On Thursday, I had plans to meet with some friends after work. I didn’t want to let time at office get in the way of me having fun, so I threw together a casual coordination with lolita fashion elements. I’m not quite up for flouncing into my building in Cherry Berry Bunny, but I would like to have more freedom. I already don’t have to wear business casual; our dress code is essentially “don’t be naked.”

I wanted to wear a t-shirt that my little sister had given me. It has a cute kitten next to a glass bottle of milk, both adorned with bows. I picked the gray and white striped socks because the kitten is gray-ish and I didn’t want to wear socks with lace at the edge. Knee-socks already seem to catch a lot of attention, but lace-topped socks always get lots of stares. Since there isn’t much lace elsewhere, they seemed to me to be too formal. I also wore a gray cardigan with this outfit while in the office, since the air conditioning is always on full-blast.

This skirt is one of the easiest things to wear casually. It matches a lot of my “normal” clothing, and is pretty comfortable (except for the abnormally high waist). I wore it with a very weak pannier, because I didn’t want to be sitting in my good petticoat all day or squeezing onto rush-hour buses and trains at my fluffiest. I had a bag of things I was bringing to my friends, so I wouldn’t have a very easy time holding my skirts out of other people’s ways.

The glittery sneakers were another non-formal touch. Honestly, I just don’t get to wear them enough, but I really like them! My husband suggested them, and I couldn’t resist once it was mentioned. My coworkers really liked the shoes; I think it was their favourite element!

On Friday, I was peeking through my closet and trying to decide what to wear, when my husband elected Cherry Berry Bunny. (I think I may have to rename it my “Strawberry Shortcake” dress–that’s what everyone says when I wear this dress! Clearly, those people don’t remember Strawberry Shortcake. She doesn’t really look like this in any incarnation.) I paired it with pink polka-dot hairbows that my little sister gave me; they don’t match exactly, but it’s pretty close.

I picked the strawberry socks and fake heart-buckle shoes. I think there’s something about the placement of the white stripe and silver buckle on the shoe that looks nice with the print of the jumperskirt. It seems balanced without being a complete match. Overall, nothing in this outfit is a “complete” match. I don’t think I’ll ever own the hairbow (as much as I really want it) unless I magically have a million dollars or people start selling their inexpensively to fund Milky Planet.

I had fun with the hairstyle, as well. There’s nothing particularly innovative about it, but it worked out better than I had expected. I really wanted to leave my hair down, but I also wanted it off my neck. Low pigtails did the trick! The weather has been pretty warm and sunny; it’s beautiful, but it can get a bit oppressive. Since we don’t have air conditioning…sometimes it’s almost too much! The ceiling fan has been on non-stop since June.

For some reason this outfit elicited more reactions than normal. I felt kinda bad, because my husband was really upset by some of the less-than-nice comments directed our way. I always get a bit worried that he will eventually decide that my eccentricities are too much. He reassured me about how he feels, but said I’ll just have to accept that part of him being himself includes intolerance towards idiots trying to mess with his wife. ♥

June 10th is always one of my favourite days of the year, so I probably would have dressed up even if it were the middle of the work-week! This Saturday was my six-year anniversary! ♥ My husband and I haven’t been married for six years, but we’ve been together for six years–and that’s the anniversary that matters most to us. (Although I won’t pass up the chance to celebrate our wedding anniversaries, either!)

I wanted to pick something elegant. I almost wore my wedding dress, but I don’t quite have everything I need for a summer coordination with that dress. I’ll have to get some new socks and wristcuffs before I can attempt that. That dress is so pretty that I don’t want to be dissatisfied when wearing it again–I’d rather wait. This blue dress has special significance to me, as it was one of the three “first things” I ever bought from a Japanese brand when I started wearing lolita fashion. It’s also less cutesy than most of my other garments.

I wanted to try something a little bit different, as I almost always wear it as a “complete set” with the other items purchased at that time. This time, I wore an ivory lace hairbow instead of the matching headdress, and chose heeled shoes instead of flats.

