If I was a rich girl

Let’s be honest, we all sometimes wish that we had an infinite amount of money to spend on our Lolita habits. Whether you’re chasing after some gems from the past or want all the new releases, this fashion is costly. But would having all this money to indulge in the fashion really be such a great thing? Let’s find out.

The idea for this post came as I saw some outfits using last year’s releases that made me think how nice these prints actually were. This got me thinking about how much more I would’ve bought last year if I did buy every new release that I liked – and whether this would’ve been such a great thing after all.

So I decided to do a quick thought experiment. These are all the dresses I would’ve had now if I purchased everything I liked when it came out and could’ve fitted in (there were some releases which even if I could afford I wouldn’t get because the cut I liked would’ve been too small for me).

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Top, left to right: AP Astro Academy, Meta Button Down Low-waist JSK,
IW Georges Rose, AP Eternal Carnival, BtSSB Little Royal Icing ~My
Little Princess~ JSK II, BtSSB Dreaming of Little Lover JSK I,
AP Magic Princess, Infanta Elegant Bouquet.
Bottom, left to right: AP Antoinette Decoration, AP Charlotte’s Bear,
AP Harlequinade, AP Rose Museum Tiered JSK, AP Princess Cat Tiered JSK,
Krad Lanrete The Red Queen's Wander Collections JSK I
(pictured is JSK II, but I want the navy and there’s no photos of the JSK I in navy),
BtSSB Bless from Michael, Angels Heart Dream of Arcana Normal Waist JSK.
Far right: Haenuli Just One Bite in jacquard fabric.

Altogether that’s 17 2016 releases that would’ve ended up in my wardrobe (which, by the way, is totally devoid of free space, so God only knows where I’d keep all that). That, of course, is just new releases, I didn’t include any things that I may have bought second hand had I had the funds to do so. Suffice to say that it would be a lot of money for most of these dresses alone – and then add in the shipping cost, shopping service fees for some of these, customs if I was to be pure and honest… Yeah, this is why that’s just a thought experiment.

Now, let’s look at this from the perspective of 2017: having never owned or even seen these in person, which would’ve ended up being a hit and which would I regret? What would my Lolidrobe look like with these additions? Which would’ve been a success, which would’ve caused me to buy extra things and which I would’ve fallen out of love with? Let’s find out!

At a glance these pieces would make my wardrobe a lot bluer than it already is with 5 sax pieces, 3 navy, 1 blue and 1 dusty mint (Rose Museum, despite the stock photo, is a lavender piece). While I don’t have an issue with that, even now I feel like I often go for the blue pieces and would like a bit more red in there. I could consider getting Bless from Michael in wine, but that’s not enough to make a difference.

These would also add a lot of maturity and Classical/Classic-feeling pieces. There are 4 floral prints there and of all 17 dresses only 4 are what I’d consider typically Sweet (Charlotte’s Bear is sort of on the border because of the shade of blue it’s in). That’s not something that I intended to do – if anything, it’s a reflection on the changing trends in Lolita, I guess? There seem to be more Classic pieces being released by all brands since last year and the Sweet ones were generally less sought after or popular as releases.

To determine whether I’d be satisfied with all of these pieces I’ll do a RAG rating: red for those that would’ve been a total flop, amber for maybes and green for those I’d love to bits. And this is how that would’ve played out:

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RED

The AP prints I fell out of love quite quickly, despite nearly buying both of these. I love the shape of Eternal Carnival, even with the peplum covering half the print, but the print is something I’d rather have as a framed picture. Whereas with Magic Princess it’s the print itself that I’m not keen on anymore, it’s a bit too mahou shoujo pastel cutesy, which does not reflect me as a person. While Little Royal Icing may look nicer in real life than on the stock photo, it’s still looking quite washed out – what’s the point of a Sweet print when you can’t even see it? Finally, not wanting to diss Infanta because they are a great brand, but I have noticed myself wanting more quality and more of higher quality (oh, fine, I’ll say it: I’ve been turning into a right brand whore :P). So while it’s a cute dress, it’d probably end up being unworn due to me wearing other pieces. And I guess I didn’t love it as much as I thought when I first saw it.

GREEN

I know, I’m going out of order, but this way will be a lot easier to discuss everything.

All three of these pieces I feel would be a hit and something I’d only fall in love with more when I actually received them and would be things I’d simply love to wear often. I adore the more mature feel of Princess Cat, especially in wine, that print is very elegant whilst retaining a sense of whimsy which you want in a cat print. And there’s something about the way it looks that makes me think it’d be amazingly soft to the touch.

