What Do I Wear on Non-Frilly Days?

I know I talk a lot about lolita fashion, but sometimes wearing Lolita just isn’t practical. And, other times, I don’t feel like it; it’s a lot of work to get myself all dolled up and petticoated. Some days I don’t feel like being frilly (or as frilly), and on those days I turn to my other styles.

This is a set of outfits to give you a feel for how I dress when I'm not stem to stern frilly.

Otome

I really enjoy otome kei. It’s just as girly as Lolita but without the rigid rules. I also like that otome gives me a chance to go petti-less, which is really much more convenient for days in the office.

Otome Kei: Blush and Fawn

This is an altered version of an outfit I posted on this blog a while back, actually. I wore it to work and it was very well-received.

One of my good friends once told me that my hairstyles are as much a scavenger hunt as they are a hairstyle, and this is no exception to that rule. The surprise in this coord is the deer peeking out from the bed of flowers. Otherwise, it’s a highly textured but fairly simple outfit. I usually prefer to let one part of my otome outfits speak loudest, and in this case it’s the hair.

Vintage (and Vintage Inspired)

Yes, some lolitas freak out when vintage is the word of the day. I am most definitely not one of them. My use of vintage is… spotty in terms of time period. As much as I love 1950s vintage, I also wear rather a lot of the dross of other decades, too.

Hello, Sailor

With this sort of outfit, you can definitely tell that I dress in lolita. Full skirt, sailor motif, patterned legwear... yeah, this is definitely a lolita-influenced vintage-inspired look. Definitely another outfit that I would wear to work.

This is also an example of a "loli-able" wardrobe element that floats around my closet like a magical style-versatile fairy. It's never going to look modern by any stretch of the imagination, but it can easily be used for retro, otome, and lolita styles depending on how it is accessorized (and petticoated). This is my favorite sort of item to have in my wardrobe, really: things that work for several different styles.

Ten Second Bohemian

And now for something a little different.

This is not composed of items I own. But I own items that are very similar. I wear a lot of vintage to work and around the house because a lot of my vintage is super comfortable and quick to throw on in the morning. So, yes, sometimes I show up at work looking like a "hippie-dippie earth mother" as my dad would say.

The fun thing about outfits like this is that they are comfortable and perceived as fashionable by the average onlooker. This one is "bohemian," I guess. The sailor dress is retro or rockabilly.

“Geek Chic” 

Yes, I wear “geek chic” fashion sometimes. And by “geek chic,” I mean “ jeans and t-shirt that probably features a reference to science, gaming, or Doctor Who.” This is pretty normal casual wear for me, especially when I’ve got a gaming event to go to; as much as I know my guy friends would accept me no matter what I was wearing, skirts are just not event appropriate for a game of D&D.

Geek Chic I: SPAAAAAAAAAAAACE

This is actually an outfit I wear. As in I own all the elements (or similar ones) and wear them in this combination. It’s actually become a standard outfit for hanging out with friends. Glittery roses, nebula earrings (mine are clip ons), and a few rich colors pick up the space in the print. And the tentacle? Well, one day I was feeling like a Lovecraft reference would be fun, and I ended up liking the combination clipped to my hair with a slouchy beret. *shrugs* Sometimes you don’t need things to actually match. Sometimes you just end up wanting to clip a tentacle to your head.

I Don't Know What To Call It

And sometimes I just throw something together and have no idea what society would call it were I to seek a label. Like this:

Black Forest

I legitimately have no idea what this should be called, properly. Black forest mori? Goth-hippie hybrid? Black?

Again, I don't own precisely these items (except for that fantastic necklace/pendant), but I do own very similar articles of clothing that I wear just like this. It's another "throw it on and go" sort of outfit that I have actually received a surprising number of compliments on. These outfits do tend toward the... black. They just do. It's how my wardrobe works.

So there you have it. On non-frilly days, I am sometimes fashionable, sometimes girly, sometimes nerdy, sometimes incapable of properly labeling my own clothing combinations, and all times odd. It's just how I am.

What about you? How do you dress when you're not decked out in frills?