Hi everyone! I was so ready for the beginning of 2023, but then I got covid few weeks ago 😦 This is my first time getting it, it must’ve been one of the new variants. Day 2 & 3 were the worst, my throat hurt a lot when I was drinking water or speaking, it really did feel like the pain was going to last forever!
I feel much better now, but I cannot go back to work until my rapid test result is negative. At least I had some free time to clean up my room a bit and work on this blog post. The January/Jeanuary 2023 theme for Bibliotheca is Challenge. I have been wearing j-fashion for quite some time, and here are the frilly challenges I have encountered throughout the years:
1. Public Transit
Sometimes wearing OTT sweet lolita on public transit can be a hassle, you got a bunch of hair accessories on your head, bracelets on your wrists and rings on your fingers and a poofy cupcake petticoat! When you are on the way to a meet up, you are wondering, “is one of my bows still on my ponytail??!”, or “Oops let me carefully take my wallet out, so my chunky bow chocomint ring won’t get caught in my bag.” Then once you managed to sit down on the subway/bus, you realized your petticoat has fanned out and took over the seat beside you, so you had to hold on to your petti to stop it from taking up space.
I have decided to carry a duffle bag to carry my petticoat and extra accessories if I’m planning to wear OTT Sweet and need to use public transit on that day. Then after I have arrived at the venue, I can quickly put on my petticoat and accessories. I got mine at Winners/Marshalls (basically TJMaxx in the states), they have a section that sell gym bag/spa bag/sleepover bag! Mine came with a fluffy eye mask and makeup bag.
2. Too cold!/Too hot!
The Canadian winter is brutal! Thankfully there are now many options of thermal underwear that we can choose from. You can get an uniqlo heattech undershirt in different warmness and different cuts (scoop neck vs. turtle neck) to layer under your coordinates. If you still wanna show off your over the knee socks, wear a pair of flesh tone fleeced lined tights first, then put on your OTK!
If you’re worried that you won’t be warm enough with a lolita coat/cape, you can wear a sherpa hoodie or light puffer jacket under your lolita coat/cape. You now should be ready for a winter lolita meet up in your warm coordinate! Remember layering is the key!
But what about hot weather?? I definitely struggle a lot in the summer, because I can easily turn into a sweaty mess with the frills. If I really want to wear lolita in the summer, I would pick a short sleeved OP or wear a cropped collarless blouse with a JSK. I also really hate it when my bangs stick together when the weather is so humid and warm, I think using oil blotting paper on my forehead and combing my bangs throughout the day would be a possible solution.
I also used to not like wearing sunscreen because of the greasy & heavy texture, but couple years ago when I visited a Japanese cosmetic store and found a sunscreen that is light and sheer. It’s the Parasola UV spray, the bottle is super cute and it has a really nice floral scent as well! Because of that, I would actually remember to use it before I head out! Haha!
If I know I’m going to be outside a lot, I would also bring my BTSSB compact parasol, it’s a small cute parasol that fit into my bag. It provides me shade and also shield me from the rain.
3. Shoes
Deciding on which pair of shoes to wear can also be a challenge! I remember the very first time I went to the distillery district for a Winter International Lolita Day meet up, I didn’t know the area is paved in cobblestone, which made me struggled a bit when I was trying to get around the Holiday Market in my Bodyline platform shoes.
I also have another embarrassing story to share with those Bodyline platforms! There was a man trying to get off the streetcar, his backpack’s straps actually caught on to one of the bows on my shoes! Yikes. Both of us were okay though, he was able to get off at his stop, and the bows on my shoes are still intact lol.
If you’re planning to walk for a long time, it would be a good idea to wear your comfy shoes or bring a pair of flats to switch out. Your feet will thank you!
4. Missing out on Releases
A frustrating part of being an Angelic Pretty fan is to participate in a bloodbath release. Last year, AP re-released the Soap Bubbles series, I was so determinate to get the white OP. I had the browser open at 2:58pm EST, I kept refreshing the browser, but the website kept crashing, and I also gave up. By 4pm EST, everything from the Soap Bubbles series was sold out. I actually don’t have any advice on surviving a bloodbath, but you can always pray for a MTO in the future or hope that you can find it on the secondhand market without the outrageous price.
5. Finding time to wear j-fashion
I’m not a lifestyle lolita, I would say it’s not possible for me to wear lolita or j-fashion everyday. I can’t show up to work wearing a full coordinate, but sometimes I would still wear otome kei or causal girly kei to work. I like to mix and match with both Japanese brands (Axes Femme, Secret Honey, Liz Lisa…) and mall brands (Aritzia, Honey, Winners/Marshalls…), and I can still look cute and professional!
Sometimes when I’m on my off days, I might not have the energy to wear j-fashion, and that is okay! I can still enjoy j-fashion by planning coordinates to wear in the future. I would think about which items I have not worn in a while? Perhaps I can create some experimental coordinates with them? And if the next meet up has a theme (Pop up event meet? Dessert meet?), I would try to challenge myself to see if I can do a theme coordinate.
Can you relate to these frilly challenges? What kind of j-fashion challenges have you encountered? Let me know in the comments!
(On a side note, while I was working on this blog post. There are so many unprovoked violent attacks on the public transit in Toronto within these couple weeks, it’s so disheartening and terrifying to hear these news. Please be vigilant to your surrounding and don’t hesitate to move away from your spot if someone is giving you uneasy vibes.)
dearie_dawn 