/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

"Whichever Lolita look one dresses in, it is difficult to tell whether one is a real Lolita or a cosplayer. When I started my research in 2004 [...] I could not tell the difference between a maid costume worn by a waitress at Maid Café in Akihabara and Lolita Fashion"
Yuniya Kawamura: Fashioning Japanese Subcultures

What do lolitas feel about this quote? It might have been hard back in the days to distinguish the difference but how is it today? I so often hear that lolitas get offended when they're called cosplayers, and with all rights since they're not dressing up as a character.
I'm really interested in your opinions!

>>7388012

Hey there /cgl/ , I was getting super nostalgic about cosplay and J-fashion from the early 2000's these days. Since there's already an awesome old school cosplay thread going , let's get a J-Fashion nostalgia thread !! (try to vary , don't post lolita stuff only)

This is going to sound hipster as fuck, but I miss when lolita was still super obscure and unknown. I could go out in a relatively plain coord like this and some people would stare, some people would compliment me, but nobody but the most hardcore anime nerd knew what I was going for. From time to time I'd get approached by a girl who knew about it but didn't know anyone outside of Japan wore it, and asked for tips on how to get started herself. Basically anyone who knew enough to recognize the style was also a fan of it.

I should note that the lolitas in my country are quite media-savvy and members of the comm have been in the news several times. It's not as well known as in Japan, but most people have heard of it at some point.

Years ago, when someone brought up gothic lolita being worn at cons a girl started angrily raving about lolitas being perverts trying to attract pedophiles. A few weeks ago I overheard random fratbros on campus (mid)identifying another girl's outfit as lolita and then lapsing into the "I heard it's really expensive she must have a sugar daddy" spiel. This shit is extremely upsetting to me. Partly because that girl was just wearing some Hot Topic dress and didn't deserve to be lumped in with us, but mostly because there is apparently an "us" that people seems to recognize and have opinions about. Even my boyfriend was prejudiced against it before I told him that A) most of my clothes he thinks are so cute belong to that fashion and B) those assumptions of his were total bullshit. He's since acknowledged that "my" kind of lolita is cute, but he's still wary of the girls I talk to at meetups.

I've always hated being labeled for what I wear (Why no, I'm not a teenager anymore. Why do you ask?) and lolita used to be 'safe'. It's not anymore. I'll continue wearing it because I love it but I often wish my comm was smaller and more quiet so I could enjoy my weird little hobby in peace.

>>6592911