Finding the time for Lolita

If you're like me, then a lot of your daily activities require more practical clothing than the frills and poof that make up Lolita fashion. Exercising, chores and sometimes even shopping cannot be done while wearing Lolita. What's a Rufflebutt to do? When can one ever find the time to feel like a princess in such a busy world?

Hopefully this will help.

Tone it down a little...or a lot.

Casual Lolita or simply wearing a nice blouse with a good pair of jeans are better than no Rori at all and can still make you feel cute. Add some adorable accessories if your time and activities will allow them, even just a cute necklace with otherwise normal clothing can make your day a little brighter.

Paint your nails

Paint them, decorate them or just put on fake nails. This simple touch ( hopefully ) won't be too time consuming and will make any outfit, no matter how casual, cuter.

Wear Lolita when you go shopping or to church

It may seem silly to get all dressed up just to go shopping or to wear something like Lolita to church, but I must admit that I enjoy doing these things. If you don't feel comfortable in full out Lolita, you could always tone it down or just wear some cute accessories instead. Depending on what church you might attend, it might not be accepted as much as it should be ( especially Gothic Lolita, unfortunately, with the stereotypes surrounding Goth ) but you really should think about trying it out. I wear Lolita very frequently to church or at least something cute and I always get kind reactions to it and I hope it works out that well for you too! It will also make you look forward to each coming Sunday and being able to wear your frills out.

Wear a nightgown to bed

If you can't find the time to wear Lolita during the day, you can still wear something frilly and beautiful at night, even if it's just to bed.

Plan when to wear Lolita

 If all else fails, just make some space in your schedule to wear Lolita for a day. You could plan to go out for a  nice walk at the park, or you could just stay at home and rest in your favorite dress. 

What is most important to remember is that you don't have to wear Lolita all the time, so don't feel bad if you don't have time to wear it today or even just don't feel like it. Just have fun when you do have the time to wear it!

Casual Guro Lolita?

Guro Lolita is a somewhat rare sub-style of Lolita, usually used as a costume for Halloween, at an anime convention or worn for a photo shoot. I have yet to hear of a Lolita who wears Guro Lolita on a regular or daily basis.

( Above and below images from HelloLace )

This unique style certainly does look like somewhat like a costume ( one could argue that Lolita fashion itself can look like a costume to someone who doesn't know anything about it, but anyway... ) and might not be the most practical thing to wear regularly, but could it be made to be a bit more suitable for your everyday life? Well, let's find out!

The fake blood is the first thing that not only makes this style look somewhat costume-like, but perhaps a bit scary to strangers and younger children especially. It is usually a big thing of what makes Guro Lolita, well, Guro Lolita, but no one says you need a lot of it or even any fake blood at all. Eyepatches, bandages, band-aids and other such accessories will still keep with the broken doll look and will be a little less scary.

White is the usual color for Guro Lolita, but it isn't the only color you can wear. A deep red might look nice if you want to go for the style but spare the fake blood, or why not try mixing styles to create something like Gothic Guro Lolita? Practice mixing and matching until you find something that works, it's more fun that way!

Though eyepatches and arm slings may look great with your co-ordinate, they can get in the way of everyday life. Try to choose accessories that won't impair your movements!

The point of Guro Lolita is usually to look like a broken or injured doll, a good way to do that is to carry around something like a teddy bear. Some Lolitas don't like doing this as they feel it's too childish and that's fine, but if you want to, then a stuffed animal purse is a good accessory as it's both functional and stylish! You could dress it up a bit to match the Guro Lolita style, putting bandages on it and such.

Have fun experimenting everyone!  :) 

I Dare You

To use a term from Elementary school, I double-dog-dare you to be creative with your Lolita style.

I love the styles we already have, Classic, Gothic, Sweet, Kuro, Guro, you name it. Lolita has a style for every girl. Or is that so? It's true that Lolita fashion is very varied, but it's also true that it could be more varied. Lolita has some very unique styles, which is why it surprises me that sometimes when someone wants to try something new with the style, their ideas are shot down. "No, that could never work with Lolita, don't even bother trying it!" I'm sure this is what some people thought of Punk Lolita before it gained popularity.

