Knocking sweet lolita down a notch.

Yesterday on EGL I saw this thread. Long story short, the OP had traded for Angelic Pretty's Milky Planet JSK [2013 version] in sax blue [which is rather more bright blue than the usual soft saxon] and wanted inspiration and ideas on how to wear it in a not sweet way and also without resorting to their wardrobe staple of black. A couple of people pointed out that if you don't want to wear sweet, why would you get a sweet dress, but to me it was an interesting idea to try and wear something in a way it wasn't intended to be worn.

So I came up with two different coords for that version of Milky Planet. They're both very simple outfits, but represent ways that I think would be somewhat effective at toning down such a super sweet print.

This first coord, while still definitely a sweet lolita outfit, tones down the dress by minimising details and introducing a third darker colour. The slight gothic-ness of the boots and the pointed tips of the sailor blouse give it a slightly more edgy vibe. Introducing navy [though not too much of it] brings some restraint to the bright colours of the dress. I'd probably wear this outfit with either a full size hat or a very simple hairstyle, like braids with bows at the end, to complete the look without adding any more stereotypical sweet lolita elements like a headeating bow. But I couldn't be bothered scouring the internet for the perfect headgear so please use your imaginations for that bit ^__^

Again, this coord introduces a new colour to complement and tone down the print. It still has a lot of cute detailing - the blouse with its crossed neck ribbons and lacy cuffs, the soft beret, the pom-poms on the shoes - but the colour here is what really  grounds this outfit and changes it from being a colour explosion to being a gently framed colourful piece. 

You'll notice with both outfits that I've used pantyhose instead of socks and have kept away from typically sweet accessories like bows and anything particularly frilly or lacy. With a print this in-your-face I think it's best to use more understated accessories if you want to make it less conventionally "sweet lolita". So though both these outfits would still fall under the sweet substyle, they are definitely not your usual sweet lolita outfit.

I actually had a lot of fun putting these outfits together, so if you happen to have a dress you'd like to see  in a certain type of coord, please comment [like I always say with my hypothetical wardrobes] and let me know ^__^