Welcome to My Room
A peek into my diary.
January 2024
January 4, 2024
I had a very productive convo in the server I'm in about what makes classic lolita classic. I've been feeling very unsatisfied in my coords lately. While Meta does have a classic lolita section, I feel like most of the dresses there read more sweet to me. Someone in the server confirmed it for me and I just want to get this down in writing somewhere so I understand what to look for as I shop. In general, classic tends to be more elegant rather than cutesy, even though there is a way to make sweet look elegant as well. One of the things she said was that Meta gets some motifs of classic, their details tend to be too chunky or not as refined looking compared to classic brands' dresses. One of the major things I noticed is that classic lolita mostly uses an A-line shape while also having a much more fitted structure to their dresses and skirts.
I think the most Meta can be coorded unless it's one of their true classic pieces is as a sweet classic. Someone in the server said that Meta's details are too chunky and I honestly do agree. I do think Meta has released classic leaning pieces, but they will require careful coordination or for me to be more selective when choosing them. If I had to put on scale from sweet to classic, Meta is on the left, IW in the center ( I do recognize that their most recent releases as of this post are a lot more historical/classic), and VM/MM in the classic side.
I thought and still think that Meta's Frill Ribbon JSK in Beige is cute. I had bought it to coord in a classic way and thought I could do that with AtePie's Calmato Blouse and Alyssum Cardigan. It makes for an odd look and I think it looks a bit better with just the blouse, but it's a cute JSK nonetheless. When I compare it to IW's gingham print, I can see why I still wouldn't consider the Meta dress to be classic. The gingham print is much larger and this Meta cut usually has at least three bows on it at a minimum. When I look at the IW dress, it's a bit more tailored and the skirt is a lot more A-line/smaller compared to Meta's. The bows on it are simpler as well as have a much smaller gingham print.
In general, I've noticed that in Meta's prints, they are much bigger than what a classic brand would usually put out. They also have a very wide skirt that isn't as tailored as the A-line silhouettes you usually see in VM or MM. I spent most of the day looking for Chinese indie brands that have the aesthetic I'm looking for. It's hit or miss at the moment, but then again most lolitas took years to build up their wardrobes and there's plenty of time to build it up. In the meantime, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for classic JSKs that were released with plenty of shirring or that are known to fit a 90cm bust.
February 2024
February 11, 2024
Unfortunately, I've been so busy that I haven't really been wearing lolita. So my new year's goal of wearing more lolita isn't going the best lol, but I did wear it out yesterday to get hotpot and run errands. It wasn't the best coord, but I'm happy that I'm getting better at recognizing what's wrong. I think what's holding me back is that I want leather & natural fiber items which are expensive and can take awhile to procure. I just found out tho that Lief makes leather shoes along with ETC & Leur Getter so I'll keep an eye out for both of these brands. I also just remembered that I have a pair of JM leather shoes, but they're way too big. I'll have to try them with socks on to see if they'll work for me still.
My boyfriend and I went out to eat at a local hotpot place and out to run some errands. I went grocery shopping. I got a lot of compliments as well.
Blouse: Amavel
Cardigan: AtePie
Skirt: Meta
Socks: Innocent World
Shoes: Naturalizer
It's not the best coord, but I like the way I brought in color. I really need to start taking pictures before I leave the houses instead of after. I always look so disheveled. I'm thinking that for prints like these, you really need a full petticoat or else the skirt will look a little sad. I should try to get purple or wine/bordeaux shoes to wear with it. The light brown shoes I wear do work for it, but only if the bag that matches the color is worn with it. I definitely would want to bring the red down to my feet using socks to make it look more cohesive. A brown headband or bow at the top of my blouse would balance out the brown in the coord as well. I think this skirt has to be coorded more sweet than anything else.
