Lifestyle Lolita 101! ~ What is lifestyle Lolita?

Hello my sweet purple teddy bears! :3

Today I decided to start a little series on my blog about the Lolita lifestyle! ^^; I wanted a place to talk and share about the thing that is the most precious to me and there is no better way to do it than on my blog! ^w^ I also wanted to give another ressource for beginners when it comes to the Lolita lifestyle and also inspiration for others that may have been into it for a while! ~

As you may already know I gave a Lolita Fashion 102 panel at my local convention last summer and in that panel there was a segment about lifestyle Lolita! ^^; My blog post series on here will be mostly a translation of the contents from my panel with maybe some little bits added here and there as I go through it! :3

So let's start with the first lesson! ~

~ What is lifestyle Lolita? ~

Firstly, I want to touch on the subject that it's NOT necessary at all to be a lifestyle Lolita to wear Lolita fashion or participate in communities and going to meetups!

Personally, I consider myself a lifestyle Lolita since I started to wear the fashion. It's one of the aspects of the fashion that pushed me to wear Lolita everyday and really commit myself to the whole fashion and lifestyle! It helped me to pursue my passion through hobbies and values related to the fashion back in the days and I am very thankful to that because it shaped me as a person when I needed it the most and I feel like it also made me a better person too! ^^;

Lolita lifestyle is a part of the culture that I feel have decreased over the years as it became less and less popular. It was already rare to be a lifestyle Lolita when I started the fashion over 10 years ago and it's even less popular nowadays. It's not even mentioned on the ressources and databases about Lolita fashion... I had so many troubles finding diverses and complete ressources about the Lolita lifestyle, so that's what motivated to me make my own from the bits and bobs of information I found while doing my research for my panel! ^^;

~ Being a lifestyle Lolita is living (or at least trying!) to live your life like the nobility from another era! It's heavily based about opulence and the impression of wealth and luxury. Notice when I say "impression"; it doesn't have to be expensive or to cost a lot to live the Lolita lifestyle, but it have to give the impression that it does!

~ The Lolita lifestyle is really a way of life, an "art of living" and a culture. It goes way beyond the clothes and accessories! It extends into the different aspects of your life. For exemple; your house decor, the activities and hobbies you may want to pursue, your personal values as a person, etc...

~ It's essential to wear Lolita fashion (or Otome) daily! It may include other "sister" alternative Japanese fashions like Mori-kei, Himekaji, Fairy-kei or Visual-kei... But most of the time you really should be wearing Lolita fashion on the daily, even if it's casual, to be considered a lifestyle Lolita! ^^;

~ The definition of what is a Lolita lifestyle is really personal to each lifestyle Lolita. There is no specific rules or requirements to consider yourself a lifestyle Lolita except wearing the fashion as often as possible and "feeling" that you are a lifestyle Lolita personally.

There is a quote that I really like that I translated for my panel that is from The Lolita Princess's Lifestyle Lolita 101 panel that I think reflect the whole point of the Lolita lifestyle!

“I don't think you can make an actual list about requirements you need in order to be a Lifestyle Lolita. If you incorporate Lolita into your daily life and just ‘feel’ Lolita every day, you are a Lifestyle Lolita. You don't need to hear classical music and drink tea; if rock music gives you a Lolita vibe, then that's your Lolita Lifestyle.”

~ The Lolita Princess

So that was the first part of Lolita Lifestyle 101! ^^; In my next post from this series I'll cover how you can embellish and "Lolify" your everyday life! :3

Until next time my lovely pink starry ribbons, be safe and take care! ~