This is a blog entry of my lolita-related thoughts on this year, along with new items purchased/made. To view photos of my full wardrobe please click here:
If you'd like to see all of my coord photos over the past year(s), check out my instagram. I've also been on tumblr a lot more lately so you can find me there as well!
The motifs that are found the most in my wardrobe are bunnies, strawberries, and ideally both in the same piece... 6 out of 17 main pieces and 11 out of 23 other items I bought this year have bunnies or strawberries on them (or both!) That's 42.5% of everything I bought! 0.0
I've acquired a lot more oldschool and classic items I'm really happy with; while AP still makes up a majority of my main pieces, I bought mostly Baby items this year- 7 Baby dresses, a skirt, and a bunch of accessories/bags/novelties. Innocent World makes up most of the rest, with one dress, three skirts, and a lot of accessories/novelties. I also got my first Victorian Maiden pieces! I really like them, I feel like the open-front dresses are super versatile. I didn't sew as many new things this year as last year, but I still did a lot of crafting and I was focused a lot on historical fashion stuff as well- I joined my local SCA chapter and went to a couple meetings/events with them, and went to the Rennaissance Faire a bunch with my friends this summer too.
More oldschool acquisitions this year, although a lot of that was through swap meets or direct sales with my friends rather than through japanese sites or Lace Market; oldschool is trending again and I feel like that makes it a lot harder to get anything for a decent price online unfortunately. There's also a lot more scalpers online now too.
Brand breakdown: For the first time, AP is not the most common brand in my wardrobe! Not including pieces I want to sell, only 18 of my main pieces are from AP, with 22 from Baby, and 18 from Innocent World. I only got four AP pieces this year, compared to seven from IW and five from Baby, and there's five AP dresses I want to sell. I also got my first 'other AP' (Atelier Pierrot) dress, so there's a new brand in my wardobe too. There's also more Victorian Maiden this year- IW, VM, and BTSSB have taken over as my 'favorite' brands that I look for the most, while a number of my AP stuff I'm looking to sell. I still want/love a lot of old AP stuff, but their new dresses don't appeal to me much unlike other brands and neither does the late 2010's sweet anymore. I still don't have anything from Mary Magdalene, JetJ, MMM, and some other smaller brands I like such as Cornet but hopefully next year.
I found a lot of amazing old school pieces this year- the two berry print JSK's and the gobelin JSK were probably my most worn new pieces this year, followed by the new Renoir OP, Rose Scallop Frill, and VM ribbon OP. I found two Dressing Up Bunny Chan pieces and two IW Strawberry Fields dresses- both series that I'm collecting which is amazing! And got my first gobelin and corduroy pieces :D The mushroom skirt is also a print I've been looking for for a long time (I still really want the green JSK of Mycologist's Notebook) and another Renoir OP is great since the pink OP is probably my most-worn dress, ever. Also can't believe I found the Anne of Green Gables set- the skirt and OP have been on my wish list for a while but I never imagined I'd find either since they're fairly obscure pieces, but they're gorgeous!
IW Georges Rose JSK (2016) in Green
IW Rose Scallop Frill JSK (2008) in Green
BTSSB Floral Print Classical JSK (2013?) in Brown IW Strawberry Field Animals OP (2010) in Milk Tea
IW Animals of the Forest JSK (2007) in Offwhite AP Royal Palace OP (2011) in Pink
BTSSB Rosellina Fleur JSK (2014) in White VM Rococo Bouquet Blouse OP (2011) in Pink
Atelier Pierrot Birdcage JSK (2008) in Green Metamorphose Gobelin Print Underbust JSK (2008) in Blue
AP Shirring Sundress (Print) (2003) in PinkMeta Cherry Print Front Lace Up JSK (2002) in Red
Le Flacon Monet II OP (2021) in Yellow AP Dressing Up Bunny Chan JSK (2006) in Pink
AP Princess Tiered JSK (2007) in Lavender (floral)VM Ribbon Mill Cache OP (2004) in Ivory
IW Renoir OP in Black (2010 or 2011)IW Strawberry Field Animals OP (2010) in Brown
AP Dressing Up Bunny-Chan Corduroy OP (2006) in SaxBTSSB Rosina Stripe Salopette JSK (2010) in Yellow
Meta 2011 Summer Lucky Pack JSK (Shirring JSK: Floral Print) Yolanda Berry River Strawberry JSK (2014)
BTSSB Sweetie Gingham Border Skirt (2007) BTSSB Floral Frill Skirt (2003) in Black
VM Rose Romanesque Skirt (2001) in Blue IW Trump Rose Skirt (2007) in Green
Meta Anne of Green Gables Skirt + Apron (2001) in Brown
A new category this year! I haven't bought a lolita blouse since 2021 :O This was one of my biggest goals last year, to buy more blouses, so I'm super happy I was able to do that. The IW ribbon blouse is absolutely my new favorite. I'd love to get more oldschool blouses next year, and maybe some more short-sleeved blouses for the warm season. I love the print and fabric of the Meta bouquet blouses, but I don't love the full shirring- it may be more comfortable but I find it really unflattering so I think I'd only wear them under a dress rather than with a skirt.
