Crimson Reflections

So, as a follow up to the 100Q to Sweet Lolita quiz from 2003, this is a generic 100 Questions to Lolita quiz from 2001 (though it was listed in La Pucelle lolita link database in 2002).

Unfortunately, the original copy of the questions was saved with improper encoding in the wayback machine.

However, a bunch of people filled it out and posted links to their answers on the site’s bulletin board. I had to dig a little, but I found a copy that survived from 2002.

I actually started this a couple months ago, but didn’t finish, and then I was linked to jeunefille‘s post of a 45 lolita question meme which I think is a translation of this one, or of a variant of it? There are answers to that one from the English speaking community in 2005 on the Lolita 45 LJ and EGL.

After I posted this, it came to my attention that back in 2016, I did the 45 question one. I have no memory of this, but it does exist…

I’m going to go ahead and post this based on my interpretation of the full 100 question one.

1 Please tell us your screen name, date of birth, and origin.
　→ Raine, March and I’m from Maryland, USA

2 What is your height, weight, clothing size, and shoe size?
　→ Height 5’3″ and a half, and my shoe size is 8.5 / 24.5. I don’t feel like telling the world the rest.

3 What made you start doing Lolita fashion?
　→ I used to work on a dress up doll site and I made clothing for the digital paper dolls. A few members asked for lolita clothing and I became interested in lolita fashion after researching it to draw lolita fashion style clothes. Looking back, I didn’t understand what I was supposed to be drawing, lol

4 What is your favorite Lolita genre?
　→ Sweet lolita

5 Do you have any particular commitment to that genre, or your own definition of it?
　→ I just think it’s cute. I do wear a lot of bright colors like red and blue instead of the more common pastels.

6 Do you have your ears pierced? How many piercings?
　→ Yes, just one hole each

7 What is your favorite brand?
　→ Angelic Pretty & Innocent World

8 What is your favorite outfit?
　→ How could I pick just one? As far as overall patterns, I do like to do JSKs with matching colored shoes and a blouse and socks that match, and then two headbows, one in each color.

9 Lolita How many friends do you have?
　→ Oh gosh, I have no idea. I’ve met so many wonderful people through lolita fashion!

10 What was the best thing about doing Lolita?
　→ Meeting new people, being surrounded by your own frills

11 On the contrary, what is the most disgusting thing?
　→ When you buy something used and it’s clearly been worn a lot and never been washed

12 What is your favorite magazine?
　→ These questions are really coming for me today! I like the Gothic Lolita Punk brand Books and the Angelic Pretty Lookbooks.

13 Headdress group? Team Bonnet? Team Headbow?
　→ Team Headbow! For sure!

14 Do you have bloomers?
　→ Of course!

15 Do you tie your headdress in front? or are you on the team that ties it behind your head?
　→ I prefer to tie it in the back under my hair.

16 Do you have a favorite music genre or band?
　→ Is it bad if I say no? I let Spotify find me songs like the songs I like and then just add them to my liked music, so it’s really eclectic.

17 What is your mobile phone ringtone?
　→ AT&T Firefly. Who keeps the ringer on anymore?

18 Do you go to lives in Lolita?
　→ I don’t like to go to live concert shows, it’s too many people and too much noise. It makes me very anxious.

19 For those who go to lives, do you headbang?
　→ I’d probably pass out, lol

20 What color do you like?
　→ I like red, sugar pink and royal blue

21 What are your hobbies?
　→ Reading, lolita fashion

22 Please tell me if you have a favorite perfume.
　→ Marc Jacobs: Daisy Love ~ Eau So Sweet

23 Is there anything you say “I’m careful about this” when it comes to lolita?
　→ I try to be careful not to knock things down with my petticoat D:

24 Where are the places you visit / hang out at frequently?
　→ I don’t have a lot of energy lately, so mostly I wear lolita when I have to go to the mall, or to visit my family.

