April Coords Roundup

Oh my gosh, spriiiiiing! I have missed you so, please, make yourself at home and stay with us for a while, it’s been too long and I did not realise the full extent your proper arrival would have on my mental health.

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Coord 1: Alice

| Metamorphose Shirring Tiered Ribbon JSK | offbrand blouse | AatP Alice’s Glittering Card Suits OTKs | Red Maria headbow |

Still figuring out how to selfie in my bedroom, the different angle of the window is throwing my selfie game off.

Anything Alice in Wonderland adjacent is far from my preferences, but I guess sometimes you just gotta let it all out.

Yes, this was worn for April’s Fool. And yes, I still actively dislike Alice in Wonderland themes, just like I have been on record saying. But I also needed something that was comfortable and easy, since I was filming. And since getting these socks from my UK EGL Secret Santa, they were just waiting for basically this coord since it’s not like I would’ve used them otherwise. It was nice to try something different and to have this look ticked off my list. It did its job. And the filming should be on YouTube soon, if it isn’t already (depending on what time you’re seeing this post).

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Coord 2: Slightly Later

| Resailan Jewelry Box JSK | Atelier Boz Roland jacket | MuFish tights | offbrand boots and necklace | handmade hat | Risu Rose necklace | Le Petit Four ring |

Oops, I accidentally uploaded the unedited photo. But go on, have something real here on the internet - this hat is covered in all kinds of fluff from storage.

Huh, I forgot that this necklace also had a skull. My ring choice was purely for colour and vibes, but I guess I accidentally theme things better than I realise.

My initial plan assumed wearing this on the last day of March, but as I wasn’t feeling too well it had to wait. Being set on packing up my winter things over the Easter weekend, I decided to wear this the weekend before. The coord did come out pretty much how I envisioned it, though somehow the pictures don’t quite reflect that. Still, as I wasn’t going anywhere that day, it kind of doesn’t matter since once the pictures were taken, most of the coord went off anyway. That’s the reality of dressing up and going nowhere. Not always, but sometimes.

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Coord 3: Retro Girlfriend

| HeartE Tartan JSK | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | everything else is offbrand |

Feels like a while since I parted my hair this way. It feels weird now to think that this used to be my go-to.

I really need to figure out a nicer photo spot for shoe shots.

The outfit isn’t really lolita, but then this JSK is only tentatively lolita. Plus I enjoy showing how J-fashion items can be used to create non-J-fashion looks, even when sticking to “the lolita rules”. And I do really like this outfit, it’s exactly what your retro girlfriend would wear to support her partner at a sports event. Honestly, insert a sport of your choice, the point of the girlfriend is that she’s supportive and looks good, not that she’s learnt anything about the sport. And whether you win or lose, she will take you out for milkshakes afterwards.

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Coord 4: More of the Same

| Bodyline L262 JSK | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | offbrand jacket | Angelic Pretty Drained Cherry OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | handmade hair clips and earrings |

Upping my half-liner game because that stuff is just as effective at half the effort required.

I'm trying to think if I ever actually wore these clips since making them and genuinely can't remember. Chances are that I never have because not long after I finished them I learnt that they're a slightly awkward shape for lolita fashion.

Well, not exactly the same, but I really wanted to wear this jacket again since it is warm, soft, comforting, and cute, and the vibes of the outfit are pretty much the same too. I figured that whilst I am working from home due to having a minor cold, I might as well dress up and keep my spirits up, which doesn’t have to mean overthinking my looks. And actually, even though the vibes are very similar, the overall look is still pretty different from the previous look, which the thumbnail image at the top of this post shows off quite well. Moral of the story is: don’t be afraid to reuse base coords and overall ideas.

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Coord 5: Arcade Meet

| The Black Ribbon Konbini Market JSK | Angelic Pretty Logo Embroidery cutsew cardigan | offbrand socks, shoes, scrunchie, and earrings | handmade choker | Melty Wish necklace |

Very happy with my makeup here. It's extremely simple, but by being more colourful it stands out just the right amount.

Big shoutout again to Melty Wish, the maker of this necklace. It got so many compliments frm the people at the meet.

