What are some of the best tips you have for a ouji who is just starting out?
Hmmm you know that is a really good question!
Here is a list of what I wish I would’ve known when starting out:
- Check out this blog post by Neogrotesk on general guidelines on starting out: http://neogrotesk.tumblr.com/post/39971704701/ouji-kodona-boystyle-whatever-you-want-to-call-it-101 . Buttcape’s blogspot also has a bunch of great information for someone starting out: http://buttcape.blogspot.com/
- Get the misconception out of your head that ouji coordinates are simple and it’s significantly cheaper than lolita. Just like Lolita it can vary extremely.
- Try to stay away from looking like cosplay, a butler, or a dandy. Or trying to pull off a common suit, or a blouse and shorts as ouji. Most likely you aren’t going to fool anyone.
- Invest more in stunning jackets and long waistcoats and less on short vests because even though they are more versatile in coordinating, jackets make it much easier to get dressed in the morning if you wear boystyle daily and still look fabulous when you’re lazy. It’s also easier to pull off and yet still look fancier as well.
- Try to stay away from cotton blouses and invest in polyester blend or chiffon blouses because they don’t wrinkle as much, dont stain as easily, easier to wash and take care of and are a lot more comfortable. They generally just look better as well. But hey I have a few cotton blouses too since they are usually cheaper to buy.
- Stay away from buying anything from Milanoo. If you need to know why, send me an ask and I’ll give you an essay response at least 500 words long. There tons of places that are waayyyy better options for cheaper.
- You don’t have to always wear those puffy shorts in ouji, it’s a lot more comfy to just wear matching colored skinny pants or some nice trousers for daily wear.
- Don’t buy something just because it’s cheap, wait until you find something you actually can’t stand the idea of missing out on even if it means saving up.
- Focus more on accessories, head pieces, hats, shoes and getting enough basics like blouses to make a more expansive wardrobe with unique complex cuts and coordinates.
- Get a good and trusted tailor to alter your clothing to fit and flatter your body shape because there are no way suit type items in ouji or aristocrat can fit everyone perfectly. Real suits get tailored why wouldn’t equally as expensive jackets and vests in the ouji realm be the same? Just because something is able to get onto your body doesn’t mean it will be flattering on your body type (you will develop an eye for this).
- Try really hard not to buy overly feminine looking pieces (this includes shoes) and try to work them into ouji until you are more experienced with ouji coordinating to pull off balanced masculine and feminine elements and cuts.
- Don’t buy mini hats to start out with, invest in an actual normal sized hat that suits your tastes. It will most likely be easier to pull off and more versatile with different coordinates, especially daily wear *Granted I own one mini hat, only because my head is like tiny and the AATP Mad Hatter Hat is a large mini hat comparatively in size so it is almost a normal sized hat on me.
- Having a suitable masculine ouji hairstyle isn’t required, but I find it really helps finish the overall look.
- Check out other awesome boystylers and see how they interpret ouji or aristocrat for inspiration on coordinates. I personally get most of my inspiration from Ball Jointed Doll clothing, Sakizo Illustrations, high fashion, Japanese and Korean street fashion, period clothing and art.
- (I wrote this for someone else’s ask, but I feel it’s incredibly important to anyone starting out.) Your coording skills will get better if you keep trying and you may develop more confidence in what you put together since you have more experience and sometimes you may not. But that is okay because there is no way you can have all your coordinates look 100% like a masterpiece every single time. I certainly don’t walk out of my house looking fashion show ready every morning. That would be absurd. But you know what you can control? You can control how you feel while being in the learning process. You will always be in a learning process (no one is perfect) so you just gotta keep your head up high and be proud of the fact there are gonna be mistakes but you’re gonna learn from them and get better and better as long as you keep trying.
At the end of the day these are all just general guidelines I found particularly helpful as I grew my wardrobe, they can always be broken once you have your foundation tool box of what ouji is supposed to look like. Make sure that you are still having fun. If at any point wearing ouji becomes stressful and makes you sad, just stop and go back to your roots. It’s always okay to start over again and change direction, it’s only clothes it does not ever determine who you are!
Good luck!~