25 How many times a week do you wear Lolita?
　→ Not as much as I would like, maybe once or twice a month? My health isn’t very good lately

26 Please tell us the most embarrassing episode you had when you were a beginner in Lolita fashion.
　→ I don’t really have a good story for this, lol. I guess… more than 10 years ago, I met the Baby designers while wearing AP because I only owned one Baby dress and I wore it a different day of the same event. It was also like the middle of the summer and hot and I was not looking my best after hours of running around. But they were really nice.

27 What is your hairstyle and color now?
　→ Long wavy dark brown hair (past my waist) with bangs.

28 How long have you been in Lolita?
　→ Since 2009? 13 years?

29 Do you have a dedicated lolita storage space?
　→ Yes, we have a whole room in our house just for lolita

30 Have you ever thought about leaving Lolita? If so, why?
　→ Sometimes. When the community really disappoints me. When people are being mean and nasty to each other. Sometimes I feel tired and just want to stop.

31 What is your motto?
　→ I’ll try my best

32 What are your dreams for the future?
　→ At this point, I’m just hoping for the pandemic to wane

33 “This person would definitely look good on Lolita!” Are there any celebrities you think that about?
　→ Not really, I don’t pay much attention to celebrities

34 Please tell us the item with the most memories and those memories.
　→ I have a handmade book necklace that Caro-Chan of Fyeah lolita made back when she used to sell handmade accessories and it’s full of messages from people who are precious to me.

35 What was the first item you got?
　→ My first items were from bodyline. I bought this bunny set and this candy skirt.

36 Do you have a signature pose for taking a picture?
　→ Lol, yes! I do a peace sign and a hand on my hip. I’m not photogenic at all, lol.

37 What is the “Bible” of your heart? (Like what Books, magazines, CDs, etc. represent your inner self)
　→ I identify a lot with Kobato from the Kobato series. She makes a lot of mistakes and she’s always a little bit of a mess, but she’s determine to try her best.

38 How many centimeters tall is the highest heel you have?
　→ I have these old bodyline shoes which lolibrary assures me are 9cm

39 Have you ever worn a tiara?
　→ Yes, I have a little tiny Baby one with a butterfly.

40 Do you want to be a prince once in a while? What kind of prince? Dark system? Hakubakei?
　→ I have this mental image of what an ideal ouji looks like and when I put on pants, I look nothing like that, lol. If I could pull off anything… I think I’d want to go for like, an elegant vampire look.

41 What kind of lace do you like?
　→ Embroidered tulle lace, like Innocent World uses.

42 Do you own a (ball jointed) doll? Those who have them are usually so enthusiastic about them!
　→ I have a few Pullip dolls, which I know some people think don’t count, but I’m not obsessed. I’m more into Calico Critters honestly. The price tag is less painful!

43 What’s inside your lolita bag right now?
　→ bobby pins, a platonic friend love letter from a tea party years ago when we were supposed to give our friends who attended love letters, and I wrote them for everyone I knew who was going and missed giving one person theirs and it’s just lived in my purse for years now…

44 What is your favorite flower?
　→ I feel like I never answer this the same way because I like several flowers, but I’m fond of purple and white stripe crocus

45 What is your favorite accessory right now?
　→ I have this strawberry brooch from Moss Marchen that I’ve been really into wearing with Pink House lately, does that count? Otherwise, I’ve been on a rectangle headdress kick.

46 Please tell us your favorite / recommended cosmetics.
　→ I’m really easily swayed into buying things with cute packaging, so my recommendations are pretty useless.

47 Bright eyes are the hallmark of being a doll! So do you use false eyelashes? If you have any tips on how to use them, please let me know.
　→ I’m so bad at attaching them. Just do your best. Remember you can always try again!

48 What is your particular eye makeup style?
　→ 80s/90s mom style, lol. My mom taught me to do my makeup and I still do the same things she did.

