Entries tagged with lolita 52 challenge

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 33

Week 33:
42. The Ways in which i fit the cliche.

Well the top cliche I fit is my love for tea parties. I’ve mentioned it before but tea parties were one of my top little make believe activities when I was small so I guess it never went away. I’m always ALWAYS down for a little drink paired with a cute little sweet- I live for it honestly hehe.

Another? I suppose my general "cattiness" ( Read more... )

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 32

Week 32:
47. The item in my wardrobe that was the hardest to get

You’d think I’d say any of my dream dresses but honestly no- really the hardest thing to get was the matching socks to my BTSSB Secret Air Mail jsk!

And I’ll explain why: because it was a happy pack set from 2014!! A pair of socks! From a set!! Yeah an actual needle in a haystack way more than any main piece! Honestly trying to find anything thats not a main piece is always infinitely more work!!

I really lucked out that my friend Cami caught it on Vinted mere minutes after it was posted so of course I immediately bought them without a second thought when she sent me the link! I was seriously so grateful and happy- I never made it a goal to complete the set itself but I seriously did want the matching socks!

And the “funniest” part?? Like a week after I got them a listing on mercari for the same socks paired with another popped up it really was my time to get the socks haha.

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 31

Week 31

49. My favorite lolita print

oof, I’m not a print person. Well I mean, I love looking at prints, but wearing them is a whole other story! Would a pattern count? I suppose I’ll touch on both in that case…

( Read more... )

𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔!

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Current Mood: blah
Current Location: my messy ass room
Current Music: daily mix 4

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 30

Week 30

9. Five keywords that describe my personal Lolita style

Hm…. Difficult considering I feel inferior with my own Lolita style….

1. Red

2. “Classicly” Basic [timeless?]

3. Neu-old school

4. Comfortable

5. Consistent / Uniform

Oof some real boring words there. But they’re what I can think of.

The red is self-explanatory, it’s the top color in my wardrobe that isnt a neutral [looking at black and white] and it makes me happy to wear it! It goes well with my finicky skin tone and brightens up my otherwise dark face. And anyways it’s my favorite color haha.

Classicly basic; what a compound word I’ve gone and pulled out of my hat. Basic has a negative connotation these days, but I love a good basic. I love a nicely coordinated basic outfit because that’s the thing- an actually well put together basic outfit takes skill to put together. I think I myself go and combine the concept of “classic”- but not to be confused with Lolita’s classic substyle; I use it in this case in terms of silhouette, vibe, and feel of a complete coordinate from the era I’m drawing inspiration from. I learn via emulation and it’s very obvious in my coordination style how much I steal aspects and copy old school snaps, I mean they’re the blueprint after all. The old school look is in itself a “classic” form, and this is what I’m referring to: my looks are basic in the sense of I follow a pre-set classic rhythm dictated and laid out by our fore-mothers of the fashion itself lol.

Neu-old school, self-explanatory as well. There’s no way to be actually old school in this day and time because it’s 2024 not 2004. The emulation of the style is a sort of both extending of the concept but also a re-approach and re-imagining to an extent. A good majority of “Old school” coords now, and since it’s resurgence as a substyle are usually infinitely more refined than it’s true form pre-2008, there’s also the fact that many pieces were released now a days and used in the manner of old school; not to mention re-releases of classic nostalgic designs and releases.

In a way they’re not old school but in the end they also are. It’s complicated so let’s just throw on the blanket term “neu-old school” to simplify it all. True old school is just as Latin only observable and emulated now; the true execution of it no longer exists. I’ve talked about this before, so I just tack on the term “neu” which has been seen to describe a new generation of something and isn’t that just what this is in a way? Anyways I call myself an old schooler for practicality’s sake but in reality, I wouldn’t even call myself properly that! I’d just say I dress in Classic BABY- or I just dress in what I like haha!

Comfortable, a word we all strive to achieve in such a loud fashion. Sans for my terrible luck in shoes I don’t have any clothes which I always can’t wait to rip off of me, and I’m honestly proud of that. Whenever I get home it actually takes forever for me to get my coords off usually because it just literally feels like I’m wearing regular comfy clothes! (That and I like looking pretty for as long as I can hehe). I see so many little comics about Lolita’s arriving home and needing to strip everything off due to various reasons and I just legitimately can’t relate, except on the off chance I’m wearing a petticoat of course but other than that? My goal with Lolita was always to view it and for it to have the functionality of regular clothes and I always avoided uncomfortable clothes growing up (fun fact I thought I hated jeans because they were so constricting but turns out my qualms were just with skinny jeans- death to skinny jeans) so… yeah that’s that.

