Hi friends! <3
Another post for the Lolita Blog Carnival. Feel free to check the group out at
This week's topic has us looking back to our early days in the fashion and reflecting on mistakes we have made. I think it's a great way to see how much we have improved and learned along the way.
I got into lolita fashion back in 2009 when I was in college. I was drawn to the cute prints and pastel colors. I wanted to wear them and be cute and colorful too. Unfortunately, I didn't have too much extra money and the know how to pursue it properly at the time. The following year I attempted a lolita outfit of my own, which I wore to a local con. And here's a more recent pic of a coord.
Back then, I thought it would be easy to create an outfit or coord. Seeing these pics side by side, a few things stand out to me...
Using loliable items instead of items specifically designed for lolita-
I used clothes and accessories that I already had instead of spending money on new things. I didn't see why I should spend money when I had a bunch of perfectly good clothes. I didn't realize my dress was too short. It also had the wrong shape; meaning no room for a petti under there either. The blouse was more suited for work with the pointy collar. Lolita blouses have high necks, rounded collars, and ruffles or lace. I'm wearing sandals instead of proper closed-toe shoes.
No bloomers-
Yes, I wore underwear with my dress, but I didn't wear any bloomers over them. It seemed like a weird concept to me at the time. I ended up buying a few pairs of cute printed pj shorts to wear with my coords. After awhile now, I feel weird not wearing them if I'm in a skirt or dress. Even outside of lolita.
No petti-
Like with the bloomer issue, I didn't get the point of wearing a petti either. I'm not sure how I missed the connection between needing to wear a petti to make my dress poofy. I also didn't know how to go about buying one and how to pick a good quality one. Now you can search online, ask others for advice and even read reviews.
Lack of accessories-
I wore regular jewelry and made my little top hat. That's fine and all, but it didn't help my coord any. Accessories should be suited to the coord and help enhance it. This means that I should have gone for more cutesy and noticeable pieces instead. The large brooch on my headbow, sparkly cutlery earrings, and parfait necklace help tie my coord together and convey 'this is a sweet coord.' It also allows one the opportunity to personalize their coord and be unique.
There were also some misconceptions that I had.
Lolita was only for petite or tiny girls-
I love the brand Angelic Pretty. Everything I saw was being modeled by these tiny little Asian girls. I thought there was no way it would fit me. I know I'm not huge or anything, but by Japanese sizing standards I am considered plus sized. And I'm tall too. I believed that everything would either be too small or short on me. I later learned how to find clothes that fit my measurements and certain cuts or features to look for. Things such as shirring, adjustable straps, and longer lengths. Lolibrary (https://lolibrary.org/) is a great reference tool for doing this.
Lolita was expensive-
I thought I could not afford it as a student. I dreamed of getting a job, making a big paycheck and buying all the pretty things I wanted. While I didn't gain steady employment right after graduating, I did save up enough over time to be able to buy the occasional item. I spent many hours browsing the sales listings online noting what I liked, how much different things cost, and trying to mentally prepare myself to spend $40 on a headbow. You can also buy direct from the brands, or from a variety of auction/sales sites. Secondhand items are a lot less pricey than they used to be (unless you're after an older/rare item). Sometimes you can even get items new with tags!
Lolita was not suited to me-
I fell in love with the cute prints and colors, but wasn't sure about being so girly. I wore a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers most of the time. The idea of dressing up in pretty skirts/dresses and in bright pastel colors was too much for me to do right away. So, I wore the sweet prints in the darker colorways (sometimes called 'bittersweet'). I worked my way up to wearing them how I originally had wanted to all along. It felt great to be confident in expressing my love for something so far outside my comfort zone.
Whew... I didn't expect this to be such a lengthy post. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. If you'd like to see what others had to say about this topic, check out their blogs below:
