The Lolita Blog Carnival is back with another round of the
coord unde X prompt. The original did say $100, however I’m amending it to be
£100 instead. In the past I set myself additional challenges, such as not using Bodyline
or literally going for the cheapest things I own.
This time I’m not adding any extra hurdles – it’s simply a coord that cost me
less than £100 of actual money I spent.
 | |
| | Bodyline L262 JSK (£22.50) | New Look blouse (£8) | Metamorphose OTKs (£18) | Bodyline heels (£20) | Cutie Creator headbow (£7.52) | offbrand rose clips (£1) | Madillustration brooch (£14.95) | After Midnight necklace (free) | offbrand rings (£1) | TOTAL = £92.97 |
As you can see, I did go for a Bodyline dress, my very first
lolita dress no less. Every time I do one of these cheap coords I like to use a
different piece to show that there is variety to be had. When I purchased this
dress, the exchange rate was much better for me, although it was cheap to begin
with, couldn’t have been more than ¥2999.
When looking through what I have, to try and get something
nice, I remembered this top I got from New Look during sale. Pink and red is
such a romantic colour combination and it gave me an idea for this
Sweet-Classic coord. Definitely something I’d wear with my hair curled and some
more pinky-nude makeup with a softer red lip (maybe using a tint rather than
lipstick).
Maybe half of the accessories used here were bought offbrand
and really cheaply. One of the rose clips was a gift, while the other I got in
Korea in Naughty Cat, which is like very cheap Korean Claire’s, on some kind of
3 for 1 offer. The necklace was a Secret Santa gift and the rings are from
Primark, which were purchased as a pack of 5, which works out at something like
50p per ring.
The socks and the shoes were the most expensive part other
than the dress. Well, for a pair of lolita shoes that lasted this long, the £20
or so that I paid isn’t actually that much, it’s just that on a budget like
this it works out as 5th of the whole price. And the socks were
purchased brand new directly from Meta during their sale.
In my opinion, even when you’re on a strict budget, there
are some things that make a big enough difference to justify spending a little
more on. It’s all about how you dress it. So if you’re going for a cheaper main
piece, especially if it’s very popular and recognisable like Bodyline prints
are, spend a little more on accessories. You can wear a Bodyline dress like
everyone, with plain tights or Bodyline’s knee high socks, or you can spice
things up by picking up nice printed socks or tights from brands during sales.
Similarly, even if your base set is all common items from Bodyline, jazz it up
with jewellery and hair accessories from elsewhere. Just because you’re
dressing on a budget doesn’t mean that you have to look like you’re on a
budget.
Looking at this, it’s definitely an outfit I’d wear out. It
kind of gives me Valentine’s Day vibes with those colours and the romantic
styling, plus it’d be easy to layer up for February, so maybe then? Might not
be able to wait that long though…
Want more ideas on coords for under $100/£100 mark? Check
out what the other participating bloggers have done!
New Look is not somewhere I would have thought to check out for pretty blouses. Yours is so lovely!
ReplyDeleteThe subtle detail of the necklace goes so well with this jumperskirt <3
It's not somewhere that I'd go specifically to look for loliable blouses, however, last year's fall/winter collection had some lovely vintage-style blouses, and many of them were mesh or other sheer fabrics with lacy or ruffly details. This one I wear to work with my regular skirts, but it works well for lolita too. :D
DeleteThat necklace was made to be! I originally picked up a different Secret Santa present, but as the designer of this one was the last person and this was the last present, she stole the present I had and I got this instead. It couldn't match my wardrobe better, so it was meant to be! <3