I have a confession to make: I have never been to the Arcade Club in Bury prior to this meet. Despite being the weeb that I am, there has always been an excuse not to. So when the meetup was called, I jumped at the opportunity to finally tick that place off my list and immediately set on constructing a coord that would be cute, fit the vibe of the place, and comfortable enough to play all those rhythm games in - which you see right here. It all came together so much better than I had imagined and I really love the way this looks, from head to toe. It was a very fun filled day and just like fun filled days tend to do, it went by much too quickly. Definitely would love to visit the arcade again, preferably when there are no kids (though admittedly, despite it being the Easter weekend and a Saturday, the kids were pretty reasonably behaved, colour me impressed), but even with my being on a direct tram line to Bury, it is a bit of a trek to get there. Still, hopefully now that I have been and know what to expect, I will put more effort into going.

A few candids courtesy of @nyacinth. I will admit that I don't fully like the way I look here, I don't have a strong profile, but I'm sharing it anyway to embrace the fact that this is what I look like and I'm not always this carefully posed version that I share on the internet.

Another candid from @nyacinth. I look like I have an idea of what I'm doing - I didn't. But I had fun anyway!

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Coord 6: Easter Sunday

| Angelic Pretty Crystal Dream Carnival Tiered JSK | Lady Sloth underskirt | offbrand blouse and ring | Jane Marple OTKs | Deary shoes | vintage hat | Puvithel Crystal Heart necklace and earrings | vii ring | Le Petit Four bracelet |

Far from my favourite selfie from this set, but at least on this one you can sort of see the eyeshadow double wing that I did for some experimental funsies.

All the pretty navy jewels!

Since the underskirt that I ordered specifically for this dress is finally with me, and given that I did not spend Easter Sunday 2022 in frills, I was really in the mood to dress up. There is nothing particularly Eastery about this coord, unless we count it as being OTT like an Easter egg. The inspiration was mainly the underskirt, which to me always creates a more elegant and classy look, and leaning into that, as well as trying a variation of navy x grey since the 2020 version was actually a mix of grey and lavender, plus it leaned more sweet. For a day consisting mostly of food, watching Shrek (still just as great as when it first came out, a truly timeless masterpiece), and sitting on the couch, this was very overdressed, but it’s Easter and it’s not like I left the house. Though it was also overstimulating, so after being done with Shrek, which took me to almost 4pm, I did change into something a little less layered, so that I could cook in relative comfort.

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Coord 7: Bright as an Easter Egg

| Metamorphose Bubble Bath skirt | vintage blouse | Pinky Girls cardigan | Roji Roji socks | Sosic Shop shoes | offbrand headband | Dear Celine badge | Angelic Pretty Cute Ribbon wrist cuffs | Candy Kitsch ring |

Huh, I could swear that I wore lipstick that day, but it must be a lot sheerer than I remember it being...

Those bright colours make me so happy. No filter on the photo either! Just lots of natural light.

Easter may be over, but I have just swapped my autumn/winter clothes out with the spring/summer ones, which rejuvenated my spirits. Suddenly I had all these new (not really) main pieces to play with, as well as a day of working from home straight after the Bank Holiday, it was prime time for dressing up. My heart went straight to the Bubble Bath skirt because it’s silly, but also comfortable, and after an initial attempt at something monotone, I ended up fishing out the yellow bits to get as bright as I could. Sure, I wish that I had done something different with my hair, but I was also short on ideas, let alone the will, and this does the job and works with the headpiece. So yeah, I declare spring to be officially here after this grand (re)opening of my wardrobe.

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Coord 8: Suzume

| Lady Sloth Look at My Dreamy Sky Casual OP | offbrand blouse, shoes, jacket, and necklace | Snag fishnets | Chrysanthemum’s Concerto beret | Madillustration brooch |

The fact that I even bothered with any eyeliner, knowing full well that I'd be crying. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm overconfident, brave or just plain stupid.

This is how all the 'fun mums on Facebook' share pictures of their Snag tights. Though often with far worse backgrounds.

