January Coords Roundup

You know what? People who moan about January and grumble that it’s dreary are starting to wear on me. This year I am making a choice to change my attitude towards January. It’s a new year, a blank slate, filled with new possibilities. Yes, I carry around a lot of very negative baggage around my birthday, but that’s a work in progress too. It’s ok to still be tired and recovering from the year we’ve just closed, but let’s start being more positive about January as a promise of a new start. Because for anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere where the weather can get you down a bit, if we don’t shift our attitude towards this month, then we’ll just create a self-fulfilling prophecy and will have a drab time. And with that oddly unrelated preamble, this is some of how I chose to look during the month whilst making the most of it!

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Coord 1: Hatsumoude

| Metamorphose Classical Sister OP | offbrand haori, ribbon, tights, and necklace | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Cutie Creator headbow | collar from a Little Dipper coat | handmade bracelets |

It's odd how the selfie that best shows off the eye makeup is one with glasses on.

The Year of the Rabbit is upon us. All the sweet lolitas are bracing themselves for the upcoming bunny prints.

To manifest a year filled with frills I went a little out of my way to dress in frills on January 1st (a little because I woke up later than I would’ve wanted, so despite having the outfit prepared since the night before, I needed to actively convince myself that I was going to wear this and not spend a day in pyjamas). I didn’t go anywhere, least of all to any places of worship, but inspired by the Japanese tradition of hatsumoude, or a first visit to a shrine in the new year, I tried to put together a wa lolita coord that referenced that. This is also hopefully going to help manifest Japan in winter 2023 for me, which I would really like to do - and then, who knows, maybe I will get to put together an actual hatsumoude outfit to take with me. For now though, this was comfy and warm for staying in and chilling on my sofa.

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Coord 2: First WFH of the Year

| Dear Celine Magic Book OP | Innocent World Lauretta OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | Cutie Creator headbow | Patisserie Pink Bookshelf brooch |

The first selfie taken quickly at the start of my lunch break before I make my food.

Cute bow peekaboos.

A combination of the ‘wear frills in 2023’ manifestation, the seasonal wardrobe split, and the continuing to wear frills more casually has been working. Because the reason I picked this was noticing how this OP would be packed away once winter was over and wanting to capitalise on wearing it while I can, as well as on how easy it was to look good by just throwing an OP on. Even though I’ve worn it with brown before, I forgot how well this colourway pairs with browns and bronzey colours, it is a surprisingly warm-toned print overall (which I think may be what’s been throwing me off when trying to coord it - watch me not act on this realisation now).

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Coord 3: Quick Errand

| Violet Fane Charming Town skirt | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | Axes Femme cardigan | Red Maria tights | offbrand boots, beret, and earrings | handmade headbow | Peppermint Fox brooches |

I keep going back and forth with this lipstick. It looks good with this coord though.

Anyone else feel like the height of the Peppermint Fox brooch craze is way behind us and it's almost surprising every time that PepFox does show signs of life still? I do kind of wish I hadn't missed most of their popularity peak.

The best errand ever as I went out to pick up my birthday cake, woo! This more than warranted dressing up and this bright, pink-based look with Charming Town really called to me. What can I say, I just love wearing this print with pink, that’s such a great combo. And it was an excellent day: I put the soundtrack from Hoa, which made me feel like I was on an adventure; I saw a gorgeous kitty, plenty of cute doggies, and even a fox during my time out; the day was bright, dry, and mild… And almost most importantly - the owner of the cake shop recognised that I was wearing lolita and we had the cutest interaction ever. I’m not sure whether she threw in an extra cookie and some truffles because of that or whether that’s just standard policy with cake orders, but it was a super sweet gesture regardless. Which I guess fits with their brand since the shop is called Be Sweet…

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Coord 4: Birthday

| L’Esprit de la Noblesse La Bibliotheque JSK | offbrand blouse, shoes, and brooch | Innocent World Rose Lace Millefeuille bolero | AatP Lace-Up Ribbon OTKs | Rose of Sharon hair clip | vintage necklace and brooch | vii ring |

This necklace belonged to my late Grandmother and even though it is very far from my style, I really love how it tied in to the coord and made me feel connected to a loved one.

Alexa, play the medieval cover of Toto's Africa.

And then came the day of adding another year to my tally. When planning what to wear, I was more focused with going for something I liked as opposed to something practical. The initial idea for this coord was also monochrome, but all in a darker shade of green. I wasn’t quite vibing with that and then remembered that I can do an all green coord with dark and light shades, which resulted in this. I’m very grateful for taking photos before leaving the house because it was a bit rainy and windy, so of course all the effort put into those curls did not survive that and when first styled I managed to achieve quite a voluminous cloud that was almost 80s looking. I spent the day fairly quietly: made myself a banging breakfast, then hung out with a friend during the day for dim sum and some light shopping, before coming back home to eat that cake I’d bought and open the Secret Santa for my Discord server which we wanted to do all together. Which did feel kind of like opening birthday presents, especially since my Secret Santa absolutely killed it and thanks to them I can genuinely cross out so many of my smaller wish/need list items! See for yourself if you don’t believe me.

