Definitely one of the proudest thing I did in the fashion was invest in a good petticoat when I first started out but I wasn't aware of was customs fees and in Canada it only takes $100 and they always tax big amounts ( like $40-60 sometimes ) if it's coming from the US so I wish I was more prepared for that tax when I started
I'm in Canada and I've read online that over $20 gets changed customs/duty. I ordered 2 pairs of shoes from Bodyline and paid $35 for them (+$30 shipping... I figured $30 each wasn't too bad and there were no shipping options due to covid). Then I got charged another $30 by the courier for customs duty and fees. I wasn't too happy about that. The $22 socks I ordered from the US didn't get charged though.
I still struggle with styling my natural hair. It's just something I'm not great at 😅 One of the best things I've done is limit myself to the colors of my wardrobe. It saved me so much money and helped me coord things a lot better.
I think it was also very important for me to realize their are some lolita dresses and style I will never feel comfortable seeing as my clothes. They’ll always feel like costumes to me, much like if forced to wear normie athleasure I would also feel like I was wearing a costume. I still like those dresses I just admire them from a distance. I also love ops but learned soooo quickly my broad shoulders won’t allow them. I wish once pieces also came with shirring like brand jsks all do these days, with lacing so you can lace them how you need them. Ops had shirring a lot in old school I wonder what happened. Shirring or button backs would help with ops being more accessible even to people in western straight sizing. I’m a size four in dresses in the US and ops would just be too tight after a day of wearing.
The best thing I did when getting my first lolita items/coord was buying an adjustable hoop petti. Summers in Australia feel like you are melting in an oven so layering wasn't going to work. it was quite cheap but is really comfy and I still use it all the time
Late asf to this video. This is all great advice. I would add as a corollary to the last one: don't feel obliged to pigeonhole yourself to a single style. But DO make a point to keep in mind what you have in your wardrobe already. I have a minimalist mindset while also being a collector. I make a point to seek out those pieces that I am super into in colorways that best suit my aesthetic AND my existing wardrobe. If I buy something I'm immediately conceptualizing what pieces it can pair with. I do a sort of capsuling system. I also have some just plain fun pieces for my own enjoyment. My wallet is all the fatter for it. I also would say don't go into debt for this style. If you don't have the savings? You can't afford it. It's not the end of the world. But going into debt might be.
*Wardrobe planning;* I should have done proper wardrobe planning from the start. But I was too impatient because when I started there weren't a lot of releases I liked and a lot of stuff was always sold out plus the second hand market was tiny and shady AF (old LJ days). Purchasing with a scarcity mentality made it so it took longer for me to get good outfits. I just wasn't thinking "what will this go with in my wardrobe?" but rather "I have to have this because it's so beautiful and it will be gone tomorrow". I should have had the sense to stick to one color scheme in the beginning. *Outerwear;* I also bought one of those thick winter coats with fake fur accents, when it rarely gets cold enough here to actually wear it and there won't be many occasions to go out in full lolita in that kind of weather. That was my most expensive regretful lolita purchase. *Wardrobe fillers;* When I did get into wardrobe planning more I made the mistake of buying items to fill gaps in my wardrobe but I didn't love those items, I merely liked them. And I haven't used them much as a result. *Brand socks;* I will never buy brand socks again. The ones I bought were in the 20~35eu range and they still pilled after one wear. They're not flimsy, and they look and feel high quality if you have them in your hands and they have never been worn yet, but they get worn out so quickly. *Leather shoes;* I also wish I knew that the inside of leather shoes could stain socks. *Custom sizing;* I expected custom size items to fit. Silly me right? :) I have some custom sized items and they're more ill fitting than my standard sized brand items. I have some custom sized items from Kidsyoyo and Dear Celine from back when taobao brands were starting to get more popular (2008/2009) and they made the bust and waist much bigger than needed (too much ease, although I must admit that's better than too small) and the arms eyes were way too low. *Brand quality;* Beware of low quality lace on brand items and low quality in general. Meta's crown pattern cotton lace blouse was originally listed for 18690 yen (and I did buy it from meta, not second hand) and the lace is really thin and tends to fray, the embroidery isn't dense enough, aside from that the bows are attached sloppily (like meta often does or did anyway), the broadcloth is rough, and the plastic mesh that the elastic is attached to (see the shirring in the arms) is scratchy. I also owned meta's music note OP in black, and that wasn't worth the 75eu I paid for it second hand either imo. It originally listed for 21800 yen. I've always been very happy with the btssb items I owned. Worth it even at original list price imo. I love metas older designs, I just don't love the quality of the items I have owned from them.
Altering dresses is my biggest guilty action. I've only done simple things like attached pinbacks to bulky shoulder bows so I can wear cardigans/boleros without those awkward lumps underneath. If Taobao dresses can come with 80 removable bows to customize your dress, why can't my brand dresses? 😫 lol
Thanks for the video. I'm just starting out. I was going to try my hand at this two years ago, but getting married and having a baby royally threw that out the window. Now I can though and I've been buying a few dresses and accessories. Looking forward to wearing them because my husband and I both like to dress up and go out, along with our baby. My sizing makes it hard to buy a lot of pieces though, so I'm more limited. Still, even if I am older, I love sweet and classic, black might look good on me, but the more goth styles are just not my cup of tea.
