Ugh. Mornings. Sometimes you look up at your alarm clock and realize you need to be somewhere in ten minutes. Other times you do not need to be anywhere, but you do not want to be frumpy all day either. My career allows me to essentially wear whatever I want to work, as long as I look presentable, so Lolita fashion is appropriate, especially since I wear mostly Gothic and Classic combinations. Some days, I wake up on time, and other days I do not! You just need to whip up a cute outfit fast, and you do not have time to think about it.
Some pre-emptive steps you can take now to help you on those off days:
- Color coordinate your closet, shelves, and drawers.Do it from lightest to darkest shade. It takes a few hours of your time, depending on the size of your closet or wardrobe, but putting everything you have of one color in a single spot will make it so much easier to grab things quickly. If you know you want to wear black head-to-toe, you can just stay looking in your black section. If you want to pair pink and green together, you know exactly where to sift through.
- Once you've done colors, separate your items into types: tops with no sleeves, tops with short sleeves, tops with long sleeves, tea length skirts, knee length skirts, calf length jumper skirts, knee length jumperskirts, etc.This solves the same problem the color coordinating does - if you need a black knee length skirt, you know where to find them. You will go to your black section and look in your knee length section in that color.
- Sort your shoes out in categories as well. Sandals, flats, wedges, heels, boots, etc. Finding shoes will suddenly become a cinch as well.
- Organize your accessories by type. Using small bags, shelves, or drawers, you can organize your items into categories as well so that you can find the item you are looking for faster.
Organizing is all fine and dandy, but let's say you like having a tornado-swept room. Or let's say you cannot keep up with any of this because you have 4 toddlers destroying your house as we speak, or you just do not have the time. Then, we need to talk about breaking some of those "rules". Casual Lolita is sometimes regarded as its own separate style in comparison to Sweet, Gothic, Classic, etc., but in my opinion, Casual Lolita is just when you are lax in an actual particular style/color scheme.
Being lax does not mean looking frumpy or giving up on basic coordination skills. It is simply taking away a lot of the work that comes with an over-the-top (OTT) coordinate that you may worry more about because of the rarity or expense of the items you are wearing, or just the amount of items you have on.
- Not using as many accessories
- Using a light petticoat, or ditching the petticoat altogether
- Choosing a cut-sew, t-shirt, or pull-over instead of a button-up blouse
- Using your easier to clean skirts and dresses that can go into your washing machine instead of hand washing or dry cleaning
- Sticking with a basic color scheme such as monotone, analogous, or accent color, and not going for a more complex color set
- Using off brand items to fill in where more worrisome items (because you are trying not to damage them) might exist such as purses, bags, shoes, socks, tights, coats, shrugs, cardigans, or head pieces.
- Making or commissioning pieces in easy-to-clean fabrics with simple designs that you can reuse in your daily wear in multiple different coordinates
When you see a comfortable, well done casual coordinate, sometimes it starts to resemble the silhouette of an Otome outfit, but you will notice that the pieces are much less complicated and have a different aesthetic than a beautiful Otome coordinate. These couple photos are pulled from publications showing example coordinates - you have seen these photos over and over again; they are very commonly used to showcase Casual Lolita.
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So now you understand the concept of dressing down, but now to put it into practice! One thing I bring up a lot when I give Lolita fashion panels is, "Nobody is going to come out while you are walking down the street and hit you with the rule stick because you broke a so-called "rule" of Lolita fashion." At the end of the day, you are living your life, and it does not matter what you end up wearing, as long as you are happy and comfortable. You do not need to take photos of every single outfit you ever wear (and if you have the time to do that, then maybe this post is not for you!), and it does not need to be perfect every single time.
Relax a bit and let go when you want to do this more as a daily thing and tone it down a bit for work, school, or other commitments. You can always save your fancy pieces for the occasional meetup or
special event. Even the best dressed, popular Lolitas with large followings are not absolutely perfect every single time!
Below, I am going to list out some options to consider to add to your wardrobe to help with those lazy days! This is from my personal experience wearing Lolita fashion semi-daily, so I hope it helps.
