Gothed Up

So far I’ve only dressed in gothic lolita once – and while it was an ok coord given the little I had, I can’t say that I’m entirely happy with it. That’s why when my boyfriend asked if I could goth up for our date night, I happily indulged him.

| Alice and the Pirates Sugar Plum Fairy Princess JSK | I Do Declare blouse | Ruha Garden headpiece | Voodoodolly ring |
Enchanted Dream Wear necklace | Sweet Dreamer tights | offbrand shoes |

I am so doing that makeup look again - and hopefully I won't have to redo my entire eyeliner!

Unfortunately, this mirror selfie is the only outfit shot I managed. I kinda wish the mirror was wider, because other than that I don’t actually have a problem with the picture either. This blouse literally makes every outfit it’s part of and this time I unleashed the sleeves. And it works especially well with the neckline of this JSK. What you can sort of see is the ribbons at the back of my tights – they were the mesh ones with corset lacing-style ribbons at the back, that have rose to prominence in lolita through larme-kei. And despite having to redo one eye completely, I really enjoyed the makeup too. It’s not exactly that different from what I normally do, but still darker and bolder enough to make a difference.

I actually couldn't decide between which version of this outfit to wear, so I asked for help on my IG stories. No 3 (bottom right) was what I had in between places, as it was evening and the blouse is all mesh.

Closeup of my headpiece, since it's not the most visible on the pictures above.

Our date night was pretty simple: we went to see Alita: Battle Angel and then to a Tex-Mex chain restaurant, Chiquito. When we got out of the car, I said that I felt thoroughly overdressed for cinema, but hey – goths wanna watch new films too, right? It was quiet anyway, I was able to go straight to ordering some snacks and drinks, no queue whatsoever. And the cinema attendant checking out our tickets even recognised my style as gothic lolita (and said he’s actually done a presentation about the fashion at college), so big props to him for that!

Let me have this again, please! Even the jalapeno jelly on top (which wasn't really spicy).

When your food is not aesthetic, but you still take a picture of it for the sake if being That Bitch.

From last time I wore gothic I still remembered how much more comfortable (i.e. less sticky-outy) I felt in that style. Not only is gothic fashion recognisable enough for people to mostly leave you alone, but it’s normal to see people dressed all in black (even if my all-black version was way fancier than anyone else around me). However, this time I seemed to have turned into this ‘ugh, mainstream people’ kind of goth. All in a very tongue in cheek kind of way, but it was fun to sit in a bright chain restaurant, full of families with kids, and put on this ‘ugh’ act about it. The food was nice and stuff, I just got some enchiladas and a sweet potato and chorizo croquette starter (so good, I’d have that again).

This outfit deserves more closeups. As does this ring, it's absolutely everything!

I kinda wish I'd taken this picture with one of those glitter apps because the heart at the bottom
sparkles soooo much, it's actually criminal how that's not coming across here!

You know how one of the lolita answers to ‘why are you dressed like that’ is ‘it’s just clothes’ or ‘it’s just my clothes’ (and variations thereof)? I feel like the more I wear lolita, the more this answer is true. Yes, I’m not a daily lolita, there are other styles I enjoy and wear. However, the fact that at this point it’s not unusual for me to frill up for ‘lesser’ occasions – like a date or just going out – speaks volumes. This time two years ago I probably wouldn’t have done that so readily or it would’ve made me feel a lot more self-conscious about sticking out from the crowd. Now I’m like ‘pfft, I won’t let that stop me from having fun’. It’s a very satisfying place to be at emotionally and even though I want to change jobs so that I can finally move out, part of me is dreading the possibility that I may end up in a place with an actual *dramatic pause* dress code.

When was the last time you wore lolita for an occasion that wasn’t a meetup or anything related to the fashion? How did you feel about that? Do you think like you’ll be doing more of that or not so much?

Create a Coord Based on a Painting

Another Lolita Blog Carnival coord prompt! And despite not being massively into paintings or painters – I get by with the little I learnt in school and I recognise probably most of the most famous works – I got very much into this prompt. So much so that during my work trip to London earlier this week I specifically went to the National Gallery just to look for inspiration.

I came back with inspiration galore. Even though I only managed to visit one floor (and not in the most thorough fashion either), I took loads of photos and it was actually tricky to scale back. However, one painting spoke to me and I kept going back to it, both specifically for this coord challenge and in general.

