Closet Child Haul and Coords

I've been wanting to expand my cutsew and outerwear collection, and when a minor dream item of mine popped up on Closet Child, I decided to add some of these things to my order.  The dream item was Metamorphose's Bubble Bath frill skirt in lavender.  I still want a version of this series, in lavender, with the print on it, but I love how toned down the frill skirt is.  I now have 3 Meta skirts in the same cut, which are not the print version, in lavender.  They are all slightly different shades, but still, I think I have an obsession!

Here is the haul:

Metamorphose Bubble Bath Skirt:

This is in such nice condition...it doesn't even really have a feeling of wear, except for the wrinkles!  I love that I can pair this with pink...but I'm also thinking it would be nice to match the blue of the bubbles!  Even though I have several blue tops, none of them are this shade.  That's something I will have to keep an eye out for.

Emily Temple Cute black cutsew:

This was ridiculously cheap for how good of condition it's in...maybe ETC cutsews aren't very valuable.  At any rate, I had really been wanting a plain, but loliable, black short-sleeved cutsew all summer, and now I finally have one!

Metamorphose Jacket:

I wanted this specifically to go with my American Dream skirt!  This isn't the original American Dream jacket (I kind of doubt I will ever see that up for sale), but it's close enough to the design that I can get the look I'm going for.  I can also see myself wearing this outside of lolita, if I ever have occasion to.  Perhaps to a con, or other nerdy event in the fall or spring.

Baby the Stars Shine Bright mint cardigan:

This item accomplishes my goal of getting more mint stuff, and getting more cardigans.  It's also my first Baby cardigan, and I am so enamored with the quality and style.  It's super-thin, and also rather small, though I think the short length will work well with lolita.  I have few main pieces that can actually go with mint, however...that's something I want to keep in mind as I choose colorways for new main pieces that I may want.

Innocent World sailor collar cutsew

This item was deeply discounted, I presume because it is missing the detachable navy bow that goes at the neckline.  I should be able to replace it with something similar if I ever feel it's necessary.  I mostly ordered this for the price, because I don't have any cutsews in this color, and because I really like wearing last's years sailor-collar cutsews from IW that I bought on sale.  The sax used is kind of hard to match, but I do have a handful of pieces that it will work with.

After admiring my items, I wanted to get right to work putting together quick coords for each of them!

First, the Meta jacket and ETC cutsew:

Jacket, skirt: Metamorphose

Cutsew: Emily Temple Cute

Headband: offbrand (possibly Japanese indie brand)

Shoes: Secret Shop

Socks: taobao/ebay

Naturally, I wanted to use the jacket and cutsew exactly as I envisioned: with American Dream!  The socks are also something I bought specifically for this skirt.  To tie into the music theme, I used a headband that I got a while ago that has a music not attached to it (not easy to see in this pic).  The seller claims she got it in a lot of accessories from Japan, but it contains no tags whatsoever.  I think this outfit has a 50's vibe to it, and I wonder if I could get away with wearing it for some kind of non-otaku and non-lolita event.  Time will tell...

Skirt, blouse, socks: Metamorphose

Cardigan: Bodyline

Headbow: Infanta

Shoes: Secret Shop

For my main piece coord, I wanted to tie in the dark pink in the skirt with a Bodyline cardigan I have which doesn't match many pieces (the pink is just too harsh).  When the cardigan does match, though, it really pops!  The night carnival socks match both the pink and the blue of the skirt, even though they are such unique colors.  I love when brands have some consistency, even across release years!

Cardigan: Baby the Stars Shine Bright

JSK: Bodyline

Headbow: Infanta

Shoes, Socks: Secret Shop

Okay, so I have such an obsession with pink and mint paired together, that I might need intervention!  Unfortunately, items of that nature make up probably less than 2% of my wardrobe!  I wish I had a higher-quality JSK to go with this look, but this will have to do for now.  I would love to have a solid pink JSK from Baby, though!  I think I would probably wear a white blouse with this outfit too, but I didn't feel like arranging one into this photo.

Skirt, bag, headdress, socks: Metamorphose

Cutsew: Innocent World

Shoes, wristcuffs: Bodyline

One of the pieces I have that matches my new IW cutsew is this 2003 skirt from Metamorphose.  It's a shame that it is so terribly faded, and is probably the worst condition item I own, but I am thankful just to have it, since it's so old.  The bag is the most faded of all, and the headdress still has most of its original color, so it's kind of a mismatched set, but the fading on the skirt as actually what makes it match the cutsew!  I chose other items that may have been seen in 2003, like wristcuffs, lacy knee socks, and white shoes matched with white socks.  I really did not think it was okay to match white shoes with white socks until I realized just how common this was in old-school street snaps!  I think I might like to use one of the detachable white bows from the Meta blouse in my coord above with this cutsew, since it is supposed to have a bow at the neckline (though it was a navy one).