Consistent/ Uniform, another seemingly negative pair of words, but honestly, I’ve always had a level of consistency and uniformity with how I dress- I love a good iconic outfit like a cartoon character. I guess I end up also describing my lolita this way as well because I guess I am pretty consistent with how my coords are; honestly most veteran Lolita’s are the same I believe. It’s all about comfort zone; in the winter I end up preferring to wear black as it’s more lowkey and it’s winter anyways, it’s a dark time. Meanwhile the rest of the year I wear red more often, and in the summer, I reach more for my white/ivory dresses [the usual neutral color progression of the seasons]. But regardless I’m also consistent in that 8/10 times I’ll be wearing my lace topper OTKS and more often than not a white blouse. I’m also consistent in silhouette: a minimum amount of poof is used 9 times out of 10, but the old school Lolita silhouette is there. And we can’t forget the fact I wear majority baby all the time and it shows. Consistency in the brand and also consistently styling in the manner of baby as well! (Can that be a thing? I say yes)

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔!

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 29

Week 29:
30. How long it took me to build a complete wardrobe

I’m lucky I don’t have to pay rent or much of anything at this current point, and it just so happened that I got a well-paying job shortly after I moved back in with my parents. So I had both a higher income whilst I no longer had to budget my daily life like before when I was living on my own. I started buying Lolita then, and it slow but manageable with the money I’d save and put away with my part time job, I think mainly because prices weren’t like are now as well…

Anyways the bulk of my wardrobe really was only bought in the past two years. The majority is second hand from mercari and a couple of things from closet child and Wunderwelt. But I usually have a buying month and a shipping month (or ship every 2 months). But I’m really trying to cut back on buying any more main pieces, or much of anything which I don’t inherently need.

I honestly think I built up my wardrobe like REALLY fast, especially compared to the majority of the old heads of OS, I honestly surprised myself. But the fact of the matter is when I figured out what I liked buying just became really easy, and I know (and have) I certain level of impulsiveness which is needed in a competitive second hand buying market. Be aware though I do pass up on A LOT of things, maybe because I don’t have the money then, or because I want to think about it, or because I decide something else takes precedence over it, etc etc. some things I don’t regret passing up and some others then linger in my mind for weeks and months and then I become a little obsessed in finding them again- OOPS! Unfortunately yeah I’m one of those to ruminate in regret, especially when the thing seems to never show up again, or when it does it’s at an unbuyable price! Regardless it is easier to spend on smaller things and I wish I gave precedence to larger, more wanted purchases, but that’s the thing as well there’s still so many small items I need to really push my wardrobe into being well-rounded and to simply have everything I need…

𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝓁ℴℴ𝓀!

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 28

Week 28

15. 3 things I wish I was told when I was a new Lolita

this is complicated to answer because it’s been a long time since I was “new” to the hobby and there’s quite a large gap in between when I was introduced to when I finally started wearing it and that right there I feel was super important and useful beyond measure. During the gap a lot of things within the hobby and how to approach it changed and more importantly I changed (getting older); I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll say it again I don’t know who I’d be in the hobby if I was really able to start wearing Lolita in 2015 like I wanted to!

Many many things I was told were rules then as time went along ceased to be undeniable requirements: things like wigs, poofy-poofy petticoats, aversion to white lace, headdresses, and a lot of time solids in general were phased out from being absolutes, and thank god for that imo.

And another important thing: I always knew the rules were important- and I liked that they were there to follow and to have as a guide!! I always say this and I hope others agree: Lolita is an alternative fashion for the kids who LIKED to color within the lines when young, and then once done they added on their own flairs around it, be it by adding details by drawing them in or what have you.

Anyways I’m at a loss of how to answer this. I can’t say “that there’s no such thing as ita” because in the end there is: simply what’s either 1. Breaking the “rules” to the point it’s not really Lolita and 2. What we simply think looks bad/ugly. The latter being something that we can keep to ourselves but it’s ridiculous to deny that we don’t judge what others are wearing in and out of the fashion yall. Back in the day we all did our best to avoid getting the label tacked on us, because it seemed like an end-all to your public-lolita-image. "Dont be Ita" as a general rule is actually kind of hilarious to look back onto. But these days? damn someone is not going to like a coord you make and thats fine! Ita can exist but just dont give it the power it used to have its that easy- and if you dont care about it, then there! I remember how scared everyone in the 10's were about being called ita and how a girl i knew got posted on a board or behind the bows because she borrowed everything from her friend to be able to make a coord, and it was funny because she was pretty peeved about it but her non-lolita friend was so angry and blowing things out of proportion it felt and i was just there like as well like, "wow... its not that important? she got to dress up and was happy doing so. thats enough right?"

