May Coords Roundup

May picked up with coords after a slower April – and it was precisely the sort of creative burst that I needed in my life to keep me going.

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Coord 1: An Officer and a Gentleman

| Mary Magdalene Paulina JSK | offbrand blouse and earrings | Violet Fane Antiquite tights | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Manda Rin Designs hat | Rose Marie Seoir necklace | vintage brooches and gloves |

A softer version of my winged eyeliner and lipstick makeup.

The stabbiest brooch. You can even see here how far the stabby part extends.

May 2nd was my first working from home day following the stress pit that was exams and I was more than eager to dress up and feel like me again! I was also going to see An Officer and a Gentleman: The Musical that evening, so in checking what I haven’t worn in a while my eyes wandered towards this dress and decided on some more classic retro styling. Very pleased with the look and I admit, even though I was supposed to be working during the day, I fully gave in to the WFH vibes of doing fuck all.

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Coord 2: 42 Balloons Take 2

| Lady Sloth Look at My Dreamy Sky Casual OP | offbrand top, socks, and shoes | Snag White Russian fishnets | Chrysanthemum’s Concerto beret | Madillustration brooch |

Blue glasses and blue eyeshadow, this still feels very 80s even if it isn't actually.

Repping that 42 Balloons merch like a champ!

What's more appropriate for seeing a show about a man who flew in a lawn chair tied to a bunch of weather balloons than a sky dress? 42 Balloons is still a favourite and I loved it just as much as I did the first time round, if not more. The coord also got some appreciation from the theatre staff who noticed the reference with the clouds (although my other one, the Dream On brooch to reference the theme of everybody having a stupid dream, seems to have gone unnoticed – but I knew). Also, bonus kitty content. The funny thing is that the last picture like this that I have with Spy also involves this dress. Maybe he's just drawn to it specifically.

Everyone cheer for The Boy <3

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Coord 3: Hebden Bridge Adventure

| Victorian Maiden Shirring Frill JSK | offbrand top and earrings | Innocent World Rose Lace Millefeuille bolero | Angelic Pretty Airy Dot socks | Bodyline shoes | Angelic Pretty Classical Petit Rose headbow | vintage necklace | Folk and Fortune Diamond of the First Water brooch | Violet Fane Violet’s Tea Room brooch | belt from Physical Drop's Shirring 3-Tier OP |

If you look very closely, you can just about see the green shimmery eyeshadow I put into the inner corners of my eyes.

Fun fact: this rose is hanging on to the headbow by like a thread. And I keep meaning to do something about it - and then don't.

Wednesdays are the perfect days for little adventures with friends. This one involved a day out in Hebden Bridge and I embraced the late spring vibes by doing more green and pink. Sure, the tea parties being more of a bluish mint than the grassy green tones everywhere else irk me a little, but I was going to do a lot of walking, needed practical shoes, and didn't want to do the same green socks and pink flats combo again. It still works, which is all that matters. We had a truly blessed day of romanticising every moment, appreciating the flowers, brightening up everyone's day (seriously, the people in Hebden Bridge were so lovely and complimentary all day), and I came back with a cute Laura Ashley teacup and saucer set from the antique shop, as well as having met a former lolita at The Yorkshire Soap Co shop. Go on mid-week adventures, people, you deserve to live your best Studio Ghibli lives.

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Coord 4: Softer Tricolour

| Metamorphose Polka Dots Shirring Pinafore JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Banned Retro cardigan | Snag Plee-yay tights | Sosic Shop shoes | offbrand hair clips | handmade earrings and bracelets | Folk and Fortune Romance Book Club Book Stack brooch |

I made these earrings and bracelets a fair while back now and they're finally getting their moment to shine.

Seriously, if you want cute beads for making bracelets, Daiso is hard to beat. Pro tip from me.

