Baby's Castle of Nightmare Print

Baby's newest print is the Castle of Nightmare, which will be coming in a JSK, vest, and skirt so far. I'm really loving Baby this season, and the loud gothic prints they are putting out. This one in particular, even more than Vampire Requiem, because it's just so damned cool. It looks like a spooky art gallery! The picture frames are full of cliche gothic things like grave yards, crosses, scary houses, and I think I even saw a cake in there.

If you like the look of this JSK, check out this Bodyline JSK, it has a rather similar look, red lace and a loud print.

Thanks for voting in the little poll I had up on the site! According to all of you, I need more tutorials, which I will agree with. I really do need to start posting some. I love doing a variety of crafts, but I just never bother to take pictures of the steps. And suggestions for tutorials you would like to see? Just keep in mind I am not a seamstress!

Mind Your Own Damned Manners

While writing about Emily Post's opinions on etiquette a few weeks ago, I got to thinking about Lolitas and manners. Many Lolitas agree that putting on the mantle of faux perfect manners every time you slip into your burando is a bit phony. But there are some Lolitas out there who insist that a Lolita without manners is hardly a Lolita at all.

Many who obsess over what manners you display while in Lolita like to say that you are out there representing the style to the world, so you better be on your best behavior or you're letting the whole team down! You wouldn't want the rest of the world thinking that those girls in pink fluffy dresses are a bunch of uncivilized, swearing, monkey girls who don't know what a salad fork is, now would you? Now, I must say, as oh-so politely as I can, that that mode of thinking is a whole lot of bullshit.

I came into Lolita from goth and have been dressing like an eccentric circus reject ever since I started dressing myself. From experience I can honestly say that most strangers are going to make all sorts of wacky assumptions about you and everyone who looks like you based on what you're wearing, not how you're acting. You could be the sweetest, most charming, well mannered girl out there, but strangers who pass you on the street are still going to think you're a Satanic Vampire Worshiper™ or a Japan Obsessed Adult Baby Sex Fiend™. Sure, the occasional person might question you about it, in which case you give them the standard "It has nothing to do with sex. Yes, I know what the book Lolita is about. It's just clothes" then they nod, pretend to be having a two sided conversation and then go on their way, but they are probably not going to change their opinion of what you are, if they even cared enough to form an opinion on you in the first place.

Since when are we, as Lolitas, supposed to care what other people think about us? I thought we were dressing this way because we liked it, to hell what other people thought. Since when did dressing however you liked all the sudden burden you with weight of all of Lolitadom's reputation? Be polite because you like to be polite, because you want to be a princess, because it's shocking, because it comes naturally to you, because you want other people to be polite, because it draws less attention to you, or because you know if you don't control yourself you'll spaz out and spill tea all over your new dress. But don't start stressing out over salad forks and tea ceremonies and the correct way to invite friends over for brunch because you feel like you are obligated to, and certainly don't ever point your finger in another Lolita's direction and tell them they need to start representing the whole Lolita community.

Mind your own damned manners, not anyone else's. You're not saving Lolita's reputation by trying to enforce old fashioned restrictions on others. Lolita is about being yourself, not about proving strangers wrong.

Lolita's Many Trends

Lolita has gone through a lot over the years, and I don't just mean how it's changed since the early days, I'm talking about all the different trends that have come hurdling through, leaving their mark on the Lolita community. The little trends, the things everyone just had to have or do at one point or another (pink and mint, cupcake rings, corset shaped purses...), aren't really what I'm going to focus on today, since they are far too numerous to count. Instead I'm going to be focusing on a few of the times when other major Japanese fashions have collided with Lolita. Alternative fashions like Lolita are bound to have trends, just like mainstream fashion, but because Lolita exists outside of the mainstream there is very little need to get rid of old trends just because they're not fresh and new anymore. Instead, Lolita just keeps on hurdling through and picking up new inspiration. Kind of like a great big Katamari of bows and frills.
I would like to point out, I am by no means an expert on any of these Japanese fashions, I only know about them from how they mingle with Lolita. I may even be getting the exact name wrong. So if you're a hard core Hime Gyaru, or whatever, come to yell at me for "getting it wrong", sorry, just correct me and I'll try to correct this post as much as possible. I've also tried to present these in chronological order, but again, I might have gotten them mixed up.


