52 Weeks: How I Get Out of a Wardrobe Slump

This week's topic for the 52 Week Lolita Blog Challenge is one I've not actually thought of before, but I hope it can be a bit of an inspiration for somebody out there!

So, how do I get out of a "Wardrobe Slump"?
Most of us do not have an unlimited wardrobe or unlimited funds to buy new items whenever we get bored with whatever we have in our closets. No matter how great I feel in my favorite dresses or even my favorite usual coordinates, It's always fun to experiment!

Experimentation is what usually gets me out of it. I like playing around with unusual color combinations the most. One of my favorite unusual combinations are blue, red and white. Red and blue can go surprisingly well together, as long as it has a neutral color in the mixture to break it up.

Since most people own prints these days, I'm gonna use a print as an example of my "unusual color" tactic.

Angelic Pretty's "Milky Chan" print, you can see that the obvious coordination choices would be coordinating it with either white or pink items. Maybe a tiny bit of brown, but nothing overwhelming. But I think an interesting choice to do something out of the ordinary, would be to bring out the blue butterflies. Maybe you could coordinate it with a blue blouse and blue socks with pink detailing? Maybe instead of coordinating it with the usual baby pink, try some hot pink to match the fawn's hot pink bows!

Most people probably do this from time to time, but another idea is to look beyond the limited Lolita wardrobe and through your pile of every day clothes. Some of it, or most of it, may not be Lolitable, but if you're just trying to be creative and is wearing it for yourself, it doesn't matter as much!

 Try building a coordinate around a leather jacket, a belt that you like, a cute sweater..

 I wear t-shirts instead of cutsews from time to time in casual coordinates, and I'd still say that my coordinates qualify as Lolita. One of my favorite ideas currently, is wearing "fandom" t-shirts with my Lolita clothes. It combines two things that I love! Think out of just Lolita fashion to other things that you're passionate about, and try to incorporate it into your coordinates. 

It doesn't have to be as blatantly obvious as a t-shirt.
It can be in details that remind you of your passion, like jewelery, hairstyles, shoes, colorschemes, make-up, or whatever you can think of!

These are the ways that I usually get out of wardrobe slumps, and as you can see, they all of course involves poking your brain to make it think a little out of the box. 

Even if Lolita fashion has a lot of "rules" and guidelines, it is not off-limits to color out of the lines. One of the fun aspects is actually turning the guidelines around and see how much you can actually get to fit inside the framework!

I recommend that you go to your closet, rummage through it and pull out a big pile of stuff to play around with! Maybe you will find that perfect New Years outfit somewhere in there!