Let's Join the Lolita Blog Carnival! (One JSK, 5 different outfits!)

Dear Sparkly Eyed Dolls,

I am so excited to be writing my first Lolita Blog Carnival post! I didn't sleep last night to ensure everything would be done on time. The task is, "Take one staple wardrobe item, like a skirt, JSK, or OP, and make 5 different coordinates with it. May also be great to talk about budget." I thought this was the perfect topic for me to start off with. My blog is all about budget and making what you have stretch as far as you can! I can just about guarantee that every one of the outfits pictured in this post were bought for 50 dollars or less (Not including shoes, I only have a few pairs of shoes and they are an investment always.) and with a shared JSK that really can save money. Being able to put together different looks with one piece of clothing is a key part in wearing something like Lolita regularly. Okay! On with the show. Let's start! 

Outfit 1- Fairy-Loli Fun Fun FUUUNN!! 

This was easily my favorite outfit! Can you see I made use of that Tunic I bought for around 4 dollars at Target.com. This outfit is incredible fun to wear and just brings me to life inside when I wear it. I think this one suits me the best. Remember that pink Bodyline JSK because you might be seeing a lot of it very soon!

I felt I looked like a Lala Loopsy here myself! Can you picture it? I can! Suzette La Sweet's silly cousin Skiteanna LaSweet! (My pen name last name being the same as hers was unintentional, but I'm not bothered at all by it~! I love the Lala Loopsy doll line.)

Outfit Rundown 

Bow-Kroger (1.50$)

Glasses- Rue 21 (Free, but one get one free sale!)

Wig- Bodyline (bought from a seller online for 15 including shipping) 

Pink Confetti Tunic- Target for about 4.17$ on clearance ~ 

High Waisted Pink JSK- Bodyline (I believe I think I spent about 25 a few years ago) 

Cupcake necklace- Gift from my Japanese teacher (She made it!)

Tights- Rue 21 (I think the pack of pink and black was around 4)

Shoes- Bodyline (They were 40$)

Other jewelry is thrifted, given to me, or from Mcdonalds (The watch)

Whole outfit total- 89.67$, without the shoes it comes to 49.67$

Next up! 

Outfit 2- Little Lavender Dreamer

This was my favorite shot in this outfit! I really wish I had a matching purple ribbon to tie around the waist of the dress to finish off the look.

Outfit Rundown 

Bow- Kroger ($1.50)

Wig- Bodyline (bought from a seller online for $15 including shipping) 

Blouse- Goodwill ($4.19)

High Waisted Pink JSK- Bodyline (I believe I think I spent about $25 a few years ago) 

Backpack- Goodwill (It was a long time ago I think it was around $2)

Tights- Walmart ($1.50)

White Shoes- Walmart ($8)

Without shoes- $49.19 With shoes- 57.19

Wow stuff really adds up, huh?

Outfit 3- Causal...Fairy-Loli...thing....I guess (XD")

This would be a good outfit for a day out at the park, a walk, or to go to school in.

Bring a jacket for when you get chilly.

In this outfit I'm using the JSK as a skirt by putting a shirt on over it. This is one of my favorite JSKs to wear as a skirt! The key to this look is less poof, lower poof. This would be a great time to layer short petticoats/panniers like I do. I used one pannier with some lift and wore it midway down my hips to give it the casual shape I wanted.

After school on the walk home (or just when it gets a little colder if you didn't wear it to school) a simple hat like this fit right over the double bun hair style. I stuck the hair bows in my lunchbox (I use it as a regular bag.)

Outfit Rundown 

Hat- Target ($10)

Glasses- Rue 21 (Free, but one get one free sale!)

Shirt- Walmart (I think it was around $7)

Jacket- Christmas gift one year (I think it was around $16 and bought at Walmart)

Hello Kitty Lunchbox- Gift from Mckinley

High Waisted Pink JSK- Bodyline (I believe I think I spent about $25 a few years ago) 

Polka dotted Leggings- Goodwill ($2) 

I don't have the foggiest clue how much those socks were, but they were from Goodwill

Shoes- Goodwill (I think they were $7 or cheaper)

Overall price with shoes-$51  Without shoes- $44

OH I forgot  to add the bows, they would only be $1.50 each, I get most of my bows from Kroger.

Outfit 4- A More Traditional Sweet Lolita Outfit (Caps everywhere because they just look nice, some things are titles and such yadayada~) 

I really wanted to do more hair styles, but you know how it is when your curler breaks and you loose all your hairpins in a move right? Made things a bit harder as far as hair is concerned. No one is more disappointed than me that I couldn't use my real hair more.

.....I am sensing a pattern here...

Bow and ...oh what else? "I guess I'll get the matching bag!"