You can read the tag on the National Gallery's website.

Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat dates to the late 1700’s, but somehow feels so contemporary. Its author, also known as Madame Le Brun, was a portrait painter to Marie Antoinette (couldn’t have picked a more lolita painter if I tried, could I?) and after looking up some of her other works, they all capture me just as much as this one. The way she paints people looking directly at the viewer commands attention, but also makes the subjects, particularly women, more human to us, like friends. It’s like looking onto a photograph rather than a painting and feeling that connection with the past – which in this case is further aided by Madame Le Brun’s clothes being simpler, a little less Rococo and a little more Neoclassical, which feel more modern and less historical.

As I was inspired to create a coord that would mirror this particular outfit, I could only achieve that by doing a collage, since I don’t own any pink main pieces. And since I wanted to use specific pieces, this involved using stock photos and other ones that I had simply found online, rather than the neat and easily collage-able Wunderwelt pictures, so apologies if the quality of this is much lower than what you’re used to.

| Innocent World Boat Neck Tuck Flare OP | BtSSB Mon Chouchou Hermitage tights | Triple Fortune hat | Peppermint
Fox Explorer's Journal Snow-in-Summer Frame brooch | Iris Corolla Marie Antoinette Version A shoes |

Although I know that there are loads of lolita dresses with similar styles to the one pictured in Madame Le Brun’s self-portrait, I decided to go with this Innocent World OP. Not only does it give the overall outfit a more modern, lolita feeling – it also seems like something Madame Le Brun would have worn nowadays. As a painter, she would have been aware of staining clothes and white laces and cuffs getting in the way. This OP is 100% polyester, this making it easier to care for and remove stains off of, if need be. It’s simple and practical, yet feminine and with nods to the original (such as more neckline on show than in most lolita dresses).

The hat is the next important aspect, since it’s one of the few items of clothing we see Madame Le Brun wear in her self-portrait. I was immediately drawn to Triple Fortune’s Rococo hats, which may be a bit more extravagant than what the painter is wearing, but evokes that historical feel perfectly and works better with lolita fashion in terms of balance. The shape of this particular one is also evocative of the one on the painting, and it also features a feather. So even if it is more pink, it works well in terms of it being a lolita outfit, whilst retaining that nod to the original.

Now, we only see Madame Le Brun from the waist up. We know that her dress would’ve been floor length and that she probably would’ve had light stockings and shoes from the period, but that doesn’t necessarily make for the most exciting lolita coordinate. However, as my trip to the National Gallery has taught me, paintings are extremely heavy with symbolism. One of my favourite classic lolita looks is contrasting simple, non-printed dresses with bold patterned tights. Those here would both balance out the big hat, as well as symbolise the painting-inspired nature of this whole outfit, since they feature frames. However, I did pick a more Rococo-esque heel to tie in with the Rococo hat. Let’s ignore the fact that these pinks probably don’t match.

Last but not least, although the painting only shows earrings, I would add a frame brooch as an accessory as well as a further, less subtle hint at the painting theme. Peppermint Fox have had some truly stunning ones and I feel that one like this reflects both the frames on the tights and the flowers in the hat, balancing the whole outfit. Having said this, you don’t have to be extremely crafty to create a painting frame brooch and I think it’d be great to have one with one of Madame Le Brun’s own works in it. Because symbolism is like Inception: we need to go deeper. A brooch like this could probably hold that black shawl in place, which I left out of the coordinate for collage layout reasons.

I keep looking back at the coordinate and the collage and am pretty happy with the result. Especially considering how until Tuesday I literally didn’t have a clue that this painting even existed. My trip to the National Gallery also taught me that when looking at paintings I tend to be most drawn to bold colours (extra points for gold and for realistic portrayal of fabric textures on rich garments) or to portraits with energy (like in photography). That and still nature, for whatever reason. So I’m pretty proud of myself for having been able to find just the right painting for this prompt and put something together just in time. I hope that you like it.

And of course make sure to check out what the other participating bloggers have created for this prompt challenge!

The Bloody Tea Party
In Love with a Dream

 

1 Dress 4 Looks Take 25

I have been dreading this one. As you may already know, I struggle to coord this JSK, despite really liking it a lot. Part of me wants to get rid of it, part wishes I had gotten a different colourway and part of me is determined to figure something out. I don’t want to give up without a fight, so let’s hope this instalment of the 1 Dress 4 Looks programming will show me some cute ways that I could wear King Eleven’s Miss Tea’s Delicate Life, also known as a Mad Tea Party. I have tried a different style of photographing flatlays, let me know if these work for you or not.