I kid you not, I have been waiting for Suzume no Tojimari to come out until at least November, when it came out in Japan, probably even from last summer when the first teaser dropped. So I booked myself to see it at the cinema the moment I could and dressed up for the occasion. Makoto Shinkai’s aesthetic is so rooted in that sky blue colour that this was the perfect dress for the film. I’ve kept my styling simple since I walked to the cinema, but also because the occasion didn’t exactly call for anything super OTT. The film was great, in my personal opinion much better than Weathering With You, not as to my taste as Your Name was, but there has been some… maturing, for a lack of a better word, within the themes (this could be a spoiler, so I’m telling you know to skip to the end of the bracket if you don’t want to read it, but there has been a good deal of healing one’s inner child within the film). I would definitely recommend seeing the film if you can.

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Coord 9: Green for Spring

| Metamorphose Sailor Tiered skirt | offbrand blouse, shoes, and jewellery | Innocent World Short Boots OTKs | Cutie Creator headbow | Metamorphose wrist cuffs |

Ok, I definitely did not have any makeup on here - yet somehow it looks like I have some funky eyeshadow situation going on here? How do faces even work?

The damn near perfect match between this blouse and wrist cuffs is oh so satisfying!

I know, I’d just brought my spring/summer things out of storage and am now styling it with a dark colour. But it is green and green is appropriate for spring. And for working from home and trying not to scream at my screen as the stress levels are rising again, this was perfectly fine and comfortable. And these wrist cuffs do not get enough wear, which is a shame considering how lovely they are, so all the more reason to whip out an ivory x dark green ensemble (and just look how well they match this top too!). One of my friends commented how this outfit was also quite sexy thanks to the sheer blouse and how high the skirt sits on me, which made me view it in a very different light. Still a good light, just different.

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Coord 10: Sweet Meet

| Angelic Pretty Diner Doll JSK | Niu Niu Shop blouse | Angelic Pretty Cherry Stamp socks | Bodyline shoes | Pink Up Fanny’s Dressing Table hair clip | handmade earrings and bracelets | offbrand necklace, brooch, and ring | Sweet Dolly House Cookie Bon Bon ring | Vendula handbag |

Another simple yet more colourful makeup. For how rarely I use blue eyeshadow, I really don't need a better one, but it was frustrating how much I needed to apply just for any of it to show up.

Whilst the coord wasn't based around the bag, it tied the entire look together perfectly!

Sweet Meets demands a sweet coord and ultimately Diner Doll won the toss up between it and Bodyline’s macaron JSK. It’s just a much more traditionally sweet piece, as well as one that matches the shoes better since I wanted something comfy for the day and the commute. I’m so positively surprised just how well the blouse matches the dress too! Except for the lashes, the whole coord was really comfy to wear all day, which is always welcome. The plan for the day changed as our initial place for food turned out to be closed at the advertised opening time (we later found out that they had unexpected problems that forced them to open later), though the secondary option was pretty nice too. The most important thing was being able to spend quality time with everyone and it was so nice to see literally everyone stick to the theme, not a single stray gothic or classic lolita around. Doesn’t happen very often with the Leeds comm.

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Coord 11: Uncomplicated

| Chrysanthemum's Concerto The First Semester JSK | Axes Femme ccutsew | offbrand socks and shoes | Cutie Creator headbow |

An actual fully bare face. Not a trace of anything and only just about enough sleep to rest off the mad week I've had.

Still not the best picture to truly showcase all these gorgeous details, but it gives a good enough indication.

Because not every coord has to be super elaborate. Plus, having gotten this cutsew recently and falling in love with all the lacy details at the neckline, it's great to be able to make them into a feature of the coord thanks to this JSK cut. I would love to have this cutsew in other colours - not sure what other colours it was origially released in (probably black, maybe something else), but I'd love those.

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At the risk of sounding like I am measuring myself against standards that are not sustainable anymore, I am really pleased with how often I frilled up this month. And I had to correct myself to say “frilled up” and not “dressed up” because I dressed up a lot more than this, but that was in different styles than lolita (and in fact I will be dressing up in not-lolita some more this very weekend). Still, both seeing my number of outfits get to more like what I was used to between 2020-2022 and having a backlog of photos to post on Instagram again (at one point early this month I genuinely have gone through all that I had to share, but I have a buffer once again) makes me happy in that bittersweet way that mixes ‘yay, I wore cute stuff’ with ‘I am self-aware enough to realise that this happiness is a manifestation of my internalised capitalist mentality that ties my worth to my perceived productivity’.