Look at all this loot! The face mask was excellent and the chocolates were divine, though I am yet to try the teas or coord these pieces.

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Coord 5: Romantic Ouji

| Fan+Friend Alice Knight shorts | Baroque Secret Garden tights | Laura Ashley shoes | Gravelvet Iridescent Princess necklace | everything else is offbrand |

This ouji wants to take you on a romantic date somewhere very pink.

Hopefully everyone is focusing on the necklace and not on the glimpses of my underlayers.

Oh, it was definitely too cool to wear this, even around the house. But I was looking for ideas to wear these shorts (using Whering, actually), somehow the idea came to my head that I don’t need to tuck a top into the shorts, which led to looking for something with a more decorative bottom and ended up being this. It came together pretty much just as I wanted and I can’t deny that ouji is pretty comfortable for working from home.

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Coord 6: Craft Meet

| Violet Fane Otome Nostalgia skirt | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | Amavel cardigan | Snag tights | offbrand boots and beret | Two Days Slow hair clips | Big Pink Boutique earrings | Madillustration brooch |

Me? Trying something very slightly different with my makeup? Well I'll be damned...

One day I will figure out how to take nice detail pictures of earrings that aren't flatlays.

My comm’s first meetup of 2023 was a craft one - which in my opinion is perfect for a first meet of the year. Chill, easy to organise (especially if you ask everyone to bring their own projects), inexpensive, no pressure on anyone, which makes this very easy entry to new people. Accordingly (for once) I kept my coord casual, prioritising comfort and weather suitability, though as it’s Otome Nostalgia, this print always gets a lot of compliments. It was lovely to see that we were split almost perfectly down the middle in the ratio of comm old timers to newcomers. Although I was so focused on power charging through my project that I didn’t get to talk to people as much as I would’ve wanted to. Hopefully there will be other opportunities. And in the meantime I have an item completely done, which I need for an event coord next month, which is also important.

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Coord 7: On Wednesdays We Wear Pink

| BtSSB Snow Dot skirt | Lazy Oaf top | offbrand tights and necklace | Irregular Choice Flickety Kiss shoes | Larme x Eat Me hair tie | Banned Retro Bella belt |

The fact that I don't actually put that much effort into my work looks and still end up looking pretty damn great tells you just how far off my scale is compared to non-lolita looks.

No comment except for LOOK AT THIS!

My latest main piece acquisition, BtSSB’s 2021 re-release of the Snow Dot skirt, arrived and I could not let it linger unworn for too long. Fortunately, I have bought it with the intention of wearing it more casually and so I wore it to work the first chance I could. I genuinely made a beeline for the ground floor bathrooms, which are the nearest ones to my office with decent full-length mirrors, just to take the outfit picture in peace (perks of being at work early, as few as there are). This skirt might be my new favourite, the fabric has the most satisfying cotton swish sound that you could want - if you’ve been on the fence about the Snow Dot series, I hand on heart recommend it.

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Coord 8: Pride & Prejudice (*sort of)

| Haenuli Lovely Memories JSK | Axes Femme blouse | Metamorphose Swallow-tail Jacquard jacket | Red Maria tights | American Duchess Bernadette shoes | vintage hat | Tiny Passerine Creations The Duchess’ Tea earrings and ring | Madillustration brooch |

Can you believe that this hat is actually supposed to be worn with the bow on the side? The 80s were wild, it looks so much better with the bow at the front, but then I can't use the elastic band to keep it in place. Might need to try to resew it.

After haunting my thoughts for at least a year and then another 6 months of waiting for the pre-order to arrive, I finally understand exactly why American Duchess shoes are so good. I kid you not, I did not take these off for the whole day and did not feel any discomfort at all.

Let’s be honest here, this whole coord came around because I was desperate to wear the shoes with lolita. And I am super, super happy with how the final outfit ended up, it’s pulling together all the right vibes despite the fact that the jacket, the hat, and the shoes are all slightly different sort of classic. I also really loved how this blouse worked with this JSK - the shades of blue are not as massively off as I thought they would and the pintucked bib and the ruffled dress neckline blended so well together. Whilst it is sad that I spent most of my time in this coord stressing out over work stuff, as the first major pinch point came at me work-wise, it also got to be worn for the theatre, and my first theatre show of the year no less, to see Pride and Prejudice (*sort of). And let me tell you, if you’re in doubt about whether to dress up and/or do things solo, then you absolutely should. My own ticket was in a comfortable nook in the last row next to the sound booth (so I actually had some extra space). But an older man approached me, asked if I was on my own, and when I confirmed, he offered me a seat in the second row as his wife was poorly and couldn’t come and he didn’t want the ticket to go to waste. That was an incredibly kind offer and I’m sure my outfit played at least some part in helping him spot me. The show was also great, a snort-laugh comedy version of the original with plenty of very clever jabs at the book and a lot of breaking the fourth wall, I would very happily go see this again if I ever get the chance!

