Mercari (and more) haul

As I mentioned I'm planning to wear lolita for my wedding day and I happened to find my intended dress (AP's Dramatice Rose JSK in ivory) really quickly on Mercari. You all know me, I never just buy one thing, so I ended up getting quite a haul in from Mercari (and Angelic Pretty directly).

Given that I found Dramatic Rose on Mercari, I had to use Japonica as my shopping service and they were fine. I still find their emails a bit confusing, but they get the job done! They also handled the consolidation of four orders with nary a hiccup. For reference, because I hadn't seen this information online before, if you place multiple orders under one email address via their site, they will automatically consolidate them for you and send you an updated order email that contains everything. Very handy! The only downside is that I had been avoiding sites like Mercari and Fril as they were new to me, and thus terrifying, but now they are familiar…and filled with so many wonderful bargains…

Anyway, onto the haul! Obviously, the first item is the Dramatic Rose JSK in ivory, which came with the matching canotier. The dress is in perfect condition, apparently there were meant to be some small stains but I haven’t found them yet, and it is so beautiful in real life! A little more ivory than the stock photos indicate, which is exactly what I wanted. I don’t like the canotier at all, I find it aesthetically awkward, difficult to wear as there are no combs or clips, and the flowers seem very cheap. But I didn’t buy this for the canotier, so I don’t really mind. And besides, the dress really is gorgeous and so very detailed.

But, in sad news, I think I’m still too tall for this dress. As I have to lose weight to fit it I haven’t been able to try it on properly, but holding it up to my body it’s just not right. It’s not just that the skirt is too short (because underskirts exist) but the bodice is too short for my torso. I’ll admit, I’m pretty bummed about that because I loved the idea of this as my wedding dress but I just don’t think it’s going to happen. I’ll have a think about it but currently it’s looking like a no. I’ll still hang on to it though, because a slightly too short bodice is something I don’t mind too much regularly in lolita even though it is something I don’t want for my wedding day.

Moving back into a happier mood, I also stumbled on a full back shirred Innocent World onepiece. Innocent World that will fit me? Sign me up! This is the Angel Tiered OP in brown and while it's not a print I'd ever really been aware of before it felt like it would be a good addition to the "easy to wear" side of my wardrobe. Much as I love JSKs I'm finding myself reaching for skirts or OPs more often when wearing lolita casually. It’s a very pretty dress but to my surprise it doesn’t fit…and you know why? The arms! Memo to any larger girls wanting to try full back shirred IW; it may fit around your body but it mightn’t fit around the arms! Oh well, it’s only a bit too tight so I’ll be able to wear it soon and I think I’ll wear it a lot.

Then I saw this cute little AP cutsew (the Berry Garden Print T-Shirt) and again it was a no brainer. Black with berries for just 999 yen - how am I supposed to resist that? To my great surprise and joy this actually fits me! It’s tight and a bit short but wow, I can’t believe the stretch this thing has. It’s so great! My only concern is the length, it may just be a bit too short on my torso (are you sensing a pattern here? I am!) but I’ll try cording it soon and see how we go. I hope it works out because I think printed cutsews are my new favourite thing and given that this matches my number one casual wardrobe theme I see it being very useful.

While browsing the AP section I also came across the Polka Dot Short Sleeve Parka for just a single yen more than the cutsew. Again, when temptation is perfect and cheap I just go for it! Like the cutsew, it fits, and I think it’s the cutest thing in my whole haul! I don’t have anything like it and I am so glad I bought it. Short sleeved hoodies are something I love in casual wear, so I’m really chuffed to it and who knows, I may end up wearing it outside of lolita as well.

I also bought another pair of ivory lace topped OTKS from Angelic Pretty because I made the mistake of putting my last pair through the wash instead of hand-washing and they came out kind of grey. Not going to lie, I was so disappointed I almost cried. Thank goodness I'm an adult with a good job so I can easily afford a replacement but man, that was way more soul crushing than it ought to have been. But on James's suggestion I'm going to try dying the damaged pair so who knows, it may end up being a blessing in disguise, depending on how the dye job turns out.

I then found this super cute brown with ivory lace Metamorphose cardigan, I think it's the Double Frill Lace Cardigan from 2005. I didn't really need another piece of brown outerwear, but it was cute and still different enough from anything else I have that I thought it was a good buy. Unfortunately though it’s a bit short on the sleeves for me and I’m in the process of deciding if that’s a deal breaker for me. I think it is, which is a bummer, but oh well. That’s what you get buying online and there’s a swap meet next month anyway so no big deal!

I also took a dive into the world of burando shoes! Again from Meta, these are currently unidentified but that doesn't matter. I didn't necessarily need these shoes, but I don't own an ivory flat so they're not an entirely frivolous purchase! And they turned out to be my unexpected favourite purchase of this haul. They fit perfectly and are comfortable, but more than that they are just such a typically lolita shoe. The little wooden sole, the scalloped edges, the ankle straps - they’re just perfect and I love them way, way more than I was expecting too. Do you ever come across an item that just make you feel like a proper lolita, some weird nix of nostalgia and excitement? These shoes did it for me.

Now, I thought I was done then, and I was for a little, but I can't keep myself from browsing when I have an open order and I stumbled upon this Maxicimam bolero which I couldn't resist. It fills a wardrobe gap! As a note, Japonica once again confirmed with me that the item description indicated wear and checked if I wanted to go ahead with the order, which is a good bit of customer service (and honestly, the bolero is fine, like seriously, what wear?). The bolero is a perfect fit and while a bit unexciting on its own I’m very glad to have it.

Overall I’m very happy with my new set of wardrobe additions, though I am a bit down about Dramatic Rose. But I got some great new pieces so it’s all good! I do feel a bit bad for not sticking more firmly to my “limited spending” goal for the year though, so I’m going to try very hard not to indulge any further for a while. I also want to focus on wardrobe diversity a bit more and get some items in a broader colour palette. We’ll see how it goes!

Have you added anything to your lolita wardrobe lately?