I was initially thinking of wearing this dress for the next round of seeing 42 Balloons, since the glittery tiers of chiffon are very floaty. But then I started planning outfits and this came up, which wasn’t quite the vibe I wanted for the show - so I just wore it for working from home. The cutsew being a more muted shade is quite jarring in comparison to the tights, I thought that with them being more sheer the colour would desaturate more than it did. But that is the only real criticism I have of this coord. I like how it came out and it was really comfortable. And it was fun to finally wear these bracelets and earrings I made with the beads I picked up in Daiso.

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Coord 5: Two of Them

| BtSSB's Polonaise Brillante ~ Ideas of a Maiden ~ Apron JSK | Ank Rouge cutsew | offbrand ankle socks | Bodyline/offbrand shoes | Cutie Creator headdress | handmade necklace | My Inspiration brooch | Innocent World Strawberry Fields wrist cuffs |

It's been a hot minute since the fake fringe came out. This also isn't a combo I would've done had we not been twinning, but I actually like it quite a lot.

Say whatever you want, but Innocent World has the nicest lace wrist cuffs. If you want nice lace wrist cuffs, you simply can't beat a classic lolita brand, they know their lace best.

Who doesn't love a twinning moment? And, dare I say it, I think Lara and I totally nailed it. She was coming over to the UK all the way from the US, for a totally unrelated occasion that I was able to hijack for a quick dinner evening, and twinning was the obvious choice of attire. As the more keen eye will have spotted, I did change shoes. Not just for practical reasons, but because after 10 years of faithful service my Bodyline red heels truly gave up on life and me. RIP, I would have replaced you in a heartbeat except that you're a discontinued model.

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Coord 6: 42 Ballons Take 3

| Metamorphose Airline JSK | Niuniu’s Shop blouse | Mademoiselle Pearl Persimmon socks | offbrand shoes, scrunchie, hair clip, and earrings | Donguri Kyouwakoku brooch | handmade bracelets |

Somehow juuuust about managed to capture a part of the scrunchie and the hair clip in my ponytail.

Blind box gods really wanted me to have things to coord with the Dumb Airline Dress and I'm so happy that I finally got to put this brooch with it.

Am I insufferable yet? I’m not doing my job as the unofficial 42 Balloons spokesperson very well if I’m not. Jokes aside, this was my last opportunity to see the show, which this time I’ve gone to see with a friend. The weather in Manchester had turned nearly summer-like, with temperatures in the low 20s, so whilst I wanted to add my denim jacket to this, it would’ve been overkill. In looking at what else would suit the theme and vibe of the show, I gravitated towards this JSK and seeing as I kind of had this more casual idea with blue in mind, I ran with it. The coord would’ve been perfect with some balloon accessories, but that is sadly not something that I own. So instead all accessories are used because they fit the colour scheme and are a complete mess thematically. But I still think it came out great and fun, precisely what I wanted. So many of the cast also appreciated it when I came out to the stage door to get them to sign my programme (I felt so very awkward doing it, but they were all sweethearts about it!).

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Coord 7: Manager Training

| Physical Drop 3-Tier Shirring OP | Banned Retro cardigan | offbrand socks and necklace | Clarks shoes | Cosy Kawaii Mood earrings | Violet Fane Violet’s Tea Room brooch | Bows and Crossbones bangles |

Hello and welcome to another instalment of “This is my blog, I can post whatever I want”. Because this is definitely not a lolita look, I just happen to be wearing a Physical Drop OP because it’s very hecking comfy, and the whole outfit was cute enough to snap a bathroom mirror selfie. Although Kato-san is also very keen on making clothes that are simply wearable, regardless of how traditionally lolita they may look, which is why we love her so much. That is all, thank you for bearing with me.

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Coord 8: The Picnic That Never Was

| Metamorphose Vintage Fruit OP | Tabio socks | Irregular Choice Ariel’s Treasure shoes | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow | offbrand earrings | Innocent World Strawberry Fields wrist cuffs |

In search of a natural look I ended up using my creme blush as both a blush and an eyeshadow. And I think I like it, it really does create a very fresh look.

Ignore the wrinkles, just focus on the lovely vintage labels.

