Coordinates from January - February 2022

I have one word for you - summer. Or perhaps two - ugh, summer.

I wanted to wear lolita over my Christmas break and when I started back at work (thanks to Omicron, still working from home) but the heat and humidity killed me. Fortunately, I got enough of a break in the weather to wear a coord at the end of my first work week back...a coord I'd had sitting out since the Monday, waiting to be worn but languishing due to the awful weather.

Skirt: Bodyline

Wristcuffs & Headbow: Angelic Pretty

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I like that I started to year off with some sweet. This coord felt very cute, very me, and it made me happy to wear it.

And then it won't surprise anyone to hear that I didn't wear lolita for almost an entire month. In my defence, we had a lot of very hot and humid weather, and I was also quite sick (not the Rona, thank goodness) for about three weeks. So, you know.

So my next coord was for rather late in February, worn to work from home but primarily because we had tradies coming over to fix a broken step. People = wearing not-pyjamas so why not lolita?

JSK; Metamorphose temps de fille Teddy Chocolatier

Blouse: Glitter Tale

Headbow: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Necklace; Angelic pretty

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

However, it had a bonus side effect of actually making me really happy. Between the weather and the sick I'd been pretty down and feeling un-creative, and this coord really helped put me back into a better mindset.

PS How do you like my new hair? It probably won't be around for long because technically I can't have coloured hair for work, but while we're still WFH I figured why not just do it! I'll either cut it off or dye over it when I get back to the office.

Given how good that coord made me feel, I decided to continue it and wore lolita the next Monday. Nothing particularly exciting about this coord as it was honestly chosen for comfort and ease of wear, but nevertheless I enjoyed it. Shirring Princess is the best ^__^

JSK & Socks: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Wristcuffs: Handmade

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

The next day I defaulted to working in PJs, but on Wednesday I dressed up again. It really has been helping my mental state!

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille Rose Stripe Shirring

Blouse: Glitter Tale

Socks & Headbow: Innocent World

Shoes: Bodyline

Wristcuffs: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

This coord was entirely brought about because I wanted to wear classic, dammit. And it dawned on me, as I tried to put something together, that I don't actually have any properly classic main pieces that fit at the moment. Ever since I got rid of my handmade green skirt there's really only my Victorian Maiden skirt that's truly classic...and I don't really do classic in black! So this coord isn't as classic as it could be, but I still enjoyed it. And now I potentially have sewing plans...

And that was it for the first two months of 2022. As the weather gets more tolerable I do hope to wear lolita more frequently and I am getting a lot of joy out of it right now ^__^

Coordinates from February 2021

February was another "quiet" month in lolita terms. Compared to 2020? Pffft it was nothing! Compared to my previous and likely future lolita habits? Perfectly normal ^__^

I first wore lolita to my counselling appointment. I enjoyed pairing this skirt with more white - usually I pick out pink from the print but I decided to keep it more neutral for once. 

Skirt & Shoes: Bodyline 

Cutsew, Headbow & Bracelet: Angelic Pretty

Everything else: Offbrand

I busted out lolita again on Valentine's Day...but not because it was Valentine's Day but because I was assisting James on a photoshoot and decided if I had to wear clothes I'd wear fun clothes! Super casual outfit, but I really liked it!

Skirt: Handmade

Socks: Angelic Pretty

Bag: Coquettish Tiara

Everything else: Offbrand

Also, enjoy this bonus shot of me reacting to a gust of wind while James was taking my picture ^__^

My last outfit for February was once again worn to counselling, with a bit of errand-running beforehand. This coord was kind of inspired by one I put together for AYWI30C, though it ended up pretty different the concept is the same.

JSK: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Shirring Princess

Cutsew & Headbow: Angelic Pretty

Socks: Metamorphose temps de fille

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

You can't see it in the photo, but these socks have strawberries going up the back! Combined with the bustle back made me feel pretty awesome...it was a party back there!

So that was my February in lolita fashion. Nothing groundbreaking but fun nevertheless ^__^

AYWI30C #27: From a single brand

Okay - let's get the technicalities out of the way. I can't do a full coord from literally any brand. In most cases, it's because I don't own shoes from the big brands. So I went with Bodyline, since I knew I could pull a main piece, top, shoes and socks. But then I realised that I had no smaller Bodyline accessories, so I really could have done this with Meta or AP or IW instead and had no shoes by the brand, but had accessories. Oh well, this was still a fun challenge even if I could only take the "single brand" theme so far.

