Good things come to those who wait

I have set myself a goal for the rest of the year. I am going to save a little every single month so that in January I can buy myself another dream print and some other bits too.

I have often wondered if it is better to buy stuff as and when you see them or wait for something better to come along. When I look at my own approach to buying lolita I have always seen things, bought them, not had money for something better, got a little annoyed and then sold things. At one point I was doing a Bodyline order once a month but if I had saved that money I could have got something I wanted more. Sure, my wardrobe would have been smaller but I would have felt like I had achieved something more. I am re-evaluating my spending and maybe (just maybe) in the long term my wardrobe will benefit from my new way of thinking.

I now have a new money plan which I hope will benefit me in the long term.

Want Vs. Need

Although my wardrobe is slowly getting better, I still feel like I am lacking a lot of basics or "wardrobe builders". A lot of this is down to focusing on prints rather than the rest of the outfit. So I have now come up with a list I have called Want Vs Need. The Want side is filled with all the prints and things I would love to own but are not vital for my wardrobe. The Need side is filled with all the basics that would give my wardrobe more variety and give my wardrobe more depth. So on the Want side I have stuff like AP's Melty Moon ring (I would love to have this!) and Innocent World's crown bag. On the Need side I have stuff like a black blouse, white boots etc. To decide which items go on the Need side I had to look at my wardrobe and work out what basics are missing and also how many prints/dresses that basic would work with. Here is the tricky part- for every item I buy from the Want side, I have to buy at least one item from the Need side. My theory is that I will be excited about getting the Want item and the Need item will be useful (and hopefully, I will get excited about the Need stuff too!). Eventually, those wardrobe holes will be filled but at the same time, I wont feel as though I haven't treated myself.

Print Priority

I have a list of all the dream prints I would love to buy (and there is a LOT of them). To work out which one I will buy next, I am listing them in the order of how much I love them. However, I am also factoring in availability and average selling prices. In fact, I might do a separate list but this time in price order. As I save my little bits of money for the rest of the year, I will see how high I can climb up on my list. I will evaluate if I am happy with how high I have climbed the list or whether I can push myself further and get the next item up.

Not being too reliant on the "Mights and Maybes"

I intend to only include money I 100% know I am going to get. For example, my father-in-law might give me some money for Christmas but he might get me something else instead. Because I don't know if I will get money, I wont include this in my spending budget. And then, when I do get money unexpectedly, it will be a nice surprise. I always work on a worst-case scenario when it comes to money now, even if it is a little depressing.

Real life before frills

No matter what, if I need money for something non-lolita related, that takes priority. I plan ahead which meets I attend, make note of people's birthdays, getting my flu jab, going to the dentist. All of these things have to have money set aside before I even think about lolita. And I always like to hold a little money aside somewhere for those emergencies and last minute surprises.

Shopping around

Whenever I see something I like on EGL Sales, I always feel like I have to make a decision as quickly as possible. In the past I have missed things because some of the lolitas on there are super quick! But EGL Sales is not the be all and end all of lolita shopping. Don't you just hate it when you buy something thinking that you were unlikely to get it elsewhere and then you find it on a Japanese auction site for a lot less? So now, I try to browse auction sites and re-sellers as much as possible just so in my head, I get an idea of the average prices. Then when I see something nice, I will hopefully be able to tell if it is a good price a lot quicker than I could before.

Competitiveness

Whenever I see a friend going on a huge shopping spree, I can't help but want to do it too. But they are a totally different person and their situation is probably different. Every lolita has to come up with their own way of working out how to shop. It is no good trying to keep up with your friend if it leaves you with a massive heap of debt. Let's focus on our own wardrobes!

I sometimes feel like I am too easily lured in to buying stuff. I am hoping my new money plan will see that change. Of course, a lot of the plan does require some level of will-power. Let's hope I can hold off on the Wants and get more Need items!

Why why why...

So I pre-order Meta's new Fairy Tale series, my mum books a family holiday (and as a result, I can't go to Hyper Japan this year!) and I generally have a very busy Summer ahead of me. In other words, I don't have a great deal of money at the moment and probably wont again until September. I saw the Meta Summer Lucky packs go up and I wasn't too bothered about missing these, despite the fact that the bags were really cute. I saw some people got Perfume Bottle in their packs, but I was still happy.

And then the sale started...

One of my beloved Meta prints of last year is a part of this sale. I have been incredibly stupid because I knew Meta would have a sale. I have to watch on as the dress I have wanted ever since its release keeps getting lower and lower in price. And every time it is reduced further it gets even more painful. There is no way I can purchase it at the moment but I know for a fact that I will never see this dress at such a low price again. I keep asking myself why I had to go spending all my money. I need a firm kick up the backside to get myself sorted! Surely, I am not the only person this has happened to...

I cannot stress this enough- I would recommend to any lolita reading this to always keep a little money aside just in case your dream piece makes a sudden appearance. If you have multiple dream items, make a list of which items would take top priority.

Sorry if this post sounds whiny. The reason I posted this is because I want to highlight my stupidity so I will hopefully learn my lesson!