IW Rosie Pearl Ribbon Blouse (2012) in White IW Ribbon Doll Blouse (2008) in Ivory
IW Diana Blouse (2009) in PinkIW Big Ribbon Standing Collar Blouse (2014) in Pink (missing ribbon)
Meta Antique Bouquet Square Neck Blouse (2024) in Green Meta Antique Bouquet Square Neck Blouse (2024) in Pink
IW Standing Collar Cutsew (2004) in Bordeaux
I truly embraced the rectangle headdress this year- I just find them really comfortable and cute without being OTT, and as previously stated I've been more into oldschool in general. I also got the meta pink lemonade clip to match my skirt, and a singular KC- I've actually been taking them off of the headbands to wear them as clips on the back of my head, so I've been wearing them a bit more lately. Headbands end up hurting my head and are very sweet whereas a back-of-head-bow looks a lot more classic imo. The hair comb is actually a set of two that came with the matching dress- I just could not find the second when I was taking photos- and the bandana? Head scarf? idk- came with the dress as well; I don't know if I'll actually wear it. I've seen country lolita coords with these that look really cute but also I think it would look strange anywhere but a pastoral setting, yknow?
Violet Fane Tartan Emblem Headdress (2020?) in Blue/GreenMAM Princess Rose Headdress (2014) in Navy
BTSSB Lace Frill Ribbon Headdress (2022) in IvoryBTSSB Rosalie Rose Headdress (2015 - 2024 in Brown)
AP Dress-Up Berry Knitted Headdress (2024)BTSSB Usakumya Headdress (2024) in White
BTSSB Princess Drop Headdress (2019) in GreenMeta Antique Bouquet Headdress (2024) in Green
Meta 2011 Summer Lucky Pack Hair Combs MAM Majorite Rose Fleur Headbow (2013) in Navy
Pink Lemonade Boater Hat Clip (2015) in MintYolanda Berry River Strawberry Bandana (2014)
A lot of tights this year- I know some people find tights uncomfortable but I like them! I've actually spent this entire winter/fall in a bunch of colored wool tights that aren't lolita though because it's just been so cold. I was lucky enough to find both snow strawberry tights within days of each other, and I also got a lot of Peter Rabbit legwear because IW keeps putting out collabs :D The AP strawberry socks are probably my favorite though, I'm absolutely feral for those little crochet berries and these plus the headdress were worn a ton over the spring/summer. I honestly want to learn to crochet just to make my own but I never have time between all my other fiber arts projects.
BTSSB Snow Strawberry Princess Tights (2009) in BlackBTSSB Snow Strawberry Princess Tights (2009) in White
IW Peter Rabbit OTKs (2024) in BrownIW Peter Rabbit OTKs (2024) in Blue
IW Rose Garden OTKs (2022) in Alice BlueMeta Back Lace Up Ribbon OTKS (2015) in Brown
AP Glitter Snow OTKs (2007) in PinkVM Noble Lace Tights (2014) in Bordeaux
BTSSB Pomme Rouge OTKs (2017) in IvoryVictorian Maiden Snow White Tights (2013)
Metamorphose Lace Up Rose OTKs (2019) in NavyBTSSB Pastoral in the Green Grass OTKs (2015) in Sax
AP Dress-Up Berry Knitted OTKS (2024) in White
Peter Rabbit apron my new beloved... Innocent World has been doing a ton more Peter Rabbit collabs recently and I love it, although I hate that it's all synthetic. Genuinely the apron would be way nicer if it was cotton. I also wish it was a tiny bit shorter- it's meant to go with the longer style of dress they've been releasing the past couple years, which unfortunately means it's just a bit too long for a typical lolita dress; it either hits exactly at the hem or a bit past rather than showing the hem of the dress underneath. Not a massive issue but a bit annoying.
MAM Rabbit Parka (2003) in Black BTSSB Cherry Lace Bunny Ears Cardigan
(2004) in Pink
BTSSB Bunny Apron (2011) in Pink Meta Dolly Cotton Drawers (2018) in Green
BTSSB Heart Marguerite Pouch (Pink) BTSSB Sugar Bouquet Boston Bag (2005) in Pink
BTSSB Sugar Bouquet Letter Set IW Classical Cat Handkerchief (2008) in Navy and IW Antique Pansy Handkerchief (2010) in Green
Last year, I wanted to sell off more pieces, share more photos, buy more blouses, get more different fabrics, participate more in the lolita fashion community, and do more with neocities. I've definitely been able to buy more blouses (yay!), and I've gotten more gobelin, corduroy, and wool dresses this year which I'm also really happy with. The others have been nothing to middling- I haven't sold anything else (RIP sweet going out of style), I've only made a start on a new neocities feature (see below) and I really haven't had the time/energy to do much with the wider lolita fashion community. I still wear lolita all the time, but I feel like online communities are getting less popular or harder to interact with people in, and my enthusiasm for social media is really dying.
This year's goals;
1. Sell more things- again. I feel better even just getting the things I don't wear anymore out of my closet, and now I want them completely out of my house. Pinning a lot of hope on the Great Lace swap meet here since my efforts on Lace Market went nowhere.
2. More neocities again- I'm barely posting on instagram and only sometimes original stuff on tumblr, so I think this site might be the new best place to host all my original content in one place. I'd like to finish making transparent versions of my photos and add more art, along with different features.
3. Lolita Sewing- I didn't make anything new last year at all which is kind of sad compared to 2023 when I sewed a lot! All my sewing energy went towards historical costuming. I've been able to alter/fix a number of pieces which is nice, but not the same, and there's some fabric piling up in my closet I'd love to use this coming year.
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