Showing posts with label capsule wardrobe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label capsule wardrobe. Show all posts
Tokyo 2025 Capsule Wardrobe
April 07, 2025 • No comments • capsule wardrobe • Travel
Last month was my first trip back to Tokyo since 2023. Since my wardrobe has grown considerably since then (and I'm trying to save money lately 
) I packed a little more clothes this time only expecting to buy 1 or 2 outfits. In reality I went a bit overboard compared to that, but not too bad! I decided to pack only solid colored basics because I wanted to stand out a little less. But, once I was there I kept wishing I had a print skirt or dress to reach for! 
Lesson learned for next time!
2023 Wardrobe Review
January 15, 2024 • No comments • capsule wardrobe • fashion • himekaji
It's the beginning of the year and my closet is a DISASTER ZONE. The last few months of 2023 involved constant travel and events, leaving me such precious little time for laundry and tidying up. So this month I've really focused on going through all my laundry and while I did, I've also spent some time updating my wardrobe spreadsheet and taking stock of what I have.
My original goal when I started this blog was to make a himekaji capsule wardrobe. And, as long as very large capsules are allowed, I feel at this point that I have basically succeeded! My last wardrobe recap post was in 2020, and my wardrobe at the time was about 50 items. At the time I was just starting to have more confidence and financial freedom to buy brand items instead of scraping the goodwill racks for "himekajiables". Actually, looking back at that post is really nostalgic. I can remember the excitement I felt as I looked at my wardrobe and for the first time really felt like I could be proud of it.
Since then, my wardrobe grew exponentially!! I've done a lot of "bulking and cutting" of my wardrobe (
) trying new pieces, passing along the ones that didn't fit or feel right and holding on to the ones that brought me the most joy. Overall, my current wardrobe now stands at 123 pieces - more than double my 2020 wardrobe! In 2020 I really liked the direction my wardrobe was going, but it still wasn't quite big enough for daily wear. 123 looks like a big (and really aesthetically pleasing) number, but for me this is a very comfortable size and (if I did more laundry 
) it (would probably) be very easy for me to get dressed every day throughout the year! This large number encompasses clothing for all kinds of weather and occasions - Tokyo winters, California summers, fancy restaurants, concerts, boba dates, or (most important) just lounging around the house. I hope you enjoy browsing my clothes!
Tokyo 2023 Buys & Outfits!
March 21, 2023 • No comments • Axes Femme • capsule wardrobe • F.i.n.t • fashion • Harajuku • haul • himekaji • Kawaii Stars • Lafary • Liz Lisa • MA*RS • OOTD • ryousangata • Secret Honey • Shibuya • Travel
At long last, we returned to Tokyo! Since I wanted to maximize space in my suitcase, I tried to pack super light this time.
GRL Capsule Wardrobe
January 31, 2022 • No comments • capsule wardrobe • fashion • GRL • ryousangata
Rae recently introduced me to a brand called GRL (I think it's pronounced like Grail!) and suddenly I'm seeing their items all over mercari! Their brand carries lots of trendy wardrobe staples, and everything is very cheap! I have yet to order from them, so I can't say for the quality or sizing yet. If the items hold up to quality, though, it may be a very good way to break into jfashion for those who are just starting out or are on a budget.
My wardrobe is in desperate need for some solid staple pieces, and with my new job starting next week I'm realizing that the current state of my wardrobe is.... not super wearable for an office setting 
This led to me spending some of my between-jobs funemployment time endlessly scrolling through the GRL site, and I figured, why not just daydream up a starter wardrobe? I think this collection is very casual ryousangata-ish, which is exactly what I'm trying to move towards for my work wardrobe! I feel like this style pairs really nicely with sweeter himekaji or liz lisa girl looks, but you can also easily dress it down for a more casual work coord. I'm definitely not going to go out and buy every single one of these items, but I think once I take better stock of my current wardrobe I'll probably pick up a few of these staples to fill in the gaps!