I rather like this coord, and it was fun to show off this dress. It's a lovely one, and another example of why old Bodyline will always have a place in my wardrobe.

I think this print is really gorgeous, and I love the ruffle I lengthened it with too. Much as I'm quite a sweet creature at heart, dainty florals are always a win in my book.

In keeping with the flroal theme, the hair accessories for this look are just lots of flowers. And all the supplementary are offbrand, which seemed like a good choice for the "single brand" theme. I couldn't literally go with a single brand, but keeping it all offbrand seemed like the closet match I could manage.

This coord did really highlight how mattered some of my shoes are getting though...and the black OTKS I used for this look are just twisted and odd when laid out fully. All these things look fine worn though, and that's what I care about!

For my last closeup I wanted to show off this necklace. It was a Christmas gift from a friend, I wore it for my wedding, and it's great for nearly ever classic lolita coord I ever do ^__^

 So that was my single branded look! All in all I like it, even though the brand limitations mean it's a little boring compared to what I could do with this JSK. But hey, I had fun and that's what counts!

AYWI30C #26: Using the thing you bought first that you still have

I still have two main pieces from my first Bodyline order, this JSK and the Chocoberry skirt. Given that Chocoberry has already been used in this series my lovely brown floral JSK was the obvious choice for this prompt.

For the rest of the coordinate, I also tried to use older (to me) items and also to style the whole look a little more like I would have when I was a newer lolita. Not that I'd really have done all that much differently as I still like this kind of styling, but it still informed my choices, like using an offbrand blouse and my only bracelet being some real pearls I've had since I was a little girl.

Most obviously, a beret with something clipped in front has been a staple of my look for a very, very long time. So have flower clips!

And, of course, fawn fur. Even though I don't wear my fawn fur pieces all that much, they still feel very iconic to me. I got my first fawn fur collar within my first year as a lolita (the one pictured here is my second).

Again, this bag has been part of my collection for a long time, and I don't think I'll ever not love it in classic coordinates. Gobelin is such a gorgeous fabric, I really want a tacky gobelin dress someday.

And last of all, I pulled out the OTKS that I wore with this dress to my first lolita meet with the Newcastle community. Just for some bonus nostalgia points.

I really enjoyed turning this coordinate into a bit of a trip down memory lane. As I said at the start, even though I tried to make this more "retro Roli" than how I'd choose to style this JSK now, I'd still wear this outfit. Though I must admit, in putting this together I realised how same-y I tend to style this...and now I want to try something really out there!

"July" Lolita Haul

So I did a thing, namely I got my tax return and while most of it got squirrelled away some if it went to funding new lolita! I'm calling this my "July" haul since that's when I ordered it, but  it took a while ^__^

I placed the order with Japonica on July 15, and received a near-instant email letting me know that they couldn't ship by EMS but could hold the order at no extra cost and was I okay with that. I was, so I replied just as promptly. I did have a bit of a panic over the order, because the seller for my first item just wasn't responding and I didn't hear anything for like a month until I decided to check in with Japonica. Turns out they had missed the sellers reply and were able to buy the dress after all but I was a bit sad for a while thinking I wouldn't get it!

Ultimately I got my package on the first of September, though I did have to ship by DHL which was horribly expensive. But let's not dwell on that, let's look at the amazing goodies I got!

The dress that started it all is Meta's Blooming Garden OP in yellow. I've been after a sweet dress in a light pastel for a while, though I hadn't specifically considered this dress before I found it on Fril for a decent price and decided to go for it. I was actually strongly considering buying this no matter what, but once I realised what my tax return was going to be I decided to go for it!

In person it's just lovely. It is hands down the most typically sweet thing I own now, and that's exactly what I wanted. The print is really beautiful, and I love how it's both very soft and very vibrant. With front and back shirring the sizing is very flexible... but I can't zip it up on my own due to the high waist! Oh well, that's what husbands are for ^__^

I also decided that it was high time I bought the Maxiciman Lovely bolero that I've been eyeing off for like a year. If I was going to have a bit of a lolita splurge I was damn sure this bolero was coming with me! I wanted a pink bolero anyway so into the cart it went, and besides, it was on sale.

The bolero also came with a shopping bag, a fan, and some catalogue pages, which were really fun to look at. 

