Lolita Blog Carnival: How Do You Handle Lolita Now VS When You First Started Wearing The Fashion
One specific week back in November the Lolita Blog Carnival topic was “How Do You Handle Lolita Now VS When You First Started Wearing The Fashion”. I wrote 90% of this post and promptly forgot. So I’m publishing it now. I’m going to be really honest, I have no idea what this topic is supposed to mean. Because Lolita can be “the style”, “the people”, “the items”, or even “the name” or “the book”. I’m not really sure which one I’m supposed to be writing about and I’m late to write. So…
Also, fair warning, I’m stressed and I’m tired.
Handling Lolita Items
I feel like when most people are new to lolita they are hyper careful about their items and take really good care of them. But when I was new, I had really limited physical space. So, a lot of stuff stayed in plastic, or folded in plastic bins or boxes. And my closet was over-full so stuff got shoved into the closet really tight together. I also lost hours every day to riding the bus to and from work, and lived in a house with my parents so I had really limited time when I could do “noisy” things like laundry. Which means I hand-washed everything, and sometimes my laundry would sit longer than I’d like to admit before I had time to clean it.
Now, I have my own space, and a room dedicated to lolita fashion. I also don’t have to schedule laundry around when other people are sleeping, showering or doing their own laundry, so it’s a lot easier to keep on top of doing it. I also was a little more self-conscious about my family seeing how much of these weird clothes I was buying than I am about my girlfriend who is also a lolita seeing what I buy and how much, so I don’t feel as weird leaving stuff out to dry. I think I use the washing machine a lot more than I did just because I can wash a small load without worrying about scheduling.
As for other things, it’s mostly just less stuff in boxes / plastic bins and more stuff on display.
Handling Lolita People
In the past 10 or so years very little has changed. I still shake like a leaf when I meet a lolita designer. I still have terrible social anxiety. I still find it hard to talk to people when I’m in a room full of strangers.
I guess I don’t hide behind my camera as much any more. I used to carry my camera around at conventions and take pictures to keep busy and feel less nervous (and I mean, I also enjoy it). Now I… help my friends in their sales booths to keep busy and feel less nervous… You know what, I don’t like this question. Let’s move on…
Handling the Lolita Style
When I first started wearing lolita, I wore more casual coordinates, used my natural hair.. I was aiming at the idea of what sweet lolita was in 2008/2009, but I didn’t quite reach that point exactly, and then came the Decololi and OTT Sweet trends, which I embraced wholeheartedly. I was really against rectangle headdresses and quickly ditched knee socks for OTKS. I also wasn’t into writst cuffs.
Now, I’m more likely to wear less complex coords a lot of the time because I’m so tired, I also have come to love old school. What was a little bit out of style (to me) when I was new, is now fun and I enjoy the comfort of wearing a lot of my old school items because many of them are shirred (because I wouldn’t fit in unshirred older stuff).
I also came to enjoy wrist cuffs in some situations; they aren’t as heavy as my deco-loli bracelet stacks were back in the day.
Handling the Term “Lolita”
When I first started wearing lolita, I was certain of two things: It had nothing to do with the book, and it was important to explain things when asked.
Now I am certain of two things: It’s absolutely named after the book, even if it wasn’t intentional / direct, and strangers on the street do not actually want a lecture when asked why I’m dressed weird.
“My friends and I have a fashion club and we came out to see _____ and have fun today.“
And if they push for what the style is? It’s Japanese street fashion. Yep, we are Harajuku girls. Totally right. Sure. Yep.
What do you think? How would you handle lolita fashion differently now versus when you started?
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