lolita-tips

[lolita-tips]

Thank you for ten amazing years

There is no easy way to say this, but I believe this blog is at its end. I think I’ve known for a while but I haven’t wanted to admit it to myself. There is a part of me that still very much loves this blog. I love helping people, I love solving their problems, I love the sense of community I feel here. Unfortunately life has made it impossible for me to be able to keep up with it the way I used to. While part of me still loves it, there is another part that says keeping up with it is a chore and that I’ve only been beating myself up about it because I feel like by quitting I’m letting down 25,000+ followers. 

I started Lolita Tips when in 2011- that’s ten years ago! When I first started it I never in a million years would have expected it to become what it did. I never expected to amass so many followers, I never expected to use this platform to raise money for charity, I never expected to hold gift exchanges with people from all over the world, and I certainly never expected to go to conventions and have people recognize me. There have been many ways in which this blog has changed my life- but my life has changed in so many ways independent of it as well. Since starting this blog I graduated high school, graduated college, moved to a new city, started a full-time job, got engaged, and I’m coming close to the end of writing the first draft of my first novel. When I picture how I want my life to continue on I’m finding that lolita is certainly still in the picture, but this blog just doesn’t fit the plan.

I worry about letting people down, but then I remind myself of how many people I’ve helped, and how many other people there are who can easily take my place. Tumblr is starting to go the way of Live Journal but there are lolita communities on Facebook, lolitas on Youtube and Instagram, lolitas everywhere who can be turned to for advice and inspiration.

While the ask box and submission box will be closed, the resources that have been compiled here over the years will of course remain in place. The FAQ, the beginners guides, other links, and of course the tags will still be there for anyone who wants to look for them. In time they will, more than likely, become obsolete, as all things do. The guide that first taught me about lolita is certainly not the most accurate source of information anymore, but it serves as an archive of lolita fashion’s past. 

I want to thank you all for all that you’ve given me over these years. The amount of gratitude I have toward my followers, the artists who’ve helped me bring this page to life, those of you who have shared this blog with lolitas who are just starting out, is absolutely immeasurable. Running this blog has been a grand learning experience for me. I’ve learned patience and humility and I have been met with so much kindness. It is for these reasons that this decision is breaking my heart, but I know at the end of the day it will be for the best.

If anyone has any interest in keeping in touch with me you can follow me at my personal Instagram or on my blog, The Time Traveling Witch, which I intend to begin putting more of my energy into. 

 Thank you all for the support that you’ve given me over the years, and I thank you in advance for supporting me in making this decision.

[lolita-tips]

Life update time: December came and brought with it a depressive episode like I had never expected. I had so many things I wanted to do that just didn’t end up happening because I can’t get my brain to focus on a task for more than a few minutes at a time. To be honest I was considering quitting this blog altogether because I feel like I’m letting people down by not keeping up with it but the more I thought about it I felt like I would be losing a little piece of myself. Now that Christmas is over and the stress of the holidays is melting away I’m hoping I’ll be back to my normal self soon. 2020 had been hard on everyone but I’m trying to be hopeful for 2021. I’m probably going to still take some time off but I plan to be back in the new year with different kinds of content. I know I’ve said this a lot this year but thank you all for sticking around and being so supportive.

#tw mental health #personal

[lolita-tips]

This has very little to do with lolita but I do know that there’s a correlation between lolitas and a love for historical dress so hopefully it’s not too far off the mark to share this here. I’ve been wanting to write pieces like this for a long time and I’m very proud of it.

The first installment in what I intend to be a series of historical myth busting pieces! This is the kind of thing I want to do a lot more with my blog so I’m really happy I finally had it in me to get to work on it.

#personal

[lolita-tips]

I'm thinking about buying Diamond Honey's Cat and Rabbit fight JSK but I'm not entirely sure about it? It's cute dress and not very expensive either and it appeals to my cutesy and kinda gory side but? Thoughts? If I would get it I'd pair it with white bonnet, ivory wristcuffs and maybe some cute white sneakers (you cannot catch me in tea parties my feet will cry) Also congrats on getting engaged!

