1 Dress 4 Looks Take 18

adarmakeup February 20, 2021

When I bought this Fairy Tale Library skirt from Taobao, I genuinely had all the best intentions of using it for Lolita. But then when it arrived I discovered what a great piece it is for my daily wardrobe and started wearing it to work – meaning that I’ve worn it so much outside of Lolita that I kept feeling like giving other items in my Lolidrobe a go once it came to meets etc. Also, whilst fantastically versatile, I kind of already have done a four-look spread with this one when doing that hypothetical ‘Pack for Ten Days in Japan’ post. But I’m not going to run away from a challenge, so let’s see what other four looks I could create with this skirt with what I already have!

Look 1: Dark Lady

I don’t usually do looks with black, however, a dark high-waisted skirt like this works so well with black that I had to use the only black pieces I own. All that book jewellery and smaller hair accessories make it great for a book club meet or a smaller afternoon tea outing without taking any of the elegance away from the outfit. Some jewellery or black lace gloves to cover the wrists would be nice, but that might have to be a work in progress. Yet while I like the outfit and would give it a go, I’m just not sure when would I find a suitable occasion.

Look 2: Casual

Now I’ve already worn a variation of this outfit when running some errands one weekend and it’s great. It works best when done more otome-style, i.e. without a petticoat, but it’s still cute with bigger poof. I really like how the pearls on the OTKs kind of mimic the dots on the cardigan. This could be worn with a collared blouse underneath for extra cuteness, but it does work without one as well. Definitely will take this version out for a spin!

Look 3: Librarian

While subtle and more golden, the skirt print does feature some browns in there, so I wanted to try combining it with browns. This is the most WIP look of the four here, although I feel like it’s not that far off. The wrist cuffs, despite being bought to match this blouse, are way too warm toned, but I don’t have any other ones and I’m not sure if it’s worth me getting another pair for the sake of a better match, so these will have to do. And I’d love to have a book brooch to use instead of the Misako brooch, but overall I think it does have a good librarian vibe to it.

Look 4: Snow White

If you look at the print, you’ll notice plenty of fairy tale titles on it that you could try to coordinate in an ode to that story. Since this Christmas I got a Snow White apple bag (straight from the Disney parks in Florida!) and since red, white and blue go so well together, I decided to try doing very subtle nods to Snow White. Mind you, I’m not a big fan of the story and she’s nowhere near my favourite Disney princess, which probably shows, but I like the outfit nonetheless. The oldschool blouse adds enough of a cutesy touch that a Disney princess should have and the red accents keep it all looking a bit fresh. Again, I’d love to add an extra navy accent somewhere in there – maybe a brooch, most likely a cardigan – for better colour balance, but if I worked with kids, I’d wear that for National Book Day or something.

Honestly, this skirt might be one of the most versatile pieces I own. It’s so easy to dress up or down and it does genuinely look nice even without a petticoat. So while I end up not picking it for meets etc. because I wear it that much on a daily basis, I will at least try to change that. Some of the coords here, as well as some of the coords I’ve done back in July, are just too good to not be worn!