June Coords Roundup

Summer frills go (hesitantly)? Summer frills go (affirmatory). Summer frills go (excitedly)! Summer frills go (with dread)...

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Coord 1: Board Games 

| Song and Temple Fairytale Library skirt | Ank Rouge cutsew | Angelic Pretty Twinkle Star socks | offbrand shoes and barrette | Folk and Fortune Late Night Diner necklace | handmade bracelets |

Shh, we don't talk about that one non-conformist strand of my fringe.

This skirt is getting the chop, by the way, so if you want it, let me know. Otherwise, keep an eye out on my Lacemarket and Vinted.

For another day of board games with DnD friends I picked an outfit that's been lurking in my Whering WIP folder. A few slight tweaks and one final weather check, and it was good to go. We spent the whole day on co-op games and promptly learnt how much more bitter defeat tastes when it's for all of us. We did win a fee games, but the defeats were very hard on us.

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Coord 2: Romantic Novelist

| Wonderland Ukiyoe Lilith's Collection skirt | offbrand top | AatP Lace-up Ribbon OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid's Heart shoes | Angelic Pretty Petit Classical Rose headbow | vintage earrings | Wax Poetic necklace | Violet Fane brooch |

Always wear your most fun glasses when meeting other writers. It's an excellent ice breaker.

Mmm, textures.

The day after that I braved meeting my local chapter of the Romantic Novelists Association. This outfit was planned out for something else before that I can't remember now (probably working from home?), so I reached for it since I was short on time and energy the night before, and since it fit the vibes. Getting out of my social comfort zone did me well, I had a good time, and then took advantage of already being in town to do a very big shop at Superdrug. And I mean, very big shop.

That's just Superdrug. I also bought a few things online.

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Coord 3: Makeup Girl

| Metamorphose Sailor Tiered skirt | offbrand top, socks, and barrette | Irregular Choice Ariel’s Treasure shoes | Folk and Fortune Typewriter necklace | Patisserie Pink Lock and Key brooch | Bows and Crossbones bangles | Star Glazed Delights Brand Whore ring | Son de Flor belt |

Not the best selfie of all that makeup, but the best selfie overall.

Once again brandishing that ring when there is barely any actual brand presence. Like a true rebel.

Working from home, I took advantage of it being a quiet day and played with a whole bunch of the makeup that I bought the weekend prior. I didn't realise how much of a game changer pink setting powder and pink colour corrector would be. The look is deliberately more casual, my beloved ivory with pops of red, so that: a) I had time to play with makeup on a WFH day; and b) it’s was more noticeable if the makeup was doing its job properly. 

Here's a better look at the makeup.

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Coord 4: The Last Bubble

| Metamorphose Bubble Bath skirt | Niuniu’s Shop blouse | Haenuli Secret Garden tights | Bodyline shoes | Cutie Creator headbow | handmade earrings and necklace | Angelic Pretty Cute Ribbon wrist cuffs |

Given how much of a relatively intense blush I had on, I'm surprised how natural it looks here. Lilac blush from e.l.f. is worth it, by the way.

By now both the skirt and this handmade necklace are on their way to their new owner.

As you may have gleaned from this post, I’ve been gearing up to a bigger clearout of my wardrobe. Bubble Bath, as much as I adore this print, is one of the victims. Though not without a last huzzah, a last bubble, so to speak. The coord isn’t anything major, simple and monochrome, trying to stay comfy for a day of working from home. The most interesting thing about is arguably that to avoid having the red bows printed on the tights visible, I wore those tights backwards. This skirt has had a good run with me and as sad as I am to part with it, I know that I don’t reach for it anywhere near as much as it deserves. So bye bye, Bubble Bath. I will remember you every time I have a bubble bath of my own.

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Coord 5: Come Fall in Love

| Physical Drop 3-Tier Shirring OP | offbrand socks, hair piece, earrings, and ring | Modo Prayer Poem shoes | Rose Marie Seoir necklace | vintage brooch | handmade bracelets |

A heart pierced with an arrow for the falling in love part.

And my very much offbrand, probably Claire's comb trying to be a jhumka.

Come Fall in Love is the new stage musical adaptation of a Bollywood classic, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Whilst not my favourite Bollywood film, of course I had to go, dress up, and represent (especially as I got a good voucher for the tickets). My outfit was inspired by Kajol’s iconic green lehenga from the film, though obviously more toned down since: a) I’m not Indian; and b) I didn’t want to be too obnoxious at the theatre on a Wednesday. This also proved a great choice since it was boiling and a light cotton Physical Drop OP is precisely what you need for that.

