The anatomy of a coord.

So what in fact goes into a (very basic) lolita coord? Here's how mine tend to be built. I do variate a bit every now and then, but at least this amount of effort goes in every time.

Layer 1: tights, shorts, shirt. On a cold day I would be wearing an undershirt as well, or if I was going to wear a shirt instead of a JSK since this shirt shows the bra through a little. Socks could be another option but I typically go for tights because they're warmer - on occasion I'll wear the socks over them. I also have bloomers I could wear instead of the shorts.

Layer 2: petticoat or petticoats, laying the base for the poofy bell-shape. Much depends on how heavy the overthings are going to be and since this coord has a wool JSK (heavy) I'm wearing two petticoats on top of each other plus an extra skirt to make sure the tulle petti doesn't scratch my tights.

Layer 3: JSK has been added!

Final touches: accessorizing and shoes. I decided to go by the darker red accents of the dress and repeat it with the shoes and the rose clip. I also added a short sleeved bolero.

End look: classic in a casual way... except then I realized that the weather outside was really, really cold and that whenever possible the coord should match the demands of the temperatures outside. SO:

I decided to turn the look to a more seasonal one. This time I picked white from the base coord to be my main coording colour and went with it. The coat is just echoing the pink+white theme, the boots fit the rainy day better than the shoes and although the knitted headdress is a bit overkill the scarf definitely was not.

Naturally once I finished taking photos outside the chill went away, we got a bit of a drizzle and lots of sunshine resulting in a rare autumn rainbow!

Beginner lolita: the items that work for everything.

May the Beginner Lolita -posts continue! The Icelandic community has recently gained lots of new members which has inspired me to look at the fashion from a point of view I rarely have, that of a beginner. You see, I've done this for years now. I have almost forgotten that many things that I take for granted are nothing of the sort in reality, just a result of me endlessly repeating and bettering certain formulas, ideas, aesthetics and the like. But it wasn't always so easy.

My biggest problem as a beginner was that I quickly got bored of one coord, yet gaining more items was a costly and/or time consuming business - or so I thought. Then one day a friend of mine gave me a pair of white shoes with flowers, a fleamarket find she said, that she thought would fit my style well. Too right they did, and I eventually wore the pair to shreds.

It gave me an important lesson as well: lolita does not HAVE to be an expensive hobby. All depends on what you buy and how well your clothes all fit together as a whole. Here's an example of items that have proven to be worth their weight in gold, things I've bought for cheaps and which go with almost any coord - to illustrate here's my three latest projects coorded with exactly the same base items.

My shirt is from a second-hand store. What makes it so awesome for all kinds of coords is the simplicity of its design: small collar with ties and a lace shoulder piece, good quality material that doesn't wrinkle easily and the colour of it - always go for white, off-white or black if you can.

Shirts like this one are often cheap like soap because they're not in fashion. They were, once upon a time, but as fashion moved on it left in its wake closets full of non-salvageably old-fashioned lace and ruffle shirts that no one wanted to buy even at flea markets. Therefore people tended to sell them for a fairly cheap price and still do, Icelanders go check Kolaportið and you'll no doubt find some on the 500-1000kr racks.

Other forms for shirts that you could go for are peter pan collars and smaller round collars. Sharp collars rarely look good in lolita and are harder to coord. Avoid patterns and strong colours, always wear a shirt that's actually your size and preferably isn't tight. Tight shirts can work too but again, they're harder to coord. What you want from your fleamarket shirts is coording flexibility!

Another great find are block colour skirts, especially ones with inbuilt pettis or ruffles. You can wear those over your petticoat to create a smoother look, or underneath it to protect your tights if the petticoat material is scratchy (such as well starched tulle). You don't necessarily see them when the coord is on - mine certainly isn't showing - but their value is more in the comfort and tidiness of the coord.