I particularly like how well it paired with the shoes. I’ve been waiting for a chance to wear these shoes! They’re very comfortable, mostly due to the low heel. Wearing them with socks helped prevent blisters; my feet always suffer when I wear shoes without socks or stockings, particularly the first time. It would have been more elegant with sheer stockings, I think, but I don’t have any so it wasn’t really an option at the time.

In the future, I should think about how my nail polish might match outfits before I paint my nails. I was feeling summery, so I chose a shade of neon pink…and then wore a floral dress with pastel blue and ivory. You can’t see it very well in any pictures, but it’s quite shocking in real life! Oh well~ I own several shades that would go very nicely with this dress; I should have considered it beforehand.

I had a lovely anniversary, including a dinner-date, and look forward to many more years together~ ♥ I couldn’t dream of someone more wonderful!

Although I still worked on Sunday, on Monday I did not! (Thanks to the national holiday~) This could mean only one thing–lolita style! My husband and I planned to spend the day together, and went out for crêpes. There is a particular crêpe restaurant that I prefer–the Icosium Kafe (sometimes also known as the Crêpe and Coffee Palace). We managed to get there just before it became very crowded, which was quite lucky~

My husband picked my outfit on this day. When it comes down to it, if I’m dressing up “for” anyone, he is the target. Lolita fashion is mostly something I do for me, but I know that he has opinions and prefers certain dresses or outfits. Since I love him (we did get married, after all), I like to wear things that I know he likes. There’s something fun about impressing the person you like, even if they already like you. ♥

He had the Jewelry Jelly jumperskirt in mind, but since I had worn that so recently he quickly opted for this jumperskirt instead. I toyed with the idea of patterned socks at first, but white socks were his recommendation. With the white blouse, the white socks give the outfit a very “traditional” look. I think it puts the focus on the jumperskirt, which actually has a lot of detail despite seeming “plain” at first glance. ★ I’ll have to wear the Jewelry Jelly jumperskirt for him soon, though. He seems really fond of it!

The only thing I dislike about the Angelic☆School jumperskirt is the zipper! Lolita brands are notorious for their use of bad zippers, but this jumperskirt takes the cake! A lot of the zippers used in lolita garments are invisible zippers that just aren’t heavy-duty enough for the fabric involved. Typically a lolita garment has a lot of bulk at the waist seam, and that is where the zippers get stuck. Oftentimes they warp or just break, and need to be replaced. Sometimes it’s easier to fight with the zipper when the dress is flat, pull it on over my head, and adjust the back lacing.

I was also excited about a chance to wear my new shoes from Bodyline! I own very few pairs of shoes, but now I have one more pair! These were just a bit too big for me, so I hadn’t been able to wear them until I got some insoles to take up the extra space and keep my puny feet from sliding around. I think the sizing for the actual BABY, the Stars Shine Bright shoes might be slightly smaller, so I might be better off with a non-replica pair at some point.

After we paused to taking pictures under the arched gate, an elderly gentleman sitting in his car beckoned me over. He told us that he lives nearby, which doesn’t surprise me very much because I’ve noticed him before, and he asked me where “the other girl” was. I think he’s jumbled all of my friends that come and go into one “extra” lolita! He complimented my “costume,” and then extended something out the window–a collapsed Chinese parasol–and said it was for me because it matched my dress.

I felt very awkward; I don’t like taking things from strangers, and particularly from elderly people because I have known some who like to give more gifts than they can sustain. I tried to decline, but he was very insistent. In the end, I accepted and thanked him profusely; I was too worried about offending him if I didn’t take it. It’s very nicely made, with painted pink and yellow roses on white fabric. I’ll have to put it to good use!

No traveling or hard-work for me this weekend, so of course I wore lolita fashion~ Lately I’ve been thinking more frequently of and giving more consideration to the idea of wearing the style to work, but regardless of any future decisions, the weekends are mine to enjoy with fun clothes! This weekend coincided with the arrival of some new things–dresses, socks, and accessories that I had been awaiting for a little while. There’s always a lot of excitement for me about getting something new, so I tried to wear everything~

I love pink (obviously), polka-dots, Angelic Pretty, and bows–so this dress and I were off to a good start from the moment I spotted it on the website. I was very surprised to find out that a friend of mine had the dress and would be selling it, so by this series of coincidences I was able to purchase it~ My little sister owns the same dress in black with pink polka-dots; she found it while on her trip in Japan.

