Bodyline Magnolia A-Line OP

 I have owned a lot of dresses during my time in this fashion. Some have stuck around for years while others have come and gone. I have owned Japanese brand dresses, Western Indie brand dresses, Chinese Indie brand dresses, and even some dresses handmade by people within the community. When I first started to get into lolita fashion back in 2009, my first dress was a Bodyline dress. When I first started to get back into the fashion, after a long hiatus, in 2016 my first purchase was a Bodyline dress. Over the years I have owned, and phased out, a lot of Bodyline from my wardrobe but there is one dress that I have clung to. It is a staple in my wardrobe and in celebration of finally tracking down the sax colorway (in my size!) I wanted to dedicate an entire blog post to it. This dress is Bodyline Magnolia A-Line OP. Once my shopping service ships it out to me, I will officially own every colorway of this dress and I could not be happier to own the set. 

2017

2017 was the first full year that I wore lolita fashion. It was a year of fashion exploration, experimentation, and excitement. It was also the year that I discovered my love for tartan dresses. This Bodyline dress was my first tartan main piece, and I absolutely loved it. I fell in love with not only the tartan design but the A-line cut, the peter pan collar, the thick fabric, the puff sleeves, and the longer length. It is also probably the dress that started my love of the color red in lolita fashion. So much of my personal style within the fashion can be traced back to this very dress. 

2018

2018 was a pivotal year in my lolita fashion journey. It was the year I really started to figure out my personal style. I got really into old-school, punk, and casual styles. At this point a large chunk of my wardrobe was tartan and it was all thanks to this dress unlocking that love within me. I didn't wear this dress very much in 2018 because I had so many other tartan dresses that I was styling at the time. I usually opted for this dress when I needed something a bit comfier. It was my go-to casual dress. I exclusively paired this dress with black and white at the time. It is very simple but cute. 

2019

2019 was a busy year for me! I did a lot of traveling that year. I spent part of the year in Wisconsin, part of it in Mississippi, and then I eventually moved to Washington. I traveled to a lot of states in-between those moves as well. Either 2018 or 2019 was my busiest year in the fashion thus far. I wore a lot of coordinates both of those years. I really like how distinct all of these coordinates look. 

It was also the year that I managed to track down both the pink and sax versions of this dress.  The sax version was in the largest size (size 4L) and was too big on me. I only wore it once before selling it because I did not like the length on me. It is hard to tell in this photo, but it reached mid-calf on me! I much prefer the length of the red version (size 2L) but the fit of the pink version (size M). 

2020

I, like a lot of people, really struggled mentally during 2020. I did not wear lolita fashion very much because of this. I only have one coordinate from 2020 with this dress. I do really like how I styled it though. It is simple but really cute. I don't wear a lot of pink, but this dress is an exception. I really like how it looks paired with black. 

2022

I took a bit of a break from the fashion during 2020 and the first of half of 2021 so I don't have any coordinates from 2021 with this dress to share. I do, however, have two coordinates from 2022. I was really struggling to figure out my sense of style when I returned to the fashion. My old style in the fashion no longer felt like "me". This was a year of trying to figure out what my new style was. I do not really like either of these coordinates because I can tell that I felt awkward in both of them. They felt forced and like I was trying to be something I wasn't anymore. I was trying to shove myself into a familiar box that I just didn't fit into. 

2023

2023 was a year of rediscovery and reflection. It was a year of figuring out what this fashion meant to me and what my identity in the fashion was going forward. I rekindled my love of patterns, colors, and the kitschy nature of lolita fashion that first attracted me to it in the first place. I experimented with different styles and themes. I let myself become as tacky as I wanted. This dress is the perfect base layer for tacky holiday coordinates. 

2024

We are nearly halfway through 2024 already (I can hardly believe that!) and I have only worn this dress twice, once in pink and once in red. I really like how both of these coordinates turned out. I think they are both excellent examples of how my style has evolved and grown over the years. This Bodyline dress has been with me for so many phases of my lolita fashion journey and I cannot wait to see what comes next. It is one of my absolute favorite dresses, even if it isn't one of the most expensive pieces in my wardrobe. It just goes to show you that value isn't always monetary. 

Bonus Mannequin Coordinates