To Boldly Frill at a Time of Safe Bets
It’s such a current word right now, isn’t it? And so relevant to lolita fashion because of its roots. If it weren’t for a bunch of young Japanese women who defiantly did their own thing instead of conforming to what was expected of them, then we’d probably all be in a very different hobby and community right now.
But is that defiance warranted these days? The most that we get to see it in lolita communities is online lolitas defiantly calling an elitist anyone who tells them not to buy something questionable and makes a suggestion of saving up. And even as many of us recognise and actively choose this look in the face of what is considered fashionable or attractive in the mainstream, very few of us wear frills out of a strong sense of Eff You to the society at large. Are we even defiant anymore? Do we need to be?
I think so, on both accounts. In significantly smaller ways, nonetheless we are. Defiance and spite are incredibly powerful motivators for the right people, many of whom end up being the driving forces for new looks in fashion. These days I see lolitas boldly wear items that were previously considered ugly or undesirable, from ita bags to Marble’s lace monsters. Big events and special occasions, as well as the need for visibility if you want more than mere crumbs of the social media algorithm, push people to try out looks that don’t fit the typical lolita coord ticklist and come out with something fun and fresh. And actually, the need for comfort is as big of a driver for defiance, with people swapping pinching tea parties for flexible sneakers and ditch layers that aren’t practical for the weather whilst retaining style.
We live in times when, whilst it can still be a marker of social status, fashion is also so much more about play than it was historically for most. Whether as means of creative expression or a no-buy necessity, I see more and more people play with their coords, sticking a metaphorical middle finger up to the rules. Of course, individual ideas fail or they don’t match another individual’s tastes – that’s fine, that’s part of the deal. That doesn’t make the attempts any less valid.
To get even more macro about it, as the world gets eerily more conservative in response to the events unfolding on the global stage, it is the few souls who still choose artistic expression and non-conformism that help us hold onto our defiance. You might have a strict dress code for work – but no-one can stop you from wearing Angelic Pretty socks under your work trousers or a Moitie necklace under your shirt. You might not look forward to relatives questioning your life choices over dinner, so you choose to misdirect their attacks towards the choice of clothes you make to earn yourself some peace from the Big Questions. You might even be blocking more creeps on a dating app than you ever wanted to see – but by defiantly sharing your EGL pictures you know that the long game will result in someone who won’t try to stifle your individuality out of their own insecurities or need for control.
Small acts of disruption accumulate. And you are part of that by choosing to engage in a fashion that by all mainstream standards is simply outlandish, whether you realise the impact of that decision or not.
Is lolita fashion defiant? Duh. It always has been. Continue this noble tradition whenever and wherever you can.
This brief opinion post was brought to you by Bibliotheca's theme of Defiance. For all of my Capricorn instincts to be contrarian, if a group of great bloggers says "Let's do something", then you know that I'm there.
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