Visual Kei

One of Lolita's first mash-ups, and probably one of it's worst, was with Visual Kei. It's not hard to see where this nightmarish mix came from, as Japanese Visual bands are pretty much responsible for Lolita. But somewhere along the way it became "OK" to mix up any wacky band cosplay in with the cupcakey Lolita silhouette. PVC, chains, grommets, bondage wear, spikes, and all sorts things that pushed good taste and elegance into the dirt sprouted up in "Lolita" outfits. Luckily this mash-up has pretty much died out, only brought up on occasion by newbies not quite in the know, who associate Lolita a little too closely with Jrock. While some Visual Kei inspired Lolita outfits are not too bad, and things like PVC and chains can work nicely with Lolita, it usually takes someone very skilled and familiar with Lolita to pull it off without looking like some kind of cosplay, like the girls in the middle, their outfits are pretty damned awesome.

Lolita x Visual Kei



Fruits

Fruits is probably the most well known Japanese street fashion. It is, for whatever reason, what you call the wacky any-thing-goes style that has become practically synonymous with Harajuku. It's really hard to put down a definition of the Fruits style, as it is pretty much about wearing as much neon and wacky crap you can find. While the style is hardly as popular now as it once was (Fruits? How passé!), it is crazy grandfather of many of the current Japanese fashion trends. And while it never really merged with Lolita, it is still worth mentioning as many of the old Fruits street snaps feature kids with either Lolita pieces in their outfits, or outfits that are indeed very Lolita in nature, pink and girly and fluffy. Think of it as sort of the opposite of the other fashions here, instead of Lolita taking cues from Fruits, Fruits took a few cues from Lolita. Note: Fruits is not a term used in Japan, it is just the name of a magazine featuring street style snaps. In the west general wacky street style became known as Fruits, and while it is not exactly a specific style, it's still worth mentioning as many western Lolitas in the early days would take ideas from the Fruits magazines.

Lolita x Fruits


Decora
Decora, which is short for "decorate", sort of looks like the old Fruits fashion, except with lots of extra decoration. And these girls don't so much decorate as they do encrust themselves. Seriously. The trademark decora tends to be lots and lots of barrettes, with the hair often teased to fit in more barrettes. But besides just barrettes, rings are loaded onto fingers, colorful bracelets take up most of the arms, and necklaces are just layered on. This style is actually toned down a bit when it's merged with Lolita,but loud prints and color combos tend to make up for any missing barrettes and bracelets. Deco-loli is often much sweeter than normal Sweet Lolita, and the poofier the skirt the better.

Lolita x Decora


Hime Gyaru

Hime Gyaru is like Lolita's rich cousin, who most likely used to be a Texas beauty pageant toddler and has grown up into some kind of ultra Peg Bundy. Hime Gyaru makes Lolita look affordable, considering your average Hime Gyaru brand dress is going to cost you $600. The point of Hime Gyaru seems to be spend as much money as humanly possible on one outfit. When combined with Lolita Hime Gyaru becomes Hime Lolita. The dresses become poofier, and believe it or not, less expensive. The trademark Hime beehive is often times kept, but sometimes traded in for other styles of big hair. The Lolita's big clunky shoes are often traded in for Hime styled open toed high heeled sandals. Hime Lolitas accessorize with tiaras, pearls, and opera length gloves, socks are often traded in for tights, or nothing at all. Satin details and even whole pieces are much more accepted in Hime Lolita than they are in regular Lolita. There are typically two differnt styles of Hime Lolita, the ultra princess in a Marie Antionette styled dress, or a more modern style that often involves a blouseless JSK.