The dress comes with the choker, and I also purchased the socks at the same time. However, I think in the future I’ll wear different socks. These socks do match, but the bows on the back are a much darker, “dustier” pink that isn’t elsewhere on the dress. I suspect they’ll match a different dress I own that has these same colours.

I didn’t wear a hair accessory. My original idea was to pull my hair back at the sides and affix a polka-dot bow, but I couldn’t get the bows to stay in place. I had a friend over that same day, so I didn’t want to waste the time fussing with my hair instead of having fun with my guest. ♥ Due to the lack of hair accessory I feel that my outfit is a bit “unfinished,” but it was still fun to wear!

Saturday was one of those days with no plans, no events, and no errands. Quite honestly, I didn’t know what to do with myself! I flip-flopped between being very productive to keep from being totally bored and being so totally bored that I couldn’t even imagine being productive. I dressed up anyway, which at least added some sparkle to my day.

The version of the Jewelry Jelly jumperskirt that I own is incredibly comfortable. ♫ My little sister bought it on my behalf although I hadn’t asked her for it, and she sent me a message letting me know that she wasn’t sure if I’d really like it, but she had bought it because it was very cute and amazingly comfortable. I didn’t quite know what she meant, since I don’t find any of my clothes particularly uncomfortable. Then I saw it in person and tried it on.

Essentially, the jumperskirt is super comfortable because of the design. It has a fully-shirred back, no zipper, and isn’t high-waisted. The shirring across the back is nicely spaced, plus the elastic is not so tight that one feels squeezed, yet not so loose that the back hangs. It’s really nice! ♫ It’s actually a general “type” much like my red polka-dot jumperskirt, although the details of the design are totally different, which is similarly comfortable!

In general, I don’t wear jumperskirts without blouses. It’s not that I feel this is a lolita fashion “cardinal sin,” just that I like wearing blouses. I don’t like having my shoulders uncovered–it’s a quirk of mine. In non-lolita I rarely ever wear short sleeves unless I am indoors and among people I am at ease with–even though I’m not particularly self-conscious about my arms. (I particularly wear this infamous really ugly coat all the time because it keeps me covered, even on 90+°F days!) However, I really like the design of this jumperskirt–the thin straps with ruffles of lace made me want to wear it with a sort of “sundress” inspiration~ ★

I headed out to the library, so I threw on a hoodie that didn’t really match, just for some coverage. The socks are also from my little sister; I think they match pretty nicely. I don’t own much else that has pink and blue, but Jewelry Jelly is a very colourful design.

I also have the Jewelry Jelly wristcuffs, but I’m not quite sure how to wear them. I wore them on my wrists for most of the day, but it felt like jewelry–which I am terrible with. I can’t help fussing with them, and then I take them off and put them back on and take them off again and put them somewhere else and forget where I put them! I’d really like to wear the wristcuffs in my hair (like scrunchies), but I haven’t figured out a good way to do so. When I wrap them it bunches up the lace, and I don’t want to permanently alter them.

I did find some hair baubles in my collection that seem to fit with the design pretty well, though~ They’re multi-faceted pink heart “crystals.” If I could find star shapes of a similar nature, in either pink, blue, lavender, or mint, it would match even better! I’m going to be on the lookout.

Although, honestly, my “hair accessory” for most of the day was a set of Cinnamoroll ears that my little sister brought back from Sanrio’s Puroland. Puroland is like Disneyland, just owned and operated by another company. My little sister adores Cinnamoroll (although probably not as much as I always seem to think when I buy random Cinnamoroll things to give to her), so she opted for his floppy puppy ears during her trip. They came into my possession upon her return, since my head is stupidly tiny and so is the headband.

I keep wearing them around the house, because it’s fun and I find them comfortable. However, I keep forgetting that I’m wearing them! I’ve almost walked out of the house more than once as a Cinnamalice…which would have been so embarrassing! (Yes, random ears are embarrassing even though I don’t think my clothes are! It’s just how my mind works~ n_~)