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.

Coordinates from August - September 2020

I tried to start August on the right foot, lolita-wise, but on the first Monday of the month I realised the sleeves of the cutsew I'd chosen to wear were too tight for comfort, and the night-time dew meant that my freshly washed petticoat was still damp, so I gave up. And honestly, that set the tone for August, and I didn't end up wearing lolita until the end of the month.

But that's okay. I've recently started trying really hard to life and mental health into a better position, and part of that is not forcing myself to do thing just because I feel like I should. So I'm only wearing lolita when it makes me happy, not because I decided months ago that wearing lolita to work from home was a good idea. It's not a bad idea, but I'm not going to force it. It's got to bring me joy and not just be a thing that I do.

So my first lolita outfit was worn to run an errand and go to an appointment on the last Friday of the month. And for my outfit photo I asked James to snap me on our awesome new couch!

OP & Headbow: Lady Sloth Verrry Berry Picnic

OTKS: Metamorphose temps de fille

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

The outfit isn't much to write home about, but it felt good to wear lolita again. I also happened to have a pretty decently matching mask from Pastel Poisons which I wore while interacting with people, so I grabbed a selfie in that too ^__^

Then it was September, I got my "July" haul in and was really excited to wear some of my new things...so I did the very next day for working from home!

Skirt: Metamorphose temps de fille

Cutsew: The Black Ribbon

Bolero: Maxicimam

OTKS, Necklace & Bracelet: Angelic Pretty

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I still have so much love for Patisserie Dream, it's such a perfect print to me. But most of all...OMG this new bolero is perfect! Seriously, if you're plus-size I really, really recommend Maxicimam. This is my new favourite item of lolita outwear, it's so comfy and warm and looks really good.

A week and a bit passed before I felt the lolita urge again. I almost didn't wear the outfit I'd pulled out the night before, but since I had a tiny Zoom meeting with my awesomely nerdy coworker, I decided I actually get dressed rather than repping the PJs. And I'm happy I did, because I really liked this outfit!

Skirt: Wonderpunk Jurassic Party

Cutsew: Mary Rose

Socks: Angelic Pretty

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Handmade

Jurassic Party is a challenging piece for me since I don't really have much lavender or purple in my wardrobe, but this year I've managed to wear it a few different ways so I'm happy ^__^

I was starting to get more back into the lolita vibe, so the next Monday I wore a coord to work from home in again. Nothing really noteworthy about this one (except my discovery that this dress won't fit my new petticoat) but that's okay.

OP: Metamorphose temps de fille Berry Stripe

Cutsew: Mary Rose

Socks: Jane Marple

Shoes: Bodyline

Necklace: Lady Sloth

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

Then it was Thursday and I dressed up again to work from home. And I discovered another piece that won't take my big petticoat - my handmade green skirt.

Skirt & Headbow: Handmade

Cutsew: Axes Femme

OTKS: Innocent World

Shoes: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I actually really enjoyed wearing this coord, because it felt like the first time I've done something unique with this skirt! That's not actually true at all, but it is the first time I've worn a different top than my Black Ribbon cutsew with it ^__^

However...I am seriously thinking of parting with this skirt. I've mentioned before that it doesn't excite me, and it still doesn't really. The shape is also a bit awkward. But I get very sad when I think about selling it! Decisions, decisions...

The next day, Friday, I wore lolita to my weekly counselling appointment. Afterwards a friend came to our house and I got lots of compliments ^__^

Skirt & Headbow: Handmade

Cutsew: The Black Ribbon

Cardigan: Banned

Shoes & Socks: Bodyline

Bag: Angelic Pretty

Everything else: Offbrand

With that coord, I have worn every main piece that fits me at least three times this year. Wow! I'm really happy with how much I've worn lolita this year, even if I've abandoned my original goal of daily wear while working from home. Changing goals is okay! I've been keeping a running list of what order I wore things in so my main pieces get somewhat equal wear, but I think from here on I'm just going to wear what I feel like for a while ^__^

And that's all for August and September! I have a feeling that October is going to be a little more prolific in terms of outfits. After all, I'm on a roll but also warmer weather is coming and that makes getting out of my PJs in the morning a lot more appealing!