Today on EGL there was a post about "oldschool lolita". It got me thinking.
I first learned of the fashion in 2006. I heard the term at conventions and decided to look up what it was. I liked it. I watched the film "Kamikaze Girls" and liked it even more. However, I couldn't commit. At the time I was very involved in cosplay and didn't really have time to make lolita clothes (I had determined that brand was too expensive).
But in 2007, at Pacific Media Expo, a friend and I wandered into the Angelic Pretty boutique. Well, wandered isn't the right word. More like we were bored and decided to check it out. It was there that I purchased my first brand items (a bag and a pair of socks) and thus began my lolita journey. That was over 3 years ago.
Now, how does this relate to times changing?
This was my first "dream dress", if you will. I saw it in "Kamikaze Girls" and loved it. My first lolita dress that I made was inspired by it (I had meant it to be a replica, but I couldn't find the proper fabric, so I made a simpler version).
My first lolita coordinate. With my lovely French Toast blouse haha!
These days, that dress is considered boring and plain. When I got into lolita, Angelic Pretty was only just beginning to get popular. They did not ship internationally, and the only way to get it was through a shopping service. Baby and Meta ruled the lolita kingdom.
How soon that changed.
For most of my time in lolita, Angelic Pretty has been the brand to have, mainly because of their prints. Solids and other patterns died away in popularity. These days, it's rare to see solid colored items on the sales community and when you do, they are often left until the price drops drastically.
Three years ago, wearing a cotton candy pink wig would have been scoffed at. Now it is the norm. Rockinghorse shoes were the thing to have, now it's tea parties. The only replicas around were Secret Shop shoes, now it seems every new print has a replica on taobao.
I went through a time where I wanted every new print that Angelic Pretty put out, until I finally just realized that they weren't for me. I now own one Angelic Pretty dress: Lady Rose. It's my favorite print and I'll never sell it, but most of their prints are just too much for me.
The times have changed. To many, this is great: lolita is the extreme fashion that they always wanted. To me, it's begun to lose its charm. What I consider elegant and pretty are boring to others.
I will go forward being "boring", but to me that's alright. I'd rather feel elegant and have everyone else think me boring than wear what's considered "in" and feel ridiculous.
