The Wishlist On and Offs

You know the ones. It’s those dresses that you like, add to your wishlist and include in your search for a bit, then for whatever reason decide that you shouldn’t and take it off the wishlist. Until the process starts all over again. Am I really the only one who does that? Regardless, here are some dresses that I’ve had an on/off relationship with my wishlist and why.

Angelic Pretty Fantastic Dolly

 

AP's Fantastic Dolly JSK.
Photo from Lolibrary, I do not own.

Why I want it: If you’re at all into kitchy retro pop aesthetic, then this is one of the most ultimate lolita pieces for it. It’s super cute and the red colourway gives me those amazing Minnie Mouse vibes. It’s simply one of those prints that makes me happy when I look at it.

Why I decide against it: The only cut that I like, the ‘regular’ JSK, is still pretty high waisted, which I feel wouldn’t be very flattering on me. I’m also torn about the colourway. The red only has white and black as complimentary colours, which I feel would be a bit limiting in how I can wear it (not that I’ve ever really stopped myself from shoehorning another colour into a coord). However, the only other colourway I like is the white x mint, which I feel is simply too sweet for my wardrobe and style at the moment.

BtSSB Bless from Michael

BtSSB's Bless from Michael JSK.
Photo from Lolibrary, I do not own.

BtSSB's Bless from Michael JSK.
Photo from Lolibrary, I do not own.

Why I want it: This whole design is simply wonderful and beautiful. The dropped waist cut should be quite flattering for my figure, in a similar way that my AatP pieces are. It’s such an elegant dress which looks fantastic in pretty much every colour, although my heart is drawn towards wine and navy. And thanks to being a solid piece, it would be easy to style it with various themes.

Why I decide against it: For one, I’m still not sure which colourway I’d go for, as I like wine and navy equally, if for different reasons. This would also end up being one of the fanciest pieces I own and since I already have a couple that I struggle to tone down and end up saving up for various occasions, is adding another one really such a good idea? On top of this, despite multiple (almost annual) rereleases, this still sells at or above retail price second hand, so I’m not sure if I can bring myself to commit.

Angelic Pretty Princess Cat

AP's Princess Cat Tiered JSK.
Photo from Lolibrary, I do not own.

Why I want it: It’s fancy cats! How could anyone say no to fancy cats? I’ve seen this dress in person, though not in this colourway, and it’s just stunning. Thanks to having more dark accents than light, the wine colourway also looks super elegant and more mature than you’d expect a cat print to be. I can totally see it styled in some glam vintage way.

Why I decide against it: Again, the waist is a little bit higher than what I’d prefer. And it continues to retail quite highly second hand, particularly the red, which is almost always snapped up pretty quickly. I’m not sure that I want this print enough to spend that much. Although if it ever drops in price or if I luck out...

Angelic Pretty Queen Chocolate

AP's Queen Chocolate JSK.
Photo from Lolibrary, I do not own.

Why I want it: I remember seeing it at the Dream Masquerade Carnival fashion show in mint and being really enamoured with it. I still think it’s really pretty and one of the very few chocolate prints that I genuinely like. The faux halter/military-ish cut should be quite flattering and because the print design itself is much more subtle, I like how it could be both dressed up and dressed down. And whilst chocolate is a very sweet theme, the red x brown colourway looks pretty mature and is not so obviously chocolatey.

Why I decide against it: Oddly enough, it’s the colourway that makes me doubt myself. The red x brown is not something I normally go for and sometimes I look at this dress and think that it’s too dark. I’ve also decided to move away from chocolate themes, after a brief period of being very much into them. So whilst I still have some brown builder pieces that I could use, it’s not necessarily a colour palette that I want to be dabbling in too much, especially in sweet. And whilst the faux halter with military style lapels looks cute, because of how high the neckline sits, finding a blouse that works well with this might be a pain. So it keeps being relegated to the ‘I’d only get it at a super good deal’ category.

Knight Night The Secret of Kells

Knight Night The Secret of Kells JSK.
Photo from Lolibrary, I do not own.

Why I want it: It’s an amazing print that gives me the religious and historical vibes I need without being overly obvious about them. For a while now I’ve been wanting to do a King Arthur-era inspired coord (not that I’m particularly well versed in medieval fashion to begin with) and this would be the perfect dress for it. At some level I also feel that owning this dress would be my pass to officialy join IREGL, who are super cool and why wouldn’t anyone want to be a part of that comm? 

