If you are searching for a specific piece, it can be pretty tricky. If it’s an older piece, the brand usually no longer has any proof of that piece existing on their website! I know many people struggle with this, so I wanted to provide tips that work for me. I try to be quick to offer help when I see someone looking for something, so I thought sharing my method of finding things could help other people.
Before anything else, if you are going off a photo you saw online, grab that picture and throw it into a reverse image search (Like tineye or google images); it could get you straight to the source of the image, which is likely to say what it is! If this works, this could save a lot of time that may otherwise be spent searching. I have heard taobao also has an image search, but I haven’t tried it much yet.
If that doesn’t work, it may be time to start messing with Lolibrary’s search functionality.
Here is the order I recommend adding filters to- these are the ones that I find are usually the most accurate. If there is missing data, it’s more likely to be in the later elements.
- Categories (Sometimes good to use a couple, a piece that looks like a jsk is sometimes called an OP by the brand, etc. I usually search the most likely category first, then switch to another if that does not turn what I’m looking for)
- Brand (If it is an indie brand that got a tag recently, include the “indie brand” tag that is relevant)
- Year (If known, may want to put in a range around where you think the piece came out)
- Colorway (if it is multicolor, ex pink x white, search for pink x white OR pink, it’s often tagged as just the main colorway, especially if there are multiple colorways)
- Features and Tags (Add one at a time, and make sure you include ALL when searching so it requires all of the elements included. Things that are more obvious in a piece are more likely to be tagged, I usually find specific features can be more likely than a tag)
In general, larger brand pieces are much more likely to be included than indie brand pieces, simply because the releases are larger and tend to be added more quickly.
If you aren’t sure of the brand, it might be good to either filter out brands it absolutely couldn’t be, or search through the different indie brand categories.
If lolibrary turns up with nothing, I would recommend playing with the tags more. If you filtered by years, choose a different range of years, or remove the features and colorways you are looking for. If a piece looks close but seems to have different parts, doublecheck the piece! It could have detachable parts that may not be included in the picture you saw. This is particularly notable with blouses, but many jsks also have this going on.
If there is still nothing, my second option is generally to check Lacemarket, specifically the sold listings. This is not ideal, but it can work for indie brand pieces. I’ll fill the brand category and type, and filter through that as needed (Usually don’t need as much; you probably won’t need this for larger brands). You can also check closetchild, wunderwelt, xianyu, etc, but I find lacemarket a bit easier to search for specifics for identification purposes. (If there is something that you’re SURE is mentioned in the description, doing a google search and adding site:egl.circlly.com/ can help filter that out; this is how I was able to find the name of the supernatural themed skirt)
If nothing else works, I do use the Facebook group “What is this dress (egl edition)”. Provide as much information as you can, closeup shots of any identifiable features would be good. Discord groups can also work if you are against facebook (understandable, but unfortunately difficult if you are looking for communities still). This is usually my last resort just because I hate asking for things, but if you have trouble with any of these steps, you may go for this step sooner.