Budget Lolita: The GO

You probably already heard of a GO, especially if you are member of EGL LJ comm.

If you haven't or have but have no idea what one is, today's article will try to shed some light on this aspect of Lolita shopping.

A GO, group order, is when a group of say 2 or more people get together and order from a site under one person, the GO host/ess.

Usually a GO is meant to lower the cost of shipping* by getting rid of the expense all together since many online shops offer free shipping for orders above a certain amount (say $350 or more).

Now as a participant it is your responsability to tell the hostess what you would like to purchase, and pay her(or him) ahead of time.

You will also give her your address in order to get your items, and this is why a GO is only meant to lower the price of shipping not eliminate it completely (unless its a GO hosted by your local lolita group). The company will send merchandise to only one address. The hostess is responsible to send it out orders received to all participants of the GO.

It can be a simple and pleasant transaction, but something can go wrong. Here are some helpful tips often overlooked in of the excitement.

• Make sure you trust your hostess, if you can meet her in person, great! but if not check her feedback (check feedback even if you know them in person).
• Make sure that you sent her the money and have physical evidence that you did. Remember to keep track of receipts and email confirmations.
• Make sure she has your info correct: from what it is you want to order, to your address sometimes one letter/number difference is all it takes to not getting what you wanted or lose something in the mail.

If you'd like to participate in a GO try the egl_grouporder_comm : you must be a member to participate. Many of the hosted group orders have their own guidelines so make sure you read before you join. Some hostess charge a fee (usually Paypal fees) in addition to the shipping for doing the work.

I'll be posting another article on hosting a GO so keep your eyes out for that for that.

The Basics: Lolita Silhouette

Bonjour mes amis!

For the next series of post I will be referencing to the basics of Lolita.

What I mean by the basics is what makes an outfit Lolita.

The Skirt (on skirts, Jumper-skirts (jsk) and dress (op): The quintessential item that can make or break your Lolita coordinate.

Ideally it should be bell shaped but I have seen a-line, trapezoid and circle skirts (though not as common). Something that will flare out and accomodate a petticoat. If you want to truly put this basic on its head you could also try for a pencil skirt a la Victorian Maiden.

But what ever the shape you choose, take note Lolita prides itself on modesty so this should be at knee or just 2 inches above the knee.

skirt 1

skirt 2

skirt 3

jsk 1

jsk 2

op 1

op 2

Tops: Blouses and cutsews, they are the thing that goes with the skirt or under the jsk. Though there are many options for tops. Not any old thing will work. Traditional a Peter Pan collar blouse or for a sailor inspired look a sailor collar have been the ideal, but brands come up with many variations.

Here are some other varieties:
blouse 1
blouse 2
blouse 3
blouse 4

The camisole styles offer a summer option:
cami 1
cami 2

Then there's the cutsew, a jersey knit top sometimes with cute graphic to boot.
cutsew 1
cutsew 2
cutsew 3
cutsew 4

Socks and Tights: This is your most open item, by that I mean you can go along with brand socks ( super cute but very expensive) or even hit up your local boutiques and novelty stores for options. Usually the kept at knee length or over the knee and thigh high.

sock 1

sock 2

If you have an issue with knee high socks or want to cover up a too high skirt (for taller lolitas)

tights 1

tights 2

Headwear: everything from a head eating bows to cute cake hats and mini top hats.; and the old school headdress too! Remember to hit up accessory departments in your locals stores.

bows 1

bows 2

hat 1

hat 2

headdress 1

headdress 2

headdress 3

Undergarments: The petticoat has been suggested as the most important part of your wardrobe, it is the base without it you have no silhouette. Don't fall prey to getting a square dancing petticoat they don't have the right shape! Almost all Lolita brands have options:

petticoat 1

petticoat 2

petticoat 3

There is also the option of making your own, I recommend Sugardale's Tutorial!

Bloomers: remember the part where Lolita was all about modesty well, bloomer help to keep your modesty on windy days or when bending forward.

bloomers 1

bloomers 2

bloomers 3

Like the petticoat, bloomer can also be handmade. There are also tons of tutorials online. This one involves recycling.

