July Coords Roundup

After the low showing of frills in June I was determined to change that in July. This post does not include the 4 coords from the lookbook I filmed and uploaded in July, so if you fancy including those it makes for a particularly strong showing this month.

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Coord 1: She, Queen of the Kings

| Grove Deer Moon of Eternal Day OP | Chess Story Secret Key of the Elves blouse | Lady Sloth Welcome to My Dollhouse underskirt | Innocent World Union Flag Lame OTKs | Deary heels | Haruhi Clover headbow | Puvithel Crystal Heart necklace and brooch | vii ring | Wicked and Whimsy ring | offbrand ribbon | Dalao Home wig |

I'm actually surprised how well this super basic makeup is looking on camera, this was some slap-on-with-your-fingers eyeshadow and blush moment with a bit of lipstick and mascara.

Behold: a one legged beast.

You know how we dress up to watch films at the cinema? Why not do that at home? It was a Sunday, I had the week after that off, the desire to dress up was there, as was the energy to watch the first part of season 3 of The Witcher - let’s do it! I’m not sure how the inspiration to try putting this underskirt with this OP came about. It did, I tried it, to my own surprise it worked (I was worried about the blouse and how the two sleeves would layer together, but there was a backup plan in case it wouldn’t work), and then it was just a matter of styling, which I chose to keep fairly simple. I would’ve given in to the comfort more and skipped the wig, except that it wasn’t the best hair day and that would’ve required too much effort to work, so laziness won that day. It was a good day, I had much more fun watching the latest The Witcher than I thought I would (as I’m only invested in the show because of Jaskier and don’t care much for the rest), then had a frozen pizza for dinner, before taking it off for the evening. A very chill day indeed and a much needed one at that.

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Coord 2: Asteroid City

| Haenuli Lovely Memories JSK | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | Axes Femme cardigan | Innocent World Rose and Diamond OTKs | Sosic Shop heels | Pink Up Fanny’s Dressing Table hair clip | offbrand earrings | Madillustration brooch |

That hair clip has been getting tonnes of wear and I feel that it's because it's one of the few smaller hair pieces that I have uploaded to my Whering wardrobe.

"Dream on" - a perfect catchphrase for seeing Asteroid City, less perfect for a date afterwards...

Sticking with the theme of dressing up to watch films, this time I had gone to the cinema to see Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. I enjoy the look of his films a lot and this one with all the Americana vibes was definitely right up my alley, so I tried to put together something with a Wes Anderson flair. To be perfectly honest, as much as I enjoyed the film itself, I spent a good chunk of my time during it analysing the clothes of every character on screen - which later manifested itself in waking up at 3am with my brain jumping on the hamster wheel of planning a lookbook that you can see here. Still, I had a great time. If you’ve liked Wes Anderson’s previous films, then you will enjoy this one. As for my outfit, I enjoyed the look, enjoyed how it came together (the only thing I didn’t like was outside of my control and not even visible on the photos here), and for all the promises of making July a Barbie-inspired month, I may have to concede that dressing like a Wes Anderson character is far more doable with the wardrobe that I have.

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Coord 3: Work and Books

| Song and Temple Fairytale Library skirt and bow clip | Axes Femme cutsew | offbrand socks | American Duchess Bernadette shoes | Naked Lace Company barrette |

The nearest window with good lighting is so far from the nearest good mirror toilet at my work and then I always rush to take the selfie because of how exposed I am in there.

We love a matching bow clip moment.

First day back at work after a week of leave and I decided to brighten it up by wearing frills. Well, that’s not fully correct. I booked myself to an author’s talk about their latest book in the evening of that day and figured that it’d be better to wear casual frills all day than to change after work. Having not tried a navy x pink combination with this skirt, I quite like how it came out. Had it not been too warm for layers, I would’ve loved long sleeves and tights version instead, but that’s something for another time.

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Coord 4: Playful

| Metamorphose Polka Dots tiered skirt | Axes Femme cutsew | Cutie Creator tights | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Antique Beast Hecate headdress | 4 Aces ring | Ribbon Holic bracelet |

I should get a move on with replacing my regular Antique Beast headdresses with the Hecate ones, they are just so much more flattering on me.

Here you go, Internet, enjoy the lies that I wore this bracelet beyond these pictures.

Of the new cutsews I got recently this is the only one that I haven’t worn yet and I’ve been absolutely itching to. The opportunity finally came for a WFH day. The Hecate headdress is too good to not wear and I like how it turns an otherwise cute larme-inspired coord into something a little bit more cheeky and playful in tongue-in-cheek sort of way. It shouldn’t work and yet it does, at least to me, so haters can stuff it uwu. Although as comfortable as the headdress is to wear, I took it off later as I was going out on a date that same evening and this was juuust a smidge too much. But in the vein of my post about dating in lolita the guy made only the most passing comment on the look and managed to very casually slide in some weeb by correctly identifying it as lolita, wihch I still take to be a success.

