Welcome to my 2018 Lolita Wardrobe post. I decided to go with this platform so that I could put everything in one place. LJ seems to be causing many people grief when they try to post.
Before you begin, I want to say that I am a total amateur with photo editing. I only know what I've picked up editing selfies and coord shots over the years. Forgive me. lol
Main Pieces
This was my first brand piece and it's probably the most practical for the hot climate I live in. Thank you to the person who sold this to me! It is so simple and cute!
Like a lot of other lolitas, I am a huge fan of Sakizo and I am so happy that I own this OP. The necktie was missing when I bought it second hand, but it's just a brown ribbon, so I replaced it with a neck ribbon from one of my blouses.
During the beginning of the chocolate craze, I nearly spent scalper level money on a cut and color of Chess Chocolate that I wasn't completely in love with. Cooler heads prevailed thank goodness and I saved my money to get this JSK which I love. I recently wore it to the Museum of Ice Cream pop up in Miami. It was the perfect piece for that meet!
Antoinette Fleur? Fleur Antoinette? Idk man. I really like this design. Matching the blue ribbons is suffering though. I am in the middle of making a hat for this to match!
While I'm not wild about the quality of the images on the fabric, I'm a sucker for mytholocical themes. It still looks nice as long as you're not all up in the blurry mess that the print is. lol
The nutcracker has always been one of my favorite ballets. I especially love the Second Act where Clara and the prince tour the land of sweets and all the costumes and dances are sweets and treats themed.
"Are salopette's lolita?" Idk man. But it's cute, so I'll wear it. I especially love the print of the mink fur at the hem. I'm also not entirely sure if the name is supposed to be Royal Rosette or Loyal Rosette. I haven't combed through japanese magazines when this was released, so I can't say for sure, but the crowns always make me wonder...
This is only slightly higher than my natural waist. The print is made in a way to look like a gobelin tapestry. I'm a sucker for historical throwbacks like that. I wore this to a Harry Potter concert where a live orchestra plays the film score. Two of the ushers told me that I won the unnofficial best dressed contest for that event.
One of the reasons why this whole wardrobe post was so late was because I was waiting for this to arrive. The piece is gorgeous and it's my first main piece from a Taobao brand. It was a bit difficult to capture the texture of the fabric with my camera, but the Lolibrary page has the official stock photos which are much better. My dressform also makes the back look a bit odd, but on me it looks fine.
When I found out that this tapestry became a print, I was all over it. À Mon Seul Désir is the most well known of the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and it's so open to interpretation about the nature of the human soul/condition. It was also used in the Griffindor common room in the movie adaptations!
Even though this came out in 2010, it takes a lot of cues from Old School. I find myself nostalgic for Old School looks since it's those styles that I scoured Google images for in the early to mid 2000s. I now have my own little piece of Old School memories. I plan to wear this to my comm's Valentine's Day Tea.
In 2016, I volunteered for a lolita fashion show at A-kon in Ft. Worth, TX. I was assigned to the Belladonna section and that's when I saw this piece. I didn't model this one, but I wanted it so bad. At the time I didn't have much extra cash after travelling all that way, so I stalked Lace Market after I got home. I was able to get it finally! Darwin has a special place in my heart as a scientist.
The moment I saw this dark forest/red ridinghood theme, I had to have it. I love fairy tale heroines so much. The mysterious and dark aesthetic is exactly what I love about lolita. It's a feeling of, "I'm beautiful and cute, but strange and powerful, so keep your distance." I'm pretty friendly in real life though I promise. I just like mysterious themes. ~aesthetic~ lol
Holy hell not again! AP did an MTO in 2015 and I went in on that. They have since had a few more rereleases. I really like the flocked print in this series. It's elegant but still cutesy. I am reminded of the trope of vampires who look really young, but are actually very old and powerful. Of course I also have some witch hats to coord with this. Who doesn't? Holy Lantern party at my house!
This print was my first dream print. I saved every single stock photo from AatP's listings to my computer. I was OBSESSED. So, naturally I got two... The bordeaux colorway is my favorite, but the black is great, too.
¿Por qué no los dos?
When I was in Mannheim, one of my teachers told our class about the Sissi trilogy that her grandma likes to watch during Christmas. You bet your frilly butt I found a torrent immediately. The first movie is my favorite because the plot is actually good, but all three are worth a watch for the costumes. Then I learned about that 1972 Ludwig movie where Romy Schneider reprises her role as Elisabeth and holy shit it's so gothic. The whole movie is an A+ recommendation from me for a classic/gothic feel. Empress Elisabeth was a very reclusive person and she was obsessed with beauty. She was eventually assassinated in 1898 by an anarchist. After the Märchen feel of the Sissi movies it can seem a bit odd that there's such a dark print associated with her, but then after that Ludwig movie and learning about how she was assassinated, it makes way more sense.