Lolita x Hime Gyaru



Fairy Kei

Fairy Kei is another style similar to the old Fruits style. Only it is a bit less neon and any-thing-goes, and more pastel and girly. The style is very much influenced by the 1980's, or rather the current interpretation of the 1980's. Carebears, My Little Ponies, Popples, and other nostalgic characters are often seen in Fairy Kei outfits, as accessories of their own or on prints. When combined with Lolita it tends to look like more of a Casual Lolita, favoring print tees and petticoats with minimal poof. While Lolita normally sticks to a couple color, Fairy Kei is not afraid to include the whole rainbow of soft pastel colors. Sheer and even sparkly fabrics are also often found in the Lolita/Fairy Kei mash-ups.

Lolita x Fairy Kei



Natural Kei/Mori Girl

Natural Kei, or the substyle Mori Girl, is the current Japanese fashion trend that everyone is all up in. And there's little doubt why! It's very pretty and romantic, and such a change after years of super sweet Lolita trends. With the exception of Visual Kei, all the other trend mash-ups are better suited for Sweet Lolitas, but Natural Kei tends to follow the Classic Lolita aesthetic. Soft neutral colors, cozy layers, and romantic details are all part of the Natural Kei fashion, and when combined with Lolita these create an effect that is very down to earth but still beautiful. Skirts are often not as poofy in this mash-up, and plain cottons might be traded in for gauzy or textured materials. Ruffles replace lace, and prints, if any, are more mature, featuring floral instead of hyperactive cartoon characters. The clunky Lolita shoe is traded in for Victorian boots, and hair is kept messy or wavy, instead of perfectly curled and coiffed. Accessories take a cue from nature and feature flowers, leaves, and forest creatures.

Lolita x Natural Kei

Every season or so Lolita seems to get a bit bored with itself and decides to spice it up a bit by taking cues from whatever trend is currently popular in Japan. What is next in store for Lolita trends is kind of hard to say. One could argue that the styles are getting more casual, less sweet, and more mature, but really, who knows what next season will bring? Just because the current trend is less sweet that the previous really means nothing at all. All I know is that I'm glad that Ganguro never caught on in the Lolita fashion.


Ugh. Stay out of my Lolita, please D:
Edit: OMG XD I guess I spoke too soon. This was actually posted right before I posted this. And OMG I actually love it for how awful it is <3>

Everyday Elegance

Many new Lolitas look for ways to add a bit of ruffly elegance to their everyday life, it is an easy way to feel connected to the Lolita fashion when you have neither the funds nor the nerve to start up a Lolita wardrobe and start wearing it daily. A few extra fancy pieces added to your everyday wardrobe is a good way to slowly work your way into Lolita. Not only will you be adding your first Lolita pieces to your wardrobe, you'll also start to feel more at home in frills and finery so when you finally do take the plunge into full-blown Lolita you won't feel like you are wearing a costume. These are all pieces that can very slowly be added to a normal wardrobe of jeans and tees!
  • Accessories- An easy elegant addition to a jeans and tee wardrobe is a few pieces of cute jewelry. Faux pearls, chains with sweet pendants, even chunky plastic jewelry can usually be easily worked into any future Lolita outfits you might have.
  • Tees- Keep an eye out for fitted tees with cute prints in your ideal Lolita colors. If you normally wear over-sized and faded band tees, switching to fitted tees is a big step towards the Lolita aesthetic. Cute fitted tees can also be easily integrated into a Lolita wardrobe. If you are having trouble finding Lolita themed tees, check out Candy Violet.
  • Blouses- An obvious choice would be a few ruffly blouses. These can be found just about anywhere. While you're probably not going to find a perfect peter pan collard, princess sleeved cotton blouse at Walmart, you can easily find a few cute blouses with lots of ruffles and Lolita-esque details. These blouses will also be very useful in whatever future Lolita wardrobe you might have.
  • Pants- If you typically wear jeans, at least make sure they are nice jeans. Better yet, skip the jeans altogether and go for a few nice pairs of formal pants. If you end up going for Aristocrat, Boy Style, or a Moitie filled wardrobe, a nice pair of black pants is a great addition!
  • Skirts- I'm not talking about Lolita skirts, but nice formal skirts are an essential part of an elegant wardrobe. If you are not used to wearing skirts before getting into Lolita, a cheaper (than brand!) skirt is a good way to get used to them. These can really be any kind of skirts, don't think they have to be lolitable at all. This will most likely be the only part of your wardrobe that isn't going to be able to fit in with your Lolita wardrobe. While you can, of course, wear a brand Lolita blouse with a pencil skirt, you certainly wouldn't call it Lolita.
  • Shoes- Cute shoes that suit Lolita can be found just about everywhere! You can easily find cheap pastel flats or pointy gothic heels.

