♥Erololita♥

♥Erololita♥ 

This is a very confused, and often controversial style of Lolita due to the fact that a lot of people who are un-familiar with the style or Lolita fashion in general may get it wrong.

Although Lolita, or 'Erotic Lolita,' does sound that it may be a little less modest, and a little more tongue-in-cheek this style does not involve suddenly being naked, and wearing only an Alice-bow.

Erololi is a more uncommon style that resembles normal lolita style on it is slightly more revealing and often has fetish elements such as collars, handcuffs, garters, and vinyl fabric. By revealing I do not mean exposing, the skirts are just shorter and the tops are a little lower cut, or ones that draw attention to the breasts, but nothing overly provocative

 Corsets are often seen and usually without anything underneath (such as a blouse). 

 .Ero Lolita may be one of the only Lolita styles where you may be able to pull-off fish-net stockings if co-ordinated properly. 

The style ranges from the darker stuff you see in places like "Torture Garden" to the adorable pastel frilly clothing of Kana. It's still appropriate to wear in public but it's usually meant for clubbing or going to concert. Despite being "ero" it maintains a certain innocence through frills, loli accessories, and a certain degree of modesty. 

It fits a more western definition of lolita (a sexual precocious - not promiscuous - little girl) but elegance and class are still important. This is a very tough style to pull off and it helps to have a lot of experience in lolita fashion before you attempt it. 

Most of the better examples are found in art rather than life. 

♥Gurololita♥

♥Gurololita♥ 

Guro Lolita, or 'Gore Lolita' is exactly like the name sounds, gory. How gory is always up to you, and can range from anything to some bandages, a sling, or some blood splatters on your clothing. (Try not to over-do it though!) Guro Lolita is a style of Lolita that tries to portray a 'broken-dolly' sort of look, a gruesome yet innocent sub-set of Lolita.

A Guro Lolita outfit can really be pulled-off in any colour, but white really does look fantastic if you want to have some blood splatters! (If you're worried about getting blood splatters on your lovely dress, perhaps you could make yourself a small apron to splatter.)

Although Guro Lolita may sound costume-y, just like other Lolita styles it is a part of a fashion, and not a costume, and follows all of the guidelines that the other styles do.

This style really is not acceptable for a lot of group Lolita activities such as tea-parties, and special events.

Make-up for this style is really up to you, as long as you're still fairly modest the sky is the limit. Fake blood is a great item to have for this style, and can be purchased at most local party stores.

♥Oriental-styled Lolita♥

♥Oriental-styled Lolita♥

Wa Lolita 

inspired by traditional Japanese clothing, including the kimono and less formal yukata. One option is a top or dress resembling a kimono in the sleeves ad wrapped bodice but with a lolita bell-shaped skirt. Often lace and an obi bow are added to make it more lolita. 

Asian or western prints are used for this style - this can be useful for balancing the eastern and western influence. Occasionally brands will put lolita yukatas with lolita-esque prints (such as a cakes/strawberries/etc.) and trims but lacking the traditional lolita bell-shape. 

Wa Lolita involves long 'sode' or, sleeves, and 'obi' or sashes that are taken from Kimono/yukata outfits, and fused with the bell-shaped skirt of lolita. Wa Lolita fabrics are often very extravagant like most Kimono fabrics, involving detailed flower prints, and cranes. Like all Lolita outfits and Kimono, Wa Lolita should not be made out of shiny fabrics such as those that Chinese qi-pao are made of.

Asian or western prints can be useful for balancing the eastern and western influence. Occasionally brands will put lolita yukatas with lolita-esque prints (such as a cakes/strawberries/etc.) and trims but lacking the traditional lolita bell-shape. 

Although this style is quite different from usual Lolita styles, modesty is still a large part of this style, and your skirt should be a reasonable length for lolita. Sadly a lot of Wa Lolita outfits on the market today have very short skirts, causing many people to be turned-off by Wa Lolita.