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Coord 6: Summer Ero

| Metamorphose Polka Dots Tiered skirt | Lady Sloth crop top | Angelic Pretty Wrapping Cherry socks | Irregular Choice Ariel’s Treasure shoes | offbrand hair clip and necklace | handmade earrings and bracelets | Innocent World Strawberry Fields wrist cuffs | Cutie Craze Cafe Whip Cream Cherry ring |

I don't know why, but this selfie gives me Carmen Miranda vibes.

Wow, both of those pieces have been with me for so long now.

¡Escandalo! Bare shoulders AND an exposed midriff? Unacceptable! I’m not fully sure whether this still counts as lolita, it’s skirting a little too close to the edge – but it was oh so fun to wear. I felt very cute, kind of 80s-does-50s with that midriff and the high bun, and just altogether had a fun time. Of course, for actually wearing it I pulled the crop top back up, no off-shoulder because they slide up anyway, so why suffer for no reason. It says a lot about the weather that this was comfortable temperature-wise. 

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Coord 7: Refreshing

| Axes Femme Kawaii Coca-Cola JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | offbrand bolero | Snag fishnets | Tutuanna socks | Memery sandals | Cutie Creator hat and wrist cuffs | Little Rogue & Co pin | Twinkle Kitty Boutique ring | Risu Rose ring |

My hair is only just about long enough to braid and pin at the base of my head - thankfully, hats hide the ugly parts.

Yeah, what about it?

I toyed with the idea of styling this JSK with something over it, but this cutsew is a little too sheer for that and also – it’s a little too warm for that. So a very simple summery coord it is, focusing on those beige tones in the design. Nothing more to it, just keeping as cool as I can whilst staying cute.

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Coord 8: Geek Fayre

| Forest Girl Clothing Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary skirt | BtSSB Shirring blouse | Tutuanna socks | offbrand shoes, hair clip, brooch, and ring | handmade earrings | Axes Femme brooch | Bow and Crossbones bangles |

I really wasn't feeling the blouse being buttoned up all the way to my neck. Thank goodness it worked like this too.

You know, all this time I thought that I found rings uncomfortable to wear, but this one was actually barely noticeable in any sort of discomfort way? Maybe I just need rings on thinner bands...

Was going out in frills in 30°C heat a sensible idea? Definitely not! But I committed anyway. There was a Geek Fayre in town that I was curious to check out, a friend has also said she'd come, so we made a lil’ adventure out of it. My coord came out a little like a 1940s botany student, which I very much vibed with and amped as much as I could once I realised that's what it was giving me. Everyone at the event was very complimentary, loving that my skirt has three pockets and not just the one visible one. They were also very impressed that I turned out dressed up like this, though let’s be honest, I could’ve been in a tank top and booty shorts, and I still would’ve been too hot and sweaty and that way I at least looked nice. Managed to stick to my budget as well, resisting buying the many dice on offer, which is a particular point of pride for me.

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I was going to wear at least one more coord, but then life got in the way. But it’s fine, there’s still July and maybe, just maybe, things will calm down from being so boiling for a second, it really makes wearing frills that much harder. It’s probably very stupid of me to hope for less heat further into the summer, but it is the UK, weirder weather things have happened.

1 Dress 4 Looks Take 74

2025 had barely started when Meta gave me the floral that I had been waiting for in the form of re-releasing the Charlotte series in new cuts and colourways. I was lucky to be able to get what I wanted in the 1st term reservation and without being up at 3am my time, and now the dress is here, ready for whatever we’ll still get of summer. Trust me when I say that I’ve used the waiting time wisely and planned some outfits.

Look 1: Rose

| offbrand top and earrings | Innocent World Rose and Diamond OTKs | Laura Ashley shoes | handmade (not by me) headbow | Enchantlic Enchantilly necklace | Dentelles brooch | handmade (not by me) brooch |

Going all pink has to be the first port of call. Even though mine is technically the off-white colourway, the off-white only lets the pink flowers and bows shine all the brighter. Simple, very wearable, I’d happily throw this on just for pottering around some cute shops, no big occasion needed.

Look 2: Sage

| Axes Femme cutsew | Innocent World Rose Lace Millefeuille bolero | Angelic Pretty Salon de The Rose OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Angelic Pretty Classical Petit Rose headbow | offbrand hair clips and ring | Wax Poetic necklace | Le Petit Four bracelet | Peppermint Fox brooch | Folk and Fortune Diamond of the First Water brooch |

I love coordinating with green. Bringing that shade out of the fabric is a pure joy and the coord really sings those springtime songs now. I’d like to expand my jewellery collection with a few more light green pieces, but that doesn’t seem like the most sensible decision right now. This is another coord that I don’t think I’d need a specific occasion to wear, it’s good for so many things.

