June Coords Roundup

Halfway through the year. And bar three main pieces, I have worn everything in my wardrobe that is currently with me - even if not really thanks to this month.

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Coord 1: A Railway Soiree

| Metamorphose Gold Braid Tuck Pinafore JSK | offbrand blouse, hair clips, and rings | Snag White Russian fishnets | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Axes Femme earrings | Rose Marie Seoir necklace |

When in doubt: winged eyeliner, red lipstick, and a half wig.

Although boy, I really should do something about this half wig...

This year my comm celebrated ILD the day after with an afternoon tea on a steam train in Yorkshire. Thankfully I got a lift, so I didn’t have to compromise between the practical needs for public transport (beyond needing to be ready early) and ILD fanciness. At the same time, in the lead up to the meetup I’ve gone through a real outfit crisis of feeling uninspired with what I have, feeling like I have nothing that suited the theme, and feeling like all my options were for cooler weather than the sunny low 20s we had. So I decided to go with a somewhat basic outfit with larme-kei vibes, though in the end I admit that I was really feeling it once this was on. Even all the pictures I took, as well as all the ones that I had taken, turned out really lit, which in turn made me love the coord all the more. Our ILD was also on fire - literally as on the way back there was a fire by the tracks, apparently a common thing with steam trains. Considering how the train was the main attraction, we didn’t have very high expectations for the food itself, but it was quite nice. All that I’d say is that the staff could have been a little bit more present/attentive with the drinks refills, particularly as the day was warm and sunny. After the tea service we stopped at Keighley station for a whole bunch of pictures, and then some of us ventured back on the steam train (since we had an unlimited daily tickets as far as riding the train went) to go for a brief jaunt in Haworth. Overall, it was a really lovely day, a fantastic ILD celebration, and even though the early morning on the day combined with an early morning for work the day after was an objectively poor choice for my levels of physical energy, it did plenty of good for my emotional wellbeing.

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Coord 2: Back to Life

| Summer Fairy Limited Menu JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Angelic Pretty Twinkle Star socks | offbrand shoes and hair tie | Candy Kitsch earrings | Folk and Fortune Late Night Diner necklace | handmade bracelets |

Enjoying all the nonsense pieces that I have gathered in one outfit.

Fun fact, this photo was taken the day before I wore this coord, purely to get a nice backdrop for this necklaces as it had only just arrived.

After a solid week of crunch time I asked to work from home on Monday once my hell was over and took the opportunity to dress in something cute. Even though it was a bit too hot for frills, I couldn’t wait, so I adapted the coord as much as possible and then adapted myself by only wearing the petticoat for the picture. The dots on the cutsew are basically exactly the same as those on the hem of the dress, which I appreciate a lot. The day was far from the smooth return that I have hoped for and the coord made it better. When in doubt, wear your stupid pieces.

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Coord 3: It’s Been a While

| Violet Fane Charming Town skirt | offbrand top, socks, and corset | Hush Puppies boots | vintage hat | Lady Sloth Winter Spices necklaces | Innocent World Tulle wrist cuffs |

This post is just a progression from fancy to as bare-faced and non-fussy as I can get away with whilst still having it work with frills.

Good people: the AliExpress corset belt thingy. It's surprisingly alright.

So I’ve been slowly returning back from the brain-dead and by this coord I realised that I’d only worn lolita twice in the whole of June and only had about one week left to squeeze some looks in. Granted, even if I wasn’t all mushy-brained, it was hot, a bit too much for frills (or at least the frilly ideas that had me excited), so it’s not like there were tonnes of actual missed opportunities, but still, over the last three years the prospect of only wearing frills three times in a month became unusual to the point of scary. The original coord idea was even more casual (and less lolita), but that didn’t actually work on a body and as I needed to be in proper clothes, I quickly cobbled this together. The idea came out pretty cute, not perfect, but for something that was literally thrown together in a matter of minutes, it works well enough. And to be honest, the only things I would have changed would be the hair accessory and maybe the wrist cuffs, everything else I quite like as is.

