MUSING: "Frills and Fanfare (or How I Became a Lolita)"
Konbanwa, minnasan, I hope everyone out there in Cyberland is doing well! Thank you to everyone who's left such wonderful and sweet comments on my journals. I apologize for not getting back and replying to all of them, but it's been so busy for me lately!
Also, I am looking forward to reading what everyone is coming up with for the "Impasse/AAO!verse" competition. Sounds like everyone has some amazing ideas!
Now, for a bit of writing. From time to time, I write something completely non-fiction and usually a bit humorous. In this case, a little bit of an autobiography on myself. I hope everyone enjoys reading it and finds it light and a bit entertaining. Ja ne for now! =~.^=V
"Frills and Fanfare (Or How I Became a Lolita)" (A Musing)
By: Taffy "Miracle Shining" Anderson
*****
How I became a Lolita...
Huh, that's a question that I've pondered for a few years now. It certainly didn't happen overnight. In fact, it took a good while before I officially considered myself a Lolita. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The best part time to start is at the beginning.
I was about seventeen years old and entering into my senior year of high school. It was the summer of 1995 and I was past the stage of "continually not fitting in" but not quite into the stage of "really not caring about anyone in high school" quite yet.
I was shopping in a small mall in Denver, Colorado when I stumbled upon a very unique shop. There weren't many patrons looking over the very different selection of clothing, but the few who were in there made me drag my mother into the store.
It was called "The Rainbow," and in my opinion at the time, was the greatest store I had ever seen. There were wild printed shirts and skirts that seemed to have other skirts underneath them. There were shoes with heels and bottoms that had to stand almost five to seven inches high. There were dresses that had the sleeves torn off them and lots of sparkling jewelery that ranged from super sweet to downright scary. The walls were colored every color of the rainbow and the clothing was displayed in a mixture of peculiar and cute.
I must have looked a little shocked and awed when a lovely saleswoman literally came toddling over on her eight(?) inch high wooden bottom shoes. She was a beautiful African American woman who towered over me wearing a chic mix of the store's clothing items. She was so sweet and immediately lit up seeing me. She asked my mother and I if we needed any help and I simply nodded. She started to show me some of the clothing and then said a very unique thing to me that would pretty much change the direction of my life.
"You're very small. You look like one of those little gals in Harajuku."
"Harajuku?" I remember trying to pronounce correctly.
The saleswoman had nodded and explained to me it was a really trendy and hip place located in Tokyo, Japan. All I knew about Japan was that it had anime and that my Oniisan (older brother) would have me stay up and watch it with him when he visited from college.
I bought quite a few items, one or two that caused a bit of a stir back in my hometown. I never thought much about the meeting and the concept of "Harajuku Girls" never passed through my mind until it was 2001.
In September of 2001, so many major events happened that it's hard to believe I even remember the small things. My college mate at the time and I were supposed to attend our first anime convention, "Nan Desu Kan" in Denver. Because of the situation with 9/11, her parents forbade her to go. My Sissy (sister-in-law) volunteered to take her place. We made our way down to Denver and had a wonderful time at NDK.
It was on that Saturday I believe that I bumped into a young girl wearing a frilly white shirt, poofy black shirt, little top hat and knee high socks. I was immediately fascinated by her outfit and asked who she was cosplaying as. She smiled very sweetly and explained it wasn't cosplay, it was a fashion called "Gothic Lolita" in Japan. She talked with me for a few minutes about it.
When I arrived back into South Dakota, I made it my mission to find out exactly what Gothic Lolita was. In doing so, I was introduced to J-Rock such as Psycho-le-Cemu, Dir en Grey, Malice Mizer, L'arc-en-Ciel, Miyavi, Diago Stardust and countless others. Their stage outfits were wildly imaginative as well as gorgeous. Soon, those links pointed me to Gothic Lolita links and I was introduced to all kinds of differerent styles. Some were dark and brooding, others were sweet and sugary.
I raved about this new clothing style to my two best friends, K and Ker. To the point that I think they were ready to hang me. But they still humored me and in 2003, Ker bought me the book that changed pretty much everything. She gave me "Gothic and Lolita Bible #5," which was only a year after it had been published.
I devoured everything in the book, from the clothing designers to the smallest detail, such as the recipes the book had published. When I had read the book over and over, I gathered it up and sped over to my grandmother's house.
My late grandmother was an incredibly gifted seamstress and has taught me everything I knew when it came to sewing. She also owned one of the largest doll collections in South Dakota, if not the whole midwest. Because of that, she could sew the most exquisite doll clothes.
My grandmother surprisingly fell in love with the Gothic Lolita clothing. She and I would go through the book over and over, picking out dresses we adored and styles we would never think of trying.
