Lolita Blog Carnival: Share Your New Years Resolutions For EGL Fashion

First of all - Merry Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful day, whether or not your celebrate it. I did - lots of food, chill, and online shopping ^__^

I thought a lot about what I want to achieve in lolita in 2020 and kept coming back to a very simple answer - I want to fit more of my clothes again. I'm currently four-five dress sizes larger than when I was a pretty fit human being, and three-four sizes larger than my average before that. Because I love my clothes, and because I don't want to be my current size forever, I now find myself in a position where I can only wear about a third of my lolita clothes. 

And I am so sick of that!

I miss wearing this dress!

So my New Year's Resolution is to actually, properly, this-time-for-sure start losing weight in a healthy and sustainable way. The non-fitting segment of my lolita wardrobe is organised by size, and I would love to be able to fit into at least a third of what's there by the end of the year.

This isn't really the most interesting or exciting goal for anyone but me, and I won't give me anything to blog about, but it is what it is.

Do you have a lolita-related resolution for 2020?

Read more from other bloggers:

The Bloody Tea Party

Christmas Coordinates Without Christmas Prints

Festive season is upon us! In celebration of that, I took part in my first Lolita Fashion YouTubers collaboration playlist and you can view my Christmas coordinate lookbook here and the entire playlist here.

But, being me, I wanted to ramble on about my choices (and more) so here we are - exploring how to dress festively in lolita if you don’t own a blatantly Christmas print.

Festive Colours

This is the easiest - wear some red and green! Doesn’t matter if they’re Christmas themed in pattern, or even the ‘correct’ shades, it still gets the gist across. Other obviously Christmas combos are red and white or blue and white, especially if you can get yourself looking a little frosty.

Red and white is so Christmas-y, and leads me right to my next suggestion...

Tartan

Tartan fabrics just read festive to me, especially in red or green. And luckily, red tartan is quite a common fabric in lolita, so it’s easy to come by and while it works very well for the season, it’s not limited to it.

Christmas Character Motifs

Another way to get into the spirit of things if your wardrobe doesn’t lend itself to Christmas colours or warm tartans, is to add allusions to festive figures in your outfit. This can be done overtly - like my use of fawn fur to bring reindeers to mind - or more subtly. Some Christmas character ideas that I can see working well in lolita without having a restricted colour palette are toy soldiers, sugarplum fairies, reindeer (of course) and ice queens 

Any excuse to pull out the fawn fur!

Other Christmas Motifs

This is similar to the previous suggestion, but instead of adding character flair to your outfit instead make references to Christmas-y things. Some ideas here are gifts, candles, fireplaces, snow, swans...or blazing hot sun if you’re an Aussie like me!

Craft Accessories

Another option is to craft some easy, seasonally themed accessories. I’m having thoughts of bauble headbands and holly brooches, but there’s lots you could do with a brooch blank or a headband, some hot glue, and some Christmas bits and pieces from a dollar store. Or you could buy something! But if you’re anything like me, why buy something you use once a year when you can just make something ridiculous instead?

There are doubtless many, many more ideas than I’ve listed here of how to be festive without wearing a holiday print but I hope these ideas spark some coord ideas in you.

Lolita Blog Carnival: 5 Holiday Gift Ideas For The Lolita On Your List

Before you read any further, please know that I am a terrible gift giver. I’m bad at thinking of new and surprising things that may bring joy to the receiver - in fact, this year, my husband and I are just both going online shopping on Boxing Day rather than buying each other gifts. So take these suggestions with a grain of salt and let’s get to it!

Small accessories

Something that is nearly always welcome to any lolita, and are quite easy to pick up in local stores, are small accessories such as jewellery, hair accessories, ankle socks and the like. Things like bracelets and hairclips are probably the easiest to get right, since us lolitas are quite picky, but a pearly bracelet or some little hair bows in the right colours are generally pretty safe bets. Flower clips can also be good, but make sure they are nice quality and don’t look like what a mid-40s suburban mum would wear to race day!

Simple, classic, and $5 from a local chain.

Craft supplies

This is only relevant if the lolita in question is a crafty type, of course, but if you know what they like to make you should be able to pick something that suits what they might like to use. Or a simpler alternative is to buy a gift card from their favoured supplier. 

A wishlist item

If you happen to know their wishlist, buying something from it is a definite winner! This can be tricky but there are guides to buying from all kinds of lolita sites online, so if you're willing to put in the work to figure out how this is sure to be a 10/10 gift. 