The colorways of this print remind me of Swan Lake. The print on the skirt is actually printed onto tulle somehow. I wasn't expecting that when I ordered this, but it's interesting. Now if only Melissa would release their ballet heels again...
The character of Scheherazade (or Shahrazad) has always facinated me. She is the queen of dramatic timing. I love how she is so confident in her plan to save her life by telling stories. The stories themselves are as Scheherazade claims, very interesting. They involve loads of magic and mysterious happenings.
This dress was in my sights every since I saw the print. I love to go to Antique shops when I have time. I also like how there are elements in the print which suggest the shop is also a bit of a curio shop with astrological elements. I got the black version because it reminds me of the night sky.
I've always wanted a MmM piece, but I didn't see much on the market that SPOKE to me besides the infamous Iron Gate. I was really glad when Royal Gate was released because I actually like it better. I love flocked deisgns. It gives an extra element of texture to the textile. RIP me ever getting a good picture of how amazing it looks though. The dress is not gray. I just had to fiddle with the color settings a lot to show the detail of the flocking.
Tops
I put all of my tops into one photo for ease of posting and because most of my tops are fairly basic and I use them for multiple outfits.
Top (Left to Right)
Middle (Left to Right)
Bottom (Left to Right)
Hair Accessories
I don't have links for everything because some items are offbrand and their product pages have expired in the time since I've bought them.
As you can see, I've got a mix of sources here. I like to have options and try things that maybe brands haven't quite gotten to yet, or coordinate pieces outside of the full sets. (Though I still love full sets, too! I own almost every Musée du Chocolat item. lol) I like the collaboration between the community and brands where sometimes trends are dictated by brands and other times trends come from us.
... And who doesn't love cheap accessories? Ammirite?
I don't have links for everything because some items are offbrand and their product pages have expired in the time since I've bought them.
As you can see, I've got a mix of sources here. I like to have options and try things that maybe brands haven't quite gotten to yet, or coordinate pieces outside of the full sets. (Though I still love full sets, too! I own almost every Musée du Chocolat item. lol) I like the collaboration between the community and brands where sometimes trends are dictated by brands and other times trends come from us.
... And who doesn't love cheap accessories? Ammirite?
Top (Left to Right)
1. Unknown 2. Taobao 3. Angelic Pretty 4. Taobao 5. Taobao
2nd Row (Left to Right)
1. AatP | 2. Angelic Pretty | 3. Antique Beast | 4. AatP | 5. Taobao
3rd Row (Left to Right)
1. Surface Spell | 2. Surface Spell | 3. Taobao | 4. Aliexpress | 5. AatP
4th Row (Left to Right)
1. Bodyline | 2. AatP | 3. Taobao | 4. IW | 5. Handmade
5th Row (Left to Right)
1. Taobao | 2. BtSSB | 3. Taobao | 4. Forever 21 | 5. Taobao
6th Row (Left to Right)
1. Forever 21 | 2. Ank Rouge | 3. Ank Rouge | 4. Angelic Pretty | 5. Angelic Pretty
Bottom
1. MouMouMou
1. Unknown 2. Taobao 3. Angelic Pretty 4. Taobao 5. Taobao
2nd Row (Left to Right)
1. AatP | 2. Angelic Pretty | 3. Antique Beast | 4. AatP | 5. Taobao
3rd Row (Left to Right)
1. Surface Spell | 2. Surface Spell | 3. Taobao | 4. Aliexpress | 5. AatP
4th Row (Left to Right)
1. Bodyline | 2. AatP | 3. Taobao | 4. IW | 5. Handmade
5th Row (Left to Right)
1. Taobao | 2. BtSSB | 3. Taobao | 4. Forever 21 | 5. Taobao
6th Row (Left to Right)
1. Forever 21 | 2. Ank Rouge | 3. Ank Rouge | 4. Angelic Pretty | 5. Angelic Pretty
Bottom
1. MouMouMou
Bags
Top (Left to Right)
1. IW | 2. BtSSB | 3. Taobao
2nd Row (Left to Right)
1. BtSSB | 2. Angelic Pretty | 3. BtSSB
3rd Row (Left to Right)
1. Angelic Pretty | 2. Aliexpress | 3. BtSSB
Bottom
1. ModCloth
