My Current Shopping Dilemmas

At times when there isn’t much happening in our personal lives, like this one, window shopping is a common, though dangerous form of entertainment. As you may have gathered from last week’s post, I enjoy living on the edge and continue to engage in way more window shopping than is healthy or advisable. Granted, not all of this is for lolita fashion, as the bulk of this is my stalking saved searches on eBay looking for second hand bargains predominantly for my vintage wardrobe. Nonetheless, lolita fashion content remains significant and there have been a few things that have caught my eye and pulled at some heartstrings. So in an attempt to vent out some of my frustration at not being super rich, as well as to organise my thoughts on each of these, let me share with you the things that I have been pining for as of late.

Innocent World Flower Tulle OP

This is a direct result of my doing the buy-it-now, buy-it-new capsule wardrobe post. But there’s more to it than that. I have been interested in this OP ever since it was first previewed in early spring last year. My hopes were to try it on whilst in Japan in March, however, the release landed in shops the day of my early morning departure. So I still don’t know whether it would realistically have a chance of fitting me, which is a big thing to consider before dropping this kind of money on an item of clothing. On the other hand, the recent announcement that Innocent World is worried for its financial future as a brand is something I’ve taken almost personally. Since their 20th anniversary they seem to have returned to their roots, to doing things they did well as a brand, which reignited my excitement with their pieces. There were so, so many that I adored over the course of last year, so many I almost purchased and inevitably would have, if money wasn’t an issue. So to hear that they have genuine concerns as a result of Covid-19 outbreak is deeply saddening and worrying. They have just started their summer sales, which this OP is part of at 30% discount, but even with that I’m not sure whether that is a purchase that I can justify in my current position. Still, every time I see that delicate floral pattern and this elegant cut, I can think of several lolita and non-lolita ways of styling this dress, which make such strong arguments in favour of buying it.

Angelic Pretty Dolly Damask JSK

Similarly to the Innocent World OP, my wine x ivory capsule not only reminded me how much I liked this release, but also shed light on it still being available on AP’s Japanese webshop. I stand by what I said in the capsule wardrobe post: this would be a fantastic dress to wear to non-lolita occasions such as weddings. It is elegant, though understated (for lolita), perfect for formal occasions and in a neutral enough colour and pattern to work as evening wear. Not that there are that many occasions to wear evening wear right now, though I fully stand by my friend @lolahbell and her putting on a ballgown for staying at home because you deserve to feel beautiful. I am still not going to buy this dress now because hey, that’s still over 30k JPY and if it’s in stock now, then it might live until the summer sales. Though judging by my being wishy washy about the Innocent World OP, will I actually buy it if/when it goes on sale? Probably not.

Physical Drop Nurse OP

Truth be told, whilst I was aware of Physical Drop’s Nurse OP for a looong time, something within me switched around last month when I suddenly decided that I wanted it. I don’t remember what caused that change and don’t know why. It could’ve been Lou Graves killing it with all his medical looks and me wanting to join that cool club. It could’ve been that since working from home, I don’t get to walk past the old Salford Royal Hospital on my way to the office, which may have been converted to flats, but still has the sign and the grand entrance, and would make such a cool backdrop for a photoshoot. Or it could be that with nothing else to entertain myself with, I simply looked at this OP in a new light. But until recently it wasn’t a real threat to my bank account since the colourway I wanted, white x red, was sold out everywhere. And then Atelier Pierrot went round and restocked it. Or, to be more specific, Physical Drop released a new version of it, as the one currently in stock is slightly, though significantly, different from the one that originally caught my eye. Nonetheless, it is an utterly charming piece which I think looks lovely on its own and without the nurse cap could be worn in other looks as well. Physical Drop is one of those brands that becomes hard to find second hand and even then it retains its value, so buying second hand isn’t usually that much cheaper than buying new. But at the current exchange rate, dropping well over £200 prior to shipping and taxes/SS fees is still very significant.

BtSSB Belle Harmonie ～ Melody of Resonating Wishes and Reunited Maidens ～ Ribbon JSK

Although I knew of this dress since the first previews, I didn’t pay it any attention until I started making the ILD quiz. For the “find the AatP amongst BtSSB” question I searched Lolibrary and that’s when the dress finally registered inside me. In typical BtSSB fashion, they went with a more is more approach, but as the print is actually on the simpler side, I do quite like it? The print reminds me a lot of Rapunzel’s tower because of all those wisteria flowers. At first I tried to tell myself that although my wardrobe is versatile, it wouldn’t be able to incorporate a piece this lavender. Then I realised that not only I just bought two lavender blouses, but I could wear it at least with pink and with white, maaaaybe with sax blue or brown at a push? After that I told myself that over 30k JPY on a dress was too much - and as if hearing me, BtSSB have put this on their summer sales, despite it being a relatively new release (the first previews on their Instagram appeared on March 25th). It is still a considerable amount of money, which brings me back to the “is this a responsible purchase to make in the context of my wardrobe”. Mana only knows how quickly I’d throw my money at Baby if I could just throw money at brands willy nilly.


Of course, there are also always things from my current wishlist that I am perfectly aware of being for sale right now (particularly on Xianyu). In this post I wanted to highlight the things that I have been obsessed with a bit more recently and more intensely. Will any of these purchases happen? I really, really don’t know. Whilst I am gradually finding the strength to say no to Belle Harmonie, the siren call of summer sales and the prospect of Innocent World disappearing are very hard to resist. At the same time, not only are we still in the midst of a pandemic that the UK government is not handling very well, I am personally in an awkward spot (short version: I should be moving, which will involve extra costs, but won’t know whether I actually will be moving for at least another 2-3 weeks). The knowledge that I may need those £200 that’d otherwise go on a dress for practical things is the only thing really preventing me from buying these dresses - though if that thread snaps, only Mana’s mercy could save me from trying to cheer myself up with some impulse buys. So let’s wait and see how all this plays out!