2016 Wardrobe Post

Blast from the past

Starting off with my old EGL wardrobe post- since it got buried in the depths of time in old Livejournal. I will always use it as a reference point for my current style.

This was truly from the beginning, when I was bright and starry eyed.

A little naive yes, but very keen. I went to every comm meet, with the intent on socialising and conversing with a lot of people. And I really did try my best to dress in an "acceptable" coord

that was suitable for the occasion.

I had impulsively bought a lot of things I loved for the sake of looking "pretty".

Some things I regretted instantly, others I had held onto for a little longer- hoping I would find the right blouse or accessory to coordinate with it and most were specifically for themed events.

Needless to say, a lot of mistakes were made.

I went through the ita phase. I still cringe when I see it on fb memories or in old comm photos.

It was a necessary rite of passage as a lolita. In order to develop your own style and to grow as a fashion-minded individual, experimentation and mistakes are part of the process.

I can already see how bad it is....

Clutching my cheap Chinese indie branded phone, I filtered and cut and pasted the low res photos into a collage app with the basic sticker pack. It was organised into colours and themes (I'm OCD with the themes like that). My room was a mess at that point, so the only option was to do flatlays on the bed. Sorry if you get triggered by the wrinkled bedsheets.

OPs and JSKS

Bodyline OP and Btssb Headdress

I bought it solely for the comm twinning meet back then. I had coordinated with another member and discussed what we wanted to do (since we didn't share the same prints). We went out of our way to buy the OP online and added feathers to do our shiro kuro opposite twinning look.

I was also wearing rocking horse shoes which was not a comfortable aesthetic. If you have issues with balance, avoid rocking horse shoes. I remember one waist tie ripped off the dress as soon as I got to the venue, but a kind comm member had safety pins for a quick fix. It was at that moment that I realised that it was a size too small. The headdress I got it from secondhand sales.

Lief Logo Ribbon Sailor OP (2014) and AP Sugary Gingham OP (2014)

I acquired the Lief OP from a comm swap meet. I was surprised how well it fitted me and it was a reasonable price. I bought AP Sugary Gingham OP on Lacemarket for a casual Animal Crossing meet that I hosted. The theme was to coordinate as your fave villager. My favourite was Bunnie so it had to be an orange dress- because I wasn't fond of green plaid. I even made some felt plush bunny ears.

Btssb Chocolate Fascinate Fairytale Chocolierre JSK (2011) and AP Melty Berry Princess OP (2015)

I first saw this dress online on the Btssb website in the computer labs at high school with my friends who were also interested in lolita fashion in 2011. I had no money then but I remember thinking it was very cute but I would never wear it. Fast forward a few years, and with a full time job and no commitments and this dress appears on a secondhand website at a good price lower than retail.

I wore it to the city's chocolate festival with the comm- and of course I had strawberries dipped in chocolate. AP Melty Berry Princess OP I had acquired it from a comm member who was downsizing her wardrobe. I thought it was a very cute summery type dress and I coordinated it with a thrifted Daiso boater hat with red ribbon and a small red bolero on the day I wore it out.

Kira Imai Pool of Tears OP (2016) and Krad Lanrete Lost in Sea JSK (2013)

Kira Imai is one of my favourite illustrators that I follow who also releases collaborations with Angelic Pretty and allows them to print postcards of her art with their dress releases.

I fell in love with the Pool of Tears illustration and was excited to find that there was a dress with it.

What drew me to the Lost in Sea dress was the gradient from the light mint blue to the more turquoise colour. It was also made of a light chiffon fabric that was perfect for summer.

Only the colours match, not the themes

AP Marine Kingdom OP (2015) and Meta Patisserie Dream Lace-up Pinafore JSK (2014)

I got this right on release time in the AP JP website. I loved the Marine Kingdom print so much that I got both the blue and purple colourway. All the details are very beautiful, especially the chiffon overlay and the pearls sewn into the fabric. I felt that when I wore it, I was a mermaid princess!