But, that’s a bit too much of a glum start to the wrap up of what is a very happy post overall and a pretty good month. I wore cute and fun outfits. The weather improved enough times to have had a positive impact on my overall wellbeing. As of the day this post goes live, I am starting a 12-day holiday. There is joy, friendship, and beauty in my life, as well as plenty of enrichment in my enclosure, that is far, far more to be thankful for than many of us express.

Choose an OnS Project with Me

As you will know from my last reassessment post, I haven’t even picked an Otome no Sewing project to make as part of my 2023 goals. The one thing I know about myself is that an element of accountability works wonders for me and also this gives me something relatively quick and easy to write about during a month when I would like to prioritise other things (hello, I am doing Camp NaNo once again). So I sat down, stealing some time when I should have been working, browsed through all three volumes of OnS that I own, picked a bunch of projects that appealed to me, and I will explain my thinking process behind them now.

Skirts

Both of these skirts came from the Otome no Sewing Book: Best Selection (which to me seems like a great way to get the most potentially useful patterns in one book, so if you’re new to sewing lolita and/or new to OnS, I recommend tracking this one).

The obvious pros here are that they would result in something that is very visibly usable and made by me (in a good way). The creative control over the process means that I could get exactly the kind of skirts that I like the look of in a size that fits me (similar styles produced by lolita brands are often too small), as well as select the fabrics that I would overall get the most use of. In other words, if I made any of these skirts, I would kill two birds with one stone by adding items for daily wear, like I keep wanting to on my wishlist. And although I am very much a sewing novice, way more comfortable with hand sewing than with using sewing machines, some of these are mostly made up of long straight seams. Surely even I could manage to overcome my fear of a sewing machine to zoom through a couple of bits like this, which if I did, would speed the process up and potentially free up my time to create something more.

The con of choosing a skirt, especially a design like one of these, is that it is probably deceptive and not as easy as it seems. Particularly the high waisted A-line ones - making them look good relies on making them fit very well, which is a skill that may be beyond my beginner understanding of sewing. Combined with patterns, which I do not yet have any experience in reading (in any language!), this may be a challenge of the ‘biting off more than I can chew’ category that may be better left for a slightly later point in my sewing journey. Additionally, whilst making things allows me control over how the end product will look, these days it is absolutely not cheaper to make something than it is to buy it. Good quality fabrics are not cheap, responsibly sourcing fabrics is not always cheap, and novelty fabrics that fit the lolita aesthetic are not typically cheap. For something that, like pancakes, may not be that nice on your first attempt, it feels that starting off with a less involved item is a much better way forward.

Corset

This particular one comes from OnS vol. 15, from the ‘Journey to Mastering Lolita Sewing’ section that they do, where they show an elaborate ensemble all the way from the design project, through mock ups, to fitting, and finally construction. Whilst there are elements of the whole outfit that I like, it’s the corset specifically that I am drawn to.

Once again, the pro here is that it’s an item that I would very much use and the kind of layering piece that my wardrobe is in need of these days. This particular corset is pretty elaborate at the back, so I would end up simplifying it to only include the corset itself and the hip overlays of sorts. Also, whilst I know that constructing a corset requires some extra maths brains, this is also a project that I would be much more comfortable tackling entirely by hand, as the slower construction pace would enable that thinking time. It is also only a waist cincher, so yes, a lot more fiddly sewing, but in shorter bursts that don’t feel as long and boring to do by hand. Lastly, as I have been looking around for other patterns to make my own boned garments, this could be good trial run before I attempt a bigger one to get my head wrapped around the numbers.

However, upon closer inspection, the actual pattern instructions within volume 15 are way too short, barely taking up half a page and with each step consisting of ultra-basic instructions like “make the drape” with no explanation on how. This could be because there are more detailed instructions in the 6-page section on that ensemble, but as a novice seamstress I need something more substantial and ideally supported by visual cues. Sure, I could go chaos demon on this and try to wing it, but I’m not sure whether it would produce the result that I am after or how useful the learning process would be. Considering that my goal with corsets specifically is to be able to make them well, this just ain’t the way.