February 25, 2024
I just attended the Galentine's Meet with my comm today. It was at a vegan cafe and it was really fun to hang out with more members of the comm for the second time. I even got to meet someone new to the fashion like me as well. The comm has always wanted to host a meet at a vegan bakery that also does high tea, which is this cafe's specialty. They had vegan and non-vegan options. I think their food is good, but their tea is even better. I always make sure to get a bag whenever I stop by. The staff was even nice enough to suggest floral teas to keep on theme for our Galentine's Day. We even handed out valentine treats to each other. This is what I got.
Lots of compliments all day. I think I'm getting better at coording but I definitely need to work on getting more printed socks and shoes. I'm going to buy as much socks from Innocent World as I can find. They go great with a lot. I think my only hangup is that IW uses beige a lot in their socks and I don't have a beige blouse yet that works. I'll need to get one from Meta.
Blouse: Amavel
Cardigan: AtePie
Dress: Innocent World
Purse: Enchanted Dreamwear (Etsy)
Tights: Offbrand
Shoes: Naturalizer
March 2024
March 22, 2024
Very happy news in the classic lolita world! Mary Magdalene updated their site with a new release called Marine Rose Jumperskirt. It comes with a separate skirt part which is always nice.
When I looked up the dress name on Lolibrary, it looks like they haven't released this dress before yet. [EDIT: This release looks to be a rerelease of their Marine JSK from 2004. MM is known for rereleasing the same couple of designs with the only changes being either the fabric used or slight changes in cuts.] I'm so excited to see that they came back. I'm not sure what we'll be able to expect in the future. I hope they'll continue to do releases as much as possible. This release ended earlier than Mary Magdalene expected it to because there were going to be more orders than what they could make with the materials on hand. MM is planning to do another release but on a lottery. I doubt I'll be able to make it but I hope I can. I can't really fit MM unless it has generous shirring so not sure if the next release will even fit ;-;. Hopefully, they'll come out with accessories or other items that I can fit. It's definitely inspired me to get more proficient with sewing so I can make garments for myself like MM.
On another note, I found MM's old blog. They're hard to keep up with because they don't use any social media. The Japanese lolitas are also in the same boat where many of them don't find out until later. I'm so happy to see that they're back. I had just read Petit Petit Prince's blog post about the state of classic lolita. It's really hard to not be concerned when looking at IW, VM, and MM nowadays compared to sweet lolita brands still going strong. There's nothing wrong with Chinese indie brands, but aside from Miss Point (which only nails the aesthetic occasionally), I haven't seen a Chinese indie brand that really reminds me of MM or old VM. It'd be a shame to lose these classic brands, especially since they've been around for so long and make really good quality pieces. I'm thinking of selling some of my sweeter pieces since I'm really more interested in classic. I gotta get my momey back from spending so much on secondhand VM and IW.
April 2024
April 19, 2024
I really need to wear my lolita out more often, even if it's just to work from home. I'm finding myself looking for items to fill my wardrobe even though I have a pretty good idea of what I need and the items I order are esentially just copies of what I already have. I keep buying ivory high neck blouses, but I already have a couple that don't really fit well tbh. I've honestly been getting pickier about my choice in blouses because while IW's L size fits, it's really baggy around the bust and it doesn't come with coreset lacing so there's just a lot of material which comes out the top of my JSK in an unflattering way. I really should be looking for more short sleeve blouses or looking into blouseless coords for summer. I'm going to restrict my buying of main pieces to only dream items on my wishlist for now or new releases that catch my eye. Or when the leftovers from VM's latest Rococo Bouquet drops. It's not too hard to avoid buying new main pieces since I'm extremely picky, MM hasn't really been putting out any new items other than a Marine Rose Jumperskirt.
I'm sitting in my apartment with a coord currently and it's not great, but I feel great in it. I might include a picture one of these days, but everything is wrinkled and covered in lint so low chance of that happening lol. I'll still keep up acquiring a wardrobe, but it will probably stay very small for now considering I'm not going to be a lifestyle lolita nor am I going to wear OTT frequently enough to more than one extravagant dress. I think I have a good amount of basics except for short sleeve blouses, so I will spend more time creating or buying accessories.
