Loliable Crafts: Sandals

I've spent no small amount of money, time, and effort ensuring that my Lolita wardrobe can be enjoyed in temperatures as low as -35°C. I have sadly put much less effort into the opposite, finding instead that when temperatures rise above 25°C I lose all desire to don frills. I hate feeling like I'm losing 4 months of my access to whimsy when the heat and sun (and wildfire smoke) arrive and I now want to dedicate myself to truly improving my Summer game. My first shortfall is to improve my footwear game. 

While I was finding recently released Lolita-friendly items to include in my Summer Survival Guide coord examples I became smitten with the Fickle Bebe frilled sandals I used in my classic coord. They're quite simple in appearance but the layers of ruffles on the straps and the enormous instep bow stuck in my mind. 

at the time of publishing this,  they're sold out in my size in black.

The platform appears in stock images to be flat, not very curved

 

I've become exceedingly choosy of my footwear of late however, stemming from increasing awareness of my aging body (I'm in my mid-30s), and I find it increasingly challenging to trust purchasing shoes online. This is in keeping with my habit of choose smarter footwear options whenever possible. That doesn't mean my footwear cannot be outlandish, or elaborate, but it helps if I have worn them dozens of times and know they're comfortable. I know that I have the skills to make a convincing dupe of those adorable sandals out of ones I know do not cause me harm to wear. 

Stock photo of Mega Crush sandal

My specific pair, cleaned and moisturized

 

Enter The Mega Crush Sandal from Crocs. I've owned this pair in black for 2 years and it has been my daily footwear choice in warm dry weather for these 2 years. They're durable, comfortable, and obscenely chunky, and because they're classic Crocs they have those handy little "jibbitz" holes that can be very useful for customization. I am truly obsessed with removable / interchangeable elements in my Lolita wardrobe and have been chomping at the bit for an opportunity to try to make these Crocs actually kawaii. I'm certain with the right application of accessories and elements I can elicit true surprise from people when they find out what is on my feet. 

Instep bow process

The finished product

I obtained 3 yards of a ruffled satin ribbon trim that resembles the ones on the straps of the ruffled sandals, a 1/2 meter of satin fabric with which to make the instep bow, and off-brand "jibbitz" buttons to make the attachment points. I don't own the originals I attempted to copy, so I adapted my construction based solely on the dimensions and proportions of my own sandals. I already had lots of ribbon and other sewing notions required. I hand-sewed buttonholes in strips of ribbon for the buttons to go through, and hand-sewed the ruffled trim onto another strip of ribbon. The embroidered "L" is so I know the correct worn orientation. 

As you can see they are detachable!

Can hardly tell they are Crocs.

In closing, I think I did a pretty good job making a passable dupe. The goal was never to confuse anyone into thinking these are the Fickle Bebe sandals, but to use the same approximate decorative elements to elevate a sporty platform sandal into something cute and loliable, something not out of place in a summery coord. In the future I would also like to add a ruffle strip onto the heel strap, but the plastic "buttons" I have are too large for the "jibbitz' buttonholes on that strap so that project will have to wait until I find smaller ones. I also obtained the same pleated trim and satin in ivory to make my beige Mega Crush sandals cute as well, though with summer quickly coming to an end that may become a winter project. 

I hope this inspires you into taking your daily clothing and elevating it into something kawaii. There is a culture of overconsumption in Lolita fashion, when there really doesn't have to be if your items can run dual duty.