The Basics of Lolita Fashion

(I don't like to call it rules again, so I named it basics instead.)

If you take a bunch of Lolitas and compare them to each other, they all have a few things in common, no matter which style they are coming from.

Today we want to learn about the principles of Lolita Fashion. There are a few, but they are just a few things that identify us like bright coloured hair identifies a Punk for example.

The first thing to mention: Everyone can wear Lolita, as long as you feel comfortable with it. It's no matter if you are a girl, boy, something in between, 12 years old, 70 years old - The rule that has to apply is, that you feel comfortable with it!

To introduce you correctly into this topic, this will be a bit longer. For the short version, scroll down. It is just important that you understand step by step what makes a main Lolita piece a main Lolita piece and so on.

The main piece

The main piece of every Lolita Outfit is a dress or skirt. There are also some styles (Ouji for example) that do not require a dress or skirt, but these are exceptions. They are still Lolita, but they are more the boyish side of Lolita - We will come to this in another post.

There are two types of dresses in the fashion:

The One Piece

An One Piece is easily recognized by one thing, all One Pieces have - Sleeves. Sometimes they are as huge as in the picture on the left, but they can also be short, long, like a sewn-in blouse or anything else that covers your shoulders. One Pieces are always pretty high closed on the collar. It is often shortened as 'OP'.

(Dress example: Musee du Chocolat Princess OP by Angelic Pretty)

 The Jumperskirt

A Jumperskirt is a dress that always requires a blouse. It only has straps in most cases, but it never covers the shoulders completely. It is often shortened as JSK.

(Dress example: Cameo Window JSK by Angelic Pretty)

To make a dress a Lolita dress (or a skirt a Lolita skirt), or to make it "loliable" there are three things that have to apply:

1. The length

The dress should end on your knees or at least a few (only a few) centimetres above it. Actually, everything that is longer than knee-length is fine for the fashion.
If your skirt is too short, there are also underskirts that have ruffles on the end, which are made to make your skirt longer.

2. The shape

The shape is also very important. There are two kind of skirt shapes in Lolita which are both reached through petticoats.

Bell shape

The first and more common is called "bell shape". It's called like this because it some sort of looks like a bell. Can you see it?
(Dress example: Marchen Ribbon JSK by Angelic Pretty)

A-line

The second and less commong shape is an A-line shape. If you go down from the waist to the end of the skirt, it looks like an A, or a V that is turned around. This is why it's called A-line.

(Dress example: La Prière One Piece by Alice and the Pirates) 

 A-line? Bellshape? Huh?

Sometimes you cannot clarify if your dress needs an A-line petticoat or not. On the Jumperskirt on the left side you can tell it pretty easily after a few looks, but sometimes you just have to figure it out yourself. Browsing around CoF, instagram or tumblr can help finding out which sort of petticoat is better.

(Dress example: Marine Kingdom JSK by Angelic Pretty)

 

 

3. The quality! 

Lolita is a fashion that especially focuses on quality. You do not have to buy from the big brands, but there are a few things you should check before buying the dress.

The lace is one of the most important things in Lolita when it comes to quality. Your dress do not have to have big ruffles or much lace - Some dress design would be even thrown off with those kind of features, but sometimes the lace is what makes a dress look either expensive or cheap.

Let's move on to what makes your skirt the shape it is on the pictures you have seen above - Petticoats!

Petticoats/Panniers

 Petticoats (they are often called Panniers, too) are one of the most important things in Lolita Fashion! If you don't have one, your skirt will not stay up like this. But since this look is, what takes a lot of the Lolita aesthetic, a Petticoat is as important as your daily food should be!

They come in all shapes, lengths and sizes. Here is an example of a petticoat:

A petticoat is commonly made out of organza or tulle. You should prefer a petticoat that is specially made for lolita, because wedding pettis tend to loose the poof very fastly. They are made to be worn only for a couple of hours, so they won't do you any favours if you want to wear them more often. Swing dance pettis often have the wrong shape.