So, I dare you to make your own style. I'm not saying you shouldn't wear what's already been invented of course, but why not be creative? You don't have to get it perfect the first time, you don't even have to post pictures of it online, just do it for you.

Or instead of creating your own style, why not wear one you've never tried before because you've been too afraid? If you love Sweet Lolita but are past your 20's, why not try it on anyway? Even if you aren't Asian, who says you can't wear Wa Loli? Even if someone has said you can't wear it, who cares?

My point is, if we shouldn't care about what other people think about how we dress, shouldn't that include other Lolitas? Of course you should listen to constructive criticism, but at the end of the day, how you dress is up to you. Not even other Lolitas have the right to tell you "No, you can't wear that.".

Tips on Looking Like a Doll

There are a lot of different looks you can go for while wearing Lolita. You could wish to look like a princess, a Victorian, or of course - a doll. Here are some tips that should help you achieve the look of a cute little doll!

 Beauty tips

• Use fake eyelashes and eyeliner, if you can then also use circle lenses, try to make your eyes look as big as possible.
• Try to make your skin look flawless. Use concealer for any blemishes and for dark circles under your eyes and use foundation if you need it.
• Having pale skin does help the porcelain look, but don't worry about it if you don't have pale skin. If you do and wish to keep it that way, use plenty of sunscreen and carry a parasol to keep the sun off of your face!
• Use some light pink blush for your cheeks - use too much blush and you'll end up looking more like a clown than a doll.
•  For your hair try having nice straight bangs and curls at the ends of your hair or buy a wig in that style. Pigtails with curls also will add to the look.
• Keep your nails trimmed properly. A french manicure or just some clear nail polish is always great.

Style tips

• Wear bonnets! These accessories are, in my opinion, even more doll-like than wearing headbows. You can find one to match your Lolita style or make one to match your Lolita style.
• Try Classic or Sweet Lolita. While all styles of Lolita have their doll-like qualities, in my opinion these two have the most. 
• For shoes, Mary Janes are the best! Wear them with knee-high socks with lace.
• For Classic Lolitas, big fancy Lolita hats, especially ones with roses, work wonderfully for a doll look.

How to be Original in Lolita

So, you'd like to add a dash of your own personality and uniqueness to your Lolita coordinates? Fantastic! Here's some tips to help you do it.

Do: 

• Keep a Lolita silhouette.
• Make sure your colors match.
• Make sure everything else matches, too. 
• Try not to get too crazy, originality is great but you still want your co-ordinate to be easily recognizable as being Lolita.
• Plenty of research. Gain as much knowledge about Lolita fashion as possible and it will be even easier to create your own style. 
• Keep in mind that some Lolitas may dislike your co-ordinate and be open to positive criticism. 
• Try to make your outfit look as nice as possible, put effort into it. Laziness just doesn't look good.

Don't: 

• Try to be completely unique and original. There is a certain point at which breaking too many of the "rules" makes your outfit just not Lolita anymore. It's okay to break one or two as long as you still keep the Lolita silhouette. 
• Try to be unique with your first Lolita outfit. You wouldn't try to create your own recipe while you have little cooking experience and barely any ingredients, would you? Same here, chances are if you have only just gotten your first Lolita outfit, you don't have the means or the experience to make it "original". Get the hang of it first and wait until you have more clothes to experiment with. 
• Break all the rules for the sake of breaking all the rules. Understand that they are only there to keep Lolita fashion being the fashion that it is instead of turning into something else. 

For the Everyday Lolita

Who doesn't want to look like a doll or a princess or even just dress up a bit every day?
But sometimes, it's just not practical to go OTT. So I thought I'd put together a few tips on how to go a bit more casual for the everyday Lolita.

