January Coords Roundup

Happy first month of 2026! It certainly felt like a long one. And a long month means more chances to dress up.

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Coord 1: Board Games Day

| Grove Deer Moon of Eternal Day OP | Innocent World Cross Lace bolero | Teja Jamilla Crown tights | Elf Armorie Cupid's Heart shoes | Cutie Creator headbow | offbrand earrings and necklace | Neant Glass pin |

An attempt at some sort of a curl was made. Reasons remain unclear.

I find it funny that this pin landed with me as I don't consider myself a gatekeepy person.

I didn't have kicking off 2026 with a gothic adjacent coord on my bingo card either (and I do think that the styling on this just about tips the balance to dark classic instead of gothic). I felt great in this coord, I felt like from its simplicity to the elegance, it complemented me in all the right ways? Really messed with my head a little too as it got me thinking if maybe I should get more dark and black pieces – not the sort of doubts that one needs right at the start of a six month low-to-no-buy! Still, loved the coord and I had a great day playing board games with our friends. And all around winner.

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Coord 2: Casual Green

| Wonderland Ukiyoe Lilith’s Wonderland skirt | Axes Femme cutsew | offbrand jumper and socks |

A trip capsule wardrobe starts with the day of the travel, which for me included some online meetings in the morning. The bare nature of this coord means that it’s so barely lolita, even casual, that it probably shouldn’t be here, but eh, let’s have it. For posterity.

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Coord 3: Pre-snow

| Wonderland Ukiyoe Lilith’s Wonderland skirt | Axes Femme cutsew and collar | Innocent World Pure Smooth Millefeuille bolero | offbrand socks, boot toppers, and boots | indie hair clip | Crafty Witch by Nyx earrings | Wax Poetic necklace | Violet Fane Violet’s Tea Room brooch |

An extremely rare not-selfie! Bf tried to catch me off-guard looking goofy after taking my coord pics, but he underestimated the speed of someone who routinely takes about 50 photos of themselves. It was taken so early on in the year and it's probably one of my favourite pictures of me ever already.

I know it's daft to say, but I forgot just how detailed this brooch is. It's so nice to appreciate the details in an up-close photo.

For my birthday this year we went down to Wales, to the world’s first book town: Hay-on-Wye. Whilst we stayed in a little pod/cabin up a mountain, hence the extremely gorgeous background, the weather promised to be wet with a snow warning that almost meant we changed our booking (and fatefully, we didn’t). So I had to balance being practical (warm, comfortable for hours of walking, and appropriate wet weather conditions) with being aesthetic and cute (with my goal being something vaguely academia-inspired). Thanks to this skirt being so long, it really didn’t matter much that I wore my Docs and once I threw my coat on as well, the whole thing really distracted the lovely locals from my chonky boots. And obviously, I am very glad that I wore them because that same day we did get mildly stuck on the way back up said mountain in a proper blizzard. All was good, in the end, we truly exuded main character energy on that day as rescue happened incredibly quickly, didn’t even have time to start panicking!

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Coord 4: Post-snow

| Wonderland Ukiyoe Lilith’s Wonderland skirt | Axes Femme cutsew | offbrand vest, boots, hair clip, earrings, and pin | Enchantlic Enchantily necklace | Pweppermint Fox brooch |

Getting mildly blinded and with hair flapping about everywhere sure made for a challenging selfie.

The freebie pin from last year's Love Stories etc. finally getting some use. It was only appropriate after a trip to a bona fide book town.

When I packed this look for the way back, all that I anticipated to do was spend three hours in the car on the drive back and to stop off at the Trafford Centre to buy a couple of blind boxes. As it was, our departure was delayed by around three hours, which, with the uncertainty, meant that we were mostly just on our phones in the cabin – once we took those pictures, of course. The adventure, if anything, added to the vibes on my birthday and I feel like I’ve made sufficient impact into my arrival to the mid-30s preamble.

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Coord 5: Just For Pictures 

| Lady Sloth Slavic Bestiary JSK | Bodyline L380 blouse | Vallee Lys Nocturne cardigan | offbrand belt, hair clip, and earrings | MuFish tights | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | BtSSB headdress | Neant Glass necklace and ring | Innocent World gloves | 

One of the things I bought under the 'It's your birthday, treat yourself' excuse was a Caudalie tinted lip balm and I am still obsessed. It photographs as so much more opaque than it actually is?

