November Coords Roundup

Apologies that this post is a little later. I was very keen to include the final coord in this mix, but between going out on a weekday and not starting the post early enough over the weekend, delaying posting it was the only sensible option.

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Coord 1: Friendsical

| Bodyline L262 JSK and matching hair tie | Axes Femme cutsew | Angelic Pretty Lovely Ribbon OTKs | Angelic Pretty Drained Cherry socks | offbrand shoes and bracelet | vintage necklace | handmade bracelets |

Note to self: the 90s are a bit too minimalist to translate well into an excessive fashion like lolita - unless you do actual proto lolita.

Polka dots everywhere.

The month of November kicked off with my Mum coming over as for her birthday we booked for her and myself to go see Friendsical: The Parody Musical. Despite attempts to dress in something more closely inspired by the show, my wardrobe doesn’t really overlap with the styles from the show, so I went with something vaguely inspired by the late 90s/early 00s. The musical was so much fun - if you were/are a fan of Friends, then you’d enjoy it, it hit every nostalgia spot whilst also poking fun at the show. We were both cry-laughing in some parts and the whole cast did an absolutely stellar job at embodying the characters we’ve grown to know and love so much.

Enjoy the guest appearance from Huggsy.

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Coord 2: Quick Breakfast

| Violet Fane Ginza Kissaten skirt | A.R.W. blouse | Pairs Scotland socks | offbrand shoes and beret | handmade earrings | Lady Sloth Winter Spices necklace |

The light inside the restaurant wasn't really ideal for selfies, but it was good enough.

I'm sure that Ginza Kissaten would offer seasonal items, so the necklace with all the winter spices and honey makes perfect sense.

The day after my Mum and I decided to be fancy and eat breakfast outside. Since this was a very quick decision, the outfit picking process was as immediate as possible, though for a casual outfit thrown together on the go this is pretty good. It was cute and practical thanks to the wool socks, and we ate breakfast like queens at Dishoom, which is one of my favourite places for the vibe. The outfit photo background is only a fraction of how cool this place is.

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Coord 3: Pink and Furs

| Angelic Pretty Royal Unicorn Switching JSK | Axes Femme cutsew and collar | Violet Fane Antiquite tights | Laura Ashley shoes | offbrand hair clips and necklace | handmade earrings | Amadea Kingdom The Adventurer D4 brooch |

Truth is that I tried to wear the collar more closely to how it'd sit on the cardigan that I took it from, but it just would. not. stay. So I improvised this more open/less collar-like look.

It is incredible how the pieces that just happened to have landed in my possession become my "when in doubt" go-to's.

It wouldn't be completely dishonest to say that this coord came around because the evening before I hung out with friends on Discord to watch someone pack their summer lolita pieces and the vibes got me started on planning something. There were more reasons to dress up on a wfh Thursday, but that is how the coord started. In the process of looking for ideas in my usual way (what haven't I worn in a while and how have I worn that previously) I realised that I never paired this JSK with pink, and the rest just happened. The coord couldn't be too extravagant, since I was working and needed to be warm as well as able to move - otherwise I would've worn my pink L'Esprit de la Noblesse blouse - but I really like the varying textures that are here. Gobelin, velvet, ribbed knit, faux fur, suede shoes, wooden brooch, metal jewellery, fabric flowers - they may not seem like that much in theory, but they all add subtle nuances that make this look more interesting and not so flat.

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Coord 4: Saying Goodbye

| Metamorphose Shirring Tiered Ribbon JSK | Bodyline blouse | Innocent World OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | Le Petit Four headdress and bracelet | Tiny Passering Creations necklace and ring |

Despite attempts at protecting my hair from the elements, it's just impossible to completely shield it from that. Which is why I take outfit pictures before leaving the house.

Bracelet and headdress appreciation flatlay.

One of my lolita friends is moving to the USA and organised a very small meet to hang out before the move. She currently lives in York, and as we know, York is pretty which warrants dressing up. Moreover, I bought this headdress in Germany and was itching to coord it with this dress, so this was the perfect occasion. The right balance of fancy and comfy meant that I was able to stay out pretty late without feeling the typical ‘all day in lolita’ tiredness, though admittedly I also brought a change of shoes which I whipped out at the end.

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Coord 5: Brown Girls Do It Too

| Grove Deer Moon of Eternal Day OP | Amavel cardigan | What Katie Did stockings | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | offbrand jewellery |

I wasn’t sure whether to even include this because I don’t consider this outfit lolita, more like lolita-inspired retro. But if even the stars of the show noticed you and say that my outfit looked, quote, “sick”, then heck it, it goes in. I wore this with seamed stockings (saucy, I know), though even then this stays as a more casual look in my books. And especially next to my friend whom I went to see the show with, since they were in a genuinely incredible outfit featuring a Lief’s Gardenberries JSK. So yeah, my nerdy white arse got to be part of the cool crowd. Now, at the end of the month, having gone into the show with no knowledge of the podcast, I have started listening, am at the start of season 3 (out of 3) and am loving every single episode. The show holds a much deeper meaning to the South Asian listeners, yet it touches upon such universal topics that I find plenty to relate to and it's helping me drop some baggage whilst also have a great laugh. As soon as I started listening to it I realised that probably everyone should, it is genuinely incredible! But only listen where you can maintain some privacy because not only the topics are NSFW, but you will snort-laugh out loud.

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Coord 6: Fairytale of New York

| HeartE Tartan JSK | vintage blouse | Pretty Rock Baby Spring Break Upper East Side cardigan | Hush Puppies boots | Chrysanthemum’s Concerto beret | offbrand barette |

Damn trying to get a good selfie with artificial lighting.

