New Lolita Life Goals

Life is throwing changes at me these days, so I needed some easy topic to blog about to get into the swing of things (and out of the swing of extensive, lengthy, energy-consuming posts that may or may not eventually see the light of day). And whilst searching for something that would be snappy without being too trivial or repetitive I remembered that ages ago I made a list of lolita life goals that I had hoped to accomplish. It’s still up there, right at the top of the page - and everything that was in there has now been ticked off.

That’s a great achievement in itself, to complete a list that something like 2016-ish me put together as a sort of marker of big goals that can't necessarily be done year on year. (That is what the Lolita Level Up Quiz is for.) On top of ticking all of that off, I too have changed and grown in those 6 years or so, both as a lolita and as a person. So maybe it’s time to make some new long-term goals? I do like a goal and something to strive for/work towards.

1. Triplet with someone

Twice now I was due to triplet with someone and it fell through for various reasons. For the same reasons that I love twinning, tripleting is all of the same joy and 100% more of it. Admittedly there are few main pieces in my possession that I know others to own, though it isn’t impossible. Ideally I’d love for this to be an in-person tripleting, but again, I’ll have to work with the limitations that I am given, so any kind of tripleting is good in my books.

Just like scheduling a meeting, the more people you involve in wearing the same look, the harder it gets to arrange, but boy is it worth it for the aesthetic!
Image from Apple-Salad.tumblr.com.

2. Host a panel

Although virtual events are gradually phasing out as the world reopens, there are still some here and there. Technically there are also conventions in the UK, though I only really go to one and actual lolita events in Europe are more focused on the tea parties, shopping, and fashion shows rather than panels and talks. Given the really warm reception to the Advanced Coordinating series, I think that I could put together a good panel in that vein. So when an opportunity presents itself, I want to put myself forward.

Bay Area Kei did some excellent online events that I've thought about applying to host a panel for before and always let the impostor syndrome get the better of me. No more of that.

3. Sew a lolita garment

Usually I prefer to be as specific as I can, however, right now I’m not really in a position to be. Encouraged by my success earlier this year in sewing an apron completely from scratch (and entirely by hand), I have finally, though slowly, started taking steps towards making my own clothes. For now those are non-lolita ones as I am still building up my skills and confidence, nonetheless eventually those should be good enough to make a lolita garment. So often I find myself being reluctant to spend money on garments that I perceive to be simpler, despite rationally understanding why they are priced this way, but also because none that would fit me have managed to tick all of my boxes. Being able to make precisely what I want and be confident in fit would be amazing, as well as a great creative challenge.

A skirt like this (IW's Fleur De Lis Lace Flare) would be perfect, since I struggle to find this style in my size and I could probably easily find a pattern for it.

4. Organise a big lolita event

I’ve organised meetups, some of them were fairly sizeable and very fancy ones. But I have at least a couple of ideas for big themed events which I would love to one day realise. And by big I mean around 60 attendees or more. With invited guests, maybe a fashion show, something more than just a fancy afternoon tea spread, maybe even spread across two days, though for now I’m only aiming for one. This has been on my mind for quite a while now (since at least 2019) and one day it will happen. It’s just a question of when.

Give me all this again, please. This is Strike A Pose Day 2.
Photograph by Liv Robroek.

It’s probably best to stop here. Sure, I could think of more if I put my mind to it, but it’s better to leave myself some room to grow in the future once these are accomplished. Plus, these aren’t like my yearly goals, which are shorter term targets that I would like to focus on in a given year. These are the big things, the ones that I don’t need to rush in any way because the sense of accomplishment is more precious when done right. So let’s have fun on the journey there!