Petticoats should not show up under your skirt when you are moving. To protect your underwear from unwanted looks when you walk upstairs, you can wear bloomers underneath a petticoat.

They are generally looking like the underwear of your grandma, are super functional, comfy and are a good option to keep you warm in the winter season since there also exist bloomers, which are made out of velvet or something similar! They are not a requirement for a full lolita coordinate, but they sometimes really help. Of course you can also wear your pyjama shorts or a normal shorts since they are not made to show up under your skirt, too.

Headwear

Your headwear is also an extremely important part for Lolita Fashion! Even if it's only a bow in your hair, it's important to put something on your head for balancing out your coordinate.

For headwear itselfs actually exist no rules. You can literally put anything on your head that you like - And suit your coordinate. But let's take a look at the three most common types of headwear in Lolita.

Headbow

Headbows are a big bow either in the middle of the head or the side of your head. Bows on the side of your heads are also called Sidebows. Very many dresses have the suiting headbow for the print.

 

 

 Bonnet

Bonnets are coming in pretty much all shapes and sizes. They are the most historical headwear you can find in lolita fashion. There is a difference between Full Bonnets and Half Bonnets. Full Bonnets are closed in the back of the head. Half Bonnets are not closed in the back. In the picture on the left you can see a very big Bonnet. It stands up. There are also bonnets that are a bit floppy and more ruffled, so they only stand a bit.

Beret

Berets have become a big part in lolita fashion in the past years. They are a mixture of a well balanced coordinate and being too over the top. Many lolitas who are wearing Lolita Fashion on a daily basis like to wear Berets because they are not as big as a Bonnet or a Headbow and often give you an elegant vibe in your coordinate. They are perfect for the winter season!

Leg- & Footwear

The last big part of Lolita is the Leg- and Footwear. The appropriate foodwear is important to complete a coordinate.

Legwear

You are actually pretty free in choosing your legwear, as long as you are wearing at least ancle socks. It is just important to make clear that at least a part of the leg area is fully covered. Anything else looks first of all uncompleted and is simply not very appropriate, since Lolita is not made for showing much skin.

knee highs

tights

ancle socks

over the knee socks (OTK's)

Footwear

Shoes are of course also very important. There are some kind of shoes that are really famous with the fashion, but you can actually take everything, that suits your coordinate concept.

Here are the three most common types of shoes. Of course there are plenty more styles you can go for!

boots by Baby, the stars shine bright

Tea party shoes by Angelic Pretty

Mary Janes by Jane Marple

(until here every of these pictures belong to the specific brands. I took them from lolibrary.org)

 

 

The Coordinate

Alright, let's come to our goal: The full coordinate. We have cleared up the major parts: Headwear, Main Piece, Footwear.

So, here are the three set-in-stone rules that make Lolita to Lolita from head to toe:

1. Headwear!

2. An appropriate main piece!

3. A petticoat!

4. Appropriate foodwear!

If you think about these four things, nothing can go wrong if you make everything suiting each other. Now, let's see some coordinates from fashion magazines to show you what the full coordinate can look like and what principles should also apply on yours.

The model in the picture is wearing the Day Dream Carnival One Piece by Angelic Pretty. Since it is an One Piece, no blouse is required. She also wears a headbow, ancle socks and shoes that are some sort of like high tea party shoes. Her outfit is completed by various other accessories.

The girl in the picture (her copyright is on the lower right corner of the picture) is wearing the Wonder Queen JSK by angelic Pretty. She is wearing a blouse underneath since blouses are a requirement for JSKs (Jumperskirts). She is wearing a bonnet and various hairclips/ haircombs to complete her coordinate. The socks and shoes are also completing the coord in some way. She took the brown from her jabot on her chest and repeatet it with the shoes and the sleeves on her blouse, which is a smart way to include a colour that is actually not in the print. Since she uses not too harsh white tones, the coordinate works well together. The thing she does is tricolour coordinating.

I hope this post clarified some things to you. If you want me to get even more detailed, let me know in the comment section below!