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Coord 4: Summertime Supermarket

| Violet Fane Otome Nostalgia skirt | Axes Femme skirt | offbrand shoes and hair pins | Kreation Studio earrings |

Very messy braid crown, but the trade off is that I am wearing lipstick. Soooo, six and two threes.

This is a surprisingly flattering shape. Axes Femme really do some great cutsews, gotta give it to them.

All I wanted was an excuse to wear my new-to-me Axes Femme cutsew. It is still hot, hence the very toned down look, but I really like this top and it looks especially cute with Otome Nostalgia. This may be a combo that I’ll be rewearing more because it’s so effortlessly stylish, great for supermarket trips, but also potentially the office, casual date night, or just anything really. Also, I would’ve taken a proper coord pic, since this was a Saturday, but that week I was cat-sitting for my friend and one of Mr Panda Cat favourite napping spots is that fluffy rug where I take my outfit pictures, so I couldn’t be mean and kick him out of that!

Proof as well as paying my Fluffy Baby Tax.

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Coord 5: Work and Play

| Victorian Maiden Shirring Frill JSK | Innocent World Original Lace Millefeuille bolero | Sosic Shop shoes | offbrand socks and necklace |

Interesting how somehow I look like I have eyeshadow on when I don't. Must be this colour pallette on me.

Me: keeps thinking to add more small pendants and necklaces.
Also me: doesn't do that and circles through the same three.

I wasn’t even sure if I’d manage to squeeze a coord in before this post went up, but managed in the end. I’ve steamed this dress over the weekend in anticipation of a date that got cancelled in the end. Since the weather cooled down, I probably would’ve dressed up for working from home anyway, and another date was lined up for the evening - why the heck not. It’s neutral and simple enough. And yes, I don’t have a hair accessory because I wanted a pink bow to put at the back of my head and don’t have one, so since it wouldn’t have been visible anyway, I decided not to bother with a lesser replacement. When looking at how I’ve worn this dress previously, I noticed that I’m not actually that keen on the shape of the neckline, since all of my favourite looks involve covering it up with a jacket, cardi or a bolero, so here’s some food for thought. Although I’m also considering whether the dress may be cursed because this date also did not happen (though this time without the notice).

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There are so many things in June that are not conducive to frills, work stress and heatwaves being the main ones. So I am making conscious effort to stop and acknowledge that I have worn frills, as well as have worn cute non-lolita outfits in between (Whering has been so good for that!). On the day that this post goes live I am taking another week off work, though unlike the May week of leave I am not planning anything as ambitious as that. It will still be nice to take the time to engage with something creative and catch some physical and emotional rest. And maybe, just maybe, the temperatures will drop to something a touch more frills-friendly. If not - at least it will be Barbie month!

Metamorphose Brick House JSK Showcase

Cupcake Kamisama’s Shopping Service once again got to buy something pretty for someone else that we can now appreciate in detail together. This time we are admiring Metamorphose’s Brick House JSK in brown.

Whilst I was familiar with this print, I never paid it much attention. So I didn’t question this cut - a pretty standard JSK cut for Meta - until I tried to find it on Lolibrary and came up empty. There are no signs of this being altered anywhere and the original Mercari listing mentions buying it, so it must be a lucky pack version that is not recorded on Lolibrary, nonetheless it still gave me a little fright. I’m presuming that the lucky pack came out within a year of the original release, so this has to be either 2015 or 2016. If anyone knows more, please, do share!

Yet even for such a standard JSK cut it’s full of some lovely details. The sweetheart shape of the bodice is one that I would personally like to see more of in lolita fashion. Fully shirred back with Meta’s usual double buttons for straps is such a nice thing to have because you just know that this will be a comfortable dress. And I am a little enamoured with the straps. The ruffle sewed over them gives great textural detail without making the design too busy or too flouncy. It was also probably a really good way of using long scraps in a visually effective way. The satin ribbon for the waist is just that, nothing more or less, and at least it has some loops to hold it in place. Nice to have it, easily replaceable if you happen to lose it, and nothing super special if you’re not into them, though without it the bodice area probably is a little bit too plain.

