Why is Oldschool Lolita so Nostalgic?

I had been thinking about it recently, as I watch more and more people pursue what we now know as oldschool as their primary lolita style. What got me in particular is that although I didn’t even become aware of lolita fashion until 2010 – by which point it was firmly in the OTT Sweet craze – looking at oldschool pieces and coords still makes me feel nostalgic. It should be impossible, I never actually witnessed the early lolita style we now call odschool, so let me share a couple of thoughts on this.

It takes us to a simpler time

Lolita fashion in the noughties was slightly more ‘messy’, for lack of a better word. Nowadays we take matching colours and themes (or at least substyles) pretty seriously, but that wasn’t the case back then. Black platforms with pastel dresses were commonplace (a more direct Alice in Wonderland inspiration perhaps?) and a certain degree of mismatch was normal, as people made do with what they had. Also, when you think about the hair and makeup back in the 2000’s, even in the West it was a lot simpler compared to now – blending was something that only makeup artists knew and slightly frizzy, spikey hair was what you saw in all teen magazines. Looking at oldschool lolita reminds us both of those simpler looks and to have fun with what you wear. Just like a sweet you had often as a child or seeing a certain film can bring back childhood nostalgia.

This here is some very early lolita, but it's a great example of that 'make do' attitude
that resulted in some mismatch: socks that were most likely from a normie shop,
pieces that match but aren't coordinated to the T, smaller poof. It's cute, just in a
way that we wouldn't necessarily wear today.
Image found via Pinterest, I do ot own.

Kamikaze Girls

For many of us it’s a favourite film. Regardless of whether Momoko was the one who introduced you to lolita fashion or not, when looking at oldschool coordinates, you will probably think of her and that will bring some happy memories. Not only that, since Momoko was living the dream, whilst at the same time being painfully removed from it (middle-of-nowhere village, weird family life, daydreaming about a time long gone etc.), it is easy for us to relate, as we dream of that lolita lifestyle while our own daily realities are often far from kawaii. For me the nostalgia that this film triggers also relates to my time in Japan, as I look at the familiar backgrounds and little things that aren’t mundane and daily in the UK. 

Both Momoko's coords and that rich shade of green that only rice paddies in summer have give me tonnes of nostalgia!
Image from the film, I do not own.

The history of each piece

Even though I don’t wear oldschool lolita myself, I do own a couple of pieces that are certainly from that era. I believe my oldest main piece hails back from 2007, which means it is already 12 years old – and more importantly, still in remarkable shape! Holding a garment that has been taken care of for so long and which was made during those early days, when lolita fashion finally started resembling what it is today, is incredibly humbling. And more so, to think of the journey that an individual piece makes before making it to you – how many hands has it been in, how many miles did it travel in its lifetime, what kinds of meetups it may have been worn for etc. – that definitely makes me feel very nostalgic.

One of my 2007 release pieces and it still looks basically brand new. It's been well loved until now and I will make sure that if I ever need to let it go, it goes to someone who will also give it a loving home.

It *may* have been the first kind of lolita I saw

Now this isn’t something I can be absolutely sure of, hence I’m putting it last. As I’ve said in the past, the first time I saw lolita fashion was on my sempai at university, who was a daily lolita at the time. For the life of me, I do not know what was the dress she wore when I first met her – however, I do remember that it was pink, very frilly and definitely not printed. As that was 2010, this would make it quite likely that it was something oldschool in style, even if the details may have been more modern (like lace and other trims). She no longer wears lolita to the best of my knowledge and I wish that I could find some pictures of her from around that time just for me to look at. However, still when I see a pink x white oldschool lolita coordidnate, it brings me back to those first days at university when everything was wonderful and I was all star struck (and before reality of my university hit me in the face like a shovel).

While what I remember my sempai wearing was much poofier, with more
ruffles and more princessy than this, it's certainly a style that makes me
think of her.
Image found via Pinterest, I do not own.

All of this coming from someone who doesn’t wear oldschool and wasn’t in the fashion when oldschool was the only kind of lolita available… Do you feel the same way about this style? Do you wear it? How does it make you feel? Or maybe you’ve been around in the fashion since those early days and continue wearing oldschool? What about it makes you feel nostalgic, if anything? What is the oldest piece that you own? Let’s see what lolita antiques we can find between ourselves! 