Look 3: Daisy

| Axes Femme top | Innocent World Torchon Lace bolero | Roji Roji socks | offbrand heels, earrings, and bracelets | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow | Fluffy Tori Classy AF pin |

A friend whom I play DnD with gifted me these daisy earrings and I decided to make the coords for this post revolve around flowers – time to bring the two together. Although I’ve gotten rid of most of my yellow bits, since only the centres of the daisy flowers are yellow, I think I’m getting away with enough here.

Look 4: Azalea

| handmade cape | L’Esprit de la Noblesse Le Nuage blouse | Angelic Pretty Romantic Angel OTKs | Irregular Choice Flickety Kiss shoes | Baroque Repose of Queen headbow | offbrand earrings, choker, and rings | Le Petit Four bracelet | handmade (not by me) brooch | Peppermint Fox brooches |

After so many coords that were versatile in occasion, it’s time to throw something OTT into the mix. I also didn’t spend like 50 hours handsewing the damn cape to not get my fair use out of it! Throwing everything floral at this coord that I have and counting on the excess to make it all work together. And I think it does – hopefully you agree.


The more ideas I tried out, the more convinced I grew that this was the right dress to fill my floral needs. It’s simple yet impressive, doesn’t need much to shine and can easily handle being uplifted to something fancier. Helps justify buying a brand new dress right at the start of the year too.

When Others Influence You

There’s a common saying in Polish that roughly translates to “You become who you associate yourself with”. It’s mostly a comment on absorbed behaviours or speech quirks, but as we all know, prolonged exposure to specific things leads to some absorption in all manner of ways. There’s also a reason why we call certain people influencers, though of course some of that is more intentional on their part than e.g. the folks in your comm might be. And the kind of EGL style that I find myself surrounded by these days is certainly beginning to rub off on me to the point where it is leaving the subconscious for the conscious.

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com

The biggest one of those is with Atelier Pierrot. Whilst I’ve admired their items from afar for years, it’s only recently that I began to covet any. And it’s certainly not because of their aesthetic changing because that’s basically the same: elegant, heavily ruffled, focused on fabrics, trims, and textures over prints. But whilst hanging out with LGBTQIA+ friends has not made me gay, hanging out with a whole bunch of AtePie fans is turning me over to the dark side. Will I be entering my goth phase now? No, that’s highly unlikely. But I am certainly pondering getting an AtePie black JSK or ensemble to live out that EGL textural heaven. And I am craving an open neckline black blouse since I don’t have one.

Paulina the goth stays dormant until key moments when she wakes up.
Image from Atelier-Pierrot.jp.

Not far behind is Physical Drop. This particular influence has been building within me on its own accord anyway. But the combination of seeing people wear their items in all kinds of ways, creative and casual, and being part of online and offline comms that include members in their 30s and 40s really makes that kind of simple comfort all the more appealing. I am finding myself not wearing certain things because my tolerance for that kind of sensory stimuli has drastically declined. Physical Drop doesn’t give me that, certainly not to the same extent, and so I am finding myself repeatedly going back to their online catalogue and making very big doe eyes.

Ok, right now I don't specifically mean the leopard print dress - but I won't deny that I am still in its grips.
Photo from Tawaraya-Kato.ock.jp.

In a broader way, what the two influences above represent, is a shift towards solid coloured main pieces that focus on structural details and/or layering to achieve interest in the outfit overall. Again, this is something that I’ve admired in others almost since I started, but seeing it more and more as a result of the growing popularity of these two brands in particular has pushed the ‘want’ button in my magpie brain. One day I have found myself randomly developing a yearning for a chiffon JSK with a tiered skirt where the tiers are adorned by ruffles purely because I saw someone’s handmade one that was gorgeous. Similarly, I’ve been eyeing a sundress from Atelier Le Carrousel purely because I found out that I liked the tied shoulder straps that were on some random newer-ish Angelic Pretty release. As helpful as it is to be able to identify that what I want is a certain style and not necessarily the specific piece, once you start noticing it, it seems to be everywhere, which is less helpful when trying not to spend as much money.

I probably should diversify and not have all my solids be red - but then they'd just be ivory.
Photo from Lolibrary.org.

With all of those influences preying on me and telling me to have a full wardrobe overhaul, separating white noise from legitimate threads to pursue isn’t always easy. Having (I guess finally) caught on to the idea of the 75 Hard Style Challenge, it resonated with me on the aspects of re-wearing items to see what you naturally gravitate towards. As much as I don’t have the spoons to actively pursue that, I have the nearest approximation in the form of my EGL last worn tracker and Whering where I additionally log all that I wear (yes, even on days when I don’t dress up because I still get out of pyjamas).

Maybe it is time to listen to the influences, if they match up with how I’ve been feeling about specific coords. Maybe there have been signs that I’ve been ignoring.

Or maybe I am massively overthinking this whole thing because that’s how fashion-focused magpie brains operate and they always crave the novelty of the greener grass on the other side.