On the opposite end, that is the hem, we have two non-detachable bows at the front. This is quite unusual for Meta, who are usually the kings of Everything Detachable, though I still support that choice. Those bows have a great shape to them and are tacked on very securely, so there is no worry of unflattering drooping or accidentally losing or ripping one off. And right at the very bottom the skirt hem is adorned with small scalloped lace with the letter “M” running in the middle of each scallop. This is the only lace used throughout the dress design, so everywhere there is lace it is that one. In my opinion, the simplicity of it works well with what is a relatively busy print: adds charm without overpowering the overall design or skewing it towards a totally different vibe.

That is all that can be said about the construction as such. Since it is a simple cut, the focus is (as it should be) entirely on the print. Which, having never paid attention to it or seen it before, I didn’t realise features cats and dogs in each of these windows. Moreover, almost every window manages to sneak in the brand name somewhere, so you know that these four legged friendos are all brand whores, which just makes the whole thing even better. So let’s not dawdle any longer and enjoy seeing what cute friends Meta has brought is in its Brick House.

It will sound so odd to say, but my favourite feature of this whole dress design is the shade of green on those windows and how it complements the shade of brown of the main body of the print. Don’t get me wrong, I love the pets, especially the cats, and the whole idea for the print is just darling. But beyond wanting to try out a coordinate with this JSK with light green I don’t feel the siren calls of adding this to my wishlist now. Which is all the better for me. Being able to gave such an up-close and personal look at a dress that I otherwise definitely never would’ve gotten is a great privilege and it makes me very seriously consider becoming a shopping service more often, just so that I could get these insights.

Types of Lolitas You'll Meet at a Picnic

Picnic season is upon us in the Northern Hemisphere - even the UK weather is oddly behaving and conducive to one. It’s a great activity for a lolita meetup because all it requires is some space that people can get to. The relaxed nature of it also makes for a good first meetup for a new lolita to attend since everyone can work out what a good picnic manners are (even though trust me, the afternoon tea etiquette is mostly a myth, don’t stress about it, it’s not Titanic dining with fifteen sets of cutlery). So to prepare any lolitas who may be new to their comms or who are going to their first ever lolita picnic, here are some types of people that you may encounter.

The Country Lolita

Starting out with the obvious, a picnic meetup is the perfect opportunity to bring out all of those country looks. Ginghams, straw hats, wicker baskets, ankle socks, berries, all of the things that contribute to a summery country lolita coord will make their appearance there. In fact, there will probably be more than one as the comm long-timers may have a designated Picnic Coord that they bust out once a year just for that. Country lolitas are also a wholesome bunch to join, so if you’re worried about making friends at the meet, dress in something country yourself to immediately feel like part of the group.

The Picnic Mother

Image from Dynamic.xyz

This could be the organiser of the picnic, but isn’t restricted to them. You will immediately know who the picnic’s mother is because this is a person who arrives PREPARED. Disposable plates and cutlery, napkins, a bin bag, wet wipes and stain remover pens, sunscreen, a water bottle, an insect repellent, super glue - whatever scenario might be likely to happen in the area you’re having a picnic in, their Mary Poppins bag has something ready just for that. Be sure to express your appreciation to the designated picnic mother (or mothers, although more than one are typically restricted to bigger comms and bigger picnic meets). It’s all too easy for people to take this type for granted and you don’t really know how important they are until you are packing up a picnic and no-one has a rubbish bag on hand, so don’t forget to say ‘thank you’.

The Lifestyler

Image from Pexels.com

More commonly known as a lifestyle lolita, even if the term does seem to be somewhat in decline right now. Think Momoko from Kamikaze Girls or an elegant Victorian lady and you’ll get what we mean. Although being a lifestyler goes beyond just the aesthetic. For them a picnic is as natural a summer environment as water is to fish. They probably contribute homemade biscuits for everyone, made to a very special recipe that sounds so fancy you expect it to be on the menu at an elegant cafe. Or they might whip out some handiwork to do whilst they chat with everyone like a bit of crochet. Don’t worry, the lifestylers won’t judge you or think you less of a lolita for not doing these things, this is just who they are and what brings them joy. And as they are often the quieter types, sit close to them if you need a breather from all the socialising, I’m sure they’ll happily tell you about their gardening.