Styling my natural hair is something I struggle with lolita. I never did much with my hair, even before getting into lolita. (I also recently cut it so I have bangs now, and its a bit shorter)
From least expensive to most expensive, my favorites are: Aurora & Ariel on Taobao ($30-$40) Wunderwelt's Original Petticoat ($40--$50) MeLikesTea ($60++) I believe all of mine are 45cm in length and I was lucky enough to get all of them off LaceMarket like new, but they can all be purchased from their original storefronts. Though Wunderwelt's petti has been out of stock for like a year now :/
since you mentioned sweet is your favorite, but you love classic, do you ever combine the styles? i see a lot of “swassic” stuff lol and it looks nice imo. if you already have done this then sorry lol this video is how i found out you exist so i haven’t looked at your other vids yet
There could be multiple reasons. 1-they might just only love items designed and made by other people and have no desire to make anything themselves, they might also not have any ideas in their head that they want to give shape 2-because it takes so much time and effort to learn how to sew properly it is very intimidating to a lot of people. A lot of people don't have the confidence to start learning to sew. 3-a lot of people have busy lives and sometimes they have more money than time, so it makes sense to buy something vs investing time into making it. Having said all of that, a lot of people also underestimate the amount of time and effort that goes into making an item. Especially when they ask other people to make stuff for them. "I've seen the dresses you made on your fb. Can you make me a simple dress? It will be quick and easy and won't take much of your time. I won't pay you but I'll tell everyone you made it".
seamstress here! :D Lolita is actually what got me into becoming a seamstress but it took a long, long time for me to get to the point of making proper pieces it takes a lot of time and failed projects/trial and error to get it right. A lot of what throws newbies off are dress proportions/proper fabric id say it took about 3 years for me to be able to confidently sew lolita pieces.
I totally agree with the shading thing. I’m also really picky about my colors, so it bothers me when my pink headbow doesn’t match my pink dress lol
Definitely one of the proudest thing I did in the fashion was invest in a good petticoat when I first started out
but I wasn't aware of was customs fees and in Canada it only takes $100 and they always tax big amounts ( like $40-60 sometimes ) if it's coming from the US so I wish I was more prepared for that tax when I started
I'm in Canada and I've read online that over $20 gets changed customs/duty. I ordered 2 pairs of shoes from Bodyline and paid $35 for them (+$30 shipping... I figured $30 each wasn't too bad and there were no shipping options due to covid). Then I got charged another $30 by the courier for customs duty and fees. I wasn't too happy about that. The $22 socks I ordered from the US didn't get charged though.
I still struggle with styling my natural hair. It's just something I'm not great at 😅
One of the best things I've done is limit myself to the colors of my wardrobe. It saved me so much money and helped me coord things a lot better.
I think it was also very important for me to realize their are some lolita dresses and style I will never feel comfortable seeing as my clothes. They’ll always feel like costumes to me, much like if forced to wear normie athleasure I would also feel like I was wearing a costume. I still like those dresses I just admire them from a distance.
I also love ops but learned soooo quickly my broad shoulders won’t allow them. I wish once pieces also came with shirring like brand jsks all do these days, with lacing so you can lace them how you need them. Ops had shirring a lot in old school I wonder what happened. Shirring or button backs would help with ops being more accessible even to people in western straight sizing. I’m a size four in dresses in the US and ops would just be too tight after a day of wearing.
Love your coord with this! The blouse lines have such a good color pairing with the salopette
The best thing I did when getting my first lolita items/coord was buying an adjustable hoop petti. Summers in Australia feel like you are melting in an oven so layering wasn't going to work. it was quite cheap but is really comfy and I still use it all the time
Late asf to this video. This is all great advice. I would add as a corollary to the last one: don't feel obliged to pigeonhole yourself to a single style. But DO make a point to keep in mind what you have in your wardrobe already.
I have a minimalist mindset while also being a collector. I make a point to seek out those pieces that I am super into in colorways that best suit my aesthetic AND my existing wardrobe. If I buy something I'm immediately conceptualizing what pieces it can pair with. I do a sort of capsuling system. I also have some just plain fun pieces for my own enjoyment. My wallet is all the fatter for it.
I also would say don't go into debt for this style. If you don't have the savings? You can't afford it. It's not the end of the world. But going into debt might be.
*Wardrobe planning;* I should have done proper wardrobe planning from the start. But I was too impatient because when I started there weren't a lot of releases I liked and a lot of stuff was always sold out plus the second hand market was tiny and shady AF (old LJ days). Purchasing with a scarcity mentality made it so it took longer for me to get good outfits.
I just wasn't thinking "what will this go with in my wardrobe?" but rather "I have to have this because it's so beautiful and it will be gone tomorrow".
I should have had the sense to stick to one color scheme in the beginning.