June 2024
June 1, 2024
Happy Summer ILD! I actually managed to go out and do something in lolita this time. I meant to do something with my comm, but my birthday was also on the same weekend. My partner took me to a rose garden and we walked around. I got a lot of compliments. I got very hot in my coord tho. Next time, I'll go blouseless or do a classic skirt + blouse combo. I'm still looking for a nice white cotton blouse that'll fit me. There were some MAM ones that I was looking into but they already sold out and no idea when they'll be back unfortunately. I'm keep my hopes up for it tho.
Outfit Details:
Umbrella,JSK: Victorian Maiden
Blouse: Amavel
Socks: Baby the Stars Shine Bright
Bag: Dreamwear Couture on Etsy
Shoes:Koi Footwear
Unfortunately, one of the straps broke on my JSK and my dress looked horrible today. I'm only comfortable posting the pics here showing what it looked like. I had sat down in my car weird (i guess) and the button popped out. I still need to attach it but I might move the button down a bit. I'm not sure what happened but I like my Satin Marie Rose Jumperskirt a lot more than the 2024 Marie Rose increase. I've realized that I'm not a fan of lace overlays. The bust portion of the dress is not flattering on me even though I fit the measurements. But the solid Satin Marie Rose looks great on me and the quality of it feels much better than the 2024 Rococo Marie Rose. I'll keep it because it matches the Rococo Bouquet umbrella, but not sure how often it'll get worn. I've seen classic lolita veterans say VM's quality has been tanking, but I'm surprised by the differences.
June 9, 2024
I ended up doing a lot this week, which is very out of the norm for me. I told myself that I wanted to go out and do more stuff this summer. I'll save the hibernating for the winter lol. First up, I went to a Strawberry Festival. It was the town's first one and I wanted to attend since I love the area. I bought strawberries and biscuits to make strawberry shortcake later. I refused to leave until I could buy chocolate covered strawberries. No pics, but they were delicious. I also bought a small journal from an independent book restorer/leather crafter. No idea what to do with it yet but it's really cute. I dressed casually for it so no pic, but I love wearing my Dreamily Apparel dresses. It's perfect for summer and has pockets.
Next, my bf and I went to a Japanese Summer Festival. Ngl, it was a little exhausting to drive 1.5 hr each way both days. I should have gotten a hotel but didn't even think about that. I'm planning to do that next year if the Strawberry Festival and the Japanese Summer Festival are held in the same weekend again. There wa also a carnival on the same day as the Japanese summer Festival so I bounced between the two a lot. I stayed until the tea ceremony and left. I was very tired by that time. I wore casual sweet lolita. I'd love to wear classic out more, but finding short sleeve blouses made out of cotton is harder than I thought. Tbf, my standards are pretty strict and finding it in my size and preferred fit is harder than I thought. It gets hot around me so I made the decision to rely on casual lolita more during these months instead of overheating.
I thought I looked cute and I bought this Pink House shirt to wear with the skirt. I'm planning to look for more as it fits nicely and is very comfortable to wear. I need to buy short socks to wear with short sleeves. The short sleeve shirt and long socks combo is a little weird lol. While coord planning, I was experimenting with looks. I was looking for cutsews in Lolibrary. I saw that Angelic Pretty will sometimes put the cutsews untucked on a mannequin with one of their skirts, but with no petti and untucked. I tried it and like the way it looked. I've been avoiding wearing this skirt as much as my other pieces because I don't think it looks as good without a petti. But it ends up looking like a nice looking flowy skirt.
In exciting news, MM put out another reservation. It's for their cuffs. I put in an order for the mini and midi. I hope I get it. I'm not sure what to wear with them, but I want to own a M piece while waiting for my dream pieces to pop up. I hope everyone is also out having fun too this summer!
June 2024
June 30, 2024
I'm impressed that I've been using this site more often. I wanted to catch up on a couple of purchases I made.