I am incredibly satisfied with my Closet Child order.  The items are in such amazing condition that they don't even feel used, and I didn't find any stains on them!  The price and condition were much better than I usually get from other sources (especially Wunderwelt, where I often get items with stains that won't come out).  One disappoint from this order is that I also ordered a lavender cardigan from Fi.n.t that I was told was out of stock...they had sold it through one of their other outlets.  It would have been a nice addition to my collection at only 1500 yen, but I'm very happy with the items I got!

Innocent World Early Summer Sale Haul

About a month ago, Innocent World had an Early Summer Sale where they were liquidating their fall/winter stock from last year at mostly 70% off (some items were "only" 50% off).  There were many pieces I wanted from that season, but I didn't get most of them on the last sale, which was mostly 30 - 50 percent off, because they still seemed a little overpriced.  For this sale, I picked up several of the items I had my eye on, though many things were out of stock.

Here's what I managed to nab:

Except for the headband, which is black, everything I got is in a navy or Bordeaux color.  Since I wanted these for fall/winter, I likely won't be wearing them for awhile but they are great for my wardrobe since I love those colors for winter, but didn't have enough to work with.

The hair accessories I got are the Polka Dot Jacquard Headbow and the Small Button Braid Clip:

The headbow in black I got to go with my Dolly Dot JSK from Angelic Pretty!  The clip I intended to go with the 2 Bordeaux dresses I got, though it is smaller than I expected.

I only got one pair of socks, the Antique Clock Overknee socks in navy:

I actually wanted the Antique Clock dress too in green, and it was the item I was most looking forward to from this order, but it was out of stock since I had to use the special order form for overseas customers instead of the shopping card system that domestic customers can use.  I likely wouldn't have used these socks with the dress anyway, since I wasn't envisioning mixing navy with green, but I do want to use these with the Alice in the Labyrinth of the Clockwork World JSK from Aatp that I got recently, since it is the navy colorway!  I also just love Roman numerals!

Now for the dresses:

Cross Back Corset Jumperskirt in Bordeaux x Cafe au Lait:

This dress has such an awesome shape and fit (similar to my Rose Flare JSK that I showed in another post).  This dress differs from other IW dresses I have in a similar cut, in that it has a corset/underbust bodice.  This is my first dress like this so I will need to experiment with how to make it look the most flattering!  However, I am somewhat disappointed in this piece, because it feels more like sample or B-stock due to one of the straps being thinner and having a weird-looking curved shape compared to the other strap.  In this picture, it's the strap on the right, and I'm not sure yet how noticeable it will be in worn photos, but I notice it and it bothers me.  It seems like a pretty big slip in quality for a major brand...but at least it was 70% off.

Next, a piece I really wanted for Christmastime!

Cherub Angel Candlestick Bow Ribbon Jumperskirt in Bordeaux:

This is a dress that I saw people getting in IW's Christmas set last year, and I really hoped it would be in mine.  Instead, I got Palace Rose in navy, which I'm not all that fond of, though it is versatile and flattering.  But now I finally had the opportunity to get this dress which I wanted.  I love its religious motifs, and it's also a nice length even though this is not the long cut of this dress.  This regular cut is 100 cm long (the long cut is 107 cm)!

Antiqued Logo Button Collar Jumperskirt in navy:

I wanted this as a staple piece, and I actually have dreams of wearing this as a normie dress out...though I'm not sure that will ever happen.  It's basic with solid construction, and who knows, maybe someday I'll attempt showing myself in public in this, haha!

 Planisphere Just Waist Jumperskirt in navy:

This is the crown jewel of my haul!  Starry themes are one of my favorites, especially in winter when fruit and berry themes seem kind of out of place.  I am so excited to have this in the cut and colorway I wanted, and this piece along with Antique Clock were the releases I was most sad about not picking up last year.  I also love the details with the cute text and phrases that IW included on the print!

I'm really happy with my order overall, although it took Innocent World almost 3 weeks to send me and invoice.  I'm glad they took the extra time to try to source my dresses, if that's what they were doing (I will give them the benefit of the doubt and tell myself they were).  I'm not happy with one of the straps on my corset JSK, but otherwise I have no problems with my items and they were a great value.  I do wish that overseas customers had the same chance at the items as domestic customers, but since we have to use a special order form, items can sell out before our orders are received and accounted for.  Because of that, I missed out on the green Antique Clock JSK I wanted...but I'll just have to keep an eye out for it on secondhand sales!

