Simplify?

It's winter drumline season again, and one thing I've been noticing with drumlines this year is that their uniforms are simpler. For the uninitiated, winter drumlines come up with new uniforms for each show they do (so one per year.) Often times they'll be fancy and related to the theme in some way. Usually stretchy and form-fitting, possibly with extra details that sometimes get changed throughout the show (for example, hoods, which can be pulled up or down to complement a change in mood or help to distinguish between groups of performers within the same line if their show calls for it.) Sometimes the uniforms are homemade, sometimes they're assembled from store-bought parts, and sometimes the entire line has customized t-shirts or sweatshirts. I've been seeing a lot more of the latter than usual this year. One would think that this would detract from the quality of the show, but I'm finding that it seems to be working in the lines' favor--without the fancier costumes and props, one's attention is focused more on the performance itself and the creativity of the writing.

"Adryrn, I don't care about winter drumline, write about something spooky or rant about the Monster so you at least can appeal to my sadistic taste in blogs" says the imaginary reader who accurately represents none of you as far as I can tell but nevermind that o__o. I've been feeling a pull toward more simplicity in my outfits myself lately--or at least "cleaner" outfits. This might be because it's winter and wearing ouji/lolita under my winter coat has simply lost its appeal. I don't know that I'll be able to say for sure until it warms up more.

I'm not as enthralled looking at pictures of others in lolita either as of late. I'm not sure if it's the prints or the overall style. I still feel like it can be streamlined a lot and still be lolita (even though for a lot of people the appeal seems to lie in the opulence), but I'm unsure. I find that design details that stand out like super wide skirts or chunky boots appeal to me a lot more than intricate prints or even things like blouses (lace seems to annoy me more than anything else), and I prefer bold contrasts to intricate color coordinations. I like a lot of what one finds in earlier Gothic & Lolita Bibles, but the fun thing there is that a lot of it edges out of what is considered lolita and more into plain goth territory. At the same time, even those outfits look different from the tradgoth sort of stuff that usually comes to mind when I think "goth", in a very lolitaesque way.

I'd try pursuing these impulses, but at the same time I'm kind of sick of seeking out more pieces/accessories, so I'll probably just work with what I've already got--oh who the hell am I kidding. I say that and then immediately think "well except for those boots I've been meaning to buy since the ones I have are getting worn out and [insert further excuses here]" and "I should wear make-up that stands out instead of curating an eccentric wardrobe" which means I have to buy make-up since I don't really have anything useable except nail polish right now. And then there are all the patches I want to make and buy (and even if I make them I still have to buy material) to stick on the one button-down shirt that used to be part of a Misa cosplay (making a sort of patchy outer layer that probably will work nicely in the summer.) And that altered hoodie I want to re-vamp, although at least I probably won't have to buy anything for that. Even "working with what I've got" seems to mean buying more stuff. Oh well. Maybe this actually will be my last round on the fashion tread mill before I'm finally content.