What my wardrobe needs

As you know, I've been wearing lolita almost daily lately since I've been working from home due to the pandemic. It has been a great experience and it has also been very eye opening in showing me what pieces I really need to add to my wardrobe. I had thought I'd been very thorough when I updated my wishlist earlier this year, but wearing lolita so much has shown me a few things I hadn't thought of.

Given the current state to the economy and the tenuous security of my own job, I can't just go out and buy all these things, but writing them down still helps solidify them for me.

A new petticoat
This was already on my wishlist but it has increased in urgency now! After the death of my Classical Puppet petti I've been relying on an old Leg Avenue one, which is soooooo scratchy and also just too short and deflated to do most of my clothes justice. I do have my nice MeLikesTea petti as well, but that's too long and too a-line for most of my clothes.

Pink outerwear
When jotting down coord ideas (as I outlined in this post) I often found myself wanting to list a pink outerwear option, which I don't really own. I don't really care what it is, though a long sleeve bolero is probably the best choice. I just want something pink to layer with!

I have been making some use of a plain cardigan I got for a cosplay costume, but it's not quite lolita enough to make me truly happy. Who knows, I may sacrifice that cardigan to the lolita gods, crop it shorter and add some lace. I don't really need it for cosplay purposes any more so we'll see what happens.

A long-sleeve black bolero
A bit more specific than my desire for pink outerwear, I distinctly want a black bolero with long sleeves. Preferably a bit more classic in style, but not so classic that it won't work with sweet outfits!

Long, warm bloomers
We are heading into the cold months here in Australia, and since it seems likely that I'll still be working from home for a while, I want to be able to keep being frilly without freezing. So I want some nice warm underthings to keep me cosy! This will definitely be a DIY as we already have some black fleece fabric I can use.

The rest of my wishlist
And the rest of my wishlist that I shared at the beginning of this year still stands! With wearing loltia so frequently I'm finding myself craving new things just for the sake of them being new. I'm resisting the urge so far, but we'll see how it goes!

I'm keen to keep wearing lolita more frequently, even after the world returns to a more normal state, but it's been great to see what my wardrobe really needs.

Lolita Blog Carnival: 5 Surprise Finds That You Didn’t Realise You Would Enjoy So Much

A moment of me being pedantic first - I don't really have surprise finds. I've never walked into a normal store and suddenly found something perfect for lolita that just blew my mind. But I did, after some thought, come up with a list of five items that have become more integral to my wardrobe that I ever imagined they would.

Closet Child jewellery
In my two trips to Japan I've picked up quite a lot of the generic jewellery sold at the Closet Child stores - some pictured below (with a little AP as well). This stuff is just so good for sweet lolita, and I don't think anything cost more than 300 yen. The bracelets and the pink necklace in particular are really useful for me.

Handmade cherry skirt
Obviously since I made it myself, this skirt was not a surprise find, but the fabric for it was. I found the last of a roll of this fabric on super sale at Spotlight (I think it was $2 a metre, or something like that) and since my actual surname is Cherry I just had to get it. It sat for a while before I made this skirt, and then the skirt sat for a while before Is tarted wearing it regularly, but now it's one of the reliable workhorses of my wardrobe.

Flower Bottle lucky pack skirt
I've mentioned before on this blog, but I wasn't really a fan of Flower Bottle when I first got it in my Meta lucky pack. It was cute, but not me. Oh boy, how wrong time proved that attitude to be! This skirt is now a must keep and it makes me so happy to wear, every time.

Fawn fur handbag
Something I bought for lolita but ended up just using mostly in my day-to-day life is a fawn fur bag bought secondhand from the bran Coquettish Tiara. I love this bag, it's just the right size for me and it's fun to have a weird everyday handbag. It's also a real conversation starter!

Kimonos
When we were in Japan this year we bought a lot of kimonos and obis and even some haoris. While I did have the idea of doing wa lolita in mind at the time, I didn't know how much I'd really fall in love with it! I'm not particularly good at it yet, and tying obi is a massive struggle for me, but I'm getting there.

So those are five things that have been more enjoyable than I would have guessed in my lolita wardrobe.

