Lolita Blog Carnival: What makes your dream dress so special?

Dream dresses are such a quintessential lolita thing, but I must confess I've never really had any. There's a lot of things I love, but I've never really gone all out and tried to hunt something down, nor have I ever been willing to spend over what I consider a fair price on an item.

However lately I've come to realise there are two dress in particular that I really would like to get my hands on. I still wouldn't be willing to drop too much cash on them, nor would I devote lots of time scouring secondhand sales for them, but I do still consider them dream dresses. So this is an interesting topic for me because I've never put too much thought into why these dresses in particular really appeal to me.

Early Summer Chocolate Strawberry Parfait Shirring JSK from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Rose Stripe Shirring Pinafore JSK from Metamorphose temps de fille

I first fell in love with the Baby dress when I saw it in Chocolate Maiden's 2016 wardrobe post. It comes from what is probably my favourite lolita era (lates 200s to early 2010s) and is delightfully simple, yet still quite bold. That's the main thing I like about it, I think. There's a lot going on in the print, but the colour palette is limited and the cut is simple so it's not overwhelming. Being fully shirred it's comfortable, and both the cut and the colours work very well with my wardrobe. It also could pass as being retro or rockabilly inspired, so it would be a good one for wearing lolita while not being quite so unusual looking to members of the public. Mostly though, something about this print just speaks to me and I'd love to own any cut of it in this colourway.

As for the Meta JSK, well, you know me and florals. It's my thing! Being another fully shirred dress again it's a comfy and easy to wear piece. But the thing that mostly draws me to this JSK, in either of the green or the off-white colourway is that though it works well with my wardrobe it also brings in something new. I used to have a green gingham-and-floral Bodyline OP that never sat quite right, so I got rid of it. But I've missed it ever since and loved how fresh and springlike the light green was. So in a sense, this is my upgraded dream dress of that OP. I like the green a little more than the offwhite but either one would fulfil my spring green desires.

Meta also released a similar JSK in the same year (2014), the Flower Bouquet Pin-Tuck Frill Pinafore JSK, which I also like in the green colourway, but not quite as much. As I say, this dream dress of mine is less of a love for the exact dress (though I certainly do love it for itself too!) but for the things that is offers.

I mean, like I said right at the start, I'm not really a "dream dress" person so in a sense this is more of a ramble about two dresses I currently really like (but don't own) and why but still, it was an interesting thing to think about!

Read more from other bloggers:

Cupcake Kamisama
The Bloody Tea Party
In Love With a Dream

PS In a wonder of coincidence I actually bought the Rose Stripe Shirring Pinafore JSK in green after I had written up this post, so consider that a dream dress acquired!

A classic country wardrobe

Oh capsule wardrobes, how I have missed photoshopping you. In a stroke of good timing, just as I'm getting active in blogging again there's a capsule wardrobe thread on CGL. And of course, I am so there.

There was one person in the thread who was asking about capsule wardrobe principles, for lack of a better word, so naturally I waxed lyrical about that. Then I offered to make them an example capsule based on their style interests, which turned out to be classic lolita with a country vibe. I really enjoyed what I came up with, but did have a few thoughts about it's versatility which I'll go over as well, because it was very interesting to use this wardrobe as a teaching tool, pretentious as that sounds.

I really like this wardrobe, I have to say (even with the few flaws that I'll go into at the end after showing example outfits), and I enjoyed incorporating the country vibe, which isn't something I usually do. The green JSK is actually a wishlist piece of mine as well so that was fun to include!

I don't have much to say about the outfits with the floral OP, they're nice but not particularly noteworthy. Which is fine! This OP would probably be the everyday workhorse of the wardrobe since it's such a gorgeous piece on its own.

This floral Meta JSK is also a very versatile and easy to wear piece. Despite not being wholly in the ivory/brown/pink/wine colour palette of all the other pieces, it works very nicely with each of them. And working with it for this wardrobe only made me want it more!

While this skirt on its own is nice and gives for some good simple looks, I really included it so we could have the jacket and skirt plaid combo. Each piece on its own is not anything special, but put them together and you have a very striking look which I enjoyed quite a lot!

