September Coords Roundup

A little later than I originally planned on sharing this post, but as they say – better late than never.

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Coord 1: Friendly Catchup

| Metamorphose Vintage Fruit OP | Innocent World Rose Lace Millefeuille bolero | Tabio socks | Two Days Slow hair clips | vintage earrings | Chrysanthemum's Concerto necklace | Little Rogue & Co pin |

You can juuust about see the edge of the hair clip on the right hand side of the photo.

Always about that second breakfast.

On the very last day of August I decided to go into town in an attempt to find some local shop with soaps and invited a friend along. Whilst I did not get any soaps, we had a nice catchup. It was a rainy day and a little cool but humid, so this OP wasn't an ideal option to wear, but it felt like one of the last opportunities to wear it this year.

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Coord 2: Something Cool

| HeartE Tartan JSK | offbrand top and ribbon | Hot Chocolate Design shoes | vintage hat | Three Little Pirates earrings | Star Glazed Delights ring |

Catching the last of the natural light. Travelodge - great for cheap stays, less so for selfie light in the rooms.

Golden light on an important accessory.

Or at least trying to look somewhat cool for the Gorillaz concert. It’s not really lolita given the lack of a petti and proper legwear, but my blog, my rules. There’s nothing necessarily new with how I styled this JSK and originality wasn’t the point anyway, comfort was. And on that, the coord delivered.

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Coord 3: Foodie Pegasus

| Metamorphose Polka Dots Shirring Pinafore JSK | offbrand top, shoes, and socks | BtSSB Princess Drop combs | handmade hair clips | SIX: The Musical pin | Angelic Pretty Crystal Dream Carnival ring | Cat Tea Party ring |

Dreaming of my upcoming lunch.

Shh, I totally did not take the detail shots upon getting back home, don't know what you're talking about.

On our second day in London we planned a trip to Borough Market, which I’ve actually never been to, a matinee showing of Hercules: The Musical, and then the train journey back home. So understandably, this coord had to wear multiple metaphorical hats. It gave me a bit of stress during packing, but it all worked out well on the day itself. It’s not quite the Disneybounding look I had planned so many moons ago now and also my boy Pegasus didn’t end up featuring in the musical itself (for understandable reasons). Still, I’m pleased with the coord in the end and the boyfriend did a good job of getting the outfit picture after a few directions.

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Coord 4: Japan Week/Day

| Bodyline L262 JSK | Niuniu shop blouse | Tutuanna socks | offbrand sneakers, brooch, and ring | Cutie Creator headbow | Two Days Slow hair clips | Glitter from Wonderland earrings | Angelic Pretty Fancy Crepe necklace | Lady Sloth My Coffee Time Cutlery brooch | Twinkle Kitty Boutique ring | Angelic Pretty Cute Ribbon wrist cuffs |

The dotty bows and blue eyeshadow are back!

Because we all know that the best way to understand Japanese culture is to eat and wear it.

The meet was to attend some of the exhibitions put on for Japan Week, but we’d only went for the one day. I actually forgot about this, in light of not putting it into my calendar since I was tentative about attending, not knowing what my energy levels would be post-London, but then ended up going. After another minor, totally self-inflicted outfit panic, I’d settled on this entirely for reasons of comfortable footwear. And whilst I like how this coord came out, I had some similar feelings of internal discomfort that I did when I wore Diner Doll the month before. It led me to think that sweet lolita may no longer be for me, not necessarily because of any ageist notions, but because I just want to be left in peace and wearing sweet lolita comes with the added energy expenditure for any unavoidable interactions with the public. I won’t be getting rid of it fully, but from now on will focus on styling it more intentionally in retro and maybe even more elegant ways, as that feels a lot more comfortable for me. Still, I had a good time at the meetup despite those feelings, so all is good in the end.

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Coord 5: Autumn Country

| Chrysanthemum’s Concerto Lost in the Garden of Eden JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | DreamV cardigan | Innocent World Wendy OTKs | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | handmade by Kerry beret | Nona Gallery The Cat necklace | Once Upon a Cookie Treat necklace | Tea and Paintwater brooch | Twinkle Kitty Boutique ring | Risu Rose ring |

I don't know why, but when picking a selfie to post now, I thought that I looked tired on all of them except this one?

Biscuits and pushing things off the shelves is a perpetual mood.

