Information for Lolita Attending UChiCon
I realize that there is a lot of confusion about the involvement of community lolita at the panel this Saturday at UChiCon, so I've made this post to try and clarify. Please-please-please-please take a look at it!
This is NOT a fashion show! I know I provided a list of "styles," but that doesn't mean they all need to be represented! It was just a suggestion, and I actually wish I hadn't posted it, as it seems to be the source of all the confusion.
Dress to represent YOURSELF! If you don't believe in a "lolita fashion ideal," don't dress that way! If you aren't a gothic lolita, don't try to come up with an outfit! You won't be strutting across a catwalk (see: This is NOT a fashion show!), you're going to be standing in front of a room of possibly-bored con-goers and talking about yourself. You need to wear something that accurately portrays yourself.
If you aren't usually a demure-archaic-tea-sipping-macaron-munching-powdered-wig-wearing "lifestyle lolita," that is A-OKAY. I know that not everyone is. At the same time, if you DO embrace that ideal, that's also great!
Be prepared to talk about YOUR CLOTHES! Wear something you are proud to show off! You should know what brands you're wearing, if any, and be prepared to talk about where or how you found or made any parts of your outfit that aren't from an established brand name.
Be prepared to talk about WHAT LOLITA MEANS TO YOU! It doesn't mean the same thing to everyone! Each one of us has a totally different reason for saying, "I want to order [make] ridiculously expensive [complicated] clothing from a foreign country that will garner confused stares and constant accusations of being in a play or some other thespian line of work with a name for this fashion that causes most people to think I'm a prostitute on some level." It takes dedication to make or save up for these clothes, self-confidence to wear them in public, and conviction to continue year after year when everything keeps changing.
THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT:
At the end of the panel that industrialkitty and I will be giving, which covers a discussion of the fashion, a sewing tutorial to make a hairbow, and an explanation of the local community, I will ask any community members in the audience to come down (one at a time) and show off their outfits. You won't all come down and stand in front of everyone at once and there is not a specific order. We'll start with whoever is closest to the front, and work our way around the room.
Once in front, you will show off your outfit. Describe your outfit--what brand is your blouse, jumperskirt, etc. You can also describe anything else you think is relevant, such as particular elements of the outfit that make it specifically "lolita" or icons of the fashion such as crown-symbols or rocking-horse shoes.
Then, you can talk about how you became a lolita. How did you discover it, when did you start wearing it, why do you wear it, how does it make you feel--any of these are fine topics. In fact, you can talk about ANYTHING you want except for your sex life or any illegal acts you have committed.
If you'd like to, you can also mention what you like about being part of a local lolita community. Were you ever a single, isolated lolita like Momoko of Kamikaze Girls fame? Is there something appealing about getting together with other lolita? If you hate the community, you can talk about that, too, but please keep in mind that I will cry if you do. ;___;
When you are done (please try not to talk for a really-really-really long time or we won't have time for everyone), indicate that you are done and let the next lolita show off her outfit.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK ME!
IF YOU ARE DEFINITELY COMING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
Alright, I think that's it! PHEW!
This is NOT a fashion show! I know I provided a list of "styles," but that doesn't mean they all need to be represented! It was just a suggestion, and I actually wish I hadn't posted it, as it seems to be the source of all the confusion.
Dress to represent YOURSELF! If you don't believe in a "lolita fashion ideal," don't dress that way! If you aren't a gothic lolita, don't try to come up with an outfit! You won't be strutting across a catwalk (see: This is NOT a fashion show!), you're going to be standing in front of a room of possibly-bored con-goers and talking about yourself. You need to wear something that accurately portrays yourself.
If you aren't usually a demure-archaic-tea-sipping-macaron-munching-powdered-wig-wearing "lifestyle lolita," that is A-OKAY. I know that not everyone is. At the same time, if you DO embrace that ideal, that's also great!
Be prepared to talk about YOUR CLOTHES! Wear something you are proud to show off! You should know what brands you're wearing, if any, and be prepared to talk about where or how you found or made any parts of your outfit that aren't from an established brand name.
Be prepared to talk about WHAT LOLITA MEANS TO YOU! It doesn't mean the same thing to everyone! Each one of us has a totally different reason for saying, "I want to order [make] ridiculously expensive [complicated] clothing from a foreign country that will garner confused stares and constant accusations of being in a play or some other thespian line of work with a name for this fashion that causes most people to think I'm a prostitute on some level." It takes dedication to make or save up for these clothes, self-confidence to wear them in public, and conviction to continue year after year when everything keeps changing.
THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT:
At the end of the panel that industrialkitty and I will be giving, which covers a discussion of the fashion, a sewing tutorial to make a hairbow, and an explanation of the local community, I will ask any community members in the audience to come down (one at a time) and show off their outfits. You won't all come down and stand in front of everyone at once and there is not a specific order. We'll start with whoever is closest to the front, and work our way around the room.
Once in front, you will show off your outfit. Describe your outfit--what brand is your blouse, jumperskirt, etc. You can also describe anything else you think is relevant, such as particular elements of the outfit that make it specifically "lolita" or icons of the fashion such as crown-symbols or rocking-horse shoes.
Then, you can talk about how you became a lolita. How did you discover it, when did you start wearing it, why do you wear it, how does it make you feel--any of these are fine topics. In fact, you can talk about ANYTHING you want except for your sex life or any illegal acts you have committed.
If you'd like to, you can also mention what you like about being part of a local lolita community. Were you ever a single, isolated lolita like Momoko of Kamikaze Girls fame? Is there something appealing about getting together with other lolita? If you hate the community, you can talk about that, too, but please keep in mind that I will cry if you do. ;___;
When you are done (please try not to talk for a really-really-really long time or we won't have time for everyone), indicate that you are done and let the next lolita show off her outfit.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK ME!
IF YOU ARE DEFINITELY COMING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
Alright, I think that's it! PHEW!