Read more from other bloggers:

Cupcake Kamisama
The Bloody Tea Party
Alice in Lolitaland

Recent lolita sewing achievements

During this enforced stay-at-home time I've actually found the mojo to get some sewing done. Some has been cosplay-related, which you can see on my Facebook page, but some has been lolita too! I don't have much to say about each project so I thought I'd just do a little roundup of the things I've finished over the past couple of months. You've actually already seen all these items in my recent coord posts but let's still just take a moment to look at them all!

Firstly I finally made a matching hair accessory for my cherry skirt! I initially thought I'd make a pair of bow clips, but then when I sat down with the fabric I realised I wanted more of a headbow. I don't like making headbows so after a bit of googling I settle on this usamimi style, though it's unwired so it's not pose-able. This took me literally twenty minutes to make and I adore it! It's cute, it's comfortable, and I'm definitely going to make more in this style in future.

The next project was a lot bigger...and I think I've had the fabric for like, two years. But it's done now so let's not dwell on that part. Say hello to my new tartan skirt ^__^

It's a bit sloppy in places but honestly that's all a result of me taking the easy route, like not ironing my pleats before sewing them down, and not adding interfacing to the waistband. I'm super happy with how it turned out and I can already tell it's going to be a great, versatile addition to my wardrobe. I'm very proud of my work on this one, and love that all the "flaws" are just because I took shortcuts, not because I messed things up.

Lastly, I modified some socks. I found myself wishing for some lace-topped pink socks and had a brainwave! I had pink socks in my sell pile (they were plain and I didn't wear them) and I had some gorgeous pink lace which turned out to be an almost perfect match. So I stretched the socks around a box and hand-sewed the lace on while watching YouTube.

I did mess up a bit on the first sock and gathered it too much at first, so there's a patch where the lace is hardly gathered at all, but despite that I'm really happy with how these turned out. The sewing is a bit messy if you look close-up, but I ain't letting nobody that close to my legs in lolita so I think it's all okay. I am definitely going to repeat this experiment!

I'm really happy with all these sewing projects, it has been great to get my sewing motivation back. I have plans for another skirt (probably with another usamimi to match!) and as I said, more sock upcycling. After that, who knows? And that's half the fun!

Coordinates from 1 - 15 May 2020

I am still amazed to be posting so many coords to this blog - it's so much fun! Without further ado, let's roll right along.

My first coord of May was on the 4th because I bailed on doing a proper writing Friday on the 1st. I would have liked to have done something Star Wars inspired but alas, I don't have the makings of a SW coord. Instead, I wore a skirt that I finished making over the weekend.

Forewarning - brace yourselves. This is ita AF and I love it!

Skirt: Handmade

Cutsew: Babyshoop

Everything else: Offbrand

Black and rainbows is my jam, and it brightened up my Monday so much to whip out this colourful stuff that I really hardly ever wear any more. I do feel a little bad, as my pretty skirt does deserve a proper lolita coordinate to really show it off but hey, this outfit was fun!

Besides, the chance to wear it "properly" came the very next day. See, I'd gotten out my bra for the day the night before, but forgot that the straps on it meant I had to wear something high necked. That ruined my outfit plans for the day, and since I already had this idea for my new skirt kicking around in my head my morning brain decided that was the easiest choice. Morning brain does not like having to make decisions.

Skirt: Handmade

Cutsew: Metamorphose temps de fille
OTKS: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand

Much as I enjoyed my tacky rainbow outfit, it felt really good to wear something nice with this skirt. Like, the rainbows felt good to wear, but I'm not so happy looking at me in them (though you can tell by my pose I was confident AF!) if that makes sense? So a cute lolita outfit was a great counter!

I also visit my mum that evening and she was very positive about the skirt, always good when you get compliments on your sewing!

Wednesday I wore something colourful and cute, which was nice because most of my outfits recently had been black based. I do like wearing black, but too much of anything is too much. I loved this outfit, it was cute and comfy and showed off another new thing I'd made - the lace topped socks!

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille

Blouse & Shoes: Bodyline

Socks: Handmade

Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty

Brooch: Madillustration

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

Seriously though, every time I wear this Rose Stripe Shirring JSK I fall more in love with it - it's jsut so pretty and such happy colours. It's a bit short on me but I love it regardless. I've loved that this lockdown has led to me wearing it in more and more different ways.