In 2005, my cosplay troupe, Genki no Cosplay was officially formed after knowing Bunny (Shareece) for almost a year. It was a little before NDK that I told Bunny about Gothic Lolita. She ended up falling madly in love with the style and we became two peas in a pod.
I started making my own Lolita dressed in 2006. I found I had a certain knack especially for making Sweet Lolitas and Gothic Aristrocrats. I started making one-of-a-kind headdresses, mini top hats and accessories.
In 2008, I started to try and pull away from the EGL fashion scene. In a way, I almost felt like because of my age, it was becoming inappropriate. I started to branch out and find other styles of clothing. I fell in love with much of the clothing seen in the streets of Seoul as well as some cutting edge styles coming out of Hong Kong. But the pull back to Lolita remained strong. Bunny never failed to do something that would have me longing to return to my Lolita roots. I missed the layers of lace and innocence I felt, or the fun and dangerous nature of black and straps.
At the end of 2008, I threw caution to the wind. I decided that if I was a Lolita, then that was exactly what I was going to proudly be. I not only continued to make Lolita clothing, but finally had the funds to purchase my first official Lolita skirt and capelet by "Metamorphose."
That was just the beginning, as I ended up adding "h. Naoto," "Innocent World," and just recently, my personal favorite brand, "Baby, the Stars Shine Bright." I feel both like a lady and a strong willed rebel depending on what brand I decide to wear.
But times, they have changed, haven't they? L'arc-en-ciel and Dir en Grey have taken off their makeup. Diago Stardust is now simply Diago and lead sings for BREAKERZ. Miyavi has taken out the majority of his piercings. Psycho-le-Cemu's lead singer went to jail for heroine use. Malice Mizer no longer has Gackt. Gackt is now starring in his first American movie.
Times, they have changed for me as well. You'll most likely see me in uniform at my work place. When I'm not there, I'm actually zipping around in something like a shirt dress made by "Dotori," a Korean brand I favor that specializes in Casual and Contemporary coordinates. Or I may be wearing a more main stream "OneeKei" look complete with long flowing sweaters, skinny jeans and strappy high heel shoes. Or I may be dawning one of my three piece men's suits and going out for an afternoon with a friend.
But despite all that, there are times when I will come home and take off my usual clothes. I will grab my frills and frock and slip into a little fairy tale. With ribbons in my hair and bells on my toes, I grab a parasol and walk outside for a brief stroll.
And that's how I TRULY became a Lolita.
Also, I am looking forward to reading what everyone is coming up with for the "Impasse/AAO!verse" competition. Sounds like everyone has some amazing ideas!
Now, for a bit of writing. From time to time, I write something completely non-fiction and usually a bit humorous. In this case, a little bit of an autobiography on myself. I hope everyone enjoys reading it and finds it light and a bit entertaining. Ja ne for now! =~.^=V
"Frills and Fanfare (Or How I Became a Lolita)" (A Musing)
By: Taffy "Miracle Shining" Anderson
*****
How I became a Lolita...
Huh, that's a question that I've pondered for a few years now. It certainly didn't happen overnight. In fact, it took a good while before I officially considered myself a Lolita. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The best part time to start is at the beginning.
I was about seventeen years old and entering into my senior year of high school. It was the summer of 1995 and I was past the stage of "continually not fitting in" but not quite into the stage of "really not caring about anyone in high school" quite yet.
I was shopping in a small mall in Denver, Colorado when I stumbled upon a very unique shop. There weren't many patrons looking over the very different selection of clothing, but the few who were in there made me drag my mother into the store.
It was called "The Rainbow," and in my opinion at the time, was the greatest store I had ever seen. There were wild printed shirts and skirts that seemed to have other skirts underneath them. There were shoes with heels and bottoms that had to stand almost five to seven inches high. There were dresses that had the sleeves torn off them and lots of sparkling jewelery that ranged from super sweet to downright scary. The walls were colored every color of the rainbow and the clothing was displayed in a mixture of peculiar and cute.
I must have looked a little shocked and awed when a lovely saleswoman literally came toddling over on her eight(?) inch high wooden bottom shoes. She was a beautiful African American woman who towered over me wearing a chic mix of the store's clothing items. She was so sweet and immediately lit up seeing me. She asked my mother and I if we needed any help and I simply nodded. She started to show me some of the clothing and then said a very unique thing to me that would pretty much change the direction of my life.
"You're very small. You look like one of those little gals in Harajuku."
"Harajuku?" I remember trying to pronounce correctly.
The saleswoman had nodded and explained to me it was a really trendy and hip place located in Tokyo, Japan. All I knew about Japan was that it had anime and that my Oniisan (older brother) would have me stay up and watch it with him when he visited from college.