Anways “true ita” of the 00s and 10s are so far detached from our current reality in the fashion that a lot of us can’t help but look at it nostalgically and I love that lol. And i'm glad i didn't have to be told to just enjoy myself in my own space and just did so.

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓫𝔂!

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 27

Week 27:

7.Why I wear Lolita

I was always interested in fashion- I mean ALWAYS. Some of my earliest memories include me playing Mattel’s “Barbie fashion show” for CD-Rom on the family desktop. I always liked interesting things to wear, my mother tells me how I apparently was so interested in the sex shops we’d pass on the streets of downtown L.A. with display windows full of the appropriate clothes of the genre; especially the ultra tall stripper heels apparently. I liked clothes that were interesting - it didn’t matter if it was mainstream or not, and I liked dressing well and especially in the way I wanted. It helps as well that my mother’s mother worked in fashion and my mother was completely immersed in the industry since young so for her it was second nature , I suppose the sentiment passed to me via osmosis. I was a child that was pretty dead set on doing, using, and liking what I truly liked and didn’t care about the populous or mainstream [really, I liked Lizzie Maguire casually on TV but once when we were at a mall she apparently showed up at my mother said “don’t you want to go get a look at her?” And I apparently responded with “no there’s more interesting things here” in the shop we were in lmao. That and I abhorred Disney music and most things girls under 10 in the early 00s were crazy for haha]

I always had a firm idea that I was an individual i suppose and I was never able to let up this ideal (thank god perhaps?).

Of course I entered lolita via anime and tumblr. I got into anime around 13/14 and at the same time I joined tumblr. I was definitely your stereotypical weeb and it was apparent in how I dressed following my entrance to the interest, incorporating mainstream Japanese fashion silhouettes of the time in my wardrobe (trying) as well as anime inspired elements too of course (mini skirts, sailor tops etc). I should also mention that it was in middle school that I was first exposed to Harajuku fashion- or the concept of the neighborhood and what it stood for in general; via Gwen Steffani’s “harajuku girls” era (yeah sorry haha), I even had my Halloween costume at 12 be an ode to the concept as best as I understood it and saw via Google images.

Joining tumblr only exposed me to Lolita proper, and it helped that this was the age of OTT sweet and what I believe to be the most popular era of the hobby in the west. Livejournal and forums were still alive but tumblr was even more and communication and connection between Japanese brands and the west were now as easy as ever!

I’m getting away from myself

WHY do I wear Lolita?

I’m weird. I’m a freak honestly, always have been. And I’ve always been seen as older than I am and repressed any and all of my femininity from when I was 8 until I was 14. Being a girl made me uncomfortable, I enjoyed it in certain aspects but what scared me was being perceived and the expectations imposed on me for being one. I went through puberty relatively early at 10 and I definitely didn’t take it well. I honestly felt like a stranger or alien in my own body as well as mind. Nothing every felt right or appropriate for me on a personal level and all that certainty in self I had in myself pre-puberty was completely lost. This is one reason why I clung and devoted myself so much to cosplay because then my body was no longer me or mine but a convenient prop when cosplaying female characters. It didn’t help that I also struggled with my weight as a teen, from a sudden weight gain from an attempt to take birth control, then to even more with the cortisol treatment I underwent monthly whilst also ending up a long-term antibiotic “treatment” because it was the only treatment my doctor gave me to combat my condition; all stacking one on top of each other to the point I had no idea how much I supposed to weigh when I couldn’t control it to begin with, in the end causing me to almost build insulin resistance and become diabetic at 18. No to mention there was also a shift that occurred in my body composition with the pills that sent it straight into the format of a grown woman well into their 20s when I was 13. I ended up never going through an awkward lanky teen body, just a full-on adult body since the age of 13 and I was never comfortable with it.

Why do I wear Lolita? I think I have a Peter Pan syndrome from losing my juvenile years to depression, and trauma, and such. It’s unfortunate to say but to an extent I feel like I’m trying to keep myself from aging despite also constantly being real that I’m almost hitting 30, but I sure don’t feel like it. Lolita is perhaps a call back to the self-confidence I had as a child and have steadily been finding again (it helps that I no longer have crazy high levels of hormones that made me miserable for 1/2 of my life as well).

Lolita is a weird little fashion that’s cute and bold and strong and I want to be that or maybe I already am and don’t want to lie about or hide it

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝒹𝓇ℴ𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝓎!

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Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Location: on We The Pixies Beta

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lolita 52 challenge

Lolita 52 week challenge: week 26

Week 26
23. What influences my Lolita style

⋆౨ৎ˚Old street snaps of actual old school˚౨ৎ⋆

Self explanatory, any and all old schoolers are simply in a constant reach to emulate the masters of old (school). All one can do is look to the past for inspiration and emulate and copy from there to attempt to encapsulate a similar spirit, as well as of course putting your own personal flair to it sooner or later, because after all it’s a personal fashion and if you can’t find yourself in it then what’s the point?
if you're interested here is my "lolita" pin-board on pinterest; its not a real organized and direct inspo board but the vibes are there...