Or rather, the picnic took place all fine, but I couldn’t go for a variety of reasons. So instead I dressed up in roughly what I was thinking of wearing to it the day before. I say roughly because I would not have worn these heels for an actual picnic, they’re pretty, but not the most practical. I’m so happy to have this OP after searching for it for so long, and this incredibly simple styling highlights its inherent charm. Well done on this release, Meta. And not so well done on me for not realising this when the dress was released.

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Coord 9: Slightly Rock

| Lady Sloth Slavic Bestiary JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Cutie Creator tights | offbrand shoes, hair pins, earrings, and gloves | Le Petit Four necklace | handmade garter belt |

In hindsight, I should've stuck to a regular smokey eye instead of trying this smokey eye smudged wing liner thing. But eh, it's fine.

The textures in this photo please me immensely.

For seeing Jesus Christ Superstar I tried to find something that would be at least slightly rock. The original plan involved this, but with AatP's Rosier Fleur, but that dress does not fit me the way I want and it's time to actually part with it. But since I was already mostly dressed when I realised that, I did a quick scan of what could I replace it with, landing on this. Yes, it is a little bit like what I wore in July of last year, but I think I like this version better. And the dress got very enthusiastically complimented by two young girls (probably in their late teens? it's hard to judge people's ages these days) at the tram stop on the way to the theatre, so that tells me it was definitely the right choice.

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Coord 10: Filming Content

| Innocent World Georges Rose JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Violet Fine Enchanted Ivy tights | Modo Prayer Poem shoes | Physical Drop headbow | vintage earrings | offbrand necklace and rings | Firmoo glasses |

The post-braid waves and flat headbows are such a great combo.

I love cute glasses - but I love them even more when they are free!

When Firmoo reached out to me to collaborate, I picked out this pair immediately (though full disclosure: I initially requested these frames in tortoiseshell, but those turned out to be out of stock). I wanted gold glasses to add to my collection and these are precisely what I wanted. The collaboration meant putting stuff up on my Instagram that featured these and since it had to be relatively soon, I took that as an extra layer to the challenge of how to style them. The cutsew was definitely too warm, even for my cool indoors, but I like how this relatively simple coord came together. The gold touches help highlight the glasses, whilst the overall simplicity of styling still lets them be the star of the outfit. If anyone is on the lookout for affordable frames, then Firmoo has a nice range of stylish ones and you can get 50% off with my code kamis50. And if you buy through this affiliate link, then you’ll help me put some money into the kitty in these trying times ^_^”

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Coord 11: Almost Summer

| Chrysanthemum’s Concerto Lost in the Garden of Eden JSK and headbow | Nile Perch cutsew | Innocent World Torchon Lace Ribbon bolero | Angelic Pretty Wrapping Cherry socks | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | vintage necklace | handmade bracelets |

This headbow is supposed to sit more upright, but I forced it to sit closer to the head which I think suits my head and less voluminous hair better.

An attempt to showcase the row of bows that just happened here. Like the stars aligning in Disney's Hercules.

A very simple, very bare minimum coord for working from home during Peak Busy Season. And I really like it. Not only it was super comfortable, but I think this extra simple styling actually lends itself to this dress better. It’s a cute gingham JSK – why try to force it to be something it’s not when it’s cute in its own right? I like it more this way and this is knowledge to stash away for the future.

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June is almost upon us, with ILD hitting exactly tomorrow. And I’m stuck between work-induced tiredness from Peak Busy Season in higher education and incredible excitement for The Queen is Dead. If I could just dump work, I would fully dedicate myself to TQiD stuff, that stuff enriches my soul even if I’m physically tired and then I want to keep going. But I know that this will also be over in a flash, like all incredible events, so I want to savour the moment as much as I can. Expect a bit more silence, as well as plenty of TQiD content afterwards. And if you’re coming to Manchester for TQiD – see you soon! Please, do say hello. I may be running around a little like a headless chicken, so a quick hello from someone here would be very grounding and add more loveliness to an already incredible event.