PS How gorgeous is this photo James took for me! Perfection!

On Thursday I pulled out Verrry Berry Picnic for a simple, but still really pretty, coord. Not much to say about this one!

OP & Headbow: Lady Sloth

Socks & Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

We received some big news on Thursday which once again derailed my writing plans, so suddenly it's Monday again and the working from home coords continue. Again, I don't really have commentary on this outfit, but I liked it!

Skirt & Shoes: Bodyline

Cutsew & Socks: Metamorphose temps de fille

Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I did run some errands after work and got a compliment on the skirt from a lady at the chemist. Always nice!

On Tuesday I woke up with a bad cold, and the weather was also cold, so I stay in my PJs and dressing gown for work. The blessings of working from home!

But honestly it felt really weird to not wear lolita, so I was happy that on Wednesday I was feeling a fair bit better and could resume the lolita habit. One again there's nothing much to say about this coord, but that's okay! Teddy Chocolatier is always cute, and once again I saw my mum and my mum liked it too ^__^

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille

Socks: Angelic Pretty

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

On Thursday (and coincidentally exactly a month after I wore it last) I coorded by handmade green floral skirt with ivory and wine. As I mentioned in this post, I find myself kind of bored with this skirt, so I tried to do something more adventurous with this outfit. It's not super adventurous really, but given that I've only ever worn it with ivory it's a step in the right direction!

Skirt: Handmade

Cutsew: The Black Ribbon

Bolero: Lyris Design

Socks: Innocent World

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I did change out of this outfit pretty quickly though, the top half isn't heaps comfortable and I was still under the weather a bit with that cold. It was still really good to try something new with this skirt!

Friday turned into a sick and sooky kind of day, so that's all for the first half of the month of May! It's kind of hilarious to me that this last week I felt kind of bad since I only wore lolita three times in the week - when in my past life have I ever worn lolita thrice in a week? 2020 is an odd year, that's for sure!

A green classic capsule wardrobe

Recently another capsule wardrobe thread popped up on CGL, and since I've had more time on my hands due to working from home I put out a call for requests since I wanted to play. One anon asked for "forest green classic with some neutrals" then added that "different shades of green are ok btw, as long as there's some cohesiveness".

Challenge accepted!

As you can see, I certainly ran with the option of using different shades of green, and it's probably not quite what the requester was after, but I had a lot of fun with this. Sticking to such a limited colour palette is really not my thing, so it was quite hard for me. I do like what I came up with, but with stock photos being what they are (especially you, Innocent World!) please just assume that the colours match well enough IRL.

In my usual way, I've put together four sample coordinates for each main piece below.

This OP, which is AatP's Classical Maid OP, is absolutely gorgeous but so hard to do anything interesting with! It's one of those things you have to wear for itself, not for it's coording possibilities...though I guess that's kind of a thing with long sleeve OPs no matter what.

Way more up my alley is Meta's Dim Light. I adore this print in every colourway and love the clash between opulent, delicate print and military inspired cut. In real life the cape-sleeve-thing is detachable, which would give even more coordination possibilities.

From Meta to more Meta I included one of their perennial velveteen pieces. Different fabric textures are a great way to make a capsule seem more varied than it actually is, and I enjoy how this skirt is like a modern take on old-school.

The last forest green main piece is this gobelin print from Innocent World. With the lush print and low-busted cut it again provides a lot of interest and be worn with pretty much everything in the wardrobe. Putting these together actually really made me fall in love with this JSK!

Then we move into the "other greens" with the mint version of Innocent World's Annette print. I felt having a lighter green piece in a more country vibe gave the wardrobe a much needed lift, but it was also possibly too much of a sweet choice.

The final main piece was one of Meta's kimono prints, and I have to say I fell totally in love. It's so gorgeous! And it does have touches of actual forest green so it's a much better fit for the wardrobe as a whole.

Last of all, these were my favourite coords with each main piece. I think it makes it pretty clear that I'm not really into monochromatic wardrobes! That said, this was a really fun exercise to put together and I hope you enjoyed looking at it ^__^

Review #54: Wedding Outfits by Lyris Design

So that recent LBC topic about favourite items reminded me that this post was still sitting in my drafts, so I'm finally posting it. This post is more than a little overdue (a year and a half, the shame), but here's a review of my (our) experience working with Lyris Design for our wedding outfits. I was going to do fancy photos, the whole schebang, but it has been over a year so I just wanted to post something. So there's no pretty close-ups or anything, but hey, it's finally posted.