My 1-year Lolita Anniversary

This weekend, on May 20, I celebrated my 1 year anniversary of being into Lolita!  I took the time to reflect on how and why I got into Lolita, wear my first lolita dress on Saturday, and wear a new coord that I really love on Sunday.

I got into lolita on impulse last year at Anime Central, but the seeds were planted well before then.  In my teens, when X-Japan, Malice Mizer, and visual kei in general were popular, I was familiar with the gothic lolita fashion and Mana's brand, Moi Meme Moitie.  At the time, I don't think I knew about sweet, classic, or other lolita styles; I knew only the gothic style that was popular with followers of vk bands.

I learned about the brand Baby, The Stars Shine Bright from the movie Kamikaze girls, which I watched right around its US release time.  Alot of what I knew about lolita outside the gothic/vk style was from that movie for quite some time.  I went to my first lolita fashion show/panel at Tekkoshocon in 2011.  This was where a huge chunk of my real lolita knowledge came from.  At the fashion show that year, there were printed programs detailing the brands worn by each model.  I learned that there were more brands besides Baby and Moitie, and that Bodyline made lolita items as well that weren't just for cosplay (I had familiarity with Bodyline and their products from buying cosplay, and assumed the entire site was for cosplay).  After the fashion show, the girl running the show gave a detailed explanation of lolita, and also took questions from the audience.  Since I was interested in anything and everything Japanese, I absorbed all that knowledge like a sponge, though I still didn't use it for quite some time!

I didn't attend my next fashion show until 2016, even though I had been to many other cons with lolita programming and even guests since my first fashion show.  However, during that entire meantime, anytime I would see lolita vendors in dealers' rooms at cons, I would be tempted to look.  I always loved the look of the fashion, but didn't think I would ever actually take the plunge.  In 2016, Tekko had Lolita Collective in the dealer's room, and I also attended the con alone, so I had plenty of time to peruse this interesting booth at my leisure.  I kept going back to it throughout the day...but never bought anything.  That night, I realized I had passed the whole day only in the game room (my #1 hobby is rhythm gaming) and the dealer's room.  I decided I needed to go to at least one main event, just to say I did.  The lolita fashion show was that night, in main events, so I decided to go.

I was mesmerized by the looks in the fashion show.  Unlike in 2011, there were fashion guests and brands who had recruited models to show off the latest styles.  A coordinate contest showed off themed coords of attendees.  The whole thing was on a different level compared to 2011 and now seemed very professional.   I left thinking that if I would have seen the fashion show earlier in the day, maybe I would have bought something from Lolita Collective after all....

Only about a month later, I attended Anime Central in Chicago, where Lolita Collective was also vending.  This time, I saw a dress that stole my heart.  I wasn't planning on getting majorly into lolita, but I had to have that one dress.  I thought I could make just one coord, and maybe wear it to Otakon that summer.  I bought the dress, and a petticoat to go with it.

It was within a matter of weeks after buying that first dress that I jumped headfirst into lolita hardcore.  I couldn't stop thinking about the dress I had bought.  My first step was getting some basics, like a white blouse, knee socks, and wristcuffs so that I could wear it in a full coord.  Within a month, I had 2 new dresses from Baby Ponytail and Metamorphose, and had bought my first Meta lucky pack.  I was obsessed.

Now here I am, with a whole room of our house dedicated to my lolita wardrobe.  I've been to a few meets with a comm about 2 hours away, and also got to enjoy the lolita events at Tekko this year while actually wearing the fashion.  I don't see myself stopping anytime soon!  Below you will see my first dress:  a simple "anniversary JSK" from the Chinese brand Pink Up:

Pink Up Anniversary Japanese Fabric JSK:

Dress: Pink Up

Blouse: Anna House

Shoes, socks: Bodyline

Headbow: Cutie Creator

Shoeclips, jewelry: handmade

What can I say, I am still as in love with the dress as the day I saw it, even though it is so simple.  I think I love it because of its simplicity and especially its bright and varied colors.  I started out coording this with basic white items.  I ended up not wearing it to Otakon...the fabric is actually very heavy and really not good for summer at all, but right now it's still cool enough for it.  I always dreamed of being able to pull out different colors from the pattern, so I wore it with pink, blue, and white items.  The me of 1 year ago would have been so excited!

Innocent World Strawberry Rose Garden JSK coord:

 All Innocent World except off-brand shoes and handmade jewelry

This is a coord using one of the most recent dresses I've gotten, and I really tried to wear something as lovely as possible, and also something that would show how far I've come in lolita since last year.  I feel like these Innocent World items are made for each other, even though they are from different release years.  I also feel like this coord is just so "me", just like the one above, and all my coords really.  But this one is extra special to me!

