End of 2019 Lolidrobe Reassessment Post

This year has been quite eventful. I’ve gone from one lifestyle to another, had to readjust my life accordingly and frilled intensely basically every chance in between that I got. And despite some genuinely ugh bits, it was a very positive experience overall. At least as far as lolita fashion is concerned.

Overview of Purchases

2019 somehow ended up being the year when I couldn’t resist impulse purchases as well as in the past, whilst also going from ‘I have basically all my wage to spend on frills’ to ‘bills before frills’. As always, I list everything that I’ve purchased this year and items bought between now and the previous reassessment post are listed in brackets.

• 10 main pieces (1 Classic JSK in green*)
• 11 tops (1 Classic princess sleeve in navy, 1 Classic high neck in navy)
• 4 cardigans/boleros
• 1 jacket
• 13 pairs of socks/tights (1 pair of Classic tights in sax, 1 pair of Gothic tights in navy, 1 pair of Classic tights in lavender*, 1 pair of Classic tights in ivory x red*)
• 4 pairs of shoes
• 1 underskirt
• 5 wigs
• and 36 sets of accessories (1 Classic necklace in blue, 1 Classic brooch in gold, 1 Sweet brooch in deep pink)

As I already mentioned, this year I haven’t been so good at avoiding impulse purchases as in the years before. Having said this, majority of my impulse buys were with smaller things rather than with main pieces, which always helps, however little. Moreover, this year I’ve also sold more things than I have in the past, having both replaced certain items and decided that others weren’t for me anymore. In the grand scheme of things it probably hasn’t alleviated the above spending as much, though hopefully made it that little bit more meaningful.  And looking at the list of bits I’ve replaced or wish and need lists items I was able to obtain does make me feel a bit better. But more on that as we go on. The above is a total of 85 pieces bought over the course of 2019, which is just one more than last year. Considering that this year included a trip to Japan, as well as my sudden impulse buying, this ain’t that bad, actually. It could’ve been much worse.

The Year of Moving

Whilst this isn’t strictly lolita related, it has had an undeniable impact on that part of my life. I have moved out of my parents’ place and into my own, after what feels like an incredibly long time. When it comes to lolita fashion, this means that I have much more storage space for my frills – not as much as I’d love in an ideal world, but enough. I’m also able to frill casually, such as around the house, a lot more often as I no longer have to worry about my parents’ smoking affecting my clothes. On the other hand, my move has put me in an interesting position as a Leeds comm admin who’s not that near Leeds anymore. I have no plans of becoming a mod for CLAM, although I will happily host meets for both comms. My heart is unquestionably in Yorkshire and with the Yorkshire comms, so I guess my commuting to meets hasn’t really changed that much from what it was previously. Although I’m also much nearer to a much better connected airport, as well as in a city with better rail connections, which opens up a whole lot of possibilities for travelling further for events and just to see friends. And you can be sure that my 2020 social calendar is already filling up with both of those!

The Year of Lookbooks

Doing the Around Your Wardrobe in 30 Coordinates challenge the way I had envisioned from the beginning has been super fun, even if heavily involved. And I am immensely enjoying doing those short videos! They allow me to channel my creativity in a different way than I had before and show off complete looks, not just the clothes. Truth be told, I have more ideas for those videos than I’m currently able or have the courage to channel and it’d be great if in 2020 I could expand on that at least a tny bit. If it wasn’t for a full-time job, I’d probably be done with all 30 prompts way sooner, but alas, the sacrifices demanded by adult life are cruel. One video a month, some of which require basically as much getting ready as attending a fancy event, is a lot already, so I’ll take my one video a month as a success and won’t complain.

So far I have done 8 prompts. And it's nice how on this collage they managed to split evenly between those I did in my old room and those at my new place.

