Is EGL Fashion Still E?

Look up definitions of the word “elegant” and what you’ll find points to things that are relatively conservative-leaning. They’ll talk about grace and being attractive in appearance, they’ll mention being refined and dignified, they’ll include the ideas of luxury and tastefulness in that, they’ll refer you to synonymous words such as stylish, beautiful, and sophisticated. Both now and in the past, our idea of elegance was shrouded in an aspirational spirit. It was something to strive for to match the occasion (think being a wedding guest) or even to elevate oneself to (as daily elegance was afforded to upper social classes more easily than the working ones). For all that the concept of elegance may be relatively achievable, since most visual representations of it that you’ll see lie in simplicity (“simple” being so often paired with “elegant” in all those SEO-optimised entries), societally it is an incredibly classist concept, rooted not just in timelessness, but in quality that is durable and therefore, costly.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels.

When the terms Elegant Gothic Lolita and Elegant Gothic Aristocrat were first being coined, you could see those values represented in the clothes themselves. Look through the first few issues of Gothic & Lolita Bible and you’ll find simpler silhouettes with tactically used details amongst all brand releases, even the sweet ones like BtSSB. That lolita fashion back in 2001 was borrowing a lot more from gothic was evident in how it looked then, aided by the state of textile technology at the time that hadn’t yet given us the prints that the fashion is known for now. Whether you consider that 2000s lolita fashion look gothic or not, it was certainly fair to call it elegant, even by mainstream fashion standards. 

Left to right: Maxicimam's Large Rose Print Torchon Lace JSK, BtSSB's Tartan Check JSK, and Moi-meme-Moitie's EGL-04027 JSK.
All photos from Lolibrary.org.

But what about now? Whilst more streamlined, sophisticated designs are certainly coming out of the gothic and classic brands, those aren’t the most representative examples of lolita fashion in 2025. And for all that our shadowban fighting is making many switch from using “lolita fashion” in favour of “EGL” or “EGL fashion”, is it still accurate to call it all elegant? Is Meta’s Frill JSK’s elegant the same as that of Atelier Pierrot’s Blessed Veil OP or as Sheglit’s Cross Strap JSK? How does AP’s Compact Toys series or BtSSB’s Sweetheart Parfaiteria series or even AatP’s Poseidon Chris fit into the idea of elegant? I think that if we are to be able to continually call every substyle of lolita fashion EGL, then we need to shift some definitions of “elegant” around.

Left to right: AP's Compact Toys JSK, BtSSB's Sweetheart Parfaiteria Scallop JSK, and AatP's Poseidon Chris JSK.
All photos from Lolibrary.org.

Whilst the EGL label, from what I see, is fine to remain as it is when referring to gothic lolitas (duh!) and classic, since they attempt to look traditionally elegant far more than cute, to use it in reference to sweet lolita feels like a bit of a stretch – in the context of all lolita fashion. When in contrast to mainstream fashion, all substyles of lolita, sweet included, embody some qualities that are encapsulated by elegance. With the self-explanatory exception of casual, lolita is a much more formal fashion than mainstream wear. Yes, sexy elegant exists, but for the most part even mainstream fashion considers elegance to be relatively demure, something which lolita fashion has plenty of in its core guidelines.

Moreover, sweet prints might not be the immediate first thing that comes to mind at the word “elegant”, but even the princessy solid-coloured cupcake dresses of today, whilst over the top, have that fairytale kind of elegance. Because it’s not always about clean silhouettes and minimal details – historical nobility, whose fashion lolita takes plenty of inspiration from, would certainly have a lot to say about the elegance of frills, laces, and adornments. It’s important to remember that whilst fashion influences can come from anywhere, one of EGL’s original inspirations were the Victorians and the French Rococo. That is an entirely separate understanding of the concept of elegance, one which has not survived the WWII fabric rationing and the subsequent rise of youth culture as the driving force of fashion as opposed to rich aristocracy. How both ironic and fitting that lolita fashion, inspired by clothes from a time when the rich aristocratic adults dictated what’s fashionable, is craved by the youths, yet afforded most easily by the adults of today.

Left to right: Meta's Eternal Bride JSK, Mengfuzi's Showa Doll JSK, AP's Sugar Wing JSK.
All photos from Lolibrary.org.

On the other hand, the nuances of 2025’s digital age have affected lolita fashion in ways that I think take it away from being “elegant”. For the majority of its wearers it remains a means of self-expression and part of community bonding. Lolitas gather, both in person and online, and the clothes are both our main subject of interest and a way to spot one of us in the wild. But there is no denying that against a sea of the mainstream, alternative fashions stand out and of the substyles that we have, sweet lolita is the most visible one. And there are some who are more interested in the performance potential that it offers than in the fashion itself. A bright pastel coord attracts attention, which may just be the hook that a content creator needs to win against the algorithm of their content platform of choice. Whilst this can still be a fun exploration of one’s individual style, it is anything but elegant, curated to attract attention first and feel authentic second. To me, whether you understand elegance through the dictionary definitions or the historical context, that kind of attitude simply doesn’t align with the concept. It isn’t inherently wrong nor does it make those acting like bad people. But it does make calling that EGL feel disingenuous.

Whilst there is an argument to be made here that elegance is as much about the behaviour as it is about the aesthetics, I won’t go into it. From the early days of lolita fashion we’ve been arguing that they’re just clothes with no bearing on your behaviour. Sure, if you want to act more elegantly, then do that at your own leisure. Equally, a dickhead in frills is still just a dickhead. Despite whatever impression the legacy of things such as The Princess Code may give, it doesn’t dictate how lolitas, individuals and as groups, act and to project the idea that your clothing should dictate your behaviour takes the whole fashion much closer to costume and dress-up play than fashion. Lolita fashion doesn’t inherently come with any predetermined behaviours or savoir vivre guides that you must follow in order to belong. Therefore, it isn’t the behaviours that make one an Elegant Gothic Lolita. In fact, I’d say that feigning elegance for the wrong reasons (to appear as better than others as opposed to being respectful towards others) is the exact opposite of what elegance is at its core.

Secret Honey's Disney dresses may be popular with lolitas, because the fashion attracts plenty of cosplayers, but we all know that they're not lolita.
Photo from Hana Castle Store.

Ultimately, the nature of language is that words change meaning or acquire new ones. It is the users of that language who determine how it’s used – it’s how grammatical forms that have been considered incorrect become acceptable. A language that stagnates is a dead one. The same applies to the idea of an Elegant Gothic Lolita. We understand that the term doesn’t exclude classic or sweet lolitas, having come from Japan, where the substyle divisions differ from those in the English-language communities. Why can’t the same be of the “elegant” part of that label? What’s elegant has changed, from the Rococo period to now and from the mainstream to the alternative. Whilst many EGL wearers still aspire to look elegant, it has been overtaken in the priority ranking by striving to look cute and to feel good and like oneself in those clothes. And in my opinion, since the elegance that we value the most as a society is one that is true to the individual, so long as lolitas find a way to use their frills to express themselves authentically, then regardless of their coord’s substyle – they are Elegant (Gothic) Lolitas.