August Coords Roundup

The end of August inevitably feels like the end of summer. Even though technically it isn't and knowing my luck, we'll probably get slapped in the face by some last minute heatwave or other, there's a finality that comes with the start of September. And I think the coords here represent that pretty well.

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Coord 1: Wasn’t Going to Include That

| HeartE Tartan JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Tutuanna socks | offbrand shoes and head scarf |

But then I looked at the photo again and decided that it counts. The only thing that makes it not lolita is the lack of a petticoat, but this JSK is so small that it can barely fit a petticoat in anyway. Besides, the look is super fun, way nicer than your average Tuesday at work deserved, but I’m super glad that I wore it anyway because I felt extra cute thanks to it.

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Coord 2: Dressing for Morale

| Metamorphose Airline JSK and tie used as a headband | offbrand blouse, jacket, socks, and hair clips | Irregular Choice High Score shoes | Melty Wish necklace | Girl Guiding pin | Fluffy Tori pin | Twinkle Kitty Boutique ring | Chocomint ring |

You can juuust about see the sparkly orange eyeshadow I used and my lipgloss had an orange tint to it too.

Somehow I was convinced that the orange badge was the blogger one, but this still applies.

Having come across the concept of rephrasing doing things “as a treat” into “for morale”, I have dressed up for morale in something fun for working from home. And it really did work. The outfit came out really well, pretty much just as I envisioned when I first put it together for the 1 Dress 4 Looks post with this JSK. I started to feel a little bit stagnant with my wardrobe at that point, so this helped bring back some of the joy from just wearing things that you like and think are fun.

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Coord 3: Summer Friday

| Chrysanthemum’s Concerto Lost in the Garden of Eden JSK | Dear Celine Polka Dot Waltz blouse | offbrand socks and necklace | Irregular Choice Ariel’s Treasure shoes | vintage hair clip | Two Days Slow hair clips | Tea and Paintwater brooch | Angelic Pretty Logo Ribbon Charm wrist cuffs | Cutie Craze Cafe ring |

This hairdo has some big Innocent World energy. And even though Chrysanthemum's Concerto's brand vibe isn't quite so classic, they really embrace simple styling, which I tried to channel.

I may have owned this mini hat clip for like 8 years now and it finally had its moment to shine.

Because I haven’t yet styled this dress with pink. That was all the reason. It was Friday, I was at home, and I hadn't yet worn this dress with pink. I really like how the blouse and the JSK work together. And whilst I wish that I had more elaborate socks, this is a minor change that I’d make, especially given that post-pictures the socks were hidden inside my slippers anyway. Although I will say that this coord has shown me the importance of hair and makeup because once again, clothes only I doubted what I saw in the mirror and nearly changed. But as soon as I did my hair, as simple as the hairdo is, and slapped on a tiny bit of makeup, it stopped looking so unpolished to me. All that was left to say then is ‘roll on weekend’!

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Coord 4: Rockabilly Ouji

| offbrand jacket and shoes | Fanplusfriend Alice Knight shorts | Angelic Pretty Alphabet Marine OTKs |

Goofing off with a smoulder.

A very lazy socks and shoes closeup picture.

The idea for this came to me one day, I think because I wanted to test out this jacket in an ouji context, and the day finally came when I got to wear it. Once again I was surprised at the comfort of wearing ouji, maybe especially so as I feel like I tried the black pair of the same shorts not too long before that and they felt tighter than these ivory ones despite being the same model and size? Maybe it was just an off day or something. It was a cute idea, very much the mood for playing The Baseballs to brighten up the last working day of the week. Maybe one day I’ll spice it up somehow.

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Coord 5: Romanticising My Life

| Innocent World Revival Sweet Teddybear JSK | Cat Tea Party top and bow pin | offbrand socks | Bodyline shoes | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow | Mademoiselle Boutique necklace | Tea and Paintwater brooch | ribbon belt from The Black Ribbon’s Konbini Market JSK | gingham bow pin from Chrysanthemum Concerto’s Lost in the Garden of Eden JSK | handmade bracelets | Twinkle Kitty Boutique ring |

The rules are: when you curl straight hair, always take a selfie before leaving the house if you live in the UK. The weather will never go easy on you.

Girl lunch included for free with this detail shot.

Oooh, the weather forecast kept switching back and forth so frequently that I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to do this. But thankfully on the morning of it settled on no rain, so I made sure to dress up and get to Ordsall Hall practically when it opened. Because that’s all I wanted to do: dress up to have a cute solo picnic at the Ordsall Hall garden and enjoy being able to do precisely that. The outfit was perfect, neither too dressy nor simple, just right for the overcast and slightly windy, but also humid and occasionally sunny weather. I plopped myself on my gingham picnic blanket, did a quick photoshoot whilst it was still early and there was hardly any bugger around, then enjoyed digging into my snacks and flicking between reading the book I brought, browsing my phone, and just looking around and letting my thoughts wander. It was a truly peaceful late morning/early afternoon, a big refresh for my mind and soul, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you take yourself out on a cute picnic when you get the chance to.

