The weather has been pretty intense lately, not just for my area but for all sorts of areas of the United States. In the Midwest, we’ve suffered through a few heat waves. I don’t have air conditioning, and when the heat is so high and there’s no coolness at home, I really don’t want to do much of anything–especially dress up. I really love all of my beautiful frilly clothing, but I can’t feel happy and pretty and fluffy if I’m hot and sticky and sweaty. It’s gross!

My husband and I have been trying to escape to places with air conditioning as much as we can when the weather gets too unbearable in our own home, but when I’m traveling and it’s hot I don’t want a heavy bag. I’m not all that willing to bring my lolita clothing with me if that means I have more things to carry and worry about bringing back with me when the weekend is over. As a result, I haven’t done much of anything. I’ve regretted that I can’t take part in something I really enjoy, but at the same time it just doesn’t seem reasonable. Being uncomfortable just makes me grumpy, after all–I don’t want to voluntarily make myself irritable~

This weekend was the “Mega Meet,” one of the larger lolita fashion gatherings in my area. Lolita come into Chicago from suburbs and even other states. It’s generally a lot of fun, and I get to see friends that I otherwise don’t see. I was dreading the weather report, afraid that the temperature would spike again, but thankfully it was a pretty mild day! ♥ It was so nice to dress up again~!

I don’t really plan my outfits too far in advance, for the most part, and this was no exception. I decided to wear the polka-dot dress because I thought it wouldn’t be too heavy and I wouldn’t need a blouse. I own several polka-dot accessories because I have another dress with the same polka-dot fabric, so I added the polka-dot choker that original came with the other dress. The dress has sewn-in straps that typically criss-cross in the front and tie behind the neck, but it was too much with the choker, so I tucked them down the front of the dress instead. X3

The socks were also polka dotted, and so is the parasol. I like the contrast of having the parasol and socks be white with pink polka dots, as opposed to the dress’s pink with white polka dots, just so that the same pattern wasn’t too overwhelming. If my dress and socks were the exact same colour and pattern I don’t think I’d be satisfied.

This dress is actually very short, so I wore an underskirt with it to add some length. One of these days I intend to have a white ruffle added to the bottom of the dress itself, but until that happens this is the best solution I’ve come up with. I don’t generally mind the shorter dresses, but this dress is very, very short–when I compare it to my other dresses, even though known for being less-than-lengthy, it’s always at least a few inches shorter. I don’t want to give it up just because of the length (or lack thereof), though~ I really like the design.

I opted for a white side-positioned hairbow for a little bit of contrast. I tried to pin my pigtails up a bit around the hair elastics. I wanted to mimic the volume of clip-on pigtails, without having to actually wear clip-ons. It wasn’t very successful, but it’s something I’d like to try again sometime. I probably should have worn a style that kept my hair off my neck entirely–it wasn’t blazing hot, but it wasn’t cool either! Thank goodness there was a nice breeze when we were near the lake~

Overall, I was really happy to wear lolita again~ Whenever the weather cools down and stays that way, I know I’ll be dressing up more frequently. It’s just too much fun!

The end of January contained three important events–another 3-day weekend for me, a snowstorm, and my 2-year wedding anniversary~ ♥ I had a really wonderful time.

Usually my husband and I like to celebrate our anniversary by spending a night or two in a hotel downtown for one very, very, very important reason–a thermostat! Our apartment has whole-building radiator heat that we have no control over. Sometimes it is downright frigid in our home! (I can’t bear to run a space heater due to the accompanying rise in our electric bill. We tried it once and it felt like highway robbery! Usually we just layer on clothing and drink warm beverages.) Upon check-in we crank the heat way up and proceed to bask in the warmth.

This year it didn’t look like we’d be able to do this. I had earlier decided that it was a rather unnecessary frivolous expenditure and thus removed it from our budget for the month, only to start regretting that removal when the days inched along and the temperature indoors felt like it was dropping. My father, who travels frequently for business, saved us by using some reward points to secure a room on very, very short notice. (Literally the day of.)

