Hello my frilly friends~

Earlier this month, I moved apartments and cities to live on my own for the first time! So suffice to say frilly purchases have slowed down. Given my current financial situation, I need to be strategic with what I choose to add to my collections. My wardrobes in all styles are fairly sizable enough that I could justify not needing anything else. To be able to say that is such a luxury in this era of high tariffs and shipping costs.

That being said, I do think I have been lacking in my EGL media collection lately. Someday I would like to own every Gothic & Lolita Bible that was ever published, but for obvious reasons, that will take some considerable time. So to fill my spring days as I unpack box after half-smooshed box, I have been scouring Lace Market for any editions of GLB that need a home on my shelves. With great luck and determination, I dare say I have been successful! Let us take a look at all the little bitties I bought in May.

New additions

Some clothes that I did justify buying were on my wishlist. The JSK I bought as an impulse buy because I am weak for chocolate prints.

2 head pieces (1 classic in ivory, 1 sweet in brown)
1 blouse (classic in ivory)
1 JSK (sweet in brown)
1 pair of tights (gothic in black)
1 handbag (sweet in dark brown)
1 pigtail wig (brunette - works for any style but purchased mainly for sweet)

Those are all the clothing I bought, but I also acquired some mooks as mentioned. I bought a bundle of four mooks (GLB Boudoir, Vol.19, Vol.41, and a copy of Gothic Lolita & Punk). I do not much care for the GLP issue but Saboten is coming up in the summer so I might have an opportunity to sell it. I am not familiar with that mook; there is no articles or comics or add-ins. Just flatlays of brand's new collections. That would be nice to look at but does not serve me personally. In a separate bid, I also won an issue of GLB Vol.52. So that is five volumes of lolita mooks!

A very modest May haul

Coords of May

Casual sweet coord to go mattress shopping with my parents

Old school sweet coord for summer ILD; we watched Kamikazi Girls!

My makeup and wig for summer ILD

Casual kuro coord to go see Backrooms in theaters

Wishlist Progress

Only three items out of all my purchases were on my wishlist. That is 43% of my entire haul. Not great, but could be worse honestly. My classic wardrobe is severely lacking, which is why the blouse and bonnet were so crucial to have. The wig is for experimenting with hair looks. Late last year I got color typed as a deep autumn, so brunette is ideally my best hair color. Unbeknownst to me, I have pitch black hair right now! So while I figure it out what to do with my natural hair, I want to play around with a brunette wig.

EGL Goal Progress

I'm sad to say I did not make much progress in my EGL goals this month.

Sell anything that does not fit: I have a giant pile of lolita and normie clothes that need to be sold or donated. Actually I am a bit overwhelmed by it. I set a goal of posting three items per day to sell, but I haven't been sticking to it. Eventually I need to buy a couch, which will go against the wall where my "mountain" is so if I want to have friends come over and be able to SIT, I have to prioritize this soon.
Host more meetups: This month was busy with moving and planning what to bring to the ILD potluck (I made it easy for myself and made a charcuterie board). I will forgive myself this month.
Decorate a lolita-esque room: Definitely want to do this, but I have been slow to unbox. I will decorate as I empty boxes.
Learn to sew a rectangle headdress: I asked my mother if she still uses her old Singer and turns out she does not and agreed to pass it down to me! The bobbin has been broken for a while, but honestly I used to be pretty crafty with a sewing machine. Once she digs it out of whatever cabinet its been lodged into, I might be able to fix it myself (and YouTube).
Be more consistent on blogging: Well I am posting today, aren't I?

As summer approaches, I am feeling the draw of sweet country lolita ebb closer. This year I am focusing on building out my sweet and classic wardrobes. It might sound shocking to my readers who know me as a true goth through and through, however it has been fun playing with bright colors and pastels! Anyone who knows me personally knows I like to change my appearance every six months (a hyperbole but also, not really). Call me a cameleon if you will, but I like exploring what fashion has to offer. Let's see what's in store for this summer. Happy ILD everyone!

To my fellow frillies,

As we approach the end of 2024 I want to reflect on my first year with EGL fashion. This year's goal was acquiring enough pieces to build out a wardrobe and learning the basics of coording. However now that I am entering my second year of being a lolita, I can shift my focus to other things. Here are my new year goals for my wardrobe and my lifestyle!

♱ཐི ʕ.•ﻌ•.ʔ ཋྀ♱

Wardrobe Goals

1) Sell anything that does not fit

This goal is pretty self-explanatory. One of my dream dresses was Moitié's Silent Moon OP. The bust measurement of the dress is eight centimeters too small for me. I was aware of this when I purchased it, hoping that the shirring would stretch comfortably. It did not. And I was devastated.