Above are 2 simple everyday coordinates made with either lolitable, or brand Lolita items. On the left is an outfit that could be made from a Gothic or Classic Lolita's closet. A patterned Metamorphose blouse is paired up with a pair of slim black jeans. An outfit like this is a great way to wear any brand you might have acquired that has been sitting around in your closet, waiting for you to work up the nerve to wear! On the right is an all offbrand outfit that is more suited for a Sweet Lolita. The blouse, shoes, and all of the accessories can easily be mixed into a future Sweet Lolita wardrobe. But until such a wardrobe is acquired, it's still a very cute and elegant outfit that can be worn most anywhere.

Sweet Dreams: Fancy Sleepwear for Lolitas

If you like to add as much Lolita to your life as possible, Lifestyle Lolita or not, sleepwear seems like an obvious place to add some ruffles. And with visions of flowing Victorian nightgowns in your head you go out searching, only to find that there are 3 options for traditional sleepwear: Matching pants and button ups, frumpy grandma dresses, and sexy negligees. Not exactly what you had in mind. To find something that would make even Momoko envious you're probably going to have to hunt a little harder, and either take your search online, or learn to sew.


Lolita Brands
In the past brands such as Baby, Victorian Maiden, Milky Ange, and even Moitie have put out Lolita nightgowns. Baby has even given out fluffy pink bunny slippers away as thank you gifts! I think that currently Victorian Maiden is the only brand with nightgowns in stock, they have a beautiful Ribbon Rose set, which is almost too cute to use as just a nightgown! I don't think any of the other brands currently have any for sale, but they might not be too hard to hunt down on the second hand market. Swimmer, though not a Lolita brand, has a few really cute cami and bloomer sets.


Victorian Styled Nightgowns
I think that a soft cotton Victorian styled nightgown is just about the perfect thing for a Lolita to fall asleep in! And there are many places online that specialize in reproduction Victorian clothes. VictorianNightgowns.com is exactly what it sounds like, they're the perfect place to find pretty nightgowns. The Victorian Trading Co. also has a few scattered throughout their catalog.


Vintage Nightgowns
If you don't mind vintage wear, try hunting down something cute and ruffly at a vintage clothing store. Maybe a used night gown might be a little ick for your taste, but you can easily find a ruffly pastel dressing gown to wear over a new nightgown. Of course, vintage wear sometimes takes a bit of effort to make it wearable, especially if it has been hanging around an attic these last few decades. Here is a great 2 part guide (part 1, part 2) on cleaning vintage clothes.

Sewing Your Own Lolita Nightgowns
If you are skilled at sewing, or even hardly skilled at all, you could attempt to make your own Lolita nightgown out of soft comfy fabric. Here is a pattern posted to EGL some time ago, it's a very simple looking design, but very similar to the style of nightgowns Baby often sells! You can also find sleepwear patterns in the various Japanese language Lolita pattern books and bibles. I know that Gothic & Lolita Bible #21 features a few patterns. Or try checking out your local craft store for patterns, many pattern companies like Butterick and Simplicity sell patterns for Victorian and vintage styled nightgowns.

