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 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 Taobao 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 Taobao brands, but aside from Miss Point (which only nails the aesthetic occasionally), I haven't seen a Taobao 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.