Ita to Lolita

[Anonymous No.7791236]

Cgl, how long did it take you to go from ita to lolita?
Were you ever posted in ita threads or blogs? Did you take the advice? Ever have an ita disaster?

It took me a year and half to become a lolita. I looked at blogs and read posts on cgl. I have made a few mistakes of my own. Mostly wearing things that were either too big or too small for me. I also struggled with the balance of accessories. People have pointed stuff out to me and I think I have grown for the better, because of it. How about you guys?

[Anonymous No.7791288]

>>7791236
It took me half a year of research to get a half-decent coord together.
I did not do much research before my first purchase and while I bought mostly brand, I couldn't dress myself and looked pretty bad. I had no idea how to use accessoires, had no idea what to do with my hair or how to use make up and also some stuff was too small for me nd I had an awful boob loaf; I just threw on a JSK, a blouse, petticoat and some ugly tights and missmatched shoes and felt ~so rori~; I was convinced wearing brand would also automatically exclude me from ever being ita. Thank God I was at least smart enough not to put up any photos on the internet.

I have been in this fashin for about a year and a half now, and I think I am able to do okay coords now. I still stay mostly in the safe zone mode, and currently focus on not blowing my money on dresses alone, but to buy more small accessoires, pay attention to the details, I am learnig how to use make up and do my hair - also, I plan to lose a little weight too. I still don't consider myself to be anywhere near as good as I aspire to be nor do I have a big closet, but I am working on it!

[Anonymous No.7792039]

>tfw first dress was not-too-bad 2004 bodyline
>tfw second dress was AP
>tfw I was an ita for about 6 months when I was 13 before being able to get brand back in 2004
>tfw people older than that can't figure out how to dress themselves even with international shipping in 2014

[Anonymous No.7792045]

>>7791236
I got posted on BtB, so before I try again I'm going to lose weight...although the comments were surprisingly constructive and not like "lol-fatty-chan", it was actually about the way I was dressed, which was helpful. So I guess I'm still in the ita stage but I know not to take risks next time (and that I prefer sweet/classic over gothic).

[Anonymous No.7792048]

I'd say about 6 months or so? Its much easier if you spend a lot of time on cgl and have money to burn. I self posted my ita coord asking advice about how awful it was, took the advice I received and ran with it.

[Anonymous No.7792076]

>>7791236
I lurked cgl for a long while before deciding to try and put together an outfit (I actually came here at first for cosplay, then got into lolita because I was curious about the other threads). I already had a good grasp on makeup and styling/trimming wigs because of this (as well as using circle lenses), so I wasn't too concerned about my facial appearance. Though I was interested in a lot of ita bodyline dresses at first, I didn't have the confidence to try and make a coord until I was sure that I had a handle on the style. After maybe half a year, when I noticed that my opinions on outfits started to match the general consensus of others on cgl, I started out with something with relatively simple motifs and colors (all black with blue accents). It was received surprisingly well when I posted the collage in a coord help thread, and so I just went with what I had. I don't think anyone thought I was a first time lolita when I wore the outfit out.
I guess it also helped that I'm 5'3", thin, and relatively attractive. I didn't have to worry about boob loaf or the skirts being too short.

[Anonymous No.7792122]

Probably something about 8-10 months after I started ditching the bodyline jsks and replicas and dropped a decent amount of weight, and built up a decently small wardrobe. I've built up my wardrobe fairly well now, but there's some areas that need improvement (mostly small accessories, bags even though I own a fuckton, stuff like that).

I still get posted every once in awhile, but usually my outfits are pretty on point and I know how to dress and accentuate better areas. Still room for improvement though. I really think I suffer mostly from bad photography. Also, not to mention the lighting just being shitty most of the time. It's one of those things where I feel like I probably look fine in public moving around, light changing, the eye translating it differently. But in photos it's like welcoming to nitpick the finer points of your face. At this point, I'm like fuck it.

[Anonymous No.7792169]

>>7792076
Same. First coord was plain, but not eye-searing ita. I'm 5'1" and a pretty cute asian so I guess that helped my soften my reception.

[Anonymous No.7792301]

>>7792048
seconding this. I was an acceptable lolita but I only got actually good at coords after using cgl

[Anonymous No.7792314]

>>7791236
It took me like two years. In other words, way too long. In my defense, I started at age 12 and my family was not in a good place financially (as in struggling to eat, let alone buy clothes as a hobby) so all of my "lolita" clothing was really cheap thrifted blouses and handmade or altered skirts. I should also mention I had absolutely no sewing or design skills at the time so everything was a mess. Also my "petticoat" was a pastel orange tutu from an old ballet costume of mine.

It actually makes me really sad to think about that time in my life, because lolita was really the only thing that made me happy, and I was just so bad at it.

>tfw your first "coord" was a pink floral bodyline skirt, white bodyline blouse that was about 4 sizes too big, white knee socks over my chubby preteen calves, a handmade "head-eating" bow that I was too lazy to hem so it was finished with clear nail polish, and pink plaid skeakers. No accessories. No makeup. Unkempt hair, and partly balding due to stress.

>tfw that "coord" made you so happy.

[Anonymous No.7792348]

>>7792314
>tfw that "coord" made you so happy.

But don't you almost wish you could go back to that happy, pure, and innocent time?

[Anonymous No.7792409]

>>7791236
My first coords were pretty bad and I knew it, but that's because I decided I wanted to try lolita after all about a month before a con and all I could find that would get to me quickly enough were some skirts on etsy and some semi-loliable blouses at a department store. I started building an actual wardrobe immediately after that, and by the next meetup (4 months later) I looked good.

[Anonymous No.7792412]

>>7792314

This sort of thing is what makes me really sad to see itas being made fun of. Sure, they look bad, but if it makes them happy...

[Anonymous No.7792770]

My first coord was with a homemade JSK and everyone was really nice to me about it. I don't know if they were just humoring me but probably. Coords after that were all boring and safe classic from bodyline and a little brand. I need to build up essentials and accessories and work on outfits as whole. I'm not a small person and the other lolis in my community are all petit and slim. So I feel like no matter how good my coords are I will always suck compared to them.

[Anonymous No.7792778]

>>7792770
>I'm not a small person and the other lolis in my community are all petit and slim. So I feel like no matter how good my coords are I will always suck compared to them.

Please get over this. IMO a chubby chan who dresses well is a much better lolita than slim girls who make no effort or growth in their coording.

[Anonymous No.7792786]

>>7791236
It only took me a few months of research to understand everything i need to know about lolita. I never had an ita phase. Thats why i dont understand how some girls can dress themselves so badly. They must have done literally no research whatsoever. Its not that fucking hard.

[Anonymous No.7792789]

>>7791236
I got into lolita because I browsed cgl for cosplay.
Though it took me a good year+ of lurking before I got the balls to put together a coord.
My first official purchase was in 2011 when NYC's Tokyo Rebel was still in its original spot. I bought some Atelier Pierrot and a random bag from AATP. They were more or less impulse buys; I never really had a good coord for that Atelier dress before I sold it.

However, I was infatuated with Twinkle Journey at the time, and miraculously not too long after I became interested in lolita Oo Jia made TJ replicas, so I bought a skirt. I embellished it to make it look more like the original skirt with the pearl strand and better bows. I also got my ex at the time to buy me those Vivienne Westwood rocking horse shoes for Christmas in a color that didn't even match my whole outfit. Then to top it all off I wore a pair of white wings from Yaya Han's webshop to 'match' the alicorns on the print. Then my bag was completely random too.

Surprisingly I had a lot of fun with it and I was low key enough to not get posted anywhere or be made fun of despite the pics being taken at an anime convention. The only real snark I got from the comm was that I was wearing a ~replica~ (not because it looked fake; but because I was "too fat for the measurements of the real skirt for it to be real"), but for what it's worth the girls who made those comments had mediocre outfits themselves (and also owned replicas?) plus they're not even into lolita anymore.

After that I tried to pull off Bodyline's antique clocks in grey before I switched solidly to better brand. I remember buying my first Chantilly piece in San Fran, and then waiting for my orders from Angelic Pretty.

[Anonymous No.7792841]

>>7791236
I don't know if I got posted anywhere but my first 'coord' was as disastrous as they come - homemade Wa-loli. I can look back on it and laugh at least but damn... that was as ita as it gets.

It took me about a year after that to actually research and understand the fashion better and I'm happy to say my second coord was much more acceptable and I even got some compliments from the girls I met. I'm still casual at most and only really go for meetups or lunch with friends, but I'm definitely better with coords than that initial disaster.

[Anonymous No.7792862]

>>7792076
I did the same: came for cosplay, got into lolita, though I was a complete noob at both. I wasn't really going to get into lolita but I kind of bought a dress at a flea market at a con so I told myself I'm committed now.

I think my first outfit was pretty bad (wore it to a Halloween party, didn't have much to coord the dress with) but by the time I wore it to a con it looked alright.

I'm still struggling, and I think right now I'm in the boring/nitpick stage depending on the outfit. But I think I'm getting better, as I can now look at outfits I thought used to be cute and see the flaws.

I'm very average both in terms of cuteness and size, so I don't necessarily have an advantage there but it's not too hard to work with what I do have, so that's not bad at all.

Same thing with Bodyline: a year ago I filled my cart with like 20 things as a "maybe buy" but today it's maybe like 3 or 4. Not that it's bad but I just compare it to cute taobao brands for the same price and it just isn't as nice anymore.

[Anonymous No.7792960]

Took like two months, putting together simple coords isn't really that difficult. I've also got the money to get brand easily enough.

[Anonymous No.7792998]

My first Lolita Outfit was incredibly ita but god thanks it was many years ago!
I bought it while I was in Japan for the first time with my parents and didn't know anything about Lolita. Hence I got stuck with a gruelsome BodyLine OP which I paired with hooker-style net tights and sad white Teapartys. I had no Headbow, no accessoires, make-up or styled hair. I instantly shot a picture in the Hotel and as it always goes my parents put it in a photobook of that trip. It was showed to nearly every person who came to visit and up till now I am embarassed to look at it....

From that day on I kinda thought to know what Lolita was and bought some more stuff from Bodyline, some Putumayo and some secondHand brand skirts on my second trop but I had actually no idea what was going on in the vast world of lolita and next to some weekends in harajuku I wore it out only like once a year.
Finally this year I started to wear it more regularly. My wardrobe has expanded a lot in the last months and I am happy to have found a great comm with monthly meets. <3

Only now it feels like I have somehow "started" and it feels incredibly good! <3

[Anonymous No.7793003]

I got interested in lolita in 2008 when I was 17. Was too poor to afford anything so my 'coords' were all thrifted.

Left pic is my first coord. That circle skirt doesn't even fit me. I wore it unzipped and covered it with the 'blouse'. No petti, of course. I posted it to D_L and was so proud of it. I wore it everywhere. I am pretty sure I got posted here.

I got into cosplay the year after and learned how to makeup and pose and wear shit that fit me. Lurked here and started reading all the lolita threads.

Got back into lolita last year with right pic. Still a fatty-chan though, but trying hard to change that. I'm close to max measurements for most back shirred brand and would like to have more options.

[Anonymous No.7793177]

I got into lolita back in '06 or '07 with a handmade wa-lolita piece. Looking back on it, it was a horrifying ita cosplay lolita piece of shit.

I'm happy that I took a break till this year and I'm still researching, but I think I'm a hell of a lot better prepared than I was back then.
Gotta drop a lot of weight before I fully get into the fashion though. I need to get healthier before I can be comfortable enough to wear lolita. I did buy a few goal brand dresses that are really good motivation for me to exercise.

[Anonymous No.7793183]

My first outfit I tried to shoehorn that taro-colored wig into it, and that's what made it really fail. I also wore a peach rose with a gothic black and gold skirt, and a white shirt. Things hardly matched. It was pretty ita.

Since then, I've been getting better. I wouldn't say that I'm amazing right now, but around the third outfit or so I've managed to make good solid coords on a regular basis.

[Anonymous No.7793194]

I'm still ita kms

[Anonymous No.7793479]

>>7792348
Not at all. I was actually suffering a lot, with depression and being abused. Like I said, Lolita was really the only happiness I had.

>>7792412
Well, I didn't have a camera at the time so didn't post any pictures until I improved a bit. But to be honest, the criticism would have helped me sort out my style a lot faster, which would have prevented me from wasting time and money on shitty coords.

[Anonymous No.7794297]

>>7793003
sauce on that book purse?
i've been looking for cheap offbrand ones

[Anonymous No.7794298]

>Was intro'd to 'EGL' back in 2002 by Japanese email penpal
>already wearing gothic 'dolly' type dresses so gothic lolita was right up my alley.
>No internet, or SS or relevant stores etc so literally used a halloween maid outfit with New Rock boots.
>No social media to record the travesty

I think I dodged a fucking bullet there.
I had no choice to wait a good few years to become a lolita due to availability of items online. Yes, I am an old fag.

[Anonymous No.7794428]

I wouldn't consider myself 'ita' but I definitely am not at my fullest potential, mostly because I am still lacking a ton of staples in my wardrobe. My coordinates are very basic but I can definitely see the difference between 'ita' and lolita. I have been interested in lolita for a long time but only started buying lolita about a year ago.

[Anonymous No.7794723]

I think it took me almost two years to grow out of my ita stage. But in my defence it was a different time, no clothes available outside of brand (none of which shipped outside if Japan except for Meta) just about everyone else in the comm was as clueless as I was, and con crit wasn't given as freely. The only way to learn was by observing a studying and pouring over the bibles and KERA etc.

I was posted in lolita_fucks once in 2005 while showing off my newly sewed blouse. I made a post but didn't wear full lolita. It was just over a plain skirt. It wasn't supposed to be lolita. I got very angry, tried to defend myself but instead made it worse and I actually ended up deleting my LJ because "OMG those LJ lolis are such bitches" . I came back less than 6 months later though, I didn't like the idea if missing out on members only picture posts lol

My first Lolita outfit was a black miniskirt with white lace sewed on the bottom. Fishnets, goth boots, and a black velvet medieval goth blouse . dont even remember where I wore it to or how it felt, I've always dressed pretty weird so it wasn't like this huge event.

Also maybe OT but I've been hunting down OPs dress for ages. Its not ita, its old school and you have to remember that the fashion had different goals at that time. More about wearable old timey clothes/ looking like a doll than it is about looking like a clown or whatever the goal is now days. Pic semi related.

[Anonymous No.7794743]

>>7794428
Same here.
Only been into it for about 4-5 years, truly dressing in it for two. I have my ita-tastic moments, but for the most part, I think I've improved greatly since my first "coord".

What pisses me off is people who try and piss and moan to me about elitist brand whores and being too fat/poor to have brand, and they've been into he fashion longer than me. When I try to steer them into the right direction, I'm met with such resistance (basically "what do you know noob?") I've given up.

[Anonymous No.7795265]

>>7794297
Its actually Infanta.
I got lucky and bought it in red and brown. They were really popular and sold out in a few days actually. I'm not sure if they'll restock, but you can always stalk their shop to find out.

You can also search '日記包' in Taobao to find other book shaped bags by other brands.

[Anonymous No.7795329]

>>7791236
>2012
>see lolita, think its cute, forget about it
>2013
>become interested in lolita, buy horrific bodyline dress, wear fugly offbrand coords
>2014
>have three brand main pieces
>working on building wardrobe
>Make passable coords (I hope)
>Have good coordination ability, but not much money so I can't build a wardrobe faster
>I know that once I have a little more spending money I can go from boring lolita that wears it only occasionally to a good lolita that wears it whenever I can

[Anonymous No.7795348]

I discovered lolita in middle school. The dresses I coveted were all itatastic lacemonsters and of course I wanted to wear one of them to prom to show up al the stupid preps. It took me over a year of admiring things from afar to work up the courage to hint to my parents that I'd love to have a dress like that but they pretended not to understand that I was asking them to buy it for me. They probably realized it was overpriced garbage, bless their hearts.
So I learned how to sew. My first few projects were really plain and hardly recognizable as lolita. I had the silhouette down pretty fast but did not own a decent petticoat and always skimped on the detailing.
Near the end of high school my parents bought me my first brand dress which I did not coordinate properly until recently. I went out with it a few times looking plain as hell but not eye-searingly bad. Again, since the dress was relatively simple and did not have a print it was just seen as a cute eccentric dress. The most lolita-related comment I got was when my father called me a gothic Alice in Wonderland.
I was insecure as hell so any pictures that exist from this time period were either obliterated or very well hidden by my parents.

Now I'm in my early twenties and my coords are still rather plain because I don't like attracting too much attention when I'm out and about. I'm glad I never posted photos of myself online until very recently because I would probably have ended up in an ita or at least a nitpick thread and teenage me would not have been able to take that. On the other hand that means improvement comes very slowly, but then so is my rate of buying new things so it's not like I have a wardrobe full of things I regret. /cgl/ has really helped my sense of coordination but also makes me hypercritical of every outfit I put together, even the ones I'm not posting online.

[Anonymous No.7795368]

I heard about lolita a long time ago via a weeb friend who showed me some itatastic animu outfits. I pretty much forgot about it until just over a year ago, when I saw some photos and thought "hey, that's cute."
In spring, I bought my first outfit (babby's first bodyline) just to try out the fashion, and although I wouldn't call it ita, I still cringe a bit knowing there are photos of myself out there.
Over the next six months, I lurked /cgl/ more, followed a few blogs, bought my first brand piece and slowly started accumulating more pieces, although I didn't wear another outfit until October or so. It was passable and featured a popular print but was also pretty basic/boring.
Since then, all of my coords have been decent but really plain/boring. I'm not a well-dressed lolita, but I'm not poorly dressed, either.

[Anonymous No.7799836]

My first dress was a bodyline lacemonster that had devil ears and a tail.
I shudder to think of it. I lost it when I moved and my 'lolita' bags got stolen/dumped/fell off the truck.
Never bothered getting into the fashion afterwards, but looking at everyone else's success stories, maybe I should..

[Anonymous No.7804038]

I admired lolita for 2 years and researched heavily for a few months before buying my first piece. I kind of went through the liking of ita things and my ita phase before actually buying anything. My first coord was actually not bad, plain, but not bad. I've been a lolita for 6 months now and my coords are pretty well put together and my wardrobe is suprisingly large for a 17 year old noob lol.

[Anonymous No.7804098]

>>7799836
I'm now imagining some poor hobo in your kawaii devil lacemonster.

>>7804038
>admitting to being 17 on an explicitly 18+ site
gull that ain't cute