I purchased the Magical Mews cutsew in White. I've been looking for a cotton top in white to wear with my sweet lolita. My best success was buying that Pink House tee. I like the cutsew and it's pretty good, but unfrotunately it's baggy on me in a way I don't like. I'm in a weird place where I'm at the upper or just outside the size range of the Brands, but I'm still pretty petite overall. So, if I buy a Western plus size version of lolita, it looks too baggy on me. I haven't figured out if I should just take chances with the smaller items or just stick to Meta.
I bought from Aurora Borealis, a Chinese indie brand on Taobao. I had bought from them originally since I was trying to get into classic lolita, but VM hadn't started to do their Size 2 yet. I wished I had waited because it was definitely a waste of time and money to get it. They're wearable but I bought a size too big and I can't do anything with it. I'm extremely unhappy about the quality too. There's lace at the bottom but it was sloppily cut. And the buttons are pretty loose, but even worse, you can still see the pen mark where they are. I wish I hadn't wasted the money on this brand because the accessories are okay, but I think it'd would have been better for me to just make my own. My standards are just a bit too high for random indie brands without knowing their quality. I should have figured not to order when I saw that their rating was lower than Infanta's.
July 2024
July 9, 2024
Catch up post for June. I went to the Distant Worlds Final Fantasy Concert in NYC. I didn't wear lolita as I don't have heatwave appropriate lolita yet but I wore my Dreamily Apparel dresses. I'm not actually into Final Fantasy but it was pretty cool to watch.
I was supposed to go to my local comm meet but got the times mixed up and didn't go. I had so much stuff to sell too ;-;. So now, I'll either wait for the next one or sell everything online.
July 27, 2024
I was playing around with blouseless looks with my VM Satin Marie Rose JSK (2023). In one of the discords I'm in, someone mentioned that they loved that VM still includes neckties with their JSKs since it makes it easier to blouseless coords. I do think it looks cuter without a blouse than with one on, personally.
I also realized that my hair is long enough to do a crown braid now. I usually wear my hair natural but I wanted to change it up for work. This hairstyle plus a flower corsage really suits my look along with no legwear and my wine shoes from VM. Funny enough, I bought this hair corsage from Infanta but I just realized that these are the same exact silk flowers that I just bought to DIY a canotier. This coord is perfect for hotter weather.
I feel like I'm finding my daily style in lolita. I was always too scared to wear the dresses without blouses because I'm worried about sweating in them, but I have to remind myself that the pieces I wear are sturdy enough to be sweated in and I can wash them. There's a little cleavage when wearing without a blouse, but I don't think it looks that scandalous. IT's funny because I keep looking for short sleeve blouses but I might just go with a blouseless coord or just wear a small cardigan over it. I want to get lace cuffs from Reverie Romantique to wear when I go blouseless or maybe some nice bracelets.
I've been doing a pretty big closet cleanout and might be able to add some more skirts to the mix. I'm really trying to calm down my spending and stick with pieces I love even if it means a really small wardrobe. I wear the same 2 main pieces anyway. Instead, I want to get more accessories, purses, shoes so I can make different coords with the same pieces. At this point, I'm more interested in having a smaller wardrobe with quality pieces that fit well than having a full closet.
August 2024
August 31, 2024
I went to AnimeNYC again this year and I'm very happy I did. Last year, I was really bored and said 2024 would be the last time I attended. But I had so much fun going this year that I'll go on a Saturday again. I went with my sister and friend to explore all the areas of the con and actually attended some panels this year. Last year, I only spent a couple hours at Artist Alley and didn't really go into the basement. I also was finally able to find Sweet Mildred. For some reason, AnimeNYC did not have them advertised but I was able to find their spot on their Insta. I bought one of her berets, which I've been meaning to buy for a long time. After reading someone's experience about Comiket, I really wanted to find more OC stuff and got this calender (and their DunMeshi shopping list lol). There was a lolita fashion panel this year for the first time that I can remember and I stayed until about 6pm to go see it. I usually get to the con early so I can leave early and still enjoy the rest of my day, but I really wanted to see the lolita panel. Unfortunately, it was cancelled so I stayed for nothing, but I did get to exchange socials with New York Lolitas. There was also a gal panel that was +18 (which was odd lol) but it was 9pm and I had already stayed late enough and wanted to go back to my hotel room.