1 Dress 4 Looks Take 26

I can’t actually remember why I ended up buying this Sailor Tiered skirt from Metamorphose. I remember that I bought it via Wunderwelt and it being under 5000 JPY (which I remember because I wanted to use a discount code that had a minimum spend of 5000 JPY), but that’s about it. The simplicity of the design and fully shirred waist were probably what attracted me to it, though, other than the price, of course. And since its purchase it has been a very versatile addition to my wardrobe, one that I often wear casually whenever the mood strikes. So far you’ve seen me wear it on this blog three times, in outfits from December 2017, July 2018 and February this year, but that is far, faaar from exhausting the possibilities for this skirt, so let’s see some more!

Look 1: Sailor

| Fi.n.t. cutsew | Hell Bunny cardigan | Innocent World Anchor OTKs | Imperial Fiddlesticks
headbow | Two Days Slow bow clip | offbrand shoes, beret and necklace |

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way, shall we? It’s a sailor skirt, so it’s only appropriate to do a sailor look with it. And now that I have not only a sailor collar cardigan, but a top too, I am no longer restricted to wearing my sailor looks on cooler days. Nothing more to say about this, really.

Look 2: Vintage Lady

| Infanta Swan Lake blouse | MuFish tights | Innocent World brooch | offbrand shoes | vintage hat |

Now this skirt is primarily sweet, however, as it’s such a simple design, I wanted to show that it could work very well for classic. (In case my very last worn look didn’t show that clearly enough.) And I also really wanted to use that hat because I don’t wear it enough and it’s super cute. The more I think about it, the more I feel like an all white/cream coord with blue or red accents is also becoming very me.

Look 3: Casual Sweet

| Metamorphose Crown Label cutsew | Metamorphose hair clip and shoes | Angelic Pretty wrist
cuffs | Madillustration brooch | offbrand beret and socks |

I was torn whether to go for a more complete coordinate or for a mono-brand one. In the end I went with the former, since it looks a little bit better on a photo. If this was to be a coord using only items from Metamorphose, I’d have to take away the beret, brooch and wrist cuffs and replace the socks for my Heart Ladder Lace OTKs. Which would still be nice, but it wouldn’t feel like a complete and balanced outfit like this one does. And I actually still haven’t worn this cutsew since I got it (mainly because on me it falls shorter than I’d like and I feel a bit self-conscious, but the sleeves aren’t big enough for most JSKs), so I’m trying to make up for it by showing it off in something that’s actually a nice coord.

Look 4: Something Different

| offbrand cutsew, shoes and bracelets | Angelic Pretty Salon de The Rose OTKs | Sweet Dreamer
headbow | Enchantlic Enchantilly necklace |

This is honestly the best description for this look. As I was laying these coordinates out, I felt like I’d just been redoing things I’ve done with this skirt before. Or things that would be pretty obvious for me to do. So I wanted to do something different, my eyes fell on these socks, I remembered the cutsew – and the rest is here. And honestly? I quite like it. It’s fun, it’s cute, very spring-like, so hopefully when the weather warms up I’ll be able to wear this out somewhere. And it’s lavender, which you don’t get to see on this blog a lot. If that’s not something different, then I’ve no idea what is.

And there you have it, four looks with this versatile skirt. That is still barely scratching the surface of possible combinations, I had at least 4 other looks written down on paper that I haven’t gone for in the end. But that’s ok, I wear this skirt a lot casually, so I’ll get round to those coords eventually.

Pre-Japan Haul Unboxing

So my hand slipped a little on that 'Place Order' button. We've all made mistakes, let's not dwell on that and just move on. In any other circumstances this would've been a sensible haul of very versatile and much needed items, so let's focus on that instead.

An Evening of Burlesque

When I started wearing lolita, going to my local burlesque night was my main occasion to dress up. Yes, by lolita standards I was very ita, but I was also a lone (lol)ita and it was between like 2011 and 2013, so I feel like I got away with it. I still go to that same burlesque show, however now I take pride in dressing in proper lolita, just with a retro spin on it.

| Innocent World Revival Sweet Teddybear JSK | Lady Sloth crop blouse | Innocent World Organdy Bow Rose clip | MuFish tights | Sosic Shop heels | vintage necklace |

You can sort of see my beehive bump. Practicing for that hime lolita hairdo!