Shoes: There are many options but at the same time some are clearly un-loliable.

The Mary-jane style shoe is the most basic of Lolita shoes; and is the base of many brand shoes (cute teaparty shoes). Other options the famous and infamous (Naomi Campbell incident) RHS (Rocking Horse Shoes)

shoe 1

shoe 2

shoe 3

shoe 4

Final Note: All these are suggestions, the Basics are open to interpretation; though mind the bell-shaped or flared skirt and petticoat when looking for items, they are the staples of Lolita fashion.

Have fun and happy shopping!

*image credit to owner.

Budget Lolita: DIY

So you've scouted your local boutiques, Forever 21, HM, even departments stores and still can't find what you're looking for.

Every beginning Lolita has experienced this frustration with the readymade world. So what are you to do?

Make it your self!

But how you ask, well if you know where to begin you have a juicy option to build your wardrobe.

Where to begin? You have lots of resources at your dispense.

Sew_loli Comm in Livejournal: offers but tutorials, and inspiration and also gives you an audience to give constructive critique or to help when your projects get a little out of hand.

EGL Comm Memories : EGL staff have placed the many tutorials submitted into an easy to access page.

These lead to lolita specific tutorials but with a little creativity and knowledge you can use other resources not necessarily meant for Lolita and make a whole new garment

Visit Craftster an online community dedicated to you guess it crafts! There are also some Lolita members who share and post tutorials so you won't be lost.

Threadbanger website and Threadbanger on Youtube: They offer non Lolita tutorials but a Tuxedo Bib tutorial posted by the girls at Burdastyle and Caplet tutorial by Jenn have huge loli potential. Keep you eyes open and you mind wheels rolling to convert their ideas.

Now if you can't find what you got in mind, You could also look up patterns and add some lace and bows and voila JSK or OP. Make sure you have a good idea of what Lolita fashion s before trying this out.

Burdastyle offers patterns (both free!) for simple dress and blouse that with a bit of tinkering can be your next Lolita JSK and blouse.

You could always head down to your local fabric store and purchase one of their patterns.

Here are some of my suggestions:

Vogue's Very Easy Misses' Dress reminds me of the bodice of BTSSB Cherry Ribbon Summer OP; a simple change for a fitted skirt to say a gathered one; Voila you have a cute new BTSSB inspired OP.

Can any one see the similarities between Butterrick Misses' Dress B5351 and Angelic Pretty's Dream Dollhouse JSK?

Yes, you got it.. it's the bodice (with a few more embellishments of course) and if you take that bodice and flare out the skirt portion of this pattern and some lace and a some bows.

Remember with a bit of creativity, basic sewing skills and knowledge of Lolita, you too can come up with your own Lolita wardrobe items.

Have fun with it and happy crafting!

Budget Lolita: Off-Brand

Borrowing a page from EGL's monthly theme I have be wanting write a post focus on Budget Lolita...especially Off-brand.

Now it can be argued that off brand does not neccessarily mean budget...but most of the time one can make up a good portion of one's Lolita wardrobe and general wardrobe by diving into the world of off brand.
So what is offbrand in Lolita terms it means anything that is made or produced by any other company or brand that is not a Lolita Brand ( ie Angelic Pretty, Victorian Maiden, BTSSB, Innocent World et al)
Sometimes it will also add brands that are not Japanese (ie Candy Violet, Megan Maude, Blasphemina's Closet etc etc) but really that issue is a personal call and for me all brands geared to the Lolita are brand weather they are Japanese in origin or not.
So lets begin, shall we?

Most lolis first choice when looking into off brand is.... Forever 21!

The accessories alone are enough of a reason to go and stock up, and from time to time the come up with the most Loliable garments: cardigans, blouses, vest.

Off brand 1 by dizzylolibliss featuring Forever21

Next up HM

HM is an off brand brand that has made its way in to lolita legend when they release a truly Loliable dress

I would suggest scouting out your local HM for blouses and probable jsk options for your coords.

Off brand 2 by dizzylolibliss featuring Vivienne Westwood shoes

In a final note: for the beginner off brand can be a true hit or miss, to guarantee your off brand excursion produced good results make sure to get the basics of what makes garment lolita and take that info with you as you browse the shelfs and racks at your local boutiques and shops. Happy shopping.