Those quilted buttons will never not get me all excited, I want quilted buttons everywhere!

Let’s be honest, it’s hard to feel festive when you’re tired and it’s raining outside. But I did my best since my past self booked me to see Fairytale of New York, a sort of themed concert. The outfit was definitely way more festive and cosy than I was feeling that Tuesday, which helped lift my spirits up a bit. And since I wore this outfit to work earlier that day (minus the beret) and it got lots of appreciation there, it helped all the more. Part of me feels like I should have saved this for the Christmas lunch I’m organising next month, but the other part of me still considers this much too casual for that, so it’s probably all good in the end.

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Coord 7: Mini Man Meet

| Fan+Friend Alice Knight shorts | offbrand blouse, jacket, shoes, hat, earrings, brooch, and chain | BtSSB Border OTKs | Metamorphose Grand Couronne necklace | Jane Marple ring | Magical Mews Swan Hoe pin | Lady Sloth brooch | Love from the North pin | Equaliteas badge | Strike a Pose pin |

Paul came out to play twice in one year, this is unprecedented.

And now: all the pins.

There was an exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery about dandies and men’s fashion from the 18th century to now, so naturally this called for a man meet. My outfit journey has gone from red x white punk ouji to black x red circus ouji, before it finally merged the two into what you see above. It ended up way more Boy George than punk boy, but it was still a cool vibe for the day. The exhibition was really good, it did a great job at showing the historical garments with their contemporary counterparts to allow for that direct comparison and driving the conversation. It would’ve been a great one to have a lecture or a class around because some of the conversations that we had amongst ourselves were really insightful. Whilst our ratio of lolita to boystyle was way greater than the previous man meets I’ve hosted/been to, everyone was dressed fab. Shoutout to @cupkate_alice for joining me in my vibe and being my pair.

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Coord 8: Quick Filming

| Resailan Jewelry Box JSK and hair clip | Sentaro blouse | Innocent World Union Flag Lame OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Dalao Home wig | offbrand necklace | Le Petit Four bracelet | vii ring |

When I say the filming was quick, I mean it was quick. I did the barest minimum required and got out of this whole getup as soon as the filming was done.

Just accept that until I get through all of my new bracelets from Le Petit Four, you're going to see them in detail shots.

In other words, the look that only comes on for the purpose of filming and then is immediately taken off. Could it have been better? Yeah, of course. But I’m happy with it as it is too and am not really that likely to revisit it. That’s all that I can really say about this one. The video that this features in will be out on Friday, December 2nd (my nameday, coincidentally), so if you want to hear me talk about how this year’s goal of overhauling my wardrobe went, you’ll find all that there.

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Coord 9: Makers Markets

| AatP Rosier Fleur JSK | Axes Femme cutsew and bow brooch | Metamorphose Dressy OTKs | offbrand boots, beret, and necklaces | Cutie Creator headbow | vintage brooch | Metamorphose wrist cuffs | Rose of Sharon brooches |

I saw online that apparently the latest makeup trend is to look like you've just come from a walk outside when it's cold. Which is funny because that is kind of my natural colouring anyway? Not complaining, just enjoying being accidentally trendy and playing up what my face wants to do at this time of the year.

Quite like how these two necklaces layered with each other.

Wearing heels for a day strolling through some local makers’ markets might not have been the most practical idea, but I survived without too much pain and felt cute whilst browsing the stalls. This coord is another one that’s been living in my head for a while and although I’m usually not too keen on wearing light shoes against darker socks, I don’t mind it here, probably thanks to the green laces. The way the wrist cuffs and the cutsew work together is making me particularly happy - they’re not a perfect colour match, yet manage to look like one item rather than two. As for the markets, it was a mixed bag. I got most of what I went there for, but not as much as I was hoping for. I forget that those markets are still very much aimed at normies (or more accurately, I forget that lolita and J-fashion is still incredibly niche), so other than one stall that I’m a big fan of and some of the food ones, the only thing there that was of any interest to me were the candles. Except that I’m on a self-imposed ban on buying new candles, so even that didn’t really work. Oh well, at least I got things.

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Coord 10: Mousetrap

| Innocent World White Double Braid Tartan skirt | offbrand top, tights, and boot toppers | Axes Femme cardigan, collar, and brooch | Fluffy Tori pin |

My theatre booking spree also included a showing of Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap, which is currently on its 70th anniversary tour. Whilst I tried to put together something with a detective flair to it, between not having quite the pieces with that vibe and not having quite enough time to try to wrangle something else, I decided to simply go with whatever felt nice and kept me toasty. As I put this coord up, I realised that the last three times I wore this skirt I only took a mirror selfie, which is both an achievement (in light of my goals for 2022) and a little bit sad since it is a great skirt that deserves to be showcased in fuller pictures too.

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The penultimate coords roundup post of 2022. Festive season is already here (the Christmas tree in my living room says so, as does my Christmas cactus), so I’m once again contemplating dressing in some flavour of festive every day of December until Christmas. Although let’s face it, with more days at the office than at home, it’s likely not going to be as frilly as it has been in the past. We’ll see. As for November, there’s a nice spread of outfits here, some still very autumnal and then moving onto the wintery ones. It’s a good reflection of November as a month. Things have been a little bit shaky personally, but as I’m writing this, I’m optimistic and hopeful, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that is this year, so I’m trying to hold onto that. Seeing that light during the bleak late autumn/winter days isn’t always easy, but whenever I can manage, it makes the world of a difference. Hopefully you all are doing well and have something to offer that light, that spark of joy, that will keep you going through these final days of the year.