AYWi30C #5 - An Unexpected Colour Combination

Had I attempted this particular prompt when this challenge was originally started, I don’t think I would’ve done very well. Sure, it probably wouldn’t have been a colour combination that anyone expected me to do, nonetheless it likely wouldn’t be anything that unusual. However, I’m doing this prompt now – which means that I have some more colours at my disposal. And I’m not afraid to use them.

| After Midnight The First Semester JSK | Dorothy Perkins cutsew | Cutie Creator Rose Charm Velvet headbow | Caire's hair clips | Metamorphose Lace-Up Bouquet OTKs | offbrand shoes | Bubblegum Emporium necklace | vintage necklace | handmade bracelets | Jane Marple ring |

Green is still relatively niche in lolita fashion, even though we’re seeing it more and more (as well as its cousin, teal, though I don’t own any of that). So taking this already less common lolita colour, I put the only other colour which I only have a couple of pieces of – lavender. Unexpected? Definitely! Does it work? I think so, despite both of these being massively underrepresented in my wardrobe in comparison to reds, whites and blues. It’s not a coord I’d put together without this prompt and I like how playful and cute it is. Not sure whether I’d consider it casual or not, though it’s certainly comfortable.

Yes, I love how both of those show up true to colour on this picture!

I adore the cut of this JSK, it works so well for anyone with even a slightly bigger chest, as it accentuates that area without exposing it. Together with one of my favourite offbrand cutsews they add plenty of detail to the bodice, even though they’re just solid pieces.

Keeping velvet covered pieces free of random fluff is super hard.

Simple charm which adds lots of, well, charm.

Those shoes were a great eBay find and had I had any space on my shoe rack, I’d probably get them in more colours. Thanks to the low block heel they’re very comfortable to wear and walk in. The pearl charm adds that extra touch you need when wearing sweet, even though inherently it’s such a classic detail.

This design is really lovely and subtle whilst still adding some interest to your legs. If you ever get a chance, I recommend these socks.

Although these socks are not something I would’ve picked myself, I am very glad that I kept them from the lucky pack. They match the cutsew really well, it’s just a shame that when worn the colour desaturates so much. Were it not that I have enough white x gold socks as is, I’d probably be looking for those socks in white – as is, it’s probably most sensible if I pass.

Even when it doesn't look like much, it's plenty enough. Quality over quantity. (Plus here you can see better how well the socks match the cutsew.)

Accessories are kept minimal here – partly because I don’t own that many either green or lavender ones and partly because I don’t think that a lot is actually needed here. Only after taking the pictures did I realise that I haven’t added a single brooch, though once I did stop to realise that, what I have wouldn’t match in colour or theme. That ring is shoehorned enough as is.

I'm all for rings with dangly bits. If only it was just a smidge bigger...

Speaking of the ring, it’s also insanely tiny. I can just about put it on my ring finger (which is how I usually wear my rings), though taking it off was a struggle, or have it on my little one and risk it falling off. But it was cheap and cute, and I wanted some Jane Marple, so here we are.

Let's ignore the other bracelet, this is the one with the nicer colours.

The bracelets are handmade by me, though they don’t even match each other. Some time ago I got a mixed bag of pastel beads and tried to use all of them up. Wearing one on each hand, it isn’t as noticeable that they differ slightly in shades, yet somehow a tiny part about it bothers me. The necklaces are my only lavender and green ones. The lavender one is a good staple and I usually wear it with my Bodyline macaron dress because it matches that perfectly. The green and pink one, on the other hand, is a work Secret Santa gift from last Christmas (I very strongly suspect it was from my line manager actually) and it’s vintage, supposedly from the 1920’s – or at least made using techniques from that time, I’m not entirely sure. I debated whether to add it, since it’s green and pink, but once I tried it on it just fit, so it stayed.

Cutie Creator is my favourite place to get headbows from. This one has the perfect drape, shape and size.

So if I managed to find use for these lavender clips, maybe one day I'll even manage to use that one yellow one that was in a set with some of the bottom ones? Only time will tell.

The trusty green headbow from Cutie Creator was the only choice I had for a hair accessory. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely headbow and it works great with this JSK – it’s just that as I think of expanding my collection of greens, I’d love to have at least one other option. To spice things up I’ve added these small clips I got in Claire’s multipacks. When I was buying those, I didn’t anticipate actually needing or using the lavender ones, so I’m just happy that I kept them. They add more of that playful vibe, especially with the wig I picked for this outfit.

You know, it's only now, as I took this photo, that I realised the black trim has roses on it. What a gorgeous detail!

Knowing that this dress is called First Semester and me starting a new job at a university makes me want to wear it to work soon. I’ve worn it to work before, though as I’m still figuring out my new working environment I might wait a little before I break out something this poofy. In the meantime I’ll simply enjoy it at my own leisure – and rejoice in not stopping to do up these ribbon bows. They’re the most charming little detail, but my bow tying skills are still pretty lame and these probably need a tack stitch to stay, which I can’t be bothered to do.

These are the only photos I could find that show at least majority of the outfit. From left to right these are from December 2018, January 2019 and April 2019.

Although I’ve worn this dress numerous times since getting it last winter, not many of those outfits were properly documented. Mostly because the majority of them were quite casual and worn to work, so I never bothered to photograph them. Yet despite having worn this with a fair array of different tops, I feel like there are still plenty of looks I haven’t explored yet. Going forward I’d like to document both those that’d be new for me and those that I’ll be re-wearing. We’ll see how we do with that.

Fun fact: so far I’ve been able to do these posts at least a couple of weeks in advance, so that I wouldn’t have to rush editing the videos. However, with the move and all the associated stresses this one ended up being done pretty last minute. Hopefully it doesn’t come across in the video itself. Also, as I was doing my makeup for this one it struck me that I never really mention what I do the various makeup looks with. In the future should I add a selfie or a makeup closeup picture to these posts with a brief rundown of at least the colourful makeup stuff like eyeshadows and lipsticks? Would you be interested in that? I could probably try to backlog that too, with this being only the fifth look I think I still remember what I used for what. Let me know what you think.

What’s the most unusual colour combination that you’ve done or that you could do? Did it work out or was it better shelved as a learning experience? I’m very curious, as I love it when lolitas experiment with colours, especially those less common ones in the fashion.