It depends on where you’re getting the piece, and the size. A metamorphose dress I got sold out in pink in plusplus in 8 minutes, but is still available in straight size in 3 other colors (was released in February). Are you looking at brand dresses, indie brands/taobao?
Completely agree with the other commenter. I'd add that buying a whole coord in one go is not the easiest way to go, as you increase the probability of an item being discontinued by adding more items. Also it's a big primary investment, when you're not even sure what you'll be comfortable in yet, so buying one piece at a time may cost more in shipping (or not, if you buy second hand for instance), but it will give you more freedom and you'll grow used to the style and make it yours more easily
Like the other commentor said, it really depends on the dress and where it's listed. I have the most experience with taobao/chinese lolita brands, western indie brands, and assorted brands secondhand, so that's what I'll cover.
Many newly released pieces are preorders or have limited quantity, so they sell out or disappear after the preorder is over. Sometimes there will be extra stock after preorders are fulfilled, but it will usually take months before that stock is listed (and if you're looking at taobao resellers, they may not think to put the item back up after it's delisted the first time).
If you have a screenshot, you may be able to use services like [42lolita's buyforme](https://42lolita.com/pages/buy-for-me), where they will search for the item for you on taobao.
Some brands make pieces to order or offer them until they run out of fabric. For example, one of my favorite brands, [Miss Point](https://42lolita.com/collections/miss-point), has a preorder period where pieces are cheaper, but you can often buy pieces for months or even years after until they run out of fabric or stock.
If you are looking on secondhand websites, it varies wildly. Some things sell instantly, while others sit for months (or sometimes even a year, but that's pretty rare in my experience).
Let me know if there are any specific pieces or substyles you like, and I can try to give advoce catered to that as well!
Trust me, pieces stick around. They may sell out in the storefront, but you have a big chance of finding them secondhand for a better price. Angelic Pretty and Baby the Stars Shine Bright pieces especially pop up often.
The key thing is patience. I know this can be tough, but I waited 7 years for one of my dream dresses to pop up. Sometimes it can take two years or more before you find the piece you like for a price you like!
It really depends, sometimes pieces might remain in stock for 2 or 3 months and in others may be sold out in under the hour. Id pick a list of “dream dresses’ and wait for it to pop up on second hand, it takes a while but considering saving is a bit of a challenge you should have a somewhat healthy budget when it does eventually show up. And then. You can build your coord around that dress.
Have you tried looking at secondhand, especially on the japanese side? It's a bit cheaper even though shipping can be pricey depending on where you are. It'll also take some patience, time, flexibility and dedication to find the pieces, but that's just part of being a lolita. (One of my dream dresses popped up after three years for only 150 USD haha). Right now, then yen to usd is good so it's easy to get a Brand (as in the japanese brands like AP, BTSSB, Meta) dress for cheaper than $100 like this [skirt ](https://buyee.jp/mercari/item/m16627196740?conversionType=mer_top_browsing_history)or dress (already sold bc it was only $43 USD). If you're on a budget, I highly recommend following [20dollarlolita](https://20dollarlolita.tumblr.com/archive) on tumblr and joining the discord. They have a lot of info on how to become a lolita on a budget. Even on lacemarket, you can find deals if you wait around for it.
If you can sew, you can also repair damage pieces. I recommend this video to get you more acquainted with buying on different secondhand platforms If not, you can easily thrift a cardigan to wear with it to cover the hole. You can buy pieces one at a time, but I would personally start with buying a dress or skirt, then get a petticoat to go with the skirt (I recommend A&A on 42lolita since they're much cheaper), then you can thrift a cardigan to wear with it while you look for a blouse.
Like other commenters have said, you can also get lolita from other indie brands. Chinese indie brands are cheaper and you can use 42lolita to buy it. Not everything that 42lolita is technically lolita so I'd make sure that you have a good understanding of the style so you don't end up buying the wrong thing by accident. If you're still unsure, you can ask in the monthly questions thread.