The Meta dress was something I bought on impulse in a secondhand online store, because of how cute the print was with the desserts. However I made a really bad coordinate with it and there is a photo of it in Uncle Tetsu's Angel Garden Cafe from that time which I can't believe is still there. =.=

The first dress with the apron is Alice themed

Btssb Patissier JSK (2014) and AP oldschool polka-dot OP (date unknown)

I saw a girl's coordinate featuring Btssb Patissier JSK posted on FB and it became a dream dress for me. I searched for it for a year and then happened to find it secondhand and got it.

Of course I had to make a Alice themed coordinate with it, wearing a blonde wig and blue contacts. I even brought a pocket watch along for the Alice themed high tea the comm held.

The polka dot OP was also another dream dress inspired by a coordinate featured on Tokyofashion, back when they regularly posted lolita outfit street snaps.

AP Wonder Gallery OP (2015)

AP Wonder Gallery was featured in a photoshoot for the magazine ( Kera 09 Vol.205 September 2015 ) and I fell in love with the print and bought it online when it was released. When I received the dress, I was surprised by the fabric. It was much heavier than the regular cotton they used and had a "crepe" texture. It was a pity it was not flattering for people with larger busts.

I cropped this picture since the frame was too big

ToAlice Qipao JSK, Btssb Queen of Snow ~Fragment of "Eternity" I Hid in Snow Globe JSK (2014)

AP Marine Kingdom OP (2015)

ToAlice had a physical store in Guangzhou so when I went in 2016, this dress was on sale so I bought it along with a blouse. It was kinda awkward because my dad was also with me at the time, but he was paying for it then! The Btssb dress I had bought from the Btssb online store directly- I looked up an online guide to register because the website wasn't very user friendly.

I just remembered that in the magazine (Spoon vol 63. Angelic Pretty 2015 Spring/Summer Collection), they had a really nice photo shoot with the model wearing the tiered jsk cut for AP Marine Kingdom.

AP Crystal Dream Carnival Tiered JSK (2015) and MagiCatStreet The Witch & her Cat JSK (2015)

Crystal Dream Carnival was the pioneer dress that got me into lolita fashion. I looked at all the scans and people posting their haul of getting this dress and I fell absolutely in love with it.

To be honest, I would have saved a lot of money if I hadn't bought it on Lacemarket at a scalped

price but it was a coveted holy grail piece. I chose the blue colourway instead of the navy because the purple made the print stand out more. It still proved a challenge to coordinate because of the indigo? shade. I reserved the MagiCatStreet dress in time for Halloween- the dress had a mini witch hat with it. I liked the constellation embroidery and the gradient.

Innocent World Embroided Collar Sailor OP (2015) and AP Magical Night Theater JSK (2014)

I had worn the sailor OP many times, it is very comfortable and easy to coordinate.

One row of buttons are missing and I didn't bother replacing it because it was in an awkward position in the bust/chest area.

The JSK was also featured in AP's fashion show. I love all the details from the gold glitter print to the buttons and the amount of detail on the illustration. The hat sold out and is still a rare item to get.

Skirts

AP Dream Marine Skirt (2015) & AP Marine Kingdom Skirt (2015)

AP kept feeding my love affair for marine/ aquatic themed prints. Dream Marine had glitter on the seashell print that created a shimmer bubble effect. The colour combination was stunning with the pastel blue, pink and purple.

AP Celestial Skirts (2014)

If the crosses were smaller, I would have appreciated the print more, but it was still very beautiful.

The colours were muted on the mint and the navy had more contrast. I had bought these online direct from the AP website.

Metamorphose Flocky Mini Skirt (2009) & FanPlusFriend ouji shorts

The skirt was a bargain I got from the comm swap meet. The picture doesn't show the embossed rose detail in the soft fabric. The ouji pants I bought online at the F+F site for a white rabbit coordinate.

Blouses

Assorted blouses from AP and Taobao and Indie designers

Outerwear

The black coat is the Putumayo x Tales of Xillia 2 Rowen J Ilbert collaboration coat

Navy cape is from AP Fairytale Cape

Sailor jacket is from ToAlice

Everything else is offbrand

Bags, assorted accessories and headwear

Now that you have seen a glimpse of what my wardrobe looked like in the past, what would you expect from my current? Would I have the same or similar items? Or will the style have changed completely?