Since school is starting again, I thought I'd mention that if you are in school and want to wear Lolita to school, these tips might be helpful to you, however you should always check with your school rules to make sure Lolita is appropriate before wearing it to school! If it isn't appropriate or you simply don't want to wear full out Lolita, you might like to simply add a bit of Lolita to your everyday look. Some good ways to do this would just be to wear a cutsew with some jeans, or just wear a Lolita skirt with no petticoat and a nice shirt or blouse. An example of a good cutsew appropriate for school -

Shoes are also something you may want to think about. Heels probably wouldn't be preferable to wear to school, but some nice, simple flats would look very cute. Socks can be anything you would normally wear that would go with your outfit. As for accessories, any Lolita jewelry will probably do, but the giant head eating bows probably won't, so you might want to opt for smaller ones or just some cute hair clips.

Moving on, now for my tips on a somewhat more casual Lolita.

The Shoes

It's not really the most comfortable thing in the world to walk around in high heels all day. Trust me, I've tried. And as cute as they can be, they aren't always the shoes you want. There are lots of cute flats out there or shoes with less of a heel and sometimes they can even be found at normal stores. Make sure they fit you correctly though, or they won't be more comfortable than heels after all. I also have a pair of boots that are extremely comfortable from a normal store, so that might be something you want to try too, if it suits you.

Petticoats

Sometimes one petticoat is actually all you may need or want, perhaps two at the most, but multiple petticoats are just not very comfortable some days. If you plan on wearing Lolita every day, only one or two petticoats might be preferable.

Tops

This includes blouses, cardigans cutsews and coats. Blouses are beautiful, but you might want to save the more expensive ones for special occasions to ensure that they remain as nice and pretty as when you bought them, other blouses you can just wear everyday, or even just wear cutsews or sometimes even nice shirts you can find at normal stores. Cardigans come in handy during cooler but not winter weather, plus you can wear them with a normal shirt to give it a more elegant touch. I'm not talking about ratty old t-shirts however, so just use your judgement on what tops will go with Lolita or not. Hint - not the ones with holes in them. 

On the subject of coats, they tend to be rather expensive when it comes to Lolita, even some from Bodyline can be over your budget, it might be worth the investment however, and there are some cute hoodies from normal stores that can work well with Lolita and are more casual than Lolita coats. Here is a hoodie from Alice and the Pirates, for example -

Socks

Knee-high socks are adorable, but sometimes not always practical, and especially in warm weather. It's usually pretty easy to find Lolita appropriate socks or tights from normal stores, ankle socks are sometimes the best choice for warm weather.

Hair Accessories

The giant bow is not necessary. It's absolutely fine if you like it, but it might not be very good to wear everyday for some people, such as myself. In fact, I don't even own a giant bow. Bows are very easy to make, in fact I am considering making a tutorial on how I myself make the bows I wear, so I find they are the perfect everyday accessory. Mini top hats might also be good for everyday if you like them, or headdresses and even bonnets. Giant bonnets might not be so good for everyday use, half bonnets however might be your thing. Sometimes though, I don't even feel like wearing a bow, just a simple, cute hair clip is enough for those days, and they are easy to find anywhere. In fact, you can find any nice hair accessory basically anywhere. 

Hairstyles

Curling your hair everyday is just going to damage it. You can just wear your hair down with a cute accessory or put it up in something simple, like pigtails. A ponytail is generally frowned upon though.

Purses

Purses are another easy to find item, and you may even be able to make them. I've seen many adorable purses that can go well with Lolita, Claires is a good place to look. I wouldn't recommend carrying around expensive brand purses everywhere, unless you want to of course, because they are probably going to get beat up and damaged and not look nearly as nice as when you first purchased them. Purses are probably going to take a heavy beating if you use them everyday, so pick something cheap but nice and durable. 

Accessories

One of my favorite things about Lolita, the accessories! Basically you can choose any Lolita accessory as long as it isn't going to start to annoy you after awhile. To much jewelry might however, so I would keep it limited to a few, nice items.

So there are the tips I have for you on wearing Lolita everyday, I hope they were helpful! 

Also, since school is starting I am more busy lately, but I will definitely still try and post frequently.

Love, Amelia Jane.