Vintage items

Hunting for good vintage items generally takes a lot of time, or a somewhat deep purse. So why not surprise the lolita in your life with a one-of-a-kind item to enhance their collection? My first thoughts here are things such as brooches and jewellery, but if the lolita in question is okay with it vintage furs are a luxurious gift.

Not lolita, but I love the vintage foxes I was wearing for this shoot!

Photo by The Enthusiast.

A lolita experience

Lastly, if you're not confident picking out the right physical gift, why not gift an experience? It's a cliche, but lolitas and afternoon tea go together well so it's hard to go wrong in gifting them a voucher to a nice tea parlour! Some other ideas in the "experience" category could be a photoshoot, fruit picking, or a picnic.  It doesn't have to be something you buy, it can be something that you organise.

So those are my five ideas of gifts for the lolita on your shopping list! Have you ever received an awesome lolita gift? TBH my personal favourite gift I've gotten is when James paid for a custom-made dress for me, but that was a gift I was involved in from the start, not a "present under the tree" gift. But hey, consider that bonus idea number six - foot the bill for something your lolita would love.

This was a Lolita Blog Carnival prompt that I'ma  few days late on so please check out the other posts below.

Read more from other bloggers:

The Bloody Tea Party

Marnie Merriweather

Raine Dragon

Coordinates from November 2020

November was a quiet month in terms of wearing lolita. I did shoot a bunch of content for YouTube...but since I only ever got dressed from the waist up in lolita for those, I decided they don't really count as outfits. My coord count would be higher if I included them, but oh well, quality over quantity!

My first November coord was for a counselling appointment, and as it was a hot day I kept things really quite simple. But it was nice to dress up nevertheless!

JSK: Metamophose temps de fille Rose Stripe Shirring

Bolero: Lady Sloth

Socks: Angelic Pretty

Shoes: Bodyline

Flower: Offbrand

The following week I decided I really wanted to hit life hard, so started the week off wearing lolita to work from home. A super simple and casual outfit, because it was still hot, but still! Dressing up for work does motivate me for work and for life in general.

Skirt: Handmade

Everything else: Offbrand

The hot theme continued on and off for the month, so I didn't wear lolita much. November was just kind of a massive blur overall. However, on one 41 degree (105 in freedom units) day James and I went to some our friend's place for dinner and I decided to wear a simple coord since I was going to melt no matter what. I did forgo the petticoat though...there are limits! 

JSK: Metamorphose temp de fille Teddy Chocolatier

Bolero: Lady Sloth

Shoes: Bodyline

Bag: Coquettish Tiara

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

Sunday evening of that weekend brought with it a proper cool change, so I wore lolita to work from home on Monday. I also filmed a YouTube video in my lunch break in this, though I did forget to put on make-up...oh well!

JSK & Collar: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Socks: Innocent World

Shoes: Bodyline

Headbow: Angelic Pretty

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

And alas, my shoes started breaking this day. I've got no standards, so I'll probably wear them until they fully break, but I don't think that'll be too long coming...

So that was it for November! Not many coords, though I'm still amazed that 2020 has skewed my perspective so that wearing the fashion four times in a month is "not many". As the weather gets hotter and I transition back to working in the office I'm probably going to wear the fashion even less over the next few months, but I've learned never to make predictions so we'll just see how the last month of the year goes for me and lolita.

Lolita Blog Carnival: The Effect of Events on the Lolita Community

I find it amusing that this makes two LBC topics I'm blogging on in a row that are kind of weird to talk about as a massive introvert. However, the introvert perspective is totally valid, so here I go!

Events are a *big thing* in this subculture, from local meets to brand events to full weekend affairs. It's undeniable that events have always been here, and probably always will be. Case in point - even this year, events are persisting in digital formats. If they weren't important to lolitas as a whole on a fundamental level this wouldn't be happening.

I have to say, even though I'm not a huge event goer myself, I do know that if our subculture didn't have events, it would be much poorer for it. If the clothing itself is the keystone of the fashion, events make up nearly the entire rest of the archway, or whatever keystones are used for. In the West, there isn't a place like Harajuku that can form a community organically around the fashion - we've had to do it ourselves.

One of the two big events I've been to.

Of course, this does mean that events are perhaps too emphasised, especially for introverts like me. Lately I've been feeling like a bad lolita since 2020 is going to end with me attending zero meet ups. But of course that isn't bad at all! Yet it's still a pervasive thought that I'm not doing lolita "right".