Look 1: Sweets

| Dream V cutsew | Angelic Pretty Sweet Cream House OTKs | Cutie Creator hat | Milkribbon Butterkeks brooch | Sosic
Shop heels | offbrand necklace | 

This is probably a pretty safe look. Granted, the browns don’t really match (only very tentatively) and I did say last time that I should stay away from trying to match them, but in a quirky kind of way it somehow doesn’t bother me so much? It’s not my favourite look here, though it’s probably the best one with brown that I’ve done with this dress so far. I’ll keep trying until I land on a combination of browns that works.

Look 2: Sweet Blues

| Angelic Pretty Whip Girl cutsew | Angelic Pretty Ladder Ribbon OTKs | Angelic Pretty Cute Ribbon wrist cuffs | Pink Up
Fanny's Dressing Table barette | Chocomint Ring | Beckie's Kawaii Charms ring | Wonderbox Designs rosette | offbrand
necklace and shoes |

Last time I featured flatlays of this dress I also went with blue pieces. It is quite a strong accent colour in the print, so no point running away from it. I envision this being a more casual-ish sort of look, hence the hair accessory (that barette matches pretty well), though maybe a lighter brooch would’ve been better). My only real iffy point is that I wish is that I had different shoes for this dress, though I won’t go out of my way to get a new pair, especially while the fate of this dress is so unsure.

Look 3: Gold Party

| Angelic Pretty Twinkle Glitter Knit cardigan | Angelic Pretty Musee du Chocolat OTKs | Angelic Pretty Elegant Doll
boots | Angelic Pretty Chess Chocolate Emblem brooch | offbrand beret |

The yellow-tone ivory is really tricky to match, but you know what goes well with everything? Gold! I like how this is simultaneously fancy (because gold) and casual (because of the pieces used). And truth be told, this AP gold is probably the closest I’ve come to matching the weird shade of ivory on this dress. This turned out to be a coord I am genuinely excited about!

Look 4: Tea Rose

| vintage blouse | BtSSB Forever Enchanted Midnight Spell bolero | Angelic Pretty Romantic Angel OTKs | Dreamy Bows
headband | Enchantlic Enchantilly necklace | handmade brooch and bracelets | offbrand shoes |

Whilst not as prominent as the blues, there are lots of rose pink accents in the print, which I wanted to bring out. Again, none of the shades in this coord actually match, yet somehow this still works overall. There will definitely be more attempts at trying to tie some pink in with this dress in the future, as I really like the romantic sort of feel to this outfit. And by like it I mean actually, potentially wear it.

So with these four I have now done eight outfits with this JSK. Actually, it’s nine because I photographed one more, which didn’t make it into the post (not a bad outfit, just one that would probably look better worn than laid out flat). This has cleared up my head a little and I now have some options for this dress, so I don’t feel like I’ve lost the fight – though it’s certainly far from feeling victorious. Maybe I just anticipated a lot more out of this print and am being too critical of the outfits? I don’t know. I’m definitely not giving up the fight and will put some conscious effort to wear it more until I figure out how I feel about it. And in the meantime I welcome all suggestions as to how you’d style this particular piece. Sometimes a fresh eye is exactly what you need to spark that excitement up again!

What is an Item or Accessory You Would Wish You Had More of?

You would think that someone regularly reviewing their wardrobe, like myself, would have a good idea of what they’d like to have more of. Unfortunately, I don’t. This prompt, although thoroughly interesting, had me stumped. What would I want to have more of in my lolita wardrobe?

The more I thought of it, the more I realised that this had to be divided into a Heart Choice and Mind Choice – i.e. the stuff I fancy and the stuff that’s practical. Having said this, at this stage my wardrobe is pretty large and accommodating, so I probably don’t have actual needs for more of a particular item type, which begs the question why am I bothering with this further division, but let’s just roll with that.

