LBC: Lolita Coordinates for Under $100

This week's lolita blog carnival challenge was to create a complete coordinate for under $100. The cost of lolita can be overwhelming to both those interested in the fashion, and those already in the community. With the prices of most brand items, it isn't uncommon to form the misconception that quality lolita has to be expensive. I put together four complete coordinates for under $100 to prove that this belief is false.

The best ways to find nice pieces on a budget is to use offbrands, taobao brands, and secondhand resale websites. Brand pieces can be purchased for great deals on secondhand resale websites, and offbrand tights, socks, cardigans, and accessories can be found for cheap on sale. Out of the main pieces in my coords 1 is Baby the Stars Shine Bright, 1 is Alice and the Pirates, and 2 are Bodyline. My definition of a complete lolita coord is something that includes a dress/skirt, a blouse, socks/legwear, and shoes.

Coordinate 1: Pink Hime Coord

For this coord I used my new Bodyline OP. The layers of chiffon material make the dress look light and soft, so I paired it with lace pink to grey ombre tights to keep it looking dainty. The pearl hair accessory is what really makes the hime look. The pearl necklace and gold shoes finish it off and balance the gold color throughout the coordinate.

• Hair Accessory - $20 - Vintage (it's actually a necklace but I like to pin it in my hair)
• OP - $29 - Bodyline
• Necklace - $10 - Vintage
• Tights - $5 - Betsey Johnson (on clearance at Nordstrom Rack, originally about $15)
• Shoes - $33 - Bodyline
• Total - $97

Coordinate 2: BTSSB's Pup in a Cup

This coord uses one of the best deals that I've ever gotten on a brand piece. The skirt is the Baby the Stars Shine Bright print called "The World's Most Adorable Dog and The World's Most Delicious Strawberry Parfait," also known as "Pup in a Cup." I got it a swap meet for only $45! I coordinated it with pink and white because those are the main colors of the skirt.

• Hair Bow - $3 - Forever 21
• Blouse - $15 - Bodyline
• Skirt - $45 - BTSSB's Pup in a Cup (from my community's swap meet) 
• Bracelets - $4 - Vintage
• Socks - $2 - Hue (on sale at Macy's, original price unknown)
• Shoes - $23 - Bodyline
• Total - $92

Coordinate 3: Bodyline's Love Jewelry 

I got this blouse and skirt after their prices dropped to only $15. With the main pieces being so cheap I had more room to find nice accessories, like the Angelic Pretty Promenade de Paris necklace. I coordinated it with pink and white, which are two of the detail colors in the skirt. The flower crown is the perfect hair accessory to keep up the floral theme.

• Flower Crown - $2 - Claire's (purchased on sale, originally $16)
• Blouse - $15 - Bodyline
• Skirt - $15 - Bodyline
• Accessories - $4 + $20 - Vintage and Angelic Pretty's Promenade de Paris (purchased secondhand, originally $39)
• Socks - $2 - Hue (on sale at Macy's, original price unknown)
• Shoe - $23 - Bodyline
• Total - $81

Coordinate 4: Pop Kei With AATP

This JSK has very vibrant colors which reminds me of pop kei. I often coord it in more of a pop kei or mahou kei direction because of this. I mixed patterns with the plaid tights and the plaid of the dress. I also used a bright pink bolero and shoes to bring out the pink in the dress even more. Mixing patterns is one of my favorite trends in all fashion styles.

• Flower Crown - $2 - Claire's (purchased on sale, originally $16)
• Bolero - $13 - Bodyline
• JSK - $45 - Alice and the Pirate's Original Tartan Check (purchased secondhand)
• Accessories - $4 - Vintage
• Tights - $11 - Hue
• Shoes - $23 - Bodyline
• Total - $98

Check out the other participating blogs from this week down below!

Pepins de Pom & Co.

Art du noir

Marionette Cemetery

Crimson Reflections

Courtly Dreams For Burgher

Sweet Expedition

The Bloody Tea Party

LBC: Create A Floral Themed Coordinate

Recently I joined the lolita blog carnival, a lolita blogging group that picks a weekly theme or challenge for its members to blog about. I am very excited to be a member and hope to gain inspiration and ideas for updating this blog more frequently than I currently do.

This week the theme for the LBC was to create a floral themed coordinate. I picked my new bodyline love jewelry skirt as the main piece because it's the only floral piece I have. The print in the skirt depicts images of pearls, jewelry boxes, and roses.

 I started off by making some quick adjustments to my skirt in order to enhance the floral theme. I added some pink flowers in two different shades to the waistband. This skirt is currently the only red thing I have in my wardrobe, aside from some very small accessories, so I was unsure of what to coordinate it with in the beginning. I decided to use cream, pinks, and berry colors to blend with the colors in the skirt.

I accessorized with as many floral things as I could. I even painted my nails red to match.

Here's the outfit rundown:

Beret - A gift from my best friend

Wig - Lockshop's Starlet

Blouse - Bodyline

Skirt - Bodyline

Tights - Hue

Socks - Forever 21

Shoes - Bodyline

 Accessories - Angelic Pretty, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Kate Spade, and Vintage

Despite this being the only floral piece in my lolita wardrobe, I have a lot of floral skirts and dresses that I wear in my daily style. One of things that attracted me to lolita so much was the uniqueness of the different prints and themes. The floral pieces never seemed as exciting to me because I wear them so much on a daily basis, haha. My current obsession with prints right now is sky motifs. What do you think of floral patterns in lolita? What are your favorite themes in prints? Let me know!

Check out these other blogs that are also participating in the LBC theme this week:

Courtly Dreams for Burgher

New Vogue Children

Sweet Expedition 

Froufrous

Vanilla and Licorice

The Bloody Tea Party

Angelic Pretty's Dreamy Girl

This is a quick coordinate that I put together a few days ago with Angelic Pretty's Dreamy Girl jsk in lavender. I put this together because I really wanted to wear my new lavender lipstick with something lolita.

I wanted the coord to look spring-like, so I used more muted pastels, and lighter colors than I usually do when I wear this dress. I choose lace tights to keep it more light and delicate looking. I think the vintage bag and accessories also add to that appearance. And of course I had to wear my favorite gold shoes! 

Outfit Rundown:

Wig - Lockshop

Accessories - Vintage and Forever 21

JSK - Dreamy Girl - Angelic Pretty

Cardigan - Target

Tights - Betsey Johnson

Bag - Vintage

Shoes - Bodyline

Victorian Tassel

I'm currently in the process of planning a coordinate for International Lolita Day, so I've been putting together a lot of new coords recently to decide what to wear. I really want to wear hime (princess) lolita because ILD is the perfect excuse to wear something more elaborate than normal. (I'm literally always looking for an excuse to wear hime lolita, it's my favorite substyle of lolita to wear!)

I put this coord together with Angelic Pretty's Victorian Tassel skirt and tried to play up the details in the print by incorporating more gold details into the outfit. The print is super glittery in person, but unfortunately it's not as visible in my photos.

The hair piece is actually a vintage necklace that I pinned to my wig. The pearl necklaces and bracelets that i'm wearing are also vintage. I layered two pairs of tights for this coord, cream lace tights with a pair of pastel pink tights underneath.

Outfit Rundown:

Wig - Lockshop's Hime Gyaru

Hair Piece - Vintage

Blouse - Bodyline

Skirt - Angelic Pretty's Victorian Tassel

Accessories - Vintage

Tights - Nordstrom and Target

Shoes - Bodyline