[discussion] Gone Substyle Crazy

I work in the medical field, a part of me loves labels and categories and identified things put in their places. But I think labels are often constricting, as people come up with more and more to describe themselves exactly, or to set themselves apart in this crowded society of look-a-likes. And some people like the community feel of finding others who call themselves ouji or classic lolita or mori-kei or otome or such.  But I like to label my outfits in their style genre, and I call myself a Japanese fashion enthusiast to avoid misunderstandings that I'm a dedicated expert lifestyler or anything. I am not an expert, not even close!

My default style is classic lolita. I like the muted jewel and neutral colors and antique metals, which I feel work better (most of the time anyway) with my coloring. I love to invoke Victorian and baroque rococo styles of the European past with lace and pearls and florals. I feel like it's the least difficult style to mess up, to be honest. Innocent World is one of my favorite brands, along with Victorian Maiden and Mary Magdalene.

My favorite substyle would probably be sailor/military lolita. Again, I like the bold or neutral colors like navy and khaki and red, with regimental stripes and rosettes and lots of buttons and hats. I love the polished look of cropped military jackets and the trimness of stripes. Meta and Alice and the Pirates make most of what I own, but I match offbrand cropped jackets to my coords.

Not necessarily lolita, but I love all things hime gyaru! Hime lolita is one of my favorite crossover styles. Extravagance in the form of gold and crowns, lots of glittering jewels, furs and feathers. I don't mind going over the top for hime.

I do like gothic lolita, it's what I started out as, and I have done country and casual sweet and ouji. OTT sweet is my next goal! It will be different, I don't go for wearing bright pastels or toys and candy and stuffed animals much... We shall see.