2025 Year in Review + Goals for 2026 and Beyond
It's been a while since I've done one of these! With a Discord community I'm in (love you plus size community, you da best) collectively reflecting on this same thing, I thought it would be nice to revisit.
WHAT I WORE
The collage graphic at the top of this post shows all the looks I thought were complete enough to present (click/tap on it to see it bigger). I'll admit I lost a lot of steam after the springtime for wearing lolita because of personal circumstances (mostly the slow health decline and eventual loss of my 16-year-old cat that I had since 2010) so I wore it less than I wanted but it still makes me feel good to wear it. I was often inspired by nature and the seasons, with a large focus on practicality and comfort for whatever I was wearing it to. I love to match whatever's growing outside, a cultural celebration (holidays usually, peep the ultra mismatched "discombobulate" for April Fool's Day), or the theme of the place I'll be (video game convention, the imagery of a band I'm seeing). Sometimes I also just want to wear a certain color. My favorite photos of the year were from a lilac garden, but I also was happy to finally catch my magnolia tree at the height of its bloom.
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| my sister and I had a lovely afternoon and the weather was beautiful and everything smelled wonderful. |
WHAT I BOUGHT AND SOLD
First, some of my favorite purchases. I got a very long time dream dress: Baroque's Pearl Drops on the Dry Flower OP. It was mostly just something I admired since I started shopping in 2013 because I didn't know they made it in a size that would fit me. Someone with similar measurements to me was selling a custom sized one for a steal, and it's just gorgeous. The pink one is originally what captured my attention but the black one is gorgeous too. I also got the Physical Drop Nostalgic Princess OP and headdress that I didn't have funds for when the preorder was open but it has a good memory attached (read on below) so I was glad to be able to get it later. I've admired Apolia's work for a long time and RinRin Doll was selling some of it at her booth at The Great Lace. One of the choker designs really appealed to me so I bought it and I have worn it many times this year already. I love the designer's way of combining many colors and shapes and patterns into something cohesive.
I also bought a lot of other things, including new releases from Metamorphose and secondhand stuff from US sellers on Lace Market, but I also went ham at The Great Lace because there were many things I liked and wouldn't have to pay to ship if I bought them in person (looking at you, Haenuli Antoinette necklaces and Bernadette plushie bag). Gotta support the homies, especially when they come to you. I still can't seem to shake the allure of "this is likely to fit and it's a good deal and I want to try it" even after nearly 13 years. I still primarily bought secondhand from Japan because even with people price gouging the crap out of Baby and anything old school you can still get good deals, especially given the exchange rate. At least until all the tariff nonsense kicked in.
The abrupt elimination of de minimis for collecting import taxes on packages (I have never paid import taxes because I don't regularly buy and ship $800+ worth of things in one go) and the incredibly arbitrary rules of calculating and collecting those taxes meant that I basically stopped buying things from outside the US after mid-August. I finally dared to try placing an order after my shopping service for Japan started offering prepaid duties with shipping (so I knew exactly how much I'd be paying before I committed to buying anything!) and had a discount coupon eligible for a reasonably priced thing I really wanted that would almost completely cancel out the amount of the import taxes. I am still waiting for it to arrive but I hesitate to trust it until after it gets here. The positive side of this is that I am being a lot more picky about what I do choose to spend money on, and I am buying much less, so I have more money to put toward other things or just save for goodness knows what in the near future with the way things are going. It does feel good. It was hard and painful at first but it comes a lot easier now that I've been doing it for several months.
I was less motivated to sell things because of aforementioned personal circumstances, especially the second half of this year (grief is such a multifaceted, enormous beast) but I let go of things I didn't immediately love when I tried them on. My collection is too big at this point to hang onto things I don't really love. And what I am finding I tend to love these days is simpler cuts, solid colors and more subtle prints, and things that are easy to clean and take care of. I have been selling a lot of sweeter items lately, even things I liked for a long time. Things do seem to be selling more slowly though.
FAVORITE EXPERIENCES AND MEMORIES
My very favorite from the past several years: not only did I get to meet Kuniko Kato (this was a big goal from an earlier year in review post but also wow it actually happened?!) at a Physical Drop pop-up shop and casual social gathering in Nagoya in December 2024, I got to have a long leisurely chat with her and the other event staff and have snacks and just hang out. I had only found out about it the day before but my travel schedule happened to align perfectly with it. You could try on samples of the Nostalgic Princess OP at this event and when encouraged to do so I mentioned I'd tried it on at the Tokyo store yesterday, and Kato-san said I must be the person her shop staff told her about (!!) because I mentioned I was traveling with a band when I was at the store. I told them my partner was in a band and playing at a metal festival later in the day, and the other staff member said she had a friend coming to Nagoya to attend a metal festival, and it turned out we were talking about the same festival! She had the friend come to the pop-up so she could introduce us, and we ended up going to the festival together. Kato-san said "it was meant to be" and I couldn't agree more. We even bumped into each other again late at night at the Denny's by my hotel, lol. Destiny indeed. Kato-san is chill and super nice. I still can't believe I got to do this and it felt like all my major life choices as an adult (learning Japanese, studying abroad and living in Nagoya, getting into J-fashion, marrying someone who gave me an excuse to be here and doing something that tied all of us together in such an unexpected way) led me to having this absolutely wonderful day. No hyperbole, this was one of the best days of my life and I will happily remember it forever.