Especially an Icelandic lolita will benefit for extra skirt layers. The weather is cold enough as is and even one skirt can make a huge difference in how you're feeling walking downtown. Besides if you're going to go for apron skirts block colour skirts are the best thing to go underneath them to showcase the cuteness of the apron skirt itself to the max. 

Other possibility, of course, is to get a petticoat that doesn't look like an obvious petticoat, f.ex. a cotton petti with ruffles, but all in all getting just simple, wide skirts might prove cheaper and more multi-purpose, giving you chances of wearing them even outside o the lolita fashion.

Another item that'll keep you warm and more importantly secure are bloomers/pantalones/shorts. No one's going to see them while everything's ok, and if people do end up seeing them... well, it could be your underwear on show instead. Wind, people, all that wind. WIND.

Bloomers are a super easy sewing project, but you can also just wear simple shorts if a ruffly butt isn't your thing. Like I said, they're not meant to be shown so who cares. :Þ

Lastly, shoes and tights. For tights it's good to go for as simple as possible when you're new to the style. Again, white, off-white and black are great colours, simple patterns rule over complicated ones, or if you like lace then why not wear a pair of lace tights over a pair of simple block colour ones? It both creates a tidier, warmer look and really makes the lace tights stand out. Still, if you're only going to buy a pair of tights to wear with lolita, rather get something simple. Tights are a billion times better option than socks for Icelandic lolitas, reason being again the weather and easier coording.

Shoes follow the same rule. White, off-white or black. Simple. No thin heels. Heels on their own are fine but your outfit's going to be poofed to clouds and back, thin high heels will make the look unbalanced and silly. Avoid sharp toes and peep-toes. Peep-toe shoes are meant to show your toes, not your socks, and lolita as a style does not really work with bare legs and feet. Sharp toes don't work with all lolita styles, making them a hard-to-coord item iow not a good choice for using in a wide variety of coords. Round toes and slight to exaggerated clunkiness at the heel compliments and balances your coord perfectly and you'll feel much more relaxed wearing them not having to worry constantly about tripping and breaking your ankles.

This btw is a very valid concern when wearing lolita; you cannot see what's right in front of you because all that poof gets in the way. For the love of everything wear shoes that are sturdy! You'll thank me when you go down the first staircase on your way.

And if the simplicity of the shoes bothers you you can always tune them up to your liking. The shoes I'm wearing here are originally from Dinsko's sales bin, very basic in design. I added the pearl chains myself as a final touch but even without them this pair would have been an excellent find.

These are just some general pointers to a beginner in lolita on what to buy and how you can tell it'll suit the style. When you gain some more power levels and your wardrobe begins to grow you'll notice something funny: there'll be a few of these beginner items that will stay with you along the years. Things that you bought because they were cheap and simple and fit the aesthetic, things that keep their coording value because they work with absolutely everything. Start with a few of those and you're all good. Even in the case that you decide lolita's not your thing after all those items won't lose their wearability the same way that obvious lolita items would.

DIY apron skirt.

An apron skirt is a really easy and fast to make project, and as such ideal for a beginner seamstress. I hope the above pic gives an idea of what exactly is an apron skirt - it's open at the back, tied around the waist like an apron and meant to go over another skirt.

This particular one is as simple as they come. Every piece of it is just a rectangle so no patterns are needed to make it. The above photo should give some idea of how much fabric it takes to make one, which is not very much at all (the yellow thing is just a regular measuring tape).

Cutting done. From bottom to the top the pieces are 2x ruffle piece (= at least twice as long as the skirt part to create a proper ruffle), 1x skirt piece, 1x waist band cut to the length of the wearer's waist circumference annnnd... the last one's in actually two pieces but was I smart enough to show that in a photo? No. Imagine, however, that the top rectangle is cut in two equally long pieces that will become the apron's apron strings. You can make longer ones too if you like. :)

The heap of fabric right at the top is the extra material left over. Nevermind the heap.

Length: there's no good rule to how long the pieces have to be, but here's some ideas. The ruffle and skirt parts added together should come to 45-55cm length, which imo is ideal for lolita. The waist band has to be minimum 10cm wide because it will be folded in half when attached, same with the waist ties. If at all possible add 2cm to all measurements for seam allowance.