Outfit Rundown

It can be difficult to remember actual prices,  bought a lot of this stuff a long time ago! (XD")

Bow- This came off my Bodyline Carousel Skirt and I think the bow is a free add on to the skirt~

Wig- Bodyline (bought from a seller online for $15 including shipping) 

Blouse- Goodwill ($1.50)

High Waisted Pink JSK- Bodyline (I believe I think I spent about $25 a few years ago) 

Carousel Bag- Bodyline (I don't remember what I paid, maybe $7?)

White Tights- Walmart ($1.50)

Shoes- Bodyline (They were 40$)

Total without shoes- $50 With shoes- $90

Outfit 5- Winter ...erm... Wonderland?

Winter is coming soon so I decide to do a warm outfit last.

Outfit Rundown

Earmuffs- Bodyline (I think they are $6)

Bow- Kroger ($1.50)

Scarf- I got that for Christmas long long ago in a galaxy far far away

Blouse- Given to me by Louise

High Waisted Pink JSK- Bodyline (I believe I think I spent about $25 a few years ago) 

Tights- Walmart ($1.50)

Shoes- Gift for my birthday one year

A lot of gifts this time! Let's add it up~

Total- (Shoes cost me nothing so it would be useless to do a separate total) 34

So to do a quick recap we had

1.

2.

3.

4.

and 5 outfits from one JSK

The JSK I picked, I picked because the simplicity. The simpler the skirt, dress, or JSK the easier it is to coordinate the way you want. When the piece is one solid color you can choose your own color scheme more freely. In a dress with a loud print you can be slightly limited in color selection. When first starting, it may be better to buy simple pieces that you can dress up any way you choose! It is easy and quick when your just starting out to buy just a dress or 2 in colors you like to wear, so will therefore own a lot of or have plans to own more of. Also, did you notice the shoes and JSK usually almost made up the whole price? Other things can be picked up very cheap and you never know what you will accumulate over the years! 

 A few tips

~ If your using a print dress and your at a loss for how to coordinate it, look at the colors in the print. Bringing colors out of the print can really make the little details stand out more. You could also accessorize around a theme, I always find that to be fun and easy!  

~ Don't worry about making a million different perfect outfits when your just starting out. When you just start in Lolita you are still deciding how exactly you want to look in Lolita and your still in the early stages of collecting pieces you may need to create different outfits. Just wear your new JSK without a blouse when it first arrives if you want! Sure it may be against the rules, but I sure didn't wait to buy a blouse before I tried on my first JSK (This one, actually). If your worried about being perfect on your first try, just remember. The fun part of Lolita is the journey! (Though the end result is still pretty fun too!) 

~ Don't worry so much about doing everything right!  I think you should learn the rules, gain inspiration, then brake the rules a little! If it looks good to you and you love it then that is absolutely all that matters! You shouldn't be too afraid to be yourself because of what people might say. The point of fashion is to be yourself and express yourself. Your awesome! Be proud of it!~ 

~ Don't worry be happy! That can be hard advice to follow. Things get bad for everyone, some more than others. Everyone has had at least one bad day. Even if you don't feel like smiling smile, even if you don't feel like dressing up in your favorite outfit, do it anyway! Sometimes you have to force yourself to think your happy on bad days and it can turn into being happy! That works pretty often for me, but that isn't always the answer. A thing to remember is that fashion should make you happy! If it isn't making you happy anymore find out why, maybe you found you took an insult to heart and it's been dragging you down. It can be hard, but try to remember tip 3! At the risk of rambling I'm going to leave it at that. 

So, which outfit is your favorite? Do you have any tips you would give about coordinating outfits around one piece of clothing? I had a really good time with this post and I hope to do more Lolita Blog Carnival posts in the near future! I hope my first one was a success! 

Other super blogs who also joined in on the fun! 

Swirly Purple and Green Crayons

Sparkling Girl

A Lace Jail

Hello Batty

2 Teaspoons of Sugar

RedTonic

Make Lovely

Liz Juice Melting Mind

(I was up all night AGAIN, so) Sleepily Yours,

Skiteanna La~Sweet

(Wrote this yesterday, but posted today as soon as I got up! I actually got some sleep tonight~)

Let's Buy On A Budget! (Skiteanna's Guide To Everyday Fairy Kei and Sweet Lolita on a Budget)

Dear Frilly Colorful Angel Food Cakes,

Hi everyoneee!!!! I had an idea to do this guide in the shower (where all great ideas seem to happen!) I thought that since I was using these same tips to help myself maybe I could help others too! This is a living post and I will be adding more to it as I think of new ways to better it! Now on to the guide I was talking about!!)..

Princess Skiteanna's Guide To Fairy Kei and Sweet Lolita on a Budget 

This picture is from http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/6d7f272e68ed59764b4bec9d45c6fb391233270632_full.jpg and Shugo Chara! <3

(This is written under the assumption these readers I talk about want to increase the size of their wardrobe quickly or want to wear everyday or as often as possible.)