This led to me spending some of my between-jobs funemployment time endlessly scrolling through the GRL site, and I figured, why not just daydream up a starter wardrobe? I think this collection is very casual ryousangata-ish, which is exactly what I'm trying to move towards for my work wardrobe! I feel like this style pairs really nicely with sweeter himekaji or liz lisa girl looks, but you can also easily dress it down for a more casual work coord. I'm definitely not going to go out and buy every single one of these items, but I think once I take better stock of my current wardrobe I'll probably pick up a few of these staples to fill in the gaps!Tops (14)
Summer
Wardrobe Building Part 4: Half a Decade Later...
August 21, 2020 • No comments • capsule wardrobe • fashion • himekaji • larme
The last installation of my wardrobe building series was about 5 years ago! It feels like things have changed a lot since then, but also like they haven't changed at all
I never really got a satisfying conclusion to this blog series because looking back on it, building up a wardrobe is a long and slow process, and I'm still filling in the gaps! I think over the years I went through some pretty pivotal life transitions and my resolve to solidifying a capsule wardrobe fell off track. I never lost interest in the fashion and I did keep buying pieces a little bit at a time, and I think now with a more solidified sense of style, much better self confidence overall, as well as a little more expendable income at my disposal, I think I'm finally ready to dive back in and give this series another attempt!
So, let's go back to square 1 and find out what we're working with. Here's a catalog of my entire himekaji wardrobe as it stands currently.
First Winter Haul
December 12, 2016 • 2 comments • capsule wardrobe • fashion • gyaru • haul • himekaji
The first thing I noticed was that I had virtually no long sleeved shirts, which posed a real problem for a winter wardrobe. So, I decided to treat myself.
When I was looking for inspiration on himekaji outfits with long sleeved shirts, I found that many of the ones I liked the most for casual wear involved ribbed mock neck and turtle neck shirts.
Spring Shopping List!
February 21, 2016 • No comments • capsule wardrobe
It's hard to believe that February is already almost over! Spring is almost exactly one month away, which means that I've decided to start planning my wardrobe again. The past two seasons I haven't managed to finish my wardrobe, and I don't think I'll have time to reach a full 37 pieces this season either, considering how much of an impact job hunting has taken on my free time and funds. But, I'm happy to say that I'm getting much, much closer now! My Summer wardrobe turned out to be more of a half-wardrobe preview, and my Winter wardrobe got a bit muddled since I forgot to plan for the hot winters we tend to have around here, but I feel hopeful that Spring, although maybe a little bit small, will be very much cohesive and wearable on a daily basis! I'm starting with a strong basis of 23 items from previous seasons which I'm excited to wear again, but I definitely had a lot of items that I still felt were missing. With my new items, I think I might be taking my wardrobe in a slightly larme direction, since I've been very inspired by the magazine lately! So without further adieu, here is my shopping list for spring!
Things to Buy
1. Glasses
Recent Purchases: Graduation Haul!
December 14, 2015 • No comments • capsule wardrobe • fashion • haul • himekaji
Last Thursday I completed my last final of my undergraduate life. I think that in a few weeks I'll probably start to feel much more accomplished over it, but not before I finish simply being extremely happy to be finished with finals, and then after being overwhelmed by job searching. Since graduating, I've been focused on getting my room back in order and getting on top of all of the work that I slacked on during finals, but I've also been up to some fun stuff as well! On Saturday I had the pleasure of doing a graduation photo shoot with a very talented friend of mine, which I might share when he finishes editing the photos. Between that and being fed grapes off the vine by my boyfriend while I lounge around in his room, I've also gotten a fair amount of shopping done as a present to myself for graduating.
I saw that preorders for the Liz Lisa happy bags were opening the day after my last final, and I was waffling on getting one for myself, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, I treated myself to a combination of Daiso, eBay, and thrift shopping!
Daiso
Right after finals my friends and I headed over to the local Japanese district to have lunch. We ate at a delicious okonomiyaki restaurant called Gottsui. My stomach was still in knots from finals, so I didn't order much, but I snacked off of my friend's plates and ordered myself some miso soup and an unbelievably delicious watermelon tea. The card reader on my computer isn't working lately, so I can't share too many pictures, but I did post a picture of my tea on instagram.
After eating we poked around Tokyo Japanese Outlet which was filled with adorable things as usual, and then headed over to Daiso. I've been really into scrunchies lately, so I made a point to stock up, and also found a cute bow clip for wearing with my ponytails.
