Black-Owned Brands Capsule Wardrobe

When the Black Lives Matter movement regained momentum with the protests following George Floyd’s death, many within our niche J-fashion community stepped up, sharing lists of Black-owned indie brands. Although pandemic still affects many creators, those lists are absolutely worth saving for the future as they are full of fantastic shops and people worth supporting. Sadly for me, the majority of those creators are based in the United States, so shipping alone would prevent me from purchasing, even if I was after something in particular. However, I had an idea of showing support and amplifying Black voices within our community another way.

Welcome to the second capsule wardrobe in a row! I am on a bit of a hype with these, but also I wanted to challenge myself whether it was possible to create a capsule wardrobe entirely out of Black-owned brands. There is a lot that I want to say about this, so do pause to get yourself a beverage before getting stuck in.

My Initial Concept

I went into this challenge wanting to make a sweet lolita wardrobe. Partly because as a substyle it’s simply that much harder to substitute things from offbrand shops in comparison to classic and gothic, and partly because this is the one that causes the most backlash. If white lolitas are struggling with being fetishised and objectified for wearing sweet lolitas, then we can’t even begin to comprehend the experience of Black sweet lolitas. In a world where so many will tell you - directly or indirectly - that being Black and being kawaii are incompatible, it takes incredible strength to be that visible, put yourself that much more in the spotlight for unsolicited comments and attacks from the society at large. So I wanted the capsule to celebrate the Black lolitas who embrace their love of this hyperfeminine pastel style. For the capsule I used brands listed in Buttcape’s post, as this was the most accessible, as well as very comprehensive.

The Capsule and the Reality

Once I started putting the capsule together, I realised two key things that affected this capsule.

Firstly, that there weren’t enough pieces within the colour scheme and style I was after (sweet in lavender with white and black). This is partly due to many of the apparel brands being focused on other things: gothic and classic for lolita brands and streetwear and wider J-fashion styles for the brands carrying pastel clothing. I was also limited to the stock photos that I could find and edit, which involved more digging around as many shops are currently closed. This resulted in a change of direction to shades of purple with white and black as supporting colours. This also meant expanding from just sweet to a sweet and classic wardrobe.

Secondly, there were some items that are crucial to a lolita wardrobe that those brands simply don’t carry. On the whole this is a result either of what an independent creator is realistically able to produce (jewellery is so much easier to make than clothing, and clothing is much easier than shoes or bags) or of what style the brands were catering to (e.g. printed legwear in pastel colours is more common amongst wider J-fashion style brands, which in turn tends to be a bit too decora to blend well with sweet and classic lolita). Chances are that these Black-owned brands probably do carry some of the smaller bits I’ve substituted, but they didn’t have stock pictures of them that I could find, especially as these are easy filler stock for convention stalls that doesn’t necessarily end up in shops. As such, where I could, I tried to make my substitutes from other Black-owned companies - where I couldn’t, I simply went with other indie brands in the spirit of supporting small creators, which this capsule is very much about. A real-life lolita would shop around from various sources and shops, supplementing pieces from wherever they could and with whatever they enjoyed. But allowing myself to use shops listing their wares on Taobao or Japanese brands seemed like a copout for this particular challenge, so I did the best that I could.

Lastly, just like in my previous capsule wardrobe post, I did not include any jewellery purely in order to keep the collage as clear as possible. Having said this, so many of the brands on Buttcape’s list are making jewellery for all lolita substyles. I constantly hear lolitas complain how they need more accessories and a few rings and necklaces will not set you back as much as a blouse or a dress, but it will still support an indie creator whilst filling out gaps in your collection. So do check the brands on that list, if you haven’t already, and shop accessories to your heart’s content!

Where Are These Pieces From?

This could get quite lengthy, so I will keep it brief and to a list. As this post aims to promote Black-owned kawaii brands, I will only link to items or source photos for those (not everything in this capsule was currently available for sale or from recent stock). For all other items I will credit the brand, but I will only add links for the Black-owned ones. Otherwise I will provide you with the platform I found these items on.