49 Is your lipstick red? Blue? black? pink?
　→ Red. I just… really like red lipstick.

50 What color do you often use for nail polish?
　→ My partner is a nail tech, so my nails change a lot and usually have nail art, but I like sugar pink. Right now I have blue with cherries

51 Have you ever changed your clothes in the toilet at the train station?
　→ No, lol, but I have in a convention center bathroom before a long trip home after a con

52 Have you ever had twin loli or triplet loli? impression?
　→ I’ve twinned with my partner before, it’s fun.

53 What are you doing to keep in shape? Recommendations?
　→ My health has been pretty bad, so I’m focusing on just getting by (for historical context, this question asked specifically about dieting, but in a bit of a problematic kind of way)

54 Are you calm when alone in lolita? (ヒトリでロリータ、平気？)
　→ I’m not calm at any point in my life, but I don’t mind wearing lolita alone and doing things.

55 How much do you spend on lolita each month?
　→ Do I have to answer? It varies a lot. I used to spend a lot more, but I have a mortgage now.

56 Did you have any time lag between learning about Lolita fashion and actually doing it or resistance to starting?
　→ Yes. I learned about the fashion probably in mid 2000s from manga, but didn’t start really looking into it and researching it until 2008 and then I didn’t start wearing it until 2009.

57 What is the most expensive thing you have ever bought? (In relation to Lolita)
　→ Probably my blue Star Night Theater, I think?

58 Lolita really costs money, doesn’t it? How do you pay for Lolita?
　→ I have a job.

59 Just here. How much is the total cost you have spent so far?
　→ Oh… oh no… I don’t want to think about it

60 Is there a store you would like to see nearby?
　→ Angelic pretty, but that’s just a dream…

61 Just between us, is there a store that makes you say: ‘that’s a rip-off!’?
　→ The convention shops that sell bodyline items for $100, or fake AP bags for $50+!

62 Have you ever used an online shop? If you have, please give us some advice on the good points and bad points. If you haven’t, tell us why not.
　→ I buy almost all my lolita online. It’s great that you can buy from anywhere in the world, but the shipping fees are painful.

63 Just between us, even if you want to keep it your own secret, what’s an indie brand that makes you go “this is exactly my style”.
　→ Hm… I don’t know if there is one. There are a lot of indie brands I like, but I don’t think there are any that I imagine and think ‘this is my style, I want 1 of everything’. I got a ring from the Japanese indie brand Baby Style recently and I like most of their work. I also like a lot of what Sweet Mildred makes.

64 Absolutely out of reach! But I want it! Do you have any brands or products like that for you?
　→ The Dolce & Gabbana flower cage heels from a few years back are so lovely, and so out of my price range.

65 What do you do with your tired old clothes?
　→ I sell things that are in good enough shape on LM, sometimes. Lately I’ve been tired so it just sits…

66 What was the most recent lolita and non lolita item of clothing you bought? 
　→ Most recent non-lolita purchase was a fruit print maxi skirt for summer. My most recent lolita purchase was an accessory order from AP

67 What is something you missed out on that you’ll never see again, but you can’t forget?
　→ I dunno, I’m pretty good at forgetting things, lol

68 What do you think of dressing as a Lolita only during live performances?
　→ I feel like this is the equivalent of only wearing lolita to anime conventions, lol. I don’t think there is anything wrong with it. Some people aren’t comfortable wearing lolita every day.

69 What do you think of No-Makeup-Lolita?
　→ It’s fine when other people do it, and I’ll go out without make up sometimes, but if I’m meeting up with other lolita, I usually wear makeup.

70 You suddenly meet another person totally wearing Lolita! What do you do?
　→ Tell them I like their coordinate, probably!

71 How old is a Lolita allowed to be?
　→ 958. Once you get into the latter half of your 900s it really just becomes a bit tacky…

72 Under what conditions do you think Lolita should graduate? (You can answer ‘continue forever’)
　→ I think if someone doesn’t enjoy lolita anymore, then they should move on and not feel like they are stuck continuing to participate just to keep their friendships. I think friendships should last past wearing lolita.

73 Stop this! Are there any things no one should do in Lolita fashion?
　→ Yes. Lolita is not suitable for cleaning fish. It’s just too messy.