Primark Sailor Skirt

Last week was absolutely horrible but after a hiccup with our router, I am back! I am still feeling gloomy about my granddad dying but I really wanted to post today because I want to distract myself. Due to not having internet for most of today, it will only be a short post tonight,

I have been on another trip to Primark. I was very happy with my last Primark find- the stripy floral dress, so I was looking out for any other potential loli-able items. In the end I decided to purchase this skirt for £12-

Originally, I was intending to buy this just for casual wear as it is a nice basic piece but I think this skirt could work for sailor lolita too. It is very simple and the shape is a lot nicer than it is in this photo. As far as I could tell, it only comes in navy blue. The belt was included but I think I will be replacing it because it looks a bit flimsy.

Unfortunately I do not have any worn pictures this time but do keep an eye out in the future! I briefly tried it on. I deliberately wore it slightly lower than my actual waist line and the skirt ended a little above my knees. However compared to how short some Angelic Pretty skirts are now, this skirt is probably around the same length. Bear in mind I am about 5'4''. I guess you could layer a longer skirt underneath if you were worried about length. I managed to fit a petticoat underneath the skirt quite well. I managed to get a decent shape so I was really happy I got this.

It is interesting that all these fuller skirts have been appearing not just in Primark but all over the high street. Sometimes I see skirts which do not immediately make me think of lolita but could have a lot of potential. If you were looking for a cheap new dress or skirt, now may be the right time to have a look in your local shops. I have a huge expo coming up in May so this skirt was ideal for my current budget.

The stripy £9 Primark Dress

If you read my recent post about Primark, you may recall me mentioning a dress I had spotted for £9 which could potentially be loli-able. I didn't purchase it at first. Then I saw somebody had posted the dress on EGL and I thought it looked better than I expected. So I went back to Primark and I got it.

So here is the dress I was referring to-

It is a very simple dress as far as the details go. It has thin straps, there are a few small gold buttons running down the front and not a single bow in sight. The pattern features stripes and a pink floral pattern. Close-up photos are below.

Considering how cheap the dress is, I admit I was not expecting a lot from it but it turned out better than I expected. So I very quickly tried it on and whilst I think I need to put a little more work in to my outfit, I was very happy with the results.

I would like to apologise because a) I desperately need some new petticoats b) my wardrobe still has holes in it so I was randomly throwing things together and c) it had been a very tiring day so I look a little zombie-ish.

I really should wear that belt more often because despite it clinging to me a little too tightly, it really emphasises my waist!

After putting on a very un-puffy petticoat, the dress sat a tiny bit above my knees (I am about 5'4'' just so you know). I am very tempted to wear a classic skirt underneath and then pin the Primark dress up to expose the other skirt. I think it is a shame that I don't have my Meta Rose JSK as a skirt as well because I think that would go well with this. I also think a deep burgandy coloured skirt would look pretty underneath.

This is the front of the bodice. You can just about see the gold buttons.

This is the back of the bodice which has some shirring in it. I should point out that the shirring does not stretch that far but Primark offers a wide range of sizes anyway. The shirring blends in with the pattern quite well and runs the whole way along the back.

I have just realised I forgot to photograph the bag I am holding! I got that in Primark too.

You can tell this is not a very expensive dress but for those on a limited budget, I would recommend it. It can look good worn casually and with a bit of effort it could be worn with lolita too. If anybody has some further suggestions for this dress I would love to hear them.

Primark, how I love thee...

I remember how a few years ago, Primark was not considered very fashionable. When I was younger I recall going in there but maybe only buying a pair of socks or some pyjamas. Most of the clothing was just simple and casual. My sister would browse the sportswear whilst I recoiled in horror. But then something changed.

Primark gradually started to become more trend aware and modern. It started appearing in fashion magazines a bit more. Primark was an easy way to keep up to date with the latest fashion but at an affordable price. And then I found myself starting to fall in love with Primark.

What I love about Primark is that you can now go in there and you will find lots of loli-able items. Whether it is just a small piece of jewellery or a simple cardigan, I am always finding stuff hidden away in little corners. Recently I have been buying a lot of Primark stuff. I have this ring shaped like a baby deer, some bows and lots of jewellery with a vintage feel.

This is what I bought last weekend-

The black bag cost me just £5. It is small with a bow on the front (not very visible in this photo. Sorry!). It came in beige as well but I thought the beige version looked a bit too "old" for my personal tastes. The beige bag could probably work well with classic style but I still went with the black version. The rose headband cost £2 and it was hiding right in the corner of the shop! I have tried it on and it looks very cute with a real nature feel to it. I will probably use a few pins to keep it in place on my head. I am unsure if it will go with my Meta rose printed JSK but I love roses so I will probably find a use for this hair band at some point. And Finally, I got an eye shadow palette for £1. That is 25p per shade!

I was reluctant to try Primark make-up before. I doubt it will stay on for very long but I intend to use an eye shadow primer with it to help it stay in place. I have already tried out the colours. They are very nice but maybe slightly too glittery. I would try Primark make-up again but I will try to see if they have something with a bit less sparkle.

Recently, Primark released a £9 dress. It has vertical stripes with floral details. When I first saw it, I thought it could be turned in to a lolita dress. In fact, I saw somebody on EGL had already done this. When I initially saw it I was tempted to buy it. If I see it again I will probably buy it just to see how well it works. It was very classic in appearance. It was casual but I think that dress has potential.

Considering the current trends Primark are showcasing, it wouldn't surprise me if we see more Primark featured in the lolita community in the future.