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Coord 5: Coord Challenge

| Metamorphose Bubble Bath skirt | offbrand top and necklace | Angelic Pretty Cherry Stamp socks | Irregular Choice Flickety Kiss shoes | Banned Retro Bella belt | Ublins sunglasses |

These sunglasses do not get enough appreciation - both because of the weather and because of how low the actual sun protection is.

Mint and pink with pops of red is such a summery vibe.

At the start of the month my Discord server started a sort of ‘dress me up’ coord challenge where we each picked a main piece for someone to wear within the next two weeks. Mine was picked by the lovely @coinoperatedcthulhy and it’s none other than Meta’s Bubble Bath. Thank goodness that I had mostly planned the coord out in advance because on the day that I wore it, I was way too stressed with work and way too tired just generally, so having something that was comfy as well as pre-planned was a blessing. Did I cancel a date just so that I could wear this in the comfort of my own home? Well, not just because of that, I needed rest first and foremost, but it was nice to know that I wouldn’t have to change because this is not something that I’d wear out on a date so early on, it’s too involved. Anyway, all this rambling aside, I like how cute and casual this coord is, the cherry accents are understated yet present enough to be seen as deliberate (which they are) and had I had a pair of pink sneakers, this would’ve looked just as cute if not even more so.

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Coord 6: Barbie Meet

| Angelic Pretty Cinema Doll JSK | offbrand top, belt, and shoes | Snag White Russian fishnets | Eat Me x Larme hair tie | Big Pink Boutique earrings |

Channelling my best Barbie smile. Which was super easy because I felt gorgeous in this getup!

The hair was the whole point of tihs coord, it deserves the detail shot, however messy it may look.

And, of course, the obligatory Barbie Meet coord! Even though I have the one pink lolita dress, it’s not quite the right shade of pink for Barbie. So in my head of heads I went with the only logical next inspiration: the original 1959 doll. And yes, she was released in a dark hair version alongside the blonde, so I am technically accurate. The look is pretty simple, relying entirely on the hair and makeup to pull it together, and I am incredibly pleased with how well it worked out. Less pleased with the day of the meet being rainy and thus extra humid, ruining the ponytail curls basically the moment I stepped out of the house. But I got several compliments on my BtSSB parasol from random passersby, as well as enough kind words about my outfit overall (including some awe-struck children), so I’m not actually that upset. And the film…! Oh my goodness, I knew that I was going to love it, but not realised just how much I would love it. Of course, in typical me fashion, I cried through like half of it, I tried to contain my squeals of glee at least a bit out of respect for the people around me, and as soon as we were out of the cinema room I was ready to do it all again. This is the best film of this year, nothing can top that and were it not for the strike action, I would urge filmmakers to even stop trying.

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Coord 7: First Time DnD

| L’Esprit de la Noblesse La Bibliotheque JSK | Lady Sloth Glitter Mesh blouse | offbrand corset | Innocent World Fleurs Checkered OTKs | Angelic Pretty Elegant Doll boots | Cutie Creator headdress | handmade hat | Amadea Kingdom The Adventurer D20 brooch |

I think lighting may not have been my friend on the day, I somehow manage to look a little under the weather here?

Lol, didn't realise that I did basically the same detail shot two coords in a row, it's been nearly a week between them, so I forgot.

I have had this outfit laid out in Whering for a while, playing around with ideas and trying something new without an occasion to actually wear it. The day that the group I joined to play DnD was finally able to actually start playing was also the same day as my half-day of work, so this was the perfect chance. As usual, allowances and changes were made outside of the photo for pure comfort reasons, since all I did was stay at home and sit at my computer (bar some packing time for the London trip the following day), but that’s all good. I do like how this all layered together and the colour scheme is satisfyingly pleasing with the gold and brown tones taking centre stage. As for my DnD debut, it was lovely to finally give this a try and I do love the character that I created (a ranger hill dwarf called Poppy Pepperbark). Everything is still new to me and I am a little overwhelmed, but the people I play with are super lovely and are helping me ease into it more.

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Coord 8: Travelling to London and Phantom of the Opera

| BtSSB Snow Dot skirt | Axes Femme cutsew | offbrand socks, shoes, earrings, and necklace | Eat Me x Larme hair tie | vintage brooch |

For instant elegance throw some pearl jewellery and gently prop your chin on the tips of your fingers. Results guaranteed!

I'm not sure what this vintage brooch is actually made of, but it looks super fancy.