*Outerwear;* I also bought one of those thick winter coats with fake fur accents, when it rarely gets cold enough here to actually wear it and there won't be many occasions to go out in full lolita in that kind of weather. That was my most expensive regretful lolita purchase.
*Wardrobe fillers;* When I did get into wardrobe planning more I made the mistake of buying items to fill gaps in my wardrobe but I didn't love those items, I merely liked them. And I haven't used them much as a result.
*Brand socks;* I will never buy brand socks again. The ones I bought were in the 20~35eu range and they still pilled after one wear. They're not flimsy, and they look and feel high quality if you have them in your hands and they have never been worn yet, but they get worn out so quickly.
*Leather shoes;* I also wish I knew that the inside of leather shoes could stain socks.
*Custom sizing;* I expected custom size items to fit. Silly me right? :) I have some custom sized items and they're more ill fitting than my standard sized brand items.
I have some custom sized items from Kidsyoyo and Dear Celine from back when taobao brands were starting to get more popular (2008/2009) and they made the bust and waist much bigger than needed (too much ease, although I must admit that's better than too small) and the arms eyes were way too low.
*Brand quality;* Beware of low quality lace on brand items and low quality in general. Meta's crown pattern cotton lace blouse was originally listed for 18690 yen (and I did buy it from meta, not second hand) and the lace is really thin and tends to fray, the embroidery isn't dense enough, aside from that the bows are attached sloppily (like meta often does or did anyway), the broadcloth is rough, and the plastic mesh that the elastic is attached to (see the shirring in the arms) is scratchy.
I also owned meta's music note OP in black, and that wasn't worth the 75eu I paid for it second hand either imo. It originally listed for 21800 yen.
I've always been very happy with the btssb items I owned. Worth it even at original list price imo.
I love metas older designs, I just don't love the quality of the items I have owned from them.
Thanks for these tips. I'm a noob and these are great. You're coord is so cute and your voice even suits the look.
Altering dresses is my biggest guilty action. I've only done simple things like attached pinbacks to bulky shoulder bows so I can wear cardigans/boleros without those awkward lumps underneath.
If Taobao dresses can come with 80 removable bows to customize your dress, why can't my brand dresses? 😫 lol
I just bought an angelic pretty blouse and it didn't fit at all! Feels good to know it happens sometimes not just a me thing
Stay with sweet, it suits you. Leave all the classic and A-line petticoats more for me 😂 lol ❤
Thanks for the video. I'm just starting out. I was going to try my hand at this two years ago, but getting married and having a baby royally threw that out the window. Now I can though and I've been buying a few dresses and accessories. Looking forward to wearing them because my husband and I both like to dress up and go out, along with our baby. My sizing makes it hard to buy a lot of pieces though, so I'm more limited. Still, even if I am older, I love sweet and classic, black might look good on me, but the more goth styles are just not my cup of tea.
omg the elastic staps i cant belive i forgot about that
Styling my natural hair is something I struggle with lolita. I never did much with my hair, even before getting into lolita. (I also recently cut it so I have bangs now, and its a bit shorter)
Your hair is super cute ❤️ I love it
@@drizzle.daydream220 You're so sweet ;_; Thank you!
Need a larger closet to put everything in?
Me: trying to style my hair
My hair: yeah... nice try
Where do you get your petticoats if you don’t mine me asking
From least expensive to most expensive, my favorites are:
Aurora & Ariel on Taobao ($30-$40)
Wunderwelt's Original Petticoat ($40--$50)
MeLikesTea ($60++)
I believe all of mine are 45cm in length and I was lucky enough to get all of them off LaceMarket like new, but they can all be purchased from their original storefronts. Though Wunderwelt's petti has been out of stock for like a year now :/
since you mentioned sweet is your favorite, but you love classic, do you ever combine the styles? i see a lot of “swassic” stuff lol and it looks nice imo.
if you already have done this then sorry lol this video is how i found out you exist so i haven’t looked at your other vids yet
I'm glad you went back to sweet!
I don’t understand why more “Lolitas” invest in sewing machines and make their own clothes.
There could be multiple reasons.
1-they might just only love items designed and made by other people and have no desire to make anything themselves, they might also not have any ideas in their head that they want to give shape
2-because it takes so much time and effort to learn how to sew properly it is very intimidating to a lot of people. A lot of people don't have the confidence to start learning to sew.
3-a lot of people have busy lives and sometimes they have more money than time, so it makes sense to buy something vs investing time into making it.
Having said all of that, a lot of people also underestimate the amount of time and effort that goes into making an item. Especially when they ask other people to make stuff for them. "I've seen the dresses you made on your fb. Can you make me a simple dress? It will be quick and easy and won't take much of your time. I won't pay you but I'll tell everyone you made it".
seamstress here! :D
Lolita is actually what got me into becoming a seamstress but it took a long, long time for me to get to the point of making proper pieces
it takes a lot of time and failed projects/trial and error to get it right. A lot of what throws newbies off are dress proportions/proper fabric
id say it took about 3 years for me to be able to confidently sew lolita pieces.