How?

So you know the what, why and where of Lolita fashion. Surfing through brand sites you find yourself looking through the prices and wondering how anyone can offer to be a Lolita.
No worries... most sell their souls-kidding though I have to admit some Lolitas seemed to be the reapers of the souls by the way the act. Yikes!

But back to the main topic: Lolita on a Budget!

How can achieve the dream wardrobe with a whole army of financial set backs?

In today's economy I am still surprised to see some of our favorite Lolita brands still open for business. Yay, for them!

But I am barely staying a float.

So what is a potentially great Lolita to do? I won't have the heart to spend 200+ plus on any garment when that money can go to more important things but I don't want to give up my frills and lace.

EGL Community Sales, Ebay, Closet , Bodyline, etc. to the rescue. Not all Lolis have the loot to fling at APs new marvelous prints. And sometimes to afford a new dress Lolis resort to putying their older garments on sale. You can find great deals on "vintage" prints and designs by going to your follow Lolis.

When buying make sure to have a good idea of what you already have and look for items that you can mix in with what you own, so that you can get more bang for your buck.

If your building up your wardrobe buy pieces in solid colors that can mix well with adorable prints.

Seamstresses and Homemade: Is another way to get your dream wardrobe, with the added benefit of getting a quality garment fit specially for you. This is also a great choice for Lolitas that don't fit in to brands limited sizing. Ay how I wish MM would produce bigger sizes.

Remember to buy quality materials, read the Lolita Handbook for tips on proper fabric, lace and everything you'll need.

I shall be adding tutorials later on so be on the look for those.

Where?

Where can one get more information about Lolita other than this blog?

With today's access to information it still puzzles me that anyone would even ponder this without first surfing the net with Google as a most effective surfboard.

Here I shall share links with you to some of my favorite sites for clothes, info and help

Since Lolita fashion hails from Japan, the land of kawaii, so it should come as no surprise that many of the resources for Lolita come from Japan be it sites or magazines or that these are in Japanese.

Here are some interesting sites to check out, for Lolitas who can cross the language barrier

Mary Magdalene ~MM one of my favorite Lolita fashion brands.

Angelic Pretty ~ AP for the cute ama-loli or sweet lolita

Baby the Stars Shine Bright ~BTSSB cute brand, made internationally famous by The Kamikaze Girls! Go Momoko-chan!

Metamorphose ~ Meta very avant guarde Lolita fashion.

Bodyline ~ Though formally shunned it has become a Lolita with a budget best friend! Cute reasonably prices Lolita wear.

and Finally one of the most sought after Lolita shoe the Rocking Horse Shoe from
Double Decker~ DD

And here are some sites for English Speaking Lolitas

Elegant Gothic Lolita community ~ EGL a Livejuornal community here you will find many tips tricks, updates, and answers to your questions.

Lolita Handbook ~ LH need I say more. Tt breaks everything down, what is the proper fabric, lace, shoes, hair. If its Lolita its here.

Lolita Fahion~ LF A very handy sight goes over different Lolita styles, ie Classic, Sweet, Shiro, etc

What?

Lolita is a Japanese street fashion that takes from past eras primarily the Rococo and Victorian.
There is much argument about when it came about, some would claim that it was birthed in the late 1980s following the raise of Visual Kei groups, yet others would say it began in the mid 1990s in the mind of fore-parent Mana. But as of today it has jumped the pond and become an international favorite for those would love Japanese fashion of course.

The name of this fashion, Lolita, is sure to draw out tainted thoughts from most westerns (thank you Vladmir Nabokov). Lolita fashion has nothing to do with nymphettes and sexual references, and more to do with feeling beautiful and having fun.

Within Lolita fashion there are many sub-styles ranging from the sweet loli with pastels and cute prints to the dark elegantly clad gothic loli and everything in between.

Though many follow this fashion simply for the love of the clothes, there are others who take it on as a lifestyle, filling there lives with beauty and "feminine" activities like embroidery, baking, etc.