I kept it anyway as "inspiration" to lose weight. Now let us all fess up; we have all done this at least once in our EGL journeys. But let me remind any beginners to the fashion this is a toxic habit. It encourages the idea that our bodies the problem and not the dresses. So I did a very brave thing and sold that dress in a comm sale. I do feel happier now that it is gone. Moving forward I want to focus on only buying things that actually fit my measurements and if it does not, sell it with haste!

2) Make a classic lolita capsule wardrobe

This year allowed me to create a robust gothic wardrobe and a good-sized sweet capsule wardrobe. I am satisfied with the size of both. But I have still yet to explore classic. It is strange how in early 2024 I hoped to end the year with a gothic and classic wardrobe only to somehow dip my toes in sweet. This is something I never thought I would ever do! Funny how people change. So for 2025 I want to focus more on building out my classic capsule.

3) Try aristocrat style

One of my final purchases of the year was a long Atelier Pierrot bustle skirt that would make for a perfect aristo coord. I got inspired to make a coord with it and I loved it a bit too much, so I want to experiment more with aristocrat style in the new year. This means collecting more long skirts, full-sized hats, and coats.

4) Experiment with Mana blue

Prepare yourselves, gothic friends, for I fear I may offend some of you: I do not like Mana blue. I know. Booooo! *tomato, tomato* Before you put my head on a stake, hear me out: my reasoning is simple: it does not make sense for my wardrobe. I am inspired by historical fashion and Victorian mourning wear. Blue dye was too expensive for the common person to afford and wear on the daily. So it would not be something seen worn in society. Plus, I do not think it looks as gothy or vampiric as shades of red do.

Blue as a color to me screams alien-like, or otherworldly. Supernatural maybe, but not Mana-sama's favorite shade. Natural shades such as bordeaux or green lends itself better to historically-inspired EGL in my humble opinion. That is not to say that I abhor anyone who wears the famous Moitié shade! Which leads me to my next point: I want to finally experiment with the color.

You can have your tastes without ever having sampled them. I have a tendency to rule things out without giving them a fair shot. So the healthy thing to do would be to try it out. Worse case, I come to find I still do not like Moitié blue and I sell any pieces acquired. No harm done! Who knows? Maybe by this time 2026 my entire closet is looking like an Eiffel 65 music video!

Lifestyle Goals

1) Host more meets

In 2024 I hosted three meet-ups: two movie meets and one craft meet. All of them were wonderful! As a social butterfly and a Capricorn, I found it easy to plan a gathering in my comm. I want to host even more meets in the new year. If I had it my way, I would attend a meet-up every month! I am not sure that is possible, but at least I can encourage it.

2) Learn to sew a rectangle headdress

At some point in the fashion, one will become compelled to create a wearable item of their own. I am no different. I own 13 copies of Gothic & Lolita Bible, all of them with extensive patterns and tutorials on creating your own garments or accessories. Yet somehow I never took the plunge and made something. So I want to start small. The timing is fortunate as well; I could use a few more rectangle headdresses. I do not own a sewing machine (see goal #5) so this will be a hand-sewn project.

3) Read Kamikaze Girls

I purchased an English copy of the out-of-print novel off Lace Market. But I have a nasty habit of buying books only to never read them. This EGL goal goes hand-in-hand with my personal new year resolution of reading more. It is not a long book at all, so this is very doable for me. This also allows me to consume more lolita media, something I also want to do in 2025.

4) Continue to decorate my room in lolita

I think I did a good job of decorating in 2024. My room is starting to look like a Baby, the Stars Shine Bright showroom. But it could be even more frilly I fear! My ideal room would have framed artwork on the walls. I want to get more picture frames for the stack of art prints sitting on my dresser right now. I think a framed piece of artwork is much more elegant than a raw print washi-taped to the wall instead. Not that there is anything wrong with that! I have certainly done that before.

5) Buy a sewing machine

My best friend in the comm pesters me to finally get a sewing machine. It is a logical purchase. Eventually with enough time spent in the fashion you will to want to make your own pieces, especially if you are plus-sized like me or are looking for something specific that you cannot find elsewhere. I used to know how to sew in high school; I miss making clothes if I am to be honest. Someday I will find the time to do the necessary research to determine which kind to get. I see an online favorite is the Singer Heavy Duty. Let me know if you have any suggestions for a beginner!

6) Visit Kei Collective in Phoenix

I want to visit Kei Collective in Phoenix. Despite Arizona's population, we do not get "cool stuff" like other nearby states do. It feels like only in the past ten or so years we are starting to see new interesting businesses pop up. Arizona does not offer many physical J-fashion shops, but we do have Kei Collective, catering to Japanese and alt fashion right here in the valley. I have visited their booth at 2024 Saboten Con but never their physical shop. So I will make it a goal for 2025 to see them!