I am very positive every person I know that has been in Lolita fashion for a long amount of time has this dress (or has had it before). The reason this dress is so popular, outside of the pink and white colorway being used in
Kamikaze Girls, is because this is one of the most comfortable, easy-to-wear Lolita fashion dresses from brand out there. It looks good with or without a petticoat, it fits a wide range of sizes, and you can dress it up with a fancy blouse and accessories or wear it with just a cutsew - either way it will look good. Personally, I own this dress in two colorways, all black and all red velveteen, and I would like to add the cream colorway to my wardrobe as well. It is my go-to option for a quick outfit. It is sold out on the official website, but if you put up a query for it on any of the second hand communities, it comes up quite often since they make one of these almost every year. Dresses similar to this style in simplicity are also great - you do not need to get this specific dress, any dress with the same concept is perfect!
Having a good stock of cheaper blouses on hand, especially ones made out of a cotton blend that is easy to wash at home, is essential to wearing Lolita fashion every day, and blouses are nicer than a cutsew, which if you want to dress up a bit for work, are a great option. I think it is important to go for a blouse that does not have a lot going on with it as well when considering a work situation as some employers frown upon it being a little
too busy and over-the-top. A simple cotton blouse like this from Lady Sloth is something that does not seem too out there, but still obviously works for Lolita fashion. I own several of her cotton blouses, and I am usually wearing one every other day. You cannot beat getting a blouse fit to your measurements either!
I wanted to show both of these to get technical about what is and what is not a cutsew. One of these is clearly a cutsew, and the other is clearly a t-shirt; the details and different styles put into the cutsew on the left makes it fancier, while a t-shirt is well, a t-shirt! Both of these are fine options on off days. The cutsew would look OK underneath a jumperskirt or work over a skirt, while the t-shirt would probably only look good with the skirt (note the casual example photos above represent this as well). It is not because it is right or wrong necessarily, but a simple t-shirt usually does not look good aesthetically underneath a jumper skirt.
Now, if you are lounging around your house and just want to toss it on, again, no one is going to really care, but if you want an opinion on what looks better, there you go!
Cardigans and boleros are fantastic options to dress up a simple t-shirt (or forgo the t-shirt all together if it is too warm out). Although I am showing a brand cardigan as an example, you can get away with most cardigans in local retail stores near you. You want to reach out for the pieces that are not too long and end at your natural waist. A lot of modern cardigans end more above the hip (which sounds like your waist, but it is not, trust me!). Longer ones are not bad, but a shorter version accents your waist and gives you a nice figure (no matter your size, small or large).
They are easy pieces and you probably already have some in your wardrobe that would work great for Lolita fashion! I know they are a staple to my work wardrobe since the temperature in the office can fluctuate frequently, so it is easy to take off or put on at a moment's notice.
Some brands make pullovers or "hoodies", which can look adorable over a skirt for a casual look. If you are concerned about how it looks, you want to go for something that holds your body shape, and not a shapeless one you get from any old store. The one on the right is again from brand, but you can easily find a similar type in a local place near you - you just need to be aware that not every pullover works, especially those that are very baggy on you. You will get this tent effect that nobody wants! This is more appropriate for a casual thing; I do not know of many work places that would be happy with their employees in pullovers (and if you have a job like that, congratulations, that is hard to find!).
Other things that can help - lots and lots of basic opaque tights and socks from your local stores in solid, neutral colors like black, white, brown, and grey - all of which can easily be matched to almost anything in your wardrobe, regardless of your style! If you wear more lighter colors than darker colors, you might lean to getting more white things than black things, but either way, it will work in a pinch!
Small bows and clip ins from accessory stores since a headbow, bonnet, or headdress does not work in every situation (and sometimes your hair just does not want to cooperate!). I do not personally use wigs, but some of my Lolita friends swear by wigs for off days because you have an instant hairstyle. I personally find it easier to just quickly brush and pin back my natural hair, but it is all personal preference.
Bloomers and petticoats are not necessary for every situation, but if I decide to wear a larger petticoat, I go for the bloomers, just to keep my bottom from showing when bending over or climbing stairs. When I ditch the petticoat, I usually ditch the bloomers as well since the skirt lies fairly flat.
What other tips and insight do you have for your casual or quick days? I would love to learn a couple more tricks to help my own routine!
The Unfinished Series is a collection of drafts that have never been published over the years of having this blog. I have been rehashing these posts over and over again because I am too nit-picky about the tone or what is being said in the post. After talking with other blogging friends, in particular Caro, I have made a decision to try to get these drafts finally published. Some of them may be a little dated in their topic, but I will try to update them before they go up to keep them current.