The Entertainer

Image from Pexels.com

By this I don’t mean your typical class clown (though maybe there is someone like that in attendance). The entertainer can sometimes go hand-in-hand with the mother type, except that they make sure that everyone is occupied and having a good time. Instead of practical bits their bag is probably filled with magazines for people to browse or some portable board games to play in smaller groups to break the ice. If they are very experienced at this, they will even have games in their repertoire that do not require anything more than people, like charades, to get everyone to have a fun time. Even if you consider yourself to be quite a shy person, joining in with some of their suggested games is a good way to be a part of the comm whilst still getting to know everyone. After all, the point of playing lolita charades isn’t to win, it’s for you all to have a laugh at someone trying to mime a BtSSB print name like Heart Marble Chocolate and Sugar Coated Cookies (that was me, by the way, true story).

The Goth

Image from Pxfuel.com

What? Goths at a picnic? Yeah, goths go to picnics too! Some of them may be living up to the stereotype and hide somewhere in the shade, slightly on the side to the rest of the group, so scan your picnic area thoroughly. But others aren’t so fussed about a bit of sunshine and will socialise along with everyone else. Whilst some people wear multiple substyles and therefore adjust to something more themed to the picnic, those who exclusively wear gothic lolita will just roll along with the meetup and wear whatever they can, sometimes opting for comfort and sometimes sticking to their aesthetic guns. If you are a gothic lolita yourself and may have been worried about what to wear as a goth to a picnic, go talk to them. They will be happy to help you be one of them without boiling to death in all black.

The Photographers

Image from Pexels.com

Granted, this type isn’t restricted to picnics and appears at all kinds of meetups, but the bucolic nature of a picnic seems to bring out the photographers even more. Worried about getting an outfit picture? They will sort you out and help you with posing too. When you get home, you may find a whole bunch of incredibly cute candids that they took that are scrapbook-perfect to remember the day by. Some of the more outgoing or social media savvy ones will even gather people up for elaborate group photos or find the perfect backdrop for an entire photoshoot. The important thing is to not be intimidated by them or let yourself think that you’re imposing. They will genuinely be the first ones to offer to take a picture for you and if you can openly communicate your preferences to them, it will help them get it right the first time round.

Picnics are such a collective effort, it’s a big part of what makes them great for meetups. Everyone finds a place for themselves that fits in with their personality and it really brings a community together. You may find that in your comm one person wears several of the hats listed above or you may find that a group of individuals, each assuming one of these roles, is running this picnic like the most efficient factory line. Also, there is no right or wrong way to enjoy a picnic (as long as you’re being respectful to the space you’re in). So if you have an opportunity to attend one, go for it - you will not regret it. And who knows, maybe in time you will find that your comm considers you the designated type from one of the above?

Thank you to Bibliotheca for suggesting picnic as June’s theme. Even though I personally don’t seem to have one lined up yet to attend, it is good to at least think about having a picnic and remember the people from my comms whom I associate with the types above. But there is so much more to picnics that the other Bibliotheca bloggers will be exploring this month, so if you haven’t signed up to the mailing list, make sure to do that now!

May Coords Roundup

Did I crank things up to very high with coords this month? Yes, absolutely! And it was worth it all.

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Coord 1: People’s History Museum

| Metamorphose Polka Dots Shirring JSK | offbrand blouse, tights, shoes, and necklace | Innocent World Original Lace Millefeuille bolero | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow | handmade earrings | Axes Femme brooch |

I was still rocking some volume in my hair from the Festival of Vintage the weekend immediately before, so it was imperative that I take advantage of that.

Could this be my favourite of the Millefeuille bolero laces? A good mother shouldn't have favourites!
But possibly...

