Lolita Initiation

It's been a long time coming, but I'm not just a Mori girl anymore.  I'm a Lolita now too!  Before I go any further I think I need to explain what Lolita is for those who are uninformed and misinformed.  First, Lolita is a Japanese fashion.  Second, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BOOK OF THE SAME NAME.  This is something that I'm learning Lolitas have to explain a lot.  The name for this particular fashion was borrowed from English by a Japanese person who did not know how it had been previously used.  So let me say again, Lolita is not associated with pedophilia or, as one person horrifically put it "hooker chic."

Lolita is another modest fashion like Mori girl.  It is inspired by the Rococo and Victorian eras.  There are a lot of different sub-styles of Lolita, most of which I'm not a big fan, such as Sweet Lolita (which is the most popular).  I happen to love Classic Lolita.  Fanny Rosie, who I follow on Tumblr, is my favorite Classic Lolita.  I also happen to love the Salvador Dali photo bomb in almost every picture she posts.



Photo by Fanny Rosie, who happens to be wearing one of my dream prints!

There are a lot of rules in Lolita, and I don't know them all.  I do know that you're supposed to cover your legs and your arms and usually open-toed shoes are frowned upon, though some Lolitas are less strict than others.  Another big thing is the poof.  Lolitas wear petticoats to make their dresses poofy, like in the 50s.  Some like more poof than others, which can be achieved by a bigger petticoat or layering petticoats.  Some Lolitas wear wigs, which I really don't like because it looks so fake and because, holy hair, you have your own! Use it!  All of Fanny Rosie's hair is real, but I've seen some Lolitas with natural hair down to their knees who wear wigs, and I think they're crazy.

There are a lot of different Lolita brands, but they're all pretty expensive.  Bodyline is considered the "Lolita
 Wal-Mart" because they're prices are a lot lower in comparison to the big brands.  Milanoo is the worst brand out there, and a lot of new Lolitas get taken in because of their dirt cheap prices.  They steal photos from other brands and then send you a poorly made knock-off.  The dresses never look like the photos and most fall apart the second you take them out of the packaging.  My favorite brand is Victorian Maiden, though I don't have any of their dresses.  So far I've managed to buy all of my dresses that I use for Lolita from Goodwill and Ebay, and I already had some things I could stick a petticoat under and make Lolita.

Last Friday Caroline, my roommate, best friend, and fellow Mori girl/Lolita, and I had a Lolita day!  We dressed up after our morning classes and went to Starbucks on campus (not the sham Starbucks in the library), then to a really awesome gyro place nearby.  Here's my outfit! (In Lolita an outfit is called a "coord", short for coordinate.)

 
Caroline took these awesome photos.  This is my Ebay dress.

 




































Here I am with my green tea latte.  Go Matcha!  This photo was also taken by Caroline.

We got compliments all day, one even from the barista at Starbucks, though we did get some stares.  For my first Lolita experience it was mostly great, but sadly this isn't the norm.  There are times when Lolitas are insulted and cat-called.  There was even one instance in Austrailia where a man in a car was calling at a Lolita on the sidewalk, and he wasn't paying attention when a car rear-ended him.

Today Caroline's dad came to Tallahassee to visit her and he took us out to eat as always, so we decided to dress Lolita.  This time around we decided to challenge ourselves to make Lolita/Mori girl hybrid coords.  Here's mine!

Pictures taken by Caroline.

A close-up of my accessories.

Here's our poofs!

No compliments today, but I'm sure we got a lot of stares that neither of us noticed.  Our waitress at the restaurant did think we were 14, though.

Have a happy week!  And don't be afraid to wear the beautiful things that you love and be the beautiful person who you are, even if it might be unfashionable.