I also picked up a super cute cat fan (since even in the winter, it still gets hot in this area
) along with some peachy sparkly nail polish and a new set of false lashes I hadn't seen at Daiso before! They reminded me of Dolly Wink's Sweet Cat eyelashes, but they're only $1.50! I was excited to see a more natural looking lash, since normally I wouldn't want to wear Daiso lashes outside of cosplay only. I did try them on briefly and was disappointed at how uncomfortable they were, but I'm going to give it another try when I have plenty of time to do my makeup and see if I hadn't just applied them wrong that day.
) along with some peachy sparkly nail polish and a new set of false lashes I hadn't seen at Daiso before! They reminded me of Dolly Wink's Sweet Cat eyelashes, but they're only $1.50! I was excited to see a more natural looking lash, since normally I wouldn't want to wear Daiso lashes outside of cosplay only. I did try them on briefly and was disappointed at how uncomfortable they were, but I'm going to give it another try when I have plenty of time to do my makeup and see if I hadn't just applied them wrong that day.eBay
I've started winning auctions... please don't let me get addicted! This auction was ending the evening after my final. It was a very close auction with two others bidding for it, but I let all of my pent up stress from the last couple of weeks guide me. I didn't want to pay more than $20 initially, so I chose my bid to be under $20 with shipping included. After pushing the button though, and with only 1 second to spare, it turns out another bidder had set their max bid to something higher, and I was outbid. Without thinking, I clicked to bid 50 cents higher... and miraculously not only did that bid go though before the end of the auction, but it happened to be higher than the other bidder's maximum bid. It was so suspenseful, and I felt so proud to have come out victorious.
Even though this skirt seems to be offbrand (the seller did not list any brand or show any photos of the tag, so I have no idea) I think it's extremely cute. The print seems to be a bunch of tiny bows, and the lace at the bottom looks like it's a nice quality. I think the skirt has a nice flannel type of fabric as well, which makes it perfect for winter. Definitely can't wait to receive it!
After the thrill of winning the last auction, I was actually kind of let down that this listing only had a "Buy It Now" option. Still though, $15 for an Ank Rouge shirt seemed too good to pass up, especially since I've been in need of cute short sleeved blouses like this for the past few months. On the one hand, I really hope it is not a replica, but as long as it looks nice, at this price I'll be happy with it either way.
Incidentally, this is probably the least thought I've put into any purchase since I started building my wardrobe. I think a combination of the low price, the fact that I've been in such short supply of blouses, my feelings of victory over finals, and the fact that it matches so well with the skirt I had just bought, made this blouse a very easy decision. I love that the brown bow embroidered on the collar goes so well with the bows on the skirt. I'll definitely be wearing these together a lot.
I actually only bought this My Melody coin purse because it was cheap and I wanted something to practice bidding on to make sure I remembered how it worked. Well, it turns out that I won anyway. I've never used coin purses much, but I always struggle with change when I put it in my wallet, so maybe I'll give it a try. I'm sure I can find something to put inside, even if it's just small jewelry or something like that.
When my birthday came around in late September, my mom asked me what I wanted as a gift. At the time I had been really busy with school and conventions so I wasn't able to ever actually do anything. So, now that I graduated she asked if there was anything I'd like for graduation and my birthday. Sometimes it can be really hard for me to think of things to ask for, but I thought about it and realized that I'd been admiring this Penderie Cat OP for months. After looking at it more, it seemed like such an obvious thing to ask for.
I love the vintage style cut of the dress, and the kind of sad kittens. Even the "Please take me along!" in the print is a sentiment I can relate to a lot. I just vibe with this dress on just about every level. I'm especially happy with it as a graduation present like this, since I'm also fairly certain that it will have a place in my wardrobe even if I eventually decide to move away from himekaji and Liz Lisa in general. It's definitely a piece that I love as a piece on it's own, even before factoring in how nice it looks with the rest of my wardrobe. Thanks again, mom!
Thrift Store
On Sunday my boyfriend and I decided to go on a thrift store date. I was really happy with my purchases so far, but wanted to treat myself just a little bit more, without diving for any more brand items in the auctions. (There is one more bag which I am probably going to try for, but since I'm already going up against 2 other bidders I think I'll avoid giving myself any more competition and only bring it up after the auction ends
) It turns out that we were very lucky, because we arrived within the last hour of an unexpected sale where all clothing in the whole store was only $2.99. I should mention that this is a Goodwill in a pretty rich area, so a lot of the clothing you'll find is in very good shape and there's even a lot of clothes from designer labels. It was really fortunate that we decided to go when we did!
) It turns out that we were very lucky, because we arrived within the last hour of an unexpected sale where all clothing in the whole store was only $2.99. I should mention that this is a Goodwill in a pretty rich area, so a lot of the clothing you'll find is in very good shape and there's even a lot of clothes from designer labels. It was really fortunate that we decided to go when we did!
I may pack this away until Summer, but I thought that something like this would be very cute over a dress or with a fluffy skirt. I love the swiss dot fabric with hearts all over it.
This shirt feels a little bit itchy, but I love the color and the rose lace pattern, and I'm in desperate need of more cute long sleeved shirts for Winter. I'm hoping that I can do something in the wash to make it a bit softer, but it's not so itchy that it's a big deal if not. The more I looked at this shirt, the happier I was over it, since I think the color and rose motif will pair it really nicely with my Hello Kitty JSK that I bought a while ago.
I have lots of cardigans that I've accumulated over the years, but they're all plain solid color ones. I think the lace on this sweater is very cute, and it'd go good with the skirt and blouse that I got on eBay. It is also a little bit itchy, but I can always wear long sleeves underneath if I can't make it any softer. It feels very warm. I think this brand (Heritage 1981) dissolved a few years ago but when it first came out I always thought their stuff looked really cute and vintage. It might be a good example of western clothes that can fit easily into a himekaji wardrobe.
I wasn't totally sold on this coat, but for $2.99 I figured that it was worth it to get just to experiment with. I don't have any really cute coats that fit with my style very well yet. Since it doesn't get that cold where I live, this isn't a huge deal, but I've been keeping my eyes open for coats that might be easy to modify to look more hime. Although the cut of this coat isn't anything special, the color was really cute and I think goes with a lot of the things that I own right now. I'm thinking of finding some faux fur to replace the collar with, perhaps replace the buttons with something cuter or add a ribbon to the collar, and add faux fur bows to the pockets. I think if I pull it off it can look really cute.
This is the only item I bought that isn't really for my wardrobe. I was helping my boyfriend look for jackets and happened to see the back of this. "Is that a Portal jacket?" I was really surprised to see it! My boyfriend was so salty that it didn't fit him, but it fits me me perfectly! I probably won't wear it on a daily basis, but we've been talking about going to some gaming conventions in the future, so now I'll have something to wear! I'm not a huge gamer myself, but Portal is one of the games that I've played and really enjoyed, even though the textures in the second one made me feel kind of sick if I played for many hours.
My boyfriend said that Jinx usually makes really high quality stuff, so unsurprisingly this one feels really nice! The inside is a very soft fleece and in general it feels really sturdy and it's super warm. I looked online and apparently these go for around $50 new, and it seems like size small is sold out just about everywhere. $2.99, ladies and gentlemen! I love thrift stores.
Wow, that feels like a lot of stuff! Once my room is in better shape, I'm going to be hitting the sewing machine and knitting needles pretty hard. I want to make so many things for my wardrobe, and I have lots of Christmas presents to make as well!
Stay warm everyone,
Until next time!
Recent Purchases: Summer Is Ending and I'm Still Buying Stuff
October 08, 2015 • 2 comments • capsule wardrobe • haul • himekaji
Hello again! I promise promise promise that I'll start doing reviews of all the stuff I've bought lately. My dorm building is so run down, there aren't any pretty backgrounds to take photos in front of around here. It's easy to lose motivation.
So, here we are, mid October already, but amazingly we're still in the middle of this heat wave. It has gotten a tiny bit cooler since I last complained about it, but it's still definitely summer weather. We don't really get a Fall around here, the leaves turn red while the weather continues being sunny and hot, then somewhere in November it will suddenly start being cold and gloomy. Well, it doesn't get that cold even then really. I live in a desert!!