⋆౨ৎ˚A select few current Lolitas.˚౨ৎ⋆

I emphasize a select few, the first that come to mind is Miss Lola, Miss Agnes, and of course Miss Ophelia, but they’re also powerhouses of the fashion, I believe so, it’s understandable I look up to them. Miss Agnes especially, her personality and spirit are true representations of the Lolita spirit itself and I’ve always admired her since before I even got back into Lolita. Miss Lola and Ophelia are also big fashion inspos for me as well. Ophelia brings such a strong, put together, feel in her coords that’s hard not to admire what with all its details and such. And Miss Lola is brash, loud, and seemingly effortless as well while also being quite refined and identifiable with her own style, and I love the creepy air she inserts every so often to her coords with the fact she’s a fan of the guro substyle.

𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓈𝓉ℴ𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝓎!

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lolita 52 challenge

Lolita 52 week challenge: week 25

Week 25:

37. Something that's not my style, but I love anyways

My French Cafe JSK of course!! A relic of a by-gone era honestly… I wanted it purely for the nostalgia of it all, for the fact it was my first lolita dress that I ever held and wore (tried on) [and hm… maybe that would actually be AP’s Fantastic carnival skirt I tried on at their booth at a con in like 2014(?) now that I think about it. I remember being so happy it zipped up] but regardless; I’d actually just officially put it on my wishlist (in any one of the cuts) and the MTO was announced the following week! I anguished over getting either red or blue but ended up getting blue since the print isn’t all too visible on the red, but deep down I kind of still want I in red…

Anyways it’s p obvious it’s super different from the rest of my wardrobe, the only 2010’s sweet dress also in there in my baby secret air mail JSK- but I think French cafe sticks out much more like a sore thumb simply because of its shade of bright blue and all over print.

This print with a pair of teaparty shoes was really THE GOAT... i always think of still getting and keeping a pair just to wear with this jsk haha

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓭𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓫𝔂!

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: the upstairs construction noises

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lolita 52 challenge

Lolita 52 week challenge: week 24

Week 24

19. Trends I thought I loved, but now I'm not too keen on

Kind of easy because I’m not a trend follower- unless I genuinely like and enjoy it, and since I suffered through the mainstream fashion trends of the 2010’s it’s understandable I’d enjoy a lot of what Lolita had to offer then.

Tea party shoes

Don’t get me wrong I still have a very big soft spot for them! I still teeter-totter on deciding if I should get a red or brown pair because they have a really unique and iconic look to them! But…a chunky shoe look is UNBEATABLE every time in the end for me after so many years with a flat shoe silhouette!!

Colorful wigs [big split color twin-tail wigs]

Of course- they were an IT item in the 10’s and I felt to an extension they were kind of a requirement. I will remember how my dream wig was a pale blonde + pastel pink with teased, curly pigtails. I can’t imagine myself wearing such a thing now; but the hairstyle itself? Yes definitely with my own hair or aided by extensions, I still love it a lot. But the unconventional colors aspect- especially pastel, I don’t think I could ever do.

the absolute icon. this was THE colorway in the circles i lurked in...

But I am thinking of getting a dark red/maroon long hime cut wig (definitely inspired by miss Lola’s own white hime cut wig, and honestly her hair in general) just so I can spice things up a little. But really ever since I firmly sat on the fact that Lolita for me is just clothes and not really anything more the teaching for cosplay-esque wigs just doesn’t vibe with me anymore. As well as my own wardrobe’s color palette fares well with natural colored hair so there’s no reason to think about it any further.

Poof monsters

It’s pretty obvious I gave up immediately on venturing into this territory when I got into Lolita. I mean… I tried! I got a MLT organza petti of 5 layers and boy was it HEFTY and did give a beautiful beautiful shape to my dresses. But it just…. Wasn’t a vibe on me personally. It made everything feel costumey, it’s a wonder I kept it so long actually! I thought to keep it around for special events yknow? But turned out my 5m A&A petti was all I needed and wanted for such occasions. Anyways back in the sweet reign I do think they made MAXIMUM POOF an actual trend in lolita tbh; because look at lolita before then, sometimes there was poof sometimes there wasn’t. And look at the state of things now! It’s no longer basically a requirement for Lolita- the silhouette can still be identified without it and I think that’s great~

... all this to say OTT Sweet lolita is what got me interested in egl; but then again how could it not? it was 2011/12 when i discovered this fashion, and i've touched on this before i believe. Its so eye-grabbing, so attention-grabbing its basically a fairy-tale princess look in this dim world and its more than enticing, its practically indescribable what we feel when first exposed to it so of course the vast majority get into it via this substyle, and even more so in the 2010s. That and in my opinion this ended up being THE trend of the 2010s, it really did grow and then fade away like a proper trend and i think that really says something...