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| the popup shop and casual social event. thank you Aki-san for the photos and company! |
I decided somewhat impulsively to apply to model at FanimeCon (San Jose, CA) in May 2024 because I was excited about the prospect of meeting many of the staff and other internet friends local to that area in person after submitting lots of material to the Bay Area Kei virtual fashion walks and interacting with them in other ways. I was anxious about going alone but everything and everyone ended up being really nice. I even co-hosted a panel about Lolibrary with obsixwi and thee Raine Dragon. We were both incredibly excited to meet her. It was lovely to meet more people from my phone, and the staff really know how to run a good event. I'm glad my long presence on Instagram and Lolibrary is finally helping people be like "hey I know your face and your work" lol. It's nice being a known entity and one of the "old" people now.
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| panel presenters! I think either Basia or Kamui took this one. |
My biggest endeavor this year (2025) was attending The Great Lace solo! I was really excited by the prospect of attending an event that was close enough that I could drive instead of fly. The driving was my least favorite part but worth braving it to meet even more people from my phone (they're real!!). It's also nice reuniting with people you've met previously at other events because they are more comfortable with you and the other way around.
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| casual social meetup and photo time at Cloud Gate, "The Bean" (credit: reyreichell) |
I also went to a swap meet in Chicago in February with my friend who lives there, and while I didn't sell much I got a couple of good deals and it was fun to meet online mutuals that I chat with more regularly, and I liked having a chill time with my friend afterward.
I guess my takeaway from this is that I really like attending events! I think as I slow down buying things, that's where I will focus more of my time and spending going forward.
GOALS FOR 2026
- Downsize my collection. I always seem to have this goal haha. I think it's just hard because it involves a lot of being very honest with myself about whether I'll actually wear the things I have and whether I truly like them enough to keep and care for appropriately. At least I'll likely be buying fewer things and being more picky about what I do buy due to current economic circumstances. I think if I get down to 70 main pieces I can be relatively satisfied and have enough room to comfortably store everything in my closet. I'm currently at 83.
- Get my flatlay photo setup working again. The light I was using broke and I rearranged my room in a way that made laying everything out difficult so I stopped. I need to decide on new lighting and I think I want to hang a light from the ceiling so I don't have to move it or move around it and the image will be lit more evenly. I feel like it would be a really good way to be creative with my wardrobe and continue posting on my social media accounts without having to spend hours getting ready or show my face (my data privacy concerns on social media platforms are only growing bigger with time). Plus, flatlays are not something that AI would be good at replicating and people wouldn't even want to see AI replicate them. I also think it will help me downsize my collection because I can make a flatlay with something and then I've made a record that I had it and that I did something with it, even if I didn't wear it.
- Complete 3 alterations/sewing projects. I have a big-ish backlog and it'll be like I have new things to wear without spending more money. I have way more than 3 projects but I want to keep the goal attainable.
- Shorten Dressy Ribbon JSK (remove lace from bottom hem, cut ~6-7 cm off, re-attach lace and re-hem)
- Make a black headdress with large lace wings on the sides
- Install a button in the back center of the neckline on my two Infanta blouses so they're easier to put on and take off.
- Attend at least one large in-person event. I'm well on my way with this already. My ticket and accommodations for The Great Lace 2026 (happening in March) are purchased.
- Model in at least one fashion show. I have really liked past modeling experiences (Paradiso 2022, Hellocon 2023, FanimeCon 2024) and I plan to apply to model at The Great Lace this year. I didn't get selected last time but we'll see what happens this time. If I don't get picked I'll just have that much more time to enjoy the event.
BIGGER GOALS ANYTIME THEY FIT IN
- Go back to Hellocon (Finland). I attended in 2023 (see my event report post in a new tab by clicking here) and it was so wonderful to meet the online mutuals from Europe and make some new friends. Finland is a great place to visit, too. I also want to go to Cloudberry Lady's atelier in Seinäjoki next time. Hellocon is not having a big event in 2026, but that will give me time to plan and save up for the next big one!
- Attend a Gothic & Lolita Market (GLM) in Japan. They happen at least once per year, and for once I'd like to go to Japan strictly for fun and not as part of my partner's band tour. Other people I am acquainted with have attended and had a wonderful time.
- Go to Pierrot's Phantom Sanctum, the lolita-only bar run by Atelier Pierrot. Admittedly it's a long shot since it looks to be for store point card members only, only open by reservation, and it's expensive unless you share the cost with a big group of people. But maybe someday.
- Model for Metamorphose. There are a couple of big hurdles for this: (a) guests like this often get announced rather close to the event dates so if I wasn't already planning to go to an event they are a guest at, it could potentially be very short notice to book travel and accommodations (read: expensive), and (b) when you apply to model in a show you do not get to choose what brand you want to model for, so even if I applied and was accepted for a show that Metamorphose was participating in, there's no guarantee I'd get placed with Metamorphose. But one never knows, the stars may align someday. I think I'd probably have the most luck if Metamorphose was at an anime convention rather than a J-fashion convention specifically.