Zigzag around all edges, or serge if you own a serger.

Sew the middle seam/s of the ruffle.

Fold waist ties in half and sew as shown above. Cut the corner as shown, turn around. You may use a knitting needle or some other tool to poke out the corners tidily.

You'll probably notice I didn't zigzag these pieces... it's cause I'm lazy and these particular seams will end up securely pocketed once the waist ties are turned around so it doesn't actually matter.

Ironing time! Iron all seams open (and always do this with seams because it makes everything so much neater-looking and easier to sew).

Fold the side and bottom edges of the ruffle as shown above, same with the side edges of the skirt part, iron in place. This will make stitching it tidily so much easier, especially if you plan on adding lace to the ruffle.

Fold waistband in half lengthwise and iron tidily.

Waist ties need flattening too. The one on the right has not yet been ironed, the one on the left is ready to be stitched.

Stitch around the waist ties a few millimetres from the edge. Also stitch the sides of the ruffle pieces and the skirt, if not adding lace to the ruffle you can also just go ahead and stitch the bottom.

If adding lace, pin it to the ruffle securely.

I would then go on and stitch around the bottom edge of the ruffle from the right side, careful to pull out the pins and not sew over them because that may break or bend your needle.

Ruffling time! Baste along the top of the skirt piece and the top of the ruffle as shown, ideally use a thread that's very different colour than your fabric. There are other ways of making ruffle, most notably this one*, but when dealing with thick material like the one used for this tutorial hand basting actually is far more reliable a way of creating the ruffle. When done, pull the thread gently and gather the whole thing up in a ruffle.

* The tutorial uses ruffle that's folded lengthwise in half but that part's not necessary. In fact a lighter, airier ruffle suits lolita style better.

Spread the ruffles evenly and pin the ruffle to the bottom of the hem part. Sew to attach. Do the same with top of skirt and waist band.

NOTE: attaching the waist band goes like this.

Iron the seams open again, press nicely flat on the front side. Stitch over ruffle top and skirt+waistband joint as shown above.

As a final step attach the waist ties. I simply folded the to-be-attached end over, pinned it in place and sewed over it twice.

Finished item with a matching gigantic head bow.

Hem detail.

Bow detail. A great bow tutorial here.

Detail shot of the back and the waist bands.

And here's how an apron skirt looks when worn:

Front - the skirt underneath can peek from below although it's not necessary - with this type of overskirt both ways look correct.

Back. This is the reason why you always need an underskirt that's not just a petticoat - apron skirt flares out a lot and opens in the back. They're meant to. It's part of what makes them so cute.

Aaaand a quick shot of the gigantic headbow. :3

For the beginner in lolita: what to get first?

Lolita felt massively overwhelming to me when I at first began thinking of perhaps trying to get into the style. Brands rarely shipped abroad (far as I remember Meta and MMM did but the others... not so), therefore even getting my hands on the items in the first place seemed close to impossible. Except... except of course I could try and sew something myself.

The first thing I made was, obviously, a petticoat. Coincidentally it was so well made that it's lasted with me throughout the years and is still among my favourites, only needs a starching every once in a year or so. Petticoats are nowadays easier available and cheaper too so for a beginner lolita they'll probably pose no big  a problem, so let's say you already have one. What next?

A simple skirt.

You don't have to immediately/ever deck yourself in full burando (unless you want to, of course), especially if you're not yet certain whether or not the style even is for you. The good sides to having a basic ruffly skirt as the first item are that it can be worn outside of the style as well, if you make it yourself you can make matching accessories to it which immediately up the "loliness" of it, it's easy to coord because you'll only need a nice blouse or a shirt, tights/knee socks and cute shoes - which btw can totally be offbrand as well. In all my lolying I've worn f.ex. ballerina flats, a pair of Dinsko pumps I tuned up a bit with a couple of pears, nice black buckle shoes for my short goth period, a pair of simple thick-heeled black shoes and so forth.