May kicked off with me being off for nearly two weeks and I decided to spend the first week of that museum hopping around the Manchester area. There are so many museums that I still haven’t been to, despite meaning to go, and this was my opportunity. Which warranted dressing up, of course. My main reason for picking this dress over others was that it feels like “a dress for the people”: comfortable, easy to maintain, cute yet inconspicuous. And it paired well with comfortable shoes, since my feet were still recovering from a weekend walking tonnes around the Festival of Vintage and the People’s History Museum is easiest for me to access on foot. It’s one of the most classic coordinates that I’ve done with this dress and I like it, it did everything that I was hoping for. The museum was also great, I learnt some things about events (both locally and nationally) that I didn’t have a clue about before and the exhibits were very much done in a way to make you feel the power that people have when they come together. I also appreciated the curators not shying away from facts that would be “uncomfortable truths” for some (like Manchester’s Industrial Revolution-era wealth growing on the back of cotton harvested by slave labour) and treated them matter-of-factly, which I felt shut the door on people trying to play the devil’s advocate because they only know the history of the British Empire as taught through rose tinted glasses. It’s a museum easily done within around 2 hours, so if you’re ever in the area and have 2 hours to spare, I recommend, two thumbs up from me.

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Coord 2: Manchester Jewish Museum

| Innocent World Georges Rose JSK | New Look blouse | Red Maria tights | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Baroque Repose of Queen hair clip | Violet Fane La Portrait de la Reine necklace | offbrand earrings | handmade brooch (not by me) |

This may be a bit much, but I was on holiday, a gal's allowed to live her best life on holiday.

Nothing hits the spot quite as well as a gobelin handbag.

Day two was also supposed to include an afternoon tea with a friend, but unfortunately things didn’t line up for them and that had to be cancelled. Still, the floral outfit worked well for the museum alone too and got plenty of compliments from the staff there, as well as some fellow passenger on the tram. I admit, I struggled the night before in trying to put something together, my mind wandered into all kinds of ideas in search of something new and exciting. In the end I went with this because “new and exciting” is incredibly subjective (for example, I haven’t actually worn this JSK with this blouse or these tights) and not exactly necessary. This outfit came out just as lovely and was a reminder that going against the obvious just for the sake of being different is making your life harder for not necessarily a big payoff. Meanwhile, this may be some straightforward coordinate as far as the individual items and the colour palette go, but it’s still really cute and I enjoyed wearing it.

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Coord 3: Museum of Transport

| Chrysanthemum’s Concerto Lost in the Garden of Eden JSK | offbrand blouse, cardigan, and socks | Bodyline shoes | Angelic Pretty Twinkle Sky headbow | Bow and Crossbones bangles | Patisserie Pink Lock and Key brooch |

Sticking to the theme of not overthinking things - my go-to makeup with the simplest hair styling possible.

I really should wear these retro bangles with lolita more. And maybe get a couple more colours.

It would not be an understatement to say that I had a crisis that morning. My original plan for the day absolutely did not work once put together and hand on heart, I went through at least 4 other options before I landed on this one. Of course because I was overthinking everything and stressing that nothing worked the way I wanted it to. And of course, once I stopped overthinking and just went with something, things clicked into place and everything was fine again. So yeah, it’s not a groundbreaking coordinate (again), but I felt really super cute in it and once again got a couple of compliments from the passersby on my way to the museum. This one, whilst also fun, I’d describe as more for the vibes if public transport isn’t something you’re really passionate about. But the vibes were still great, I hopped on a whole bunch of old buses and were it not that a primary school arrived shortly after me, it would’ve been a very quiet visit (though even then they were mostly all in one group following their guide and quite well behaved).

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Coord 4: Pankhurst Centre

| Victorian Maiden Shirring Frill JSK | offbrand blouse and earrings | Metamorphose Swallow Tail Jacquard jacket | Red Maria tights | American Duchess Bernadette shoes | vintage hat | Fantastic Grim Jewelry necklace | Latte Galaxy brooch | Peppermint Fox brooch |

The great thing about hats is that you get away with incredibly basic hairstyles.

Is it just me or has it been a while since Peppermint Fox released some brooches?