Heart Choice

As much as I’m sure all of us would love to have more main pieces, I’m actually picking blouses and legwear. I am that lolita who completely doesn’t understand all those other frillies not succeeding in the ‘get more blouses/socks’ New Year’s resolutions. Like… how?! They are the key building blocks of a coordinate and what allows you to make the same dress look like completely different. They’re also inexpensive to get, especially legwear. Even if you were to buy brand new OTKs, for the price of one Angelic Pretty JSK (around ¥28,000) you can get roughly 11 pairs of Angelic Pretty socks (assuming an average price of ¥2,500 per pair). And that’s just brand – there are so many more affordable options for both, from shopping on Taobao to completely offbrand/vintage/thrifted finds, that will cost even less, allowing you to pad out your wardrobe quickly.

These are just the long sleeve ones. And while they represent the most common colours in my wardrobe, I would love to have a bigger variety of neckline and sleeve style combinations.

My eyes are always, always drawn to patterned socks and tights, while the variety of cuts and detail on blouses feels that even the Versatile White Lolita Blouse can’t compare with another Versatile White Lolita Blouse (so many combinations of sleeves and necklines – and then you add in all the other detail!). Had storage not been as big an issue as it currently is, I probably would’ve let myself go a bit more. As is, I do stop and check myself: Is it something I genuinely don’t have already? Will it really match my wardrobe? Can I do something similar to this with what I already have? Is the price good enough to justify fighting with an overstuffed drawer for it? Trust me though, if I had unlimited space, I would be more like Reckless Rave (her legwear collection is the ultimate goals and not too shabby on the blouses either)!

This is my OTK drawer. I have another one full of tights (lolita and normie together), with ankle socks shoved to the side there too. And still I feel like that's not enough legwear (especially colourful legwear, I go for whites with pops of colour as a safe option).

Mind Choice

What would I like to have more of that would be a relatively sensible thing to own more of? When you have a fairly large and diverse collection, adding more can feel excessive when there isn’t any pressing need. After much thought I decided that berets and shoes would probably be the most sensible choice for me.

Despite how cheap they are to obtain, I only own a handful of berets (and actually use even fewer as I feel like they match my wardrobe best). They are an easy go-to accessory when you want to be a bit more casual or don’t want to stick out too much as a lolita. They can also be so easy to customise, from clipping things to them all the way to sewing on permanent decorations, to match every style imaginable. True, colour matching can sometimes be incredibly awkward, as colours on screen look different to real life – but isn’t that true of everything in lolita fashion? At least a £1 beret from eBay with free shipping doesn’t feel as much of a waste when it doesn’t match as a bigger, more expensive item might. And if you’re creative, you will probably still find a way to incorporate that somehow.

The decorated berets I have. Three not pictured are just plain, solid coloured ones in ivory, powder blue and wine. I should decorate them soon.

As for shoes, well, that doesn’t seem a particularly practical choice when you have no space for them, does it? Having said this, my collection of lolita and loliable shoes consists predominantly of heels. Cute as they may be, they aren’t always a sensible footwear option. I would love to own more flat shoes that could work with lolita fashion, be it for meets involving lots of walking or simply lazy days. Besides tea parties, it’s actually pretty hard to find shoes that are cute and flat, even harder if you’re trying to find styles neutral enough to work with different substyles of the fashion. So while this isn’t something I will be rushing to get more of soon, it is a part of my wardrobe that I would like to expand or revise at some point in the future. Of course, in an ideal world I would have a pair of cute flats, classy heels and practical boots in each colour featured in my wardrobe, since I like to match my shoes to my dresses/skirts, but that may be a little too excessive. But given that some shoes wear out quicker than others (and some get worn more than others), there’s a way to add more pairs without getting a whole load of them or getting rid of everything currently in my wardrobe. 

Current collection (now depleted by one pair that was sold since). Notice how there are only four pairs of flats here - not
overly practical.

So as always, I have managed to overthink the Lolita Blog Carnival prompt and come up with more things that I could possibly want. No surprises there. Still, I hope that you have enjoyed this insight into my frivolous wishes. What items or accessories do you wish you owned more of? Don’t forget to check out what the other participating bloggers have written on this prompt!

Roli's Ramblings
Lady Tomoyo
In Love with a Dream 

Weekend Double Frill

Somehow it feels like a long while since I last dressed in lolita, even though I know it’s not. Still, this weekend presented not one, but two opportunities to frill up, so of course I was going to take them! Even though I was actually poorly, coughing and sniffling all weekend (and technically still am).

| Song and Temple Fairytale Library skirt | Axes Femme blouse | Innocent World Original Ribbon Lace Millefeuille bolero |
Innocent World Fleurs Checkered OTKs | Sweet Dreamer (?) headbow | offbrand shoes | vintage brooch |

Very simple, minimalistic hair and makeup, just to cover up the fact that I wasn't 100% well that day.

