1 Dress 4 Looks Take 29

My first gothic lolita dress – with the most un-gothic name out there. Alice and the Pirates’ Sugar Plum Fairy Princess JSK was a bit of a gamble, considering how poorly shiny fabrics like organza can photograph and the short, chunky strap cut. It is a gamble that paid off and while it may be best suited to gothic lolita looks, I’d like to explore the possibilities beyond that at least a little.

Look 1: Typical Goth

| Haenuli x I Do Declare blouse | Cutie Creator fishnet tights (not pictured here) | Pauline Rose headband | offbrand hair clip | Voodoodolly ring | After Midnight necklace | offbrand brooch | Vivienne Westwood x Melissa Anglomania shoes |

Yes, I realise that there is no legwear pictured here. That’s because I would’ve gone with the fishnet tights, which look absolutely atrocious in flatlay photos. This is an updated version of the last coord I did with this dress. And while it’s much closer to that quintessential elegant gothic lolita look I had in my mind, I feel like there’s still way to improve it, namely by getting a more gothic headdress (the Antique Beast one keeps tempting me, maybe by next reservation I’ll cave in).

Look 2: Classic Vampire

| Infanta Swan Lake blouse | AatP Arabesque OTKs | Jeshii Doll bonnet | offbrand hair clip | Milkribbon brooch | Love from the North pin | offbrand ring | Jane Marple ring | Two Days Slow necklace | offbrand shoes |

It’s not the most vampire-esque outfit out there, I’m not trying to kid anyone here. Yet that blouse is so floaty that it inevitably makes me think of those ‘vampire/pirate/prince shirt’ meme. I also like how the blouse neckline covers up the JSK straps, they’re not my favourite feature, particularly in flatlays. Although heels with a big buckle or even short black boots would’ve been perfect here, as I don’t own anything like that, I went with my trusty black Mary Jane heels.

Look 3: Rose Red

| Haenuli x I Do Declare blouse | Putomayo Celestial Light OTKs | Cutie Creator headband | handmade (not by me) hair clip | AatP The Mouse King * Gualtiero Medal Pin II | Wicked and Whimsy ring | Vivienne Westwood x Melissa Anglomania shoes |

Again, this could be considered a somewhat vampiric look, but for the accessories. A wine red bonnet would be ideal here – why must they elude my search so?! I’m not entirely sure how those two hair pieces would stack up together or what hairstyle could even hold them, but I guess that’s a matter to figure out later.

Look 4: Starry Night

| Lady Sloth Glitter Mesh blouse | Boguta star underskirt | Innocent World Shanti OTKs | Cutie Creator headbow | Chocomint hair clip | Risu Rose necklace | Voodoodolly ring | vintage brooches | Angelic Pretty Elegant Doll boots |

In hindsight, I should’ve gone with my Resailan Jewelry Box tights, as they are black and gold rather than black and grey. But other than this, it’s probably my favourite look of the lot. If worn, I’d experiment with the neckline, to see how it might look with the blouse off shoulder. I like how it’s bringing in sweeter elements without losing too much of the elegant feel to the overall look. I guess mixing gothic and sweet elements tone the outfit down into a classic one? Whatever the label, I’m quite excited to wear this one.

Just like previously, I have actually put together more looks than I’ve featured here (three more in fact). They were on the more incomplete side of ‘work in progress’, though I definitely would like to revisit and finish them one day. While I’m sure you’ve noticed some pieces appearing more than once, I think it’s interesting to see how I can still create diverse looks whilst reusing the same smaller bits. It just goes to show that you don’t necessarily need tonnes of accessories or shoes, these are quite small parts of the coord and there are other ways of ensuring diversity of possible coords. I clearly went about achieving that through colour here – and even then I’ve left some avenues unexplored, so there’s still room to grow. Lastly, I am so, sooo pleased that the details of this dress are coming across in photos as nicely as they are. We all know the struggle of photographing black on black, which is an extra hassle when it’s a flocked velved print on organza. And you can see the gold glitter in it too! That’s a total success for me!