Another Meta piece I adore made its way into this wardrobe and it's one that can be easily dressed up or down. You could also layer it over some of the other dresses because the buttons down the front are functional, but I had no way to photoshop that! But it gives another layer of versatility to this capsule, and that's what you want in a small collection.

Lastly, the Innocent World Annette JSK is the most "country" of the main pieces, and I included the matching tights and headdress to go with it. It's a very easy piece to work with and I honestly don't have much to say beyond that!

I promised some ramblings at the start of the post, so if you're just here for the pretty pictures feel free to leave now ^__^

Since this wardrobe was actually put together for someone looking to get into lolita I wanted to provide some more information on it and explain my choices. I also discovered a few things I should have done differently after I put the example outfits together.

First of all, let's go over the things that I think could have been chosen better. The short sleeved pink cutsew would probably have best been a wine or a brown short sleeve blouse or cutsew instead since we already have the pink short sleeve bolero, or vice versa. Another brown outerwear option, probably a more casual cardigan, would have been very useful too since the jacket is not always the best choice. Also, the bags I chose weren’t sufficiently neutral  and I should have subbed the floral one for an ivory one, unless mis-matched bags are okay with the wearer. In addition, I’d underestimated the amount of pink in this wardrobe so a pair of dusty pink shoes would have been really helpful, and a couple more headwear and legwear options would not have gone astray.

However, having said all that, other than doubling up with the pink cutsew and the pink bolero, none of the thing above are necessarily issues, just areas for improvement. But I really do think having a short sleeve brown bolero instead of the pink one would have been a lot better!

I also wanted to share a bit of my thinking behind the "statement pieces" of the wardrobe - the things that stand out and give the wardrobe as a whole variety without necessarily being versatile themselves. I love neutral basics, but neutral basics can be boring and you need balance between them and some statement items. In this wardrobe there are four main statement pieces: the green floral JSK, the plaid jacket and skirt set, the bonnet, and the matching pieces for Annette.

The first two I already discussed above and it's pretty self-explanatory how the bonnet adds pizzazz without being the most wearable of pieces. The tights and headdress for Annette are statement pieces in that they give you a full set with the JSK, which can really elevate outfits with it, but they are less thematically versatile. They still work with other main pieces in the wardrobe, but mostly only when worn together. So they are limited, yet provide varied coordination options.

I hope you enjoyed this wardrobe and the fact that I went a bit more in-depth about my choices in it. I have really missed doing this type of post...so prepare for more!

August lolita haul

After a while of not making any lolita purchases (except for my wedding coordinate, but that doesn’t count) I found myself browsing Mercari and, in browsing, put together a small wishlist of things that were reasonably priced and that I really strongly wanted. I’d been having a very tough time since June (if you want to know more details, read this post) and ended up making the purchase in the interests of retail therapy. Then, having an open order with Japonica Market I naturally browsed a little more (venturing onto fril.jp as well) and added some other things to my order. So in the end, I got quite a decent haul in!

But oh my goodness you guys I think I need to do a wardrobe cull, it’s getting really full. And I still have stuff from the last cull I haven’t sold…

My package arrived on the 6th of August and with great glee I opened it up and welcomed my new wardrobe additions with open arms. However, as you can tell by the date of this post, I did not have a chance to take photos until the latter half of September! But I finally did it, and regardless of the lateness of this post I've really enjoyed having these items in my collection.

The item that really made me pull the trigger on this order is this adorable short sleeved red bolero from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. I figured it would be a valuable addition to my collection, given how much I do fall back on black x red for my easy-to-wear coordinates. And oh my goodness, was I right! It's a darker red, though not a burgundy, so I like that it reads a bit more classic. It also seems to be a larger size, which is great for me, and overall I just love it a lot.

I also grabbed some more Metamorphose socks, because socks are amazing and I will never have enough. I just really love the Cherry OTKs (and for real, given how much I honestly do rely on the berry subsection of my wardrobe, it’s not frivolous to get more options) and can you believe they are from 2006? So cool! They're just perfect for my berry pieces. The pink Heart Ladder Lace pair are also super cute...and the bow part of the pattern is sparkly gold! The blue version is as well, but I don’t do blue so they’re off to the sell pile.