• My Tea Table JSK from DollBe
  
• Unicorn Tapestry JSK from Ivy Frozen Productions
  
• Purple Daisy Gingham skirt from Sugar Trampoline
  
• Natasha OP from Lilith et Adalia
  
• Adeline and Dolly blouses from Elegy
  
• Sleepy Bear Lilac backpack from Miss Candy Holic
  
• Shining Tears tights from Coco Kuma Studios
• Dazzling Cow tights from Coco Kuma Studios (I picked these because from afar the cow spots look like clouds, especially in this colourway - sorry, I felt the need to justify)
  
• Albino Accord tights from Elegy
  
• Nude Barre dance tights in Lycheetini and Licorice (Black owned) 
  
• Bag and shoes: Cotton Candy Feet
• Beret from Sugar Trampoline
  
• Black headdress from Lilith et Adalia
  
• Ivory headdress from Lilith et Adalia
• Barette from Pink Pandaloves (Etsy)
  
• Headbow from Larme Rose (Etsy)

A Few Coordinates

Sadly, the quality of the images that I was able to find varied very much, so these collages aren’t the best. I am very much an amateur of image editing, so I did the best that I could. Still, it was important for me to show some examples of what this capsule has to offer, both to prove that it is working and to showcase how well the creations of these various Black creators go together, that they can make coordinates as fancy as any other indie brands.

DollBe My Tea Table JSK

The coordinates for this JSK simply put themselves together. You may dislike black base with pastel dresses and honestly, I’m not usually a fan either. But I appreciate that this is a valid look and can totally imagine a few of my friends wearing those.

Ivy Frozen Productions Unicorn Tapestry JSK

Ugh, I am so mad that this designer doesn’t have typical stock photos! Yes, the photoshoots (which I presume were done post fashion shows at events) are gorgeous, but that doesn’t come across well here where you can see the hand I had to chop off. There was also a gorgeous lavender version of this JSK, in a somewhat fancier cut, but every photo of that had the model’s braid right across the bodice! So make sure to check out this brand’s Facebook and website to see the full photos and truly appreciate how lovely their dresses are.

However, that tangent aside, I love how both the cut and the print of this JSK remain on the simple side. This really allows you to dress it up or down, which I hope is evident here - despite that glaring gap where the model’s hand was!

Sugar Trampoline Purple Daisy Gingham skirt

Whilst the attempt at making this skirt be part of a fancy, elegant coord is a bit forced, I don’t think it’s a bad WIP example. Some accessories and extra layers, like maybe an overskirt, could zhuzh it up enough to bring it to that fancy level. In hindsight, maybe it would’ve been better with the ivory headdress instead for fancy vibes. Anyhow, the skirt is there to add a much needed casual option, as well as balance out the sweet ones. It simply can’t hurt to try something outside the box with it.

Lilith et Adalia Natasha OP

Dark shades of purple are very much underappreciated and underrepresented in lolita fashion, which is such a shame. As this OP demonstrates, the rich shade is enough to make any coord seem immediately a lot more elegant, refined and mature. Even with just a simple bow barrette this still looks good enough for a fancy tea party. And that is exactly why it’s good to have at least one OP in your wardrobe.

As you can see, although there are arguably still some gaps in the capsule, it offers a good variety of styles. This is in no small part to the blouses from Elegy. The high neck cuts in long and short sleeves work great for both sweet and classic coordinates, making for a perfect neutral base.

Final Thoughts

Whilst making a more gothic and/or classic capsule would have probably been a little easier, I believe that I would’ve encountered the same issues when it came to legwear, shoes and bags. And I wouldn’t have been able to shoehorn that adorable plush bear bag, which I really, really wanted to include because it’s such a perfect example of sweet lolita’s love for aesthetic over practicality without the Usakumya price tag. I also think that it is more realistic to show a wardrobe that includes styles that are significantly different from each other, since this is what many of us are like. Just because something is from two different styles doesn’t mean that it can’t be complimentary, which I hope this has showcased well.

Lastly, these are merely some examples of the fantastic creations these Black-owned indie creators have. As is no doubts standard whenever one makes a hypothetical capsule wardrobe, I ended up with a few things catching my eye, as well as some mental notes for brands to remember for later. It’s vital to keep an open mind because independent creators evolve and change - even many of these have started off years back making things that are very different to what they produce now. So whilst you may not feel like purchasing anything from them now, if you at least like their craftsmanship and quality, keep them bookmarked somewhere and follow them on social media, so that when they do create something you like, you don’t miss out on it.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this post and this capsule wardrobe. The above is only a snapshot of only a handful of Black-owned J-fashion brands. If you have any other ones that you particularly like, leave me some links in the comments, please!