November Coords Roundup

November can be such a rollercoaster of a month depending on what you are into: some post-Spooky Season blues, some pre-Festive Season cheer, a bit of tiredness from the impending end of year and (in the Northern Hemisphere) poor weather mixed with a bit of cosy from the soft knits and warming drinks. And you know what? Even though the lows can get quite low, I still like Novembers.

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Coord 1: Legends & Lattes

| Innocent World White Double Braid Tartan skirt | offbrand top, shoe laces, and earrings | Snag Papaya tights | Hush Puppies boots | Cutie Creator headbow | Tiny Passerine Creations necklace | Latte Galaxy brooch | Felfira Moon Designs brooch | Banned Retro Bella belt |

Orange and light blue is an underrated colour combo, need to do more of that.

I am very much a bedtime reader, so this phrase crosses my mind a lot. Tbh, only the fact that capitalism demands I be up early for work actually gets me putting the book down.

The Legends & Lattes Lookbook that was this month’s video was filmed whilst still in October. And whilst I didn’t necessarily plan on staying in this coord, it was comfy enough that I did. This particular one was inspired by the book cover of Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes, hence the somewhat unusual colour palette. Though I must say, I like it a lot, the pops of blue are so effective against these warm autumnal tones, it really is like a crisp blue sky above trees changing colours. Honestly, go make yourself happy by putting together an outfit based on a book cover, that was actually really fun and I might do more of that in the future just for the fun of it. And make sure to check out the lookbook, if you haven’t already.

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Coord 2: Bookishly Working

| Dear Celine Magic Book OP | Innocent World Rose Lace Millefeuille bolero | Putumayo Celestial Light OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Haruhi Clover headbow | Angelic Pretty Royal Unicorn necklace |

Still obsessed with this one lipstick.

I'm fairly sure there's a unicorn hiding somewhere in this print too.

Slowing down and getting onto cooler weather was the perfect excuse to wear one of my warmest pieces. At the same time, work was still quite busy, so I opted out of anything too elaborate, hence this cosy look. My copy of Travis Baldree’s Bookshops & Bonedust arrived that day too, so it was all perfect for that!

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Coord 3: Dark Academia Inspired

| Angelic Pretty Royal Unicorn Switching JSK | offbrand top, boots, and necklace | Pretty Rock Baby Spring Break Upper East Side cardigan | Innocent World Belle Epoque OTKs | Imperial Fiddlesticks headbow | Risu Rose necklace | Amadea Kingdom The Adventurer D20 brooch | vintage bracelet |

My prescription has changed now, so that goodness that these glasses aren't expensive, I really want to replace them once I have the funds to.

For how great this bracelet is, I don't wear it as often as it deserves, this was only its first outing.

I’m not sure whether this counts as fully dark academia, but it’s certainly inspired by those vibes. Between the rich jewel tone colour scheme and the eclectic collection of jewellery I feel like I should be visiting Imaginarium in York. Which admittedly was on my mind that morning as I was recomming that a friend going to York visits it, though I actually had the outfit laid out the night before. For such a light coloured main piece, it continues to amaze me how well Royal Unicorn goes with jewel tones, it must be that gobelin fabric carrying those vibes.

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Coord 4: Hallmark Film

| Bodyline L262 JSK | Ank Rouge cutsew | Axes Femme cardigan | Metamorphose Snow Crystal OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow | Chrysanthemum’s Concerto necklace | Star Glazed Delights ring |

Back on that intense blush to look like I've been out in frosty weather makeup kick.

Still one of the best purchases from Axes Femme I ever made.

All throughout the week I’d been getting progressively more into the spirit of Christmas, which included this coord. Pretty low-key as all I did was work from home, but cosy and cute to feel all the happy, fuzzy feelings from getting excited about the holiday. Definitely perfect for a heroine of a Hallmark Christmas film (which now that the SAG-AFTRA strike was ended and a deal accepted, hopefully they too will get a good deal out of this).

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Coord 5: Unexpectedly Worked

| Mary Magdalene Paulina JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | AatP Arabesque OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow | offbrand brooch and ring | Le Petit Four bracelet |

Me? Repeating hair and headbow stylings? Nooo, never!

You can even see the glimpse of how lovely the ivory textures here are and how well the shades match.

I was only looking for some options when a thought popped into my head to try this JSK with this cutsew. They are both such different vibes and yet somehow (probably thanks to the colours) ended up working rather well. Had I had the energy I would’ve styled this up a bit more, then the combination would’ve been even more successful – but I was already on the fence of potentially staying in a hoodie all day, so the fact that I still dressed up nice is victory enough.

