China OP

Hello~

    How does a dream dress become a dream dress? What about lolita fashion, and the types of people that get deeply immersed in it, makes having a dream dress such a common occurrence? 

    People who wear lolita fashion often have at least one dream dress. The dream dress is a piece that captures a lolita's heart and soul. It's a piece they fall in love with. Dreaming of how and where they would wear it. Searching high and low for it, looking everywhere they think it might possibly be - even enlisting their friends to help them search. They yearn for and pine after the dream dress, often for months, or even years.

    There's at least one way I know a dream dress becomes a dream dress, because I'm experiencing it! It's bittersweet...it all started when I saw this street snap from volume 12 of FRUiTS (1998). Street snap is on the left, translated outfit rundown is on the right:

    I've seen this street snap while reading through blogs about the history of lolita fashion. I've seen this street snap used as an example of what an old school coordinate looks like. I've seen this street snap in countless aesthetic tumblr posts and pinterest boards. I've saved this street snap as inspiration, for the kind of look I would like to achieve with my own lolita coordinates. I should have known at that point that I was going down the dream dress path...I just never expected to actually know what dress she is wearing here! 

    ...Until I did. The dress she is wearing here is called "China OP" and it was released by the brand Baby, the Stars Shine Bright in 1998. (The coord rundown above attributes the dress to "Pretty" - which was, I believe, a brand that spawned Angelic Pretty and Baby the Stars Shine Bright. I don't know the entire history, but I want to learn more there, and eventually make a blog post about it. But this post is about the dress itself, so, back to the topic!!!). The information on this OP can be found on Lolibrary, here: https://lolibrary.org/items/btssb-china-op . Lolibrary lists it as from Baby the Stars Shine Bright. Here are the pictures from the listing: 

    Both the street snap and the lolibrary listing make me fall in love with the dress. It has all the charming old school details I've come to love over my first year in the fashion. Raschel lace trims the collar and the cuffs. The solid color brings emphasis to the lovely details of the dress - such as the pintucks at the waist and the structure of the bodice. It is velveteen, which looks and feels so classic. This is not an exclusively old school element, but the two buttons on the collar must be where the name China OP comes from! 

    Well, other then these images, I haven't been able to find any other trace of this dress. I will continue to search for it. I love it! Having a niche dream item strikes a fire in my soul. It's exciting!

    Till next time!

6.29.25