This week’s prompt is “Interview With A Fellow Lolita.” I wanted to interview my friend Terry, who was one of my first friends I made in the Lolita fashion community. I’ve looked up to her for many years, and admire how she always finds so much joy in Lolita fashion. Read on to learn more about Terry’s Lolita lifestyle!
Q: How did you discover Lolita fashion?
A: I discovered Lolita fashion when I watched a Japanese drama called Mendol Ikemen Idol. One of the girls from drama, named Minami Minegishi, dressed in old school — she so cute when she dress up!
Q: What’s your favorite part about wearing Lolita?
A: My favorite part of wearing Lolita is when I dress up, I feel so cute and pretty. I love ruffles and laces.
Q: What’s your favorite Lolita fashion memory?
A: My favorite Lolita memory is RuffleCon. I do miss rufflecon because I miss all my friends from east coast who’s into fashion like me.
Purikura of me and Terry!
Q: What are your top 3 tips to new Lolitas?
A: Indie brands, or they could order form Taobao resellers, Bodyline, and Lacemarket secondhand. Look through history and do more research and try to look your best.
Q: What’s your least favorite part about Lolita fashion?
A: My least favorite part of Lolita fashion is corset lace — it’s hard to breathe.
Q: How do you create your coords?
A: Makeup, blouses, jumperskirt, wig, headpiece, petticoats, OTK, and shoes as long as it matches with the coordinate.
Q: What’s your favorite Coord?
A: My favorite coord is bittersweet. I love bittersweet because I love a little bit of dark and light into it.
Q: What’s your favorite brand and why?
A: My favorite brand is Angelic Pretty because I love their cut and print that could make stand out.
Q: What’s is your favorite activity to do while wearing Lolita fashion?
A: My favorite activity while I’m wearing Lolita fashion is to have a nice Lolita community host a meetup for tea room and a trip to botanical garden.
This week’s prompt is “5 Surprise Finds That You Didn’t Realize You Would Enjoy So Much!”
I’m sure everyone has encountered surprise finds, whether it was an impulse buy, a gift from a friend, or something you saw and unexpectedly felt a pull toward it, even though you normally wouldn’t gravitate toward something like that.
AATP Starlit Sky Tent and the Secret Circus Troupe JSK I
1) This JSK was truly a surprise for me, because I got it from a lucky pack and had no idea what I was going to get (other than it being from the Alice and the Pirates brand). The name of the JSK is Starlit Sky Tent and the Secret Circus Troupe JSK I, in the blue colorway. I was hoping for something in red or bordeaux, so at first, I was disappointed when I saw the color. But I grew to love it’s unique print and beautiful design, and I’ve worn this dress often!
Red Mary Janes from Wolky
2) These Wolky red Mary Jane shoes were a surprise find in a small locally-owned shoe store near my college campus. They were on clearance sale, so I got a good deal on them, and at first, I wasn’t sure if they’d truly be comfortable since they have heels. But I’ve worn these walking, dancing, etc. and they’re really comfortable and well-made shoes! I love Lolita tea party shoes, but unfortunately, they’re not really made for walking and aren’t comfortable. As someone with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and flat feet, I also need arch supports. And these shoes have built-in arch supports! Even without my custom orthotics, they are comfortable. Sneakers are more comfortable though, but I rarely wear sneakers with Lolita fashion. I’ve worn these Wolky shoes with almost all of my red colorway coords.
Bodyline Black Wristcuffs
3) These black Bodyline wristcuffs were a surprise find, and honestly I wasn’t expecting much… but they’re so cute and I’ve worn them for so many coords! They’re really versatile and work well for both gothic and sweet (bittersweet) coordinates. They’ve also held up well; the elastic hasn’t become over-stretched.
Vintage Gloves (Photo by Ameily)
4) These vintage French crochet gloves were totally a surprise find from a Parisian flea market. They were damaged though and I’m scared to wear them much because they’re quite fragile. But I enjoy them so much, even if it’s just gazing at them. I store them in a clear ziploc bag, and they are stored in a container in a very visible place in my room, so even though I’ve had them for years, I still like to look at them. Occasionally, I’ll wear them out with coords!
