Lolidrobe Reassessment Post 2019.03

This one should be interesting. This period spans the summer sales, my moving out and the Summer Tales Boutique tea party. So I was simultaneously doing a bit more impulse purchasing and trying to stay frugal while I figure out my new financial situation. Let’s see how it actually turned out, shall we?

New additions

As I said, over the last quarter I’ve gone from one extreme to the other. And between ‘I soon won’t be able to buy just anything, treat yourself now’ and ‘let’s buckle up and stop buying everything in sight’ there still is a large gap that allows for things to be bought. I was very tired when taking the pictures, so there are plenty of accessories I forgot to include, all marked with a star. Sorry about this.

• 1 skirt (Sweet in sax)
• 2 tops (1 Classic in grey and 1 Sweet turtleneck in red)
• 1 coat (Gothic/Classic in white)
• 1 pair of shoes (Classic in pastel multicolour)
• 2 pairs of legwear (1 Sweet ankle socks in navy and 1 Classic tights in cream)
• and 17 pieces of accessory (1 pair of Sweet wrist cuffs in red*, 1 pair of Classic wrist cuffs in brown*, 1 Sweet necklace in mint*, 1 Sweet headbow in black*, 1 Classic headdress in ivory*, 1 Classic necklace in gold x red [crafted]*, 1 Classic brooch in gold [crafted]*, 1 Classic brooch in dark jewel tones, 1 Sweet necklace in brown, 2 Sweet brooches in mint, 1 Sweet brooch in grey, 1 Classic necklace in gold, 1 Classic pin in black, 1 Classic/Gothic headdress in black x navy, 1 Sweet tote bag in pink, 1 Classic tote bag in beige)

Like I said, I’m terrible in not including so many things. Still, I feel that I bought much less at the event than I had anticipated to. Thanks to that, this quarterly haul of 24 pieces somehow feels a bit more sensible. After what seemed like an unstoppable shopping spree in the first half of this year, it’s nice to finally see a slow-down of it. I’m also finding fewer impulse buy pieces, which I guess makes sticking to a budget a bit easier.

This is not bad (even when you consider all the tiny bits I forgot to include here).

Possible new looks

The most new looks I could do come from the coat, since it’s a Boz Roland. While I’m sure it will make a proper ouji appearance sooner or later, I am a big fan of Rolands paired with lolita. It’s a great way to elevate a look, but also to tone down a very busy print (as wonderfully shown by @tonblackberry and @nadina.jpg in their most recent shoot, I live!). And as it’s getting colder here, I do look forward to wearing that turtleneck a bit more!

A dress and a Roland is a winning combo. So fancy!

Sometimes when your reds don't match it makes for a whole new look. Can we start dressing Christmassy yet?

Black and navy is such a great combo, I want to wear this!

Replacement progress

Continuing on with the new section from last reassessmentpost, I have finally managed to offload the last of my recent sales! With moving places my mind hasn’t always been kicked into the replacement gear, yet I was still able to replace some more bits. I was hoping to keep my costs down a bit by buying from Wunderwelt where I could easily pay with points, but they simply haven’t had much in terms of what I needed (bizarre right, given how I’m still after a nice headbow in pink? That should be easy mode!). However, I’m very pleased with those brown wristcuffs – they’re exactly the shade I needed AND I was able to sell my old ones straight away and to a friend too. Best of both worlds! I also spotted one navy blouse and it’s waiting in my Taobao shopping service cart for a good time (when is it ever a good time to buy stuff though) and hopefully I’ll find more soon.

Click to enlarge. I'm glad I sold bits and hopefully I'll manage to replace some more soon.

Current wishlist

Basically no changes here. Also, I know that I’ve been banging on about that, but I really am both in shock and in awe how after six attempts I was able to get that damn Fancy Crepe necklace. I had lost all hope, so to actually have it without having to pay an inflated price second hand is incredible.

It's nice to finally be removing things instead of adding more. This makes me feel more settled in my style and in what I want out of my lolita wardrobe at the moment.

New Year’s goals: progress summary

1. Did I wait a minimum of 48 hours before purchasing something outside of my wishlist: No. Like I said, the ‘treat yo’self’ mood was strong at times.
2. Did I buy anything outside of my wish/need/replace list prior to going to Japan: Yes. See post 2019.1 for more details.
3. Did I do a wardrobe cull: At this point I can honestly say: yes. I got rid of everything that I had in mind originally. This probably won’t be the end, but if anything happens from now on it’s likely to be ad hoc rather than a pile of things to get rid of.
4. Did I learn how to crop cardigans: Goal no longer pursued. And no.
5. Did I wear lolita at least once while in Japan: Yes, more in 2019.1 post.
6. Did I take part in 1 outfit prompt challenge: Yes, as it stands the challenge is on its 5^th prompt, with the 6^th one scheduled for later this week. You can see them all here.

It’s a mixed bag, though generally a positive one. The one that concerns me most is that first one. Last year I did very well with avoiding impulse purchases, yet this year something has changed (and I’m talking about the whole year so far, not just the last three months). I would like to investigate what is it and what I can do about it. It will be interesting to see whether my new living situation will affect that as well and/or by how much.

And now we embrace the upcoming chill and prepare ourselves to have that overly romanticised autumn/winter period, straight from an Instagram picture, when in reality we deal with rains, winds, shorter days and a generally miserable vibe. Granted, there are a few things that I am sincerely looking forward to, which will brighten this picture up a bit, so here’s to that. I’d also like to find a better Christmas jumper that I could wear both with my regular clothes and with my Lady Sloth Winter Spices skirt. Hopefully I’ll manage to find something great in a vintage shop or something. What are your plans for the last few months of this year?