How Satisfied Am I with My Current Wardrobe?

There's no short answer to this question. My first reaction is to say "Meh." Right now I can barely wear lolita on a daily basis without getting bored of my own clothes, even dream dresses that took years to get. There's no way to say this without sounding ungrateful and greedy. 

Perhaps I am both.

I've been thoroughly interested in lolita since 2005 and collecting it (in non-handmade form) since the end of 2010. When people ask how long I've been a lolita, it's very hard to answer properly. I could say I've been wearing/collecting for five years, but it was so badly hand-altered in those days that I'm not sure if it counts. I could say that I didn't really start until this year, when my coordinates finally had some semblance of completion (see top left), but what about all of the time it took to get there?

See the shiny pink wig and black shoes? Shame, thy name is Rhon.

To most I've met, lolita is fancy. To muggle and lolita alike, lolita clothing is frequently seen as whimsical materiality, extravagant, frivolous. Some lolitas get mad at others for being awed (and the awed behavior which follows, such as taking pictures and asking what the occasion may be) by lolita attire, and protest that lolita is "just clothes," but also find either the price tag or the aesthetic of lolita to be too fancy to wear on  a regular basis.

A thing cannot be considered both commonplace and fancy or "just" extravagant. There are enough blogs talking about how magical lolita appears or makes the wearer feel and how drained it can make the wallet feel for lolita as a whole to be considered a normal style. 

I have been guilty—multiple times—of this equivocation [1] of lolita clothing.

So what do I, or any other lolita who claims lolita is normal clothing, mean when we say that it is normal? For me, lolita is normal clothing because outside of its price tag (whose worth I cannot argue against) it is not out of place or jarring. While lolita clothing is more beautiful and shaped differently than more common street styles, its purpose is the same as any other clothing—to be worn. 

This wall decal says it all.

I do not wear lolita as a whole only on special occasions, but rather occasionally don other clothing that is more suited for the task at hand. Typically this is laundry day, where I do not wear lolita because I am washing it. Sometimes it is just a lazy day, and sometimes it is a job interview. Right now, because of an increased school load and moving to a new apartment, there are more lazy days and I wear lolita four to five times a week. The only thing that I reserve for special occasions is my bonnet. It quintuples the likelihood of people trying to begin conversations, which is just too much talking for me.

Because of my inconsistent income and fluid lifestyle, my lolita acquisition feels slow on average, despite it being 90% of my extra income's focus. My turnover until recently has been very high, and my focus on dream prints outweighed more practical lolita purchases by any number of clichés: a landslide, a tsunami... you get the drift. I own five jumperskirts, five skirts, five blouses/cutsews, and five cardigans/jackets. Most of the jumperksirts and skirts are printed. While easy to coordinate due to the variety of colors on the prints, they present themselves with other problems. This is why my lookbook account has so few looks in it (again, see top left). 

I know this says Tokyo Rebel, but really it's a picture of my closet.

Despite complaint of boredom stemming from my wardrobe's lack of variety, I am often stunned when I look into my closet and see Clockwork Tea Party nestled besides Alice's Marchin' Cookie and Rococo Bouquet. Even more than their physical presence I feel the rewards of patience and dedication hanging in silent victory. Perhaps when my wardrobe has doubled, I will completely feel the ol' pants-and-jeans grab-and-go comfort. Perhaps I will never be satisfied, and my wishlist will only change and never shrink. But for now, it is enough.

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[1] Shift of the meaning of a term within a single argument