Hello!
Today's post is going to be about the earliest Jane Marple items on Lolibrary! Lolibrary is a lolita fashion database. It's goal is to be an archive of every lolita fashion brand that has ever been, and every lolita fashion item that has ever existed. Due to this noble and far-reaching goal, it's not hard to imagine all the rare, old, and unique items that can be found in this extensive archive!
My favorite long-standing lolita brand is Jane Marple - and they were founded in 1985 (which makes this year, 2025, their 40th anniversary, yay!). Though the brand was founded in 1985, the earliest items from Jane Marple on Lolibrary are listed un-specifically as "1985-1988"! It makes me wonder if the pre-1988 items are super hard to find! I wonder if they're archived elsewhere.. :thinking-emoji: (Spoiler: during the making of this post I was able to find an incredible blog that archives J-fashion magazines, check it out here: https://www.tumblr.com/ghostlieangel )
There are 6 items from 1988 on Lolibrary! Here they are:
ITEM 1:
"Bustier and Skirt" (Official name unknown)It comes up in the search under the year 1988, but the year is listed as "between the year 1985 and 1988"
The details of this set: it's red with black piping, the skirt has 3 tiers (I wonder why the bottom tier is not piped with black?), the top is a corset top, which laces up the back.
The skirt is high waisted, and the bustier buttons up the front.
ITEM 2:
(Excuse the extremely crunchy quality of this image, this is from the Lolibrary listing and it's likely one of the only images of this item that exists.)
"Tartan Suit" (Official name unknown)
Skirt and jacket set.
Released between 1985 and 1989.
The details of the set: It is a skirt and jacket, both with a red and black (?) tartan/plaid pattern. There is an influence from Vivian Westwood here with the velveteen black lapels.
ITEM 3:
"Skirt" (Official name unknown? No official name?)
Released in 1988.
This item is an ivory-colored floral skirt. The floral pattern appears 3 dimensional? As if the flower pattern is sewn/stitched on. The skirt is poofy in an A-line shape, which foreshadows the typical lolita fashion silhouette. There is a frill around the bottom of the skirt that resembles a petticoat peeking out of the bottom of the skirt.
Fun fact about this skirt: it was featured in Lemon, a fashion magazine! That's probably why it has an official release date, based on the magazine's release date!
Here is an example of Lemon's most recent issue vs the page the Jane Marple skirt is on (credit to ghostlieangel on tumblr for the vintage Lemon scan)(I wonder if any of the other items on these pages are Jane Marple? Or if not, what brands are they from? They're all so cute..):
ITEM 4 & 5:
In this image there are two items which have listings on Lolibrary: the skirt, similar to the skirt above this one, just listed as "Skirt," and a blouse, similarly listed as "Blouse."
Both items were also featured in the 1988 issue of Lemon (and can be seen in the vintage Lemon scan featured in item 3's explanation)!
The blouse is has short puff sleeves and a peter pan collar. It is described as "Black x Offwhite" on Lolibrary, though it looks bright white to me .. :thinking-emoji:
The skirt seems to be pleated. It has both stripes and polka dots. It high waisted, and the hem is just above the knee.
Fun fact: It's hard for me to find polka dotted pieces that I like. I find polka dots to be tacky and childish, sorry! Especially when they're so big and high-contrast like this.
I do really enjoy the cohesion of this entire outfit though. It seems that the blouse, skirt, socks, and scarf tied to the purse are all of the same pattern? Call me a stereotypical lolita the way I love perfect coordination!
ITEM 6:
Similar to the blouse above, this blouse is just listed as "Blouse" in Lolibrary.
Released in 1988.
Item details: Short sleeved blouse in the color offwhite, with a detachable bow.
This blouse is quite plain, being a solid color and not having any frills. It reads as preppy to me! The signature cuts of Jane Marple pieces can be seen here which I think is so cool - the simple, clean aesthetic reminds me of their recent 2025 collection "Victorian Lace" (example below).
And so, that's all the 1985-1988 Jane Marple pieces on Lolibrary! I had so much fun making this post, I feel like a historian~! Connecting the Lolibrary posts to the magazines they come from, and connecting the style of a 1988 JM piece to a 2025 JM piece were both so exciting! I want to do more research-y posts like this in the future!
Looking at Lemon for this post reminded me - I recently purchased a subscription to a physical magazine as well! Though I don't particularly care about celebrities or trends, I've always loved fashion, physical media, reading, and now I'm a professional illustrator and graphic designer, so getting a fashion magazine in the mail each month is going to be so super fun!! Here is the first one I got:
(Kind of obsessed with the green dress ^)
That's all for now! Till next time~
7.23.25
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