September Coords Roundup

This is the first September in a while when the vibe wasn’t so strongly “Wake me up when September ends”. Which means that I had the energy to wear some more fun outfits over the course of the month, which is always a big yay!

*~*~*~*

Coord 1: Lidl Chic

| Metamorphose Polka Dots Shirring Pinafore JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Tutuanna socks | offbrand shoes | IREGL pin |

One day I will work out how to selfie in my bedroom.

A little friend and a memento hidden right behind the bow.

Of course that right as September started, the UK remembered that summer is a thing and it got really warm. Though for all my moaning because I’d been yearning for autumn, it was actually quite nice because it gave me a proper excuse to wear my summer pieces once more before they get packed up for the colder months. A supermarket trip does not require super fancy levels of effort, so I skipped a lot of accessories. The only reason I included this pin in the first place was because I was already looking for brooches and as I reached for the usual ones that I would’ve worn with a coord like this, this IREGL pin caught my attention and I realised that I don’t remember if I even wore it, let alone when. And I am pleased to report that despite taking myself into places of temptation (local vintage clothing shops), I did not buy a single thing (in those). But Lidl had Italian week, so I got a tub of pistachio ice cream and then allowed myself to be tempted by other things. Eh, you win some and you lose some.

*~*~*~*

Coord 2: Summer Sweet

| BtSSB Dreaming Sherbet skirt | Metamorphose cutsew | offbrand socks and button | Bodyline shoes | Angelic Pretty Diner Doll headbow | handmade necklace and bracelets | Dear Celine badge |

The soap necklace I made for Bubble Bath is made for being worn with slightly wet hair, I don't know what you're on about...

My UwUs indeed cannot be contained.

As my first work from home day of the week, Thursdays are almost reserved for frills. But it’s less fun to be this layered when it’s hot out. So I simplified into a more casual version with comfy cotton layers, resulting in a coord that uses one of my summer pieces once more before they get packed up. The UwU badge is something I got from my boyfriend and it makes me smile and I even had a very serious, very professional work meeting whilst wearing this pin on camera (though not the headbow). And it was super fun to use the Shower-Kei necklace I made and then never properly wore. I need to get back to the Shower-Kei coord and polish it up, just because I never went to the event doesn’t mean the coord should linger. But anyway, casual wfh frills, yay!

*~*~*~*

Coord 3: Doki Doki Day 1

| BtSSB Secret AIR MAIL from Sweet Kitty JSK | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury Jive blouse | Angelic Pretty Candy Fun Fair OTKs | Hot Chocolate Designs Dear Santa shoes | Haruhi Clover headbow | Melty Wish earrings and necklace | Metamorphose Rose Letter necklace | Violet Fane Post Office brooch | handmade sash, bracelets, and ring | Bibelot Rose rosette | offbrand ring | ribbon from Haenuli’s Whipped Cream Kitty JSK | Vendula bag |

I was hoping to achieve a more dramatic wave, a'la 1920s finger waves, but that is still outside of my skillset. This was cute too though and held surprisingly well.

Next I will make a bunch of wax seal brooches to keep this sash in place.

Special delivery! My love for all kinds of postal motifs has culminated in this outfit that has been unofficially dubbed as Royal Mailing harder than Royal Mail has ever Royal Mailed. I am so insanely pleased with how every detail came together, there was something postal everywhere you looked (well, technically except the socks, but those looked so good when I didn’t expect them to that I’m not even mad) and I had a blast of pointing little details out to people who stopped to compliment me. I even made a lil’ stack of letters, which I handed out to good people at the con, and then watched them smile because each letter had one very important message: “UwU”. The shoes were a complete winner of a purchase, I spent the entire day on my feet and not a single blister, scrape or bit of tiredness was had until I came back home after solid 9 hours of being out. The vibes at Doki Doki (the last one [single tear sad face emoji]) were immaculate, I saw so many of my friends, manage to sell two things at the bring and buy table, accosted a whole bunch of people with aggressive enthusiasm to sign up to the fashion show, and got to see the intersection of my dating life and lolita life happen in front of my very eyes. It was precisely the high that I needed and even though it was so hot and I was so sweaty (seriously, I don’t remember the last time I was this w e t), it was 1000% worth it!

