise being given to AP cutsews: that they’re pretty comfortable and relatively accommodating whilst remaining cute. I’d love to get one, for those days when you either can’t be bothered or need something easy to wash afterwards, however, the measurements have always made me stop and not risk buying one – because what if it doesn’t stretch that much? I realise that cutsews may be one of those things which brands simply won’t let you try on in shops, but if that’s the case then I could at least stretch them in my hands to get an estimate of whether it would be worth that risk or not. And I’m really hoping to be positively surprised here…

5. Wear Lolita at least twice in Japan

We are actually yet to book our trip as we’re waiting for my boyfriend to get his annual leave confirmed, but either way it won’t be much longer than about two weeks total. I don’t want to pack a lot of Lolita stuff, but I would love to wear it whilst in Japan and this seems like a reasonable number. It should cover all Lolita shopping (securing non-touristy insider treatment in stores), yet at the same time I don't have to pack a million things for it and could use pieces that could be worn casually and/or with my non-Lolita clothes. When I get closer to actually planning what Lolita to take with me, I'll probably do a separate post, maybe even a YouTube video about it.

6. Get boyfriend to try on some ouji stuff

It's been on this list as more of a challenge last year – this year, as we're going to Japan together, I'll actually be able to make him try some things on (and maybe purchase something if we find a good buy that suits him?). I won't force him to get into the fashion and be my ouji accessory. If he doesn’t like it, I won't push. The goal is simply to get him to try some stuff on. Well, and maybe to take a commemorative photo, in case he decides it’s not for him.

I was going to add some other goals as well, however, I need to stay realistic. It’s easy to want to get into the fashion all at once, do everything, but that’s simply not possible and it’s better to do things little by little and then possibly be pleasantly surprised than to set yourself a goal that you’re not likely to meet and then be disappointed.

Also, just because these are my goals for 2017 doesn’t mean that this is all of it! I’d still love to attend as many meets as possible, wear Lolita as often as possible, keep expanding my wardrobe to be more versatile and cohesive, but compared to the above these aren’t as centre stage as they’re more about continuing what I’ve done so far.

What are your goals for 2017? Any specifically related to Lolita? I’d love to hear about your plans for this coming year and how you usually go about ensuring that you’re doing what you told yourself you’ll do.