Lolita starters kit, part 1 [ my story ]

So you want to be a Lolita? You have found some pretty pictures on the internet or has seen it at anime conventions. You are already a cosplayer so Lolita can not be that hard.

You have found information about Lolita fashion on the internet and have been walking with this idea for over a year now. This is my story.

I finally found a seller of Lolita clothing on a local sales website. She taught me a lot about Lolita and I bought my first dress from her. It was a bodyline tea party cake OP(one piece) with the matching headbow. She helped me buy other items online and introduced me to EGL. I decided to become a sweet Lolita. I have bought replicas, because I would not pay so much for a brand dress. I also continued on buying from Bodyline. I had a hard time coordinating my lolita, because I just bought what I liked and what looked cute. I sold some items to buy my first brand dress(Decoration dream dress from Angelic Pretty), I was SOLD! I discovered why brand dresses are expensive, quality. I have never seen so much details on a Lolita dress, it was professional sewed together. I never thought I would fall in love with brand dresses. I always thought brand is for the greedy and rich. But I was wrong, I knew that I would love this dress more then my other dresses and would not wear the bad made replicas again. So I sold all my replicas except one. Later I sold most of my Bodyline dresses and skirts. I bought some more brand dresses and I do not regret it at all.

This was more then 5 years ago.

My style changed as well, I grow older and realized that sweet is not something I was happy wearing anymore. I already bought black or dark colored colorways. Like the first brand dress I bought was a sweet pastel print on a black base. I changed my sweet style to bittersweet and later I was more comfy with classic as well.

Now I have a wardrobe of more then 30 dresses. So I started with nothing, began to buy Bodyline and replicas. Bought one brand dress and turned away from replicas. After some time also sold my Bodyline.

My favorite brand is Angelic Pretty. They mostly release sweet print dresses, but sometimes they have Gothic or classic influenced designs.

I still buy Bodyline for shoes, undergarments and blouses.

Wearing Lolita on the streets will make people look at you. I have had that people take pictures of me, when they thought I was not looking. I would feel very embarrassed. My boyfriend really supports me and slowly I got used to it, because I want to make people look. I want to shock people in there busy lives.

More about my wardrobe click here.

Lolita as a lifestyle

With every subculture people attend to work there fashion into there daily lifes and environment. Many consider Lolita as a lifestyle. They go further then just wearing the fashion, they live it.

Etiquette is very important when it comes to Lolita. You must behave yourself when you wear Lolita. You can not run off and show you lovely bloomers around. Just as in the Victorian time period Etiquette was very strict and needed to be learn to perfection. In Lolita lifestyle this is number one on the Lolita lifestyle list.

Study the Victorian, Roccoco and 18th Century. For inspiration for your Lolita room and for background story. You want to know everything what has to do with Lolita.

Doing things like; Sewing, knitting, cooking/baking, crafting is a part of being a lifestyle Lolita. Also having a BJD(Ball jointed doll) is considered Lolita to some.

Most sweet lolitas want to 'Lolita-fy' everything they use in there daily life. Think about Hello kitty and bows sweet decorations on there Cellphones/ laptops/ tablets.

I  have a BJD, she does not wear lolita YET. I want to handmade her dresses myself. I use etiquette, when I'm dressed in Lolita and I like to craft cute things.

Every Lolita has it's thing that connects them with there style. If it's sewing or visiting a museum , every Lolita has it's own way to express there love for the fashion.

Lolita styles

These are the first main styles.
- Classic
Classic Lolita is the tamest of all the Lolita styles as many Classic dresses could pass for a garden party, church or summer dress. Unlike Sweet Lolita that is about looking cute, Classic Lolita is about looking classy, and harks back to Lolita fashion’s roots in Victorian fashion, taking inspiration from the floral patterns, and the sense of elegance of the era; bold colors aren’t normally found in Classic Lolita clothing.

- Gothic
Although the name ‘Gothic’ Lolita alludes to goth fashion as a whole, the style is primarily influenced by victorian inspired goth style and not cyber goth or industrial style.

A Gothic Lolita outfit like all Lolita styles, is very modest in today’s standards. As with other Lolita styles a Gothic Lolita outfit can usually be recognised by the bell-shaped skirt, and puff-sleeves. A Gothic Lolita outfit is usually comprised of black or rich dark colors such as burgundy, purple and navy. It is common for this style to involve details in complementary or contrasting colors, such as the infamous black and white coordination choice.

The term ‘Gothic Lolita’ is often confused with the term ‘Elegant Gothic Lolita,’ which was coined by the Japanese musician Mana to describe the clothes of his brand Moi-Meme-Moitie.

- Sweet
Sweet Lolita is the most over-the-top style and includes aesthetics nearly exclusive to lolita. It is also the most child-like of the lolita styles, using many bows, ruffles and light colors to make up an outfit. The most common colors used in a Sweet Lolita outfit are pink, white, and powder blue, but an outfit can be made with nearly any pastel or plaid (or nearly any color at all as long as it is not neon).

Common motifs in Sweet Lolita are toys, strawberries, cherries, cakes and candies, hearts, polka dots and flowers. Prints inspired by fairy tales are also quite common.

Then comes the substyles.
- Punk
- Aristocrat
- Boystyle
- Ero(erotic)

Themed styles
- Sailor
- Military
- Kuro / Shiro
- Hime
- Counrty
- Oriental-styled Lolita ( Wa/Qi lolita )
- Guro

And I want to talk about the Cosplay style. It is not considerd lolita. This style is so very big and has been a discussion for years. Cosplay lolita is a style that let you wear cat ears with a lolita dress or let you be a maid. Usually lolitas will wear one during a themed party, like Alice in Wonderland or an animal-themed party. Some brands also make cat and bunny ears; this does not mean that it is Lolita.

You want to know which styles suits you best? Click here

What is Lolita?

Lolita Fashion is a fashion subculture originating in Japan that is based on Victorian-era clothing, but the style has expanded greatly beyond Japan. The Lolita look began primarily as one of modesty with a focus on quality in both material and manufacture of garments inspired primarily by the clothing and general aesthetics of the Rococo and Victorian periods. The original silhouette is of a knee length skirt or dress with a "cupcake" shape assisted by petticoats, but has expanded into various types of garments including corsets and floor length skirts. Blouses, knee high socks or stockings and headdresses are also worn.Lolita fashion has evolved into several different sub styles and has a subculture that is present in many parts of the world. 

Although many people point to Japan for the Lolita trend, as the creator of the "Lolita Fashion", the origin of its meaning is complex, and remains unclear. It is likely the movement started in the late 1970s when famous labels began selling clothes that would be considered "Lolita" by today's standards. 


In the 1990s, Lolita fashion became better recognized, with bands coming into popularity at the time. These bands wore intricate costumes, which fans began adopting as their own style. Up to now there have been evolving more and more style out of the classic Gothic Lolita and Sweet Lolita style. Read more about that: here. 

The “rules” of Lolita fashion don’t exist to limit the wearer but are rather qualifiers of what makes an outfit Lolita. Within these rules however there are a variety of styles. 
Some consider it a lifestyle, dressing up let them become someone else. Next blog will be more about this subject. Click here if you to read it

Introduction

This is a introduction for my new blog.

It will be a complete kit for a starter Lolita. All the in and outs for Lolita and what comes with it.
I will blog about everything you need to know and more. I will write about myself and how I see Lolita fashion.

Level up your Lolita!