*~*~*~*

Coord 4: Doki Doki Day 2

| Metamorphose Sailor Tiered skirt | Fi.n.t. Cutsew | Tutuanna ankle socks | Sosic Shop shoes | Cutie Creator hat | offbrand hair clips and earrings | Dear Celine badge | handmade bracelets | Angelic Pretty British Ribbon ring |

The sad thing is that I attempted to preserve the curls from the previous day and all I achieved was a bit of uneven volume.

Until I get bigger sailor-themed earrings, these will have to do.

In contrast to day 1, I had exactly z e r o ideas on what to wear for day 2. My mind had been blank, every idea I picked up was either met with a total lack of enthusiasm or hit some sort of a practical obstacle (like missing items or weather). So even though I wouldn’t have worn this on my own because I’d worn a simpler version of that in June 2020, but when I turned to my friends to help, @_chrissii_ basically insisted that I live out her sailor lolita dreams through her. And honestly, no regrets. Yes, I still sweated as much as the day before, but despite that I felt cute and I like this updated version. Day 2 was one I’d spent with my boyfriend and one I designated as my shopping day, so a lot of cash exited my wallet in exchange for material goods. We also went to the Maid Cafe (I’ve never been to one, so it was fun to get that experience), as well as to a film screening of Tokyo Godfathers (not quite as cheerful as I would’ve wanted when the con vibes were this positive, but it was still a good film and I enjoyed watching it). It is sad that this was the last Doki Doki, but I think it went out with a bang that it deserved. And for anyone interested, here’s a quick picture of my con loot, some of which you probably will see on this blog in some form or other.

Even though most of these were not bought with lolita in mind, you are going to spot some of these in the pictures below.

*~*~*~*

Coord 5: Finally Cooler

| Grove Deer Moon of Eternal Day OP | Amavel cardigan | Pairs Scotland socks | Hush Puppies boots | My Inspiration brooch | vintage brooch |

The first day that the weather turned cooler I was determined to wear something autumnal. Since I was working, I technically would’ve worn something non-lolita, but the options I liked were in the laundry pile and not ready for office wear, so I ended up doing a casual classic lolita coord. I cannot stress how much good wearing a cardigan and wool socks did for my emotional wellbeing. It was also raining on my way to work, so I put on the Hoa soundtrack once again and enjoyed a little whimsy in my life.

*~*~*~*

Coord 6: Low Battery

| Bodyline Sweet Macaron JSK | BtSSB Tulle Lace Round Collar Pullover | offbrand T-shirt, shoes, beret, and earrings | Angelic Pretty Sealing Border OTKs |

I keep saying I need a better blue eyeshadow, but maybe actually this one is ok? No idea why all the selfies came out so overexposed though.

Doing my best at hiding the excess bulk under there.

This outfit was going to be my Thursday WFH look - except I got ill and didn’t have it in me to dress up. I was still on sick leave the day after, but felt better enough to get dressed, so the coord got an outing then. Quite literally since despite being a bit ill I still had to get myself (and the cat) some food. Seeing a whole bunch of people do the T-shirt with a cutsew under it look, I was very keen to try. My initial thought was to do this with Meta’s Bubble Bath skirt, but I quite like this T-shirt with this JSK, even if there were a lot of layers across my torso. But it finally got a bit chilly and held just about low enough that I could go to the supermarket like this without instantly overheating. So yeah, for someone wearing a T-shirt saying that I was on low energy, I didn’t necessarily act it.

*~*~*~*

Coord 7: The Same But Even More Casual

| Metamorphose Bubble Bath skirt | Nea Star T-shirt | Pairs Scotland socks | Bodyline shoes | Pink Up Fanny’s Dressing Table hair clip | Cosy Kawaii Mood badge |

Apparently doing work meetings in kawaii attire was my thing in September.

I got this as a bit of a joke (and to bring up my spending at that particular stall to an even tenner), but now I fully vibe and embrace being in my senpai-era.