Step 1- What Do You Have Already? 
This is more of a step for fairy kei girls/boys(Though, a lot of accesories and things can easily be used for both fairy kei and sweet lolita), you may have many things perfect for a full fairy kei outfit already in your own home. If you had an interest in things that pretain to the style before you even knew the style existed you could have plenty of workable T-shirts you bought at the mall, thrift stores, or even Walmart! Many places sell accesories, tutus and tights that would be perfectly acceptable as well. Even if you are thinking right now that you have nothing and are going nuts just waiting for more money, you could very well be wrong. Fairy kei is all about 80s retro kid culture, ask your family members that may have even lived in the 80s if they have their old clothes stored some where then if you can maybe have some and have a ball! Even if your first couple of tries aren't what you are even willing to label "fairy kei" yet, you could always call it fairy kei inspired and wear it while still feeling good about it. I still suggest going through everything you own and laying it out and examining it. You may not see it's usefulness now, but once you learn to look at things for what they could be rather than what they are you may find you have more already than you ever thought. A good way to do that is to gather a since of what clothes can become through inspiration, which leads right into my next step!

Step 2- Do Your Research!! (Gather as much knowledge and insperation as possible)
Look up the style you love, research it, look at all the pictures of it you possibly can, and save the ones that inspire you the most and look at them as often as possible. I have one folder for outfits others out together and a folder inside it for specific items I may want to add to my wardrobe someday that are affordable and not insanely out of my price range. (Though, then I do have a folder for dream items that would be GGREATTTT to have, but right now it would be a bad investment to buy.) Good sites to just sit and look at outfit ideas are lookbook.nu, livejournal communities (Will list some), fashion/personal blogs, and tumblr.

Step 3- Buy Smart! (What can you use in several looks rather than just a few?) 
One of the most common early mistakes people make is just deciding to work really hard and spend all the money on one outfit and the matching accesories and what they end up with is one outfit. If your on a budget and hungry to get started (like many are) you may want to save the big outfits for later when you already have plenty of outfits and accessories you can mix and match infinate ways. Thrift stores and sales communities have things for very cheap and many starter fairy kei and lolita outfits can be made solely using Bodyline.co.jp, I have very few complaints on the things I have bought from Bodyline over the years and think that it is a great place to shop. If you can't shop online I would ask around your local fashion communities and see if anyone is selling and maybe you could meet-up and exchange money and items, that is a way to save on the shipping if the gas isn't too much as well. When you are ready to buy ask  yourself this question before you close the deal, 'How many outfits can I make with this useing what I already have?' This is a very important question if you want to wear any fashion daily or very often. You likely don't want to be stuck wearing the exact same coordinate, you want to be able to mix and match and always keep it fun and exciting, right? I want that and I think a lot of others do too!

Step 4- Play Like Polyvore! (You can skip this if you can just do it in your head!~)
You could use Polyvore for this, but I have noticed not everything is on Polyvore and if you want specific items you could just do it like this, take photos of all your clothes and load them on to your computer, (like Poupee girl) if you don't have a camera you could try to find pictures online that are of the clothes you own and save all the pictures to a folder to keep them easy to find. After you do that you save pictures of things you want to buy and have decided you could do something with (Possibly in a different folder). You could use paint and put together as many possible full outfit coords you can using the clothes until you decide buying whatever it is you have in mind would be a good investment.

Step 5- Build Your Wardrobe! 
Now that you know the basics, you are ready to buy! I think it would be a good idea to have the goal of at least a weeks worth of seperate fairy kei outfits and a weeks worth of sweet lolita outfits (if your interested in doing both like me and if not just a week or two of one of those fashions.) The outfits can be mixed and matched around so you can successfully wear it everyday! If you have a weeks worth of both that gives you plenty of time to do laundry and prepare outfits for the next days. I am currently in the process of reaching my goal with very little money right now, but I have very high hopes that someday I will reach it and then go even further!

I have found this to be the best way for me personally to reach my goals and I thought theses steps might be helpful to others as well~! I am so so happy to have some people checking on my blog I have seen a few views here and there and I am so glad to know that someone somewhere is reading this! <3 Much love to the readers out there!!

If anyone has other helpful tips please comment with them and help everyone reading and me to better our wardrobes~ (Please tell me if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes at ALL, this was all written really early in the morning before I lost my train of thought!

Links
Fairy Kei Sales Community- http://80s-cuties.livejournal.com/
Sales For Just Bodyline- http://bodyline-love.livejournal.com/profile
Daily Lolita Outfit Ideas- http://daily-lolita.livejournal.com/profile
Good For All Things Lolita- http://egl.livejournal.com/profile
The Sales For The Above Community- http://egl-comm-sales.livejournal.com/profile
Community for Popkei/Fairykei- http://popkei.livejournal.com/profile / http://fairykei.livejournal.com/profile


You can also just look up the community that may exist locally for you! (If one doesn't exist make one and hope for the best! Facebook pages are also good for getting the word out about your comm.

Sleepily Yours, (Again...come on it's 3am!)

Skiteanna La~Sweet