Anyway enough about the weather, since I know I have at least a few weeks left of Summer, I've been focusing my purchases on items that might be useful for both summer and winter.
Liz Lisa Stuff
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To make matters worse, I was on a road trip when the auction was set to end. Lucky for me, my boyfriend agreed to help me and we won! I love the color and I think the bows on the shoulders and lace are so cute, even though it's toned down enough that it can be worn very casually as well. I think it'll look nice with jeans or a skirt alike.
I've been looking around for good my melody t-shirts for casual coords, and this one stuck out to me. I love the roses and the soft colors on this one. I found a lot of bright red my melody T-shirts and they were a bit too loud for my taste. Even a lot of the pink ones were more bubblegum pink than what I was looking for. I also really like that this one has the design pretty far up on the shirt, so it won't be cut off when I wear it tucked into a skirt!
Speaking of skirts.... wow I'm in love with these sukapan! The print is very unique to me, it's not the same kind of himekaji border print that I see on a lot of Liz Lisa skirts. I think it has a kind of vintage feeling to it, even. But it's still very Liz Lisa looking. I really like the way they did the waistband. I've gotta try that on my skirts too!
Off Brand
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I wasn't really sure whether to list the Hello Kitty jumper under off brand or it's own brand... the tag says Hello Kitty Sorridere but I can't figure out if Sorridere is a big brand or not. Either way, I think it's really cute. I got this one more with winter in mind. I'm thinking since I have so many dusty pinks and peaches leftover from Summer, I'll mix in some rich reds and maroons to try and balance it out. I really like the cut of this dress, and I especially love how subtle the Hello Kitty print is. From a distance you would think it's just a regular floral print dress, but up close there's the cute detail of little Hello Kittys floating around in the print.
Finally, I found this necklace for really cheap and I really like how it looks! I've been looking for a collar-length necklace to wear with some of my dresses. I think this one has a very Lizmelo feel to it, even though it's off brand.
Looks like my Summer wardrobe is shaping up just in the nick of time! Maybe this weekend I can finish up some of the other items I've been working on making myself. All in all, that will bring me to 22 items in my wardrobe. I don't think I'll be buying much else for Summer, since it's going to get colder so soon after these items arrive, so besides maybe a couple of accessories or one more pair of shoes, this will probably be it for my Summer shopping. 22 items is a bit small for a capsule wardrobe, but for the month left of Summer, I think it's enough. I'll do a wardrobe wrap up post once I start transitioning to my winter wardrobe for daily wear.
Stay tuned,
Wardrobe Building Part 3: Shut up and Take My Money
September 30, 2015 • 2 comments • capsule wardrobe • fashion • himekaji
It's been quite a while since I posted about wardrobe building, so let's continue! After you've searched for inspiration and raided your closet, you're ready to take your wardrobe building to the next level. You know what you're looking for. You know what you already have. You're ready to hop on a plane and fly to Shibuya, right? Not quite. Let's be reasonable about this.
You'll notice that I was very optimistic when I sorted through my wardrobe the first time. "This t-shirt has a peter pan collar on it. That's cute, right?" "This dress is floral, right? That's totally princessey!" You'll notice that this image has way more items than what I posted in my last wardrobe building post. This is because as I window shopped, I realized that there were a lot of pieces in my existing wardrobe that really didn't belong in my new one, and I continued to prune (and have continued to prune further since writing that post), leaving only a handful of pieces that will truly mesh with my new himekaji clothes.
Over the course of the next few weeks, I made adjustments to this image, collecting many items that I thought I were missing. This process was similar to the daydreaming stage, but this time I wasn't madly saving every cute Liz Lisa dress I saw. This time I was looking for more realistic inspiration. I was searching eBay and wholesale websites, trying to find cute off brand items. I was looking at auction sites to get a handle on how much used Liz Lisa tends to go for. I was still searching the Liz Lisa catalogs, but this time looking for simple and non-patterned pieces I felt I could make myself. This collage eventually turned into my first eBay haul. At this point, though, it was starting to look extremely messy, and most of the pieces I had originally photographed had been removed from my wardrobe, so I reorganized.