When putting this outfit together I realised that I’ve paired it with red a few times already. I gotta try some of my more experimental looks with this print, though for a burlesque night and retro vibes, red was the best choice. Since the weather was absolutely awful, I skipped my go-to curly hairstyle for an attempt at a more 60’s style beehive, which can withstand strong winds a little bit better.

For the first time in my entire history of going to The Wet Spot Leeds I had a ride both ways – no public transport with other peasants, I could be a classy lady! All as I was actually introducing a good friend of mine to the joy that is the world of burlesque and she offered to drive us both ways.

Our first stop was actually a quick dinner at a Thai place in Leeds called Mommy Thai. I sort of noticed it, but not well enough to remember what it was called and certainly never tried it until that night. However, I am now hopelessly in love with their coconut rice. Oh my, delicious does not even cover it, it was utterly divine! 10/10 would eat again and I would love to eat there more often as well!

Loved the decor with all the famous film posters in Thai, it gave it a very street food joint vibe.

The Thai restaurant near my house has a much better green curry, but that coconut rice was to die for!

Then we headed for our night out. The Wet Spot is genuinely one of the best burlesque shows in the country, if not the world. Even if you don’t know the acts, you are guaranteed that they’ll be world class, often award-winning and fan favourites. I was ecstatic that one of my ultimate favourite acts, Fancy Chance, was back as I hadn’t seen her since, oh wow, one of the first few shows I’ve ever seen? I like funny performers and her sense of humour has me cracking every time – if you’re curious, just do yourself a favour and YouTube some of her numbers, you won’t regret it (Alice in Wonderland or Star Trek ones are particularly great and very quintessential of her style).

The show is going back to its roots of doing one show every three months, having been a
monthly thing for a long time. As long as it carries on though, I'm happy!

 

There is a great sense of satisfaction to know both that this little tradition of me dressing up in lolita to burlesque continues. A full circle, from ita to lolita, with more dress up opportunities still to come. Do you have a place that you dressed up for or to at the beginning of your journey in this fashion? Do you still go there, is it even still there? If you don’t, would you go back there in frills for nostalgia’s sake?

Why Do You Think Photoshoots Have Been So Big in Lolita

Some things become very popular amongst lolitas to do. Afternoon tea is one of them, but taking pictures is just as big, if not bigger. Interestingly though, this involves both taking pictures ourselves, like selfies and outfit shots, but also photoshoots. And in this week’s Lolita Blog Carnival prompt we are looking as to why photoshoots became such a big part of this fashion.

I think the first and most obvious reason is that photoshoots are a part of fashion in general. Fashion magazines love a good artsy photoshoot to advertise next season’s clothing. Lolita is no different. From GLB and Girlism to Angelic Pretty mooks, the magazines we have still include some gorgeous staged and posed shots to showcase upcoming releases in the most artistically pleasing way. Indie brands aren’t far behind too and I particularly enjoy looking at photoshoots by I Do Declare and Lady Sloth. That’s how advertising works and we like looking at pretty images that tell us a story about the clothes just as much as we love looking at the detail shots that give us all the info we need on a piece.

However, this goes further than just advertising. We, regular wearers of lolita fashion, like to do photoshoots just as much, even though we’re not selling the clothes. Fashion is a creative outlet, so just like creators often tell a story through the garments, their wearers also communicate through what they wear. Just like some people express themselves through music or poetry, lolitas do so through their clothes and capturing a particular mood or inspiration on a photograph is a form of creativity.

On the whole, due to it being a fashion, lolita is highly visual. The best way to convey that something is lolita in the fashion sense is through visuals, since you need to see the silhouette and the detail (you could also experience it through touch, but that’s much less common). And I think this goes equally for the model in front of the camera as it does for the photographer. Regardless of who does the vision for a particular photoshoot belong to, it is ultimately a form of visual art that works well with an eye-catching fashion such as lolita.

This post ended up being very short and sweet. Just to prove that I can do those too, haha! What do you think about this prompt? Do you think there are any other reasons why photoshoots are so big in our fashion? Particularly interested to hear from those who may have done a lolita photoshoot or who may have been into the fashion long enough to witness this trend develop. As always, make sure to read what the other bloggers have to say on this topic and thank you for reading.

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