I think it’s a super cute and fun print but I think I would add a little more color into the coord to pull out the pink and red tones from the print. If you’re going for a less traditional lolita shoe, what about maybe doing boots like the characters in the print? I think the print lends itself to being a little bit edgy and punky in a way that boots would suit it really well. 

Also, thank you! 

#diamond honey #taobao #jsk #Magic Rabbit Cat Fight #bearuyandere

[lolita-tips]

The purple elpress dress also looks like it could be used with a flower related theme, if they wanted to

That's a really really pretty dress :0

That’s true I hadn’t even thought of that! The scale pattern could definitely be interpreted as flower petals. That makes me think it would be great for a fairy themed coord! 

#elpress l #elpressl #fish scale jsk #taobao #Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

I recently started getting interested in lolita and your blog has been a big help in learning about it! When I started looking into it I tried to find things involving trans people and men in the community. I'm a masculine-aligned nonbinary teen, and while I've learned to not really care about traditional gender roles, it's still nice to see myself represented in a community. It was just really nice to come across such an inclusive blog while trying to learn about the subculture :) stay safe ♥!

This makes me really happy to hear! I want everyone who loves lolita to be able to see themselves wearing it!

#Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

After a long time of not being into lolita I recently got back into gothic lolita. Things are going pretty well because of my earlier experience with sweet/classic. however, now the weather is getting colder Im completely stuck on outerwear. I find it very hard to find bolero or short jackets suitable for gothic lolita and afraid of buying something that wont look right. I hope you have some inspiration since im stuck on a frilly bolero and a cape that covers most of my outfit. Thank you so much

I feel like I’m always recommending them, but I’ve always had great luck with FanPlusFriend. They have a lot of great coats and have been pretty consistent in their quality. A lot of their coats are wool which makes them very warm, and they’re all quite reasonably priced.  Alternatively, some of my favorite jackets are actually from vintage brands rather than lolita brands. I have two jackets from Collectif which I originally got for my vintage looks, but they both work well with lolita because the short one is short enough to not compete with the volume of my skirts and the long one is meant to be worn with a petticoat so it has the extra space.

#coats #jackets #outerwear #winter #cold #weather #Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

Would it be okay if a beginners first coord was an OTT hime/sweet style? If said beginner was getting extensive help and advice from an experienced Lolita?

Your first coord can be whatever style you want it to be. There’s no rule that says your first coord has to be simple, that’s just a bit of advice that I might normally suggest just to make getting starting a little bit easier. If you feel confident in your ability to make an OTT sweet or hime coord that you’ll love and feel cute in right out of the gate, that’s awesome and you should go ahead and do that. 

#new lolitas #beginner lolitas #getting started #Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

Okay so I'm new to Lolita and IU'm on a semi low budget. I've got my first dress already, its from Smiling Angel and its plain white. But I've ordered others from Bodyline and would like to know where to find decent bloomers and petticoats that wont cost me a kidney. lets say my budget will be 100-300.

I’ve been getting my bloomers on etsy for years. As important as I find them, I don’t think they’re somewhere that it’s worth dropping a ton of money, I just want them to be comfortable, cute, and simple. Nemeth Wild has comfy, handmade bloomers in a lot of sizing options and theirs are probably my favorites.  The petticoat is where I would recommend spending a little more because it’s so crucial to getting the proper skirt shape for the lolita look. Getting a good petticoat up front means you won’t have to buy another one for a long long time (unless you need a different shape at some point of course.) My favorite petticoat is from Me Likes Tea. It’s very comfortable and the one I ordered has the perfect amount of poof for all my coords. I’ve also heard great things about the petticoats from Cream and Sugar but their petticoat orders are closed at the moment. 

#bloomers #petticoat #petticoats #nemeth wild #etsy #me likes tea #cream and sugar #rcaaha

[lolita-tips]

Hi! I'm thinking of saving up for the dark purple Elpress L Fish Scale JSK, what are your thoughts on the lace quality and the best way to coord it?

