The Relationship Between DIY and Lolita Fashion

July’s Bibliotheca is all about DIY. And whilst I thought about sharing some of the things I made/upcycled and have shared both tutorials and the ‘DIY show off’ posts in the past, it felt like a better time to look at the topic more broadly. Particularly as I don’t consider myself the most crafty person out there, but more of a hobbyist dabbler, dipping in and out of the various easy mode things.

Photo by Anete Lusina on Pexels.com

The early days of lolita fashion amongst the Western community were very focused on DIY. The inaccessibility of clothes and accessories directly from Japan meant that this was the only way for lolitas outside of Japan to participate in the fashion. And whilst so many of the tutorial links are dead, the extent of the library of tutorials on both EGL Livejournal and other blogs was encouraging - it was a way to say that anyone could wear this fashion rather than making anyone face an ultimatum.

I myself had joined when lolita was already a lot easier to get a hold of in the West, so I never had much need for DIY. I’ve always been a hobbyist DIY dabbler, getting into a certain thing for a while before drifting away from it, never really mastering anything in particular. As a young teen I had a phase of handsewing patterns in sequins onto T-shirts, which were wonky and very ‘of their time’ in design (there were some good things about the cusp of the 90s and the 00s), but I enjoyed the process and the creative outburst they provided. These days I’ve had ebbs and flows of embroidery, sewing lace onto things, making simple accessories that required little more than hot glue… Of the DIY projects I’ve taken up, making bracelets is the one I’m most consistent in sticking to because of how inexpensive, simple and quick it is, allowing me full control of how I fill whatever wardrobe gaps I might have.

Every single one of these is handmade. And most of them get a lot of use, so bracelets are a very high payoff DIY thing for me for very minimal effort.

Part of me sees that handmade and DIY things never left our community. From skilled professionals to fellow DIY amateurs, from hobbyists to those turning their skills into shops and indie brands, DIY is still a prominent thing within lolita fashion. My own comm has often enjoyed the more relaxed crafting meetups, both in person and online, whether it was a ‘bring your own project’ thing or making something together. The spirit of making things yourself and accepting that this is a legitimate way to be a part of lolita fashion carries on, though people have definitely gotten stricter over the quality of materials than they had been based on some of the old tutorials that I have seen.

At the same time, as a wider community we really have moved quite far from where we started. Not having the exact accessory we want is more commonly met with offers to search on Taobao or suggestions of indie brands who specialise in that sort of thing than with links to tutorials. There isn’t a thing that can’t be purchased these days, it’s only a question of price. I can’t help but feel that this environment contributes to what newcomers view as an exclusionary or even elitist space, as the talks of ‘This person can make that for you’ and ‘You could get that here’ drowns out much of the genuine admiration that we still have for quality handmade items. Just like concrit on outfits can sometimes fall on deaf ears, misunderstood for cattiness, so can concrit on DIY where comments on the quality of items is mistaken for snobbiness and arrogance.

My most recent upcycling project, though the bow clip was taken from a blouse. I've made this hat shorter and added the lace and ribbon, and whilst it's not perfect, it's good enough for my needs.

I sincerely doubt that we will ever see a complete separation of DIY from J-fashion. For one, as a community we rely all too much on independent creators for items for our coords, from little bits like jewellery, headpieces and wrist cuffs to larger ones like blouses, underskirts and even main pieces. Between that and how much of an outlet for creativity lolita fashion is, some of which comes not only from how individual items are put together but also from creating custom elements. And once in-person big events make a comeback, that creativity is bound to come out in the form of people making their own pieces to execute that vision that’s spent a year and half now (or even more) to see the light of day and be admired by others.

However, do I think that DIY will come back into J-fashions such as lolita to the same degree of pervasiveness as we’ve seen in the beginnings? No, not within the global North where it really is easier and cheaper to save up for a ready-made item than it is to make it yourself. With some exceptions, as always, though committing to making one’s own things appears to remain committed to the communities and individuals for whom DIY is still necessary if they are to afford to participate. And I hope that wherever those people are, whatever community they join or whatever online space they enter, they are met with the kindness and understanding that lolitas had when DIY was everyone’s standard back in the day. Just because shopping from Taobao is cheap for one person doesn’t mean that it will be so for another - or that they want to go down that route.