And of course skirts are among the easiest possible sewing projects, in which regard they're only beaten by the -

Apron skirt

A lovechild of a ruffle skirt and an apron. It's not an ideal first piece because it always requires a skirt to be worn underneath, but making a few apron skirts will easily broaden your wardrobe. Wearing one over your skirt will give the skirt a whole new look, therefore having a couple of these available offers lots of new opportunities for coording. Again, making one comes with the possibility of making matching accessories so there's that as well.

Another suggestion for accessories is to get fake flowers and make some yourself, preferably hair accessories since having some makes a big difference in the whole look. If you use easy to coord colours such as white, off-white and black you'll never be lacking in accessories.

Jumperskirt, in other words a JSK

Another easy to coord and variable item, definitely one of the best options for a beginner. Wearing a different blouse underneath and matching the other colours of the coord accordingly will allow for many different looks with simply one item. An OP (one piece), though they're lovely, limits the wearer a little bit when it comes to coording because so much is already there, and while it may feel like an easier thing to wear it's actually the exact opposite. Just because a dress seems like a fully realized outfit does not mean it is that, and besides if there's no chance of varying a look it'll quickly become boring.

TL;DR a beginner lolita needs:

* a petticoat, first of all

* a few cute blouses

* a cute pair of shoes (beware too tall and narrow heels, they can work but most often they don't)

* simple accessories: bows, hair clips, roses etc.

* tights or socks, can be simple

None of the above needs to be expensive. I've got lots of my wardrobe straight out of secondhand stores, fleamarkets, vintage shops, ordinary clothing stores and so forth. All of the above are also not necessarily lolita only -wear but can be used for various looks and occasions.

For the lolita items, good first buys/projects to make are:

* skirts and JSKs

To broaden your wardrobe an excellent choice would be:

* an apron skirt - I'm putting together a tutorial on how to sew one so stay tuned if you're interested!

Iceland-specific recommendations:

* all head accessories have to have an option of tying or pinning them securely to the hair

* bloomers are good for all year round - they literally protect your ass against both cold and surprise!storms

* cardigans, get yourself some cardigans, seriously seriously do it

* or cute sweaters

Some kitsuke ideas.

Late August and early September are ideal for kimono wearing over here. There are other times as well, but this is the time of the year when the air turns crisp and cold but the autumn storms have not yet began (they usually arrive en masse around October/November). Multilayered kitsuke time!

Starting with the simplest one. I'm in love with this kimono, it's so cheerful and still makes me think of Moomins and the art of Tove Jansson.

Plus that daruma obi is an eternal favourite, though I don't wear it that often because it's old and I'm afraid of damaging it.

Then for the complicated ones. Btw I love this sleeve length for kimono: not furisode-long but longer than usual kimono. You can compare to the one above.

This time I got an idea of trying a bonnet and a cape with the kitsuke based on an art piece that I once saw floating around Tumblr and lost almost immediately. It also used glasses, hence, well, glasses.

This is how the cape looks at the back. I like how it imitates the swoop of a kimono neckline.

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos by the way. It was a dark day and my old camera could not handle it. Perhaps I'll one day have a proper photoshoot done with these ideas...

Detail shot of the front.

A mirror detail shot (that's why everything suddenly switched sides in the coord, it's all just mirrored) that also shows the hairstyle. 

But then I also thought of wearing a haori instead of the cape. This is the one that I bought thinking it had short sleeves but found out that the sleeves had just been shortened and took them back out into their original shape. I also love how long the haori is, most only come you your hips but this one's knee-length.

Plus I like the bold pattern in it. It fits well with the plaid.

Detail!selfie with our driftwood garden decoration trolls!

And a blooper pic to finish with. I'm deadly afraid of anything that flies and can sting so a bee/hornet/wasp can easily get all my attention no matter what else I'm doing at the moment. :D