October Coords Roundup

Spooky Month has come and gone, and for a self-confessed non-spooky person, I did a surprising amount of at least spooping around. It feels like with each year I get more and more into the spirit of Halloween, so who knows what next year will bring.

*~*~*~*

Coord 1: Last Day of September

| Victorian Maiden Shirring Frill JSK | Pinky Girls cardigan | Roji Roji socks | Laura Ashley shoes | offbrand flower clips | handmade necklace | Q-Pot Tea Bag necklace | Dentelles brooch | Bow and Crossbones bangles | Risu Rose ring |

Bright and colourful for the last day before Spooky Month.

There is a lot of sin that can be hidden behind a large enough flower.

‘Tis not the last day of summer, but certainly the last day of September. I was so dead set on at least starting on the “me on September 30th vs me on October 1st” meme, that I made an effort to dress up. Also, with the outlook of packing up a whole bunch of summery pieces this was the last opportunity to wear this dress before next year. I can’t remember how I landed on yellow and pink as a vibe, but it happened and I am very pleased that it did because it is really cute. Not a vibe that I expect to be expanding upon within my wardrobe, nonetheless one that is more than welcome within my wardrobe.

*~*~*~*

Coord 2: First Day of October

| AatP Sugar Plum Fairy Princess JSK | Snag White Russian fishnets | Antique Beast headdress | everything else is offbrand |

You know it's gothic because of the makeup (says a classic-sweet lolita to fool herself)

I am so glad I bought these boots, I'm lowkey obsessed with them.

And the meme is complete now. This coord has actually sat in my head since sometime in summer and I was saving it for October. Other than the Halloween tea party in Ludwigsburg this is going to be all the true spooks that you’ll get from me this month, I have too much autumnal shit to catch up on and too much Christmas stuff to plan to bother with Halloween. But the coord was cute and at least it got a brief outing. Local goth goes McDonald’s is forever a mood.

Local goth goes to McDonald's, colourised.

*~*~*~*

Coord 3: Chill Meetup

| Innocent World Revival Sweets Teddybear JSK | Axes Femme blouse | Innocent World Tulle Lace Millefeuille bolero | Innocent World OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Angelic Pretty Royal Unicorn headbow | offbrand earrings | Latte Galaxy brooch | Slightly Ghosts Forget-Me-Not pin |

Funny how feelings change over time. I like the headbow and hairstyle combo more now than I did initially.

Fabric mixing, print mixing, shades of sax mixing - I will mix anything I can get my hands on!

This look ended up being my final No Buy Support Challenge prompt, so there is more about the coord and the meetup in that post. You can read it over here.

*~*~*~*

Coord 4: Swan Lake

| Bodyline L380 skirt | Yilia blouse | MuFish tights | Deary heels | Cutie Creator headbow | offbrand jewellery |

And here's the opposite, a selfie I don't like so much (but that was because I rushed it with no natural light left), but I accept that I won't like every selfie I ever take and that's ok.

This Bodyline skirt didn't have to go so hard with the textures. And I am grateful that it did.

And so the bonus coord got worn. Going out to see Swan Lake performed by the English National Ballet seemed like the perfect opportunity. Whilst part of me is sad that at 7pm it’s impossible to photograph navy as navy, part of me is happy that the navy being mistaken for black adds a layer of white swan vs black swan to the outfit. I got complimented a whopping 3 times: by a theatre staff member, by another audience member, and by a random person on the street, which for an outfit that was worn for only 4-ish hours isn’t too bad. Although wearing it made me realise that it may be time to replace my Classical Puppets petticoat. When I tried it on by itself, the poof was pretty sad and I had to layer another petticoat over it to achieve this. Admittedly, this is one of my heavier skirts, but still. Six years of wear, of which the last three have been pretty regular, isn’t bad going though.

*~*~*~*

Coord 5: Candlelight Experience

| Mary Magdalene Paulina JSK | Millefleurs Georgette blouse | Red Maria tights | Resailan Jewelry Box hair clip | offbrand shoes, necklace, and ring |

It's amazing how large the hair clip actually is and still it manages to not show up at all.

Obligatory lace appreciation photo.

