Lolita Lifestyle

[caramel frappuccino]

Raspberry Panic

going back to the not asain thing-fireflt808- im balck so lots of ppl expect me to "act black" when they meet me not lolita so i also have a sort-of hard time with that too, but for the most part im ok b/c before becoming lolita i was kinnda "asian"-like".... btw i LOVE kerli heart

Heh, I'll admit I went though it for a short time too. But I realize it simply clothes. I don't have to change myself into a "lifestyle lolita"
Although there are some maidens who love the lolita fashion so much they want to incorporate the lifestyle also, which is fine with me. Personally, I don't think it really fit me too well. But I don't want the lifestyle forced on me.  

[A Doll Named Mouse]

But what is "the lifestyle"? @_o''

I've checked the web over and all I can find are thorough lists on LJ and such about ACTIVITIES that lolita can enjoy, not personality, although most of them do state that you should be polite. But you should be anyway, not just because of lolita, but because you are a human being for gawd's sake and have a responsibility to act with humanity and just generally be kind to one another.

Aside from tea parties and activities, new and old fashioned and being polite, I haven't found a lingo (lolita-speak, old fashioned victorian speak, etc) guidelines, rules on how to greet, treat others, social hierarchy, aspects of personality and personal day-to-day living, diet, music and art preferences, or anything. Even some american emo and goth kids have lists of what bands you do and don't listen to (which I think is silly, you can enjoy the fashion or actually be emo AND like pop music, it's not unprecedented) and how you should act, treat others, perceive the world at all times, so... yeah. But even those sites say you don't have to do those things to be lolita. Maybe opinions are different in japan? I can't read kanji, so it's hard for me to understand their sites, if anyone wants to fill me in on what lolita lifestyle rules are in Japan, so I can decide once and for all if I think they are suggestions for lolita-like activities (like in america) or an actual set of behavior and personality traits.

Edit->
http://lolita-handbook.livejournal.com/1285.html#cutid1

If this is all there is to the lolita lifetsyle as far as behavior goes, and there's no rules about who I can and can't talk to, listen to, eat, etc, I approve. Don't have to give up doritos and rock music, just have to be polite for yourself, others, and to give the style a good name. Makes sense to me. We should all do that anyway.  

[spuntino]

A Doll Named Mouse

But what is "the lifestyle"? @_o''

That's just it, there is no one "lifestyle" associated with lolita. It's very much a personal choice, and varies so much from one person's definition to the next that there is no one certain way to go about it. This is really because lolitas come from a huge variety of places--some found it because of anime, jrock or the like, others found it through other subcultures with emphasis on fashion [like goth, club scenes, cosplay, etc.].

We all have such widely varied tastes on virtually everything but the fashion that it's impossible to pin down one set of "rules" as to how a lolita should live.

The stereotypical lifestyle is the one that Skye wrote about when she was still authoring the Princess Portal blog. Most lolitas do not ascribe to that particular choice, however. It's impractical, and [for many girls] too close to fetishism.
 

[Alpha Drug]

A "lifestyle" lolita is a girl who dresses in lolita 24-7.

At an anime convention in a lolita forum/panel they explained it thus...

Lifestyle Lolita - "I wear mai lolita wif everything, even mai chucks!"

"Other" Lolita - "I only dress up for special occasions, I'd never wear my Angelic Pretty Magic Whip Dress on a daily basis!"

But there are a LOT of betweens too. Those are just the two extreme cases. XD  

[A Doll Named Mouse]

spuntino

A Doll Named Mouse

But what is "the lifestyle"? @_o''

That's just it, there is no one "lifestyle" associated with lolita. It's very much a personal choice, and varies so much from one person's definition to the next that there is no one certain way to go about it. This is really because lolitas come from a huge variety of places--some found it because of anime, jrock or the like, others found it through other subcultures with emphasis on fashion [like goth, club scenes, cosplay, etc.].

We all have such widely varied tastes on virtually everything but the fashion that it's impossible to pin down one set of "rules" as to how a lolita should live.

The stereotypical lifestyle is the one that Skye wrote about when she was still authoring the Princess Portal blog. Most lolitas do not ascribe to that particular choice, however. It's impractical, and [for many girls] too close to fetishism.

