Choosing Your First Pieces

By now, you should have a few styles that you're interested in, some colors that would look good on you, and now you need to start creating a wardrobe! There are a few ways to go about this. If you know how to sew, you can make your own pieces. There are plenty of tutorials and patterns online that can help you get started. I recommend checking out the livejournal community Sew_loli if you're interested in sewing your own stuff. If you aren't confident in your sewing skills or you just don't want to make something like that, then you can buy your first pieces. Many Japanese companies will ship to Europe and the United States, as well as Asia, Australia, and many other places. There are also American based companies, European companies, and other Asia based companies. You can also buy from Etsy shops or other craft sites. You can also choose to buy second hand. You can get pieces second hand from the Livejournal community egl_comm_sales or from ebay. I strongly suggest that you avoid ebay because there have been problems in the past of misrepresentation of products and bad transactions.

Brand vs. Offbrand

This is a point of many arguments in the lolita community. Personally, I do think Bodyline is okay as long as you use your judgement and choose the right things. I don't think that replica pieces, as long as they are advertised as so, are terrible. These things help lolitas fill out their wardrobe and they allow those that are just starting out to experiment with different styles and prints without spending a fortune.

Choosing Versatile Pieces

You want to get the most out of your first pieces because you will be wearing them a lot until you can get more. So choose pieces that can be used in lots of different ways. A good way to do this is to use Polyvore. Polyvore lets you make virtual coordinates (the term lolitas use for complete outfits) and see what will look good together before you buy. You would be surprised how many different outfits you can make from just a few pieces.

Country Classic by Cat91151 featuring a straw hat

This is a coordinate I made using a Baby the Stars Shine Bright jumper skirt. Everything else used is either from Bodyline (very inexpensive) or from other sources.

Classic Tea Party by Cat91151 featuring satin pumps

This is one made from the same Baby the Stars Shine Bright dress, but using all offbrand items. Jewelry is something that you can find in all sorts of places, Forever 21 is my favorite.

Casual Classic by Cat91151 featuring floral tights

This is a third coordinate also made from the same BABY dress as the others. As you can see, this dress is very suited to either classic or country styles. Pretty much anything can be dressed down to be more casual too. So out of this one expensive dress, you can put just a little money into other pieces and have three fabulous outfits.

Maybe you can't afford to get a brand dress right off the bat. That's fine too! My first pieces were skirts from Candy Violet's old line (no longer sold). I still have one of them that I wear regularly. You can also have someone make you pieces or buy second-hand. I've bought almost everything I own second hand. There is no stigma associated with it, and it's a great way to get older pieces or find something that you didn't even know existed. Since the pieces are typically used, the price is lowered too.

Bodyline is also a good choice for a first outfit. As long as you choose wisely, you'll be fine. For more information about choosing pieces from Bodyline, I highly recommend reading F-Yeah Lolita's posts on buying from Bodyline. I adore the series of posts and they've helped me learn more about buying from Bodyline. They are a must-read before placing an order there.

No matter what you choose, congratulations! You're now a lolita! You have your very first pieces and you're on your way to having the wardrobe of your dreams!