Elpress L just constantly makes such gorgeous pieces! I really love how unique that JSK is in particular. I’ve also found that they tend to use really beautiful, good quality lace and from what I can tell this JSK is no exception. I feel like with the purple there are a lot of creative ways you can coord it. You can use primarily white for a princessy mermaid kind of look, you could use primarily darker colors for a more goth-leaning sea witch look. It isn’t exactly a standard style of JSK which honestly I think gives you more of an opportunity to put together a really unique coord. If I were to coord it for myself I think I would skip a blouse and fill in the open neck space with a big, elaborate necklace, maybe lace gloves or wristcuffs, and pearl accessories throughout to play up the white details as well as the sealife theme. . 

#elpress l #elpressl #fish scale jsk #taobao #Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

In case anyone was wondering what I’ve been up to! (I’m heading home this weekend so hopefully I’ll be back to posting soon!)

So I don’t post on here a ton anymore but hey look I got engaged!

#personal

[lolita-tips]

Just wanted to thank you! You got me into lolita and after 8 months, I'm finally about to get my first coord!!

Aw, you’re very welcome! I’m so happy to hear that!

#Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

I'm sorry if this isn't the isn't the right place to ask this, but I felt like I should ask someone who knows a lot about Lolita. I want to dress in a way that resembles a line of rag dolls that I love, but I'm kinda worried that dressing in a doll-like way is too similar to Lolita or maybe I'm just ripping it off. I'd like to hear what you think of that.

Wear what you want! Wear whatever makes you happy! If it’s not lolita, just don’t call it lolita and there’s no problem. It doesn’t sound to me like you’re ripping anything off, it sounds like you have a specific look in mind and you’re going for that. If anyone aske if it’s lolita or if you’re trying to wear lolita you just say no and it should be left at that. Lolita isn’t the only doll-like fashion around either so I don’t think you have to worry too much about what anyone thinks about it.

#Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

I’m just starting to get involved in online comm after only dressing up irl for the first few years, due to covid leaving me feeling lonely! But.... I think I dress well and have a decently expansive wardrobe, but I am Awful at taking good pics for lolita, apparently! My face looks too small or it’s badly lit or my legs are too short or... etc etc. I could swear I’ve seen guides on taking egl pics before but can’t find any now. Do you have any advice or links you could share on this? Thanks!

There are a few guides that I like for choosing good poses like MIlkbox’s video and this slightly older guide by Mint Kismet. Choosing a pose is just the first step though and the most important thing is to practice. Take a lot of photos of yourself that you don’t necessarily intend to post anywhere but just to get familiar with what angles work well for you, the best ways for you to turn, the best place to set up your camera, the best place in your house for lighting, etc.

#poses #posing #photos #Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

Do you have any advice on where to get specifically cute wristcuffs? Preferably indie or small buisness. Theyre always sold out everywhere :(

Most of my wristcuffs are from etsy shops. Peacockalorum and LuminescenTea are the first two shops that come to mind that have really cute ones. 

#wristcuffs #wrist cuffs #accessories #etsy #Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

Hi, there is one question in my mind that has been bugging me for the longest time... the pink floral dress Momoko of Kamikaze Girls wore with a pink hat, the scene where she and Ichigo were in a restaurant/cafe? I am DYING to know which brand is it from... doesn't look like a BabySSB dress to me... my intuition says it is very likely a "costume" made specifically for the movie... does anyone have any clue? :'(

I found some scans from KERA talking about the dresses in the movie and if my rather poor translation skills are serving me right I believe this says that the dress in question was designed by the movie’s costume designer.

#kamikaze girls #Anonymous

[lolita-tips]

Got any tips for Lolita makeup?

My biggest tip is to choose makeup that suits you and that you feel enhances your features as opposed to just wearing something because it’s “lolita makeup.” In the past lolita makeup was somewhat minimal and natural but as the fashion has evolved, so has the makeup so there’s not really one right way to wear “lolita makeup. Personally I just wear my usual daily makeup with lolita which consists of my base, eyeshadow that coordinates with the colors I’m wearing, lots of mascara, and basic winged eyeliner. I might add lipstick or false eyelashes if I’m feeling like I want to doll it up a little more. There are no hard and fast rules to makeup for lolita, just wear makeup that you feel looks good on you and suits your coord just like you would with any accessory.

#makeup #lolita makeup #Anonymous