74 Do you have a specific sense of what a perfect Lolita should be?
　→ Not really. I think everyone should be free to be themselves.

75 Other than what you said 73, what is something you wish people wouldn’t do?
　→ I wish people wouldn’t be rude to little kids who ask about their clothes genuinely. Even if you don’t like kids, when they are delighted to see you, it feels so mean when people cuss at them or something in response.

76 What do you think about Lolita fashion for men?
　→ Anyone can wear lolita regardless of gender.

77 Have you changed in any way since you started Lolita?
　→ I’m more particular about lace. I have trouble buying things if the lace isn’t nice.

78 What do the people around you say about you wearing Lolita? Do you accept it?
　→ My parents didn’t like it when I was younger, but they have gotten over it, lol.

79 What kind of lolita fashion do you do in the hot summer months?
　→ I melt, lol. Seriously though, I try to stay indoors and I wear sheer blouses and my natural hair instead of wigs.

80 Do you go to school or work in Lolita?
　→ Not typically, no.

81 What is your usual outfit style?
　→ I wear business casual dresses to work most of the time. It’s boring.

82 Do you have any objections to second-hand goods?
　→ I don’t like secondhand socks. I typically don’t buy them unless they are new with tags. Same with bloomers. I’m OK with other secondhand goods, but I wash them.

83 Do you have a boyfriend (or husband)? Does he understand?
　→ I have a girlfriend, and she’s also a lolita!

84 Please tell us your ideal male image.
　→ Fictional.

85 What kind of person is the Lolita who left the biggest impression on you?
　→ She is very knowledgeable and interesting. (but who it is, is a secret!)

86 Have you ever made your own clothes? What kind of clothes is it?
　→ mmm, I started a pair of bloomers but I had to modify the pattern and it went poorly…

87 Have you ever made an accessory yourself? What did you make?
　→ I’ve made lots of accessories. Rosettes, rings, floral hair pieces, crowns, etc…

88 This thing I made was a great success! Is there anything you feel that way about?
　→ Maybe my rosettes?

89 Tell us if you have an ideal Lolita outfit or coordination.
　→ mmm, I have a pattern I like a lot. That is socks and blouse match, and main piece and shoes match. That’s really the closest thing to an ‘ideal’ I have.

90 Is there anyone you admire? What kind of person are they?
　→ There are so many! I know so many people in lolita who are super talented, and a bunch of people who have such amazing style! So many lolita are so cool. I don’t know if this question is asking about crushes or just if you admire anyone, but I platonicly admire so many people in this fashion. I don’t like… have a crush on anyone other than my girlfriend though.

91 You can date any person for just one day. The other person will also dress however you want. Who is it and what kind of date?
　→ I’m sticking with my girlfriend, I just don’t really have any desire to date anyone else. I don’t really get celebrity crushes. I think it would be fun to wear matching gingham dresses and have a picnic!

92 What kind of store would you like to have if you were to open one in the future?
　→ Maybe an antique store, or a used book shop….

93 When looking at lolita, your eyes will go straight to this motif. What is it?
　→ Fruit and crowns are my biggest weaknesses.

94 Do you want your child to be a Lolita too?
　→ My children all have 4 paws and whiskers, but I think that would be fun, yes! Here is one of my cats Mia in her christmas sweater dress

95 How much can I spend on one loli outfit?
　→ Oh, no, I don’t want to think about it

96 This is quintessentially Lolita! Is there a certain gesture that makes you think this.
　→ Hm… probably when other lolita tie someone’s waist ties for them in public, lol. It’s one of those things I don’t think would normally happen with normal clothes.

97 I want to wear that once in my life! Do you ever think that about any style other than lolita?
　→ Renaissance style clothing!

98 Looking at your Lolita collection or style, what one word would you use to sum it up?
　→ Happy!

99 What is your ideal Lolita image?
　→ Someone who is happy to be wearing lolita!

100 Thank you very much! Please give us your impression of answering 100!
　→ This took so long! I’m tired now!