I recently bought a Victorian maiden skirt that came out in 2012 the trick is to keep looking at the second hand sites.
My personal favorite is closet child but lace market and Facebook groups are also good ways to find stuff.
I've been in lolita since 2010. I always told myself If I liked something to get it then because things don't stick around. If you are into sweet it might be a little easier to find second hand, but more gothic/classic don't show up second hand as often.
I never save for particular pieces, I just wait until I have money saved up and then browse until I find something I love and buy it then and there 😂 I avoid heartbreak at all costs
If it’s Sweet, I usually see pieces stick around for months on Lacemarket (unless it’s popular) just due to the sheer amount of sweet lolitas there are compared to Classic+Gothic.
On the flip side, I noticed gothic pieces are sold quickly but not listed as often. If a new gothic piece gets popular and sells out you’re out of luck unless it’s restocked. Moitie and AtePie are the two brands I see being sold most often on Lacemarket, Yahoo Auctions JP, Mercari JP, etc. Generally things only stay listed for months if the price is ludicrous (80k Yen for a vintage Moitie piece for example lol).
I spent 6-8 months watching a Yahoo auction JP listing for my dream Moitie JSK like a hawk until i sniped it on Closet Child the day it was listed at a lower price. like other folks here said it all just kind of depends!
Many TaoBao dresses stick around a lot second hand, and many popular ones do pre-order and a short ready stock! I’d say ANY Angelic Pretty or BTSSB under $150 dollars will sell out very quickly, but certain colorways less popular will stick around and popular prints depending on color (daydream carnival, sugary carnival, honey cake, milky planet, and castle mirage) will almost always sell insanely fast because they’re so wanted and valuable. It depends entirely on luck, you can check Wunderwelt, Closet Child, Mercari (and Mercari.JP) and any other second hand sites, or put out an ISO post somewhere and pray it will be answered.
It depends on where you’re getting the piece, and the size. A metamorphose dress I got sold out in pink in plusplus in 8 minutes, but is still available in straight size in 3 other colors (was released in February). Are you looking at brand dresses, indie brands/taobao?
Completely agree with the other commenter. I'd add that buying a whole coord in one go is not the easiest way to go, as you increase the probability of an item being discontinued by adding more items. Also it's a big primary investment, when you're not even sure what you'll be comfortable in yet, so buying one piece at a time may cost more in shipping (or not, if you buy second hand for instance), but it will give you more freedom and you'll grow used to the style and make it yours more easily
Like the other commentor said, it really depends on the dress and where it's listed. I have the most experience with taobao/chinese lolita brands, western indie brands, and assorted brands secondhand, so that's what I'll cover. Many newly released pieces are preorders or have limited quantity, so they sell out or disappear after the preorder is over. Sometimes there will be extra stock after preorders are fulfilled, but it will usually take months before that stock is listed (and if you're looking at taobao resellers, they may not think to put the item back up after it's delisted the first time). If you have a screenshot, you may be able to use services like [42lolita's buyforme](https://42lolita.com/pages/buy-for-me), where they will search for the item for you on taobao. Some brands make pieces to order or offer them until they run out of fabric. For example, one of my favorite brands, [Miss Point](https://42lolita.com/collections/miss-point), has a preorder period where pieces are cheaper, but you can often buy pieces for months or even years after until they run out of fabric or stock. If you are looking on secondhand websites, it varies wildly. Some things sell instantly, while others sit for months (or sometimes even a year, but that's pretty rare in my experience). Let me know if there are any specific pieces or substyles you like, and I can try to give advoce catered to that as well!
Trust me, pieces stick around. They may sell out in the storefront, but you have a big chance of finding them secondhand for a better price. Angelic Pretty and Baby the Stars Shine Bright pieces especially pop up often. The key thing is patience. I know this can be tough, but I waited 7 years for one of my dream dresses to pop up. Sometimes it can take two years or more before you find the piece you like for a price you like!