I’m going to put the summary at the start – once again the owner Carly was a pleasure to work with and delivered an amazing result. I thoroughly recommend her services!

Our wedding day <3

But let’s start at the beginning. After we decided that I’d wear lolita for our wedding and James would wear something matching I bought Dramatic Rose in ivory. Unfortunately though, it wasn’t going to work for me so we decided that we’d go for full custom made for both of us. Since we knew Carly would do a great job she was the natural choice (in fact, we didn’t even consider using anyone else). So we got in touch, threw some ideas and inspo images around, and in the end settled on these two designs.

With James's outfit we got both trousers and shorts made so he can wear it as an ouji outfit as well! Which he has done in the several times ^__^

Carly was wonderful with the design process, especially since we were a bit vague on exactly what we wanted. But once she nailed it and we approved the designs it was time to choose fabrics…which was something of an adventure! We sent a lot of messages back forth, often with a lot of delay on our (my) side. She also sent us mock-ups, which we tried on and sent her a very in-depth message about changes. I forget what it was now, but we forgot to mention something at this point, and when we brought it up later it was almost too late, but Carly really goes above and beyond to try and get exactly what you want. I did get a few polite messages of “we really can’t make these changes this late” but she still managed it. I feel pretty bad about handling communication so poorly on my side, to be honest. I mean, it was a tough time for me but still, I know I made her job harder! Sorry Carly!

But anyway, after we’d selected all our fabrics (and had some issues because my lace didn’t arrive so we had a last-minute change there, which actually worked out because I love the new lace better) we flew down to Melbourne for a proper fitting. This was really exciting, because a. wedding outfits and b. we’d actually get to meet Carly in person! It was also stressful, because they day we flew down was a Sunday, and on the Saturday before we’d gotten the keys to our new house and also gone to a party. So we were pretty dead (and starting to get sick). All that aside, it was a cool experience to try on our mockups and spend a bit of time with Carly. Though our flight home was delayed by like three hours....

Shortly after that we received the final garments in the mail, and they were perfect. They still are perfect. Since I'm not taking detail shots I'm not going to gush about everything, but they're amazing. Getting our wedding outfits from Lyris Design was the perfect choice. Not only were the garments well made, perfectly fitted, and designed according to our taste but because of those very reasons they are clothes that we have gotten further wear out of, which we wouldn't have been able to do if we'd gone the traditional route. Check the tag Lyris Design to see some of the other times we've worn these clothes!

Carly sent us photos of the completed outfits of before posting them to us.

I don't have experience working with other designers on custom garments, but honestly Carly has blown me away every single time and I don't want to ever work with anyone else. Mostly her portfolio is more fantasy couture, I suppose, but she's always willing to work with what we've wanted. She has a very good eye and lots of experience, so we always listen when she suggested little changes here and there. Working with her always results in wonderful garments which are better than what we originally asked for.

Since we ordered our wedding outfits, James has commissioned a duplicate of his wedding shirt in black, and we've also put down a deposit to have her do part of a cosplay for him. And I guess more than anything proves that we're really happy with Lyris Design.

Coordinates from 16 - 30 April 2020

I have to say, it feels absolutely surreal to be posting so many outfits! Very, very good but also just...odd. I've never worn lolita this much before and I'm loving it!

Continuing right along with the working from home outfits, here's a cute outfit (but a terrible self-taken photo, ugh) with Jurassic Party. I don't have any further commentary on this outfit, but I liked it.

Skirt: Wonderpunk 

Headbow: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I had a long-long weekend (Friday to Monday, yee-hah!) after this, so didn't wear lolita until the next Tuesday when I pulled out another sweet-wa coordinate (aka wore my haori again) this time with Teddy Chocolatier.

