How to be Comfortable in Lolita Fashion?

Both mainstream and alternative fashions have been appreciating comfort a lot more recently. Whilst athleisure and sportswear seems to be fashionable in the ‘real world’ once again, lolitas are reconnecting with casual looks again. We can see it through the frequent recurrence of the ‘do sneakers belong in lolita’ debate whenever someone posts an outfit with them. My question is: does lolita fashion really have to be uncomfortable to keep its elegant look? Or are we all just missing out on some obvious solutions or less obvious ‘hacks’?

Of course, comfort is related to a variety of factors. It would be unfair to paint them all with the same brush, since they affect one’s experience of wearing the fashion differently. So let’s tackle it all individually.

Comfort in Different Kinds of Weather

This seems to be the easiest one to address because it’s spoken about so often in lolita. How to wear it in very hot or very cold weather - that’s all about comfort. The layers involved in a coordinate mean that it’s easier to stay warm than to stay cool. It’s also easy to add extra hidden layers if you still feel cold. In hotter weather lighter fabrics and minimum layers will be your friend. But there are plenty of resources on that, so I better just link some. Here’s one for dressing for cold weather and one for dressing for hot weather (both done by lolitas living in climates that require those adjustments regularly).

Ankle socks are a hot weather staple. Partially mesh ones are also a little bit cooler. Find
what works for your body and your home climate, then use to to stay cute whilst beng comfy.

Comfort in Fit

Here is what so many lolitas still don’t realise - these clothes are not supposed to be uncomfortable. Just because it’s a big frilly dress and because Japanese brands’ only idea of size inclusivity is some elastic doesn’t mean that you should have to suffer when wearing one. It takes a while to find out which cuts you feel most comfortable in, mostly because the majority of us deal with long waiting times for our orders to arrive through the post, but it’s so worth the experimentation. Full body shirring is almost universally comfortable, as it allows the garment to adjust to your particular body shape. This makes things such as Meta’s fully shirred skirts or BtSSB’s Shirring Princess JSKs great when you want to avoid feeling restrained. Pay attention also to the cuts themselves. Do you enjoy the lesser pressure of sack OPs or high waist JSKs? Are you more at ease in round neckline blouses compared to high neck ones? Do you actually find it easier to walk in slight heels as opposed to completely flat shoes like tea parties? You know what feels good for your body, so follow that. With the plethora of brands across the world you are bound to find a cute option that fits your size and cut preferences.

This is a good example of an outfit that was comfortable to wear thanks to the fit. Both the JSK and the blouse are fully shirred, and the elastic on both is accommodating and doesn't pinch.

Comfort in Fabric

Part of this is purely sensory. While some materials will feel nice against your skin, some will not. Once you’ve gotten to know the brands and their fabrics, you’ll be able to identify the ones you like from photos and descriptions. Until then it is another one of the trial and error things. But there’s also a matter of what objective properties certain fabrics have. This can affect your comfort in different weather kinds (e.g. breathable vs non-breathable materials) and in fit (e.g. how much stretch it has). Cutsews are a great example of that. Even a fully shirred blouse will likely not be as comfortable as a cutsew, as the stretchier cutsew material naturally adapts to your body better without the need for elastic, which may dig in sometimes. Cutsew fabric is also soft as that blend is higher in cotton, which will breathe better and may feel nicer against your skin than majority of polyester chiffon fabrics.

The fabric of this top is wonderfully stretchy and cool, great when you don't want to be too
warm. The skirt, on the other hand, is pure sensory joy!

Comfort in Accessories

Sometimes it’s not the clothes themselves that create discomfort, but the accessories we adorn the outfits with. Again, some of this will be due to fit (e.g. a pinching headbow), though more often than not it’s a matter of wearing more than we normally do and/or the weight of them. If you’re not the type to wear lots of jewellery on a regular basis, adding necklaces and earrings, and bracelets, and rings will wear you out over the course of the day. Swapping to accessories made out of lighter materials can take some of the pressure away. However, if you don’t feel like taking the time to allow your body to get used to the extra items, consider which accessories do you really need for your outfit. Could you swap a tangle of colourful necklaces for one statement one? Is a chunky bracelet necessary when you already have wrist cuffs? Do you have a backpack to use instead of a handbag to distribute the weight a bit more evenly across your shoulders? When thinking about comfort of wear, your accessories can matter just as much as your clothes.

When I want to be comfortable whilst still cute, accessories are the last of my concerns. In
actual fact I will often forego a hairpiece and jewellery altogether, it simply requires
too much extra energy to even wear.

Comfort in Acceptance

Ultimately, no matter how many tweaks you do to make lolita fashion as comfortable as possible, this fashion still requires more energy to wear than the proverbial jeans and T-shirt. Once you get used to the feel of lolita clothes and accustomed to wearing it semi-regularly, they become less tiresome, although even then many of us are grateful to take our coords off at the end of a long day. There is a fine balance between a petticoat digging in and staying up without sliding, which can mean the difference between comfort and discomfort - and you can’t not have a petticoat if the outfit is to be lolita. It’s important to accept that a certain degree of effort and energy is required to wear this fashion, even in its most comfortable form. And allowing yourself enough rest time in between the outfits so as to not wear out your body too much.

You can have the most comfortable coordinate to keep you going all day and you will still be
happy to take it off and put on some pyjamas in the evening. What you can do is postpone how
soon you'll want to change out of your frills.

Final words

The above are very generic and overall tips. That’s because we’re all different and what might be comfortable for one could be horrible for another. We can see this, for example, whenever lolitas debate whether cotton or chiffon blouses are better for hot weather, as different people favour a different approach. Personally I find general comfort in cutsews, particularly the offbrand ones, as they are better suited to my body shape (taller and bustier than an average East Asian woman whom Japanese brands cater to). Over the years I’ve also learnt which cuts are both more flattering and more comfortable for me, which led to my getting more skirts, paying attention to waist seam placement/height and a certain dislike for high necklines (even though I still buy tops with it).

How about you? What are the tips that you’ve picked up over time to make lolita coordinates more comfortable to wear? Are there any particular factors that affect you more than others when it comes to comfort?