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Coord 6: New Shoes Vibes

| Metamorphose Sailor Tiered skirt | offbrand cardigan, socks, and hair clips | Hot Chocolate Designs Dear Santa shoes | Melty Wish necklace |

Thursdays are for ponytails, that's all I'm going to say.

Did I ever mention that I love letter and postal motifs? No? Well, I'm mentioning it now.

Yes, these shoes are technically Christmassy. Yes, I still intend to wear them outside of Christmas. I mean, the design is neutral enough to allow that - and they are just as comfortable as every other Hot Chocolate Designs shoe owner advertised. So why not make a WFH Thursday better with a cute outfit and cute shoes?

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Coord 7: Travelling to Oxford

| Violet Fane Ginza Kissaten skirt | ARW bolero | vintage blouse | offbrand tights and shoes | Cutie Creator headbow |

The barest of bare faces because travelling.

In this edition of Things I Found on a Print that I Didn't See Before: this framed picture.

I spent the Bank Holiday weekend in Oxford, hanging out with my friend, living out various aesthetic fantasies, healing, and generally having a good time. Since it is well established that the easiest way to pack a petticoat is to travel in one, I wore Ginza Kissaten for travelling. Kept the coord super simple for comfort reasons, though it still attracted a fair number of compliments from people in Oxford, as well as a young child at the tram stop before I even properly set off. It did the job is all that I will say.

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Coord 8: Sunday in Oxford

| BtSSB Polonaise Brillante ~ Ideas of a Maiden ~ JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Pairs Scotland socks | offbrand shoes, hair clip, earrings, and brooch | Lady Sloth Winter Spices necklaces |

Overcast day and a shaded corridor make for excellent moody lighting for selfies.

But the texturrrrres, look at the texturrrres!

Saturday shenanigans involved a non-lolita look, but I brought other frills with me too. The plan was a much more hobbit-y vibe, but that is not something that I have all the pieces for in my wardrobe right now, so I went for the next best thing which is general cottagecore. Again, the whole outfit is quite simple, because I wanted to dedicate my energy to enjoying the day rather than putting on super elaborate looks. We more than made up for the simplicity by getting really into a photoshoot at Magdalene College. This is where going to colleges with paid entry that aren’t that notable for featuring in Harry Potter films pays off because we were very much unbothered and undisturbed, the few people who were also visiting alongside us were content to let us be and not ask questions. Pro tip if I ever had one for wandering around the Oxford colleges specifically with the purpose of doing a photoshoot (the other one is: go to the smaller ones, they’re also usually staffed by much nicer porters). After that we traditionally went to G&D’s for ice cream (a must when in Oxford) and got complimented by a lovely lady who sat opposite us. All in all an excellent day with chill vibes and good looks.

Bonus one because I absolutely love this!

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Coord 9: Back to Manchester

| Violet Fane Ginza Kissaten skirt | Axes Femme cutsew | offbrand socks and shoes | Cutie Creator headdress | handmade earrings | Lady Sloth Winter Spices necklace |

Was the headpiece a tad excessive? Yeah, a little. But I just really wanted to wear it.

Just look at that lace!

And then it was time to go back, which of course involved frills again since that is how I packed my petticoat with me. The end of a trip also means rehashing whatever else one has brought with them and airing things to mask that they’re not the freshest just enough so as to not offend other passengers on the train. Though a lacy headpiece is always a good enough distraction from that too. Whilst I timed my return poorly and hit the rush of people returning from Reading Festival, it could’ve been far worse and I only had to stand for maybe 3 or so stops before I was able to grab a seat. And as soon as I reached home I felt the post-trip bliss meet the post-trip blues, so long story short I am now going to be looking for some frames for the photos we took.

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Coord 10: Bittersweet [gasp]

| Lady Sloth Look at My Dreamy Sky Casual OP | offbrand jacket and boots | Angelic Pretty Colorful Polkadot OTKs | Eat Me x Larme hair tie | Promised Land Creations earrings | After Midnight necklace | Strike a Pose pin | Love from the North pin |

And again, you can juuust about make out the blue eyeshadow. I actually need a better blue eyeshadow, so if you have any cruelty free recommendations that won't cost an arm and a leg to post to the UK, let me know, please.

Denim jacket always equals pins.

And because I couldn't decice which detail shot I liked more - have both.

Once again balancing the needs of looking presentable whilst working from home and wanting to look cute for an evening outing, I reached for this number. Yes, this is the very same coord that featured in my last capsule wardrobe post because I knew I wanted to wear this dress (OP, just one layer, quick and easy), but was stuck for ideas on how to style it. On its own it's not the most balanced thing, but with some styling on top of that I think it looks cute. It's ermagerd, so edgeh, but also has that casual vibe that I was really looking for here. Plus, it needed to be weather appropriate because, surprise, it was going to rain later that night. It's incredible how I wore my smallest and shittiest petticoat that day and it still gave decent volume, mainly because the dress itself is so light.

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And thus we enter September. Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” is being brought back onto the regular playlist as multiple things hit at once. Yet in between all of that I hope to see a bit of cooler weather, one that actually encourages being cosy. Words cannot fully express how much I yearn to be cosy. This year I am really feeling all of the fantasy vibes and so fantasy fall might end up being a thing. If energy levels permit. And if they don’t, then I’ll simply have to move that along to October.