F21 Goldtone Ring with Ivory Rose
5) This goldtone ring with an ivory rose was something I found years ago in Forever21. When I first got it, I wasn’t too into it, but as I built my Lolita fashion wardrobe, I found myself wearing it more and more often. It’s very easy to match with various colors, and it fits comfortably on my middle finger. It’s a versatile ring that will look great with non-Lolita coordinates too. And it’s sturdy! Many of my rings have broken if I drop them, or they get scratched and discolored, but this ring still loks practically new.
This week’s prompt is “Pros & Cons: Keeping To One Style VS Multiple Styles” … and this prompt really speaks to me.
I’ve pondered this question many times, even before I started building my Lolita fashion wardrobe. I’m sure other Lolitas have pondered this as well. I currently have multiple styles and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ll share my personal Lolita wardrobe story first, and then I’ll share a list of Pros and Cons.
Before I even started in the fashion, circa 2008 to 2011, I really wanted to start off in a single style: Gothic Lolita. When I was growing up, I hated the color pink and didn’t really like Sweet Lolita for all its pastels. I loved the Classic Lolita style since I’ve always been a fan of historic clothing, but the prices always seemed much too high. The first piece I ever acquired was a black Bodyline jumperskirt (although it was more punk than gothic). Before that, I only had offbrand things I found at thrift stores, or skirts that my mom and I worked on sewing together.
What I wore to my first Lolita meetup
In 2012, when I started building my Lolita wardrobe, I took a surprising turn: Sweet Lolita! The reason was simple: budget. At the time, I stalked EGL Comm Sales on Livejournal religiously, on the hunt for secondhand deals. For some reason, and I’m not sure why, there were no affordable options for gothic styles that appealed to me. However, I did find a lot of cute Sweet Lolita items that were cheap. As an adult, the color pink didn’t bother me so much anymore. Part of it was probably due to my time reading the Gothic Lolita Bibles and KERA magazines, and starting to like pastel colors as well.
As you can see from my coord to my first-ever lolita meetup in January 2013, I am wearing (gasp!) some pink! I can’t recall the name of the skirt, but it’s from BTSSB. The blouse is just a basic white button-down shirt, and the bolero was a vintage item from a hospice shop. The large bow was hand-sewn, and the two smaller bows were from Forever 21 (and I still use those little bows all the time for coords!).
So, I went down the route of primarily Sweet Lolita, which was a total surprise! The goal was never to stick to one style forever though. I wanted to wear multiple styles. This is a desire I have not just for Lolita fashion, but for my wardrobe outside of Lolita too. I love fashion and being creative with outfits, but I also have different preferences for what to wear during certain times.
Eventually, I started acquiring Gothic Lolita pieces, and my wardrobe was split between the two styles. Below, you can see some of my coords from 2013 and 2014.
From 2015 to 2016, I acquired more Japanese brand pieces (and shifted from primarily shopping on LiveJournal to shopping on Facebook and MBOK for secondhand items). I also collected more basics like blouses, socks/tights, and accessories, and I started collecting a few classic pieces.
In today’s wardrobe, I have a wide variety of styles, and it can be overwhelming sometimes… but I have no regrets. I am not a lifestyle Lolita, but I do see myself as a collector Lolita. I love collecting different pieces! I don’t have much space, so it’s a struggle in a small apartment, but I make it work (even if it means stuffing clothing into vacuum seal bags or stuffing them into plastic bins and duffle bags…). Someday, I hope to have a proper closet where I can store my Lolita collection in one place. In my last LBC post, I shared my top tips for managing a wardrobe.
Now, for the PROS and CONS of Multiple Styles~!
PROS:
Variety of styles to choose from
Do you want to go goth today? Or channel your inner Victorian lady? Or are you feeling sickeningly sweet and want to be all ice cream sundaes and whipped cream?
Unleash your creative side
When you have multiple styles, you can also mix some styles together! Do you want to be gothic but lean into classic and look like a Victorian lady in mourning? How about combining some Decora with your Sweet Lolita? Or let’s create some fun Punk / Gothic vibes?
CONS:
Space
Space? What space? Unless you can afford a larger apartment or to live in a house, you’re not going to have much space with your collection of multiple styles.
Alice in Lolitaland 