That Big Bad Scary EGL

Like it or not, the online Lolita communities are often a big part in being a Lolita. The rarity of the style in the real world has lead us to band together, across the country and the globe, online. Even if you don't participate in the various Lolita forums and communities, you probably still use them as a news source.

Newbie Lolitas often hear stories about EGL, the main Lolita LJ community, and how it is filled with elitist drama-whores who are all just waiting for fresh meat to show up so they can have someone to pick on. Because they feed on the sweet sweet tears of new Lolitas. As you can imagine, this will often scare away newbies from the communities altogether. I mean who's going to want to even take the advice of such vicious bitches, let alone mingle among, right? I can hear you groaning, is this is going to be one of those long rants about why we have to all get along online? No, it's not, this is more of a quick guide for beginners, for anyone who is too timid to jump into the online communities, specifically EGL.

The very first step, before we even get to the handy bullet list, is to know that all that bad stuff you hear about EGL is false. No, I'm not just saying this to make you feel better, it really is false. Sure, there are a few people on there who might live to make strangers miserable, just like on any community, online or off. But these kinds of people are a very small minority in the communities.
  • If you have a question, search for the answer first- Probably the most important thing to remember! Check the memories and skim through the most recent posts. Whatever the question is, chances are someone has asked it before you. If you honestly can't find the answer, then ask away! But keep the next tip in mind.
  • Don't grovel- Don't start a question post with "Please don't kill me for asking!" or end it with "Sooo so so so sorry if this has been asked before!" No one is going to bite your head off for asking a question, and it's rude to make the assumption that people will.
  • Don't include a list of your flaws with your pictures- This goes hand in the tip above it, but if you are posting a photo of yourself, don't include a long list of what you think is wrong with the outfit, pointing out that you don't yet have a matching pair of shoes is OK, but no one wants to see "Sorry my hair looks that way, and my face looks kind of doofy, and my socks weren't staying up too well, and my petti deflated, and my skirt looks a little crooked, and ugh! why did I pose that way!?" People will wonder why you even bothered to post the pictures or wore the outfit in the first place if you apparently don't think any of it is right.
  • Don't use netspeak- Don't use U, R, 4, Ur, or any other kinds of netspeak, people will assume you are 12 and just new to this whole thing called "internet". Even if you're not 12, and you still talk that way in texts and IMs, don't talk that way in posts or even in commenting on posts. It makes you sound like you don't care enough about whatever it is you're saying to use full words.
  • Don't use Japanese, especially if you don't speak it- "Konnichiwa ,ogenki desu ka (´・ω・`)!!" Not everyone knows what that means. As you may well know if you typically add Japanese phrases to your correspondence, this is generally associated with Otaku culture. Lolitas are pretty big on letting people know that we are not cosplaying something from an anime, so we try to distance ourselves from the Otaku culture. In fact, many Lolitas don't even watch anime, or listen to Japanese music.
  • Respond politely to con-crit- If you do receive constructive criticism on photos you posted, don't get defensive. No one is criticizing you as a person, they are just offering advice on how you can make your outfit better. A polite "Thank you! I will take that into consideration next time!" response is a thousand times better than "Yeah, well that's how I wear it, if you don't like it, don't look!" If you get defensive about con-crit that was given to you politely it makes you look rude.
  • Ignore the wank communities- Don't go to them. Period. Or, if you juuust can't resist, know that you are not going to get posted to them for asking a question or making conversation. The wank communities are pretty much just filled with troll watches, people who spazz out for no reason, and repeat offenders who refuse to take advice.
  • Join a local community- If you just can't bear to post to the main community, join a local community. No matter where you live, there is probably a community made for it. Even the largest local community is probably a bit smaller and less intimidating than EGL. Because there is a good chance that you will one day meet these people in real life, either at a meet-up or possibly just run across them in town while wearing Lolita, local communities are typically much more polite.
  • Ignore anyone who is being overly rude with you- If someone is being very rude to you over something you posted, just ignore them. It's really not as big of a deal as either of you think it is. You might be embarrassed and even upset you got called out over something, but it honestly doesn't matter. No one is ever going to remember you as the girl who asked a question about shoe sizes even though someone posted the exact same question two pages back.
  • Learn from your mistakes- Whatever mistakes you make, and con-crit you get, learn from them. Even if you were an infamously spazzy ita who loved to argue with anyone who said differently in the past, if you make an effort to not be that girl any more, people will take notice.
If your fear lies not so much in being rejected as it does in going unnoticed, just remember to be an active part of the communities! Participate in discussions, answer questions, share, or even host a meet-up or two if you can.

This may seem like a long list, but it's really all just common sense. There is really no reason to avoid the online communities, you'll just be missing out on such a large part of being Lolita if you do.

New layout & Twitter

,A new layout yet again! Please let me know what you think, specifically if it's easy to read and if the loading time is okay. There are a few remaining bits of the old layout I've got to fix!

I also made a Twitter account for the blog, I have a personal Twitter, but this one is going to be only Lolita related stuff, like links and quick clothes ramblings, so you're not going to be hearing me tweet about eating lunch, unless lunch is pink cupcakes or something. If anyone out there has a Twitter account, I would love to have someone to follow!

Follow me on Twitter!


I was going to make this my blogs new banner, but I wanted something a little more fancy XD I just love this picture, that girl looks so demented! It's a Metamorphose ad from like the 4th Gothic Lolita Bible.

Starting a Lolita Inspiration Journal

A couple weeks ago, while digging around in my crawlspace, I found a composition book I kept through all of high school filled with lots of fashion magazine clippings and clothes doodles. I had a blast going through it and looking at my awful tastes in clothes, and I got the idea to start a new notebook full of my current awful fashion obsession, Lolita.

So I grabbed myself an empty moleskin notebook, which is kind of the grown up and hipper version of the composition book, and went to town! So far, because I have no intention of cutting apart my Gothic Lolita Bibles, the book has been more of a sketchbook/waah-waah-I-want diary, but if my printer had any ink in it I would be printing out some of my favorite fashion spreads and gluing them in there. I've found this to be an awesome way of venting about Lolita, somewhere were I don't have to worry about annoying my friends with my Vampire Requiem woes or ramblings about my love of stripes.

I have only yet begun to fill up this notebook, but I'm filled with ideas of what I want to put in it! If you've got a blank notebook, you might want to try starting your own inspiration journal along with me. Some thoughts on what I plan on filling my book up with include:
  • Ramblings and rantings about clothes I don't feel like boring my friends list with
  • Lots of doodles of my dream outfits
  • Listy meme type things
  • Print outs of brand ads and fashion spreads
  • Print outs of coordinates I've made on Polyvore
  • Hand copy any useful tutorials found online
  • Clip outs from mainstream western fashion magazines that I think have a Lolita feel to them
  • Somewhere to put those stickers that come in the Bibles that's not my DS
  • Ideas for jewelery and other Lolita crafts
  • Fabric swatches from my hoard and what I one day plan on doing with it
Once I beef up the contents of this little notebook, I'll start posting some pictures of what's inside! As a side note, the picture up at the top is a stack of a few of the handbound books I've made, I had considered using one of them for my journal, but I can't bear to write in them. I just really like making them and leaving them blank I guess XD

Nightmare Before Christmas And Gloomy Bear Brand Collaborations

Oh. My. God. Baby and Meta have been reading my high school diary! I can't believe the two new collabs they both put out in time for Halloween!

