About the Lolita identity
From Q&A with Asuka, from Angelic Pretty.
"Asuka: Actually there are a lot of older lolitas in Japan just like in America. From high school students to mothers. You just see all the younger people in Kera because they want to be models. The older generation doesn't care about that. Also, there are lolitas that don't wear lolita or wear cheaper brands because they see no reason to invest in something they will wear only a few times. It's more about the heart of a lolita. Some girls will just buy a bag or something small from a brand but still be as much as a lolita as someone that wears it everyday."
There. That is what we have been trying to tell people for years... but sadly, most of them still seem to think their "lolitaness" goes hand in hand with the size of their wardrobe.
Whenever I see people arguing about all this, I remember my Japanese friends, who have been Lolitas for over a decade. The "older generation". They can't wear outrageous clothes anymore because of work and time issues, but they keep Lolita alive. They live Lolita through art. Dolls. Small pleasures. And that, in my eyes, is a thousand times more "lolita" than having every single new Angelic Pretty print.
Lolita has been around since the late 70s. Think about the amount of Japanese street styles that have existed. Some of them were fads. Others still keep evolving. Could lolita have existed for this long, if it was "just clothes"? :)
(just to clarify: no, I don't believe in the lolita lifestyle of sipping tea and behaving like a victorian lady. The "lolita lifestyle" is a completely different thing to me, it's very subjective and not based on set rules. But I do believe in some kind of art movement, closer to a special view of life than some specific behaviour)
"Asuka: Actually there are a lot of older lolitas in Japan just like in America. From high school students to mothers. You just see all the younger people in Kera because they want to be models. The older generation doesn't care about that. Also, there are lolitas that don't wear lolita or wear cheaper brands because they see no reason to invest in something they will wear only a few times. It's more about the heart of a lolita. Some girls will just buy a bag or something small from a brand but still be as much as a lolita as someone that wears it everyday."
There. That is what we have been trying to tell people for years... but sadly, most of them still seem to think their "lolitaness" goes hand in hand with the size of their wardrobe.
Whenever I see people arguing about all this, I remember my Japanese friends, who have been Lolitas for over a decade. The "older generation". They can't wear outrageous clothes anymore because of work and time issues, but they keep Lolita alive. They live Lolita through art. Dolls. Small pleasures. And that, in my eyes, is a thousand times more "lolita" than having every single new Angelic Pretty print.
Lolita has been around since the late 70s. Think about the amount of Japanese street styles that have existed. Some of them were fads. Others still keep evolving. Could lolita have existed for this long, if it was "just clothes"? :)
(just to clarify: no, I don't believe in the lolita lifestyle of sipping tea and behaving like a victorian lady. The "lolita lifestyle" is a completely different thing to me, it's very subjective and not based on set rules. But I do believe in some kind of art movement, closer to a special view of life than some specific behaviour)