Why I decide against it: As is usually the case with Chinese brands, even when I’ve seen the piece worn by others, I am very wary of quality. Whilst Chinese brands often tend to sell cheaper second hand, even then I have reservations. Also, with my King Arthur-esque coord, I worry that this would end up being a one-outfit wonder - not that the piece lacks versatility, but more so that I would lose interest in it once I’ve done that coord. That’s not a good attitude for buying lolita pieces in my opinion, I’d rather be buying for keeps. Lastly, this has two JSK cuts, but I’ve not seen it in red colourway come up in either cut in my size, so I don’t actually know what I want.

Innocent World Carousel of Paris

IW's Carousel of Paris Ribbon Belt JSK.
Photo from Lolibrary, I do not own.

Why I want it: This one goes back to when I thought that carousel prints and circus themes would be more prevalent in my wardrobe. Though even despite that, on its own merit, it’s a super cute print. Owning another Innocent World dress in basically that exact cut puts me at ease that this would look well on me and fit, whilst the tricolour colour scheme would be easy to incorporate into my current collection. When it does appear second hand, it’s usually fairly cheap too, so it’s not a massive investment either.

Why I decide against it: It simply feels too similar to what I already have. Between Crystal Dream Carnival (a carousel print) and Revival Sweet Teddybear (a dress in the same cut and colour scheme), would Carousel of Paris really add anything that new to my collection? Also, whilst this particular print is leaning more classic thanks to the style of illustration and has that vintage feel to it, the theme is still pretty sweet, which I’ve been moving away from as time goes on. And although this dress’ charm lies in how simple it is, sometimes I look at it and think that it’s a bit too simple, in that awkward ‘too much for casual and too simple for everything else’ kind of way.

BtSSB Pastoral in the Grass Green

BtSSB's Pastoral in the Grass Green ~ Poem of the Shepherd ~ Firomera JSK.
Photo from Lolibrary, I do not own.

Why I want it: Oh, this is another one I remember being released. Back then I had absolutely zero green in my wardrobe and ultimately decided to skip it as I worried that I wouldn’t be able to coordinate it. But that’s no longer the case and as I rediscovered this dress, I rediscovered that I still really like it a lot. It also feeds in to my wider appreciation of folk-inspired prints and designs and it is a direction that I wouldn’t mind expanding my wardrobe with.

Why I decide against it: My main concern right now is about the cut. Although the listed measurements suggest that it should fit, I don’t have any dresses from BtSSB in this cut and I’m not sure how it would sit on me. The bib is also a little awkward and it might simply look weird with blouses that aren’t round/square neck. Whilst I feel like I have seen this colourway worn by someone on Instagram, I can’t remember what shade of green it actually is. The stock photograph makes it look quite light, which would be pretty tricky to match with the other greens I have. Lastly, now that I own Polonaise Brillante, which I absolutely love with all my heart, this feels like a lesser version (even though the two take inspiration from two completely different sources). And if given a choice to wear this or Polonaise Brillante, my heart will go for the latter every time.

Atelier Pierrot Elfy

Atelier Pierrot's Elfy OP.
Photo from Wunderwelt Fleur, I do not own.

Why I want it: This is such a cute design. It would be great for adding something more interesting to my daily wardrobe and as it’s 100% cotton, it’d be easy to care for. The cut looks very flattering and also seems like it’d look lovely with or without a petticoat. Thanks to back shirring and the fully shirred waist it would be extremely comfortable. Also, it’s available to buy from Wunderwelt Fleur, which means that I could pay for it with my store points and that’s basically like a free dress, right?

Why I decide against it: The fabric mainly. Whilst it looks lovely and light, perfect for staying cooler in summer, the UK is not exactly known for reliably delivering hot summers. On top of this, that cotton fabric looks like it’s prone to wrinkling and creasing very easily. Let’s face it - no-one has the time or energy to continually iron dresses, particularly in summer. And the thing with store points is that I always worry that as soon as I spend them on one thing, something I want more (like a high priority wishlist dress) will appear and then I’ll have to pay for it with actual money. Silly, I know, but I’m sure you get me?

Let’s stop right here, even though I’m sure that if I dug hard enough, I’d find more. So now you see how some dresses I managed to talk myself out of, then some time afterwards get into them again. Do you do the same thing? Or are you better at keeping your wishlist strictly where it’s at and don’t revisit things once you decided to forego them?