I bought quite a few items, one or two that caused a bit of a stir back in my hometown. I never thought much about the meeting and the concept of "Harajuku Girls" never passed through my mind until it was 2001.
In September of 2001, so many major events happened that it's hard to believe I even remember the small things. My college mate at the time and I were supposed to attend our first anime convention, "Nan Desu Kan" in Denver. Because of the situation with 9/11, her parents forbade her to go. My Sissy (sister-in-law) volunteered to take her place. We made our way down to Denver and had a wonderful time at NDK.
It was on that Saturday I believe that I bumped into a young girl wearing a frilly white shirt, poofy black shirt, little top hat and knee high socks. I was immediately fascinated by her outfit and asked who she was cosplaying as. She smiled very sweetly and explained it wasn't cosplay, it was a fashion called "Gothic Lolita" in Japan. She talked with me for a few minutes about it.
When I arrived back into South Dakota, I made it my mission to find out exactly what Gothic Lolita was. In doing so, I was introduced to J-Rock such as Psycho-le-Cemu, Dir en Grey, Malice Mizer, L'arc-en-Ciel, Miyavi, Diago Stardust and countless others. Their stage outfits were wildly imaginative as well as gorgeous. Soon, those links pointed me to Gothic Lolita links and I was introduced to all kinds of differerent styles. Some were dark and brooding, others were sweet and sugary.
I raved about this new clothing style to my two best friends, K and Ker. To the point that I think they were ready to hang me. But they still humored me and in 2003, Ker bought me the book that changed pretty much everything. She gave me "Gothic and Lolita Bible #5," which was only a year after it had been published.
I devoured everything in the book, from the clothing designers to the smallest detail, such as the recipes the book had published. When I had read the book over and over, I gathered it up and sped over to my grandmother's house.
My late grandmother was an incredibly gifted seamstress and has taught me everything I knew when it came to sewing. She also owned one of the largest doll collections in South Dakota, if not the whole midwest. Because of that, she could sew the most exquisite doll clothes.
My grandmother surprisingly fell in love with the Gothic Lolita clothing. She and I would go through the book over and over, picking out dresses we adored and styles we would never think of trying.
In 2005, my cosplay troupe, Genki no Cosplay was officially formed after knowing Bunny (Shareece) for almost a year. It was a little before NDK that I told Bunny about Gothic Lolita. She ended up falling madly in love with the style and we became two peas in a pod.
I started making my own Lolita dressed in 2006. I found I had a certain knack especially for making Sweet Lolitas and Gothic Aristrocrats. I started making one-of-a-kind headdresses, mini top hats and accessories.
In 2008, I started to try and pull away from the EGL fashion scene. In a way, I almost felt like because of my age, it was becoming inappropriate. I started to branch out and find other styles of clothing. I fell in love with much of the clothing seen in the streets of Seoul as well as some cutting edge styles coming out of Hong Kong. But the pull back to Lolita remained strong. Bunny never failed to do something that would have me longing to return to my Lolita roots. I missed the layers of lace and innocence I felt, or the fun and dangerous nature of black and straps.
At the end of 2008, I threw caution to the wind. I decided that if I was a Lolita, then that was exactly what I was going to proudly be. I not only continued to make Lolita clothing, but finally had the funds to purchase my first official Lolita skirt and capelet by "Metamorphose."
That was just the beginning, as I ended up adding "h. Naoto," "Innocent World," and just recently, my personal favorite brand, "Baby, the Stars Shine Bright." I feel both like a lady and a strong willed rebel depending on what brand I decide to wear.
But times, they have changed, haven't they? L'arc-en-ciel and Dir en Grey have taken off their makeup. Diago Stardust is now simply Diago and lead sings for BREAKERZ. Miyavi has taken out the majority of his piercings. Psycho-le-Cemu's lead singer went to jail for heroine use. Malice Mizer no longer has Gackt. Gackt is now starring in his first American movie.
Times, they have changed for me as well. You'll most likely see me in uniform at my work place. When I'm not there, I'm actually zipping around in something like a shirt dress made by "Dotori," a Korean brand I favor that specializes in Casual and Contemporary coordinates. Or I may be wearing a more main stream "OneeKei" look complete with long flowing sweaters, skinny jeans and strappy high heel shoes. Or I may be dawning one of my three piece men's suits and going out for an afternoon with a friend.
But despite all that, there are times when I will come home and take off my usual clothes. I will grab my frills and frock and slip into a little fairy tale. With ribbons in my hair and bells on my toes, I grab a parasol and walk outside for a brief stroll.
And that's how I TRULY became a Lolita.