The next item I kind of spent more money on than I wanted to but I decided it was worth it, and that is one of the Tokimeki necklaces from Angelic Pretty. I have loved these glittery bow pieces forever, I get decent use out of the matching bracelet I already own, and my jewellery collection definitely needs building up. So even though I don’t like spending twenty dollars on a necklace I think it was worth it!

And then…I bought bags. Several bags. A beautiful pink Enamel Heart Bag and a big white one that I can’t identify from BTSSB, and a Rose Lace Book Pochette from Innocent World. I had been wanting a neutral pink bag for a while, and a brown one, and a bigger white one, so finding all of these under ¥2000 each was amazing. With these, I’m pretty sure my bag collection covers all my bases pretty perfectly! And they are all really gorgeous (and the white one is massive) so I'm super happy.

Continuing with my earlier red theme I also picked up a cute unidentified cutsew from Metamorphose…isn’t it adorable? A bit of a frivolous purchase, I’ll admit, but it was really cheap and I think I’ll get good use out of it. And if I don’t, it can go into the ever growing sales pile ^__^ I don't have all that much to say about it, actually, other than that it's really sweet.

The next item is probably the one I was most excited by, because I was not expecting to ever find this for sale at a price I was willing to pay. But I did and am now to proud owner of a Baby Sweet Fawn Cape! Like seriously, one of my dream items and now I own it!

How cute is that lining?

I was so worried someone else would buy it before Japonica could get it for me but it didn’t happen, and now this beauty is mine. It’s missing the pearl chain that’s meant to be on the bow, but I don’t care about that at all. It came to me stinking of smoke, which meant the first thing I had to do was wash it, which was a terrifying prospect, but it came out fine!

Last of all I took a gamble because it was cute and comfortable looking, and bought an adorable cutsew dress from BTSSB. In typical BTSSB fashion it has a super long name (Sweet Fruit a la Mode Print Tart Cutsew OP) and is very cute! It is a quite worn, which the listing noted, and I’m okay with that because it means I can wear it casually and if it gets ruined oh well. I mean, it was a little more worn than the listing made it seem, so I'm a but bummed, but again it means I don't have to care about it at all. This also smelled bad and got an immediate wash, but it was less scary to do so due to the wear it already had.

So these are my most recent wardrobe additions, along with my wedding coordinate, which I will be reviewing shortly as well. I'm really happy with how my lolita collection continues to grow ^__^

PS Because it'd be weird to post and not say anything, today is my birthday. Officially "late twenties" now lol.

Lolita Blogpost Roundup: September 2018

September felt like a really good lolita month on the internet! Whether it's because there were a couple of big events and therefore people are more active, or maybe the stars just aligned, but whatever the reason I got a lot of enjoyment out of the online lolita community this past month.

Myths of Our Own in Dublin from Gravelvet

Vlogs and photos, what more can you ask for after an event? Well, I mean, I like written posts but I know a lot of people prefer vlogs so here you go!

Fairy Tale Forest – Little Starlet – A Review from Bonniviwii

I would never wear this dress. But all the pictures in this post are so gorgeous that I still have sever dress envy! Seriously, go check out this marvellous eyecandy. 

STEAM E;DEN Lolita Meetup from ABC Lolita

Steampunk lolita is my jam. I love it, so this was a fun meetup/outfit post to see pop up in my feed this month.

Tricolour of Boleros from Cupcakes and Unicorns

Oh my goodness, the Millefeuille boleros from Innocent World are such a classic staple (and I totally want to have several of them myself someday). So it was really nice to see a post of comparison and appreciation for these gorgeous pieces.

What is One Piece That You Could Never Give Away & Why... from In Love With a Dream
This was a LBC topic that I'm glad I didn't participate in because I don't think I could choose! But still, it was fun to read other people's perspectives on it.

Eternal Twilight (Hellocon 2018) Trip Report: Day 1 from Rose Sanctuary

Now this is an epic event report! I am so not a gothic person, but I would have dearly loved to have gone to this event, it looks like it was amazing.

