Old School for Newbies: Core Reading 1: My Old School Criteria

Old school lolita is difficult to pin down stylistically because it isn't a substyle. Age is, of course, the primary factor here: if it was made between 1997 and around 2005, it'll probably look old school. But there's more elements, tangible and intangible, that make a piece old school-able. The materials, construction, accessories, styling, and overall mood of the coordinate all play a key role.

As the presenter for Old School for Newbies at Bay Area Kei's J-Fashion University, I have a duty to share exactly what qualifies as 'old school', at least for my panel's purposes. By no means am I saying I'm a real authority; I've only been wearing lolita for seven years. However, I think developing some clear(ish) guidelines can help people new to old school adopt an eye for the style. Some of this post is adapted from the LiveJournal Lolita Handbook: give it a look if you're unfamiliar or nostalgic.

In other words, I have crowned myself the arbiter of style and taste, and with this post, so can you!

Old School for Newbies: Supplemental Reading 1: Old School on Taobao

Old school is a passion of mine. I'm lucky enough to be hosting a panel on Old School for Newbies at Bay Area Kei's upcoming J-Fashion University, so I decided to compile lists of stores that sell old school-styled lolita clothing and supplies. Since this is a university theme, each post related to my "class" will be framed as a course component.

Old school is difficult to find on Taobao, so I went through more than 300 stores in order to find all of the stores that had at least one piece that looks reasonably old school. I've also included a few sellers of sewing supplies. 

I followed strict criteria for these selections, which can be found in Core Reading 1.

College Dorm Wardrobe Tips

It's August, which means many college students are heading (back) to the dorms. Not-so-coincidentally, Bay Area Kei is running a college-themed event (J-Fashion University) in just a couple weeks.  Although I successfully swam through the disease-ridden creek to graduate from my swamp college two years ago (it was an unofficial graduation requirement), college is still fresh in my memory. Like many lolitas, I really started building my wardrobe and wearing lolita regularly in college. With my plentiful mistakes in mind, I'm now able to offer advice on how to semi-successfully build a wardrobe in the rarefied environment that a campus full of insecure young adults provides. 

Is Buying Bodyline Still Viable?

Since Bodyline began shipping overseas, it's been one of the first resources recommended to newbie lolitas at panels and online. However, as anyone can tell you, Bodyline is inconsistent at best: the quality is variable, the selection is arbitrary, and the design choices are sometimes more than a little questionable. This is complicated by the fact that Bodyline is often touted as a good option for plus size lolitas, despite having a limited selection with inconsistent measurements. Young newbies without financial independence may also feel the lure of Bodyline; it's easier to convince parents to buy from one weird, moderately priced site, rather than several more expensive weird places. Bodyline has lessened its lolita offerings in the recent past as well, to the point where I found myself asking if I could even build a wardrobe with in-stock Bodyline. Even if it's possible, would it be affordable?

Attack of the Noncommittal Colorways

Recently, there has been a personal attack on my taste, my style, and the very fiber of my being. This came in the form of Alice and the Pirates' 2021 wine dress Secret Adventure and the Winery of Happiness ", which has four colorways, none of which are black or wine. Furthermore, each colorway is desaturated and about the same level of brightness, falling into the category of what I am going to call "noncommittal colorways". 

Bibliotheca: J-Fashion as Self-Care

The Bibliotheca theme for August 2021 is self-care, which makes the perfect chance for me to talk about myself. J-fashion wasn't always my priority; in fact, like many lolitas my age, I only learned about it through anime conventions.

Ero and Old School: Forsaken Lolita Taxonomy

Last taxonomy post, I talked about themes, substyles, and lolita taxonomy, specifically with regards to nonsense-term 'bittersweet' and my beloved punk lolita. This post is about ero lolita and old school lolita, what categories they fall into, and how that might effect coordination of each. Like 'bittersweet',old school seems to be a term used primarily by anglophone lolitas. 

Bibliotheca: Polymer Clay Sweets Jewelry

Surprise! I've been accepted as a Bibliotheca blog circle member. Bibliotheca, created by the lovely lolitas at Bay Area Kei, is a way that bloggers can get in touch with readers and create a thriving community with meaningful, informative posts that other platforms just aren't designed for. Please be sure to check out everyone's hard work!

This month's theme is DIY, so I'm going to share some (mostly sweets-themed) polymer clay jewelry I've made recently, as well as my materials and process. First, though, let's dive into the history of sweets jewelry. Just note, a lot of my information is from Japanese Wikipedia, so it may not be perfectly accurate. 

Unemployment and the lolita community

 This is a mostly personal, text-only post, so I'll be putting it under a cut.

The Consolidation of Ouji

Even though I usually wear lolita these days, my first love in jfashion was ouji. Ouji is a vaguely masculine-leaning, often shorts-wearing counterpart to lolita; for more, read Stephano's Ouji Overview. But, as I grow forever older and grumpier, I've become skeptical of the 'ouji' label as an umbrella term. As any ouji can tell you, it's nearly impossible to find ouji stores or get multiple substyles in one place. 

Pride Month: Why is lolita so queer?

 As pride month comes to a close, it's time for a super special ~pride post~. As always, these are my personal thoughts, and not representative of the communities as a whole.

Lolitas are, undoubtedly, extremely gay. But why?

 

Summer ILD 2021: Becoming a Lolita

Today is International Lolita Day, the first Saturday in June, so it's the perfect time for me to write a little autobiography of my life in lolita. I've decided to put it under a cut because it's kind of boring.