Hair pieces

Again, all three of these come from OnS volume 15. Anyone who knows anything about sewing and what it’s like to start sewing is probably shaking their heads at this post and thinking why haven’t I started off with these since these are clearly projects at my level of experience. And the answer is: because I want to be honest about what it’s like to decide to make something and browse through a book like Otome no Sewing. All lolitas are magpies, so of course our eyes gravitate towards the big things, towards the main pieces that would actually be the point of a coord. But whilst some will have the guts to jump straight into the deep end, in my outlining the process for how I dialled back that magpie instinct to match what I am actually capable of doing right now I also hope to show why we fall into these traps of thinking that we could attempt something more complex sooner.

Since the pros in each of these three are the same: simplicity, accessibility, detailed instructions - I won’t go into those. Moreover, it’s not like any of these projects has a con as such. The differences between them boil down to aesthetic choices and personal preferences, so determining which one might be the best one to tackle might actually be solved by my wishlist. And based on that logic, I can instantly rule out the mini hat. With all my love for mini hats and with all my adoration of the pillbox hat, whilst this design is very cute and retro, it makes next to no sense for me to make that since I prefer my retro hats full-sized and I can obtain that second hand somehow at a much better value for money for time.

So it’s between the headbow and the beret, both of which are currently on my need list in various colourways. On the one hand, I have made a headbow before, one which I use fairly frequently too, although that one was a winged attempt rather than a structured process. My worry here is that this particular design would not sit as flat on my head as I would prefer and although there have to be some tweaks that can be made to achieve the desired looks, it’s a matter of whether I know how to achieve them. On the other hand, finding a beret the right shade of pink has proved to be harder than I thought, so making that instead of adding another red headbow to my collection of red headbows seems like a much more sensible choice. However, I’m not yet fully sure how I feel about this particular shape of it. I can always adjust the design to remove the oversized bow decoration from the back, but being used to wool berets that are much flatter, this almost puffed out design is just different enough where I wonder whether it would still count as a beret or if it’s its own category of hats.

Final choice

And so, after taking into account the patterns that I have available to me through the GLBs, I have decided to make OnS vol. 15’s beret as my first proper project from the mook. The headbow came incredibly close, but in the end, whilst it’s a style that I probably would make at some point, I am more excited by a different headbow pattern from a GLB that I can see myself make more readily.

Honestly, GLBs were often pretty generous with the patterns included. This one is a big stretch, but eventually? Maybe?

I know, did all of that really need an entire post written up? Well, yes. Writing is a form of talking something through with someone, but on my own - it helps me organise my thoughts and clearly separate the cons from the pros by applying a realistic approach to the decision making at hand.

This isn’t to say that I will fully stop at this one project or that the other ones don’t appeal to me at all. They still do and it might very well be that in some sort of reverse order I will tackle each of them sooner or later. Also, new volumes of Otome no Sewing will be coming out, which might have something that I am interested in, as well as they aren’t the only source of lolita patterns and crafts, as I already mentioned, there are a few interesting ones included in the GLB volumes that I own. The main point is that one has to start somewhere - and starting with something small and doable that is still a bit of a stretch to challege my skills should mean an increase in confidence that will then hopefully lead to an increase in difficulty levels tackled.

The Tragedy of Finding the Right Floral

This one goes out to my classic lolitas out there who will be able to relate to the pain of this post. Because believe it or not, at this point I have been looking for a floral fabric that I like for pretty much four months, I’ve scoured fabric shops, I searched for vintage curtains, looked at used bedding, even tried searching for floral sarees - nothing even came close! Although rather than wallowing in sorrow, which isn’t as fun to read (maybe it’s more fun to listen to given that people like a rant video?), I will instead endeavour to describe that perfect grandma couch floral that seems to be eluding me.

Photo by maadhuri g on Pexels.com

Why?

It is worth first setting the scene and explaining why I am on such a quest. Regular readers of this blog will notice that a red-based floral JSK has been on my wishlist for a good part of 5 years now. Yeah, ever since that Cool Rose JSK escaped me on Wunderwelt back in 2016 my psyche has not recovered. And it’s not like our fashion lacks in florals, it’s not even that I had picked a particularly unusual colour combination (ivory or beige base with wine red flowers is pretty common), but between classic lolita brands struggling the most with size inclusivity and my pickiness about the exact floral fabric, I realised that the best way to get what I want is to have it commissioned. The cut I have narrowed down to a T, I even know which creator I would ask to make this - however, unless I provide the fabric, I might not get exactly what I want.