Metamorphose did a freaking Nightmare Before Christmas collaboration! Tragically, this is only available at their Shinjuku shop, and will also cost you an arm and a leg. Personally I think the design is a little "meh" for that price, I mean, where are the big epic swirls and Jack heads? There's just a subtle movie logo on the sheer overskirt. The overskirt, I must admit, looks a little weird, but I bet a uber-fluffy petticoat would make it look good. But still, Nightmare Before Christmas in my Lolita?! Fuck yes.
Oh Baby, a Gloomy Bear collaboration! I love the over-the-top-totally-a-freaking-costume apron. But if you want something a bit more subtle, there are skirts, socks, hoodies, and a purse to pick from, all a little less crazy than wearing a big stuffed Gloomy Bear on your chest, but not by much, the skirt features a big detachable gloomy bear thing.

While on one hand, I am completely delighted that two awesome brands put out pieces that make my inner 16 year-old Caro-chan squeal with delight (seriously, the only thing that could have made her squeal more would have been a Johnny The Homicidal Maniac or Sandman collaboration) I am a bit disappointed in the designs. I would have loved to see the brands do an epic over-the-top print on each of these. A black and white swirly print for the Nightmare Before Christmas dress would have been awesome, like the classic swirly landscape that Sally walks on as she sings. Or how about a pastel monstrosity with Gloomy Bear doing what he does best, killing things horribly, printed along the hem of the skirt? Oh well, I guess I'll keep dreaming!

Ghostly Victorian

If you've been watching my Tumblr, you might have noticed a theme, especially these past few days. I have always been in love romantic and pale Victorian inspired clothes, but a few days ago after stumbling onto an incredibly beautiful spread in the 30th GLB I fell in love all over again. I just can't get the style out of my head!

A style like this is not pure Lolita, it is a bit more influenced by Gothic (for a great post on Gothic in white, check out Screw The Rules). But a few Lolita brands often have just such a ghostly Victorian look to many of their pieces, Juliette et Justine being the one that comes to mind first. While not specifically Lolita, h.NAOTO and Alice Auaa both have a lot of pieces that would be right at home in this style, and Suppurate System would add the perfect finishing touch to an outfit.


Here's a little Polyvore set I made while I was dreaming about this style. As I was making this it dawned on me that I like it so much because it reminds me of the Romantic Goth/Lolita fusion I posted about a while ago. Sadly, I only have one white dress, and it's very Sweet Lolita, so I don't think I could get it to work with this style, but we'll see! Maybe I'll dig up something forgotten from the back of my closet and finally be able to give into this craving!

Dressing Cozy for Autumn

Autumn is my favorite time of year! I love just about everything autumn has to offer, the weather, the holidays, the scenery. And most of all, I can start wearing the clothes I want to wear without having to worry about it being too hot. Autumn is the time to finally dig out all the velvets, cardigans, capelets, and wools that have been lingering in the back of your closet all summer. Maybe it's your first autumn in Lolita, and you don't quite know if you're going to make it without shivering your butt off, or you're just looking to make you wardrobe match the season, these tips and essential wardrobe pieces will hopefully help you make the most out of the chilly weather.