Otome No Sewing Book 1: English from Fuwa Fuwa Fashion

This post put me over the moon - a complete translation of the first ONS book! Now I really want to sew again and am just buzzing with ideas ^__^

Looking At The Roots Of Lolita - Pre-Oldschool Cynical Neo-Princessism

I really, really love reading "academic" posts about lolita. It's not something I'd ever enjoy researching and writing myself, but I love that other people put the required time and effort into uncovering and sharing information to share with the community.

What Lolita Wardrobe Posts Don't Show You from Vanilla Bear
This post was just a beautiful thought piece. And relatable, as my last lolita outfit (not my wedding outfit, don't worry!) is sitting in a pile on the floor right now...

Guys, I'm loving being properly back at it. I really, really missed wearing lolita and being involved in this community. I'm still not feeling 100% but it's so good to be back!

Coordinates from July - August 2018

Though it doesn't feel like I've been wearing lolita much lately I still managed four outfits in July and August. I'm posting this round up a lot later than I like to, but I'm back in the blogging habit now so things should be more on schedule from here on out.

My first coordinate in these two months was to once again visit the jeweller who were working on our wedding rings...I got to pick mine up on the seventh of July! I'll admit, I cried. Totally wasn't expecting that to happen!

And of course, I wore lolita to keep up the trend. Not a very noteworthy outfit, but still a cute one. Two photos for this look, because I liked the knee up shot James grabbed for me and then Panda was cute in a full body photo (for once).

JSK: Bodyline

Blouse: Lady Sloth

Socks: Angelic Pretty

Everything else: Taobao/offbrand

As you may or may not have noticed, I've had my hair cut even shorter. And I love it! Never going back to long hair again.

And a shot of my gorgeous rainbow wedding ring, because I love it.

I ended up wearing lolita again the following Saturday as we went to pick up James’s ring. To be honest, I was on my last legs this weekend and it shows in this outfit; I’m not really pleased with how it turned out. I like aspects, like the dress/bolero/choker combo, and adding in the fawn fur bag, but overall I think this missed the mark. Panda was cute during my outfits photos again though, so that’s something.

JSK & OTKS: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Bolero: Maxicimam

Shoes: Bodyline

Choker: Liz Lisa

Bag: Coquettish Tiara

Headbow: Sweet Dreamer

It was nice to wear Shirring Princess again, and I’m pleased that throughout the entire process of getting our rings I went to the jewellers in lolita every single time. I think that’s an achievement ^__^

Then I wore a fawn-fur heavy lolita look to a friend's birthday party. The theme was "prime" and my justification was that you can get a prime cut of meat from a deer...

JSK & Shoes: Bodyline

Blouse: The Floral Notebook

Socks: Innocent World

Cape & Headdress: Cutie Creator

Bag: Axes Femme

Because it's cute, also have a picture of James and I together. We didn't match but we both looked cute!

And last of all, of course, I wore lolita to finally marry James! Not a very good photo of me, but it shows of the outfit nicely. It's also like the only photo of me solo from the day, which is what I wanted for this post.

Dress, bolero, veil, flower crown, bouquet: Lyris Design
Necklace: Kitten D'Amour

Socks: Innocent World

Shoes: Taobao

More from the wedding is to come so be ready for future photo spam! I'm currently planning to blog about the whole trip so prepare yourselves for not just a pretty lolita wedding but close-up cheetahs, dramatic mountain views, too many food photos, interesting selfies, and hobbit holes.

The super massive life update and coming out of hiatus

Hi everyone, I'm finally back! I've really missed blogging, but just have not had the time or mental energy for it. Why? Well, read on if you want a bit of a run down about how crazy my life has been since June.

Content warning I guess; the first in a string of things that knocked me on my arse was problems with my IUD getting embedded in my endometrium so I do talk about period type stuff below. So if uterus talk and blood bug you don't keep reading (or skip ahead to the end for all the other big life changes I've been going through).

