I’ve long admired the fitted pastel blazers from Japanese lolita brands like Victorian Maiden and Mary Magdelene, especially in floral patterns. However, those brands rarely have clothes that fit my shoulders. Instead, I looked at “normie” fashion brands. Tapestry fabric is having a moment right now (see: Target’s gobelin faux corset/tank top), so I scoured Mercari for something I liked. This Jones New York Blazer just screams grandma’s couch to me, so I wanted to try it out in classic lolita!
This is going to be a short and sweet little DIY. Nothing groundbreaking here, but I hope it inspires you to look beyond the usual suspects when it comes to pieces for lolita fashion.
The Patient
Though the blazer says dry clean only, I paid $20 for it, so I really didn’t want to pay that much to clean it. Into the hand wash it went. After, I hung it up to dry and it seemed no worse for wear.
The collar and lapels were a little strange, with three buttons spaced unevenly along the front opening of the blazer. It has these amazing, functional pockets that add some interest to the front. Though the seller gave me detailed measurements, the blazer fits me a little strangely. It’s tailored to fit at the waist, but the waist is probably 2-3 inches higher than my natural waist. I’ve got my work cut out for me.
The Diagnosis
First, I removed the two top buttons on the front. I played around with folding back the collar until it laid the way I liked. I pressed it into place on very low heat, and then tacked down the collar at the back and in two places in the front on either side. When I tacked it down, I was careful to hide the lower buttonhole I was no longer using. You really can’t even tell it was there. Now it looks and acts more like a traditional blazer. I also removed the shoulder pads, which gave it less structure but helped it fit me better.
The Treatment Plan
I tossed the blazer over a couple skirts and dresses in my closet to see what popped. It looks great with reds and browns, but I was really impressed by how it looked over this teal Innocent World JSK. Even though the print doesn’t have blue in it, it serves as a nice contrast to the solid piece.
I decided to go full grandma kei with this and styled it with a vintage wool hat, sweater-as-blouse from Anthropologie brand Leifsdottir, rosette from Mossbadger, crochet gloves from Axes Femme, some crochet over the knee socks from Target brand Xhilaration, shoes from John Fluevog, and offbrand hand mirror necklace and belt.
The brooch and belt were chosen intentionally to hid some of the problem areas of the blazer. The brooch covers up the buttonhole on the lapel that I no longer need. I wear brooches and pins pretty often anyway, so I don’t anticipate that anyone is ever going to see this hole.The belt really helped redefine my waist. However, it did make the blazer bunch up a little in the back. I’m tempted to sacrifice the pockets to add an inch or two at the center back. But that’s a problem for future Jenna!
For a 5 minute DIY hack, I’m so happy with how this blazer looks and how well this coordinate came together. I think it absolutely reads “classic lolita” to me, despite the fact that only two elements of it are from a Japanese brand!