"The dream" as i called it on my tumblr back then...
Check out the tag on my tumblr to see what i idolized back then lol.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓅ℴ𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝓎!

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lolita 52 challenge

Lolita 52 week challenge: week 23

Week 23

29. Lolitafying things in my everyday life

I’m going to be honest; beyond wearing Lolita itself I’m actually quite “anti-frills” when it comes to well…. Everything!

As much as rococo is entertaining, I’m much much MUCH more fond of the Edwardian era and art nouveau and everything to do with the “la belle epoque” period when it comes to [historical] fashion.

Agence Bulloz / RMN-Grand Palais

I’m way too WAY TOO picky when it comes to frills and lace and that’s probably why my style borders on boring in lolita as well; you can then very much see my lack of frilliness in my regular clothes which tend to either be 50s/60s sleek in the workplace, or 70s/90s(70s revival) boho hippie chic, when out of work.

When it comes to architecture I’m then very drawn to 60s homes and interior design from there in general- especially 60s-showa era Japan especially when it came to use red and strong colors on varying shades of wood.

Hm, in the end the most I’ve ever done in “lolifying” my everyday life was when I wore my VCastle cardigan with jeans once, but beyond that it’s simply not in my nature to slap lace and frills onto everything much less anything.

Thanks for the read!!

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Current Location: in between studying...
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Lolita 52 week challenge: Week 22

Week 22

48. My "Signature Outfit"

HA- this is where being boring and consistent comes in handy.

white blouse (getting more into ivory these days though)

red main piece

My Baby White lace topped otks

Black Mary janes (or my red antaina baby dupes)

Headdress

Long necklaces; usually of keys

Stacked rings
lack of wristwear
red, brown, or black bag

I’m quite consistent… I've found my comfort zone and then just kind of went more into it to create a little variety; the same can be said for my regular clothes my whole life haha. Experimentation is difficult for me because I’m so anal about what I like to begin with so I really have to see something be used SUPER interestingly and it has to really call out to me for me to attempt incorporating it onto myself.
Regardless its an undeniable Neu-old school silhouette that i always end up going for; minimal poof, stacked vintage-esque accessories usually metallic, cue motifs to a minimum, etc...

i guess this past year i have a few coords which definitely fall into this "default" outfit of mine...

( Read more... )

Thanks so much for dropping by!

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Current Location: with a heating blanket
Current Music: Girls Radio

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 21

Week 21
8. Why i don't wear lolita more often

That’s pretty simple really: I work and study. It's been getting better but i'm still I’m kind of a home body ever since I contracted Covid the first time (out of like 2), I find myself with even less energy than I had to get out and do anything. It doesn’t help that my work commute is over an hour and I attribute my recently identified burnout to this. I have to leave for work with and hour fifteen of time and even then I’m on edge the entire time because who knows if I’ll arrive on time since I’m dependent on a public transport that isn’t entirely trustworthy. Combine this with my frantic grasping to finish my thesis and take the last couple of exams that i need to take- i actually go out a lot.

My situation has definitely turned around since the beginning of the year honestly when my comm really started to grow. We usually meet minimum once a month and its always an excuse for us all to get gussied up! Besides that honestly i do wear lolita just shy of a lifestyler, i have to be really unwilling to put on a coord on a day when i do wear my normie clothes, but in general these days, especially after being able to freely wear lolita every-single-day during TQiD i've been chasing that high of wearing the clothes i want every day without second thought and do wear lolita basically every time i go out for something more than errands; which isnt to say i havent worn it just for errands as well lol.

Its just 70% of my "leaving the house" is to go to work and i refuse to wear lolita to an office/teaching job, i'm someone who enjoys dress codes and uniforms even moreso. Why? Because then you dont have to think; being creative and choosing what you wear within a dress-code or a complete lack of it is great and not as constricting of course- but when your ideal way of dress is un-conventional to begin with it ends up becoming a chore to stay within those constraints of "normal". It honestly amazes me [and saddens me as well] to see that so many young people wear the same clothes out of work as they do in work- so youre the exact same person in work as out? Im sorry maybe i do attach identity too much to clothes, but thats how i am i guess. Uniforms and dress-codes give me that clear line of "out of work" mode where i no longer have to act like in-work me, if someone told me just wear this t-shirt with black slacks every work shift i'm over the moon- i dont have to think and theres a clear "costume change" from work-me to out-of-work-me. Anyways, even my creative dress choices in work already surprise [and i guess lets say entertain] my co-workers and such; i love a sleek 60s/mod silhouette when it comes to work so i have a couple of coordinates which follow this and so i get comments about how i dress well! and look cute! and all that shit. I know i dress well but thats only because so many others put 0 effort into your own outfits- i genuinely dont think i dress in some way which should be interpreted as surprising or interesting. I sound insane for taking some innocuous compliments like this but this is a topic which frequently passes through my mind. Clothes and identify, identity and clothes - how we act depending on how we dress, how we dress affecting how we act and why so many people dont choose to use their clothes as a personal outlet when its literally right there. I'm talking about the type of people who just dress to live when they could do so much more. Ugh its whatever, i already grew up in a fashion-oriented family (grandma had her own fashion company and was a pattern-maker) so my views on execution of fashion is already different from the vast majority.

