Pushing the Envelope: Current Reflections

Recently I've been getting comments like, 'How do you do such crazy things with your outfits?' and 'I want to do more unique things with my coordinates but I'm not sure how.' I love seeing more original coordinates in lolita fashion. They are the life-blood of the fashion, whether you like to make them more colorful, more morbid, or just more eye-popping across the board. But it seems that a lot of girls are lost on this topic. Never fear, pushing the envelope right now is in, and is pretty easy! Here's a list of tips you need to know on pumping up your style.

• Buy more magazines, preferably different ones. I've quit buying the Gothic and Lolita Bibles recently in favor of Kera and especially, Alice Deco a La Mode, which is my huge inspiration right now. But pick up anything that hits your fancy - gyaru, otome, even America magazines and ideas. Pinpoint what it is you like about that style and then see how you can fit it into your lolita wardrobe. I bought mine at Kinokuniya, but you can also download a copy courtesy of the_visualbeast.
  
• Don't be afraid of color. In the old school lolita, there were specific rules about wearing white blouses with white lace, not mixing cream and white, limit your colors to two or three tops per outfit, all that. Disregard! There are great examples of this in Alice Deco, especially. The key is to have to colors compliment, not just match.
  
• Go offbrand. Mix other things into your style with Claires, 6% Doki Doki, things you find thrift, etc. I love the big brand houses but as accessories go, the more unusual, the better.
• Try out weird trends like giant pink glasses, glitter-encrusted shoes, or furry boots. So long as the rest of your outfit follows the rules, it won't come off as a hot mess. I believe that if 80% of your outfit plays by the accepted rules like silhouette and feel, then the extra 20% can be all you, baby.
• If you usually wear black or white basics (for example, a white blouse and white socks), then go for color. Where you normally wear white, try pink, blue, lilac, mint, anything! Gothics might appreciate navy, cream, or burgundy instead of the usual black.
• Go for unusual colors in your outfits, as either your main color or as an accent. Creamsicle orange, chocolate, a warm sage, aqua, or plum are all great suggestions. You could either opt to make your own outfit with these colors or wear your own dress with a splash of them. One example would be a soft classical dress with bright coral beads, pomegranate shoes, and a gauzy cream shawl to top it all off.
  
• Start themeing your coordinates. I like to name mine so that I have a jumping-off point, something to fall back on. If the theme is 'Glitterplum Fairy' then clearly the aim is that anything glittery can be put on, or anything that gives that same feel as can be imagined in the title. My favorite outfit on this tip is the lovely Sarah of Pink Macaroon, who, while wearing Baby the Stars Shine Bright's Snow White dress, grabbed an apple from her hotel's breakfast bar. Quote: "Accessory and snack!"
  
• DIY can be a great resource. Try making your own ribbon roses, gluing flatback pearls to everything, or blinging out your best brand pieces with Swarovski rhinestones. Even if you're not a big sewer, modifying or making accessories can add a big punch of originality to your coordinate. One great idea I'd like to try is embellishing a pair of tights.
• If you keep all of the other elements (the bows, lace, frills, purse, pearls, and accessories), you can even do more unusual things with the silhouette. Victorian Maiden has put out mermaid tail skirts; pleated, boxier skirts are doable with enough lolita feeling; and longer, maiden-length hemline can really make an outfit stand out. Currently it seems the big trend it absolutely enormous amounts of poof - carry this to the extreme or go back to your roots with a more subtle bell-shape.
  

One of my greatest desires it to see lolitas doing more with their style. Don't worry about making the style impure from its original origins; even the Japanese lolitas play around. That's how new substyles are created! So get out your wardrobe and start throwing things together, girl! See what you can make out of that same dress you've been wearing for years. It just might have undiscovered potential!

You can also read this excellent article from One Thousand Frills on mixing up your coordinates.

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Labels: fashion, guide

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 7:20 PM