Fast forward by four months, when I genuinely have searched far and wide (even if not necessarily every day) and I did not get any closer to that goal than I was. It is perfectly possible that some of my criteria was too restrictive and led to me missing out on something that would’ve ticked my boxes. At the same time, if I’m going to the effort of having my perfect floral dress commissioned, then it’s not that unreasonable to be choosy about what you get to make sure it really is the perfect floral dress of my dreams that I could only have gotten made bespoke. A thought occurred to me that there are such things as fabric preferences between different nations and that the reason I wasn’t finding anything was because it’s not the sort of style that appeals to Western European shoppers. However, I’m not really in a position to search through marketplaces and shops in languages that I do not navigate in - but the person working on my commission could. But only if I could be as specific in my description of that perfect floral as possible. And this is where my quest began.

The Perfect Floral

One evening of browsing through dresses under the “floral” and “roses” tags on Lolibrary later I was able to distill an essence of what it is that I am looking for. Not all of the pictures to a good job of showing that - but then if any of them did, I would likely be searching for that particular dress instead.

Colours

But Paulina, I hear you say, surely you’ve been descriptive enough about that from the start? Sort of, but this is the sort of mentality that falls under the “tell me you’re not a classic lolita without telling me you’re not a classic lolita” umbrella. As anyone who has been in lolita fashion for at least a year will know, colours are very important. Not just to get them to match, but to understand how they work so that you can coordinate them well. And there is more to my requirements. There are loads of shades of ivory and beige, the spectrum can range from basically white, through pretty vibrant yellows, all the way down to pretty much brown or grey. I want my dress’ base to lean cool-toned to begin with and stick to a lighter, less dusty shade. It doesn’t have to be an entirely clean colour or entirely cool-toned, as long as it’s light and doesn’t read as straight-up yellow either in person or on photos. A cooler undertone would in turn amp the contrast between the warm shades of the wine flowers. And I want that to be a saturated wine red. Not purple, not deep pink - red. There can, of course, be a range of shades of it, darker and lighter, some a little warmer or cooler, as long as they’re within a same tonal family. And if you’ve not searched for that perfect floral fabric, you’d be surprised how often you get either one or the other with something line “an ivory or beige with wine red flowers”.

Millefleurs Basque Over Corset JSK fabrics. Photo from Lolibrary.org

Size

Specifically talking here about the size of the florals. The word that describes it best is: prominent. I don’t want tiny flowers, since those can all too easily look like bedding and besides, they would not compliment the cut design that I have in mind. But the flowers can’t be too big either. By this I mean that I do want some of that ivory/beige base fabric to peek in between the flowers, as well that a floral that’s too big becomes a novelty print rather than a timeless classic that is a grandma’s couch or a Victorian wallpaper that I am after. There is a balance to be had here between something that’s identifiable at a glance not just as a flower, but as to what kind of flower it might be, that simultaneously doesn’t become comically large. In that same breath, the florals that I have gravitated towards actually include a range of sizes, bigger flowers or bigger bunches of them interspersed with smaller ones, creating a pattern that is not too uniform or schematic, as if it were drawn on graph paper, but a pleasing composition.