Anyways ill wrap up my insane ramblings with: i recently shared a video my work place made for advertising and i was featured in it and one of my mutuals commented that it took them a good couple of seconds to recognize me outside of lolita and in work clothes- and i laughed and loved it because thats exactly what i'm going for!

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Current Mood: groggy
Current Location: having soup

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 20

wow!! 20 weeks!!

Week 20:
14. Lolitas I would love to meet

This one’s pretty easy honestly, I'll also explain why...

Ms. Agnes, @bowsbeforeboys
I've mentioned Ms. Agnes before, she was a big inspiration for me to get back into lolita, her coordinates from the 10's really exemplify the style then, and her vibe in general is the epitome of what it means to be a lolita as well! She seems so so very fun and looks to be an amazing individual, period. I seriously hope i can come to meet her someday because i can't help but continue to admire her and look forward to every little picture she posts or shares on her stories no matter what!

Ms. Caty, @catysuewho
Another lolita who seems to be an amazing person in general. Ms Caty is a wonderful source of inspo for so many lolitas with the amount of her reach. She embodies such a sweet image whilst in very tactful, clean old school coords which i think can be a great introduction for newbies into the substyle in general. Her coords are also majority Baby and embody the baby spirit as well so i can't help but cheer her on!

@46x_n / Ribboncrown
We're penpals!!!!!!! And shes so cool!!! i ADDDOOORREEE the medival touches and inspo she puts in so many of her coords. and her dedication to the color wine in general makes me shed happy tears because i love to see such dedication. Also they're a fellow blogger and i love sifting around in it whenever i can~ I do hope to visit [country] some day and i super hope we can meet and hang our if and when i ever go!

Ms. Rosella @Girlfromtherosegarden
Another lolita i super admire. Of course how can't i? She wears baby galore~ honestly Ms.Rose is who got me into Cul de Paris with her coords!! yeah, can you believe it? i actually thought it was like ugly before i saw her coording with it and suddenly somehow i ended up falling so hard for it!! i've made her aware of this lol and we're casually friendly and even did a snack exchange for christmas recently which was really fun. I hope i can visit [country] at some point and hang out with her she seems super fun too~

Ms. Ana @0000plush
Another amazing old schooler, and brazilian at that. I'm basically illiterate in Portuguese but i love to interact with other brazilians whenever there's an opportunity and common ground [of course]. I really admire brazilian lolitas in general as well and im happy i've been able to create a casual dialogue every so often with Ms.Ana. She brings a refined look to old school as well but with a more down to earth sort of feel, both of which i super appreciate since i find myself similar in such styling; its both sweet but not, yet still so classic in the style of Old School. Anyways next time i go visit family i hope i can meet up with her and maybe some other Br lolitas!

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰!

Current Mood: hungry
Current Location: literally working rn
Current Music: micros.ft teams meeting

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 19

Week 19:
16. 10 facts about my Lolita wardrobe

ooh this was a fun little one~

1. It only took roughly 3-4 years to build up my wardrobe and the bulk of it was in the past 2 years (thanks good paying job with good hours)

2. I’m really unhappy about my literal wardrobe setup and I’m at my wits end trying to figure out how to make it more effective, and have all but given up 😭

3. The exact percentage of red items in my wardrobe is: 34.6% [ 9 out of 26 main pieces]

4. I do not own a single OP and I just cannot seem to nab one that I want whatsoever

5. I do organize my literal wardrobe via color; from white > ivory > blues > red > black.

6. I have more ivory blouses than white ones.

7. My oldest piece is from 2002, my BTSSB Tartan Check JSK in Blue.

8. I hang my headdresses on a clothes hanger on a hook on the inside of the door of my closet, I semi-copied it from another Lolita who would hang her headdresses on a magazine rack and loved the idea. If I end up finding a cool and cute magazine rack I may just copy the concept completely~

9. According to a wardrobe organizer my closet is 54.8% BABY THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT [only jsks/skirts/blouses]. and 11.9% is Alice & the Pirates.