So the downside of events being so integral to this subculture, at least in the West, is that there is an emphasis on events to the point that not engaging in events, due to preference or circumstance, comes across as a bit unusual. Though I do have to admit that it's possibly just my anxiety talking - my brain often tells me that everyone's judging me!

On the other hand, especially in the current age of social media, events are being supplemented by online engagement. Naturally this isn't necessary at all - the only thing you need to be a lolita is wearing the fashion! - but lolita in complete isolation is an idea that doesn't quite feel right to me.

So overall in my view the effect of events on the lolita community is a positive one - it gives us a way to come together and enjoy the fashion with other people. But with a rise in things like YouTube and the resurgence of blogs there are other ways to engage with the community, and to my mind that's only a good thing.

Read more from other bloggers:

The Bloody Tea Party

Lolita Blog Carnival: How Do You Keep Your Love For The Fashion Alive Without In-Person Events

 Oh man *laughs in introvert*

So, complete honesty time, the current pandemic situation has not really affected my attendance of lolita events. Well, I did plan to host a craft day but had a cold, so had to cancel on principle when I wouldn't have if it was not, you know, government mandated at the moment. But by and large I'm not a sociable person so this isn't really 2020 specific opinions, but more the opinions of someone who's more lone-lita than anything.

Just do it 

Thing number one is to not let circumstances stand in the way of wearing lolita. Don't feel like you have to wait for the perfect occasions, just wear these clothes that you love. In a sense, dressing up in lockdown can be freeing. You want to wear OTT but don't want to put on makeup? Go for it! You want to do something experimental? Try it! You want to just lounge around the house in a JSK with nothing else? You totally should!

An outfit I wouldn't have tried if I wasn't wearing lolita to work from home this year.

Participate online

A very simple way to keep involved in lolita is to engage with the online communities when you can't participate in IRL ones. Personally, I'm a lurker, not a poster, but I'm still a part of Rufflechat and CoF on Facebook. It's nice to feel connected, even if I'm doing to Internet equivalent of sitting in a corner at a party.

Create content

Last but not least, my favourite way of keeping the candle burning for this fashion - content creation! Start blog or a YouTube or Amino or TikTok...whatever the cool kids are doing these days. Have fun with lolita and hey, when we get to a point where we can have proper meets again, you can share those too.

I've found YouTube really fun so far!

Ahem...click here to view my channel ^__^

So basically, this introvert strongly believes that, while the lolita fashion subculture is a subculture and thus no frilly person is an island, there are many ways to enjoy the fashion without going out and spending time with people. 

Read more from other bloggers:

The Bloody Tea Party

The 10 Day Lolita Challenge - A YouTube Series

 A very brief post today to let you know that today I posted the first video of a new series, The 10 Day Lolita Challenge by Lolita Wonderland, to my YouTube. 

Click on the image above to go direct to the video! As is totally spoiled by said image, this first video is just me, talking for ages about how much I love Meta and why ^__^

So far I'm really loving using YouTube, and I'm uploading every Friday at the moment. It's not all going to be lolita, but for at least nine more videos in the future it definitely will be so I would really appreciate it if you subscribed!

What's In My Wardrobe - A Ramble

Recently I completed Raine Dragon's lolita buying habits survey and it made me think a bit about the make up of my wardrobe, how it has changed over the years, and what it says about me as a lolita.

The specific question was about the amount of main pieces in your wardrobe from various sources. I had to count, but it turns out I own 14 main pieces from Japanese brands, 9 from Bodyline, 1 from an indie brand, 4 handmade, and 2 custom-made by a designer who doesn't typically do lolita (so I don't count them as "indie"). 

And of those brand main pieces, 8 are Meta...

I was incredibly surprised to discover that almost half of my main pieces were brand, and I was curious to see how this ratio was in the rest of my wardrobe. So I went and counted my blouses and outerwear as well, though I didn't go into socks or accessories or shoes.

In terms of cutsews and blouses, I have 12 from Japanese brands (though not all lolita brands, this includes Axes Femme and similar brands), 6 from indie brands, 4 from Bodyline, and 2 offbrand options. In the outerwear category I have 15 items from Japanese brands, 1 indie, 1 handmade, 1 custom-made from Lyris Design, and 3 offbrand.

So in tops I have a little less than half from Japanese brands, and in outerwear I have around three-quarters brand. Which means that my wardrobe as a whole really is about a fifty-fifty split of Japanese brands vs other sources.