However, this was also the day of a very severe snowstorm. So severe that buses and cars were rerouted from Lake Shore Drive to prevent anyone getting stranded, buses routes were cancelled, and taxis skidded around on the snowy and icy roads. It usually takes us about fifteen minutes to get downtown using buses or trains. On this day, it took hours. The buses we tried were cancelled, the taxis looked like suicide, and finally we retraced our steps–through the blizzard-like conditions–and boarded a train, then walked to the hotel. My husband had worked all day, and he was absolutely worn out. I have a sordid history of dragging this poor guy out into the most inclement weather possible; I’m lucky he’s so kind and patient with me.

This photo was taken pretty late! We traveled far too much on this day!
The outfit picture was something I really wanted to get a snapshot of, but at this point it was very late, we were both very wet from the now-melting snow that had coated us, and he was too exhausted to hold the camera steady. I had chosen my outfit based on the foolish insistence that I wanted to dress up even if it was a snowstorm. I wore my red jumperskirt because I know it is colourfast and won’t be ruined if it gets wet. I paired it with a black shirt and black tights for extra warmth, and layered a cardigan as well.

This was one of my earlier attempts at French braiding my hair. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but never really learned. I’ve been teaching myself slowly since then, and I’m getting a little bit better at it, but it isn’t perfect. I really love the style because it helps keep my hair out of my face and neatly arranged. It really came in handy on a day like this; even after being out in the snow for hours my hair didn’t look like a puff-ball!

I really like the combination of gray and pink~
The next day we took a trip to the aquarium to see the jellyfish exhibit. We had visited the aquarium the day after our marriage, so it was both fun because we like the aquarium and fun because it was reminiscent of such a happy memory~

I bought this gray sweater nearly a year ago intending to wear it with lolita, but I kept holding off on it because I really felt I needed gray socks or tights to match with it. A few days before I had spotted a cute pair of gray tights, and then I remembered that I also had gray legwarmers. Now I want to incorporate more gray into my wardrobe~

I was so happy to wear this dress again~!
I was determined to wear my wedding dress on the actual day of my anniversary. I’ve been planning for this for a while; it was something I wanted to do the previous year. I didn’t want to wear my wedding dress in the same coordination that I had worn it on my wedding day, mostly because I was really, really, REALLY cold. I searched around for a blouse that would compliment the dress, but I didn’t find one before last year’s anniversary–although I did find and purchase one shortly after. I’ve been saving it since then and was very excited to finally wear it.

I paired it with the same hair ribbon and shoes that I wore on my wedding day and plain white stockings.

I really like all-white coordinations although I rarely wear them.
I still have more plans for this dress. I love it so much that I want to wear it rather than seal it away somewhere. I’d like to feel like I’m getting my money’s worth from it, hee hee! My next plans involve finding white lace tights that would match it well, or maybe white socks topped with tulle lace, and a white bolero. I don’t own any boleros, although I always think about how useful one would be; I think I just need to find the right design~

I feel like I’ve let too many days slip by in the autumn and early winter where I didn’t dress up (for no good reason) and very much wished that I had! I want to prevent that this year, so I’m making an effort. I keep forgetting that I have to keep making an effort, I can’t just stop at some point and expect momentum to keep me going.

The lighting in my place just doesn’t seem to get any better, even if I try different lightbulbs!
I spent Friday with some friends, and I decided that I wanted to wear a knit shirt of some kind rather than a blouse. I remembered that I have some cutsews that I bought from TaoBao that I’ve actually never worn, so I pulled one out. It’s a pale lemon yellow with a really detailed collar. There are ruffles of lace, a few ribbons, and even rhinestones arranged in a way that looks like a necklace. I paired it with one of my favourite jumperskirts; I love the light and fluffy layers of the skirt.

When the weather is chilly and snowy, I like to keep my hair away from my face. I’ve always liked the look of pinned up braids, ever since I owned a Kirsten doll as a child. It’s something I’d like to master, as my hair can be pretty heavy and tends to un-pin itself, plus tucking in the ends of the braids isn’t something I’ve quite gotten down. I feel silly with little spikes of flipped-up tails peeking out somewhere behind my ears or at the back of my head! I wore my new favourite bow as the hair accessory of the day~ I’m really smitten with it!