Outfit Details:
JSK, Shoes: Victorian Maiden
Cardigan: Atelier Pierrot
OTKs: MorunxMuunastoik
Bag: Dreamwear Couture on Etsy (not pictured)
I really wanted to wear classic to the con so I wore my VM Satin Marie JSK. In hindsight, I need to get a 60cm petticoat or I should have worn my 70cm petticoat. I didn't want to bc I would have been hiking it up all day, but I should get one. I also went really light on the accessories, which I wish had wore my pearl bracelets, it would have balanced out the tights in the coord a bit. I went blouseless since I was wearing a cardigan and it was supposed to be pretty warm that day. That was a good decision since it was hotter than I anticipated and ended up not wearing it for the majority of the con. I loved the tights I bought from AtePie. I really wanted to get these Morunxmuunastoik OTKs when I saw that they were on sale and especially since I now have a lot of burgundy stuff in my wardrobe lol. The VM shoes aren't that uncomfortable, but obviously they hurt after wearing them for more than 3 hours straight with no breaks ;-;. I've been avoiding white/light colored accessories, but I'll make it a point to get some while I'm waiting for my dream dresses to pop up. The majority of what comes out nowadays isn't to my taste and it seems like MM will be open only a couple times a year so I should take the time to invest in some non-main pieces. I've also been thinking of slowing down on blouses since I do like to wear cardigans with my dresses which kinda eliminates the need for them. I should put the money toward a bust minimizer and losing a little bit of weight so my MM blouse can fit again.
September 2024
September 22, 2024
I hosted my very first meet this month. I took them to an aquarium. I really like this aquarium because it's close to a train line and is in a very walkable part of town. About 10 people showed up. I know this sounds small, but I was really hoping 10 or less people show up lol. I also brought chocolate to share. I played Diner Dash a lot as a kid and figured free chocolate would put people in a good mood.
I have no aquatic themed dresses or accesories so I opted for my blue VM Rococo Bouquet JSK. It was pretty funny but the animals seemed more interested in us than the other people, probably due to the way we were dressed. I really like this aquarium because it has a lot of interactive exhibits. I warned my comm members that the sting rays like to splash so try not to wear anything that they were worried about getting wet. I got to touch a crab, a jellyfish, a starfish, a sting ray (they're so cute), and a sturgeofish. The jellyfish felt like touching warm jelly! A couple of my comm members went out to eat afterwards and then I went home. I think it went well! I'd love to host a meet at a tea house - I still need to go and try it out.
Outfit Details:
JSK: Victorian Maiden
Cutsew: Atelier Pierrot
Headbow:Innocent World
OTKs: Innocent World
Bag: Dreamwear Couture on Etsy
My coord was pretty good for this day. It could have been better but I was running late from washing my hair :-;. It's not summer anymore so I wore my trusty AtePie cutsew. I'm not the biggest fan of the design and how it looks on me (it's a little big looking as I'm rather petite), but it's soooo comfortable. Plus it fits my bust and waist with the corset lacing and full back shirring without bunching up weirdly. I'd love for them to come out with an ivory version with ivory lace. I also realized that I need to buy a 60cm petticoat and a flat Mary Janes. I have a 70cm petticoat that I bought for my VM Classical Doll Long OP but I think it'd be better for my wardrobe to have a 60cm from Me Likes Tea. It kept showing through the bottom of my dress. However, I'm really thankful for it because it showed me how good MeLikesTea pettis are even though they're expensive. I really like heels, but I've realized how hard it is to wear them during cons and meets like these where we have to walk. I'm holding out for a leather pair in black & brown.