Liz Lisa Coordinate Olympics コーデリンピック 2016

On August 26, 2016, Liz Lisa announced they would be launching an Instagram campaign called "Liz Lisa  コーデリンピック 2016"!

To enter, post on Instagram and #リズコーデリンピック and tag @lizlisa_official_japan during Sept 5 to Sept 19. Anyone with a public Instagram account was eligible to join using their own original coordinate including international Liz Lisa fans! The items used could be from any season/year (not just the current season) and it was okay to mix with non-Liz Lisa items as well. The items should be worn and easily seen.

• 1 First place winner would win 50,000yen of Liz Lisa goods. 
• 1 Second place winner would win 30,000yen of Liz Lisa goods.
• 1 Third place winner would win 10,000yen of Liz Lisa goods.
• There is also a LL Siennes pick that would win 1 OP. 

I was excited to know that overseas customers would be eligible as well. I remembered that Liz Lisa had a previous Instagram/Twitter campaign (#lizlisa困り顔選手権) with clothing prizes but I didn't recall how it turned out. This seemed much bigger and would likely include a lot more entries, especially with how they are promoting it!

I immediately started thinking about outfit ideas, but I have to admit I was a little stumped. This happens to me every once in a while. I know I have a ton of pieces, but sometimes because himekaji is just so casual, some outfits just don't feel "special" to me. In addition to just creating a coordinate that I was happy with aesthetically/staying true to my personal style, there were also a few other personal guidelines that I wanted to consider like:

• items should be from a mix of years (such as 2013 with 2015 and 2016 and not all just 2015)
• one coordinate option should be an "atypical" (probably not the best word but OK) Liz Lisa coordinate such as a jumpsuit, pants, fitted skirt or even roomwear or a swimsuit
• possibly using a limited item? (such as the Hep Five limited OP from 2014 or collab item)
• do not use an established set up or items repeatedly promoted together in shop staff photos
• outfit should be "iconic" or "timeless" (in terms of Liz Lisa)
• utilize layering/outer piece if possible
• have an SS coordinate option and an AW coordinate option
• hat?

These are just kind of things that I wrote down when brainstorming so I could look back at them while actually trying out combinations, but not exactly "rules" for myself.

I started forming outfits in my head and then tried to go through past outfit/coordinate posts to see if there was anything that stood out to me. Here are some from my IG that really felt like "good coordinates" to me:

From there, I tried to capture that same feeling/what I liked in those in what I was creating going forward. I didn't want to copy something I had already done item for event, so I tried my best to see what other combinations I could come up with. 

My first draft of outfits looked like this -

"Classic himekaji" - Liz Lisa floral jumperskirt, Liz Lisa sailor blouse, Liz Lisa x Yui Kanno rose drop cardigan, Liz Lisa rose clips, Liz Lisa butterfly necklace, Liz Lisa 3D flower pumps, Liz Lisa 14th anniversary bow watch, Liz Lisa thin ribbon boston bag, Liz Lisa champouf w/flower charm & off brand pom pom charm

"Otona kawaii" - Liz Lisa cambric puff sleeve blouse, Liz Lisa flocked cardigan, Liz Lisa lace border flower skirt, Liz Lisa ribbon shoulder bag, Liz Lisa ribbon pumps, Liz Lisa many flower earrings & off brand pearl headband

"Cool" - Liz Lisa x My Melody 6th collab blouse, Liz Lisa floral jumpsuit, Liz Lisa wide brim fedora, Liz Lisa thin ribbon boston bag, Liz Lisa pearl flower necklace, Liz Lisa 3D flower pumps, Michael Kors watch

I wanted to have options from three slightly different genres that I felt like Liz Lisa encompassed while still maintaining an uniquely "Liz Lisa look" and including florals.

After I had more time to think about it and the new Q&As were added to the FAQ (multiple entries were allowed and "likes" would factor into picking the winner), these outfits didn't really speak to me. 2/3 just felt really "forced" because I was trying to achieve too many things that didn't even matter. I went back in some of my recent coordinate-related blog posts this time (instead of just IG) and picked through what I had come up with and see if any of those particularly stuck out to me and how I could improve on those if at all. From those, I picked (and recreated) these -

"Girly lame" - Liz Lisa cotton lace frill ribbed top, Liz Lisa monochrome flower skirt, Liz Lisa beret, Liz Lisa pom pom earrings, Liz Lisa flower pearl necklace, Liz Lisa heart suede pumps and Samantha Thavasa handbag with E charm 

"Summer himekaji" - Liz Lisa cotton lace frill top, Liz Lisa cotton lace frill shorts, Liz Lisa paper can can hat, Liz Lisa butterfly necklace, Liz Lisa knot wedge sandals, Liz Lisa seashell pouchette

"Fruit water w/red" - Liz Lisa fruits water jumperskirt (removable bows used as hair accessories), Liz Lisa flare sleeve blouse, Liz Lisa heart suede pumps

"Girly carriage bows" - Liz Lisa plain browsing top, Liz Lisa wagon skirt, Liz Lisa lace-up back flower wedge sandals, Liz Lisa rose quilted purse with Liz Lisa Champouf charm, Liz Lisa 14th anniversary watch, Liz Lisa flower pearl necklace, ribbon barrette from Daiso

"Neutrals in autumn" - Liz Lisa opal flower OP, Liz Lisa scoop neck cardigan, Liz Lisa ankle boots, Liz Lisa OP cup Team C bag, ribbon barrette from Daiso

"Travel" - Liz Lisa bib long sleeve top, Liz Lisa floral overalls jumper skirt, Liz Lisa riders jacket, Liz Lisa OTK boots, Liz Lisa x My Melody 2016 fukubukuro tote, Liz Lisa 2015 web-limited ribbon rose embossed trunk

And since I wanted to include items from the current AW16 season as possible, I definitely wanted to work in my newer bordeaux items (blog post coming soon!) which arrived just in time for this -

"Otona autumn" - Liz Lisa pleats OP, Liz Lisa 3D flower cut cardigan, Liz Lisa bijou necklace, Liz Lisa glitter pumps, Liz Lisa x Yui Kanno ribbon barrette, off brand rosette pouch

"Bordeaux check set up" - Liz Lisa check top, Liz Lisa check skirt, Liz Lisa cameo necklace, Liz Lisa x Yui Kanno rose barrette, Samantha Thavasa purse (with Liz Lisa camisole chain), Liz Lisa 3D flower pumps 

 

"Autumn himekaji" - Liz Lisa cut cardigan, Liz Lisa corset tutu sukapan, Liz Lisa flower pearl necklace, Liz Lisa beret, Liz Lisa picnic rabbit shoulder bag, Liz Lisa lace up pom pom pumps 

Obviously I flip flopped a bit as to what direction I wanted to go in for the coordinates for this event, but once they announced that you could enter multiple outfits, I was able to relax a little, and it was a lot of fun! Honestly, I think I would have had a hard time trying to pick just one outfit that really represented me + Liz Lisa. There's so many slightly different sides to the brand that I love to explore and create different type of coordinates with! I didn't end up posting all of these to Instagram but wanted to share them with you on the blog because I feel like the outfits created here really represent some of my favorite Liz Lisa looks at the current time.

If you like any of these outfits, I would love your support on Instagram @_emiii_chan! #shamelessplug

Update! The winners themselves were contacted directly beforehand but Liz Lisa officially announced on October 14, 2016 at lizlisa.com. There was a domestic and overseas winner for each place (1st) (2nd) (3rd) and three LL Siennes picks!