Wearing Lolita on occasion, while not dedicating your lifestyle entirely to it?

[Kazephyr]

Nearly everything I have ever heard about Gothic Lolita, or any of the numerous other types of Lolita fashion has referred to it as a lifestyle. I've read into the Lolita lifestyle, and it sounds very nice, though I'm not sure I could put so much into living the Loli life to it's fullest. So I had some questions. Do most Lolita's feel it's alright wear a Lolita outfit on occasion, while at other times wearing outfits that have nothing in the least to do with the fashion? Of course, I have no intentions of murdering the style (acting like a depressed/angry goth, being rude, skimpy-ing up a SweetRori outfit). What I want to ask is, is it all right to dress Lolita sometimes, but wear many other fashions on different days? I have many different tastes in fashion, and I like lots of variety. I just don’t feel I could quite throw tea-parties, or entirely mold my lifestyle to suit Lolita. Having good manners, being friendly, smiling, etc. are things I normally try to do anyhow, so it’s not as if I completely contradict the lifestyle as it is. I just wonder how far you need to go for people to consider you “a Lolita”. I'm relatively new to Japanese fashions, and still trying to get a feel for it. I would appreciate any advice or opinions, thank you. ^_^

[Meiki]

It's absolutely fine. Most people have nothing to do with whatever the "lolita lifestyle" is supposed to be anyway. For example, I may wear it more often than most, but I swear like a sailor. Whenever you feel like wearing it, by all means wear it.

[penny_dreadful]

To my understanding, it is PERFECTLY acceptable to wear loli only on occasion. Most of us do not stick to one style every single day, especially if we have jobs that require professional attire or schools that have uniforms or strict dress codes. Even if you don't, you may wish to just integrate the style into your regular wear but not adhere to a strict lifestyle change.

I think most lolis are really only concerned with people not butchering the fashion, rather than having to devote their entire wardrobes to it.

--Penny

[Kazephyr]

Thank you both very much for your thoughts. ^_^ I always hear the Lolita lifestyle very strongly emphasized in what I've read about Lolita fashion, so I worry about things like that... ^_^;;

[anomalie]

Originally Posted by Kazephyr

What I want to ask is, is it all right to dress Lolita sometimes, but wear many other fashions on different days?

Of course, doll! You certainly don't need to ask the internet for permission! If anyone wanted to whine about you "not being consistent" or whatever else they may come up with, that would be their problem.

[Kazephyr]

Of course, doll! You certainly don't need to ask the internet for permission! If anyone wanted to whine about you "not being consistent" or whatever else they may come up with, that would be their problem.

Thanks. ^_^ I'm afraid I ought to be a bit more bold... I'm sort of... timid when it comes to things like this. ^_^;;

[aliceaddict]

lolita lifestyle = whatever you are doing when you wear lolita

some prissy stick-up-their-butts girls might say that you have to act like a prim and proper Victorian doormat, but i say HELL NO.

[LGS]

Hehe, I don't act any differently when I wear Lolita. There really are no extra rules for behaviour, just the ordinary "say please and thank you, keep your elbows off the table, don't pick your nose" kind of ettiquette.

[velvet_eden]

i think any form of fashion shouldn't really be taken as serious to be called a lifestyle anyways :P wear what you want & just enjoy being yourself.

[Mangochutney]

I find that a girl stuffing her face with a sandwich or smoking a cigarette or even belching is about 10x more adorable doing it in a girlishly pretty dress.

Something about loli fashion makes otherwise crass behavior charming. Why waste that?

[LGS]

Smoking a cigarette is never charming, especially when it's around me, especially when it's after I've already said the fumes make my throat swell up and I could die.

[Kazephyr]

Well, that's a relief... When I was first studying up on GothLoli, the only thing I didn't like was the lifestyle I often saw attached to it. I'm generally a pretty polite person, I think, but I just don't know if I have the dedication to learn to sit a certain way while my hands rest daintily in my lap. -_-;; It sort of turned me off of the style for a while, but then I decided to give the message boards a look... Glad I did, lol. ^_^;; Thank you for all the advice everyone, you've been very helpful. ^_^

[Sarcasm-hime]

Some people take themselves way too seriously, and that applies to lolis like anything else. I like all sorts of different clothing styles, and wear lots of different things including loli style; if that bothers some hardcore 'lifestyle lolis', too bad. *shrug*

[Kazephyr]

Some people take themselves way too seriously, and that applies to lolis like anything else. I like all sorts of different clothing styles, and wear lots of different things including loli style; if that bothers some hardcore 'lifestyle lolis', too bad. *shrug*

That's how I am, really. I wear tons of different things that would kind of be strange to see lined up together. ^_^;; I wish magazines would quit putting so much into talking about how much Lolita is a lifestyle... I understand the necessity to emphasize the themes Loli fashion follows, due to the instant stereotype a lot of people put on the word "Lolita", but they make it sound kind of... extreme. ^_^;; They should at least point out that there are Lolitas who do and don't follow the lifestyle.

[tea.mochi]

Hi, I'm Asia and I'm new.

I have a question about EGL along the lines of the OPs question.

Now I may have just run into the wrong girls, but I've heard some lolita girls talking nasty like about "scene kids" who dress lolita.
They were going on about how horrid it would look with short and straight hair, big plastic beads and bracelets etc.

Now, I think this might look real cute! Like, Lolita with a flash of color and fun!
I'm also very alternative (I guess) In my way of thinking of things so I allways think of how I can use pieces of this and that in other styles (Kimono with jeans anyone?). Would I be ridiculed for doing these things with Lolita style?
I mean, I feel that everyone has their own means of expression and I feel that if you can take a style and make it yours the GO FOR IT, but I don't want to go through the trouble of constantly defending myself against people I should be making friends with you know?
And I understand people wanting to keep within a certain style, but what if I were to really pull off a sort of "scene" lolita.. shouldn't I be entitled to that without being judged by other lolitas?

Are all Lolitas this picky or did I just run into the wrong people?

PS) Sorry if calling you guys "lolitas" is wrong, I just realized that maybe theres another word you use and I know that lolita is originally a bad thing, so I'm just apologizing ahead of time.

Thanks!