I wanna wear lolita!!!

I have wanted to wear lolita fashion for around 3 years and soon i will be able to say i finally have a lolita outfit! Maybe not the best but it will have everything it needs for it to be lolita so i have been very excited lately... But well before we get into it i wanna talk about lolita fashion a bit more generally...

Firstly, for anyone who doesn't know lolita is a fashion subculture that originates from japan and is inspired in victorian dresses and styles from the rococo period. The style's main characteristic is the use of a petticoat to add volume to the skirt or dress, which are usually the main pieces of a lolita coord (outfit), so it has a puffy look! While lolita mostly has a cute aesthetic, there are many different substyles, with sweet, classic and gothic being the main ones.

As I said, I knew about lolita for a long while, surely more than 3 years but I probably just didn't actually know what it was called. Ever since i knew about it i've liked it a lot. I just think it's very cute... I am pretty bad at describing the reasons I like something other than saying I just like it oops... I think it is a very beautiful style, I love how different it can be from person to person and all the different substyles it has. The style I want is a bit different from the more popular ones but that doesn't mean they aren't still as good ehehe.

Over the years the styles I liked have changed too. When I started liking it I mostly liked sweet, and specifically styles like sailor and country lolita. I do still like those styles, and I would still classify myself as sweet, but my focus has been set on old school lolita for a while now. This was the traditional lolita look before other styles started becoming more popular. One of the main differences is the dresses not having prints like they usually do now, so the actual design of the dress stands out. I think I prefer this kind of simplicity to more complex styles most times. For a while I've also loved looking at old lolita pictures. I recently found a page that archives all the GLB volumes and other old lolita magazines and catalogues and I've been looking through them sometimes.

Another thing that made me get interested in the old school look was movies... Of course I am talking about kamikaze girls. The movie was released in 2004, so the style the main character wears is now considered old school. I think this is a very good and fun movie to watch, and the clothes the main character wears are soooo cute... I really love the overall look of the movie too and the story is very cute. This was definitely one of the things that brought me closer to the old school style and lolita in general. I love that one iconic pink dress Momoko wears, I'd love to have it someday...

Well, after talking a bit more generally I think it's time I start talking about actually getting into lolita, which i think is a bit harder than other types of fashion, specially non-alt styles.

If it wasn't obvious by looking at these kinds of clothes, these cost money. A lot of it. It isn't surprising to see dresses go for 200 USD and more. If you go to Angelic pretty's online shop (one of the most popular lolita brands) you will find dresses that go for more than 600 USD. Expensive prices aren't rare at all, but a lot of times it is pretty understandable. Lolita dresses can't really be too low quality or they won't really look as good. There are many very pretty designs out there that I believe may be worth the price, especially if you are very dedicated to lolita, but even pretty simple designs can get pretty expensive... Still, it doesn't mean that cheaper lolita dresses don't exist. There are cheaper brands than Angelic pretty, and cheaper shops too! It's not impossible to find but it does take a bit more effort. Not to mention a dress is not the only thing you gotta buy, but to make a full coord you'd also need to buy a petticoat, shoes, headwear, and maybe a blouse if your dress is not a one-piece. This is also not counting shipping costs and taxes, which can get pretty expensive.

Even if prices aren't that expensive, it feels like actually finding items I like is so hard a lot of times... and also that they fit me! There usually aren't as many dresses available in my size in lolita stores which is a shame... This makes it a bit harder to find things I like since I can be a bit picky sometimes. Having all three things (low price, style i like, fits me) can be a bit hard, but well it is not impossible at all, it's just a bit more work.

Still, despite all these things I hope that soon I'll be able to say that I have a full lolita outfit... Because of all these complications regarding buying clothes I decided that I was gonna try to start making clothes myself. A few weeks ago I bought some fabric, lace and elastic and I designed a skirt. I have all the parts cut already and all I'm missing is to start sewing them... I have been procrastinating on it to be honest but hopefully I'll get to that soon. I bought enough fabric to also make some matching accessories too. I am very lazy but I am excited to finish and I hope I can turn sewing into a hobby... The idea of being able to look at cute clothes and make them yourself is just very awesome to me.

When I was a kid I used to really dislike fashion for some reason, and since then my clothes have always been whatever the first thing I can grab from my closet is. The sudden shift has been quite interesting, and I'm happy I got to find something I wanna wear and that will make me feel happy. I think expressing yourself through clothes is very cool and I think it's something people should do more. Lolita and other alternative styles may not be something that you would normally see when going to the street, but I still wanna wear it and I don't want other people's opinion on me to stop me from doing something that brings me joy. It is scary, I get very anxious with any kind of social interaction, but I wanna be brave... I hope I can maybe inspire people to do the same.