AYWi30C #4 - A Monochrome Outfit

My first idea for a monochrome outfit prompt was all ivory. It’s a look that I do often, albeit usually broken up with colour accents. However, the piece I was going to use for that has a broken zip, which I’ve no clue when I’ll get round to replacing, while my other solid ivory piece is waiting for something else, so I decided to switch this up completely.

| AatP Side Frill JSK | Miss Point Earl Grey blouse | Innocent World Union Flag Lame OTKs | Hush Puppies boots | Angelic Pretty Rose Garden Princess headbow | AatP The Mouse King * Gualtiero Medal Pin II | offbrand hair clip, choker, earrings and brooch | Wicked and Whimsy ring | Star Glazed Delights ring | book as a prop (optional) |

Those truly pedantic amongst you will say that this is not 100% monochrome due to the bits of white and gold. This is also why my initial idea was all ivory, but I think this pushed me to think outside the box a little bit more. This is not a coord that I otherwise would’ve put together. The cuts and styles of the various pieces are fairly all over the place, from the Victorian-esque high collar blouse to the very romantic and frilly underbust JSK, with military accents thrown in (boots, emblem brooch) and an overall rose theme (basically everything but the socks and rings). At the same time, when you ignore those discrepancies and focus simply on the main theme of it being a monochrome outfit (and look past the 50 shares of burgundy)… I’m not mad at it? Yes, without having to stick to the prompt theme I would’ve styled this a little differently, likely by swapping the blouse for a gold one and maybe adding my After Midnight side flower crown which is also wine x gold. But like I said, the restraint of the prompt has forced me to do something I normally wouldn’t have and the more I look at it, the more I like the result.

That fabric!

Those trims!

Accidental, yet exact fabric match.

We have to start by addressing just how gorgeous this JSK and its fabric are! This jacquard is a stunningly rich shade and the rose pattern catches the light at every movement, adding extra depth to this colour, whilst swishing like only a luxurious material can. I was also surprised to discover that the headbow I used here is made out of the exact same fabric, even though it’s from a different brand. It’s not uncommon for brands to use the same commercially available fabric to create different pieces with it – I’m more surprised that I haven’t noticed that sooner. It must be because the fabric feels a little different double-layered and stretched on a headband than it does flowing on a dress.

Hidden rose lace.

Look how close the shades of the lace is to the lighter reflections on the dress.

The blouse, on the other hand, doesn’t have that flowing quality to it and it is, for lack of a better word, more rigid. I already pointed out how it’s a very different style and feel to that of the dress, and you can see on the photo that it’s also a completely different shade, yet still I managed to discover some rose themed accents, namely the lace at the bib. The lace adorning the sleeve cuffs, whilst still floral themed, is not rose, though as it’s a slightly lighter shade it complements the dress a bit better. Together they create this Victorian librarian-esque sort of vibe, so I simply had to pull out this old book for the flatlay as well as the video. (It’s my copy of The Two Towers, in case you were wondering.)

Since I wore them with boots, I could stretch these out a bit more and they reached mid-thigh. (Whilst the heel was at my ankle, but boots so you don't see that.)

These are truly well loved. Think of the scuffs as mementos of various adventures.

Surprise florals.

The socks are there primarily to be as close to monochrome as possible. My other wine pair has lots of other colours (although it also has roses on them), so it would push that prompt a little bit too much. Whilst the design on these is in a contrasting gold shade, it’s also subtle and mostly contained to the sides of the legs, which makes them work that little bit better with a monochrome outfit. The boots are great with the blouse to add more of that Victorian vibe. In general they are a great match for the JSK and can be worn with it in at least a couple of different ways. They’re quite versatile, more than you’d expect from them, and I am so glad that I bought them when I had the chance, as I’ve worn them plenty of times already and I know that I will wear them loads of times to come. And even though I’ve had them for so long already, it is only now that I noticed the flower pattern on the soles – how terrible of me!

All accessories.

Please forgive the cheating with that ivory ribbon.

Classic lolita is probably the best for finding offbrand accessories, you can find elegant pieces literally everywhere.

Two heart rings in a rose-themed coordinate? How ita!

As far as accessories go, I managed to pull out some more rose ones to carry that theme through the coordinate. The necklace and earrings set is basically ancient by now – and yes, it is a set, the earrings were on display, so got discoloured more than the choker did. I guess I might be cheating a little bit with that AatP brooch, since it has cream ribbon going through the middle – but then you could say the same about most of the other accessories about the gold, let this one slide, please. The rings were a no-brainer: not only are they my only wine coloured rings, they also genuinely complement this coordinate. This styling or different one, I would wear them with this dress regardless.

Hair accessories, keeping it simple.

I already mentioned that the headbow is the same fabric as the dress. When I put it on, I did think that on its own it wasn’t quite enough, certainly not with the lazy hairstyle that I went with in the video, so I added an extra flower clip. It’s a shame that this rose isn’t darker in shade, however, my choices were this or bows, which matched in colour but not in theme (no roses and a bit too cutesy for such a mature look). There are already so many shades of wine in this outfit, how much worse can one hair clip make it?

The only other time I've worn it so far, from April 2019.

This JSK is still very new to my collection, I only bought it earlier this year and have only worn it once so far. Whenever I think about downsizing my collection, this dress is at risk on days when I’m all for it. Of course, then I look at it to help me make a decision and I realise once again how stunning it is and how well it ticks off all those boxes I had for it when I purchased it (colour, cut, fit, feel, price/value). Having said this, my debating downsizing was primarily driven by lack of storage space – now that I’m moving out (and yes, I am finally moving out!), this will probably stop being a concern, so I definitely foresee this staying in my collection at least for a little while longer. There are plenty of coordinates that I haven’t had the chance to do with it yet, it would be criminal to get rid of it before I had the chance to at least make some flatlays of those.

Whilst I still am in my old room, with plum coloured walls and little natural light, capturing this coordinate and its colours was very tricky. I added as many sourced of light as I could have, but I guess it threw my camera off in the other direction. I tried to tame that as much as possible through editing and hopefully you can still appreciate this outfit in movement. Should I ever do a reiteration of this in the future, I would definitely do a different hairstyle with it, though I am very pleased with my makeup. It has just enough extra touches of that wine red to pull the monochrome look together without making it too over the top.