Link for that part of princess portal? I've heard of the blog but haven't gone there yet. is that part still available? I'd really like to read it... Its hard for me to find stuff, since a lot of things you have to be a member to read, but so far for LJ (which I'm assuming this is) you don't need to, but I made one anyway just in case.  

[spuntino]

A Doll Named Mouse

spuntino

A Doll Named Mouse

But what is "the lifestyle"? @_o''

That's just it, there is no one "lifestyle" associated with lolita. It's very much a personal choice, and varies so much from one person's definition to the next that there is no one certain way to go about it. This is really because lolitas come from a huge variety of places--some found it because of anime, jrock or the like, others found it through other subcultures with emphasis on fashion [like goth, club scenes, cosplay, etc.].

We all have such widely varied tastes on virtually everything but the fashion that it's impossible to pin down one set of "rules" as to how a lolita should live.

The stereotypical lifestyle is the one that Skye wrote about when she was still authoring the Princess Portal blog. Most lolitas do not ascribe to that particular choice, however. It's impractical, and [for many girls] too close to fetishism.

Link for that part of princess portal? I've heard of the blog but haven't gone there yet. is that part still available? I'd really like to read it... Its hard for me to find stuff, since a lot of things you have to be a member to read, but so far for LJ (which I'm assuming this is) you don't need to, but I made one anyway just in case.

It's pretty much just the whole blog. XD
Her articles are all snippets of how to get the "princess" lifestyle into your world. There were a few that addressed it directly, but I no longer have the links. One of them said "There is no specific lifestyle but the one you make for yourself." Even she talked about how every lolita chooses the level and type of involvement the fashion has in her life.
 

[Magical Girl BunnyWinx]

Allow me to provide the link!

Some links within the entries are broken, though.
However, the 'Archive' tab at the top of the page
provides working links to every entry.

 

[A Doll Named Mouse]

Thanks! I'll read some tonight.  

[vampiredroid]

I say that you live and act how you wanna act, lolita is a fashion and can be a lifestyle it just depends on who you are and what you like. There are so many kinds of lolita and many different girls in lolita clothes, it doesnt matter how you act so long as you love the clothes.

I personally try to live more elegantly like with a pretty room and cute clothes when im not in lolita, but I still listen to music like Depeche Mode and Placebo and Skinny Puppy. I also love vampire movies and violent video games. I could never give up all the non-lolita stuff I love just because I have to act that way because im lolita.  

[science fiction is real]

NO NO NO NO!
Stay you! If you want to wear lolita but listen to screamo, go for it.
I do the same thing.
I love lolita but listen to ICP and whatnot.
And since I typically dress like a boy I mean...
Let you be you.  

[A Doll Named Mouse]

Kittywitch

There's an implied part of "let you be you" that alot of people ignore. I'm sure that, as this is the Lolita society, we recognize the implied part, but I'd like to have it actually be said.
Be you. And if the real you is intensely girly, be intensely girly.

Sorry, just a personal thing. When I was younger, alot of people kept telling me to "be myself" when I already was; because they thought I was too girly.

Agreed. I know what you mean, although not with girly-ness and not with myself personally. I've had other friends who were into whatever they were into hardcore, like goth or playing guitar, and people told them to just be themselves,... but that was what they were doing.  

[Princess of Rhymes]

I think you can listen to metal, still swear and kick a** at video games and still call yourself a lifestyle lolita. To me it's just that, lolita is an integral part of my lifestyle. It affects my fashion and the way I view the world. The innocent eye, the whimsy of life and the colors of the world. That isn't going to stop me from living the "gamer lifestyle" or the "book worm lifestyle." A little part of everything makes me me. I just don't take the stereotypes of those styles because they are generally negative or extreme (i.e. I go to midnight video game releases=fun part of the lifestyle, I have no life outside video games= a stereotype). I dunno, politeness, embracing femininity, and feeling special, even princess like feels just like a positive way to live, and if that translates into being able to slap the label of lifestyle lolita on myself then awesome, I'll embrace the positive sides of that. If that makes sense. It's just all the way you look at things, and how you chose to be yourself.