Japan 2020 Highlights: Lolita

I am back from Japan! It was a wonderful but thoroughly exhausting trip. And, to be honest, I've realised that I don't actually want to do a blow-by-blow blog series about this trip. Instead I'm going to be sharing a few highlight posts focused on some of the most noteworthy aspects and experiences of the trip. Starting with, of course, the lolita side of things!

My lolita shopping this time around was actually rather modest, especially compared to last year's Tokyo trip!  This was not entirely through lack of trying, but ultimately I just didn’t find much that suited me and my budget. Still, as you can see below I did still come home richer in lolita than I left!

In the end I bought two cutsews, a haori, a bolero, a bracelet, some hairclips and a headband. Because I’m me, here’s some ramblings about every single thing, starting with the small bits.

Smallest thing first, I bought this bracelet at Ikebukuro Closet Child. I have the same one in pink x white and red x white, so knew that I get good wear out of this colourway. Unfortunately the little ribbon bow came untied and fell off and I decided not to put it back on. Still cute though!

These Hello Kitty clips came from Don Quijote, and they had a whole bunch of other Sanrio ones as well. But I exercised restraint and only got one set. I did spend a while debating between these ones with pink bows or a set with the traditional red bows but James suggested I get these ones so I did.

When in Akihabara James and I went to the maid cafe Mai Dreaming, which was ridiculously cute and fun. They loved James’s Sailor Moon knuckle tattoos, and even put on Sailor Moon music because of us! As part of the package we picked, we got to take home a souvenir each. James picked a keychain, which started his camera bag collection, and I chose this little bear headband! When I thought we may be going to Disney Sea I was thinking of getting some Duffy ears there but hey, this is a great alternative! Not super high quality but they’re cute and I love getting wearable mementos.

Moving onto the actual clothing items, I got this cute Nile Perch bolero from Shinjuku Closet Child. A bit frivolous for sure, but it was very cheap and cute and definitely gives me a good sweet outerwear option which I was very much lacking. It’s a bit snug at the moment but oh well.

I must admit, however, that the trend of buying things that don’t really fit has continued to be a trend for me. What can I say? I see cheap things, get excited, and just buy them! Case in point, this Angelic Pretty cutsew from Osaka Closet Child. It’s super adorable but I’m 90% sure it’s going to go straight to my sales folder. Not only am I too big for it right now, I think it’s just too short in the torso and the sleeves for me no matter what.

This Axes Femme cutsew, bought at the same time, is also too small but I know that Axes Femme fits me okay when I’m a smaller dress size. It’s not an exciting piece but it is pretty so I’m glad that I snagged it from the sale rack. It’s new with tags too!

Lastly, at secondhand kimono chain Tansu-ya in Hiroshima I found this pretty haori. I love the use of haori jackets in wa lolita, and thought this one was perfect for the classic (and maybe even chocolate-y sweet) side of my wardrobe. I especially love the vibrant lining! Tansu-ya in general will be its own highlight post, because thanks to their affordable pricing I now have a massive love for kimonos and am so excited to learn more about how to wear these beautiful garments.

In terms of where I went for lolita, I actually stuck wholly to secondhand loltia stores this time around; four branches of Closet Child as well as Maiden Clothing. Though I’d have liked to have acquired some brand socks as well, I didn’t have much desire to visit any of the brand stores. Too much out of my price range at the moment and there was so much to see and do that I didn’t want to spend time window shopping.

I also wore lolita twice while in Japan, once for Harajuku and then for the Kyoto Railway Museum. I’ll write more about these outfits when I do my quarterly outfit roundup in a bit but I thought they deserved to be featured here regardless. I very nearly didn’t take any lolita with me and I’m glad I did.

So that’s the lolita side of things from this trip! Not too extensive, but certainly still a highlight of the holiday ^__^

Lolita haul from Tokyo!

You have to have known this was coming - how could I not go to Tokyo and not visit the lolita shops?

In the end, as well as visiting the stores in Shinjuku's Marui Annex and the Laforet building in Harajuku, we went to the Shinjuku Closet Child once and the Harajuku branch twice. I'd have loved to have visited the Ikebukuro branch as well, and dropped by the Shinjuku Closet Child a second time, but in the end we had exactly zero baggage space left on the way home so I'm glad we didn't!

