[discussion, tutorials] My Beginner Lolita Days

I'll admit, I was an ita when I first started out, and to some extant, I probably still am. Back in the early 2000s, buying from Japan was difficult, practically unheard of, even for non-poor non-students. Lolita hadn't become popular yet, the big brands were just starting out, and social media sites with widely available photos and active international communities haven't yet formed. So not only was it hard to buy lolita clothes and accessories, but we didn't even know what a great coord looked like. Critique was fairly pointless at that time because... it was just the slightly less blind leading the completely blind, really.

As an occasional cosplayer who knew a bit of sewing, I depended on thrifting, modifying regular fashion finds and making my own stuff from commercial patterns and some creativity. And it was all terrible. I do not recommend sewing your own lolita unless you're already a fashion student with an expert couture seamstress mother to help you and you are willing to spend a lot of time and money that could be just as easily spent to buy brand.

But because I want to show that you can make mistakes and still get on with life, here is one of my best creations of that era, this photo by skypirate actually printed in the first English Gothic and Lolita Bible (by Tokyopop), along with my art, probably because they didn't have that many submissions lmao.

The jumperskirt was made of fabric store quilting cotton, plus the nicest but still cheap lace trim I could find at the craft store and I think cheeptrims.com. The blouse and socks and shoes were Target/department store/Payless purchases, jewelry from Claire's. The crown was a handmade project, very common at the time and apparently a style the brands occasionally put out. A little ita if you go by the black/white color scheme and cheapness, but I wouldn't be that ashamed to wear this to my first meetup. (My actual first meetup outfit was so bad, I want to burn those photos.)

If I could redo this outfit, I would use a more obviously lolita blouse and maybe black tea parties, maybe improve my makeup and wig game, incorporate a pearl necklace or a few more rings. But that's it!

Anyway, here are some more handmade pieces since then, including details to their construction.

I don't believe too many lolitas handmake their own dresses anymore except for some top-tier seamstresses and of course shop owners, but when brand was less available, there were plenty of tutorials (link collection from fyeahlolita.blogspot.com) written, some of which I had contributed.

I also have created a quick outline of tips for sewing/diy lolita meant for a lolita 101 panel. You can access the link at google docs here!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-FxXFzbzgkO9yqfshiIpVL-hRcTl5agaVuoDkoX-v0U/edit?usp=sharing

If you have questions related to DIY lolita, I'm always open to answering them! I'll post a sew-along sometime if I get enough interest.