So, the months of insanity started when I went for a jog on Sunday the 17th of June. I was starting the C25K program, figuring I had time to complete it before getting married on the last day of August and wanting to do something to get more into shape. However, during the half hour of exercise I started getting cramps. The fun kind of female cramps. I started bleeding shortly afterwards and it didn't stop. It was heavier than spotting, sort of light period level.

Since I'd had the IUD inserted I had occasionally had a bit of cramping and spotting, but this was the second time it had been this bad. Twice was too many so I booked in with a GP to get it removed eight days later (first appointment I could get).

Long story short - she could not get it out. It hurt like hell, I bled a lot, and the end result was that the string was broken and I had to get an ultrasound and go to a gynaecologist. One good thing about having to get an ultrasound was that it confirmed that all in all my uterus and ovaries are healthy (I was worried about ovarian cysts due to family history and irregular periods) but still it was an experience I could've done without. And then I went to the gynaecologist on the 28th.

And fuck me. I thought the GPs attempt at removal was painful. This was so much worse. The receptionist was apparently meant to give me pain killers (she didn't) and unlike the GP appointment, where James came with me and held my hand and distracted me with cute talk, I was on my own (James had to work). Natalie came with me to the clinic, cos she's awesome, but I was in the doctor's office alone. So much pain and so much blood. She had to stop, remove all the implements and give us both a break for a bit, then start again. Finally, she go it out. I saw it; all jagged and bloody and just horrible looking.

It took me ages to be able to stand up and clean myself up. And then Nat and I just sat in the car until I felt steady enough to drive us home. Then I had a shower and collapsed into bed.

Thing is though, the bleeding didn't stop. The gynaecologist had said to come back in two weeks if it didn't stop, and though it had subsided by that date it hadn't stopped. I wasn't able to get another appointment with her for another week after that though. But finally I was there and she prescribed some pills, and lo and behold the bleeding stopped.

Finally.

Over five weeks of effectively non-stop period really takes it out of you. Not just physically but mentally. I felt like shit, even when the bleeding was slowing down and the cramping stopped, it was still making me so anxious. And on top of that, the removal and earlier attempted removal was traumatic. I don't use that word lightly. I was glad to have had it removed but I felt so awful and wrecked. During those five weeks I not only had to continue going to work most days, but had to help staff a two day conference on the fourth and fifth days after removal; on these days I was bleeding more heavily than I ever had on a period before.

But eventually, once the meds kicked in and the bleeding stopped, things went back to normal. Right? Wrong.

Who caught a nasty flu for over two weeks? I did! Sigh.

And then...guess whose household made a pretty sudden decision to move to a new house? We did! Seriously, we went from "maybe it's time we moved" to having our application approved in two weeks. It's utterly fantastic to be in our new place, and I'll share a few pictures of my lolita corner here at some point but it was just a big added stress, even if it was stress with a very positive end result.

To make it even better...the bleeding started again during the move and I had no time to get to my gynaecologist again (I managed to get the same meds from my GP though, so it was okay in the end, though I only got enough for the few days before the wedding so I was bleeding through a lot of the move). I also got a new nasty virus that resulted in endless coughing, sore throats, and a ruined voice. We were so under-prepared for the move that I had several massive horrible panic attacks during, thinking we couldn't get it all done in time...but we had to because we were flying out to New Zealand! Our landlords also turned nasty (and nice by turns, but nasty first) as soon as they found out we were looking at other properties so the adrenaline was rushing all the time we were there, getting ready for confrontations.

James was also sick in the weeks we moved, and the two of us spent ages not sleeping enough or eating enough and still just having to keep going and get the hell out of our old place. As I still had to go to work most days James copped it so much worse than me, but it was still the most horrible time in my life. Again, end result worth it, but the actual experience was not good at all. It was hellish in so many ways and I will do everything in my power to make sure James and I never have to go through that level of stress again if I can help it. It sucked.

And as you know, on top of that we were still getting everything in order for our little wedding and  honeymoon trip! We got the keys to our new house eighteen days before flying out, and handed over the keys to the old place at 10.30PM on Monday night before getting picked up at 4.45AM on Tuesday to go to the airport. This was my first international trip, so the planning also involved getting passports in order and all of that. It was fun stress, but still stress, and it go more stressful as sickness and the move meant I had so much trouble focusing on anything.