Undisputably my best bargain of 2025.

My original plan was to dress up on the Saturday after my birthday to just chill at home. However, our later than planned return meant that all the little chores that would’ve been done on Friday got postponed. By the time I could dress up, it was much later in the day and I didn’t have as much energy. But I still dressed up, given that I wouldn’t have an occasion for this coord anytime soon, then took everything off immediately after the photos were done. I’m pretty pleased with how this came out. This coord may just about edge its way towards gothic rather than classic and if so, it’s the kind of gothic that I felt very comfortable in: very elegant and textural, not relying on being super dark or gloomy. Hopefully there will be an opportunity to wear this out properly, to a meet or something, maybe with some minor changes (I feel like the legs could use something for a touch more interest, just can’t put my finger on what), but if not, then at least I wore it.

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Coord 6: Virtual Twinning

| Metamorphose Charlotte JSK | Infanta blouse | MuFish socks | offbrand shoes, belt, and jewellery | MandaRin Designs hat |

I'd like to practice thin, non-winged eyeliner a bit more this year. It's the right kind of enhancing eye makeup that works well with classic.

One day I will wear Charlotte and not take a closeup picture of this charm. But it is not this day!

Nothing to motivate you to dress up like a virtual twinning arrangement. Over on the Tea Rose Garden Discord server I connected with another owner of this exact cut and colourway, who also wanted to wear theirs more. A couple of messages later and boom!, we’d come up with this concept. It’s simple, but a stunning dress like this doesn’t need more. A typical WFH overkill, but actually, I was happy in this (up until I started knocking stuff over when trying to put the laundry up).

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Coord 7: Casual Black

| BtSSB Snow Dot skirt | Axes Femme cutsew | Snag tights | offbrand socks, jewellery, and belt | Elf Armorie Cupid’s Heart shoes | Cutie Creator headbow |

Note to self: do not skimp on anti-reflective coating on future glasses. Ever.

At least here you can see some of the textures.

I wanted something that I could get dressed in quickly, since it was a hair wash day and I was expecting our landlord to drop by for some minor repairs. Long story short, from realising that I haven’t worn this skirt in any even remotely elegant way, I’ve landed on this – not fully what I originally envisioned, but fun and comfy for a WFH day nonetheless. I will be plotting more elegant vibes with this in due course. Even though the skirt itself may be a touch too sweet for anything too elegant.

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Coord 8: Hat Meet

| The Black Ribbon Rococo Rose JSK | offbrand top, boots, boot toppers, earrings, ring, and belt | morun x muuna stoic overskirt | Angelic Pretty Romantic Angel OTKs | vintage hat | Enchantlic Enchantilly necklace | Folk and Fortune Diamond of the First Water brooch | Peppermint Fox brooch |

An attempt was made at some variation of the Slavic doll makeup. I think my eyes are just too round for that straight liner shape.

Lace and florals, that's what it's all about. And a hat, of course.

Folks, I’ve been wanting to go to the Hat Museum in Stockport ever since learning about it. And since one of my 2026 goals was to organise more meetups, I sent out a call to arms and a bunch of us all went. Naturally, this required a coord centred on a hat and given the winter season – my one true winter hat. Keeping it elegant with a floral piece was the right shout, I think, as the whole look came out really nice and I like how the ivory and fur pieces managed to transform this floral JSK into something winter-appropriate. The staff at the museum loved us all rocking up decked out in our best hats so much that even though the guided tours cost extra, they gave us the introduction to the tour for free, which I am very grateful for. I learnt relatively recently that I definitely benefit from guided tours a lot more, but it’s been a while since I’ve had a solo museum trip to take advantage of that, so getting this thrown in as a bonus was fab. The whole museum is definitely worth visiting: you get to learn about the industrial history of the area, the manufacturing of hats, and see tonnes of really gorgeous hats on display, as well as get to try some on. The temptation to just swap the ones on our heads for some of the ones available to try on and leave was great, but obviously we didn’t do it.

