The Newbie's Guide to Lolita Fashion: Part one - What is Lolita

If you're reading this, I'm going to assume two things: 1. You don't know much about Lolita fashion. 2. You want to know more.
Well you've come to the right place! This will be an easy to understand guide filled with everything a newbie should know.

First: What is Lolita fashion? Before we dive into this, I'd like to explain what it isn't -

Lolita is not a fetish, costume, age-play or anything else but a real fashion style. Some Lolitas like to live a Lolita Lifestyle ( Which I will explain in another part of this guide ) but that is not required to be a Lolita, nor is anything else such as a particular attitude required to be a Lolita - all you need is the clothing!
Lolita fashion also has nothing to do with the novel Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov. Here are some other misconceptions about Lolita fashion.

Now to explain what it is.

Lolita fashion is a subculture that began as a street fashion in Japan sometime in the 1980s, taking its inspirations from the Victorian era, the Rococo period and the look of Visual Kei bands. It has grown in popularity and evolved quite a lot since it first began and there are now Lolitas all over the world.

Since Lolita is a very unique fashion, there are a set of guidelines as to what is and isn't Lolita. Click here to see what exactly makes up a Lolita outfit. Though that is basically what a Lolita outfit is, there are many different types of Lolita, and while all of them are different they all share their similarities, mainly the poofy skirt or dress, a certain amount of elegance, femininity and Victorian/Rococo inspirations.

Those are the very basics about the fashion, the next part to this guide will be on How to Become a Lolita. In the meantime, here are some very informative places to go to learn even more about Lolita fashion!

Lolita fashion.org

Lolita fashion's Wikipedia page

The Lolita fashion Wiki

Lolita Handbook