My Lolita inspirations
Partly because of how I got into Lolita, and partly because of how passionate I am about all my other interests, I think that I don't always follow the usual Lolita style patterns. Yes, I feel comfortable classing myself as a sweet Lolita (with plenty of princess Lolita influences - I'm an ama* with love for drama!), but I like incorporating other themes or styles into it, as well as being a bit creative esecially with how I accessorize my coords. So I thought about writing a little bit about the other things that inspire my Lolita style and fashion choices. I'm not really hoping to achieve anything with it, just share a few things that I enjoy and that inspire me.
* ama - short for amai, which is Japanese for "sweet"
Lady V's Cream Cupcake Hepburn Dress (which I happen to own)
Burlesque
I probably love burlesque just as much as I love vintage fashion. The two entered my life simultaneously and are inseparable to me. In fact, I got into both vintage and Lolita fashion specifically because I wanted to have some appropriately fabulous clothes to attend burlesque shows in. What burlesque has enchanted me with is the glamour and the sparkle, but also the incredible attention to detail that the performers pay to their costumes. I usually sit close enough to the stage to actually see all the details, down to individual rhinestones and tassels, which only makes me marvel at them more (that is whenever I'm not distracted by how sparkly those costumes are). And again, it's not as if that concept is foreign to Lolita - the lace, the buttons, the frills, the print, everything goes together perfectly in a piece of Lolita clothing and nothing is out of place.
Eliza DeLite, one of my favourite burlesque performers
Irish dancing
I fell in love with Irish dancing around the time I was 4 years old. I still remember the first time I watched The Lord of the Dance on a VHS tape at my grandparents' place - it was magic. The rhythm and the precision of the step dancing, and the grace and otherworldliness of soft shoe routines, I still get goosebumps just thinking about it. Later I discovered the world of competitive Irish dancing - and the world of their costumes. As pretty as the dresses in The Lord of the Dance were, what dancers competing at World Championships wear nowadays is just as spectacular as the costumes of burlesque dancers. Again, for me it's mostly to do with the fact that they sparkle with rhinestones as if they were covered in magic dust. Except that with Irish dancing dresses it's also the adorable shape, which sometimes comes quite close to the dress shapes seen in Lolita (just a lot shorter). And the colours! They're so vibrant and lively, just the colours make me want to get up and do a jig. If I ever find a way to really merge Irish dancing and Lolita dresses, I'll be so, sooo happy.
An example Irish dancing dress
Drag
This one is a relatively new interest of mine, but since I started watching RuPaul's Drag Race, I can't stop. I love everything about it, from the drama TV that it is, to the larger than life personality that drag queens have. In fact, I feel like everything has to be bigger for a drag queen to be successful: bigger hair, bigger dresses, bigger lashes, bigger attitude. Very often the outfits that they have/create are incredibly sparkly (can you see a theme yet?), but I've also seen plenty of sugary dreams of sweet Lolitas (like Alaska Thunderfuck's candy floss dress below). The sky is the limit - which is what I love about both drag and Lolita.
Alaska Thunderfuck's candy floss dress - made using real sweets! Now that's a sweet Lolita dream come true!
Bollywood
Years ago I was very much into Indian cinema. I still like it, but I don't watch it as much as I used to, though I still listen to the music and love watching the dance clips. But it's the fashion, the more traditional one or one inspired by traditional Indian clothing, as well as the dancing, that stole my heart. As you can probably guess, it's because of the colours and the sparkle, I love that about it (as well as the intense emotions in the films and the songs). So far I've only seen one Lolita dress series that was anywhere near that area of the world (AatP's Sheherazade ~ One Thousand and One Nights series), but I think there's a lot more that could be incorporated into it, from the intricate patterns on saris to the cut of some of those puff-sleeve blouses and jewellery. Bollywood is so OTT, but there's room for that in Lolita too. And I love my OTT!
Deepika Padukone in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela
No comments: