/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

[Anonymous No.7252563]

I have a question for you guys

how old is too old for lolita?
I recently got into the fashion and I'm worried I might be too old or might be getting old too soon for this (I'm 22)

what do you guys think?

[Anonymous No.7252568]

No, you aren't too old. Clothes are clothes, it's not like being too old/menopausal to have babies or anything, there's no magic age. Honestly, it's about how you feel in the fashion and whether you personally feel too old for it. If you want to post online and get asspats you're probably too old for that.

[Anonymous No.7252572]

You are only too old if you feel too old in it.

I'm 26 now and I've been a lolita for several years. There are plenty of ladies well into their 30s and 40s (some even in 50s) that still wear this fashion.

[Anonymous No.7252672]

If you have to ask for approval to wear lolita then you will never truly enjoy it. People will always have a reason why they think you shouldn't wear it.

[Anonymous No.7252684]

>19 year old girl tells me she adores my outfit
>tells me she'd wear lolita too, but she's too old for it
>mfw I'm 25
>mfw she didn't even realize what she said to me

I don't think there are any age limits in lolita, as long as you can pull it off decently and what's more important - feel comfortable in it. Pastel vomit doesn't work for me anymore (I just moved to a darker palette), but shelbycloud is like 30 and still rocks sweet.

[Anonymous No.7252686]

It really depends on how you dress and do your make-up. You might not be able to pull off every style (OTT sweet for example) or every dress. Anyway, 22 is not a weird age at all, I would not start worrying about your age unless you´re nearing thirty or are pregnant.

There are a couple of older women in their thirties in my comm that look amazing and enough women in their late twenties so there isn't a huge gap of maturity. If your entire comm is full of young girls it might be more of an issue. There are two I find too old though, one is an old guy that´s way too old and manly to pull off the cross-dressing, and a woman that tries way too hard to fit in with the younger girls (cutesy poses talking like a highschooler etc.). With these two it's more about image and personality than their age, though.

[Anonymous No.7252687]

>>7252563
oh god you're a baby, please, don't worry about these things. Don't even worry about these comments either:

>you can wear lolita at any age! i mean, you just have to switch to something classic in your 30s, nbd, do what you want!

this is backhanded advice^

you should wear whatever the fuck you want no matter how old you are. If you want to wear OTT sweet at 75 do it, don't let someone else's limitations make you compromise your own desires, even if they are presenting it in a nice way.

you're going to die one day, don't let others live your life for you.

[Anonymous No.7252714]

>>7252563
22 is nowhere near "too old." Neither is 30.

Forty? That's really pushing it, if you're into sweet. (Yes, it fucking is.)

But 22 is not "older," not by any stretch of the imagination. So go ahead--get your frill on. :)

[Anonymous No.7252725]

I don't think age is really a factor. If you're 22 and look like Tiferet, you're going to look like shit no matter what you wear, and if you're 22 and look like Fanny, then you can wear whatever. If you're average, no one will care either way.

I guess what I'm saying is don't let your age stop you from wearing what you want. I'm 21 and no one has ever said that I'm "too old" for lolita. The worst I've gotten is the public's usual "what the hell are you wearing and why" which is not dependent on age.

[Anonymous No.7252738]

I want to be these ladies when I'm in my 60s.

youtube.com/watch?v=nWKTfqivbRQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DnWKTfqivbRQ

[Anonymous No.7252742]

I started lolita when I was 26, I'm almost 29 now.

[Anonymous No.7252751]

I'm 23, and I get compliments from people of all ages. You're never too old to do anything, even if people think so. My only word of advice is sweet lolita (especially OTT) is for people who have a lot of self confidence, it wears on you over time. I wear classic and old school sweet and always get positive comments, no matter how OTT I go. People are always awed by the detail of the pieces.

[Anonymous No.7252763]

>>7252714

Agree with the sweet part 100%, it's just too awkward at an older age like 35+.
I feel the same about obese Lolita's wearing food prints.
Nothing agains fatty chans, but it's just a bit too ironic.
Gothic and classic is more appropriate for older Lolitas.
I was 22 when I got into Lolita, back in 2006!
Only ever worn gothic and (dark toned) classic.
I'm almost 30, people mistake me for late teens/early twenties cause I have a babyface, I'm petite and have a baby voice.
Thankfully I look nothing like Tiferet!!

[Anonymous No.7252790]

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”

“You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life.” - Coco Chanel

I really look up to Coco Chanel, she's one of my heroes.

[Olivine No.7252801]

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”

“You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life.” - Coco Chanel

I really look up to Coco Chanel, she's one of my heroes.

[Anonymous No.7252811]

>>7252672
This.

And it applies to all lolita "can I do this?" questions. If you have to ask, the answer is no. It's not a suit or a uniform or funeral attire where you have to conform to something out of respect for others or the workplace, etc. It's a fun fashion for you, and only you. If you must ask, then no. Just go rock it, lady.

[Anonymous No.7252813]

>>7252763
If I was fat, I'd wear food prints specifically for ironic value.

[Anonymous No.7252816]

>>7252687
I'm 46. I don't want to look like a crazy person, or a female clown, or as if I'm aggressively overcompensating for some long-buried childhood trauma. So no, I don't wear sweet, or OTT anything, or deck myself with "cute" accessories or crappy plastic jewelry.

Dressing "weird," wearing something far outside the norm just because I want to and I can? Not a problem.

But I want reactions to be "Wow! Who is *that*?!", not "LOL, WTF?!" I want to express power, dignity, and that I deserve to be treated with respect. And wearing sweet at 46 just because I feel like it will *not* get me the reaction I want.

Being a middle-aged woman is stranger than my younger self could have imagined. I'm still slim and reasonably attractive, but I might as well be invisible because I'm no longer young.

So I wear a restrained, elegant, mature form of gothic or classic lolita, because while I don't want to be invisible I sure as hell don't want to look like I'm crazy, or like I'm trying too hard to get any attention at all.

As anti-inspiration, I've got Gwen and Tiferet from the SF comm--two sad and delusional older women who make themselves look like fools by wearing "whatever the hell they want." Does anyone really take them seriously, or treat them with genuine respect when they go out wearing sweet? Does anyone admire them? Or do they laugh about them after they've left the room? Do I even need to ask this?

(cont'd)

[Anonymous No.7252820]

(cont'd)

You may say, "Oh, but they dress terribly! Their coords are shit! Of course they look ridiculous!" Sure--other lolitas know that. But we don't exist in a loli bubble. I rarely see other lolis IRL. I'm not part of my local comm. I interact with the rest of the world, most of whom haven't the faintest clue lolita exists, and I am not stupid enough to think that I will be taken seriously in sweet lolita. And not being taken seriously makes my life infinitely harder than it needs to be.

So if you've made it to 40 and are used to being disregarded or treated like shit, and really have no credibility to lose, go ahead and wear whatever the hell you want. Or, if you're a famous artist who makes her living and gains power and credibility from being WTF-inspiring, sure--go for it. But if you're an earthbound mortal who wants to be seen as creative and fascinating, but at the same time needs to be perceived as competent and of sound judgment? You'll rein that shit right in.

Yeah, yeah, tl;dr. But I'm sick of seeing this same bit of shitty advice offered by people who are too goddamned young to know what they're talking about.

FIN.

[Anonymous No.7252826]

Okay, now I'm lol'ing so hard at how many "Don't Be Like Tiferet" comments there are.

[Anonymous No.7252836]

>>7252816
>only wearing lolita for the attention

[Anonymous No.7252839]

Anon you're younger than most people in my comm and the lolita community in the whole country. You are definitely not too old.

[Anonymous No.7252842]

>>7252816
Sorry friend but it sounds like you gain validation from others instead of from yourself especially hearing you say 'I want people to say WOW! Not WHAT A FREAK!' If you're worried about others and compromise yourself because of it, but that still makes you happy, good for you. I personally don't work like that and you really have no clue how old I am saying that. So carry on friend, but my advice stands: don't live for others, live for yourself.

[Anonymous No.7252849]

>>7252816
>>7252820
how does it feel being that old and that insecure? this is like... ten times sadder to me than seeing an old woman in a bonnet.

[Anonymous No.7252893]

>>7252849
>knowing how to dress yourself
>being insecure
Oh gosh, anon, I didn't know being self-aware denoted insecurity, let me go fix that right up.

[Anonymous No.7252910]

I get that feeling that everyone who says "lol you only live for yourself dress in ott sweet in your 40's even if others treat you like a clown yolo" live in some another dimension.

[Anonymous No.7252928]

>>7252910
Hardly anyone is talking about women in their 40's, but yes, if that is what you want to do, you should be mature enough by then to
1. expect reactions and
2. not give a shit if wearing OTT makes you happy

[Anonymous No.7252932]

>>7252928
I bet you're fine with fat girls squeezing into dresses that don't fit/don't look good on them, aren't you.

There's nothing wrong with wearing what you like, but there is something wrong with being delusional.

[Anonymous No.7252940]

This thread is like tumblr levels of hugbox, Jesus Christ.

[Anonymous No.7252942]

>>7252932
No, and I'm not really a fan of older people in OTT sweet either, but it's not really up to me what other people wear. I can dislike it all I want, if that's what they want to do, they're going to do it and nothing I do or say will stop that. All I'm saying is, if it makes YOU happy, why give a shit about the hate you're gonna get from other people? Normalfags will always act like baboons around different things, and lolitas will pick apart anyone and everyone for random ass shit no matter how flawless they dress and how thin they are.

[Anonymous No.7252970]

>>7252942
But you can give them advice that won't make a laughing stock out of them.

And to reply to you last post - yeah, there is a woman here in her 40's who said she wants to be apprecited, NOT made fun of and the replies she got were "lol no you're not living for yourself how shallow can you get; how can you be so insecure jeeesus". People like these are out of their minds.

[Anonymous No.7253031]

>>7252970
If you read her post she actually goes out of her way to not wear things she like so that she can please other people. And yes, that's sad.

[Anonymous No.7253037]

I feel like I lucked out, since I prefer gothic and classic to begin with, and it suits my above-average height and slightly angular face well. As I get older I'll probably just transition into aristo.

[Anonymous No.7253041]

>>7253031
Or you know, she goes out of her way not to make a fool out of herself. People like having other people compliment them, she's clearly secure enough to wear lolita, but self-aware enough that she knows what kind of attention she wants and what not to wear to get the good kind.

[Anonymous No.7253059]

>>7253041
I don't get why you need someone else telling you that you look good for you to believe it.

[Anonymous No.7253061]

>>7253059
Need and want are different. No one is relying on others to see their own self view, they just want to display a certain outward appearance to people.

Why is this such a difficult concept?

[Anonymous No.7253135]

>>7252816
Holy shit a lolita my age! I agree with you on the wow not wtf reaction, but I think that you can still get that wow reaction while wearing OTT sweet if that's what make you happy. No reason to stop wearing what you love, you just have to wear it well.

[Anonymous No.7253140]

>28
>Just got home from a meet up
>girls older than me there

The older you get the less likely there will be other girls your age at meetups, but other than that whatever. You are still going to get the same reactions wearing it whether you are 20 or 30.

[Anonymous No.7253175]

>>7252563
>tfw dream dress I will never get

[Anonymous No.7253176]

No one has really said this yet, but if you consider that a large percentage of the population doesnt get out of college until they're 21-22 or they havent found a decent job until then, youre at the perfect age to start! Because unlike the younger folks, you can probably afford a lot more ^_^ yay jobs?

[Anonymous No.7253185]

>>7253176
There's always a catch. When you're young, you can usually pull off sweet lolita, but you're broke. When you are older, you got the money to afford sweet lolita anyday, but the threat of wrinkles usually kills the buzz.

I'm in mid 20s and I regret being able to get into the fashion earlier. Mostly, not being able to wear the clothes and build my wardrobe.

[Anonymous No.7253263]

News flash: the people who are going to wear OTT sweet and not care that they are labeled a crazy old baby fart are not the same people making threads asking how old is too old.

They obviously don't care about how people view them in the first place, so they aren't going to be looking for people's opinion on what they should be wearing when they are old.

OP, I agree with wearing what you want no matter how old you are. But I also agree with you having to judge for yourself how you care about presenting yourself to the public. If you're like the 40 year old anon above who understands and values how other people judge her outfits over wearing something OTT that she may be interested in: then you will be fine rocking classic or toned down gothic and toned down sweet no matter how old you are. I'm guessing since you even started this thread to begin with, that you do care about how other people view you and want to garner mostly (I mean we all look like freaks to most ordinary people anyway) positive reactions from other lolitas.

I don't think you're going to be wearing oTT sweet when you're 40, since you do seem to care what the preference is.

Just find something toned down or classic that works for you personally, and wear it until you get tired of it.

You could easily change into someone who doesn't care about how other people view you and just start going with something OTT later on in life, but it doesn't look like you're at that point yet.

[Anonymous No.7253291]

>>7253185
The other day I was chatting with some other lolitas and after finding out everyone ages (a third person asked) they were surprised and said they couldn't afford lolita at my age.

I spent a gap year working and am not too bad at saving money so even though I just turned 19, I have a fairly decent wardrobe with 10 or 11 main pieces (jsks,ops,skirts) all brand and a few dream prints. I was surprised to find out that my lolita friends are quite a lot older than me!

[Anonymous No.7253470]

>>7252563
Didn't you ask this question a couple weeks ago? Please don't become a Francis.

[Anonymous No.7253738]

>>7252816
>>7252820
This sounds like an elaborate troll.

[Anonymous No.7253757]

>>7253291
One of my best lolita friend is nearly the age of my own mother, we have a 25 year gap and she is really awsome (we are both classic lolita)

[Anonymous No.7253771]

>>7253470
Oh, God. I haven't heard that name in months. Let's keep it that way.

[Anonymous No.7253774]

>>7253757
That's incredible anon, I'm glad you both get along so well and share the same style!

[Anonymous No.7253813]

>>7252563
Any cosplayer over the age of 21 is an attention whore. Same goes for lolita.
If you still didn't overcome the urge to stand out, something really went wrong during your childhood

[Anonymous No.7253863]

>>7253813
Personally, I didn't have the urge to stand out when I was younger. I was bullied relentlessly for being shy/quiet and somewhat overweight from middle school through high school. Then I grew up in/after college and stopped giving a fuck what other people thought of me, thus dressing in all the ways I had wanted to when I was younger, but was too afraid to because I didn't want to bring more attention, and therefore bullying, upon myself.

[Anonymous No.7253866]

>>7253813
>dat b8 m8

[Anonymous No.7253946]

>>7253175
I had an FB friend who was trying to sell it a few months ago so don't give up hope.

[Anonymous No.7254147]

>>7252816
>>7252820
Wah wah wah I'm invisible and want attention! Wah wah wah I want to command respect but disrespect other people! Abloo bloo I'm 46 years old still spending my time on 4chan trashing other people my age who I feel superior to.

I'm 32 years old and I think you sound like a really insecure and judgmental person who's having a really hard time dealing with her aging.

[Anonymous No.7254404]

>>7253813
Okay, taking the bait.
Please explain to me the days when I put on a beautiful fluffy dress, drink tea, read a book, never leave the house and take no photographs.
I am such an attention whore.

[Anonymous No.7254519]

Thought this might be worth mentioning, I came back from Japan a few weeks ago and made a point of visiting some of the lolita haunts. I was quite surprised and admittedly pleased to discover that actually for the most part, many of the lolitas seemed to be in their late 20s - mid-30s . What Japanese woman seem to be very good at however is looking after themselves and applying make-up beautifully. It was only really close-up that I realised a lot of the women dressing in lolita weren't young at all. I think if you put the effort in to look polished, it really makes all the difference plus being quietly self-confident with an a air of 'don't give a shit' certainly helps.

Kokusyoku Sumire are in their mid-30s, exhibit all the qualities mentioned above and are clearly still rocking it :D

[Anonymous No.7254758]

>>7254519
old fags can correct me if I'm totally off base here... but originally most lolitas back when it started were older, in their 20s, and would dress up on the weekends to get away from their office jobs and life. it didn't become popular for younger girls until a little later. But I got that out of a super old interview/article I read on lolita like... around 2004ish?

[Anonymous No.7254793]

>>7254758
seems about right, it was only popular with teenagers for a short while during its peak, which is when a lot of western articles started appearing, sealing its fate as a youth culture sub-style even if it's not necessarily true (not to mention a lot of the younger followers are significantly older now). So much info is out of date, inaccurate and regurgitated. The pink house looks which in part started the lolita fashion phenomenon were never really marketed towards younger girls in the first place.

[Anonymous No.7254844]

>>7252563
when you get pregnant or have kids, it's merely a contradiction have kids and be in a hedonist fashion like lolita

[Anonymous No.7254859]

>>7254844
try telling that to all the goth moms at whitby.

[Anonymous No.7254865]

>>7254844

Just like it's a contradiction to have kids and a nice car. Or a nice house. Or a nice computer/entertainment system/clothing.

[Anonymous No.7254883]

>>7252563
>22
>too old for Lolita fashion
Seriously? Stop .

[Anonymous No.7254892]

>>7254793

I love pink house.

I first saw their stuff back in 2003 or something and just loved it.

[Anonymous No.7254896]

>>7254758
>>7254793
This. There's an article I forgot the name of that explains the obsession with youth even though most fashions were made by older women. World makes no sense. And 22 year olds complaining about being old makes me want to punch them in the face.

[Anonymous No.7254957]

>>7254896
ditto, which makes me wonder if by the time I reach 35, I'll already be a bitter and twisted hag. Better justify my existence with something other than a desire to remain cute fairly darn quick. Maybe going to get a masters degree in something useful, finding a related job and discovering self-respect will do the trick. Oh and then I'll still wear the frilly stuff anyway and probably feel all the better for it, at least not mourning the 'loss of youth' when it does indeed, inevitably start to look ridiculous.

Bonus, I discovered that Japanese people are just as bad at determining the age of non-Japanese people, particularly those that aren't of far east asian ethnicity - I was mistaken for 22+ at 18 and then ID'd for alcohol over a decade later (several times).

Was it 'Cuties In Japan' by any chance? http://www.kinsellaresearch.com/new/Cuties%20in%20Japan.pdf

[Anonymous No.7254991]

>>7254957
nah, that was not the article

i think it also went over the (only) color schemes acceptable at the time

bluexwhite
blackxwhite
pinkxwhite

all black or all white were never mentioned, just the three motiffs above, though I'm sure all black and all white were acceptable too... maybe that rings bells? It also talked about Mana and how 'EGL is not a term to describe lolita, it is Mana's coined term for his brand, do not use it to describe the whole of lolita' or something

[Anonymous No.7255087]

too old for loli is when you can't walk in rocking-horse shoes

in that case, put like 60 choco-mint stars on your wheelchair, and you go bitch

[The Black /Co/mr/a/dette !125yThb17s No.7255121]

>>7252738
THIS
its about knowing what works for you and what doesn't at certain ages. you ain't gonna see these ladies in skinny jeans and uggs because that shit don't work (for anyone) let alone 60 year olds

[Anonymous No.7255139]

>>7255121
eh I think the whole point of the video is they stand out and are crazy looking to ordinary people though... just like some OTT sweet 60 year old.

unfortunately your (and my own) preferences don't matter to people like that. if those ladies felt like they wanted to wear skinny jeans and uggs, they most certainly would do it, because obviously they wear shit that they like, and not cater to someone else's opinions.

[The Black /Co/mr/a/dette !125yThb17s No.7255164]

>>7255139
is it weird that i never thought they looked crazy or eccentric at all. for whatever reason they look like what i'd think a well dressed old lady would look like, like coco chanel

[Anonymous No.7255167]

Why is lolita considered a young women' thing by so many people when young women can't afford shit and often don't know enough not to look ita?

[Anonymous No.7255505]

>>7255164
not weird, since I thought exactly the same thing. But obviously they made a documentary about it, lol

[Anonymous No.7260763]

>>7255164

Oh yeah, she was Brilliant! We'll never see a women of he status ever again.

She was a real women who led a revolution in fashion and female wear up until her passing. Though fashion fades and style never does... the female apparel has been degrading over the years; Lacking in Elegance, which is true glamour. Perhaps luxury are only kept for the good and wealthy?

At least we can still afford the perfumes yes?

[Anonymous No.7260996]

I'm 32 and I wear classic Lolita. I am not trying to make myself look younger, I don't use any special face creams etc. I'm lucky because people think I'm in early 20s or less, even at work when I don't wear Lolita.

Also I'm wondering how old are Lolita brands designers? All of them wear Lolita and noone seems to care about their age. For example, Innocent World designer Fujiwara Yumi is in her early 30s I think:
"Q. When did you realize you wanted to design Lolita professionally? And how did you get your start?

A. I was thinking to become a fashion designer when I was in the 5th grade. I started my dream brand "Innocent World" when I was in my mid 20s. The beginning was very hard since I had to do everything including design, pattern, sales, and office work by myself. It is a good memory though. "

Taken from interview with Tokyo Rebel.

[Anonymous No.7262903]

I'm only 21 and I know I can't plan the future.
But currently I plan on wearing lolita until I'm a very old lady.
I'm really short and I think an old lady as short as me can totally pull off classic and gothic. I already dress in classic and gothic, and when I'm older I'll have even more time away from work and school to dress awesome.

There's an old lady in my town who wears OTT sweet stuff sometimes [mostly she rocks an ott hipster look], and she pulls is off super well. She's also really short, seeing her pull it off gives me confidence.

She just doesn't wear things like bonnets or boomers or more adult baby type stuff. And because of that it totally works.

[Anonymous No.7262996]

>>7262903
By old lady, how old do you mean?

[Anonymous No.7263103]

>>7262996
I don't know, I'd put her in her mid-late 50's, early 60's.

She owns a local shop and is well-known around town. People like the fact that she's eccentric and a super cute old lady.
She always has her hair a different bright color and wears stuff to match. And big petticoats. Really big petticoats.

[Anonymous No.7263200]

>>7263103
Aww that sounds cool

[Anonymous No.7268839]

>>7262903
Damn, I hope I can be that awesome old lady when i get to her age