An oh my goodness, I am not a firm Maxicimam fan. This bolero is absolutely perfect. It fits me so well, it's comfortable, it's beautiful and I'm so glad it's out of stock int he other colours I'd want otherwise I'd be buying too many of these! Seriously, if you are plus-size check out Maxicimam's Lovely size, you won't be disappointed.

Then I did a little more browsing on Fril and found another wishlist item - mint OTKS! Admittedly, I was hoping to find something more versatile but given that my only mint main piece right now is Teddy Chocolatier and these are a perfect match I figured why not? As you can see, they were actually part of  a set and while I'm not overly excited about the other two pairs they certainly do go with my wardrobe so all in all I was very chuffed with this AP sock set.

I also picked up a couple of cheap Bodyline main pieces secondhand. The first was this bustle back cherry print skirt. You know me, black berry prints are kind of my thing, and I liked how quirky this was. On the surface of it it's just a cherry pattern, but I liked how prominent the flowers were in the print and I also loved the bustle back. It's a weird mix of casual and OTT, very old school.

But unfortunately, despite being a full elastic waist this skirt is still tiny! Probably a maximum stretch of 70cm and while I have had a 70cm waist I don't think I'd ever be able to get it past my hips or boobs even if I got down to that size again!

And that is a massive pity, because I adore this skirt. I'm toying with the idea of deconstructing is an replacing the bustle back with a wider one, but more likely I'll just sell it. Though it has made me think about making this skirt cut myself so that's a plus side, I suppose. I'm just really disappointed that it's too small to even keep as a "when I lose weight" thing.

Last of all I bought this older Bodyline floral JSK (L003). It's a beautiful simple piece and that's about all I have to say about it. It was a gamble, size-wise and thus it is a bit small for me, but it's definitely something I can fit in time. I actually really love it - I've always thought it was pretty when I've seen it online but IRL it's even more gorgeous! 

So that's my "July" haul. It was really exciting to buy a bunch of new lolita items given how much I've been wearing the fashion recently, and I'm loving the immediate boost to my wardrobe versatility. Stay tuned for outfits with my new things soon!

Coordinates from July 2020

Almost the first half of July passed with nary a coordinate. I've been cold and stressed and just not up for it. But then things settled down, I felt my creativity starting to return, so I decided to knuckle down and resume the daily work coords.

We start this coord round up on 13 July, a chilly but decidedly average Monday...

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille

Bolero & Headbow: Angelic Pretty

Scarf: Sweet Dreamer

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I love Teddy Chocolatier so much! It's cute and comfy and this time I tried to go as mint as possible with it, which still isn't that mint. I also wore my new MeLikesTea petticoat for the first time and oh my goodness it felt amazing to have a proper petticoat again. I hadn't realised that my lack of poof actually made me feel kind of bad about my coords but apparently it did!

So yes, wearing this coord made me feel happy and good about myself, which was really nice! The only thing I'm not 100% sold on is the ankle socks layered over the lace socks, but I wanted more mint down the bottom and that is literally all I have in that department!

The next day I will admit that I only stayed properly dressed for about two hours - it was really windy and I just had to get warm! But I still really loved my outfit and I'm glad I wore it ^__^

Skirt: Handmade

Cutsew, Wristcuffs, Bracelet & Necklace: Angelic Pretty

Bolero: Heart E

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I was actually really happy with my accessories, so I asked James to grab a hand photo for me, and I just love it!

Next day was a simple outfit, so no further ramblings! But I will say I take back any negative thing I ever said about Shirring Princess, I love this dress ^__^

JSK: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
Headbow: Handmade

OTKS: Jane Marple

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I was lazy on Thursday and stayed in my PJs, so flash forward to the following Monday!

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille

Kimono: Vintage:

OTKS: Innocent World

Flower Crown: Lyris Design

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

Now this outfit I have some very, very mixed feelings about. First of all, not too happy with my headwear and shoe choice, they're too heavy. but the combination of JSK and kimono is what really gets me. It's sort of great and at the same time doesn't really work. So I'm a bit conflicted about this outfit, and won't be repeating it. However, I'm really glad I experimented with it!

On Tuesday I had a Zoom staff meeting, so I had to be work appropriate from the waist up, so my coord isn't anything special at all. But I still tried something new with the blue accents and while it's not exciting I'm still glad I did a new thing. I also discovered that my new petti is too big/long for this skirt!

Skirt: Victorian Maiden

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand

I also hope you enjoyed this cameo appearance by Panda, who actually looks good for once ^__^

Wednesday was cold, Thursday I had to physically go to the office, and then I had a five-day weekend (because oh boy did I need a break!) so now we jump to the following Wednesday and an attempt at an OTT coordinate, because why not!