Maybe you are also getting a tonne of ads for those (I think they are location-dependent), but after seeing my friends go to one of these events I caved in and bought tickets to the Candlelight Experience: The Best of Joe Hisaishi. Obviously this demanded that I dress up and whilst I wish that I got some pictures at the venue with all those candles, since I went on my own that would’ve been pretty difficult anyway. I went with something simpler yet elegant, making the two-tone blues and the lace of the blouse the focus point. As I was leaving in the early evening, I went with black shoes rather than navy - gasp, I know, but since navy would’ve photographed black anyway I just went straight to black. They were more comfortable anyway, which was important as I had a bit of a walk from the tram stop to the venue (and I only just about made it in time because trams were delayed). The concert was as magical as I hoped it would be. Whilst there was still a bit of daylight coming in at the start time of 6pm, by the end of it it was sufficiently dark and moody, and the string quartet called String Infusion played beautifully, bringing Joe Hisaishi’s Ghibli magic to life, I teared up multiple times. If you live somewhere where Facebook/Spotify/whatever also keeps advertising these Candlelight Experience events at you - I know that the ads are annoying and feel like a scam, but based on my experience it was definitely worth it. Treat yourself to some live music in an atmospheric location.

*~*~*~*

Coord 6: Casually Filming

| Metamorphose Polka Dots skirt | Angelic Pretty Whip Girl cutsew | Angelic Pretty Sugar Ribbon OTKs | Bodyline shoes | offbrand bandana | handmade earrings and bracelets | Dream Masquerade Carnival pin | Twinkle Kitty Boutique ring | Candy Kitsch ring |

The bandana is so not lolita, but it is a headpiece and it fits the vibes, so haters can stay mad.

I keep meaning to make more bracelets, they are so cute for lolita.

Starting a 3-day weekend with filming a pretty chill video. And a chill video means a chill coord, down to wearing a bandana instead of an actual lolita headpiece. Not that I didn’t plan on one, but as I was in the bathroom trying to work something out for my hair, it was there and gave me the idea to try it, which I ended up liking enough to stay.

*~*~*~*

Coord 7: Playboy

| Metamorphose Wizarding Lesson shorts | Haenuli x I Do Declare blouse | MuFish tights | offbrand boots, earrings, and necklaces | Milkribbon Misako brooch |

Serving you a look inspired by 1980s androgyny.

I mean, you can literally see my bra, this is definitely ero ouji and definitely most embarrassing behaviour.

Say hello to my take on ero ouji. Seeing as I was going to see Christian Brighty’s (@brightybuoy) show called Playboy, I wanted to match that thotty boi energy. And not gonna lie, this not only came out so well, but I also felt amazing in this! The show gets a solid 10 from me, I laughed so hard and it delivered on every front: costuming, showmanship, audience engagement/participation, and hitting the various types of comedy, from clever to downright ridiculous. I sincerely wish Christian Brighty all the best of luck with his comedy career and would love to see him on tour somewhere closer to home one day. Until then it will give me some time to think of another ero ouji look.

*~*~*~*

Coord 8: Book Launch Tea Party

| Dear Celine Magic Book OP | Atelier Boz Roland jacket | Angelic Pretty Crown Ribbon OTKs | offbrand boots | Antique Beast headdress | Fantastic Grim Jewelry necklace | Patisserie Pink Bookshelf necklace |

In some lights my phone's selfie camera just does this odd glowy halo effect-like thing. I'm not sure why, I promise it's not me putting it on.

A bookshelf brooch with a book print? Groundbreaking.

The whole reason for my coming to London was to attend the book launch tea party for D. H. Dhaenens’ book “Lockhart Mansion”. Do look out for my review, which will come soon and until then you can watch the vlog from the tea party itself here. Since this was a book launch, wearing a book print seemed like the most natural choice. This OP also minimised how much I needed to pack with me to London and was comfortable enough to wear late into the evening, since I went out after the tea party to see a show (The Choir of Man, if you’re curious). Also, since the book is spoopy (a comedy horror genre), I wanted to at least attempt something more on the spookier side and having dug out a previous version of this coord from this blog, I updated it with the headdress and boots, and was all ready to go.

*~*~*~*

Coord 9: Unboxing

| Angelic Pretty Diner Doll JSK | offbrand jacket and ring | Snag tights | Angelic Pretty Cherry Stamp socks | Sosic Shop shoes | handmade (not by me) beret | Angelic Pretty Sweet Cream Princess headbow | Fluffy Tori Everybody Can Be Kawaii pin | Sweet Dolly House Cookie Bon Bon ring |

Working out a lazy retro lolita hairstyle is hard, I'm still workshopping some options.

The ankle socks and tights option is cute, but in this case the colour contrast may be a bit too stark.

Hm, in hindsight I think this coord looked better in my head/on paper than it actually did IRL. The layering of the tights and socks was a cute idea, but I’m not sure if the lace on the socks isn’t quite big enough or if they’re just at an awkward height or if it’s the colour contrast being too high - it just doesn’t gel as well as it could’ve. (FYI, I tried this with no tights too, but that in turn wasn’t working with the jacket.) So it’s something that I will potentially do again in the future. All the self-concrit aside, it’s not like it’s a completely atrocious look and I enjoyed the brief time that I had it on to film an unboxing video. But the coord was off as soon as the unboxing was done in favour of wearing the new acquisition. Though it was an extremely casual rendition that I won’t even do a separate entry for, so I’ll just include the mirror selfie here for posterity.