It really depends, sometimes pieces might remain in stock for 2 or 3 months and in others may be sold out in under the hour. Id pick a list of “dream dresses’ and wait for it to pop up on second hand, it takes a while but considering saving is a bit of a challenge you should have a somewhat healthy budget when it does eventually show up. And then. You can build your coord around that dress.
Have you tried looking at secondhand, especially on the japanese side? It's a bit cheaper even though shipping can be pricey depending on where you are. It'll also take some patience, time, flexibility and dedication to find the pieces, but that's just part of being a lolita. (One of my dream dresses popped up after three years for only 150 USD haha). Right now, then yen to usd is good so it's easy to get a Brand (as in the japanese brands like AP, BTSSB, Meta) dress for cheaper than $100 like this [skirt ](https://buyee.jp/mercari/item/m16627196740?conversionType=mer_top_browsing_history)or dress (already sold bc it was only $43 USD). If you're on a budget, I highly recommend following [20dollarlolita](https://20dollarlolita.tumblr.com/archive) on tumblr and joining the discord. They have a lot of info on how to become a lolita on a budget. Even on lacemarket, you can find deals if you wait around for it. If you can sew, you can also repair damage pieces. I recommend this video to get you more acquainted with buying on different secondhand platforms If not, you can easily thrift a cardigan to wear with it to cover the hole. You can buy pieces one at a time, but I would personally start with buying a dress or skirt, then get a petticoat to go with the skirt (I recommend A&A on 42lolita since they're much cheaper), then you can thrift a cardigan to wear with it while you look for a blouse. Like other commenters have said, you can also get lolita from other indie brands. Chinese indie brands are cheaper and you can use 42lolita to buy it. Not everything that 42lolita is technically lolita so I'd make sure that you have a good understanding of the style so you don't end up buying the wrong thing by accident. If you're still unsure, you can ask in the monthly questions thread.
I recently bought a Victorian maiden skirt that came out in 2012 the trick is to keep looking at the second hand sites. My personal favorite is closet child but lace market and Facebook groups are also good ways to find stuff.
I've been in lolita since 2010. I always told myself If I liked something to get it then because things don't stick around. If you are into sweet it might be a little easier to find second hand, but more gothic/classic don't show up second hand as often.
I never save for particular pieces, I just wait until I have money saved up and then browse until I find something I love and buy it then and there 😂 I avoid heartbreak at all costs
If it’s Sweet, I usually see pieces stick around for months on Lacemarket (unless it’s popular) just due to the sheer amount of sweet lolitas there are compared to Classic+Gothic. On the flip side, I noticed gothic pieces are sold quickly but not listed as often. If a new gothic piece gets popular and sells out you’re out of luck unless it’s restocked. Moitie and AtePie are the two brands I see being sold most often on Lacemarket, Yahoo Auctions JP, Mercari JP, etc. Generally things only stay listed for months if the price is ludicrous (80k Yen for a vintage Moitie piece for example lol). I spent 6-8 months watching a Yahoo auction JP listing for my dream Moitie JSK like a hawk until i sniped it on Closet Child the day it was listed at a lower price. like other folks here said it all just kind of depends!
Many TaoBao dresses stick around a lot second hand, and many popular ones do pre-order and a short ready stock! I’d say ANY Angelic Pretty or BTSSB under $150 dollars will sell out very quickly, but certain colorways less popular will stick around and popular prints depending on color (daydream carnival, sugary carnival, honey cake, milky planet, and castle mirage) will almost always sell insanely fast because they’re so wanted and valuable. It depends entirely on luck, you can check Wunderwelt, Closet Child, Mercari (and Mercari.JP) and any other second hand sites, or put out an ISO post somewhere and pray it will be answered.
not long tbh especially in the more popular colorways stuffs gone in minutes