handmade lolita dresses showcase #3

 Continuing from a 5+ year old post about my beginner days in lolita when I couldn't get brand and so I sewed my dresses, here is the final part (so far) of my handmade dresses wardrobe, with recent additions of accessories and items from Otome no Sewing! Read part one here and part two here!

First up, here is a very old handmade skirt I made for a Japanese fashion photoshoot (lolita/ouji Wizard of Oz) in 2007. I have no idea if I posted about it since it involved a lot of irl friends and I'm not going to post their photos online without permission, obviously. So I decided to be a gothic/ero lolita Wicked Witch of the West and my costume was sooooo adorable (for what it's worth lol). This below is the skirt I made, very unfinished but with cute ruffle and ribbon-laced lacing to complement the satin corset I wore. I also sewed little lace-trimmed sleeve puffs and made a huge black netting train with a giant bow on both the back and the (store-bought) miniature witch hat. I didn't include the corset or train or sleeves or hat here since they weren't really lolita, and this is a handmade lolita post. But here is a flatlay with the recent upcycled bolero (walkthrough post here) and a black double-layer veil I sewed for my gothic outfits as the placeholder train.

 The lace trimming on the veil is the same as on the skirt! Just realized that lol. 

Next, my old-school (genuinely) black and white handmade lolita dress which was featured in the first English Gothic Lolita Bible released by Tokyopop in 2008. This dress was made in 2006, my oldest surviving handmade piece. I already talked about it in this post about my beginner ita days. But to reiterate, I loooooove this dress despite its slight ita flavor. It has a back zipper, pleated skirt, waist ties, not the best construction but definitely an improvement over previous attempts. Here is my redo coord with store-bought items, including a hat handmade by Copetillo Arts, which has a similar swirly abstract design that is on the print of the dress. I included a Meta lucky pack blouse with wide peter pan collar and Innocent World socks, but also I added my handmade white lace wrist cuffs and black/white sock toppers for an even more old school look. 

I forgot to add the black bow necktie since there is a small white one already on the blouse, but imagine it there along with a pair of plain black mary-janes and a black/white cameo necklace. Now time to pretend I can still squeeze into this dress after 15 years lol.

Finally, my absolute favorite handmade lolita dress that already has an entire post about it, my Angelic Pretty French Doll replica. I have nothing to add to the post but here is an updated flatlay with newer navy-blue shoes from Bodyline and a handmade sailor-hat from Otome no Sewing.

As mentioned, I would preferably wear this with a red beret, and I did sew a red sailor beret from Otome no Sewing, but I can't find it and think the soft wool beret from my original coord is more French anyway. I would also add a belt from the same tri-color ribbon with maybe a little plastic buckle, that would be so cute.

Anyway, those are the last of my handmade lolita outfits that I still have. I did make the Ikea curtain dress, but other than that, I only have an unfinished cosplay that is tangentially related to lolita. I would absolutely love to sew more, but I am trying to avoid buying new fabrics until I use up the ones I already have and of course, the yardage of my stash is not enough for a full fluffy skirt or a blouse, or not of high quality or the right colors/print for lolita. Just my luck. I did look through my donation bin for anything I can reuse, but same issue applies, with the added disadvantage of having to rip out seams and piece the material together. So at this time, I am sticking to small accessories like hair bows and masks until I use a significant amount, then I can invest into more fabrics and lace for a new dress. Stay tuned! I say, as I ignore sewing for months at a time...