First coord was for a vintage fair on Saturday. This skirt does not get enough love in a lolita context and it’s probably the most vintage-y thing I have, so out it came. I needed something layered and simple – or in other words: practical – and after a quick ‘how would this look with brown’ flatlay experiment, it stayed. And as much as I would’ve preferred this look with heels, I had to be practical – and I quite like how the pattern on the OTKs almost frames the shoes.

There’s this ‘travelling’ vintage fair called Lou Lou’s Vintage Fair – and by ‘travelling’ I probably mean more like a franchise? Essentially, they organise it, get the dates and places booked, but the vendors differ between locations, as local businesses get a chance to sell their stuff there. This was the first time one was held in my own city, so I absolutely had to go.

The fair was hosted at Bradford Cathedral, so I knew instantly that it wouldn’t be a big one. That cathedral is not particularly spacious, but it was a good choice of location for testing the grounds on whether there would even be any interest in hosting the fair in Bradford. I was surprised to see someone selling homemade preserves – not seen that at any of the other Lou Lou’s Vintage Fairs, yet it makes perfect sense with the aesthetic and the spirit of 1940’s and 1950’s.

I went with the intention to find something from my replace list, specifically a white Peter Pan collar blouse, since I managed to sell mine and these pop up at vintage fairs quite often. Unfortunately though, there was nothing like that at all and very few things in general caught my eye. I almost purchased a navy bag, but decided to finish wandering the fair before making the decision, by which time the bag had sold. So in the end the only thing I purchased there was a slice of peanut butter brownie to take home (which was delicious btw). Better for my wallet, better for my overstuffed wardrobe, less so for my waist.

Even though that was just a display, it was kinda cute!

My name is Paulina and I am addicted to brooches.

The ring bin was £2 each (can't remember the discount price). Never seen bins like these, it was a very cool idea if you have the patience to dig for a bargain!

The only place that got my money in the end.

And then on Sunday I hosted a Dim Sum Meet Take 2 (click here to read about Take 1). We all love good dim sum, so to avoid the cliché Valentine’s Day Meet, we had an informal Lunar New Year food fest.

| Metamorphose Sailor Tiered skirt | vintage blouse | Angelic Pretty Rose Lace Pattern OTKs | My Inspiration brooch and necklace | Sweet Dreamer Maiden's Prayer headbow | offbrand flower clips and shoes | handmade bracelets |

Pale skin, green eyes, red lips and natural brown hair - almost the traditional Polish beauty ideal.

 

I really like how this coord turned out, especially given how all over the place it is with inspiration points. It st5arted off with the skirt: it’s great for eating (fully shirred waist), I hadn’t worn it in a while and very versatile. Then I remembered the Lunar New Year and decided to coord the skirt with red, which is how I landed on the blouse. And as I was laying things out to decide my legwear options, I noticed these socks had a rose pattern and decided to make rose the theme of this outfit. So it travelled the world, landing on something which made me feel very connected to my roots (something about the combination of being pale, red lipstick and flowers on my head makes me feel incredibly Slavic).

The meet was much smaller than last time, as only four of us could make it. Funnily enough, between ourselves we covered all major substyles of lolita fashion: sweet, classic, gothic and ouji, with me representing classic. And it turned out to be the first Leeds comm meet for one of the frillies attending, so I hope she had a great time and we’ll see more of her, she was really sweet.

As always, food at Crown Buffet Leeds was delicious! Very glad I made a reservation though, because of course other people also decided to celebrate Lunar New Year that weekend and it was pretty packed throughout our stay.

Only one picture from the meet because we were all too hungry and greedy, so to make up for it have a picture of my cat sitting down on my clothes the night before to show his approval of my coord. If it’s cat approved, you know it’s good, he has good taste!

As you can tell by my dirty plate, this was after satisfying the first
bit of hunger. And before the rest of our food arrived!

Last time Spy featured on this blog, he was a teeny tiny baby of just 6 weeks. Now he's 6
months and very fashion forward!

Did you get to wear lolita in celebration of the Lunar New Year? Is your comm pro or anti Valentine’s Day meets? Alternatively, share with me your most random coordinate creation process stories and the inspiration points you went through to get there.