In February I went to a teatime meetup at the Langham. The theme of the event was “Downton Abbey”, as that was the theme of the tea menu. No one was expected to wear costumes or go to great lengths to fit this theme, but it was something we agreed to keep in mind. It just so happened that I had an Innocent World jumperskirt (a Christmas present from 2013) that seemed like it could be a perfect choice for this occasion~

The jumperskirt in question has a dropped waist with a relatively narrow skirt, a style that reminds me of the popular drop-wasit dresses of the 1920s. It has many tucks, gathers, and embroidered lace adorning it. The off-white colour can be puzzling because the lace is a slightly different shade than the rest of the dress. Ultimately, this made it easier for me to match it up to other things in my wardrobe!

It would have been more period-appropriate to wear the dress without a blouse and with long gloves. However, I didn’t have gloves and worried about when I would ever use them again. I also prefer not to have bare shoulders even in warmer weather–and it was still frigid in February! It was a pretty mild day that day, still requiring being bundled up to avoid freezing.

This lace turtleneck is one of my most useful wardrobe items, and it came in handy here. I wore the kitten-heeled cream pumps that I purchased from Grace Gift in 2010. They added a hint of maturity that most of my lolita shoes do not provide while fitting the overall look. And the were the perfect colour! I wore over the knee socks, also from Innocent World, that were very close to the off-white of the lace on the dress. The only decoration on these socks is a thorny vine and roses pattern up the back of the leg. The roses were the same dark red as my nail polish~ I wore lip gloss of a similar shade.

I picked a hairbow that wasn’t enormous, but is cream-coloured and lacy, with pearls. I would have worn a pearl necklace if I had one that laid correctly with the neckline of the shirt and dress, but I did wear a bracelet. I was really happy when I noticed that the lace on the shawl matched pretty well with the lace on the hem of the jumperskirt. I love the “old fashioned” impression of shawls.

I still feel somewhat proud of my hair. I twisted it up into small swirls and pinned those together with braids near the nape of the neck. I left two tendrils loose in the front and coaxed them into curls. It wasn’t historical by any stretch, but I liked how it looked! ♥

I’ll have to find other ways to wear this jumperskirt for future events~