Skirt, Shoes & Black Sock: Bodyline

Cutsew: The Black Ribbon

Bolero, Wristcuffs, and Candy Bracelet: Angelic Pretty

Pink Sock: Handmade

Everything else: Taobao

I love the concept and colours of this outfit, but I think I needed more interesting OTKS to really capture the OTT vibe. I wanted to do mis-matched shoes so I thought the contrasting socks was a good idea, but looking back I think I should have chosen differently in that department. But still this was a very fun outfit and I'm keen to try more OTT (ish) sweet since now I actually feel like I can.

I also want to shout out to James since he had to take two set of photos for me - we initially went into the backyard but the sun came out and the colours blew out since my phone can't handle bright light. But he took cute pouty selfies as I got into position outside, so have one of those ^__^

On Thursday I was feeling pretty under the weather so that's that for July! While it was good to have a bit of a break from wearing lolita while working, it also felt really good to get back into it and I'm keen to share a lot more outfits with you soon ^__^

AYWI30C #21: Based around your favourite shoes

I've put myself in a corner with these prompts again, because how on earth am I meant to choose a singular favourite pair of shoes? For reals, this is hard. I don't do favourites!

Ultimately I chose a pair of shoes that I love for their dramatic, historical vibe: my Bordello Whimsey boots in black. From there I decided I wanted to do an outfit that was a little goth-y, a little historical, a little opulent, and here's what I came up with!

I really love this outfit. IRL I'd wear some lacy black tights with it, but they look terrible in flatlay form. I also didn't take a close-up of the shoes, even though they're the starting point of the outfit because they are velvet and a. I have two cats and b. the last time I wore them was in a historical cemetery for a photoshoot so they are...not int he best condition. I cleaned them as well as I could but they just don't look nice super close up!

For hair accessories I ran with a velvet and pearl headbow, and lots of flowers. Lots of flowers is my favourite way to dress up a floral print ^__^

Since  rarely wear this sort of dark classic black based coor, I got to pull our some accessories I rarely wear. I keep my black sweet for the most part, so I've literally never worn these pretty wristcuffs nor that clock ring.

However, I couldn't let it get too gothy so I did also pull out this pretty necklace as I felt it matched the dress really nicely. And it let me continue the pearly theme I had going with the accessories.

I will admit to a struggle I had with this coord - the realisation that I don't have a black handbag! So I ended up using my trusty fawn fur bag, which I actually ended up really loving somehow.

Ultimately this outfit was a little less gothic than I was initially aiming for, but in doing that it turned into something I'm far more likely to wear. Because 10/10 I am going to wear this on - just have to figure out when and where ^__^

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!

Remote Twinning with Cupcake Kamisama

Recently I had the pleasure of remote twinning for the very first time with the always lovely Paulina from Cupcake Kamisama! Feast your eyes on our adorable sweetness!

My twin from the other side of the world!

I'll admit I was a bit nervous about this whole thing, given that I've never actually properly twinned before. I did do a photoshoot with a model friend, but that was just me dressing us both up in matching dresses with different styling, not actual twinning with a fellow lolita.

Turns out that we only had one print in common, this Bodyline one. Once we decided on the main piece, Paulina put together some flatlays for me, I made a flatlay to match one of hers, we hashed out a few more details (like adding pink wigs and matching brooches) and shoot ideas and we were ready!

Tea is the universal uniting force, regardless of space and time.

Paulina took her photos first then I attempted to match, and I think all in all we did a very creditable job! It was fun pairing our photos together, though I have to say that the artsy one below was all her work, not mine!

All in all my first remote twinning was a wonderful experience! It was very fun to collaborate with Paulina (and seriously, if you don't follow her blog you absolutely should) and since I'm lucky enough to have an awesome husband I can rope into taking lots of photos for me it was pretty easy too.  I also enjoy that this coordinate is probably not quite what I'd have done on my own if we weren't trying to match - and on that note I think we ended up matching really well! 10/10, would twin again ^__^

PS I'm also adding this selfie because I wanted to wear my glasses for the shoot, but also needed to do make-up, so I did my makeup practically blind (-10 vision y'all) and amazingly I ended up with even eyeliner. It's a miracle!

PPS How cute is this wig? It's my favourite wig and it was fun to wear it with lolita for once!