Traditional Japanese Kanzashi or flower hairclips may work lovely with this style in the place of a Lolita head-dress. Make-up can range from light and natural to Japanese geisha inspired. It's best not to do makeup very similarly to that of a geisha as it will most likely end up looking costumey, and end-up ruining your beautifully put together outfit.

Qi-lolita

 - inspired by traditional Chinese dresses from the Qing dynasty known as qipaos/cheongsams. High collars, brocade prints, and traditional frog closures usually identify these dresses. The most common qiloli design is a fairly traditional qipao with the base of the dress widened slightly to fit a petticoat (often seen peeking out the side slits). A lot of the time they are sleevless but sometimes puffy sleeves are added to make them more lolita. Again asian or western prints can be used. 

synopsis research, Teardrops of happiness (´；ω；`)

I found this mini essay on one of my many wanderings around the online Lolita Community.

I had Helena going "are you crying? O.o which i was, and i hadn't even gotten past the first paragraph yet

skyewishes wrote a really lovely mini essay on

why lolitas dress the way they do and what it is like to do so

To be Lolita is to live in a world of one’s own creation. It is to re-capture that child-like sense of wonder and joy at the pretty little things in life and fulfill one’s own dream of elegance and feminity. When a Lolita puts on a dress bedecked with frills and bows, ties a ribbon in her hair and steps into her mary janes she is throwing off the mantle of adult responsibility, all her worries and fears melt away and she may smile again, like a little girl and walk with a spring in her step, taking pleasure in life itself, the floral scents of the garden, the sweet drop of tea apon her tounge. The big dirty world becomes, once more, a wonderland created for her enjoyment. Who cares if the common-folk give strange glances or turn their heads? Lolita is waltzing to a different tune, living life in the here and now rather than constantly worrying for tomorrow or regretting the past. The magic of Lolita is the ability to freeze time, in an era that never was, where all girls are princesses and dine on tea and cake. It is to grow up as you imagined you would as a young girl, growing not ‘older’ but only more beautiful, falling in love with the world and gazing with awe apon a clear blue sky.

To become Lolita, to accept this beauty in oneself is no easy task however. A Lolita must surrender her concepts of what is ‘normal’ and ‘expected’ by others, for these false thoughts will hold her back from reaching for her dreams and realising her own fantasy world. The first step then, comes in saying to oneself ‘What makes me happy, must come first.’ This is not pure selfishness, for to live only to the pleasure of others creates an inner ugliness that will consume your dreams, to follow your own happiness is an inspiration to all and will create joy wherever you go. Mockery will turn to envy when they realise you are at peace with your self and way of life. Thus Lolita must break the chains that bind her to these false notions.

When one achieves this, she will feel a sudden lightness, as if a great weight has been lifted from her shoulders and she can now fly, free from the burden she has carried ‘what do they think of me?’ ‘what should I do?’ is replaced by ‘where shall I fly today?’. This is the state of mind we seek.

The nature of Lolita is to escape. However this is often misunderstood, for while one is choosing to abandon the mortal responsibilities; to grow up, to live as a common citizen complete with mundane worries and cares, it is not the choice to only see the bright side of life. Lolita also has her ‘Gothic’ side, that fascination with the false innocence of childhood, the surreal concept of fatality and the shadows that even young maidens cast. Some days she may choose to wear a dress of black, with skulls and crosses as her signature. For this also challenges the common ideal and fulfills the darker wishes of the child within. Even a Lolita who prefers the sweeter style may appreciate these things with a tragic pleasure.

To where does a Lolita escape then? To a world in which only young girls and dolls may live. It is a little slice of sugar-coated history, an anachronism in which she may turn an ordinary room in to a grand manor, or palace of Versailles. Her nieghbourhood becomes her kingdom, her city, here for her to explore and enjoy. In this wonderland curious things happen, wishes may be granted and fairytales come true. For one never knows what is just around the corner when they are seeing the world anew, through the eyes of a joyful child. Don’t be afraid to explore this strange new world, it holds the very pages of your own Lolita story. Every Lolita must find her place and make it beautiful.

