Trend in Dolly Kei: Vintage Slips, Lingerie, Peignoirs, and the Like.

Within the last year or so, the line separating Dolly Kei from Cult Party has become less defined. The darker colours, defined silhouette, and heavy accessories that defined dolly has been giving way to lighter and airier looks, and simpler coordinates that one would have associated only with Cult Party some time ago.



In the last few weeks I've noticed another Cult Party staple showing up in Dolly Kei coords: vintage peignoirs, slips, and other bed or undergarments. These pieces lend an overall "soft" look that Cult Party is known for.





How to wear this trend:

-Peignoirs are essentially like a housecoat (but much prettier!), and can be worn like a little jacket/coat, as a top layer. Because they tend to be sheer, they make a great top layer because your other clothing and all it's details (pattern etc.) can be seen through it.
-Slips/nightgowns as a dress. Layer them over tops, belt them, you could even wear a top over it so that the bottom shows like a skirt. You could layer them over another dress, or wear two together. Slips as dresses were also popular in the 90s during Grunge thanks to Courtney Love. Googling images of her from that time can also lead to some great ways to wear them.
-Layer multiple pieces over each other. Do a few slips together, and layer a peignoir on top.
-To keep the silhouette, belt any bulky or shapeless pieces.
-It's going to be easiest to keep this look looking "dolly" if you stick with a richer colour palette. I personally love Miwako's take on this look with the black peignoir (first picture).





To me, the key to keeping this trend looking 'Dolly' as opposed to Cult Party, is going to be the accessories, pattern, and colour. Also keep in mind the silouette. Dolly Kei is still, for the most part, having a defined waist, while Cult Party is still very voluminous and soft.





So what do you think of this trend? Do you like the direction that Dolly Kei has been taking over the last year?



*Photos from the Grimoire and Grimoire Almadel blogs.

New Offerings from Grimoire

The first new item from Grimoire is sort of an interesting (or strange) one depending on how you look at it:


Temporary, or "sticker" tattoos featuring imagery from many of the common themes in Dolly Kei. This is sort of a strange idea to me, but I will admit the images are very pretty and I would like to have a pack, if only to add to my dolly kei collection. Grimoire is offering ten package designs, which you can see on their blog, along with photos of the shop staff wearing the tattoos in various ways.

Secondly:


Grimoire also stocks these lovely paper fans from Old Print Factory! So pretty!

So what are your thoughts on the tattoos? Weird or a great idea?

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Trend in Dolly Kei: Suspenders

So, I've noticed in the last week, a lot of coords showing up using suspenders.


I love the idea of pairing suspenders with a Dolly Kei coord for a few reasons. It's an easy way to add contrast and layers (especially if your suspenders are patterned), it's a great way to add interest and a little bit of "dandy". And it's just simply cute. And, it's a great way to make a skirt more versatile: just look at how Kaori has used her suspenders to take a long skirt and make it into a jsk of sorts.

This is such an easy look to emulate, and I think it looks really polished. Suspenders are readily available in most clothing stores, new or used. You could even embellish your suspenders with lace or pearl beading for a little extra personality, or attach a brooch (or three, hehe!).


*all photos found on the Grimoire and Grimoire Almadel blogs.



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Trend in Dolly Kei: Black Felt Hats

Bowler, fedora, boater, fez or cloche-shaped, for the last few months it's been near impossible to find a series of Dolly Kei related street snaps/coord posts that didn't involve a hat (most notably from the Grimoire and Grimoire Almadel Blogs).





They're being worn with pretty much everything. The gothier coords, the lighter coords that border on Mori and Cult Party, and the pattern upon pattern overload Dolly. Pretty much any range of Dolly is seeing the addition of a black vintage-style hat.








Luckily, vintage-style felt hats are very in style at the moment for mainstream fashion, so if you can't find yourself a lovely vintage piece, you can probably find one easily elsewhere. I've seen various styles at stores like Forever 21, Le Chateau, Urban Outfitters and H&M.

What's great about a relatively simple accessory like this, is that you can easily add your own embellishments. There's no reason why you couldn't add brooches, a cameo, feathers, ribbon or a scarf. Anything really!

My personal pick: H&M Felt Bowler for 19.95$


And...here's an incredibly awful bathroom pic where I look haggard/like I have a giant head:





And lastly, a couple of snaps from the Grimoire staff in lighter variations.












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Trend in Dolly Kei: the OTK Sock

Spring is here! It's finally warming up and we can bring out our lighter clothing. Spring generally signifies wardrobe changes, and this will include our Dolly outfits as well.

You've probably noticed in the last little while that Dolly Kei street snaps, and coord posts on the Grimoire shop blog, have been making a move from tights to knee and over-the-knee socks. Whether this is a general trend, or simply a sign of the season change, remains to be seen.

So, how do we go about working the socks into our wardrobes?

Firstly, this look is definitely going to work best (visual-wise) with knee length and shorter hemlines. A basic "rule" (and I'm using the term very, very loosely) could be: shorter hem = longer socks, longer hem = shorter socks. I say this because I feel that you still want the overall look to be demure, and with a shorter hem and knee socks, you can run the risk of getting a "school girl" look. You also want to have the contrast so as to add to the layered feel of Dolly.


I personally adore the way OTKs look with a shorter skirt!

By all means, use a patterned sock! It too will add to the overall contrast and layers of your coord (but, it's very important for a pattern sock to fit properly. Too tight is not going to look good). That said, a good alternative to this is to simply layer two pairs of solid coloured socks over each other, like Kaori is in the picture below. This is great for anyone who feels a bit insecure about their legs (pattern can be unforgiving, it can also be difficult to find patterned socks in larger sizes so that the pattern doesn't stretch funny) or if you feel you already have enough pattern on top.




Another way to wear this look, (especially if it's still a bit chilly, or if you simply don't want your legs to be exposed) is to pair your patterned socks over a pair of solid tights. It will give you the exact same affect, but without your legs being bare.

At this point, I'm going to make a little suggestion to make your life easier: sock glue. Yes, the very same kind used in Japan by school girls. It comes in cute little bottles, can easily be ordered online if you don't have access to an Asian market (yesstyle.com and j-list usually have it in stock), and will save you the constant pull-up sock tug that is pretty much par for the course with OTK socks.



I myself have been having a hard time finding suitable patterned socks in stores here, so I've been going online. Celeste Stein carries their prints in both knee and OTK lengths on their online shop, and sockdreams.com have a huge selection of styles as well. Also, don't count out classic and gothic lolita brands.

Of course, this look isn't going to be for everyone, and you can absolutely do amazing Dolly coords for spring and summer without them! (I'm definitely not saying bye-bye to my tights anytime soon). Just some hopefully helpful pointers for anyone who might be interested :)



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