Overall, I didn't actually DO much for my 1st anniversary, besides just wear some of these clothes I love and enjoy them.  I got 2 new Innocent World dresses as well, but the fact that they came this weekend was more coincidental than planned, haha.

Super Simple Coord: IW Mary Rose OP

Yesterday when I got home from work, I knew I wanted to put on a lolita coord, but I didn't have anything planned out, and I wanted something super quick and simple.  At times like that, I usually want to reach for a one-piece dress instead of a jumperskrt, but I really don't have many OPs at all (and 2 of the ones I do have are too short...and I'm still waiting on an underskirt to arrive!).  So, I reached for my trusty Mary Rose long-length OP from Innocent World.  I own this dress in both the purple and green colorways, and they are always what I go for when I'm feeling kind of lazy.  They are also super comfortable!

OP, headband, socks: Innocent World

Cardigan: Bodyline

Shoes: offbrand

Even though this dress is officially purple according to the brand, it never looked purple to me.  The hair accessory I am wearing is shown with the dress I am wearing in its stock photo from Innocent World, but the ribbon on the hairbow is actually a true purple!  At any rate, it's a great choice for when I don't really want to think about what to match.  The socks I chose have "purple" flowers that match the odd purple of the dress.  I wanted to go outside to read, but it was chilly so I threw on the Bodyline cardigan for warmth.

The reason I didn't want to spend long on my coord last night was because I wanted to do something I've been looking forward to for months....getting out all my strawberry coords!

These consist overwhelmingly of items from taobao, with 2 Innocent World dresses also in the mix, and some Bodyline items as well (1 blouse, and several of the headdresses and socks).  There is also a bolero from Dreamv and some socks from Anna House!  I may post and break down these coords more when I actually wear them!

Easter Coord: IW Cross and Feather

Today for Easter, I wanted to wear a coord that conveyed a "holy" feel with crosses.  I chose my Innocent World Cross and Feather Church Choir JSK for the occasion.  The JSK comes with a lovely white collar for the "church choir" look, but it is removable, and I actually usually wear it with the collar off, as it is difficult to coord a blouse with the collar.

JSK, clip, headbow:  Innocent World
Blouse: Yilia (taobao)
Tights: MuFish (taobao)
Shoes: offbrand
Earrings: Claire's
Bracelets: handmade

I think my favorite thing about this coord is the cross clip that I attached to the top of the blouse.  This clip is considered a hair accessory, but I love using clips in this way, and Innocent World makes alot that are good for blouses (sometimes their stock photos even show them used like this).  The shoes are navy kid's shoes from Payless with shoe clips added.  They are super comfy and I was able to wear them all day at a con recently!  The earrings are little crosses that I also wore to church this morning.

I hope everyone had a happy Easter, I sure did, especially once I was able to put on this dress and just be at home enjoying all the beautiful Spring flowers that are blooming now.

Innocent World Sailor Collar Cutsew Styling

Earlier this week, I got a haul from Innocent World.  They were having a sale on blouses, with some flat-price ones for only 3000 yen, so I ordered every one they had!  Unfortunately, I didn't get most of the blouses I ordered, and only got the sailor-collar cutsews from the sale.  I got all 3 of the colors I ordered, and I've been excited to see how they can enhance my wardrobe.

The stock photo showed this top worn as a bolero, and I wasn't really sold on that, but I decided to try it with an Innocent World dress I already had on my dress form.  When I unbuttoned the red cutsew, I saw it also had a snap next to the top button, which I thought is a neat feature.

Here is the top, with a Strawberry Tart OP.  I actually kind of like it worn like that and I could see throwing it on top of a dress to change it up.

Next, I wanted to try one of these under a JSK, so I chose the black Rose Flare JSK that was also part of my Innocent World haul, since one of the pinks in the roses matched the pink of one of the cutsews.  I threw in some offbrand accessories and shoes to complete the look.  I couldn't get the colors to photograph well, but the bracelet has pink roses, and the stud earrings are also dusty pink roses.  I really like how this coord is coming along, and it looks so casual and comfy!

Next, I wanted to try something that thematically makes sense...a dress that one would expect to be worn in a sailor style!  For this, I chose one of my favorite pieces, Angelic Pretty's Astro Regimen JSK in sax.  I always wanted to wear this dress with a navy sailor top!  I like to use my offbrand gold shoes when I wear this dress, so I incorporated a new beret I got from Cutie Creator (taobao) that has gold accents, as well as offbrand gold anchor studs and a handmade bracelet with gold stars and navy beads.  Plain navy OTK socks from MuFish (taobao) finish off the coord.  I would like to wear this one out sometime...I just need an occasion!

I'm really happy with my purchases from Innocent World!  I haven't tried them on yet, but they look like they will fit perfectly and feel nice and soft too.