To transform into Lolita is to gain an understanding of Beauty. To see the beauty in yourself and the wonderous world about you. The lolita’s heart metamorphoses, like a butterfly, in to that of a beautiful young girl, lady or princess. The maiden of her own fairy tale.

this whole essay really embodys the feeling im going for in this assginment, even if the end resuit isn't technialy Lolita, 

Is Sailor being made to walk the plank by Pirate?

♥Sailor Lolita♥ with Pirate coming up fast on the starboard side

Pretty self-explanatory, Sailor Lolita is a very nautical-themed style of Lolita that is very much inspired by Japanese Sailor-styled uniforms.

Sailor collars, dark blues, and whites are often key factors in recognising this style. Nautical motifs are often used in this style; symbols such as ship anchors and wheels make very cute additions to this style.

 The skirts have nautical stripes around the edges, the blouses have little sailor collars and ties, and sailor hats are worn in place of headdresses. It's really just a small subset of sweet lolita, it's popular enough to deserve it's own panel. 

Like most Lolita styles the same bell-shaped skirt is expected, quite often this skirt may be pleated, and the outfit may often include a puffed-short-sleeved blouse with pockets.

Although striped socks may not work with a lot of Lolita styles, they often look nice when coordinated into a Sailor Lolita outfit.

Again minimal make-up with suit this style, including some lip-gloss to stop your lips from cracking if you'll be out near the sea!

The handbook says thats it's really just a small subset of sweet lolita which is popular enough to deserve it's own panel. I would tend to think that it was more between classic and country, due to the style and color choices, when i started eing interseted in lolita, sailor was a new trend that had just started and as far as i remember wasn't in the "handbook"  I haven't seen alot of sailor around lately, i think it's been a bit drowned  in the sea of OTT sweet. （‐＾▽＾‐）オーホッホ (Chuckle)

I think the real reason sailor hasn't been around lately is due it's limited design borders (limited themes and almost mono color paltete) and the rise of the related substyle 'Pirate' which is currently VERY popular due to the brand "Alice and the Pirates" which is a sub-label that Baby (BTSSB) created in 2004. It has a strong pirate and pirate-punk theme with bolder colours and more items suitable for Oji/dandy and Aristocrat styles.  this raises the question on what defines an "official" lolita style, pirate isn't in the handbook, but Baby which is a "BRAND" lolita shop, is making pirate, so does that mean it's lolita? and does this change depending on if it's Japanese or European of origin?

one of the reasons for pirates sudden andfast populary could be the sucess of the Pirates of the carribean films through which pirate  themes have become popluar in mainstream media

Kuro & Shiro Lolita

 Shiro Lolita, or 'White Lolita,' is a Lolita outfit made entirely of white/cream/off-white co-ordinates. Shiro Lolitas often pair themselves with Kuro Lolitas in twin outfits to create an interesting contrast.

Shiro Lolita can be taken from any style of lolita, whether it be Gothic, Sweet or Classic, if the co-ordination is completely white then it is accepted as Shiro Lolita.

PLEASE NOTE: Wearing black shoes with a Shiro Lolita outfit looks terrible and is best to be avoided.

Kuro Lolita, or 'Black Lolita,' like Shiro Lolita, is an outfit made-up of co-ordinates of one colour, in this case; black.

Kuro also follows the same guidelines of most of the other Lolita styles, so is still fairly easy to pull-off for beginners.

Country Lolita

♥Country Lolita♥

A subset of sweet style, with little straw hats and dresses in gingham, floral, and fruit patterns. Basically you look like a sweet lolita out for a picnic, so it is not uncommon to tote around a wicker basket or parasol. The print of the dress and the straw hat accessory are really the only thing that distinguishes it from sweet loli, and often the two are grouped together.