Today's Lolita Blog Carnival theme is as the title says. I first got interested in lolita in 2005, and the year 2006 saw my first attempts in this tricky fashion. My blog, however, only goes back to 2009, and that's where this post will begin from. Actually I'm just glad I don't have any proof of my early "lolita" outfits, because to be honest they were Awful with a capital A. Those were different times; not many brands shipped abroad, and thus we had to make do with whatever almost-but-not-quite-lolita clothes that we could lay our hands on, and even those sad items were such treasures! Oh, all the memories! But, anyway, the purpose of this long babbling was to warn you that yes, this post will be as long as a year of famine (as the Finnish saying goes). So be warned! And here we go...
2009
I started my lolita career as a gothic lolita - and so did everyone else. Back in 2006, gothic lolita was all the rage and I still occasionally dressed in it in 2009. I guess it also fitted my dark teen years very well. This h.NAOTO Frill dress was my very first brand dress ever, and how I loved it! I also wore dark lipstick, a big mistake. Don't get me wrong; I still adore dark lipsticks but I just can't wear them myself, because my lips are so tiny. But in 2009, I am yet to learn this.
In 2009 I also got my very first dress from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. I still own this dress and wear it every now and then. My style was not that polished back then, as you can see.
2010
In 2010 I started to like some of Innocent World's sweeter designs, as well. I was getting more into sweet lolita and the dramatic gothic days were finally behind me. I got my bunny bear bags and though I never used them much in daily wear, I sometimes dared to. I also wore over the knees with prints - a thing that I don't really do anymore, but then it seemed like a good idea.
I also fell in love with Angelic Pretty. During those times, sweet lolita was The Thing and I kind of went with the flow. I think it also had much to do with the fact that I was just bored after so many years in black and white, and sweet lolita seemed so fresh, so full of colour options!
But I never lost my love for Baby (still haven't, after all these years!) and sometimes I even wore black, mostly with lighter colours though.
2011
During the year 2011, my favourite brands were still the same: Baby, AP and IW. For some time, I was very loyal towards these brands and didn't even consider buying a dress from any other brand. 2011 was also the year I finally got Minna Parikka's Raquel shoes - shoes that I had long lusted for and shoes that I still have, and still love. Later I got more Minna Parikka shoes and liked to wear them with lolita a lot.
I also started to get interested in classic lolita. My first attempts were not so good.
I also bought these winter boots from Baby; they were and still are my only lolita brand shoes. Usually the price and quality just aren't a match, I've always thought it's ridiculous to spend that much on fake leather shoes. But I had long wanted proper lolita winter boots, something that isn't so easy to find from regular shoe stores, and so I got these and wore them a lot during that year.
Sugary Carnival was once my dream dress, and 2011 was the last time I wore it. I just recently sold it away and it did hurt to part from it, even though it no longer fits my style at all.
2012
But in 2012, I got another dream dress - Baby's Marie Antoinette OP, a dress I had admired from the very beginning of my lolita hobby. This dress, when I first laid eyes upon it, seemed to be everything I loved in lolita, the ultimate lolita dress. And now it was mine!
I would still wear Angelic Pretty occasionally, but in 2012 I wore mostly Baby and IW. My style was going more towards sweet-classic and pure classic. My outfits were also getting more delicate; I would wear airy lace thights instead of printed socks. Actually, somewhere during this year I made the decision to never wear over the knees with lolita again, and never again I did. I decided that I was officially too old for them, and that outfits were more elegant without.
In 2012 I also added two new brands to my wardrobe: Victorian Maiden and Juliette & Justine.
2013
The more time passes, the less I care about the fact if my outfits are matching or not. If the coulours work together, I wear them and that's that. This has made lolita a lot more fun to me.
During winter, I tended to wear dark, solid coloured stockings, to be (or at least feel) less noticiable and also to keep warm.
I was also - and still am - trying to find new, more classical ways of wearing my old sweet dresses.
2014
In 2014, I still prefer dark or nude thights. To be honest, my lolita style is pretty boring during the Winter times - I hate that, but I just want to be warm, and draw as little attention as possible, and also Winter is really dark and uninspiring time in Finland.
Well, what else? This year I wore my latte coloured killer heels. A Lot. I liked to combine them with sweet pastel coulours, to get more mature yet still cute looks.
I learned that these shoes go with everything.
I also tried to find new ways to wear my beloved Marie Antoinette OP. It's very hard to coordinate, but here I tried a little bit more modern approach and liked the outcome a lot.
I also like to coordinate a little bit of black into my outfits - it makes them seem more elegant and fresh.
And of course I added yet another (indie) brand to my wardrobe, when I finally bought this beautiful dress from Finnish Cloudberry Lady.
When it comes to accessorizing, I have always preferred to use offbrand, second hand, vintage and regular store finds also to get a more unique style. This is something that has not changed during all these years.
***
Phew. That took me forever. Hopefully some of you, my dear readers, could make it all the way to the end! If you enjoyed it, even better, if you suffered trough it, well I am sorry but still glad that you made it. :D
P.S. Don't forget to check the other Lolita Blog Carnival participants:
P.S. Don't forget to check the other Lolita Blog Carnival participants:
