#the end all done no more halloween coords this year

[nycticeivs]

[[Haunted Doll p.4: BLACKxWHITE]]

OP: Atelier Pierrot Headbows: Baby The Stars Shine Bright OTKs: Moi Meme Moitie Coffin Necklace & Ring: Néant Glass

[20dollarlolita]

Hi! I’ve been eying Lolita fashion for several years and want to start putting together my first coord. However I have sensory issues and know that sheer or light synthetic fabrics can often be itchy. Do you have any advice for finding cute tights or light blouses that I could actually wear?

All reference images are going to be my coords because it's late and I don't have time to ask other people for permission to use theirs. If you have things to share about this subject, please reply, reblog, or submit input to this blog.

So for tights, there's a lot of cool printed tights that are 80denier, which is about at thick as tights can be before they're fleece-lined or leggings. I have a few pairs that I got off ebay (My search term is just "80 denier printed tights"). I carry most of my weight in my legs, so I had a lot of concern about them stretching and distorting on my legs so that you can't see the pattern, but that didn't happen for me.

Here's two of the pairs that I have, from two different sellers, and I really love how they look. I feel like getting printed tights really allowed me to add detail in my coords that I hadn't been taking advantage of.

If 80den tights are still too thin or itchy for you, there are things like fleece-lined tights or velvet tights, which are pretty much leggings. Speaking of leggings, leggings paired with boots (ankle or taller) often read as tights. There's also a long history of using socks for lolita; we're used to seeing them as lace-topped, but plain ones are as well.

Also for non-printed tights, I often wear them inside-out so that the seams face away from my body (and especially my feet. I hate toe seams). I've got petticoats on, so there's no werid seam lines pressing through my clothes, and anyone who is close enough to see that they're on inside-out is also close enough to kick, so problem solved.

As for blouses, it's not uncommon to find things like cotton voile, which are both sheer and very soft. Older pieces more often used solid cottons for the blouses. The polyester ruffled crop tops that we love for their price and versatility are relatively new in the world of lolita, having been pretty much unheard of as recently as 5-6 years ago. I like to shop on Wunderwelt for blouses, because they very clearly post pictures and state fiber contents. They have a lot of older things and pieces from less over-the-top lolita brands, so it's easier to find something smooth and without lace. One of the really cool things about lolita fashion is that something being out of trend now doesn't mean that it can't be worn, as long as it was in lolita trend sometime in the fashion's history. Here's a shot of a coord I did with a sheer blouse, but it's 100% cotton. That blouse is by Emily Temple Cute, and I wore it because that meet was outside in the sun and I didn't want to roast. Sorry for using the same coord twice there.

I also sometimes will take out the elastic in something and sew back in a new strip that's significantly larger. I really hate things being on my upper arm, so the elastic in this blouse is actually larger around than my arm. The top of the sleeve poofs even though the elastic isn't physically holding the sleeve to my arm, because of where I put the elastic relative to where the sleeve hole is. The same effect could be done with just some bias tape or some careful gathering stitches, but I did elastic because it's faster and lazier. That's a blouse from Spirit Halloween, with some extra lace slapped on.

I would also like to bring up the very important "faking it" card concept that I've talked about before. If your coordinate is fabulous, and almost all of it is perfect, if you have a gap between where your footless tights end and your shoes begin, you're going to get away with it. You can fake your way through at least two elements of your coordinate, and make up for it in other ways. So, when you're finding that there's something that you cannot overcome, where no matter what you try you just aren't finding a lolita-specific blouse that works or tights that are soft enough, try to find something that's just good enough. If you can find something that doesn't specifically detract, something that's just good enough, and that lets you be comfortable enough to be happy, just stop there. Then, take the rest of your effort, and work on making every part of the coordinate that doesn't make the sensory gremlins get up in arms into part that's as perfect as you can make it.

Something you'll also see in practice a lot more than you'd expect is that not every coord someone wears looks as perfect as they put online. If you get the chance to participate in the EGL community in person, you'll find that there's some events where someone just knew they didn't pull out their best coord. Sometimes, you put on something that's good enough, that's far from perfect. You dress up enough to go out with the friends and have a good time, but you don't dress up enough to where you want to put that coord out all over the place as the epitome of your grace.

Here's me having a Grat Tim at the Farmer's Market, in a coord that barely holds things together, in a petticoat from Party City and a blouse from Target, and the same black ankle boot(s) that I wear everywhere. I woke up really not feeling it and opted for a comfy coord that I could change out of when I went to work, and here's where we got. I've been going through some crap with my right ankle for over a year now, and so my local community is very used to seeing those sparkly black ankle boots, regardless of if they match the coord. All my coords from 2019 had brightly-colored KT Tape on my right hand, and that shit's $1.14 a strip and I'm not about to change it to match my coord. Every time I posted a coord for review, I'd just say, "please ignore the medical tape", and everyone did. I've found that a lot of people are understanding when you ask not to be heavily critiqued in certain specific areas.

Sensory issues impacting how we dress is more common in lolita fashion than we seem to talk about online. I have sensory issues, though they're not the same things you have. I know a lot of people in my comm do as well. If anyone has input they'd like to share, please do. Anon, please check the notes to see if anyone else with similar issues is willing to share their experiences, and see if they're able to help you.