This really surprised me. I knew that over the past 5 years I have definitely been buying for brand items than when I started, but I didn't think that fully half my wardrobe was brand by now. And that realisation leaves me in a bit of an odd position when thinking about who I am in this subculture.

My latest haul - some new, some secondhand, some brand, some not.

See, I used to think of myself as a bit of a...not necessarily a budget lolita, but more of a "don't care about brand" lolita. And to an extent I think I still am - if it's nice and I like it, I like it regardless of source. However, knowing that my wardrobe is now just as much brand as not came as a surprise.

I bought my first brand in mid-2014 and since then my buying habits have skewed, slowly but surely, to more brand focus. Not exclusively, and I don't think it will ever be exclusive, but I certainly buy more brand than anything these days, though it's pretty much all secondhand. 

While this was a bit of a shock to the system, I like that I am actually now more than ever living up to my intention of having a wardrobe full of things I like, regardless of source. There's nothing wrong with loving a particular brand and stocking your wardrobe with that brand and that brand only, but that's never been my preference. 

I don't quite know how to wrap this up as it's probably the most rambly post I've done in a while and I don't really have a point to make. But it's interesting to look back at my loltia buying habits and wardrobe make-up and see trends that I wasn't aware of.

Coordinates from 16 - 31 October 2020

Picking up from right where we left off in the first half of October round up, the next day I wore a really fun casual lolita outfit for my counselling appointment. The starting point for this look was the ACDC Rag hoodie and I really, really love the result, it's so me and so fun!

Skirt: Handmade

Hoodies: ACDC Rag

Socks: Bodyline

Shoes: Yosuke

Handbag: Angelic Pretty

Hat: Offbrand

Clip: Yokai Candy

And then I wore lolita briefly the next day too! Three days in a row hasn't happen for a little while, so it was rather fun ^__^

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille Teddy Chocolatier

Bolero: Lady Sloth

Socks & Shoes: Bodyline

Headbow & Necklace: Angelic Pretty

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

There's nothing terribly exciting about this coord, but I always enjoy Teddy Chocolatier. This was worn to film my YouTube channel intro so please check it out! Also, I wore make-up so have a selfie ^__^ 

The following Tuesday I wore lolita to work from home and went for something casual and cute. I loved it!

Skirt & Bow: Metamorphose temps de fille

Shirt: Listen Flavour

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

On this day James also did his first Halloween shoot of the year, and I absolutely love the pumpkin he carved! So also have a selfie with my new orange friend ^__^

Also, check out his page The Enthusiast to see all the absolutely amazing stuff he did for Halloween this year! 

Exactly a week later I wore lolita to WFH again. The weather turned cold again and honestly it was a great "stay in PJs" day but I had a Zoom meeting, so work-safe lolita it was! I also assisted with a Halloween shoot and went to Officeworks after work in this look so it got around!

Skirt: Handmade

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand

The next day I was going to assist with another Halloween shoot after work and needed to duck out during my lunchbreak, so figured why not wear lolita?

JSK: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Shirring Princess

Bolero: Maxicimam Lovely

Socks & Jewellery: Angelic Pretty

Shoes: Bodyline

Headbow: Metamorphose temps de fille

Everything else: Offbrand

Buuuuut in reality, I wore this outfit for about twenty minutes only for the stupidest reason. We have a sword hanging in out hallway...

And guess who somehow pulled the sword off the wall with her dress and hit her leg with it? This gal! So I was freaked out and bleeding a little and just wanted to be comfy after that, so off came the outfit! Oh well, it's the thought that counts and now I can add "have been wounded by a sword" to my list of bizarre life achievements!

Then I wore lolita to my counselling appointment on the Friday. Not much to say about this one except it was cute! I also visited my mum after my appointment and she said I looked beautiful, thanks mum ^__^

JSK: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Tartan Check

Bolero: Maxicimam Lovely

Socks: Handmade

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

And to top the month off, for Halloween I pulled together a quick maid look, because I wanted a simple and comfortable costume. We had our favourite other couple over for the evening and handed out candy to the neighbourhood kids. We ate pumpkin soup, played Blockus, and just hung out. It was good, and an excellent way to end the month!

JSK: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Shirring Princess

Bolero: Peace Now

Apron: Marble

Socks: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I also want to share a selfie of this look, since I really liked the subtle cookie these I had going on.