When I made my new collage, I broke the image up into "stuff I own" (left side of the green line) and "stuff I want to own" (right side of the green line). This was much easier for me to look at, and as a result it was much more useful in helping me decide what to buy. Before buying anything, I like to paste it into my collage (which again, I'm just using a simple paint document to do this) and see how it looks with the other things I have in my wardrobe.
Before you even start, you should do a little bit of budgeting. This will really look different for everyone. In my case, I'm a student with many years of holiday money saved up (remember, I've been dreaming about this wardrobe for a long time!) but no job. That means that my way of "budgeting" was to set guidelines for what's "reasonable" rather than hard-and-fast numbers. Personally, based on my own situation, I decided that I could afford a handful of used brand pieces supplemented by many hand made and thrifted pieces, and cheap pieces found on the internet (on eBay, AliExpress, etc).
Do what makes sense for your situation. For the time being, I can't say I have much great advice, since I'm just on the cusp of being an adult with a paycheck and bills to pay, but maybe sometime in the next year I'll be able to come back and write more in depth about budgeting for a cute wardrobe. However, there is one rule of thumb that might be useful. If you're trying to do this on a budget, it's going to mean one of two things: either building your budget very slowly, or sacrificing quality. This is a fine line to walk, and there's no one right answer. Of course, it'd be nice to have a wardrobe full of Liz Lisa. On the other hand, if that means waiting two months just to buy one skirt even while buying used and scoping out good deals, you run the risk of never being able to actually wear the clothes that you do buy. Your taste might change in the time you're waiting to build up a wardrobe that's wearable, or your clothes might not be seasonal anymore. At the same time, you can't throw out quality either. As much as brands shouldn't matter, if you're trying to avoid any brand items, you'll inevitably fall into one trap or another. Maybe you'll end up with a wardrobe that strays too far from the spirit of the fashion you're pursuing (like trying to build a himekaji wardrobe with items bought entirely from Forever 21... it might still be cute but it will only ever loosely approximate the look you had in mind), having outfits that look extremely cheap (like trying to build a wardrobe entirely out of cheap eBay items... some of them are cute but you need high quality items to balance out the low quality ones you'll inevitably end up with), or spending an exorbitant amount of time behind your sewing machine (if you really had the time to sew an entire wardrobe by hand, you could probably afford to buy all brand in the first place). Again, where you toe the line is up to your personal situation and judgement.
The next step once you know roughly your spending limits is to do some extensive window shopping. I organized the items I'd selected from my existing wardrobe into an image on my computer (MS paint to the rescue!) so that I could see everything all together and see how much from each category I needed.
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| The first iteration of my wardrobe planning. |
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| After I did some window shopping. |
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| Reorganized, after I'd bought more of my wardrobe. |
What has worked so far for me has been a process of buying ➸ wearing ➸ dreaming etc. I've been doing roughly $50 hauls with a handful of main items, and trying to sustain on just my wardrobe in its current shape once those orders arrive. After the first haul I was disappointed to see that I really needed more of everything. I wasn't able to put together a single complete outfit. When my second haul arrived, I realized I'd gone a bit dress crazy, and that while I was maybe a good pair of shoes away from having several day's worth of cute dress coordinates, wearing fancy dresses on a daily basis was a bit much for me. However, I also noticed that I was continuously reaching for skirts that didn't exist. So I got more skirts. By buying in small chunks and attempting to wear everything before buying more, you can make sure you're building your wardrobe wisely. For the first few hauls, you won't be able to successfully dress within your capsule wardrobe until laundry day, but you'll get a sense of what areas you're really lacking in.
I'm still in the middle of this step, but I'm really happy with my progress. I hadn't looked at my first wardrobe collage in months, and it's really motivating for me to see how far I've already come.
I really hope that I can finish buying the bulk of my wardrobe soon! I'll write another post once I'm finished talking about where I did most of my shopping, what search terms were useful to me, and other odd tips related to shopping. Then pretty soon afterwards I'll probably launch into transitioning from one wardrobe to another while I fill out my Fall wardrobe.
See you next time!