A Complete Country Lolita Wardrobe for Under $500

It has been a very long time since I've done one of these, and this in particular has been sitting in my blogging folder for at least six months. But I wanted to take a little break from the wardrobe challenges, and some nice recent comments have made me want to re-start this series so I present to you a hypothetical country lolita wardrobe that you could purchase now for under $500, excluding shipping.

As always, this wardrobe does not feature jewellery and accessories or purses. Though jewellery is great, how much you wear is a personal choice and though matching bags are great, most of us have something that will do well enough and besides, I'm trying to do this on a budget! I'm also aiming for a wardrobe which can provide at least seven fairly distinct outfits, one for each day of the week.

Country lolita to me, is more of a theme or styling choice than an actual substyle, and to me this wardrobe toes the line between sweet and classic lolita. I chose to work with a three colour palette to give the wardrobe more depth and variety despite it's limited size.

This wardrobe contains the following items:

1 OP, 1 JSK and 1 Skirt:
One of each of the three main style of main piece, with one being plain and the other patterned in different ways is what I think is the best way to get good variety out of a small wardrobe. Here the Bodyline OP [$47] and JSK [$53] both feature different floral patterns, and the OP even comes with a detachable apron for extra cuteness! The old-school looking skirt [$45] from Anna House is the plain piece, and I think the old-school look works great with the country vibe.

1 Neutral Blouse with Detachable Sleeves:

This ivory Bodyline blouse [$47] comes with a detachable jabot, which really doesn't suit the country theme but it's detachable, so it's okay.

1 Contrasting Blouse or Cutsew:

For the contrasting blouse I went with a lovely chiffon Infanta blouse ["purchased" from Clobbaonline] in brown [$49] which provides both colour and texture difference.

2 Outerwear:

Normally I aim for a more structured piece and a more feminine one, and in this wardrobe the former is the white cardigan [$40] and the latter the pink bolero [$27], both from Bodyline.

2 Headpieces:

The boater hat [$10] from eBay is the quintessential country lolita headwear choice and I think the Bodyline floral headdress [$4] also suits the theme well.

2 Pairs of Shoes:

Ah shoes. How I do love shoes. Both from Bodyline I chose a brown pair and a pink pair [each $40] for variety.

5 Items of Legwear:

I followed my usual legwear "rules". Two tights; one plain [$5] and one patterned [$4], both from eBay. Three socks; ankle length from eBay [$3], with plain OTKs [$13] and patterned knee-highs [$7] both from Bodyline.

1 Petticoat:

I factor in a petticoat at an average price of $50, but haven't included it in the pictures, being underwear and all. You need one though!

Total Cost: $484
With the few dollars left of the $500 budget I'd look into another piece of headwear, probably a pink and white headbow. Or some white ankle socks. Either way ^__^

And now, seven different outfits using the above pieces! I have to say, the recent wardrobe challenge series has really sharpened my coording skills since the last $500 wardrobe I did. It was so easy to come up with seven outfits it almost felt like cheating!

A rather elegant outfit, perfect for a fancy picnic.

And this outfit makes me think of the maid serving tea at said picnic!

This one is a bit elegant, a bit cute.

A cosy outfit for an outdoors walk on a cold day.

Super-floral! I'd nix the apron for this one.

This is a fairly old-school outfit that I'd love to wear!

A very simple, very summery outfit to end on.

So there you have it, a new instalment in the $500 wardrobe series. I'm going to so a hime lolita themed one next, which will be interesting! I'm always up to do one of these if you have a particular style or even colour scheme you'd like me to try out... and I'll try to get it done quicker than this one was!