New to Lolita

[Anonymous No.8951879]

Hi seagulls. I've been cosplaying for years and recently I'm into Lolita but don't know where to start. Can you help?

As far as I could see, lolita is all about brands and high quality clothes. DIY clothes and cheap looking stuff are not appreciated, so I didn't want to rush into anything because I have really small budget and I didn't want to end up with wrong clothes.

Also there is no lolita community in my country, there are couple of people I know who dress up as Lolita and they get unwanted stares in streets. Thank god that my workplace is fine with whatever I dress, but I don't want to be stared in public so I'm planning to start with casual lolita.

So what do you suggest? I hope I don't offend any of you, I seriously have no idea where to start and I thought you guys might help me.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous No.8951880]

>>8951879
You've already offended me with that non-lolita dress and the fact that you thought this deserved it's own thread

[Anonymous No.8951891]

>>8951880
I couldn't find a good example for casual loli.

And back in my day, newbies were welcomed. had the board changed that much?

[Anonymous No.8951894]

>>8951891
>calling it loli
leave

[Anonymous No.8951898]

This is why I'm in favor of splitting the board
Cosplayers just don't understand lolita

[Anonymous No.8951902]

Have you tried reading the lolita threads at all? You have a long way to go before you can even consider buying anything, especially if you think that DIY is frowned upon and say things like
>people who dress up as lolita
Follow the lolita threads (general, coord help, COF, ita), see what people are talking about, recommending, suggesting, criticizing, learn what is "right" and what mistakes to avoid.
And please don't make new threads for things like this, you could have easily asked this in the help thread >>8944348

[Anonymous No.8951903]

>>8951891
>acting like an oldfag
>not posting in the help thread
topkek anon

[Anonymous No.8951908]

This is why cosplayers should stay out of lolita. They don't understand it and just view it as another costume

[Anonymous No.8951912]

>>8951894
I'm not familiar with terminology, I won't call it loli from now on.

>>8951902
They look way too complicated for me, I seriously have no idea. I'll try my chance at help thread, thank you!

>>8951903
I've been following the board for ages, but I don't post much and usually just read cosplay threads.

>>8951908
I might not understand it, really. I've been cosplaying for a long time, but only started wearing decent clothes and I really want t understand your culture and be a part of it. I really don't see it as a costume but I can't say that I fully understand it and I'll try my best.

Also sorry for my mistakes in English, it's not my first language and maybe I can't really make my point because of language barrier. I really don't want to offend anyone, I just want to understand this culture and wear nice clothes. I can't learn these things anywhere else, because there is no real community around me. Sorry if I made you mad.

[Anonymous No.8951925]

>>8951879
>I have really small budget

Good luck fag. Next time, post in the help thread or Lolita general.

I'm feeling particularly generous, so here's a link that will help you out:

>http://fyeahlolita.blogspot.com/p/what-is-lolita.html

Read through all the articles there, and you may have a head start. Consider reading the sticky and the EGL archives on livejournal.

Please start reading through the Lolita threads here before you even think about making a purchase. Lastly, remember Lolita isn't just another one of your costumes. It's a fashion with a specific set of rules and aesthetics.

[Anonymous No.8951934]

>has a small budget
>wants to wear lolita
This has to be a troll

[Anonymous No.8951937]

>>8951925
Thank you for answering. I'll look through the blog hope it helps.

And obviously I won't buy anything before I fully understand the the fashion and the culture.

Thank you again for help.

[Anonymous No.8951956]

>>8951912
The threads aren't very complicated if you pay close attention to them. I will admit that reading an entire thread when it's nearing 300+ posts isn't easy so you should follow these threads as soon as new ones start.
Additionally, for general information about lolita, check out http://thelolitaguidebook.tumblr.com/ It has pretty much all the information you could possibly need to know about the fashion, and take your time to read F Yeah Lolita (I can't post the link but you should find it if you google it), it has many informative and helpful articles, though since you're a beginner I highly recommend reading How to Avoid Being An Ita and How to Tell Bad Lace from Good Lace, as well as the posts that cover misconceptions about the fashion.
Take your time, try to read as much as possible and only ask questions (in the appropriate threads) when you have no other choice. Good luck!

[Anonymous No.8951957]

>>8951934
Nope, not really. I'm just not familiar with culture at all. If you say that I should spend A LOT I'm just going to save up and buy less pieces, over a longer period.

Didn't know that you had to be rich to be Lolita. Geez.

[Anonymous No.8951958]

>>8951956
Thank you ! I've started reading couple of articles and realised I really don't know anything at all. I feel like I'm going straight being ITA (hope not)

Thanks for the link, I'll try my best.

[Anonymous No.8951960]

>>8951957
>Didn't know that you had to be rich to be Lolita. Geez.

You don't 'need' to be rich to be a Lolita. However, Lolita is an expensive luxury fashion. Brand is especially expensive because of the high quality of their clothing.

Idk why you're coming here and expecting everyone to spoonfeed you before you did any sort of research in the first place. I realize you are ESL but you could have, at the very least, searched Lolita fashion and found

>http://www.lolitafashion.org/
>http://egl.livejournal.com/

Which are both good, albeit slightly outdated centers of information. You should have a good base of knowledge from these before you being lurking the /cgl/ Lolita threads.

[Anonymous No.8951962]

>>8951957
>Didn't know that you had to be rich to be Lolita. Geez.
It is a fashion after all and you will probably feel left out if you can't participate. Especially if you're stuck with the online comm

[Anonymous No.8951965]

Thanks everyone for the link. I can see that I had many misjudgements (about branded clothes, DIY etc) but I know a little bit better know.

I know that I shouldn't be posting here and go to the help thread but I can't stop myself desu. I have a few questions (which I couldn't find anyasnwers on the links)

Is using your own hair considered bad? I have short hair but I really dont want to wear wigs daily, is it wrong?

I also couldn't find a exact set of rules here. I heard that there are couple of co called "rules" for Lolita (like you kinda have to wear socks etc) but couldn't find an exact list ..

[Anonymous No.8951970]

>>8951960
Don't get me wrong, but I didn't know that I should have at least basic knowledge before asking something here. Asked tons of stuff here before (about cosplay) and didn't get any response like that.

I didn't want to google it and get the wrong information and learn badly, instead I wanted to ask the people who know and guide me right.

Like you can see above, many people judged me because I said that I have a small budget, but the links they shared said "it's ok to wear cheap stuff if they looks good" so I don't know what to believe..

[Anonymous No.8951971]

>>8951965
Anon, go ask these questions in the Lolita General.

[Anonymous No.8951976]

>>8951970
Go to the lolita fashion mentoring group on FB

[Anonymous No.8951978]

>>8951970
Lolita have salt in their vajayjays.

[Anonymous No.8951982]

>>8951970
The thing with wearing cheap stuff is that a lot of newbies with no budget buy the cheapest white office blouse and somewhat roomy skirt from the thrift store and then try to pass it off as lolita.
Also, seconding Lolita Fashion mentoring.

[Anonymous No.8951989]

I'm in the mentoring group, read a little while before I do anything.

thanks a lot for your help!

[Anonymous No.8951998]

Where are you from, anon?

[Anonymous No.8952006]

>>8951891
Newbies who expect to be spoonfed while doing no research of their own have never been welcome.

[Anonymous No.8952020]

>>8951965
>Is using your own hair considered bad? I have short hair but I really dont want to wear wigs daily, is it wrong?

Using your own hair is not bad, but sometimes short hair can look weird with Lolita (unless it's a bob with blunt bangs.) The most important thing is it has to look styled, healthy and cute.
You don't have to wear wigs daily, but maybe consider getting one or two wigs for the days when you don't want to style your hair.

>I also couldn't find a exact set of rules here

A bit outdated, but this was linked to you previously and you decided to ignore it, so here it is again:
>http://www.lolitafashion.org/

Check out "Anatomy of a Lolita outfit" and "Styles of Lolita." They may be named something slightly differently.

>>8951970
It's just generally frowned upon to expect everyone else to do your research for you. How do you think the cosplayers would react if I started a new thread asking what is cosplay and how do you do it, posting a picture of J-nig's Pikachu "cosplay" and making wrong assumptions all over the place? I guarantee you I would not get a good response. Use common sense.

About the whole cheap vs. brand thing, really all that matters is that your outfit looks good. Sometimes all handmade and taobao can look better than brand. However, sometimes it is easier to coordinate brand pieces, especially since they come in full sets sometimes and you know it is good quality.

Please read the EGL archives for more debate about this. It has been discussed thoroughly, as have most of the questions you have posted.