The yellow sweater just happened to match my usakumya slippers! ♥ They’re the same shade of yellow~

I didn’t notice that my collar was flipped up–oops!
The next day I headed off to a Pullip meetup~ I have two Pullips at the moment, and I think the Pullip hobbyists in my area are really fun people. ♥

I really wanted to wear the blouse that I had received for Christmas, so I flipped through my closet to see what might go well. The blouse has really wide lace that gives it a very bold and old-fashioned look. I wanted to pick a jumperskirt with lace of a similar impact, so the blouse wouldn’t seem too overwhelming. I was aiming for balance. I chose this jumperskirt because the hem features some wide lace and there is very large lace on the bodice. The jumperskirt and the blouse are from the same company, and the laces used on both pieces are very much alike, although not identical.

I wore pink socks with a rose pattern and white lace at the top, but you can’t exactly see them when they’re tucked into my boots! In this kind of weather, however, the boots are a must. There’s so much slush and ice out there; I’d rather have surer footing than ruin my pretty shoes!

A friend of mine took this picture at the swap meet; I’m so glad she shared it with me! My camera was having issues again.
I didn’t really wear anything spectacularly unique to the swap meet–just one of the pink and white outfits I favour so much! I really adore this dress; I’m so happy to have finally acquired it! This very same dress was the second “brand” dress that I owned…but in black. It was a lucky pack item several years back. It’s a very comfortable and cute dress, but because it was black I didn’t wear it all that frequently. I eventually traded it with my little sister, who loves black, thinking I could find it in white or pink–but it never seemed to turn up. When I spotted it in autumn of last year, I was thrilled! ♥ I wore it over the blouse from the recent Angelic Pretty set. We noted at the swap meet that there were three (or four?) of us all wearing the same blouse…and another friend of mine just received one, too!

I styled my hair in these curls because I was lucky enough to get a ride to the swap meet and didn’t have to worry about wind and rain or snow adding any more frizz than I already have. This dry and often damp chilly weather is not exactly friends with my evil hair~ I almost wore that same pink bow again, but opted for a different one to add some variety.

It was a lot of fun to dress up three days in a row~ ♥ I want to take advantage of it when I can!

I couldn’t wait to wear the entire outfit from the Girly Ribbon set…so I wore it! (Isn’t it nice how easy that sort of thing is? ♥) I was lucky enough to have a Saturday to spend with my husband, so I dressed up. We went out to breakfast, ran errands, played video games (I’m working on Ribbon farm now in Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns DS~), and enjoyed a leisurely dinner. It was a particularly interesting type of day because I received two comments about my outfit that were more than simply “cute!” or “It’s not Halloween!” It makes me feel like there honestly is more information about lolita fashion reaching the general public, albeit very slowly.

Our waitress engaged me in a fairly long discussion about my outfit. She had been staring at me for a while, and finally ventured to say that she didn’t want to be rude, but I was wearing gothic lolita–right? I did my best to explain that I was wearing lolita fashion, but not particularly gothic. She was very intrigued and kept coming back with more questions. She really wanted to know more, and the questions she chose to ask were those I’m not quite accustomed to being asked randomly; I thought it was neat to see how seriously she wanted to learn about the style.

After dinner we stopped for hot chocolate, where we were briefly interrupted by a young man. He had been sitting at a nearby table, and my husband and I were chatting and waiting for our hot chocolate to cool off, when he turned around and caught our attention. “Is your outfit inspired by Japanese lolita fashion?” he asked. I replied that it wasn’t inspired–it was Japanese lolita fashion. He commented that he liked that my outfit wasn’t as overwhelming as some coordinates he had seen, and left soon after. I am still very curious as to where he normally viewed lolita fashion; perhaps he was a reader of Kera or followed some other aspect of Japanese culture where lolita fashion occasionally made an appearance.

I really love all of the items in this set! I’m so glad I managed to get one!
I didn’t choose to do anything particularly creative or unusual; for the most part I’m wearing the entire set as it was packaged. I really like the way the items look when coordinated together, after all, so I wanted to enjoy it that way. I like the blouse’s long sleeves, particularly because the weather is a bit chilly, and I adore the scalloped edge and white ruffle of the jumperskirt. This hairbow is probably one of my new favourite things; I want to wear it constantly.