Grocery shopping mode enabled!

*~*~*~*

Coord 10: Proper (though casual) Debut

| The Black Ribbon Konbini Market JSK | BtSSB Tulle Lace Round Collar Pullover Cutsew | Angelic Pretty Lovely Ribbon OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | Haruhi Clover headbow | vintage necklace | offbrand ring | Sweet Dolly House Cookie Bon Bon ring |

Freshly washed hair will just do whatever it wants.

Give me this ice cream, please!

This outfit was hung on my wardrobe to be worn for a full week because I either didn’t have the energy or the circumstances weren’t right. But the time eventually arrived and I wore this for working from home (which also involved a couple of errands outside) and it provided me with all the comfort that I needed. This JSK is so incredibly comfortable that part of me felt silly waiting so long to wear this outfit. But sometimes that’s just how the dice rolls.

*~*~*~*

Coord 11: Ludwigsburg Day 1

| Haenuli Just One Bite JSK | Lady Sloth Snowflake Lace blouse | replica socks | offbrand shoes, hair clip, brooch, earrings, and necklaces used as belt | Rose Thorn hat | Puvithel Crystal Heart necklace | Violet Fane brooch | Dalao Home wig |

The gigantic witch hat makes its debut! It was so big I travelled in this because otherwise I'd have to fold it to fit it inside my suitcase.

Pro tip: get two chain necklaces and combine them for a fancy belt.

Yours truly had the pleasure of attending The Banquet of Hexen and Menschenfresser - the first big, international lolita event since 2019! It’s been wonderful, made all the more special thanks to all the friends I was able to meet there after my initial plan of going to Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg in July were squashed by Covid. There will be more about the event, if not here then definitely on my YouTube channel (that will go out next Friday!), so I’ll stick to just talking about the outfit. This may be the most goth I’ve gone in a long time, including the one on October 1st. The coord is purposefully kept rather simple, as I was modelling on the day and needed to get in and out of it quickly, but even without that I don’t think that I would’ve done that much more to it. It’s balanced, it’s witchy, it was very comfortable to wear for the 14+ hours that I ended up wearing it, and I think the simple styling really lets the print shine.

*~*~*~*

Coord 12: Ludwigsburg Day 2

| BtSSB’s Polonaise Brillante ~ Ideas of Maiden ~ Apron JSK and OTKs | Axes Femme blouse and collar | offbrand boots, laces, and boot toppers | Rose Thorn hat | handmade earrings | Innocent World Tulle wrist cuffs | Fantastic Grim Jewellery necklace | Lady Sloth Winter Spices necklace | Brightlele wig |

I didn't need the ribbons as I sewed comb clips onto the hat, but thanks to them this cloud of a wig was finally out of my fac for the whole day - success!

I bought another necklace from this series at the event and I should've worn it too. Didn't think of the idea until now though.

Day two of the event included a tour of Ludwigsburg castle, as well as the day at the Pumpkin Festival that was taking place on the grounds. The original idea was sparked by @lena_golita, whose suggestion of a cottagecore witch kept eating at me until fruition, eventually ending with this. Though rest assured, I wasn’t that daft to wear these boots all day, I only took them out for photos and borrowed a pair of brown flats that saved my already exhausted feet from literally dropping off. And I have to say, as much as I enjoyed the previous gothic look, this one was much more me. A friend said that I looked like I “sell wacky love potions that occasionally malfunction” and not only is that the best possible description, but it really nails down what I was going for even when I had only the vaguest ideas.

I loved this coord a lot, which I think my face shows, so have one more (this time with the brown shoes I borrowed).

*~*~*~*

I returned from Germany bang on Halloween itself and needed time to recover after four days straight of early starts and late finishes. I think over the last few years we all forgot how tiring these things are and just how much we got used to doing very little or keeping things quite chill. But I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world! My life continues to charge at full speed ahead, leaving me with little time to myself and forcing me to choose between creating and resting, which is not ideal for my body, but I am not about to give up on the things that make me happy. This includes dressing up and November’s calendar is already filled with outfits to wear. Just because I’m older doesn’t mean that I’m always making smart choices, just that I am more aware of when I’m making the less smart ones. And now that it is November, the switch that flicked to the “on” position can finally be unleashed and I can start getting into the Christmas spirit…