That intro may make it sound like I bought hardly anything, but that is very much not true! For the purposes of this post I've photographed things together on an aesthetic level, but when I blog about the whole trip that'll have the details of what I bought where an when, just in case any of my readers care about knowing that much. This is also just the lolita items I bought - I got as much general fashion stuff as well, which I'm also insanely happy with.

So, with no further ado, allow me to introduce my newest wardrobe additions!

First up, the edible themed items! I was surprised to find this Innocent World JSK in both pink and blue at the Harajuku Closet Child, both new with tags. It took me a while to pick which colour I wanted, but I figured the pink was the safer bet. I'm not 100% sure how much I love the cut on me, but we'll see how I go wearing it. The Angelic Pretty cutsew was super cheap, so I had to have it, and the Peace Now bolero is a bit frivolous, but also cute and cheap so again, I just grabbed it ^__^

The Icing Cookie print is never one I really paid attention to, but like so many lolita prints, after seeing it in person I'm in love. It's really adorable, but a little more subdued than say an Angelic Pretty print on the same theme. Very excited to start putting together some coordinates with it!

The other main piece I bought was Enchantlic Enchantilly's Queen Cat skirt in black! It's missing the sash ribbon, but I do not care at all. I also grabbed this super cute BTSSB capelet because how utterly Little Red Riding Hood is it? I mean, except for the fact it doesn't actually have a hood...

But in all seriousness I'm so over the moon with Queen Cat! I tend not to talk too much about things I like but don't see myself buying, and Queen Cat one of those things. I thought it was an amazing print when it came out, and have admired it every time I've seen it since in all cuts and colours. So when James turned around from browsing the skirts at Closet Child while I was looking at dresses and held this up I just had to get it! It was a bit pricey for a secondhand skirt missing a piece, but hey, I had the husband's seal of approval so I didn't think twice!

Speaking of James finding me great things he also discovered these two Axes Femme coats on different days in Closet Child Harajuku. They're both a bit small for me now, but they were both around ten dollars. How could I not at that price? The green one in particular I really adore, even though it doesn't match anything I own.

I did also buy a few items new! I really wanted to get some direct from the brand socks, so I visited AP and Baby. Silly me didn't check the length on the lavender socks though, but oh well. Forced versatility in my sock collection! The floral canotier is from Dangerous Nude and to be honest, it was more expensive than I like, and I kind of bought it because the owner was so utterly lovely that I wanted to buy something! All that aside, it's really gorgeous and I like having an opulent classic piece so I'm still happy.

Following the trend of headwear, on our first visit to Shinjuku Closet Child I went a little bit nuts on accessories. All but the top headbow are from that night! And though the top one has tags, it was also from Closet Child, just later on ^__^ I'm particularly happy with the dusty pink and the lavender x gold bows, as they were on my wishlist.

I also bought all of these accessories at the same time, except for the Angelic Pretty necklace. I even already wore the pink necklace in one of my Tokyo coords, and I'm just really happy to have bulked up my jewellery collection with some more loltia specific pieces.

Throughout our trip we went into a couple of Claire's and also Paris Kids and I picked up so cute little things that will be good for lolita as well as being generally cute ^__^

James also found me three Axes Femme skirts for about five dollars each in Closet Child but my photos of them really don't do them justice. They are all varying levels of brown and floral and all a tiny bit small for me at the moment, but I couldn't pass them up. Two will be great for casual classic lolita - one is a damask-y type fabric in a beige/tan and the other is a brown and mustard floral - while the other will be lovely for mori kei or fairy kind of looks.

So there you have it! All my new lolita items direct from Japan! I'm really happy with everything I bough and am so excited to start incorporating everything into my coords ^__^

A not so little birthday haul

Happy birthday to me - I got lolita! No surprise there...

(I mean, James also bought me scratchies and took a gloriously artistic NSFW photo for me. Which we'll probably frame and hang in our bedroom and that is now my computer and phone wallpaper as well, but it's not on theme for this blog. Also you guys are here for pretty dresses, not amazing Warhol-esque junk pics, so let's get back on topic!)

With birthday monies I got myself a few new pretties! Not that I need more, but the pieces I got are fabulous additions to my wardrobe. All purchases were made with Buyee, who provided a good service as always, and EMS shipping got everything to me in three days so I came home from work last Thursday and was very happy indeed!

