Here was a struggle
of a different kind: which kind of classic lolita do I do for this prompt?
People who don’t wear and/or follow classic underestimate how many different
types there are within it. It’s the same as with sweet or gothic, where there
are many distinct looks sitting under one broad umbrella. There’s the OTT
classic, casual classic, oldschool classic, vintage classic, country classic,
classic that borders on otome, classic that borrows from mori, that cute and
quirky mismatched look, a simple streamlined one, grandma’s couch… And given
that my wardrobe could accommodate basically all of the above (with the
exception of maybe grandma’s couch as I don’t have a floral that’s this much in
your face), how do I pick one? Heck, given how many of my main pieces are
classic, how do I even pick a dress to start me off? These were some VERY tough
decisions to be made!
In the end I
asked my followers on Instagram to pick my main piece for me. And I must say,
they surprised me. Once they selected red as main colour, I fully anticipated
them to go more OTT, but the majority vote was this: Metamorphose’s Classical
Sister OP. And I can see exactly why. It’s that by-the-book classic lolita:
simple cut, solid colour, elegant, a little Victorian. So it was only fair to
put together a coordinate that would play up to all of those vibes and be your
by-the-book classic lolita.
With dresses
like this, particularly when they are one piece dresses, I actually think that
less is more. Although this particular OP is by Meta, the style is not too
dissimilar from what Innocent World, Mary Magdalene or Victorian Maiden do with
their similar cut OPs. Taking inspiration from those brands, and particularly
Innocent World, it was crucial to carefully consider each piece before it was
added, looking at colour, style, theme, detail etc. So while at a glance this
may not look like a lot, certainly not compared to the OTT sweet lolita madness from the previous prompt’s post,
each element has been very carefully considered before being chosen.
Although the pops of pink and lilac don't appear in the rest of the coord, they are so tiny that they don't matter that much. And truth be told, I absolutely love them. |
Generally
speaking classic lolita relies on ivory as a base colour, however, the trims on
this dress are white. Whilst I tried it first with ivory tights, as I was using
the detachable collar and the cuffs, it simply did not work. So I dug deep to
fish out these tights. Solid, simple main pieces are perfect for wearing with
patterned legwear, they allow it to stand out without looking too much. And
this white matches the whites of the dress spot on.
Showing off with some brand shoes, although they are looking a bit rough. (In my defence, that is how I bought them.) |
Ideally I
would’ve loved to pair this with simple Mary Jane heels in a matching wine red.
However, that’s not something I own. My choices were black Mary Janes (which
I’ve seen Innocent World do, but decided against it myself), short wine boots
or these shoes. Although they are the only playing cards themed item in the
coord, the colour matches well and the shoe cut allows for tights to be seen,
which is why I went for them over the boots
With classic lolita, particularly the simple kind, it's even more about quality over quantity. |
I kept
accessories simple, focusing on getting a few of the right pieces than
anything/everything that matched. It’s incredibly easy to go overboard and go
from simple by-the-book-classic-lolita look to something way more dressy and
leaning into OTT. There are several lolitas on Instagram who balance this incredibly
well and let me tell you, it is not as easy as it seems. The key here is not
having little, but for the pieces you do use to work just right. That’s the
difference between someone consciously doing simple classic lolita coords and a
newbie who doesn’t have that many accessories to begin with.
These are some of my favourite pieces in my collection. It's particularly obvious with the Wicked and Whimsy ring, which I seem to wear basically every chance I get. |
The necklace
was the first thing I knew I simply had to use. Floral embroidery is as classic
lolita as you could get, which matches the lace on the dress. Once I had this,
I knew I had to use the matching brooch too. If you were ever on the fence
whether to get pieces from My Inspiration, I strongly encourage you to do so.
They are sure to compliment your classic lolita looks and thanks to their size
and quality craftsmanship, they are excellent as statement pieces. The rings
were there primarily to keep my hands from being too bare. And because I love
those two rings, they’re amazing.
There is something so elegant in just the combination of white and red. |
I wish that I
had a vintage hat that could match this, as I feel this coordinate and this OP
are just made for being worn with a hat! Alas, in the absence of one, I dug
into my hair accessories to find something suitable. Again, I was using
Innocent World’s Instagram feed for inspiration, both for an accessory and the
hairstyle, as they have to go together well. And again, their mantra is keeping
things simple, as well as this is supposed to be as classic a coord as I could
do, so a flower clip seemed like the best choice. You will see later in the
video that I styled my hair into braids then pinned them up, for which a side
clip like this works very well. And as that hairstyle exposed my ears and neck,
I picked my most trusted pair of pearl earrings.
Probably one of the most beautiful pieces of lace I've seen. |
The detachable bow is quite small and normally sits at the neckline, but since I've removed the ribbon, it adds that pop of interest to the waist seam. |
Simple and elegant cuff. (And also stupidly small, even my tiny wrists struggle with it!) |
If you didn't know that this was Meta, you'd assume it's Innocent World, wouldn't you? This design is just so their style! |
To keep this
coordinate as classic as it could be, I kept the detachable yoke and cuffs,
though skipped the waist ribbon as it has crosses. And yes, it’s only after
taking the photos that I realised that I put the cuffs backwards on the flatlay
– don’t worry, they’re the right way round in the lookbook video. Whilst
personally I prefer the dress without those, as the OP’s neckline is very
flattering on me, they do add a more Victorian look which just seems more
classic. The yoke is finished with some beautiful pintucks, as well as rose
lace, which also adorns the bottom of the skirt. The cuffs have a tiny bit of
ruffling and all those little finishing touches are what we admire lolita
fashion for. It could’ve been a very plain dress otherwise, but if you care to
look at it in more detail, you will see the depth these extra bits add.
Not the best view of my hairstyle, but a decent enough view of the makeup. I am particularly proud for having managed a liquid eyeliner line this thin! |
Whilst my
makeup or hair weren’t particularly exciting for this look, I thought that I’d
share a closeup of them anyway. Just like the coordinate, your by-the-book
classic lolita doesn’t need much to make it all feel finished and polished.
Emphasizing your natural look with just a touch of makeup is enough, although
if you’re feeling very confident about your face, by all means go bare faced.
Since it’s me, I couldn’t resist adding some lipstick, although I talked myself
out of red (my first instinct) and went with a subtler berry tone (a new
favourite of mine courtesy of the Colourpop x Disney collaboration).
Left outfit is from May 2019 and right is from October 2019. Despite me reusing some pieces (well, here boots specifically), thanks to all these removable pieces both coords look sufficiently different from each other. And hopefully from this one too. I still would like to try dressing this piece up one day - though at the same time I want to wear it with the Brigitte Regimen socks again and again! |
I’ve only had
this OP since March this year, but it seems like it’s become a firm favourite
already. It is genuinely very comfortable and easy to wear, which helps a lot
and is what I wanted from it, but the simplicity of it makes it super
versatile. Already I’m planning to wear it to my family Christmas dinner, if I
don’t find anything else to wear for then. Having said this, I’d also love to
dress this OP up one day into something a bit more elaborate (I’m thinking my
Shinku Rose overdress maybe). Though by the time that happens, I’ll probably
wear it several more times in various other simple ways.
I had
literally just put up my Christmas tree when I filmed this and since I’m
posting this in December, it’s only fair to include some festive shots. My tree
is only tiny, a hand-me-down from my Mum as part of my moving out gift package,
though I’d love to move it somehow so that it can feature in all of my outfit
shots over the Christmas period. Not sure how I’ll manage that yet, but let’s
hope that I can figure something out.
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