2019 Wishlist

Having a need and a wish list worked really well for me last year. It helped separate the truly versatile items from pure fancies, the gaps from the treats. As one of my goals for this year is to get rid or replace some of my things, I will also include a replace section in here. That should cover all bases and when a piece comes along, I should instantly know whether it’s something I can get straight away or whether to wait because its appeal might fade. Also, please note my sock success in that no socks or tights feature in any part of this wish list at all!

The Replacements

The majority of the pieces in this section are here primarily for fit reasons. I am done pretending to myself that I am ok with things like boob gaps in blouses or anything that causes discomfort for the sake of a look. It’s 2019, lolita fashion is more accessible than ever and there is no need to compromise. There are one or two pieces on this list that I simply don’t like as much anymore for a variety of reasons, but still like the kind of thing that they are (style, shape, fabric, whatever). To keep this section brief and to the point, I will list the pieces to replace and indicate a few key criteria that I would like to focus on when searching for their replacements.

• Long sleeve Peter Pan collar white blouse --> same but: better fit around chest and arms, cotton, collar not too big
• Short sleeve Sweet pink blouse --> same but: better fit around chest and arms, Peter Pan collar, same shade as my current one, preferably cotton but chiffon ok
• Black ¾ princess sleeve round/square neck blouse --> same but: better quality one, chiffon ok
• Long princess sleeve high collar navy blouse --> a high neck long sleeve blouse in navy and a round/square neck princess sleeve blouse in navy (swap one for two)
• Gold glitter heels --> same but: better quality and better fit
• Brown wrist cuffs --> same but: darker and cooler shade of brown
• Sweet pink headbow --> more Classic pink hair accessory: lighter/dusty pink preferred
• Navy bonnet --> same but: better quality, more versatile/Classic
• Bodyline red coat --> warm, long coat in a neutral colour, better fit
• Angelic Pretty British Crown OP in ivory, original release --> Angelic Pretty British Crown JSK in ivory, original release
• Bodyline Sweet Macaron JSK --> not replace, just alter 

Just examples of most of the things I have in mind to get. Although the Infanta blouses would actually be perfect
if I could get them.

The Needs

As you have probably gathered from my reassessment posts, the genuine needs have gotten fewer and fewer. Having said this, with this wardrobe cull coming I have also discovered a handful of gaps that I have not anticipated to find. I dedicated some serious thought to identifying the gaps I have in my wardrobe that need filling and this is what I have in vague order of priority/ease of obtaining the piece.

A neutral/Classic long-sleeve bolero in brown

The obvious choice here would be Innocent World’s Millefeuille one, since I love that design so much and since it is pretty versatile, as well as flattering. Brown has been steadily growing in my wardrobe and with me starting to lean more and more Classic overall, it make sense to add something like this. Based on the browns that I have already, a dark shade with cool undertones would at least match the other browns I have (especially socks and shoes), so there is a slight preference for that, but otherwise I am fairly open to options.

Yes, I know I'm biased towards this. Can't help
it that Innocent World is just that good.

A Classic/Gothic hair accessory in navy

The Winter ILD I organised made me realise that the majority of my navy hair accessories are very Sweet leaning and I have nothing appropriate for darker themes. While I’m not actively trying to expand my Gothic side, when an outfit treads the line between Classic and Gothic you can’t just stick a bow on. I’m not sure yet whether I’d like something floral, a bonnet or a rectangle headdress, but one piece that is a bit better suited to darker themes would be wonderful.

Haha, like I know what I want! This will get
winged so hard!

A wine bonnet

On a similar note, I still haven’t found a bonnet in wine that would tick all my boxes. The criteria for that remains as undefined as it was last year, although I am also considering a kokoshnik or maybe even a French hood as an alternative. Since getting my kokoshnik I discovered that it’s essentially a bonnet – big statement piece on your head – so as long as I find one in the right colour and the right kinds of decorations, I’d be happy to get that instead.

Still don't know what I want, still deafulting
to Triple Fortune for bonnets.
Photo from Pinterest.

A round/square neck long/princess sleeve blouse in wine

I may or may not already have one in mind. Nonetheless, as my wardrobe evolves more Classic and even starts to incorporate some Gothic, having an elegant, flowy blouse in wine will fill a niche. I have one wine blouse to day, which is high neck, so while it works with the styles, it creates an entirely different feel to the outfit, more Victorian, which sometimes just isn’t what you want.

This one was up for sale and now it's not.
Was going to make it a birthday treat too...