September kept threatening the return of warmer weather, but as someone who’s sick of that, I embraced every cooler day we had. This coord gave me all that I wanted from a first-half-of-September outfit: cosy knitwear, echoes of summer, the soft shades of brown, food-themed accessories plus a cat, and plenty of comfort. Was it a distraction from what was supposed to be a day of working from home? Fully. But I was going to be distracted regardless, that was simply the mood that day. And at least I felt cute and like myself, which has been very important and somewhat elusive recently. Plus, it gave me an idea for doing a post on country lolita across all seasons, a broad topic that’s been bouncing off the walls of my mind like a 2000s screensaver for years now and only just properly materialised. Country lolita is not just for summer!

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Coord 6: Harrogate Autumn Flower Show

| BtSSB Polonaise Brillante JSK | offbrand top, shoes, beret, and brooch | Snag tights | Lady Sloth Winter Spices necklace| Kirstteas Pumpkin Cat Bean Pie brooch | Toadstool House Art brooch |

Putting that portrait mode on, just because I could.

I might never stop being amazed at how much use I get out of that dragonfly brooch that I never would have picked out myself.

Helloooo, Very Big Veggies Tent! I've genuinely thought about my last visit so much that when Dad told me that we're going to go again for Mum's birthday, I did not need to think twice. Except about what to wear, though I'm very pleased with this. It was comfy, on theme, and very well received by the (mostly retired) event-goers. And also good for rain once I swapped the Oxfords out for Docs, which was falling all day and no matter how I held my brolly, the skirt did get a bit wet throughout the day. Worth it though.

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Coord 7: Moulin Rouge

| Atelier Pierrot JSK | Infanta overblouse | Deer Grove Moon of Eternal Day OP | Hoshibako Works corset | Enchantlic Enchantilly Invitation to Castle Ball tights | Elf Armorie Cupid's Heart heels | offbrand hair clip | Puvithel Crystal Heart necklace and earrings | Star Glazed Delights Brandwhore ring |

Adding an extra beauty spot like a harlot.

Ooh la la, more golden light and garters, how very on theme!

Thankfully, it is impossible to overdress for a musical like Moulin Rouge. So even though the normies in Manchester didn't deliver, I did. I'm so glad that my idea worked as well irl as it did in my head. In fact, originally I was going to only pin up one side of the JSK with the garter, but the faux bustled look was way more Moulin Rouge. It probably could've done with a lacy glove or an arm warmer or maybe even a wine red lace capelet or something, for pure colour balance, but the jewellery and the lipstick are doing a good enough job.

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Coord 8-10: A Trio of the Floral Skirt

| Forest Girl Clothing Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary skirt | Axes Femme cutsew | offbrand cardigan and shoes | offbrand socks (1 & 2) | Snag tights (3) | Imogen’s Imagination beret (1) | Cutie Creator Maiden’s Prayer headbow (2) | offbrand hair clip (3) | Lady Sloth Winter Spices necklace (2) | Toadstool House Art brooch (2) | 

As I'm growing my fringe out and reluctant to just pin it back (but it's still too short to just part at the sides), I've been experimenting with a small roller. With... varying results.

Ah, but I did not expect the textural details to look so nice in this collage, extra satisfying!

Rather than talk about each of these individually, I’ve added the two more relaxed work and travelling coords with the main, more proper one. Because most of the elements are interchangeable anyway and the work/travelling coords aren’t that exciting anyway. This skirt proved perfect for the trip: extremely comfortable, the pockets kept so much stolen fruit (oh yeah!), and I was just the right temperature whether it was very sunny and mild or a chilly wind picked up. We even managed to squeeze a brief visit to a local country house, Oxburgh Estate, in between mostly family visits, which I really appreciated, I always have a great time wandering round old houses and learning some local history.

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Coord 12: Monday Spooks

| Lady Sloth Slavic Bestiary JSK | vintage vest | offbrand top, boots, beret, and brooch | Teja Jamilla Crown tights | Lady Sloth Winter Spices hair clip | handmade bracelets |

Note to self: these glasses are particularly glare-y.

Spooky bow tie. 

Maybe a touch too soon for spooks, but I don’t care. This vintage vest arrived just before I went away for the weekend before and the spooky monsters on it felt like they’d enjoy hanging out with the Slavic beasties on the dress. Giving a waiter at a Disney park restaurant during Halloween and completely ok with that. I really like how this whole look came together and how nicely it sits. Expect to see more of this vest in next month's coords roundup post, there's already at least one meet planned for it to gave some outside time at!

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This weekend I am determined to do my seasonal wardrobe swap. Some of these autumn/winter pieces are ones that I am positively itching to wear and putting away the spring/summer ones will once again give me the faux sensation of novelty. If I don’t do it now, then it won’t happen until the very last minute and after storage, these pieces usually need a good refresh, so let’s not waste time. There are some fun activities scheduled for October and the remainder of this year generally that I am looking forward to. So let’s have fun coording for those!