Just another picture–I was lucky to remember to take these before the sun had set, so we could take advantage of the natural light.
I did not wear the over-the-knee socks that came with the set, however; I chose to wear the white socks with pink hearts and the BABY the Star Shine Bright “B” that I received for Christmas. I know they’re not popular, but I really like knee socks~ ♥ I chose to wear these boots to keep my feet warm. I prefer warm feet to pretty feet if I’m going to be walking around all day. It really came in handy, because I forgot my bus pass in my other coat so we had to walk everywhere even though we had planned to take a bus home from one of our errands. Whoops!

I’m sure I’ll wear this outfit again; I really adore it! ♥

As Thanksgiving and Christmas flew by and the end of the year approached, I started to think about how I wanted to start off the upcoming year. I’m not really a superstitious person, but I like the reliability of rituals and traditions. I try to make some kind of effort to begin each year in the spirit of the way I want to enjoy the rest of it. I don’t want to think back and wish I had done anything any differently. This particularly matters to me because I usually see my immediate family on New Year’s Day. Sometimes we can’t all be together for the other holidays due to various obligations, so we try to get together on the 1st. I love my brothers and sister very dearly, and now that we don’t live in the same home I don’t want to miss the chance to enjoy their company!

My husband and I both had to work on the 1st, however, so we had to get everything planned out in advance! The only picture I managed to get of what I wore is pretty low-quality–it wasn’t taken until after we made it to my mother’s house for dinner.

Quick snapshot taken in the dining room. It was the best we could do at the time!
I knew I’d be at work all day and then having dinner with my family, so I wanted something more casual than formal. I also wasn’t sure what the weather would be like. It hasn’t gotten particularly wintry here yet, which makes me very concerned about how the weather might turn around February. That said, it isn’t exactly warm most of the time–and it is definitely not always warm at my office. I chose to wear this jumperskirt because it is one my little sister (although not the little sister I saw for dinner) made for me. ♥ It’s lovely in its own right, but the fact that it was made for me means it fits perfectly, doesn’t have any of the details I dislike, and has pockets. Dresses with pockets always make me happy.

I paired it with a cream-coloured lace turtleneck and knit tights of a similar shade. There’s a pink ribbon in my hair, but you can’t exactly see it in pictures~ I didn’t wear my lolita coat but instead my daily coat, and when I do that I rarely wear actual hair accessories due to the hat or earmuffs that I wear with my coat. The brown boots are a staple of my cooler-weather outfits, whether they match or not. They protect my socks in the event of inclement weather, and they also let me wear extra layered socks to keep my toes cozy~ If I’m going to be doing a fair amount of walking, like on my way to work, it really comes in handy~

Another late-night indoor and totally awkward picture! This is an unfortunate theme lately.
I packed more frills to wear the next day. I was unbelievably lucky and received several lovely lolita pieces for Christmas from my mother, so I wanted to show my appreciation by wearing something while I was at her house. One of my gifts was this beautiful cardigan. It’s a beautiful shade of pink with a metallic thread that gives it a definite glimmer and shimmer, and I love the little bows between the buttons, at the wrists, and on the back! They’re so cute!

I’ve never been able to coordinate this skirt in a way that I’m happy with, so I thought I’d give it another try. Nope, still not satisfied. The print is cute and I love the glitter, but somehow it manages to match absolutely nothing that I own on a very regular basis. It seemed to match the sweater at first, at least to some degree, but it’s still a bit off. I had to bring everything with me, as we stayed overnight at my mother’s house, so there wasn’t time to revise my decision in the morning. I thought I had pink socks to match the sweater, but I actually forgot to pack them. ;_; More off-white tights, instead.

With this outfit, I didn’t really feel like I was wearing lolita as much as just something girly, but I’m still much happier having worn it than wearing something totally casual. Lolita (and girly things) makes me feel much happier than anything else. It’s still something I really adore~ ♥