2019 Lolita Goals

Oh dear me, I’ve not even had the chance to think about what kinds of things I might want to achieve this year. December was so packed that my attention was focused on each day individually. Excuse me if this post seems like I’m winging it – but I am winging it!

Overall, when I look at last year’s goals and at how December went, I feel like I tried to do too much. While I learnt a lot in the process about myself, this has meant that I wasn’t able to complete every goal. So this year I would like to take a step back and keep it a little bit more chill. Mostly for my own peace of mind. I need to finally get into my head that I am the one who puts the most pressure on myself and that most of it is completely unnecessary. This may mean that these goals aren’t particularly exciting, but hopefully it will prioritise quality.

1. Wait a minimum of 48 hours before purchasing something from outside my wishlist

This is the only repeat from 2018. While at this point it is pretty well ingrained in me and I had fewer than 5 impulse purchases outside of events overall, I think it’s good to keep it. That way I remain accountable to myself, since this will periodically get reviewed in reassessment posts. And the reason I’m keeping it is not so much financial as it is storage. The fewer things I purchase, the fewer I have to fight to squeeze in somewhere.

I will add one exception to this and that is a free pass for my trip to Japan. I’m not even going to impose any separate minor rules on myself for that, it will be a completely free pass period. This will make for a thorough test of how well ingrained the principle of avoiding impulse purchases may be in me and I trust myself to not buy things that are wildly different to my style, so let’s see how that goes.

Waiting often means I don't buy the thing - unless I definitely
really want it!

2. No purchases outside of my wish/need/replace lists before going to Japan

As much as I’d like a full-on no-spending rule prior to me going to Japan in March, this may be a bit too strict. People do get rid of things during the wardrobe post season and you never know when you might find a good deal. However, unless an item is explicitly on my wish, need or replace list, I am not allowed to purchase it until after I’m back from my trip. The main reason is to save up as much for shopping whilst in Japan. The less money I spend before, the more I’ll have for later. And I do anticipate spotting at least some of these whilst in Japan, so I’d rather avoid finding a perfect match after I had already purchased something to fill that gap. Keep your fingers crossed with this one, please!

None of that, unless it's on the list!

3. Do a wardrobe cull

Yes, it’s gotten to that stage. Again, storage is the most immediate thing driving me towards getting rid of things. But I am also learning that, actually, I do want to focus on good fit and things that flatter me. I’m not expecting to get rid of a lot in terms of my main pieces – my focus will primarily be on blouses and accessories, although I’m not quite sure yet. At the moment this goal is not quite as specific as I’d like it to be, because I haven’t had the chance to properly look through what I have. I would like to get the cull started before Japan, so that the funds from it could pay for some replacements or general shopping there. Keep an eye out on my wishlist for this year, as I’ll get into more details there.

Some things will have to go. Let me know if you want dibs on
anything.

4. Learn to crop cardigans

I guess this also counts as a repeat, but as I haven’t actually been able to achieve it, I guess it just sort of continues rather than reappears. I’m hoping that this year things will go better since one of the first meets in 2019 will be a Stitch and Bitch meet where we’ll be making bloomers. This should get me more comfortable with a sewing machine and will give me that kick of creative energy to just have a go. Fear of failure is the biggest thing stopping me, so hopefully this year will be the year where I’ll do it rather than let perfectionism stop me again.

Let's make this finally happen yo!

5. Wear lolita at least once in Japan

After years of planning, this Japan trip is finally happening. We have the flights, we have the hotels and we have a rough plan. Chances are I’ll probably wear lolita more than once whilst in Japan, but as long as I wear it at least once, I’ll be happy. I don’t plan on bringing too much with me because I want to have as much space as possible for all the shopping, but one coordinate sounds doable. Especially if I manage to stuff my petticoat into my carry-on luggage or even wear it.

Last time I was in Japan I was a poor student with questionable
lolita outfits, so I'm excited to finally do it properly!

6. Take part in 1 outfit prompt challenge

2018 has brought about some fantastic prompt challenges, especially for outfits. These work very well for Instagram and I like how people got involved in them to celebrate specific holidays. I even made one of my own for Lolita Blog Carnival, though couldn’t participate myself. This year I would like to complete one of these challenges. I’m not sure yet which one or how I’ll do it (blog or Instagram), but I will pick one and complete it.

Let me know if you know of any fun (and preferably easy)
lolita challenges. And by easy I mean not too long :P

And that is it. Of course, I could think of a lot more things, but that would only distract me from everything else. At this point I have a lot of the good habits of a lifestyle lolita (wearing the fashion more often, curating my online content to a good standard, attending and organising meets and events etc.) that I don’t need to make these official goals for the year. As great as it was to try out all these different things last year, it has also reminded me that too many things going on at once is exhausting and I’d like to slow down a bit. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone and I already have quite a range of experiences (last time I updated my own score in the Lolita Level Up Quiz 3.0 I was one away from the Lolita Princess rank!). I can take things easy and enjoy the ride at my own pace. And that is ok.

In other words, be kind to yourself this year and be kind to others. That’s how, little by little, we make our community and, eventually, the world a better place.

Are you planning on achieving any goals this year? Anything lolita fashion related? Have you decided to slow things down or speed them up? Whichever it is, I wish you best of luck and support you in achieving your goals!