Victorian Maiden Lady Bloom JSK. Photo from Lolibrary.org

Placement/Arrangement

Once the shades are right and the flowers are a good size, it’s their placement or arrangement that often becomes the deciding factor. This is about more than just whether some of the base colour is showing through or whether there are smaller flowers in between the bigger ones. In big part because this is the stage where the overall dress design will be impacted by the fabric choice, but not just because of that. See, you have your all-over florals that are scattered seemingly willy nilly and yet still they don’t all feel the same. As I already mentioned, I don’t want anything too obviously symmetrical or uniform where a naked eye can instantly identify where the pattern starts to repeat itself. If nothing else, it just doesn’t feel elegant or imaginative enough. At the same time, mindful of how many boxes my perfect floral fabric already has to tick for me to like it, I’m not restricting myself to just that kind of arrangement. A keen eye might notice that both amongst the florals that I own and those on my wishlist there is a small running theme of vertical stripes made out of rows of florals. This is the sort of composition that reminds me a lot of Victorian curtains or wallpapers and it is incredibly pleasing to my eye. Moreover, it would compliment the kind of design that I have in mind beautifully, elongating the silhouette of the wearer. In case this didn’t give it away, this would be for an A-line kind of design, where vertical stripes accentuate that sort of skirt cut. And failing all that, though still staying within home decor territory - if it looks like an 18th or 19th century wallpaper that could be in some state manor, then I would also probably be into that. The subtle diamond pattern like the one on Innocent World’s Innocent World series is the sort that comes to mind first here, but truth be told, provided that everything else about the floral matched the expectations outlined already, chances are that I’d find enough room for compromise here to make something work.

Mary Magdalene Valeria JSK. Photo from Lolibrary.org

Other

Without getting too much into the actual dress design here (I have noticed in myself a tendency to prefer JSKs without lace at the hem, compensated by other structural details instead), those are to be agreed on with the seamstress doing the commission. Strictly fabric-wise, sometimes a perfect floral isn’t just a floral. There may be a secondary theme present in the pattern and indeed, a lot of floral fabrics I have found include all sorts of things, from ribbons to birdcages, to small critters, to angels, to books, to music notes, to crosses - you name it, there’s probably a floral with it. My ideal is to stick to a floral-only sort of fabric. But if push comes to shove, I’d be willing to compromise on something that includes a secondary motif as long as it truly is secondary and not too obvious. And as long as that’s not animals. I’m not fond of butterfly motifs (post-2000s aversion), I’m not keen on birds, for all my love of cats I want a floral print and not a cat print. This is where I draw the line. Everything else? I’m open to considering it. After all, one of my favourite floral prints that I still wouldn’t mind owning if it would only fit is Innocent World’s Angel Rose - those cherubs blend in really well and don’t try to steal the spotlight from the roses. This is what I mean. Oh, and whilst every floral that I picked out is roses, it’s not that I’m totally against any other kind of flowers. It’s just that once you narrow things down by colour, there aren’t that many other fabrics with red flowers being produced that aren’t poinsettias for Christmas.

Innocent World Angel Rose Cross Ribbon JSK. Photo from Lolibrary.org

Fabric

It may seem odd to list the actual material last when talking about searching for the perfect fabric. This is me realising that I can’t be too hard set on this if the other elements are what makes me like the floral versus not and those are the priorities here. Yes, I would prefer a natural fibre, cotton or linen, but that issue can be solved with the inclusion of a natural fibre lining. It is important to me for the fabric to be sustainable: either ethically made or even better, reclaimed in some way - vintage curtains and bedding fit that bill perfectly and often have more of the sort of floral patterns that I like - but if the perfect floral turns out to be something mass produced, I will have to make peace with that (and can work with the seamstress to mitigate its impact as much as possible). I would love the dress to be made out of something textured, like gobelin or a brocade, yet that might drive the price up to more than I would be willing to pay, so I’ll be happy as long as the fabric is matte. These are all things that I have considered so far and which I would still like to pay attention to. Ultimately though, sometimes compromises have to be made and this is where I’d be willing to make them.

Surface Spell Classical Brocade JSK. Photo from Lolibrary.org

Final Word

Funnily enough, in all this searching through Lolibrary I have actually come the closest to finding the perfect fabric that I ever have: on Millefleur’s Basque Over Corset JSK. Of course, typically of life, this is not the kind of cut or design that I have in mind at all, but the ivory colourway of it is damn near perfect in ticking off the various boxes above. Life simply be that way. What this entire exercise has enabled me to do is to really specify and verbalise my preferences so that even if I couldn’t send someone a picture and say “find me a fabric like this, please”, it gives a very good idea of what I’m after. Obviously, a commission, once it is actually underway, is a collaborative process and no reputable maker would take even as detailed a list/description as this whole post and just buy a fabric blindly. But hopefully going to such lengths to describe what I want would enable the creator working on such a commission to do most of the vetting of fabrics themselves simply based on this and thus save me from looking like a right picky and frustrating nightmare customer who just says “no” to everything.