The moment when I regretted selling all of my lavender blouses because come on, it’s the Pankhurst Centre, wearing suffragette colours would’ve been perfect! In the absence of that, I went full-on colour theory since blue and pink make purple. The combination of this dress and jacket started out in the 1 Dress 4 Looks post and here it has been updated with pieces that fit the vibe better. I definitely did look historically-inspired enough to pass and when I tried the suffragette sash at the museum, it really completed the whole vibe. The Pankhurst Centre was as great as I expected it to be, focusing not just on Emmeline Pankhurst (though mostly on her), but including her daughters and what suffrage meant to them. Despite being located just behind a very busy area (smack bang in the middle of Manchester Uni campus and right behind the Manchester Royal Infirmary), it was very quiet, which made for a more enjoyable experience since the exhibition spaces are pretty small. I’d absolutely recommend visiting, it’s free though pre-booking is required, and there is also lots of other things in the area to get involved with if you want to.

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Coord 5: Chetham Library

| BtSSB Dreaming Sherbet skirt | A.R.W. blouse | Amavel cardigan | Angelic Pretty Brigitte Regiment OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow | Melty Wish earrings | Latte Galaxy brooch |

Forgive me if I look a tad tired here, this was the first day that week when I had to get up before 10am.

It still amazes me how much wear I get out of this brooch. It's one that I never would've picked out myself and yet I reach for it so often. One of the best raffle prize wins for me.

I must admit, I enjoy coordinating this skirt with academia as the main stylistic inspiration. It’s not the obvious choice for it - but it works so well! The coord and the styling are deliberately simpler because the forecast was saying rain during the time that I’d be outside. I even changed out of these shoes and into more practical boots. And then what? There was no fucking rain! I mean yeah, it was spitting here or there, but that wasn’t the dark clouds and thunderstorms that the Met Office was predicting. It’s Manchester, dammit, how is a forecast of rain not coming true?! Sure, it was nice to be in more comfortable shoes for once this week, especially since after the library I popped into a few other places, but despite the no rain, it was both warm (first outing that week where I didn’t wear a jacket!) and quite humid, so you can imagine what the boots, worn with fluffy socks for some additional protection, did to me. Still got complimented though. And nothing soothes the soul quite like a visit to an old library.

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Coord 6: Coronation

| Baroque Repose of Queen Teatime Dress | Lady Sloth Glitter Mesh overdress | replica socks | offbrand shoes and kokoshnik | Tiny Passerine Creations The Duchess’ Tea earrings | Puvithel Crystal Heart necklace | handmade bracelets | vii ring | Rose of Sharon brooch |

Why don't I wear this headdress more often? Oh yeah, it is very extra.

Since the overdress sleeve hid them, here are my handmade bracelets. They're very fancy.

First things first: do not start counting me amongst the royalists. My reasons for watching the coronation were academic, it’s a historic event that I never had the chance to witness and it could come in useful at one point if my writing ever took me towards similar events. And knowing that the city would probably be awful, as well as needing rest myself, I opted to stay in on the day. The coord is only very loosely inspired by the event, I was mostly after something quick and comfortable that could be taken off fairly easily, since I was also filming a collab video that you can watch here. The emerald accents were a last minute idea that I ended up liking a lot and may reuse in the future one day. You just can’t go wrong with an all white or ivory coord with colourful accents, you know?

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Coord 7: Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and the Postmodern Jukebox

| AatP Rosier Fleur JSK | Lady Sloth crop top | offbrand socks and jewellery | Bodyline shoes | Imperial Fiddlesticks headbow | vintage gloves | Bed Room bracelet | Banned Retro Bella belt |

Full honesty, this hairstyle had me thinking whether I should chop my hair off super short and start going very 1920s with my hairstyles. Part of me is still thinking about that.

I love this bracelet, but damn the jump ring the pendant is on has a knack for wriggling its way out of the elastic.