JSK: Metamorphose temp de fille

Haori: Vintage

Socks & Necklace: Angelic Pretty

Everything else: Offbrand/taobao

I was much happier with this coord than the last time I wore this haori, but I'm not chuffed on my sock/shoe combo. Oh well, still a cute and comfy outfit and not liking some aspects means I can totally tweak it and wear it again without it being a repeat ^__^

Wearing wa inspired me to...wear more wa! Ever since we bought kimonos in Japan (which I will post about eventually) I've wanted to try wearing a kimono as a top paired with a lolita skirt and finally I did!

Skirt: Victorian Maiden

Kimono & Obi: Vintage

Socks & Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/taobao

I'm a bit love it/hate it with how this turned out. Aesthetically I think it really works, and I love the combo of kimono, skirt and obi. It was also surprisingly comfortable! However...I'm just bad at wearing kimono and tying obi, and at folding the kimono up properly (sorry about that bit hanging out!). None of this is surprising because this is the first time I've done either other than practising the obi a little bit the night before. It's a bit embarrassing to do such a poor job, but at the same time...for a first time, not bad! Hence the mixed feelings.

However, overall I enjoyed this kind of style so I hope to wear it more and get better at doing so! And James really liked it too, which is always a plus. Husband compliments make me feel a hundred times better about any outfit!

Following that I wanted something very simple for Thursday's working from home day, so pulled out my trusty Berry Stripe. Nothing much to say about this coord!

OP: Metamorphose temps de fille

Cardigan: Banned

Socks & Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/taobao

Friday turned into a photoshoot day (check out my Facebook for some cool stuff!) rather than a writing day, so fast forward to the following Monday where the working from home continues! 

Since it was a Monday I wore another pretty simple outfit with a bit of a twist...when picking accessories I just chose what made me happy! Hence the Disney ears and the unflattering UTKS. Not perfectly coordinated and honestly a bit weird, but just what I felt like wearing on the drizzly Monday. And James got me to do silly poses (which are honestly so me) so basically, yeah, this is ita and I don't care.

OP: Metamorphose temp de fille Egg Art

Bolero: Peace Now

Socks & Shoes: Bodyline

Ears: Tokyo Disneyland

Bracelet: Closet Child

I also went out (sans ears) in my lunchbreak to do some groceries and a lady asked me if I was wearing an "Alice dress" so I said that Alice in Wonderland and Victorian fashion were an inspiration for this fashion style. She said her daughter would love the dress so I told her to have her daughter look up Angelic Pretty. I don't actually know how to pronounce "Metamorphose temp de fille" and "Angelic Pretty" is a lot easier to remember anyways! So who knows, I may have started some girl down the path to lolita due to an encounter with her mum ^__^

Tuesday was an even more casual day, and nothing more to say about it!

Skirt: Metamorphose temps de fille Patisserie Dream

Socks, Wristcuffs & Headbow: Angelic Pretty

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand

And would you believe it? With that outfit I've now worn every main piece (that currently fits me) this year! Before the end of the month too ^__^

So naturally, my next outfit had to be with Shirring Princess so that I've worn every main piece while working from home, not just in this year. Double achievement!

JSK: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Parka: Angelic Pretty

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand

A super simple casual coord, but that's just how I like it! I do feel a little bad though - Shirring Princess is such an cute, elegant, quintessentially lolita piece and I'm just loving doing casual stuff with it! It deserves a princessy coord, but I don't think my wardrobe can actually furnish one!

I also popped over to my mum's in this outfit (she liked it) and went grocery shopping. I enjoyed catching glimpses of my bustle back bouncing in the shop windows, and was reminded of when I used to wear whatever I wanted just for fun. Wearing lolita so much during this lockdown has really unlocked something in me, and I like it.

My last outfit for April was experimental, though not dramatic - I wanted to try wearing Flower Bottle in a classic way. I think it worked out rather nicely even though the skirt really is too sweet for it.

Skirt: Metamorphose temps de fille

Cutsew: The Black Ribbon

Socks: Innocent World

Shoes: Bodyline

Hair Corsage: Dangerous Nude

Brooch: Madillustration

Everything else: Offbrand

And that's it for April! While I has a couple of three-day work weeks and kind of didn't keep up with my writing Fridays as intended, I still wore lolita 17 times this month - absolutely a record for me! Though sometimes I don't want to get dressed in the morning, and I do often remove accessories throughout the day and sometimes get changed at lunch, wearing lolita for work has been absolutely amazing!