Happy 2016!

Happy New Year Every Body

May your purse be filled with yen and your closet full of frills all year round!

Hi all...

This is my second New Year's post and I'm posting in January. So I already consider that a one-up on last New Year's post, which was posted in February. 

Last year, I only wrote about one goal: to create a more cohesive wardrobe. I really feel like I achieved that goal (even in my non-lolita wardrobe) and I will continue to do the same this year. In a previous post, I highlighted what I'd done well and what I needed to improve on so building on those things I will continue to post about my thought process and how I bring together my wardrobe in 2016.

I would like to look back on what I did in 2015 and write out some goals for the coming year. I hope to reflect on these goals at the beginning of 2017.

What did I achieve in 2015?

• Bought pieces in a colour-scheme to create a more cohesive wardrobe.
• Bought direct from the BABY and Innocent World website
• Completed a year and a half in Japan on a working visa
• Got a secure job when I came back

2015 was a big year for me. I completed an item on my bucket list, which was to work and live in Japan. It was a great experience which helped me to become more independent and grow stronger. I made many friends and memories that will be with me for life. I live in my little hometown now and although it is a completely different pace to the city and somewhat isolated from the Lolita fashion community, I am happier and more at peace with myself and my situation than I have felt for the last three years. Personally, I want to continue to feel this inner-peace and become more secure in myself throughout the year to come.

What are my goals for 2016?

• Focus on buying more supporting items like blouses, cardigans and tights
• Practice coordinating and get more photos of my outfits and outings
• Take more photos and write more articles on the blog 

I want to develop a stronger sense of my personal opinion and work on my fear of criticism. I have many ideas to share but my fear of being disliked and not being able to fulfill people's expectations stops me from putting myself forward. This is in Lolita as well as in my personal life. I think my motto for 2016 will be "get yourself out there" and will include more selfies, more blogging and doing more things for myself.

What am I looking forward to?

I am most looking forward to going to Japan in April for a while. I'm going to do a bit of travelling to some less metropolitan places this time and, of course, I also hope to do some shopping and go on Lolita dates while I'm there.

I have also begun work on a special Lolita-related blog post for Australia Day this year, which is still two weeks away on January 26th (I'll probably post on Sunday the 24th though). I'm already very excited and I can't wait to share it with you. I hope you will enjoy it too.

Tell me about what you achieved in 2015 and what your goals are in 2016. Perhaps you just have a few things you're looking forward to over the year? Speaking of New Year's posts, I always enjoy reading Spiffy Cake's blog "Tea Cake Time Machine" including her January 1st post reflecting on 2015 and I always pop by Luna Rain's blog in January to see her Lolita trend predictions for the year. 

Let me know about your year or let me know about your New Year resolution blog.

Until next time...

My wardrobe at the end of 2015 (picture heavy)

Hi all,

With only a few weeks left at the end of the year, I'd like to take an objective look at my wardrobe and talk about what is good about my wardrobe and what could be improved about it.

First of all, here is an overview of my wardrobe. There may be an item or two missing and I'm deliberately not including my pink items purchased in 2012/13 but I've tried to get most of them in here.

Three positives about my wardrobe

1. My wardrobe has become a lot more cohesive and flexible.

2. Most of my purchases have been within the colour scheme I set up at the beginning of 2015.

3. I have a lot more accessories that I can coordinate with.

By setting up a colour scheme and buying more accessories and blouses this year I have begun to create a wardrobe where the pieces work with each other so the main pieces I have can be worn in more than one way. In fact, with the exception a pink bolero and a mint blouse, all the pieces I have bought this year have been within the "navy, brown and ivory" colour scheme I set up at the beginning of 2015. After my recent Innocent World order I also have a hair accessory in all three colours in my pallet, a dark pair of shoes and a bag in the same colour. This will be something that will really help when trying to finish off my coordinates. I have a white pair of shoes and a white bag as well but I think that working on a beige or sax blouse and shoe set might be my next step in 2016.

Three negatives about my wardrobe

4. Most of my purchases are "special occassion" wear.

5. I have purchased more dark coloured and or cold weather items.

6. Even though I bought within my colour scheme I did a lot of impulse buying.

If there's one issue I can put my finger on, it's that I purchase too many items that I would consider "special occasion wear". My fear of frumpy blouses that might make me look heavier also feeds into this as I tend to buy chiffon and silky type blouses instead. As a result I don't have enough items purely for meeting friends casually, which is the majority of my Lolita outings these days.

I feel I need to change the way I think about my colour scheme as well. Navy and brown are dark colours that are usually associated with winter and autumn so it doesn't quite match the weather in Australia, where it's usually 17 degrees Celsius by lunchtime in winter. If I buy prints with a lighter background with navy or brown as accent colours my outfits would look far more lighter and cooler than a completely dark coloured dress.

Best and Worst Purchase of 2015

I'd like to award my best and worst purchase award.

First of all - my worst purchase. This was a tough decision to make but in the end I went with the item that was impulse bought, didn't fall into the planned colour scheme and doesn't suit the weather in Australia.

Congratulations to Snow Crystal Bolero from Baby the Stars Shine Bright.

The best purchase goes to an item, which I thought carefully about buying, was within the colour scheme and works well in the hot Australian climate.

The best purchase of 2015 goes to Baby the Stars Shine Bright - Collection Douce Chocolate Praline JSK in Sax.

Three improvements I can make looking at the above

7. Make a more specific buying guide for 2016.

8. Purchase more warm-weather friendly items.

9. Think about how and when I can wear an item before purchasing rather than if it just "fits" into my colour scheme.

The temporary high of a stable income led to a few impulse buys over the year. The only thing that curbed it was the colour scheme I set up so I'd like to make a more specific buying guide for myself in 2016. This will include what style pieces I could consider buying, what sales to participate in and budgeting to further improve my wardrobe and reduce unnecessary or impulse purchases. 

I would also like to incorporate the following purchasing tip I got from a fashion book: before purchasing imagine three different coordinates using your current wardrobe - this is from "My Basic Note", a fashion book I bought in Japan by "Oggi" fashion magazine editor Naho Mihirogi. In the book the author recommends creating a smart casual coordinate, a coordinate using a different colour and a different coordinate but you could consider a casual coordinate, event coordinate and different colour coordinate just as easily. This way you have less pieces but a wardrobe that you can wear in different styles and situations.

I'd like to continue to post my progress on my buying guide, budget and ideas about making a cohesive wardrobe. This might not be the last you see on this topic. To finish off I'd like to share a couple of pictures from Saturday, which you may or may not know was International Lolita Day. I dressed up in a couple of outfits, my two most recent additions: Mystic Chiffon OP in Navy, which is so gorgeous and Kuma Kumya's Sweet Chocolate! Yes, I finally got it and in the colour way and style I wanted. I'm really looking forward to making some gorgeous coordinates with both these pieces.

Until next time.