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Coord 6: Baking and Festive

| Violet Fane Otome Nostalgia skirt | DreamV cutsew | Innocent World Wendy OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | handmade headbow | offbrand stud and brooch | Candy Kitsch earrings | Lady Sloth Winter Spices necklace |

No makeup except some lipstick because it's not like I actually went anywhere.

Sometimes detail shots turn out slightly cursed. Such is life.

Not to be confused with festive baking. Baking came first and then since I put up my Christmas tree the day before, I had festive tunes on in the background. A cosy day like that demands a cosy outfit (and no rings because I was kneading dough) and this one hit just the right spot. Otome Nostalgia is such a versatile print, I am yet to find a colour that it wouldn’t work with - but those browns tap into just the right level of extra nostalgia sprinkle. I made savoury buns stuffed with mushrooms, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes that I then had to resist really hard not to gobble up in one sitting since the plan was for them to be my lunches for the week. But damn, it’s was such a simple day and I loved every moment of it.

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Coord 7: Casual Diner

| BtSSB Snow Dot skirt | offbrand top | Crown Label cardigan | Haenuli Secret Garden tights | Laura Ashley shoes | handmade headbow | Candy Kitsch earrings | Folk and Fortune Late Night Diner necklace | Jule et Lily Popcorn brooch | Trixie La Fleur Milkshake brooch | Star Glazed Delights Brand Whore ring |

Sadly, these glasses aren't in stock anymore, so I won't be able to replace them.

ALL the diner vibes!

Despite black with pastels not being quite my thing, the idea of doing a black x dark colour coord just because it’s November wasn’t appealing to me. So as I played around with ideas for this skirt (and it had to be this skirt because comfort) I landed on skipping black completely and focusing on the mint and pinks pulled from this cardigan. And as most of my mint and pink accessories are one way or another diner themed, the coord created itself. It was definitely warm and comfy, and whilst on a day off I maybe would’ve done something more with my hair, freshly washed hair doesn’t lend itself very easily to styling. I still like the coord though.

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Coord 8: Hamilton Take 1

| Resailan Jewelry Box JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Annzley corset | Teja Jamilla Crown tights | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Innocent World Art Nouveau headbow | Puvithel Crystal Heart necklace and earrings |

Ah, the joys of trying to take a good selfie in artificial lighting...

Those joys include ominous shadows too.

The first of my two planned outings to see Hamilton now that it’s on a UK tour and this one I was seeing with Mum for a belated birthday present for her, which meant very good seats. After my last outing to Hamilton, where I wore red, it was time to rep the other side, so I went with blues this time. And as I wasn’t feeling the top of this JSK right now, I covered it up with a cutsew then hid the seam line with a corset. The outfit looked great, though the corset was a bit of a choice given that we went out to dinner before the show, to a Malaysian restaurant, and ate quite a lot. That’s how things work out sometimes and I have no regrets.

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Coord 9: Breakfast and Charity Shopping

| Summer Fairy Limited Menu JSK | Angelic Pretty Logo Embroidered Turtleneck cutsew | Haenuli Secret Garden tights | offband boots and beret | Candy Kitsch earrings | Folk and Fortune Late Night Diner necklace |

I need a bigger red beret, this one is actually too small for my head.

All the coords I've done with these necklaces so far make me feel better about getting both.

The plan for the first full day of my Mum’s visit was that we’d go to Dishoom for some breakfast and then to Altrincham for some quality charity shopping. There is never a bad day when you are wearing the Dumb Burger Dress and indeed, plenty of people have complimented it with a big smile on their face. I haven’t actually paid much attention to that when coording, but looking back at the photo, it seems that the reds were a pretty spot-on match. The Charity Shop Gods once again have blessed me with a cheap tripod (perfect as I needed one), as well as some super cheap Christmas baubles (the best kind). I also stopped by Waterstones as @lena_golita and I are doing a little book club thing for Christmas - except that the book we agreed to read wasn’t in stock at that branch and a different one with a very enticing cover was there, so I grabbed that. Oh well, it’s not a waste of money if you’re buying books, right?

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Coord 10: Classic WFH

| Baroque Repose of Queen OP | Innocent World Original Lace Millefeuille bolero | Violet Fane Antiquite tights | Sosic Shop shoes | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow | handmade earrings | offbrand necklace | vintage brooch |

Really cycled through nearly all of these headbows this month, didn't I?