Well, I was going to spice this look up more with some more accessories and styling, but the stresses of the day really did not allow for that. So a more casual version it is. The T-shirt says “Don’t bully me, I will cry” and I chuckle at how hilarious I am by placing the “Senpai” pin right after “me”. But also, I am the senpai now, I am embracing that, and once again carried out very professional, very serious meetings whilst dressed like this (minus the hair clip, actually), so clearly the world accepts that as the truth.

*~*~*~*

Coord 8: Dotty for Snacks

| The Black Ribbon Konbini Market JSK | Laura Ashley blouse | Haenuli Secret Garden tights | Hot Chocolate Designs Dear Santa shoes | BtSSB Secret AIR MAIL from Sweet Kitty headbow | offbrand brooch |

My attempts at adding a bit of volume in my hair did not translate onto the picture.

A dotty bow and a stripey bow.

I’d been thinking about this blouse recently and found an excuse to dig it out – as well as a little bit more time and energy to do something else with my hair besides tying it up. It needed it to balance out the bow and even though it still sticks out a little awkwardly at some angles, I’m just embracing that. It’s part of the ‘looking like an arts teacher’ vibe. And that is about as much as I have to say about this coord, really.

*~*~*~*

Coord 9: Release Launch Tea Party

| Chrysanthemum’s Concerto The First Semester JSK | Summer Tales Boutique Nostalgia Collection Royal Stewart blouse | Grove Deer Moon of Eternal Day OP as underskirt | Innocent World Short Boots OTKs | offbrand shoes | Cutie Creator headbow | Melty Wish earrings | Fantastic Grim Jewelry necklace |

In retrospect, I regret not doing a greener makeup look, but I didn't leave myself a lot of time to experiment, so stuck to what I knew I could do.

Trying to tone down this otherwise quite fancy look with some more academia-inspired accessories.

When Chrysanthemum’s Concerto (better known to me as my friend Rachel) does anything, I am there to support. So even though I ultimately decided against buying the dress, I was there for the launch tea party (and vlogged the event too to make everyone feel that they missed out). The theme was a loose “back to school/tartan/oldschool/whatever you fancy”, which meant two things for me: 1) I had to rep the brand; and 2) tartan all the way. With those two factors in, the coord practically built itself. Don’t worry, I have more sense than to travel in these ridiculous-yet-gorgeous shoes, so I changed into something more sensible for travelling. The tea party was a great success, the tea spread was lovely and the vibe was so positive and so full of excitement about the upcoming release.

*~*~*~*

Coord 10: Monochrome Thursday

| Bodyline L380 skirt | Alice and the Pirates jacket | Teja Jamilla tights | offbrand boots, crown, brooch, and bracelet | Eulalia earrings | Puvithel Crystal Heart necklace |

If nothing else, a tiara really makes you keep up a good posture.

Why was I so reluctant to get on the Teja Jamilla tights sooner, big regret there.

My plans for that Thursday were different, but since the plans changed, so has the outfit. In more ways than one actually. I had an idea to try out this monochrome look, sort of dark classic royalty themed one, but whilst I quite liked it in the mirror, I struggled to get a photo that I liked. And it ended up being a bit too involved for just working from home, so I changed into a more toned down version (keeping only the earrings and replacing the jacket with a black cutsew from Axes Femme) pretty much as soon as. You just gotta pick your battles. Maybe if I faffed around with hair and makeup more I would've liked the original version more, but I didn't, so here we are.

The casualed-down version

*~*~*~*

Spooky Season commences shortly and whilst I don’t feel particularly ready for it, I have a couple of ideas floating in my head to try out. Whether I'll get the opportunities for them is another matter. For now the more pressing question for me is when to do my seasonal wardrobe swap as some people have been threatening me with more last minute heatwaves and I just know, deep in my bones, that those would happen the exact moment my summer stuff got placed into storage. I might just have to risk it because truth be told, I am a little bit bored of the spring/summer stuff now and I just want my brain to fall for the trick of thinking it has new things to play with. Well, I actually do have some new things to play with, but as of writing this post, they haven't arrived yet. Look out for them in future coord roundup posts though!