Dreaming of a Summer 2013 Lolita Wardrobe

Just like that, here in Connecticut, it's summer. Last week it was 40 degrees and today it's 79*! With the exception of about 3 days scattered through the last 2 weeks, we really don't see a whole lot of spring around these parts, there are still snow piles in parking lots that haven't had time to melt! Planning a spring wardrobe around here, where you maybe plan on pairing some paler colors with a nice cardigan to fight off the chill, is pretty much a pipe dream for me, and now, all of the sudden, it's time to think about what sort of wardrobe I want to wear this summer. So let's take a peek at the sort of wardrobe I'm dreaming of this summer!

The theme for this summer is a sort of lazy decadence with a touch of old school. It's a little bit Metamorphose and a little bit Juliette et Justine inspired, and probably a whole lot of rule breaking and style blending. It's not so much Rococo as previous seasons have been but rather more Romantic. 

Top row, left to right: Surface Spell, R Series, Elpress L, Classical Puppets, Baby the Stars Shine Bright (x2), Angelic Pretty, Ebay, Bodyline (x2)

Middle row, left to right: Classical Puppets, Offbrand, Bodyline, Moi Meme Moitie, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Atelier Pierrot, Haenuli, Metamorphose, Surface Spell, R Series

Bottom row, left to right, offbrand, Antique Beast, Metamorphose, Putumayo, Surface Spell, Akane & Alois, Surface Spell, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Antique Beast, Bodyline.

I've been really inspired lately by a lot of empire waisted, and even no-waisted A-line dresses that don't really require a ton of poof. This more carefree and less structured style of Lolita, that is frequently explored by the more "eccentric" Lolita brands, is really perfect for days that are just too damned hot to really feel like going the whole 9 yards, but you still want to feel like a princess. Hey, princesses can be lazy too.

As I mentioned a couple summers ago, I still am totally loving the idea of OPs in the summer, and would like to fancy them up a bit with some breezy chiffon, elegant accessories, and opulent prints this year. I feel like that definitely reflects the current year's crazy decadent styles, but is also evened out a bit by some simplier antique styled pieces. This past year as seen a huge increase in the popularity of smaller indie brands, and many times the current release that everyone is talking about is not so much one of the big brands as it is a small indie lolita brand! This has been absolutely fantastic and such a refreshing thing to see in the world of Lolita, and this summer wardrobe reflects that a bit with some of my favorite indie brand pieces. Good bye deco pastel cake bunnies and 3-pettis-at-once, and hello gold framed cats printed on chiffon and lacy underskirts!

Finishing Touches

An outfit is really made something special with a few finishing touches, and in the heat of summer, where you can't really keep adding layers of clothes to your coordinate, accessories and finishing touches really help make the look feel complete. So what sort of finishing touches will I be frantically hunting down for summer 2013?

Hats

There's currently a huge chiffon and organza trend that's been popping up within Lolita and other girly Jfashions, and Angelic Pretty recently released a very popular chiffon bonnet to go with an extremely popular print. The soft girly shades and antique styling of a bonnet like this would be perfect with a floaty pastel dress. A bonnet like this can look extremely childish, but with a loose wavy hairstyle, the bow tied behind the neck or to one side, and paired with a less poofy dress I think a bonnet like this can look more antique and less kawaii.

Boater hats are so 2010, we might as well toss them out in the garbage with all our fawn-fur accessories (Just kidding! Haven't I ever mentioned how trends in Lolita tend to stick around forever?), this summer I'd like to try a straw bowler hat instead! It has the same retro charm that made boater hats so popular, but it's something a little bit different, and a little less frequently seen. It's perfect for the Classic Lolita and even the Sweet Lolita who likes a little bit of Classic in their wardrobe. The boring black band can easily be replaced with a complimenting ribbon and tied in a cute bow, and further decorated with a faux flower or even a cute brooch.

For the more Gothically inclined section of my imaginary summer wardrobe, I'd like to pair my coordinates with a large black sun hat. Not a floppy straw hat (Hate them! They always remind me of 1970's pool parties, which is maybe the exact opposite of the look I'm going for), but a black straw hat with a nice wide brim that stays up. These are a bit of a pain to find online, because they tend to be of the trendier floppy variety, but black wide brimmed sun hats are something of an old lady garden party staple and can usually be found at places like Sears for about $25. I have a hat like this that I tied a big tulle bow onto and then managed to lose for a couple years that I hope to get the chance to wear this summer! Just like any hat, these can be dressed up with some ribbon and faux flowers to easily match any coordinate and be as casual or as extravagant as you need them to be! 

Jewelry

Rose bracelet on Etsy. Alice in Wonderland pocket watch necklace on Etsy.

With such elegant looking outfits, I feel like jewelry can be kept to a minimum, or at least, significantly less than a lot of post-deco trends. A long pendant necklace and a bracelet for bare arms are perfect summer accessories. Too much jewelry just means more gross places to get sweaty anyways.

Hair and Makeup

Can we make this summer the season we finally hang up our rainbow split wigs for good? There was a time when they were new that I found them novel, but after the millionth time of seeing them haphazardly coordinated with every possible Lolita dress in existence, I sort of never want to see one again. As Lolitas, we might still be pretty far away from giving up wigs (they're just so easy!), but it's pretty nice to see us slowly headed towards more natural looking wigs. I've been loving this trend in the past year or so of these frizzy "Mori Girl" wigs that basically look like you slept in several braids and you can get a pretty good au naturel hair style like this by doing just that!

From Bodyline

It would be fantastic to see makeup go the way of the wig this summer and look a big more natural than what has been popular for so long. I'd love to see less Gyaru inspired full face makeup in Lolita, and more softly made up faces. A little bit of a call to the antique doll inspired makeup of the angelic Old School Lolita. After all, I don't think anyone likes sweating under all that makeup.

Etude House nail polish.

Nail polish is a pretty great way to add some sparkle and color to a coordinate, without having to pack on the extra jewelry. I'm sure everyone with an internet connection in recent months has seen these gorgeous ice cream styled Etude House nail polishes! Luckily for everyone who can't get their hands on Korean nail polish, these are currently a pretty popular nail polish trend and can be found under a few different names, ranging from creamy glitter, jelly glittery, or chelly glitter. These creamy pastel polishes with a bit of a sparkle to them are great finishing touches to a dreamy pastel coordinate, even if it's not saccharine sweet.

The Count nail polish on Etsy.

If your wardrobe is more black-based, check out this absolutely gorgeous black polish from Literary Lacquers! It's a little something different from basic black and is a glittery shimmery black jelly polish. I just got this in the mail a few days ago and I can't wait to give it a whirl!

If you're prone to switching up your style on a frequent basis and can't really commit to either pastels or darker colors for more than a few days, try some fake nails! I recently got a pair of gorgeous fake nails for review from Bonita Bon Bon that I hope to get a full review of up sometime next week!

What sort of direction do you want your Lolita wardrobe to go this summer? Does the summer heat reflect how you wear Lolita, or do you just suffer for the fashion?

*I wrote this last week! It's since been back to 40 degrees or so. Thanks, New England!