10. Out of 26 mains pieces I have exactly 3 print JSKs and 2 Print skirts, everything else is solid.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝓁ℴℴ𝓀!

Current Mood: restless
Current Location: back home...
Current Music: Sofia Coppla's Marie Antoinette OST

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Lolita 52 challenge: week 18

Week 18
11. 3 trends* I wish would come back

*refer to aside note made in the following post when "trends" is used as a term

aaa i have some catching up to do since i utterly failed to post via my ipad during my trip this past week! hopefully i can put these out nicely & quickly and also post about my trip soon!

On first reading this question I immediately think back to the 2010’s sweet trends and I thought none, but c'mon bitch you can go back further! Anyways these aren’t really trends (can Lolita even rightfully have trends what with how it’s so niche and specific?)

1. 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒆𝒕𝒔
I always fawn over seeing blouse, skirt, and additional item sets on lolibrary, seriously why did they stop doing those??

They seriously have a je n’ais sais quois vibe to them that I guess I can only say is so nostalgic even if I didn’t live it. I always loved matchy matchy sets as a kid so I guess this penchant of mine unsurprisingly persisted to this day…

2. 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖é𝒔 & 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒚

Not a trend, but a concept in and unto itself. I know they’re an expensive production but they’re unbeatable honestly. I want SOMEONE to bring them back maybe to even 1/3 of the level of availability of them in the 00s!!! They’re so cute and adorable and I love feeling the different textures….

3. 𝑾𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆

Not much to elaborate. Boots seemed like a staple in the old school day, and as mentioned in a previous prompt, they’re adaptable to any style because boots are a base and then there’s hundreds of styles and models for them. Anyways outside of OS you still don’t see boots much which breaks my heart because they seriously have a special unsung charm being used in lolita coordinates and I wish people outside of Old school would take a look at antaina’s or angelic imprint’s boot catalogue and try finding one they like and getting a pair for fun and for the experience!

I’m going to be a bitch and also say 3 trends I hope DONT COME BACK!

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𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭!

Current Mood: migrained
Current Location: logging onto microsoft teams UGH
Current Music: indie-sleeze type playlists

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 17

Week 17:
18. Trends I thought I would never get into, but I now love.

ASIDE: [a trend is defined as a change in direction; what is it with this questionnaire's incessance of using the term when its so particular in fashion as a change which is likely to wane, having a full life-cycle of birth, apex, and death? its difficult for an alternative fashion to have something solidly considered "a trend" in the manner we refer to it popularly in fashion. I would much prefer to use the term "aspect" as it can refer to something as a particular feature or optional part of the fashion, including what we may consider trends. Anyways- from here on out i may edit the prompts which say "trends" to instead say "aspects" because alternative fashion is supposed to be a personal display of clothes- how and why would "trends" fit into this? Sure certain aspects gain popularity but in the end that truly isnt the point of alternative fashion and everyone is "supposed" to be going against the grain no matter how small that grain may be! you're free to comment on this; i'd love to see different lolita's and alt fashion wearer's pov on this matter]

Oh boy- I got one answer and one answer only for this one for all of you!!!

MINI HAT(s)

Even when I first entered lolita I didn’t like it, and they were definitely having their day in the sun back then. I felt they were tacky and just shoehorned in most of the time. Sure people made them work but I couldn’t fathom how I’d ever use one myself, as well as there was practically none then that ever caught my fancy, and so I just didn’t care for it. Truly unfortunately, like many trends of the 2010's i simply didnt come to care for them, and i still have a hard time thinking they look cute or nice in the way they were used then still! Sorry / not sorry!!

Honestly… it wasn’t until I think like a couple of months ago that my view on them changed. I think I started seeing some that didn’t have that “tacky- costumey” feel that’s so easy for them to get and I was like :) ok. That and one of my friends is a big mini hat supporter and I love supporting my friends so there’s that too… I guess I can say I was completely converted to mini hats being acceptable and cute at The Queen is Dead event this past June! because lo-and-behold I almost bought one there from Naddine Atlier!! It was limited stock and I ruminated too long so I didn’t get one and I regret it a bit; I’m hoping I can still get a red one at some point… I love Tina’s coordinate utilizing it as well and it’d be a crime not to share it.

Anyways mini hats I’m sorry I ever hated you!

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭!౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

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Current Mood: fawning over Ms KT Thompson
Current Location: sick but working via WEB...
Current Music: girl punk

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lolita 52 challenge

Lolita 52 week challenge: week 16

Week 16:

35. What I thought when I got my first real piece of Lolita

Ah, another kind of boring answer. I never thought of getting anything besides brand for my first real Lolita piece. In 2015 I received as a graduation gift from my parents AP’s French cafe switching jsk in pink.