First of all, I grabbed a few things from the Angelic Pretty sale. The main reasons for that was this adorable strawberry cutsew in black because it is totally perfect for the black-and-berry subset of my wardrobe. Then, since I was buying from them I also grabbed two pairs of the Vintage Marine OTKS since they were severely on sale. Not really something I needed, but certainly cute and I'm sure they'll come in handy.

I am utterly head over heels for this cutsew. It has daisy buttons! And the collar is beautiful. I'm really excited for the coordination options this will give me for my black x berry outfits.

And then I made the dangerous realisation that you can also use Buyee to buy from Closet Child and Wunderwelt. So of course, I had a browse, and on Closet Child I fell in love with the full shirred version of Meta's Teddy Chocolatier JSK in mint.

It was a print I'd never really paid attention to, but when I saw it something just clicked. I wanted to get more pieces that I can wear now, and when I finally get back to a smaller size. I wanted to add some new colours to my wardrobe, including mint or spring green. I wanted to get another chocolate print. So it was just a win on all accounts!

It certainly was a birthday purchase though, because I normally wouldn't pay as much as I did for a dress that I'd only just realised existed. But hey, it was my birthday! And I also picked up an Angelic Pretty bolero in mint so I'd have something to match. I have my priorities...

I'm super happy with both these items. The bolero is a bit small for me for now, but it's really pretty and all the bows are detachable so it's quite versatile. The JSK is just so cute! The print is delightful and detailed. Funnily enough though, the details I thought were pink are actually lavender, which I think is pretty quirky. And the bolero matches the JSK perfectly, which is definitely a win.

Then as I always do, I kept browsing while waiting for my packages to arrive at Buyee, and what popped up on Wunderwelt? The Rose Stripe Shirring Pinafore JSK from Metamorphose temps de fille in green! Literally one day I started drafting up the LBC dream dress post, the next I bought one of the dresses I listed there. I could hardly believe it and naturally bought it immediately. Like the other dress, I did pay more than I like for it but there was no way I could not buy it!

I'm so glad I got this JSK as well. The colour is beautiful, a little warmer and brighter than my pictures show. The bows at the straps and the big waist one are detachable which is a big plus in my books - makeshift headbow, yay! And this is going to work so well in my wardrobe, easy to wear with lots of colours in many ways.

Overall I am just so chuffed with this entire haul! I had really been itching to add some new colours to my wardrobe, and to have done so with a dress that filled a niche I wanted filled and with a dress I've loved for years was just amazing. So happy birthday to me, and expect to see me wearing some of these new things in my next outfit post...because I already have!

Closetchild mini haul

It’s funny to think that in all the time I’ve been a lolita – which is coming onto five years now – I have not once ordered from Closetchild. Until now, that is.

Two items that were on my list of wardrobe goals came up for sale at the same time, and I decided to go for it. I also eyed off a number of other things (cutsews and OTKS, mostly) but in the end kept my purchases to a minimum and got only what I needed. So, which items where these from my list? An ivory short sleeved bolero and a pair of black wristcuffs.

I’ll be honest, after shipping costs kicked in I had a moment of regret for buying these. But even though it’s harder to get excited about basics they are things I needed for my wardrobe, and I am pretty proud of myself for not buying additional items to make myself feel better about the cost of shipping.

Overall I found Closetchild pretty straightforward to order from – their how-to guide for international customers was handy and everything was simple enough. I ordered and paid on 19 March, received an email that the order was received on the 20th, it shipped on the 22nd and arrived on the 27th. And yes, I am aware this review is a bit late but hey, better late than never. All in all Closetchild provided a good service and I will happily buy from them again.

Onto the items! First of all I got Innocent World's Ribbon and Pearl Short Bolero in beige, which is super pretty.

It is unfortunately too small on me - it fits, but it looks too small. I am going to hang onto it to see if it gets better as I lose weight or if it's just a problem with my big Western shoulders. It's a really lovely bolero though, the details are just gorgeous. And it is NWT!

Then I also got some AatP "wristcuffs". Why the quote marks? Because they're actually sock toppers...

And it's entirely my fault! The listing said sock toppers, but I wasn't really aware they were a thing, and given how Closetchild listings have been a bit haphazard lately I assumed it was a case of mislabelling or bad translation. But it wasn't, and so now I own some sock toppers and don't really know what to do with them...

So all in all, despite the experience of ordering being fine I'm not all that excited about my actual purchases. But ah well, you win some, you lose some. And at least now I have ordered from Closetchild so I'll be more comfortable doing so in future if something I want pops up.