this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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I have a hobby that I can't even truly mention the name of it because the name is shared with the book Lolita.
However the lolita fashion clothing I wear and collect from Japan and China has nothing to do with the book so I often have to refer to my hobby as "Japanese Street Fashion" and that actually covers the other J-Fashion I wear too, which includes lolita dresses.
They're just specific types of dresses with a certain cut, they are often described as cupcake dresses and were more popular in Japan during the Harajuku Girls craze, so like around 2010 to 2013ish. I actually picked up the hobby in 2015 and started building a wardrobe, learning how to use color theory to match pieces of clothing, learning about different fabric types and how to care for them, and even learning about how to import items from other countries like Japan where they have limits on what they want people in the US to be buying from them.
I'm not as into it as I use to be because I have less of a disposable income now and it's a very spendy hobby. Plus COVID made shipping more difficult and a lot of laws in other countries changed around shipping and prices increased for international shipments. I still buy a dress like every 6 months? I use to buy them more often and sadly I don't fit some of them anymore. I only gained a bit of weight since 2015 but the dresses are tiny and its hard to get them altered without the right matching fabric.
I'm currently trying to lose weight so I can get back into wearing more of my wardrobe again like I use to. Currently cycling as I write this.
I also use to go to meet ups for lolita fashion specifically but that community is unfortunately full of toxic people and I finally gave up on going to the meets not long after COVID restrictions were lifted where I live.
Hi fellow lolita! It's such a pain trying to discuss the fashion with people who aren't already into Japanese fashion. I feel weird every time I try to mention it because of the book. Also it's so much deeper than people on the outside think! There's tons of nuance in the brands and sub-styles and it all sounds so pedantic to outsiders. Have you been watching Tyler's new videos?
yeah its incredibly difficult to explain to just random's especially if you are out in public wearing it. Ugh. And I learned early on to just not say the name Lolita unless the other person said it first.
I was never really a Tyler fan and I've never enjoyed the cattiness of the community. That part was disappointing for me because it felt like I couldn't make friends through this hobby. It's why I stopped going to meet up's for it too. It felt like paying to have friends who weren't even interested in actually being friends through a shared interest.
Hey, another fellow lolita!! I'm sorry to hear your local comms are so toxic. I live in Germany and I'm lucky that the comm local to me is incredibly welcoming and fun.
I'm plus size, but wear almost exclusively brand, so I have some experience with alterations too. I highly recommend checking if your pieces have pockets, because I've been able to extend the sizing of a dress by 10 to 15 cm using pocket fabric alone. I'm happy to answer questions if you're interested in alterations.
I can only speak from my personal experience, but the online communities I'm a part of on discord are really friendly too. I'm on the plus size lolita discord, but that obviously might not be relevant to you. If you're interested in finding a community, you might have to dig a little but there are friendly communities out there. But it's completely valid if you'd rather just wear lolita by yourself. They are just clothes at the end of the day.
Sending positive vibes your way π (I'm just up so I'm sorry if my thoughts are kinda scattered lol)
Oh yeah I'm familiar with this! In my case its more about finding a seamstress to do the alteration and the cost of the alteration in addition to buying a dress. I do have some dresses and skirts that are altered.
the plus size discord sounds great but I rarely have anything regarding lolita to post now a days. I use to put together coords and now I just kind of wear it more casually and I'm sure a lot of people would call it "ita" lol
I'm hoping I can get my dresses to fit more comfortably like they use to and then I might start wearing more of my wardrobe again. I use to dress up like 3 or 4 times a week. Now its like maybe once or twice a month. Although I still try to buy dresses too? I currently have a tab open for a metamorphose dress I came across.
And no worries, my thoughts are always scattered lol