A Gothic appropriate hair accessory

I say “Gothic appropriate” because versatility is still important for me and I don’t intend to expand that section of my wardrobe. Having said this, at the moment a vast majority of my hair accessories are either very Sweet or the lighter side of Classic, which doesn’t always blend well with more Gothic/Gothic-leaning coordinates. The colours I currently own that I could use in Gothic outfits are: wine, navy, black and white/ivory. So while I’m not exactly sure yet what kind of accessories I’d like, I’d rather cast my net wide and see what I can find. Certainly open to rectangle headdresses (I have even considered the Antique Beast headdress), definitely will look into floral things, I’m generally pro bonnets and veils, so there’s a good variety of things I could be looking at.

Is veil and florals my answer here? No clue.
Stay tuned to find out.

A short-sleeve sailor collar blouse

Sailor lolita is great and I do like it a lot. However, at the moment I am only able to do sailor outfits through my cardigan and it’s a very summery style of lolita. Sometimes it’s just that bit too warm for a cardigan when you want to wear sailor lolita. So a short-sleeve blouse would be great, preferably a white or off-white one to maximise versatility.

Definitely just an example, I'll probably look
more at Axes Femme.

Wrist cuffs in gold and in wine

Sometimes wrist cuffs are just what you need to complete an outfit. As much as I’d like a pair entirely in gold, that may be hard to do since it’s tricky to find good quality gold lace. If I’m unable to find ones like this, then a wine x gold pair should cover my needs. Or even an entirely wine pair might do, I’ll just see what’s out there.

Maybe it's the lighting, but if these were just a touch deeper
shade, they'd be exactly right. And a gold bow could sort
me out in terms of the wine x gold thing.

A neutral navy and a neutral sax bag

I have gotten by without one for so long now and buying an ivory one has really helped in that. You could argue that therefore it’s not a gap anymore, however, sometimes you do prefer to have a matching bag than one that just goes with the outfit. Granted, with my limited storage I’m also not in a position to indulge in that at the moment. Still, should an opportunity present itself, I would very much like to add a bag like this to my collection.

I'm putting the sax one here because I reckon
sax will be harder to find than navy.

The Wishes

Truth be told, those aren’t that different to last year. Or actually: many of these pieces here have also featured in last year’s wish section, just further down the priority list. I still want to make a conscious effort to expand my collection of reds and still foresee myself going in a more Classic direction, but none of these is a dream-tiered item I’d do anything to get, hence they’re here. And hence they will probably get replaced with slightly different things I spot for much lower prices than these currently go for.

To keep this section short, I’ll only stick to a list. Most of these I’ve already explained at one point or other (e.g. in my wishlist video from the 10 Day Lolita Challenge series or in last year’s post), so I don’t want to repeat myself for the sake of it. Anything that wasn’t on those list already can be explained with “it’s pretty and I like it”.

In random order:

• A red-based floral JSK;
• A non-printed JSK in wine; 
• Mary Magdalene’s Arabesque Rose JSK in offwhite
• Mary Magdalene’s Deborah Doll JSK in wine;
• Metamorphose x Kamen Rider Gold Braid Tuck Pinafore JSK in wine;
• Angelic Pretty Queen Chocolate JSK in wine;
• Angelic Pretty British Crown original release JSK in ivory (see Replacements at the top of this post)
• Baby the Stars Shine Bright Polonaise Brilliante ~ Ideas of Maiden ~ apron JSK in green;
• Haenuli Rose Garden JSK in navy (or wine if it will be available in wine);
• Marchen die Prinzessin Nutcracker JSK;
• A long sleeve simple/non-printed OP;
• Fancy nonsense statement piece, preferably an OP;
• Millefleurs Georgette Blouse in pink;
• Green shoes (maybe the Queen Bee ones).

A collage of the more specific things I could name. The fact that the top row is entirely red/red-based is not coincidental.

That’s all that I could think of. Of course, I can’t predict what might be released this year and am fully anticipating someone somewhere to come up with things I hadn’t expected that I’ll really like. That is the risk we all take.

Phew, that was a much longer list than I had anticipated. It looks like a lot, but many of these are either smaller things or things I should be able to obtain cheaply (from indie brands or offbrand/second hand), so it shouldn’t be much of a strain on my wallet. Since I’m going to Japan, I’d rather not buy any of these until after I’m back, as I may be able to find appropriate matches there on sale or places like Closet Child. After my return should there be anything I haven’t had luck tracking down, then I could do either a Taobao order or start looking at other options (maybe purchasing at events if I decide to attend any). But prior to going to Japan I would prefer to focus my time and energy on getting rid of the things I’d like to replace, so that they don’t take up space and to gain some extra funds for their replacements. And as you’ll already know from my 2019 goals, unless something is on this list, I cannot purchase it prior to landing in Japan.

Fingers crossed I will be able to stick to these lists! They are very detailed, which should keep me focused, but only time will tell if this will work out or not.