I will be blogging about the whole trip, by the way, I know it's breaking the theme of the blog (except for my wedding outfit), but hey, rambling is in the blog name...you can't say you haven't been warned! It'll be fun though, with lots of pretty pictures. And a heck of a lot more positive than this post has been, because it was wonderful and we did so much cool stuff and most of all I'm just really happy to be wife to a glorious husband now!

So yeah. That whole giant wall of text is why I've been absent from this blog. For a while there I was struggling enough just to get to work every day, let alone to have any headspace for anything but TV and games when I wasn't working or doing what had to be done (and for a while there was precious little time to do anything but move move move).

But I'm through the other side now, more or less. I'm still sick, and I know I have a lot of emotional processing to do that I just didn't have time for. I don't deal well with change and upheaval, and there has just been so much of that in the past six or so weeks. To have that come on the back of long term medical issues and sickness meant I wasn't in a good place to start with. So I'm settled now, and things are coming back to normal, but it will still take me a while to feel properly grounded again. Even writing this has actually brought some residual panic back to the surface (not fun) but I just wanted to share what has been going on. And have a bit of a vent. And also toot my own horn a bit, because it's been so tough for me but I came out the other side in one piece, and though I'm a bit worse for wear now I'll recover.

Also, I do need to toot James's horn as well - he was a powerhouse during our move and after (and before, with the IUD issues, too). He went beyond his limits, took care of me when I was unable to do anything but shake and cry, and even after we've come back from New Zealand he's been unpacking and rearranging and getting everything in order. Since I went back to work I'd come home every day and the house would be more home like. He has always been a great boyfriend, and he's a wonderful husband now ^__^

So here I am, married to the love of my life, living in a lovely new house, and we got to enjoy nine days in New Zealand. There will be one more big life change coming up this year for me (and no, I'm not pregnant, in case anyone's gonna ask) but it'll be a good one when it happens (and I'll let you know about it too).

The long and the short of this very long post is that Roli is back to her ramblings! Did anything dramatic happen in your life while I was away?

Lolita Blogpost Roundup: August 2018

Scheduled posting a blessing...because I'm off in New Zealand getting married right now! Of course, I'll blog all about that (and my gorgeous lolita wedding outfit) once I'm back, but for now enjoy some of the blog posts I read in the last month.

Redo Your Most Recent, Least Favorite Coord from Cupcakes and Unicorns

This was a really fun sounding LBC topic, and I enjoyed this take on it. Sometimes it takes a while to realise why things don't quite work in real life when they should on paper. That's part of the reason why I love flatlays so much - it lets me experiment with coordination a lot with minimal effort.

It's Here! Haenuli's Crystal Guardians: Fairy Princess Review from Magical Girl Me
I always enjoy reading reviews, especially ones that are really detailed like this. I am also now kind of regretting not ordering this dress myself...

Rose and Blanc Tea Room - Review from Effervisceral
A bit of a different kind of post to what I usually share but a very enjoyable read nevertheless. Lots of pretty pictures too!

Comm meet: Little Flour from Sanakanin

Mori lolita meet! So many cute outfits in this post, it really makes me want to try doing a mori-ish look myself.

LBC: A Coord Inspired by my Favorite Book from Gyokuro and Orchids
I both love the coordinate in this post, and the reasoning behind the choices. Anne of Green Gables is one of my perennial favourites, I have a box set of all the books and reread them every so often.

Lost Forest: Rose Castle JSK from Saxon Blues
I really, really love reading detailed reviews (and this is a kick in my backside to start doing better ones myself!) so this post just ticked all of my boxes. I also kind of fell in love with the dress itself...which is bad, because I don't want to fall in love with anything new!

Create An Outfit For £100 from Gravelvet

I always enjoy seeing the price of outfits (even if sometimes it makes my wallet cry). Lolita isn't cheap but posts like this prove that it doesn't have to be extremely expensive either.

As usual, if you've noticed a new lolita blog floating around on the internet, or have one yourself that I don't seem to read, please drop me a link!