Azuki's Wardrobe 2024: A Decade of Growth
Please note I did not get to some parts of my collection (legwear, jewelry, and accessories) in time for the January posting deadline because my collection is BIG and I am a grown adult with a life but I may add them at a later date, or focus on adding them next year.
I am a senior editor of and frequent contributor to Lolibrary so I included reference links for most all my items; click on the item's name to view the Lolibrary entry if it has one. If you have funds to spare and use the site regularly, please consider a Patreon donation to this valuable, unique resource. It is maintained completely by volunteers and paid for entirely by donations from the community and the site administrators' personal funds.
Background
I first got into lolita fashion as a teen in 2001, and have been actively wearing it and building a collection since 2013. Details about my path to this fancy, frilly hobby are here.
I have experimented with a lot of different substyles but sweeter classic and romantic gothic tend to be my favorite types of looks. My favorite colors to wear are black, red, and blue, and in general I prefer darker colors. I love natural motifs (flowers, fruit, animals), sweets, hearts, and lace.
I consider myself plus sized and I have had a number of my favorite older straight size pieces altered to be larger than the original measurements, but I have also begun collecting many more specifically plus size pieces in the last 2-3 years as more brands have come to offer them regularly and because they are often more comfortable to wear and fit better. My favorite brand has always been Metamorphose but it is all the more my favorite now that they consistently offer items that I know will fit me.
What's new this year?
Pieces acquired between the last wardrobe post (~February 2023) and now have their name in italics. I ended up with 25 new main pieces including the ones on the way, but sold 29. I have been gradually letting go of some sweeter themed pieces as I continue gravitating toward classic/gothic. I also think I have gotten more picky about the fit of dresses, especially now that there are more brands consistently making plus size options that I like, and decided to finally sell off some things that I thought were pretty but also uncomfortable when worn for long periods of time.
I continued my habit of buying more blouses and fancier accessories, as well as coats. I also bought more new releases. This was in large part due to the exchange rate between yen and US dollars being quite favorable for the entire year, but also because Metamorphose and others just kept releasing designs I wanted to have! I think I spent the most I ever have in a year which is a little scary, but it also feels good to support plus size releases directly with my dollars especially knowing more now about the risks brands take in order to even offer them, and it makes it easier to buy knowing that I'm generally guaranteed a good comfortable fit.
Future goals
I want to focus more on wearing and enjoying what I already have. Because my collection is so large there are many things I've had for years and haven't worn yet. Wearing something for a longer amount of time (like for a meetup or taking photos) helps me get a better feel for whether it's comfortable and if I actually like it, which helps me decide whether I want to keep it long term. My body measurements have also changed significantly in the 10 years I've been wearing lolita, so some things that are not quite my style anymore also no longer fit.
On the flip side of this, I am always hunting for good deals and I see so much that is hard to pass up because of the limited availability of nearly everything in this fashion. This is a constant struggle for me. I have a big vacation coming up at the end of the year again (Japan!) that I need to save for and I'm getting more and more into home decorating and improvement (another expensive venture), so hopefully those will motivate me to slow down the buying. I have successfully talked myself down from many an impulse purchase before, and in 10 years I can count on one hand the number of things I regret not buying when I had the chance, so overall I think it will be good. Hard to do but well worth it.
I would also like to start using slower shipping methods with some overseas sellers like Closet Child now that they're available again and significantly less expensive to save some money when it makes sense. The pandemic got me really used to DHL shipping and having packages arrive in 2-3 days from Japan because that was the only option available for quite a while, but I've found that waiting a little longer for things to arrive raises the anticipation a little bit and makes it feel a little more special once it finally arrives.
I would also like to replace my deteriorating synthetic leather pieces with real leather ones when I can find suitable replacements. I'm finding that the material eventually will just degrade whether you use it or not and it's been frustrating to see things I've only used a couple of times falling apart. Not all synthetic leather items are created equal, though, and I could be convinced to buy higher quality ones that will last a bit longer.
MAIN PIECES (OP/JSK/SKIRT)
Arranged by black, black + color, color in spectrum order. JSKs tend to fit me the best so that's what I have the most of, though larger sized OPs that fit me are getting easier to find (thanks Meta, Atelier Pierrot, and Lief) so I'm excited for what the future holds there. I tend to wear skirts very casually, so I don't have very many of them. I added a whole bunch of blue dresses this year. Looking to let go of things that are uncomfortable and/or difficult to care for, because I'm increasingly feeling like if I can't clean it at home I don't want it.
Unknown
????
BLOUSES
I sold a few I didn't use much or found difficult to coordinate but also added a few in styles and colors I thought would work well with my dresses and preferences. I've wanted a red gingham blouse for a really long time and Metamorphose finally delivered! I also now own the Maxicimam Colleen Shirring Blouse in three colors because it's so versatile and comfy. I want to get more printed blouses but they are hard to come by in the size that I need, and often aren't very versatile so the print needs to be chosen carefully.
Ann Taylor
2013
H&M
HAIR ACCESSORIES
I feel like I got a lot of new hair accessories this past year. I got a few older items I'd had my eye on for a long time, like the Metamorphose heart headdress, that happened to pop up for sale and I was fast enough to grab. I am starting to like hats, and I'm getting more particular about the shape of my head accessories.
Bonnets and Hats
Headbands
Headdresses
Clips, Combs, Pins
Veils
WIGS
This section hasn't changed much in the last couple of years. I gravitate toward natural hair colors. While I love the look of curly wigs, I find them hard to care for so I try not to buy them.
SHOES
This section hasn't really changed other than that I got rid of a couple of pairs of shoes. I also might have to throw away a few more because they're deteriorating so badly (no thanks to synthetic leather). I am going to be way more picky about shoes when I replace them and hopefully get real leather ones where I can. Now that I'm leaning less toward bright colored sweet styles it may be easier to find more normie brand shoes that will work. (I've found that only specific types of shoes seem to suit sweet styles.) My feet are quite small (US size 5.5) but they're also very wide at the toe end so it can be a real challenge to find shoes that are comfortable.
BAGS
This has changed a bit since last time I included bags, especially with some of my synthetic leather bags starting to crumble into dust (sad face). This is another area of my wardrobe that I'm going to be really picky about future additions to with regard to materials.
COATS AND OUTERWEAR
I filled out this section nicely this year. I found a couple more Maxicimam Lovely size coats secondhand (including a cotton twill one!) and this winter Metamorphose finally released a plus size full coat in wool with a design I liked (ladder lace and heart pockets!!) so of course I bought it. I now have a good variety of colors to match with just about anything.
Handmade
2016
ON THE WAY
I have kind of a lot on the way right now (people always seem to do a lot of closet cleaning right after the new year and at wardrobe post time so there's more good stuff for sale right now than usual) but am hopefully slowing down a bit after this.
Sakurada Fawn
Beautiful wardrobe! I really enjoyed seeing all the accessories from up-close, and that piece from the "Kuroneko Majo Atelier" is SUPERB! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAh your wardrobe is lovely, I really enjoyed looking through it! Thanks for sharing ^__^
ReplyDelete