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Coord 9: Quick and Casual

| Metamorphose Polka Dots tiered skirt | Axes Femme cutsew | offbrand tights | Modo Prayer Poem shoes | Cutie Creator headbow | beret by Kerry | vintage necklace | Innocent World Tulle wrist cuffs | Twinkle Kitty Boutique rings |

One for the 'Things you don't see in photos' series: this beret was barely hanging onto my head.

I'm still unsure if the wrist cuffs were a good shout here. If I had brown bracelets, I probably would've thrown those in. Maybe I just need daintier wrist cuffs? But matching browns is a nightmare.

Brown and red because that’s simple, easy to throw on, and somehow not at all popular. Whilst in retrospect I feel that maybe brown legwear and red shoes would’ve been better, comfort had to take precedence and these tights are much better at comfort than any OTKs. And I’m unsure about the wrist cuffs, these might just be a bit too chunky. I should invest in some brown accessories for the wrists. Aaand that’s it. That’s the outfit, WFH continues to be chill.

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Coord 10: Mook Meet

| Metamorphose Shirring Tiered Ribbon JSK | BtSSB blouse | Pinky Girls cardigan | Angelic Pretty Loving Ribbon OTKs | offbrand boots, toppers, and brooch | Chrysanthemum’s Concerto beret | Pypah’s Art earrings | Axes Femme collar | Felfira Moon Design pin | Latte Galaxy brooch | Enchantlic Enchantilly Queen Cat Secret Library ring |

Small eyeliner wings are unfairly tricky to do well. I am extra pleased with these.

How do I not have more book-themed brooches? 

January is for casual indoor meets and Mook Meet delivered. Bring a bunch of mooks, maybe some light crafts, get a hot drink, and yap? Perfect, that’s all lolitas want to do. I wanted to be comfy, yet still lightly academia-inspired or adjacent, in a sort of spirit of a lolita who’d make staying at home to browse her magazines the occasion. And few things are more comfortable than a fully shirred Meta JSK. As much as I wish I’d done something different with my hair, that is just for the photos: the weather was too windy for having your hair down and I enjoyed the comfort of having my hair out of the way. Which is to say don’t always fret over what’s ‘social media perfect’, kids. I wholeheartedly encourage every comm (and even every individual) to have a day of lolita magazine and mook browsing, it does a body good.

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Coord 11: Back to My Roots

| Axes Femme Kawaii Coca-Cola JSK | offbrand top, barrette, pin, and ring | Angelic Pretty Lovely Ribbon OTKs | Sosic Shop shoes | Two Days Slow hair clips | handmade earrings | Folk and Fortune Late Night Diner necklace | Tea Party Club badge | Magical Mews Swan Hoe pin | Sweet Dolly House Cookie Bon Bon ring |

And another one for the 'I promise I have hair accessories, they're just not visible on the selfie' folder.

Do the accessories make thematic sense with one another? Do they heck! But they make me happy and look cute, that's all that matters to me.

This JSK approached its time for wear and when browsing through my past coords, I realised that those that cover the bodice are the ones I liked best. This meant that the whole coord happened around what sort of a cardigan/bolero/jacket I wanted to wear for a January WFH day. This is a very classic retro lolita look that I’ve done time and again, so there’s not much to say about this one that I haven’t said about the many that came before it. However, it does have me pondering whether I should alter this JSK to be a skirt or maybe even sell it altogether. The less-than-flattering bodice cut aside, I do feel like I have to explain myself every time I wear it. Because genuinely, as much as I occasionally miss the taste, fuck Coca-Cola, on so many levels. But I can’t help that they’ve nailed the aesthetic all the way back in 1888!

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Eleven coords in January (technically twelve, but tomorrow’s one will land in next month’s post) is a pretty strong start to the year. There have been a few ‘missed’ opportunities, mainly because of my workload, mood or weather. Frills are great for layering, but not all layers are actually that warm or comfortable to wear for just being at home. I’m still pretty happy with having dressed up this frequently. The small bout of gothic-leaning coords at the beginning really shook all that I thought I knew about my style, but now that I’ve settled into 2026 a little bit more, I think it really was mainly because that’s the one I’ve explored the least and I am absolutely drawn to novelty.

How have you been? Hopefully the extreme weather (cold or hot) hasn’t prevented you from having at least frilly time.