Flea Markets Are Your Friends!

 As someone that loves to save a buck while remaining stylish, flea markets are my heaven. So much of my lolita wardrobe is composed of vintage and second hand finds. Even my go to hyper poof petticoat was found at a local flea market. I find that most lolitas are eager to go vintage shopping, but they have idea what why to go about it.  I composed a few tips and tricks on how to score at your local flea markets.

-Keep your eyes open. So many of my "conversation starter" items could have been easily over looked by the common flea market consumer's eye.

-Don't set your ideals too high. Sorry to break it to you, but you will not find an Angelic Pretty skirt in your lolita-able flea market expedition.  You might not be able to find a head eatting bow that looks like it came directly from BTSSB, but you may be able to find some miner goggles from the early 20th century or a retro-tastic pillbox hat (I've found both!) to add some quirky flair to your outfits.

 
veiled pillbox hat found at a local flea market

-Be prepared to alter and tailor. Nine times out of ten, if you buy some sort of clothing item it at a flea market it will need to be altered in someway.  Also keep in mind (especially in plus sized or over sized items) that you can also make something completely different out of the fabric.  Even if it isn't a lot of fabric you would be surprised how little fabric you need to make bows or even a tote bag.

-Don't be afraid to make an offer! Most of the times the sellers of items are just as eager to get rid of their items as you are to buy them.  Sometimes even by buying one item you can get several items from the same person included (this was how I got three tiaras and Marie Antoinette wallet for less than $5).

Items that you can sometimes find at flea markets:

Classical/Steampunk-
steampunk style goggles
pocket watches
antique and cameo jewelry
handmade dollies (for brooches and other crafts)
Sweet/OTT
children's clothing (for making bows and other items)
children's toys (for deco)
children's' accessories (little clips and bows)
dainty vintage hats
Gothic/Punk
cross and rose jewelry
studded belts and accessories (use with discretion)
dark veiled hats
vintage leather apparel
Generic
petticoats (usually square dance petticoats, but you can roll up the waist band for a more cupcake shape)
vintage shoes
odd crafting supplies

I hope you enjoyed. I wish you luck on future flea market expeditions~!

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Lolita Wardrobe

I am a strong believer in getting the most wear out of your clothing.  Some people like to forget about that when focusing on saving money, the amount of times you are able to wear an item is just as important as the initial price.  Think about it this way, if you buy a $30 plaid glittery skirt and wear it only twice because you have nothing to wear with it, that is $15 per wear.  If you bought a second-hand solid colored JSK for $100 and wear it 12 times, then it is $8.33 per wear. That is $6.67 difference in amount per wear, but $70 difference in initial price. If you spend most of your money on basic staple items, that may cost a lot more initially, but you can wear several times you will be better off in the long run.  I believe there are two main ways to do this with a lolita wardrobe: getting items that you can wear outside of lolita fashion or getting versatile dresses that can fit within several lolita styles.

            First I am going to show how you can take lolita items into mainstream outfits.

  I will refer to each outfit using numerals 1-3 going left to right.

I choose a basic sax blue blouse that someone could easily find at any high street shop 

1. I made a basic sweet lolita outfit and used the blouse to bring out the blue in this Milky Chan skirt. I like how the monochromatic tights add to the sweetness of the outfit without overpowering the Milky Chan skirt.

2. I find that blouses work really well in punk coordinates.  A lot of punk fashion is about balancing tailored and masculine details with distressed and feminine details. This blouse is tailored and feminine with its soft pastel color and tasteful use of ruffles. To add some more punk detailing, I paired it with a square necktie, paint splattered cut off shorts, and quirky blue combat boots. Wear it with a pair of black OTK socks, a staple in most lolita wardrobes, to lengthen and cover your legs.

3. This outfit looks like it came straight out of The Jetsons! I have noticed a lot of designers are making dresses that mock wearing a sweet heart dress over a blouse. I personally love the give-and-take sexiness of pairing the two together. This may take a little more experimentation to find what dresses look good layered, but I guarantee that the effort is worth it, if only to get more use of your clothing. I decided to put the outfit with a pair of plastic peep toe shoes to play up the futuristic aesthetic.

Now I will show how you can expand your lolita clothing into other lolita sub-styles.

 

I will refer to each outfit using numerals 1-3 going left to right

I used a black floral print dress from Angelic Pretty, but you can find a similar style dress from other brands and off-brand sites.

1.  I tried to make this dress have a more classic feel to it. I used a grandma style blouse, lace up booties, and a black feathered hair fascinator to give the dress more of an old-time aesthetic. I would personally pair this with ringlets to play up the Victorian feel to it.

2.  I tried to bring out as much black as possible to make this rather classical-sweet-hime dress delve into the darker styles.  I used a very gothic style cape from H. Naoto to cover the abundance of bows on the bodice. A coffin shaped bag, lacy tights and criss-cross leather straped rocking horse shoes complete the punky goth look. I would put my hair into two sausage curled pigtails to poke out of the hood.

3. I went for a lighter hime look and brought out the pink accents within the print.  I used a floral head piece, pink floral tights, off white ruffle booties, and a short sleeved cardigan. This would be perfect paired with a hime poof and luscious curls. This would be perfect for the spring and summer months.

I hope this tutorial has been helpful~

An Introduction~

Hello I’m Manda. I’m presently a junior in high school and I have been dressing in the lolita style for over 9 months being interested in the fashion for over 2 years. I lean towards Classical and Gothic styles, but I have been known to do a little bit of everything.  I like getting the most out of my dollar while looking stylish and elegant. I enjoy sewing and altering items to my taste.

What should you expect?

A lot of Polyvore coordinates, loli-able finds, and tips on how to save money in your lolita.  Hopefully I will be able to post some sewing and DIY tutorials.  I have numerous lolita friends whom also have lolita related blogs, so a collab may or may not be in the works.   

Basically I’m here to help to you save a little cash in your lolita wardrobe so you can buy your big dream pieces and not worry about how much you spent on your staple items.

 

photo taken by Emily of Reves de Secreries

I promise that my future posts will be more relevant and informative if you follow my blog! I swear!