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Coord 9: Saturday Outing

| BtSSB Secret AIR MAIL from Sweet Kitty JSK | A.R.W. blouse | offbrand jacket and tights | Sosic Shop shoes | Imogen’s Imagination beret | handmade choker and bracelets |

Excited for an adventure in a book shop! Go take yourself on an adventure to a book shop if you haven't done one in a while. I used to go so regularly as a kid with my parents and am only just realising how much I miss that.

The beret is what I won at the raffle/Secret Santa at Sheffield's ILD and I think it may be selling me onto spending more on berets than just a pound, the difference in quality is pretty clear.

First of all, would you believe that I was on the cusp of potentially selling this dress? What I thought was a lack of ideas and a disillusionment with how it fit me turned out to be a petti not big enough to fill it and the realisation that with this length I need to pair it with either tights or really long OTKs. I joined the Aurora & Ariel 16m violent petticoat club (which is also what I wore above with the Haenuli outfit) and I completely see and endorse the hype. This outfit proved to be a very comfy ensemble to wear for a casual outing to town to check out the new bookshop (I timed it wrong in that there were kids-focused events going on and it was full of kids, but I also saw Peter Rabbit and the staff were all super lovely) and finally visiting my local architectural salvage shop (where I alternated between wishing I had more space and wishing I had more money). I gathered a sizable handful of compliments from strangers on this dress, which further cemented its fate and it’s staying with me, no more doubts.

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Coord 10: Virtual Twinning

| Summer Fairy Limited Menu JSK | Fi.n.t. cutsew | MuFish tights | Sosic Shop shoes | offbrand beret, necklace, and bracelets | Innocent World Art Nouveau headbow |

Took some portrait shots instead of (or more like alongside) selfies, so I'm sharing one of those for a change of pace.

Lots of pleasing lines over here.

It’s been so long since I twinned with anyone, remotely or in person. And one of the great things about dumb prints like this one (other than the sheer joy they bring to wear) is that they bring their owners together. @babelstitch and myself have been planning this twinning outfit for a good few months, wanting to have something that we were both happy with instead of twinning asap, and I am so glad that we did. This outfit absolutely rocks and we really got to get our looks as similar as we possibly could have. Both of those factors contributed to me feeling actually giddy with joy once the outfit was on and I started taking photos (I may have gotten a touch trigger happy and clicked away, grinning like a silly person, getting way too many photos). And unwilling to take such a cute outfit off, I simply changed the shoes to more practical ones and went off to do my grocery shopping for the week, where the dress got a compliment from another shopper.

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Coord 11: The Patreon A. Club Meeting

| Song and Temple Fairytale Library skirt | Pretty Rock Baby Spring Break Upper East Side cardigan | Angelic Pretty Alphabet Marine OTKs | offbrand shoes | Innocent World Art Nouveau headbow |

There may not be much of those curls from the previous coord left, but that was after four solid days. I forget how well shorter (i.e. lighter) hair retains curls, it cemented my decision to chop my hair off as a good one.

God bless Meitu for saving photos taken in indoor lighting.

Ok, so the simplified form of this was also just what I wore for a whole day (simplified because it was an office day), but once I got back home I added those extra bits and took pictures. Well, and then took the extra bits off for comfort. But still! The point is that I made an effort to dress up because in the evening I went to Patreon’s Fashion A. Club meeting (where the “a” stands for accountability). Honestly, even though all the other people saw was my head and a bit of my shoulders, being actually dressed in “my” fashion (i.e. the one that I get to represent in that group) gave me a bit more confidence because let me tell you, I barely even said “hello” at the first one I got so intimidated by all these accomplished and talented folks. But that group is genuinely motivating me to be my best as a creator and to aim high so that I’m not just some tag-along-loser-at-the-cool-kids-table and so that I can see that I deserve to be there. Anyhow, the outfit itself was a slightly surprising realisation that I haven’t got a green-based coord with this skirt documented when I’m sure I must’ve had at least one. The socks may be a slightly odd choice, but books, letters, they’re in a similar enough ballpark and I do kind of like the quirky touch they add. And now keep your fingers crossed that I can get on top of my life enough to allow the same space for creating as I got used to over the course of 2020 because I’m learning so much from the people in the A. Club and then my tired adult arse says “nope, brush your teeth and go to bed now, no more creating” (boo).

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After making a conscious effort to kick-start the month with a lolita coord, I think the manifesting ritual worked, I’m very pleased that not only I have my usual (as of recent standards) handful of outfits to share, but also that there isn’t a single one here that I’m not pleased with. Towards the end of the month my zest for wanting to dress up and create cool outfits was returning, I even did good on my 2023 goal by actually taking a photo outside like I wanted and my head is once again filling up with ideas. Not all of those are blogging ideas, but they will all end up on the Internet somehow - though some may end up behind the Patreon paywall. So to the regular vocal readers and to the quiet people who I know are reading my posts and who don’t necessarily always make themselves known - I do have a Patreon. I don’t mention it enough here, but the blog posts end up there early for everyone and there are a bunch of exclusives that no-one else gets to see. I would love to see some fresh faces amongst the Patreon crowd. Now, fingers crossed that this manifesting and creative energy can last and carry me through the rest of the year.