The Year of Hosting Meetups

Only after stopping to think about it I realised that in 2019 I organised 6 meetups – that’s a personal record. And of those six, half were on the bigger side: co-hosting Summer ILD, hosting Winter ILD and the OT-Tea Party. If I were to add hosting the Doki Doki panel and fashion show to this, even though I can’t claim full credit for organising those, that pushes it to some truly astonishing personal achievement. Every time people thank me for the meetups, I respond with “It’s my pleasure” – because that’s the most honest response for me, it’s only convenient that it’s also pretty humble. I enjoy putting together meetups and providing something fun for my comms to do. So although my plans for next year already involve attending a lot of things, I will also make sure to host some too.

The Year of Style Expansion

This year I have tried (and documented) more new looks. From expanding on my gothic side and giving ouji a more proper outing to exploring the world of wa and joining #teamroland, it’s been quite a ride. You could even add a tentative trying of longer length dresses thanks to the beautiful Triple Fortune gown I modelled in (which prompted my buying a longer JSK, welp!). Hats are aother thing that is really growing on me and I’d love to expand my collection of them (berets as well as vintage hats). And green! I am loving the green pieces in my wardrobe so effing much and wish I had more, though I am very picky about shades and that’s simply not being delivered by the lolita fashion designers. Even when we think we know what we like, it’s good to try something new. Worst case scenario is that it won’t work and you’ll know not to get it again. It’s important to keep your mind open and no doubts that next year I’ll continue trying new things when an opportunity arises. I’m excited to see what things to try life will throw my way.

Would I ever have dared to buy a long lolita dress if I hadn't modelled this?
Probably not. Thank you, Triple Fortune, for the wonderful opportunity to
expand my horizons.
Photo by Stephan de Swart.

The Year of Style Confusion

On the one hand I know that I’ve been gradually (if unconsciously) distancing myself from sweet lolita and going more classic. On the other – I enjoy having the variety that I currently have way too much to want to give it up entirely. Sometimes I look at my past outfits and find myself most drawn to the tricolour retro-inspired ones and the classic ones. And then something comes across that either reminds me of why I love sweet or that makes me want to expand my collection with yet another different thing. So I keep toing and froing between wanting to streamline my wardrobe and wanting to keep it the inclusive ‘bits of everything’ treasure trove that it is. And believe you me, the toing and froing has been quite active and pretty intense! My wardrobe cull and the replacements/additions from the need list have been instrumental in ensuring that even with so many different themes and colours I still have a variety of coord options. Though will I ever settle on one or the other? We might never know, so let’s enjoy the ride for now.

Review of 2019 Goals

This was certainly an interesting year for goals, to say the least.

1. Did I wait a minimum of 48 hours before purchasing something outside of my wishlist: This one was a no on 2 out of 4 of these reassessment posts. Which probably is not the worst track record, but compared to previous years when I’ve been much better at controlling those impulses, it does feel like a shortfall. It certainly gives me something to think about and you’ll learn more about the how in my 2020 goals post soon.
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: Yes. It may have taken a bit of time and patience to sell all the things that I wanted to get rid of, but it was worth it. Moreover, I was able to let go of a few pieces that weren’t part of that original cull list, which is not a bad achievement.
4. Did I learn how to crop cardigans: No and halfway through the year I decided to not pursue this goal any longer. Part of this was due to just pure laziness on my part, whilst part was more to do with my needs shifting a little bit.
5. Did I wear lolita at least once while in Japan: Yes, more in the 2019.1 post.
6. Did I take part in 1 outfit prompt challenge: Yes. This challenge is still ongoing and though at times it was hard to keep up with the demands I set myself, I’m very proud to say that so far I’ve managed to keep up with it and do one post a month for it. If I manage to keep this schedule up, then we’ll get to the last prompt in October 2021. That seems like a long time away, so let’s make it worth the wait! You can see all of my posts in that challenge by clicking here.

This year the final reassessment post falls exactly on New Year’s Eve. I have thought very carefully about what could I possibly wish you that would be meaningful and not just simple pleasantries. And I think that regardless of what 2020 may bring to us all or what we may want to do with that time, I wish you that lolita fashion continues to spark some joy for you. And if it so happens that it doesn’t anymore – that you find something else that does. Let’s start the New Roaring Twenties (the Rawring Twenties?) with things that spark joy for us.

Happy New Year, everyone!