The last days of July I spent in London as a friend was travelling there and I’m too far and too old to be bothering with day trips. So since I made it into a long weekend, of course that meant going to theatres. Kicking off with the very first day, which needed something more comfortable to travel in (because we all know that petticoats are easier to transport when worn than packed). However, as I was also going to see Phantom of the Opera, I needed a way to dress this otherwise casual coord up. And what better way to elevate an all-black outfit than with pearl/pearl-adjacent jewellery? This did the job perfectly and was just the right touch of fancy for a fancy gal who got treated by her fabulous friend and host for the weekend to seeing the musical from a box no less. Holiday vibes are always so much better when accompanied by that touch of class to your ‘treat yo’self’ attitude.

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Coord 9: A Day at the Theatre

| Haenuli Whipped Cream Kitty JSK | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | Banned Retro cardigan | Angelic Pretty Sugar Ribbon OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | Innocent World Art Nouveau headbow | offbrand earrings | Folk and Fortune Late Night Diner brooch | Patisserie Pink Lock and Key brooch | Innocent World Playing Cards Chocolate bag |

Glowing at a train station = much kawaii.

You goootta start somewhere! Sorry, I have the Back to the Future: The Musical soundtrack on a loop ever since getting home.

On Saturday I had a whole day at the theatre planned - and I had to balance two fairly different shows no less. For the matinee I took my friend up on their recommendation of seeing the play called Accidental Death of an Anarchist, a fast-paced socio-political satirical farce originally written in 1970 and adapted for the West End (and I must say, both incredibly relevant in the year 2023 and still impeccably brought up to speed). Whereas in the evening I took myself to see Back to the Future: The Musical, also influenced by the same friend who was obsessed with this show for a while and still loves it. So in a way, I did a theatre Barbenheimer. As such I opted for the classic tricolour with retro touches. It’s still elegant enough to be just your generic theatregoer’s look to see a play about a very serious subject, whilst kitschy enough to work for a retro-nostalgia musical. I also specifically picked the brooch for the play, the lock and key being a metaphor for the sort of whodunnit vibes of the play (was it an accidental death or was it a murder?), whilst the diner necklace was for the musical since there are a few scenes set in the diner. Everything came together just as I wanted it to, I came out of both shows full of love for them and would absolutely see either of them again. And I will add that pretty much all the staff at the Adelphi Theatre, where Back to the Future is playing, were super nice and complimentary about my outfit, pretty much every single one of them said something nice to me. Go see both shows if you get the chance!

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Coord 10: Witches Reunited

| Lady Sloth Slavic Bestiary JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Snag White Russian fishnets | offbrand shoes | Antique Beast headdress | Fantastic Grim Jewelry necklace | Violet Fane Apothecary brooch | Patisserie Pink Bottled Stardust brooch | Summer Tales Boutique Strike a Pose pin | Violet Fane Esoteric Shop brooch | handmade bracelets | Ublins glasses |

I'm still not entirely sure whether this coord can be classed as gothic, but heck it, I was a cute witch and that's all that matters.

A round of applause for this brooch which stayed on the rope all day!

The whole reason why I was in London was to be reunited with my favourite witches for a witchy afternoon tea experience and a general day of good company. I was adamant about not bringing in my witch hat, so needed to work out a hat-less look that was still witchy and seeing as, if anything, I am a kitchen witch, I went in with those vibes. Yes, this JSK is printed with beasts, but also bunches of herbs and text from a bestiary, who says that those aren’t included in a recipe book to explain how to prepare a horn or a talon? I do wish that I did something a little bit more detailed on the legs, but I have packed and coordinated around comfortable shoes (I did at least 12k steps every day that I was in London), plus with the multitasking packing and reusing items like this cutsew, this was already leaning a touch sweeter than I would’ve wanted and I just don’t have legwear with that kind of a vibe. Still, the coord came out pretty cute and to my liking, and once the witches have reunited, it was a whole day of cackling and good vibes. The afternoon tea itself was great on the theming front, really bringing the magic to life (and no affiliation with/money given to a certain JKR person), although they really could’ve done a better ratio of savoury to sweet. Two finger sandwiches and a mini quiche are not enough to balance out a tray of sweets. Thank goodness that in the evening we went out for dim sum at Din Tai Fung (which I am currently in love with and dream of their xiao long bao), otherwise the sugar rush would’ve fully crashed me.

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Considering the utter ups and downs of the weather in July, this is a pretty impressive spread of coords. Weather forecasts keep threatening more heatwaves, but recently what we’ve had is humidity and mildness, just a little too warm to be truly autumnal, but certainly cloudy and rainy enough to make one crave those cosy vibes. I am still trying to ride out my Barbie excitement in the midst too, as well as get a few more wears out of those summer pieces before they get packed up. July made a decent enough dent in that, so here’s to August allowing for basically more of the same!