So that was the latter half of October! It's been a hectic month, but a good one, and I'm keen to see where November takes me, in lolita and in life ^__^

I'm on YouTube!

I mentioned a secret project in my first half of October outfits post, and yes, this was it...I've started a YouTube channel! It's something I've been thinking about for half a year or more and I finally decided to just do it! My first video, which is just a brief channel introduction, can be viewed by clicking the image below.

As I say in the video, at the moment my intentions are that the channel will probably be mostly focused on lolita, cosplay, and BTS on photoshoots. However, I'm into a lot of different stuff and I don't plan to limit myself or my content, so who knows what I'll end up with!

I'm 100% open to suggestions of what you'd like to see on my YouTube. I do have a list of ideas going but I'm always up for more ideas...my list will run dry eventually.

Also, here's a tiny preview of the second video I'll be uploading shortly!

I really hope you will like my YouTube content, and consider subscribing, sharing, and all that jazz. As I said, please drop any suggestions in the comments here and also feel free to drop links to your favourite YouTubers as well ^__^

I'm really excited to be embarking on a new creative venture and I've been having a lot of fun so far!

Coordinates from 1-15 October 2020

Can you believe it? I've been wearing lolita enough this month that it's time for a half-month coord round up! That makes me very happy so let's get right to it ^__^

On October 1st I had a Zoom staff meeting, so needed to be work appropriate from the waist up. For a while I've been wondering how this work top of mine would look with my Victorian Maiden skirt so I figured this was as good an opportunity as any to give it a shot. In the end, this outfit isn't necessarily lolita (no petticoat, gasp), but it's my blog so I'm counting it!

Skirt: Victorian Maiden
OTKS: Innocent World

Shoes: Bodyline
Everything else: Offbrand

I am actually really happy with how this outfit turned out! Like, I wouldn't wear it for a meetup but I think overall that this shirt and skirt combo did work out nicely enough for a "work lolita" look.

I wore lolita again to my counselling appointment the next day. I'd actually had a version of this outfit pulled out since the previous weekend but hadn't worn it, so this was a good opportunity! The weather turned quite warm though, so I did switch up the choice of outerwear and legwear. I loved this outfit and felt super cute wearing it.

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille Teddy Chocolatier
Bolero: Peace Now
Shoes: Bodyline
Bear Ears: Maidreamin
Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I took a few days off until Wednesday the following week, where I threw on a coord for all of two hours for a currently secret project. I was struggling to take a coord shot on my own that didn't show too much leg and where my stockings weren't rolling down, and in the end settled for a cramped mirror selfie in my wardrobe. I'm all class ^__^

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille Rose Stripe Shirring

Bolero: Maxicimam

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

Then I felt like it was an eternity until I wore lolita again, but really it was just over a week til I wore another WFH outfit. What I found really odd is that as I was flicking through my wardrobe to pick what to wear, I actually really wanted to wear my handmade green floral skirt! Yes, the one that I'm always contemplating getting rid of since it's kind of boring. Weird. But I'm not complaining (though I'm taking this as a sign I should stop complaining about this skirt)...

Skirt: Handmade

Cutsew: The Black Ribbon

Shoes: Bodyline

Wristcuffs: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

So that's the first half of October in coordinates! It's been a good month and just keeps on going ^__^

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!

AYWI30C #25: Using your newest wardrobe addition

 This prompt was fun and super easy, because I was already dying to bring Blooming Garden out for a spin!

There's not much too this outfit, really. I tried to go for a bit of an older style sweet, slightly OTT vibe. Not sure if I nailed it, but that inspiration is what prompted the inclusion of the star clip.

I did want to go a bit heavier on the hair accessories overall, but it turns out none of my yellow bits really match this dress! It's a very buttery yellow, and all my little bows are more saturated! Oh well, gives me something to craft one day...

I did, however, include one of my big yellow flower clips as a bag accessory. I figure that IRL there's enough separation between the flower and the dress that it doesn't matter. And also I don't really care ^__^

Since I couldn't overload the head are as much as I like with OTT, I focused on adding more details overall, like this flower clips and pearl chain accessory on the wait area. I think it matched really well!

I also busted out multiple rings (I rarely even wear my wedding ring!), big wristcuffs, and an assortment of bracelets. We're going big here!

Well, perhaps not exactly big, but I enjoyed adding a lot of little details to this coord. I really, really love this dress - the colour,t he print, the cut, all the little details. So it was fun to just coord it in this detailed yet simple fashion.