Krad’s JSK I just can’t stop looking at. Usually I avoid all Alice in Wonderland themed pieces as I feel that theme is incredibly overdone and since I was never that big a fan of the book/film in the first place, the more of it I see, the less I like it. But, and call me weird, the first time I glimpsed that print the colours reminded me a bit of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and Christmas (isn’t there a dome there?), and the Nutcracker. So while I was a disappointed to discover that this was in fact another Alice in Wonderland themed print, it feels so different from every other one I’ve seen. And I still can’t resist those colours!

Finally, whilst I don’t wear Gothic Lolita and don’t really intend to, Haenuli’s Just One Bite made a very lasting impression on me. If there ever was a piece to convince me to join the Dark Side, it’s this one. I love the cut, which seems incredibly flattering and feminine, and I love the dark take on such a classic fairy tale (again, never been my favourite). At the same time it offers an opportunity to wear it in a more dark Classic way, rather than only Gothic, and that’s another part of its appeal.

AMBER

And here we get to the biggest section: the maybes, the undecided, the something-might-be-wrong-with-it, the I-won’t-really-know-until-I-try-it-on dresses. Every one of them has the potential to be a piece I would fall in love with, but… To keep this post a bit shorter, let’s make a list, going top to bottom and left to right from the photo:

• Astro Academy – very cute and could be nice for more casual wear, but I might need to buy pieces to coordinate this with due to the more military feel of it. Plus extra worry of staining a white dress.
• Button down low-waist JSK – would really need to try it on to see how the low waist looks on me.
• Georges Rose – I actually told myself that I’d get it in IW winter sale, but it wasn’t on there. But even then my worry was that boxy bodice and how it’d sit on me.
• Dreaming of Little Lover – while not as washed out as Little Royal Icing, it’s still not the most vivid of prints. But if it had good enough contrast in real life, I think I’d like it quite a lot.
• Antoinette Decoration – mint was the only colourway I really liked, but whilst a gorgeous print, there’s something about it that always makes me stop and think again. Maybe one of those that needs to be seen in real life to fully appreciate?
• Charlotte’s Bear – I’m worried about the colour (this release was notorious for stock photos not reflecting the true colours) and fit (bodice or straps were apparently short and could sit funny?)
• Harlequinade – is this something that I would wear? It’s a fancy print, but I wouldn’t want it to end up a one-look dress that would later sit in my wardrobe unused.
• Rose Museum – colour is my main issue. The stock photo looks blue-y, but I was told by an owner of this colourway that it’s definitely a lavender, so I’d probably need to buy quite a lot of things specifically to match it. Even though I pondered it quite a lot, whether it was worth that investment.
• Bless from Michael – although a non-printed dress, it’s still very fancy and it could end up being just worn on bigger occasions. And that would be a big shame.
• Dream of Arcana – this one I’ve actually seen in real life, so I know it’s lovely, however, with time the buttons on the bodice became less appealing to me and I’m not sure if I could coord it well with such a unique themed print. It could be more of a something to admire, but maybe I just need to give it a try.

Yes, there probably are things that I would’ve really loved from last year’s releases that I missed out on. But at the end of the day not having all the money in the world isn’t such a bad thing: the purchases I made seem a lot more thought through and are items that I genuinely do want to wear as often as I can. This means I’m also avoiding having to sell them on, which in the current state of the second hand market is quite advantageous. With enough patience, if I still like these pieces in a few years’ time I should be able to track them down second hand for bargain prices, with a few exceptions. Which ones would I most want to look for? Princess Cat for sure, probably Krad, and Dreaming of Little Lover, Astro Academy and Harlequinade as maybes, but the price would have to be even better than for the first two. I’d throw in Just One Bite to that lot as well, but I’m still reluctant to really jump on the Gothic train, so I’ll continue admiring the dress from afar. Buying them in a couple of years, after they’ve significantly gone down in price (and/or when I’m in a better position to store this many dresses) is something I can justify a lot more.

If you’ve stuck all the way to the end of this lengthy post – thank you so much! It means a lot and I really appreciate it. What do you think your wardrobe would end up looking like if you bought everything you liked as soon as you saw it? Would these pieces fit the rest of your current wardrobe or do you think you’d go crazy with colours, themes, cuts and/or styles? Is there anything that came out (last year or ever) that you strongly regret not buying?