A very floppily pinned brooch.

Classic in the sense of using brown as my accent colour. And also classic in like “ah, classic, overdressed for working from home”. I think ultimately this outfit came out nice, but I don’t have that much more to say about it besides that.

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Coord 11: Something Cosier

| Angelic Pretty Diner Doll JSK | Axes Femme top | Angelic Pretty Romantic Angel OTKs | Irregular Choice Flickety Kiss shoes | Pink Up Fanny’s Dressing Table hair clip | Sweet Dolly House necklace | Melty Wish necklace | Trixie La Fleur Milkshake brooch | Lady Sloth My Coffee Time brooch | Jule et Lily Popcorn brooch | handmade bracelets |

I dunno, this whole wispy hairs out of a ponytail hair situation was much cuter in my head than it ended up being irl. Part of me was contemplating whether to get my hair cut into a wispy fringe, but I'm not sure.

Big and little sister energy here.

In an answer to the question of whether Diner Doll can be worn in cooler weather - this. In other words - yes, of course, why not? This is the time for knits and this top is so soft and cosy. Because when you wake up on a Friday full of sadness that it’s not Saturday, you need to cheer yourself up in any way that you (sustainably) can.

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Coord 12: Fascinating Aida

| Haenuli Just One Bite JSK | offbrand bolero, shoes, and ring | Jane Marple OTKs | Ruha Garden headdress | Eulalia earrings | Metamorphose Grand Couronne necklace |

I may have found a selfie spot for when natural light is gone.

Should it be the other way around? I'm not sure. But in the light of the Queen is Dead finally being (somewhat) announced, this feels appropriate.

For those who don’t know (and they are a very British boomer lady kind of humour), Fascinating Aida is a singing comedy trio who entertain audiences with tongue-in-cheek songs and apparently have been doing so for 40 years now. Admittedly, I only know two of their songs (though both are genuinely funny and I think they’re a great summary of the sort of humour they have, listen if you fancy: song 1 and song 2 [nsfw]), but the tickets were cheap so I went. Since they usually dress in some sort of a nice dress, why shouldn’t I? Just One Bite may be a bit too gothy, but it’s also incredibly elegant, so it made sense in my head to do something more understated and retro elegant with it. Everyone else apparently agreed too because I got positively showered with compliments at the theatre, it made me feel even more classy than I was already feeling. And I must admit, for boomer lady humour, this was a very fun evening.

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Coord 13: Day Out

| Haenuli Whipped Cream Kitty JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Fi.n.t. sweater | Snag tights | offbrand boots, beret, and earrings | Trixie La Fleur Nutcracker brooch |

Not the sort of a hairstyle that photographs well, nonetheless it was cute.

Itching to be festive and at the same time not having that much energy to be. This Nutcracker is a mood.

For Sunday I had an eye test booked (my eyesight is worse and I’m probably going to have to replace all of my glasses, sad times) and since I was already going to be in town, I figured that was as good a time as any to dress up and have a day out. I did some shopping and I never thought I’d say this, but compared to the Christmas Markets and the rest of town, Affleck’s was an actual oasis of peace. Afterwards I chilled a little at Mala Secret Garden before meeting up with my boyfriend and going for pizza. People of Manchester clearly have good taste and recognise a good dress when they see one. For a chill day out, this was very lovely indeed.

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Coord 14: Last Day of the Month

| Lady Sloth Slavic Bestiary JSK | Amavel cardigan | offbrand tights, shoes, beret, and necklace | Cutie Creator headbow | The Seamstress of Bloomsbury brooch |

Somehow this looks like a particularly preppy selfie.

Does this doggy go with the dress? Not really. But he hasn't been worn once yet and I felt sorry for him.

My initial idea for November 30th (St Andrew’s Day) was a little bit more witchy, hence the choice of JSK. But let’s face it, tiredness is real at the end of November, so scaling back to something more casual and cosy was a good shout. I like how the green tones work with this print, it looks really nice and helps the print pop a little bit more somehow.

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As this post is going live, November is but a memory and I have only 16 days left until I set off for Japan. Part of me is feeling the rush typical of this time of the year, the ‘so much to do and so little time left’ – but for the most part, I am pretty calm and content. Not everything’s been perfect and things that are to come also will not all be perfect – and that’s ok, I am at peace with that, such is life. Expect a significant delay with December’s coord roundup because I will still be abroad when the year ends and I intend to rest rather than stress over posting. But there will certainly be some coords to show after I’m back.