  • Jacket- The most important part of a autumn Lolita wardrobe is a nice jacket. I think that the most perfect jacket a Lolita can have is a nice velvet jacket. Luckily, you don't have to rely on Lolita brands to find this, as you can pick up a velvet jacket most anywhere, in a variety of colors, this time a year. If velvet isn't really your thing, try a nice warm wool one. If you are buying an offbrand jacket, make sure that it will fit over Lolita skirts. The bottom should either flare out, or it should be cropped so as not to interfere with your skirt poof.
  • Capelet- If it's not quite cool enough for a jacket, but still want to look cozy, either find a blouse that comes with a detachable capelet, or look for a skirt with a matching capelet. The Lolita capelet is kind of an old-school look that always comes back in fashion once the weather starts getting cooler. Or be on the look out for a faux fur capelet or shrug! They are sure to make any coordinate look luxurious and elegant.
  • Cardigan- My favorite piece of clothing is probably the cardigan, it's just so cute and warm, I'm so glad the weather is letting me wear them again. If your cardigan is a little long, and if it's offbrand it's probably going to be, than you're not going to want to button up all the buttons, or it's going to bunch up weirdly around the middle. Either only button the top button, to create a cute A-line silhouette, or leave the bottom few unbuttoned, so it flares out over your skirt.
  • Tights- Time to start switching from socks to opaque tights! Instead of a pair of black or white tights to match your blouse, try matching them to an accent color in your outfit. Crochet tights are also a great option, especially if you wear them over a pair of opaque tights. If you still want to wear socks but want to keep warm, switch to over-the-knees and wear them over a pair of crochet tights.
  • Hats- The beret is classic and cute, or try a bowler hat if you are looking for something a little different.
  • Scarf- Not necessarily a big heavy duty faux fur winter scarf, but just a light and gauzy scarf that you can tie in a big bow around your neck. You can usually find these for cheap just about anywhere, so pick out a few in colors that compliment your wardrobe.
  • Shawl- You can either pick something knitted and granny-like, or you can go for a cozy wrap.
  • Bloomers- If you've been skipping the bloomers all summer, now is the perfect time to start wearing them again. You're going to be needing them!
  • Gloves- A vintage pair of ladies cotton gloves is a perfect addition to a cozy autumn coordinate!
  • Shoes- Boots are of course the best footwear now that the weather has gotten cooler. While clunky Lolita boots are always good, try a pair of mid-calf granny boots for a very cute look.
Now, obviously you aren't going to be able to wear a scarf, capelet, shawl and jacket all at once, don't think that's what I'm suggesting XD But keeping these items handy will really give you a variety of ways to stay nice and cozy while in Lolita. These are all tips that will work with any style of Lolita, from Sweet to Gothic, but if you want to embody the apple cider and falling leaves spirit of autumn, you might want to try a Classic approach to your autumn wardorbe. Classic Lolita has always been the perfect style for autumn, with the rich warm textures of wool and velvet, and the muted natural colors that reflect the changing landscape, Classic is the perfect choice for autumn. If you're not willing to change your whole style for 3 months out of the year, but still want to dress in a way that perfectly matches the season, there are a few simple things you can do.

  • Wear cream instead of white- It's a much more gentle color than stark white, and will usually match any plain colored pieces you might have. This also goes for pearls if you wear them. Put away your white pearls and instead wear some peachy cream colored pearls.
  • Add some autumnal color- If you have a wardrobe full of Gothic Lolita, add some jewel toned pieces. Deep burgundy, pumpkin, and rich chocolate will all match black beautifully. If your closet is full of Sweet or lighter pieces, go for faded pastels like dusty rose, tan, and pale amber. You can add this color anywhere, but a skirt or simple JSK would be the easiest and most versatile way to add some autumn colors to your wardrobe.
  • Wear more velvet- It's perfect for keeping warm! And it's so lush and pretty.
  • Wear antique gold toned jewelry- Antique gold tone is the best color for fall jewelry, it matches the falling leaves so nicely. Copper and brass is also a good choice! This is the perfect time to bust out some Steampunk pieces you've had laying around.
  • Make brooches out of faded silk roses and velvet ribbon- Make a big floppy bow out of a wide velvet ribbon and glue a pretty silk rose in an autumnal color to the middle, attach it too a brooch base and pin it to your jacket, your hat, or use it to hold your shawl in place.
  • Wear some plaid- Maybe because it's associated with school wear, but whatever the reason, plaid always looks it's cutest in the fall.
  • Style your hair- Go for a more natural and romantic hair style instead of hyper-kawaii. Wear your hair down and wavy, wear it in braids, or wear it in a neat bun at the nape of your neck. Decorate your hair with soft ribbons, fake flowers, or even strands of pearls woven into the braids.
  • Layer- Wear lots and lots of layers to keep warm! Wear a printed dress or JSK and wear it with a cardigan, opaque tights, and a jacket all in different accent colors from the print.
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