I definitely fell so so deeply in love with it, I loved the feel of the heavy cotton and the intricacy of the print on it and we’ll as it’s construction in general, it was a serious beauty to behold and I was for sure hooked right then and there to achieve some high hopes and dreams with the hobby.

Regardless I’ve always had too-high standards when it comes to clothes, likely due to my mother’s own approach to clothing which I then learned via osmosis. Brand is brand for a reason, even with its decline over the recent years; but remember clothes were NEVER as cheap (nor as abundant) as they are now! I’m not going to rip on taobao brands, but there’s a reason why I’ve ended up selling basically every clothing item I’ve gotten from there. I am a baby brand whore so maybe I am biased [i am], baby’s items especially from pre-2012 are definitely superior in quality to things they release now, but they’re still able to achieve a very good level of quality with their releases and I guess this is why I stay so loyal to them, not to mention their consistency in designs. So its no wonder that when i got my first brand blouses last year i ended up being unable to buy anymore taobao blouses...

Anyways I ended up selling that original first dress, unfortunately because I thought it would never zip up and be comfortable to wear on me (I had already lost a lot of weight then and didn’t know if I’d be able to go lower), I’m still quite sad about it, but also it was pink so it just clashed with my skin tone anyways. It really was the epitome of cute for me back then and was everything I believed to be Lolita, I’m glad I was able to at least hold it! The dress that followed it then turned out to be Baby's Dancing Baby bears...

hm... ha... yeah. what the actual hell was i thinking? I really don't know. I held onto it for a couple of months so that i could make a complete coord with it. I got a cropped taobao chiffon blouse with pearl accents on the collar, a whital alley cardigan [i'm still trying to get rid of], and i already had some loliable white wedges, and got some pastel colored ankle socks. The final touch was a petticoat, and whilst a family trip to brazil i obtained a Me Likes Tea voile petticoat of i believe 4 or 5 layers, so a proper poof monster. I think it was late janurary 2020 then that i finally put it all together and...

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𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔!

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Current Mood: cold
Current Location: about to do pilates

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 15

Week 15
38. Favorite Hair Style

An awful question to ask me because I’ve NEVER had patience for my hair (like literally not even as a baby I’m told)

Makeup and clothes I can do in 20-30 minutes but then if I try to do anything with my hair, boom there goes an hour!

Favorite? I guess would be the mini pigtails to help give more volume to my hair. And like that’s it because as much as I try to do different hair styles I sure don’t enjoy it (cry). I also enjoy just putting my hair in pigtails and calling it a day.

I’m lucky that I like a good messy shaggy hair rather than prim proper and all in a proper place because I’d be suffering even more so if I didn’t lmao. Despite everything though I am making a bit more effort to try other styles and have been looking at the old GLB volumes and their recommended hairs because they’re always easy and doable. I just also wish I could find tight ringlet extensions or clips to put on because then I would moan about my hair one bit anymore but alas I just can’t find the perfect set.

I can name a Lolita who is my total hair-spo and that’s miss Lola, please check out her hair stylings with her coords theyre always so perfect! she rocks every hair she styles and im always so jealous; straight curly, teased etc, every hairstyle of hers is always downright perfect and i can't help but continually admire this as well in her.

Anyways here's some hair inspo as well...
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Current Mood: chipper
Current Location: christmas shopping...
Current Music: A Chorus Line OG broadway cast

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Lolita 52 week challenge: week 14

Week 14:
6. My Favorite Lolita Brand.

I thought of doing my top 3 but unfortunately, I’m pretty picky when it comes to any brand but Baby.

It’s obvious based on my wishlist and closet as well that BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT owns my lolita heart and soul. I want to draw parallels to my first brand love being Channel – I want to look into this someday at my own leisure to see if can identify design similarities, or even just vibes which show some level of alignment between the two. But hm… not today; today I’ll only mention in passing that the first high fashion brand which captured my heart was Channel. I don’t know when or how (maybe because the galleria mall had(s?) a channel store and I just really liked their designs in the late 00’s? Was it simply the first time I saw Channel’s iconic two piece suit I fell head over heels and that became my design and silhouette ideal? Who can say- really ever since I can remember I’ve adored studying the fashion evolution of the 60s to the 70s. Observing the different silhouettes and their changes and as I grew older also studying and seeing the silhouettes and designs of which these decades harkened back to (most notably the 70s beckoning to Georgian era fashion, the last of my top 3 favorite fashion eras- the Gibson girl has never left my heart).

Anyways, this is about BABY.

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𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓶𝔂 𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓼!~

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