Since I was meeting a friend in between the museum and the concert, I needed an outfit that would take me through the whole day. So what you see above is a bit of a lie, I changed my shoes to flats after the photos were done - but everything else was unchanged. The Postmodern Jukebox concert was a lot more influential here, as you can probably see, since this is way more mid-twentieth century than mid-Victorian. And despite the mismatched reds and the mismatched tone (some bits are really casual, others are quite formal, some are more sweet, while others are more classic, yadda yadda yadda), the outfit was fun and made me feel great. As was the theme that week, it attracted its own share of compliments, but even without those I would have felt really great about how it all came together. But the shoe change was definitely a good idea! Plus, the concert was great, as was the museum, I’ve never read anything by Elizabeth Gaskell and after learning more about her life, I am inspired to. Or at least to see some adaptations since, you know, Victorians wrote much more lengthy things and I kind of just want to get to the meat of the story.

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Coord 8: Bank Holiday Afternoon Tea

| Angelic Pretty Flower Garden JSK | offbrand blouse and hair clip | vintage haori | Enchantlic Enchantilly The Crown of the Rose Princess tights | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Axed Femme earrings | Rose Marie Seoir necklace | Innocent World Strawberry Fields wrist cuffs | handmade ring |

Was that the day to experiment with eyeliner? Maybe not, but I did it anyway.

All the arm coverage!

To wrap up the exciting week off that I’ve had, on the Bank Holiday in lieu of coronation I went to Leeds for a chill afternoon tea meet with my comm. Very thankfully I was offered a lift, so I didn’t have to deal with public transport. And since that was the case, I leaned into the idea of wearing something more OTT and wore the outfit that Roli has put together for me as (a bonus) part of the Lolita Fashion Youtubers’ collaboration. Because a) it’s a really great outfit; and b) it meant that I didn’t have to do much thinking of my own, which by that point in the week I was very happy to forego. Granted, I made a few adjustments, mainly adding the obi for silhouette and dropping the fur hat because it’s mid-spring, which is not the time to be dealing with fur hats for the look. The afternoon tea was great, we had it at The Lost and Found Club, which officially has The Fanciest Bathrooms ever (seriously, it’s like a proper historical party powder room!).

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Coord 9: Resuming the Schedule

| Bodyline Sweet Macaron JSK | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | Banned Retro cardigan | Innocent World OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | offbrand hair clip | Tiny Passerine Creations necklace | vintage bangles |

Looking back, this kind of hairstyle seems to have been my jam a lot in May.

Hopefully even the snapshot of these beautiful bangles, which in no way shows off their full beauty, will distract you from the slightly awkward harm posing.

After a break of precisely three days I went back on my clothing nonsense, this time in a mostly monochrome attempt at wearing Bodyline’s Sweet Macaron JSK in a more classic way. One of my favourite coords with it to date is that sort of retro sweet-classic vibe, so I tried to do something like this again and I like how it came out. Especially the few bits that I picked up at the Festival of Vintage (two this year and one the year before), which really drove the more classic styling home. Those bangles in particular I’m chuffed with. The seller had these and lavender ones, but they were put as pairs of lavender and blue, not monochrome. When I asked if they’d split them into a pair of just blue, they very kindly did that for me. The picture is not the clearest, but not only are they carved, they have a sort of holographic effect on them, so they shine in beautiful hues of green and purple whenever they catch the light. Truly mesmerising.

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Coord 10: Slavic Representation

| Lady Sloth Slavic Bestiary JSK | offbrand blouse and shawl | BtSSB Polonaise Brillante OTKs | Hush Puppies boots | Kaneko headdress | handmade necklace and bracelets | Hello Crumpet Kukuryku brooch |

I probably won't make it for Eurovision 2024, but I'll learn to carry a tune and vote for me in Eurovision 2025, ok?

Look, I get that kikimoras are kind of malicious as magical beings go. But how could you hate her? She just wants to shoo men away, scare off children, and enjoy her own home that she's cultivated so hard. You can't tell me that this isn't a mood.

