Alternative ways to post your lolita fashion wardrobe in January

Historically, January in EGL fashion space has been reserved for “wardrobe posts,” where participants post pictures of their entire lolita fashion wardrobe. These posts were a way to show off your collection, get insight into brands or prints you hadn’t seen before, and also learn who’s wardrobe you needed to steal (I’m kidding! Do not bug people about selling their clothes to you or threaten to break into their houses, it’s not funny). Typically, these posts would consist of photos of items on the ground or on a mannequin, unstyled or with just a petticoat. 

Personally I’ve never undertaken a wardrobe post in the traditional sense because it seems like a lot of work (although I’ve posted something for the last few years!) Over the years though, I’ve seen some creative ways to make wardrobe posts that are aesthetically pleasing and fun, while not being quite as labor intensive. 

Create a wardrobe post with only items purchased in the last year. 

Try including just items you’ve bought in the last year, like this skirt and hat from Romantic Serenade!

Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran, posting just purchases from the last year can be an easy way to create an extensive wardrobe database, assuming you keep up with it year after year. Rather than photographing all old pieces as well, you can simply fill in the gaps of what you’ve purchased in a given time period. 

Curate your wardrobe post by choosing a color, substyle, main piece type, or brand. 

Try photographing just the white items in your wardrobe!

Depending on your wardrobe, you may have an easier time focusing on creating a post just for a selection of your clothes. A common way to narrow down your selection is to focus on a specific color. Obviously this won’t work if you’re a kuro or shiro lolita, or you only buy one colorway! I’ve also seen people just capture items from a certain brand, or all their skirts. Whatever you chose, this can greatly reduce the amount of effort it takes to create your wardrobe post. 

Make your wardrobe post with stock photos

For the ultimate low effort wardrobe post, simply use stock photos of the dresses that you own. While this doesn’t capture the quirks of your particular piece, creating a post this way can be the start of database that can allow you to look at your wardrobe more easily or digitally. People who collect indie brands or one of a kind pieces may have trouble with this method, but for those who buy new or used pieces that are documented in Lolibrary, this is a great way to go!

Illustrate your wardrobe

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, sketching or drawing your collection of pieces will definitely require as much if not more effort as photographing your wardrobe. I’ve seen some really stunning examples of this and I hope it catches on more! For a slightly more manageable project, you could also illustrate a small selection of wardrobe see above). 

Make a short or long form video

As YouTube and TikTok have become more popular, I’ve seen more people create wardrobe posts as videos. I think this is a fun alternative way to create a wardrobe post, especially since I personally find making videos easier than photographing my clothes!

Design a mood board using pieces you’ve already coordinated. 

Create a mood board for your wardrobe!

Okay hear me out on this one: go through the photos of your coordinates from the previous year and cut yourself out of the background, then go crazy creating a collage of your main pieces or accessories using your own coord photos. I’ve never seen this done, but I’m imagining a chaotic magazine spread straight out of Kera or a Gothic and Lolita Bible, complete with commentary on the brand and print name. Someone make this dream of mine a reality! 

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