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 did not deliver the level of Slavic folk representation that I was looking for, so I took matters into my own hands to rectify. Well, partially because of that, mostly I was already planning to wear this coord since I put it together the day before whilst taking pictures for the 1 Dress 4 Looks post with this dress. I originally had an apron with it, since I was inspired by the kikimora on the print itself, but the apron would’ve covered up that amazing print, so it had to go. Some other time, sure, but not for this dress’ first formal wearing! Look out for this look in one of the future videos that I filmed too.

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Coord 11: Violets and Pansies

| Violet Fane Otome Nostalgia skirt | offbrand cutsew and hair clips | Enchantlic enchantilly The Crown of the Violet Princess tights | Laura Ashley shoes | Jule et Lily Sakura pin | Dentelles brooch | handmade bracelets |

Ok, fine, this bra wasn't the best choice with this top. But I actually kind of dig the vibe?

Proof of the perfect match between the pansy clip and the pansy in the print.

Having skipped Thursday as my typical dress up WFH day, I was determined to wear something frilly, no matter how casual, on Friday. My thoughts gravitated towards this skirt, since it is so easy and comfortable to wear, but I was stuck on coordinating options - so I turned to Whering’s Dress Me randomiser. As soon as it landed on this top, a lightbulb went on over my head and the rest of the coord made itself. Despite some worries that this light, cool-toned lavender might not work with the print, it all came together really well. I was also itching to wear my new pansy bunch clips, so even though I didn’t use all three of them, they still worked so well as a pair. The day started off quite stressfully, so I indulged in procrastinating in the form of doing my makeup, but then improved as time went by, which helped get into the weekend with a much more positive attitude.

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Coord 12: Late May Blues

| Song and Temple Fairytale Library skirt | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | offbrand socks | Sosic Shop shoes | Haruhi Clover headbow | Metamorphose Rose Letter necklace | handmade bracelets |

Towards the end of May I got into using lipstick as a blush, so my blush game got a bit more intense.

I keep thinking to myself to get more jewellery from Meta whenever I spot any on Mercari etc. and then just... don't.

Blues because damn, the weather is nice and I long to be doing fun things, but this time of the year positively sucks for me work-wise, so I was trying to cheer myself up by looking cute. With it being this warm, skirts are much more comfortable than JSKs, so I started off with that and built on top of that. It’s simple and effective. Though let me tell you, it’s hard to put your head down to work when you have a little fur companion bored and demanding your attention.

Banana for breakfast rather than scale.

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Coord 13: Tea Exchange Meet

| BtSSB Soiree of the Beginning of My Memories JSK | offbrand blouse, shoes, barrette, and jewellery | BtSSB Polonaise Brillante OTKs | Manda Rin Designs hat | Metamorphose wrist cuffs | vintage gloves | Rose of Sharon brooch |

I'm glad I kept makeup very simple if the best selfie I got barely even shows it.

Does the off-centredness of some elements here bother me? Yes. But I already retook the photo because initially I didn't realise those ribbons got twisted.

My Discord server did a  tea and snacks exchange a’la Secret Santa and we agreed to open our packages together during an online meetup. Whilst I had this coord planned out for a bit, Aunt Irma started off my day with pain, so I was worried that I’d have to change it last minute. Fortunately though, taking my time in the morning and taking the day itself slowly worked out, so whilst I got dressed very much just for the meetup at 5pm my time, it meant that I could wear this exact outfit. It’s a shame that I don’t have photos of the green barrette that I clipped to the bow on the hat for some extra colour balance, so trust me that it’s there.

The aesthetic loot picture.

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I am very grateful that I was able to pack May with so many outfits, including wearing almost all of my designated spring/summer pieces in this one month alone. All of that creativity did wonders for my emotional energy levels, recharging my battery so that I could get through the early June when my physical energy levels take a nosedive. And it has been so fun exploring all the museums - I vlogged each of those days, so look out for the vlog on my channel to see more. Now let me stew for a little with some television that doesn’t require any brainpower while I run on bare essentials for two weeks, I’ll be back to my usual cheery self soon enough. Also, I think it’s a little bit funny how you can track the changes in weather here based on my outfits - it did progressively get warmer, which explains a little bit more of why my lolita coords dropped down a bit.