It's been a long time since I was last active in the online lolita community, I was active from 19 to 23 years old (2004-2008) but even though I didn't participate or wear any lolita fashion anymore after that (personal issues) I kept being interested.
Now my hair loss has gotten quite bad (alopecia androgenica) and I am ready to wear some of my lolita stuff again, otherwise it's just sitting in my wardrobe unused, I'm investigating if I want to buy more synthetic wigs and if it's worth buying more synthetic wigs. I'm willing and able to buy human hair wigs but they are very limited in colour choice and length. So there are pros and cons to both synthetic and human hair.

Some people into lolita fashion are absolutely fine with wigs that obviously look like wigs (or like doll hair, that may be a goal they're going for), even the GLB is fine with putting models in wiggy looking wigs.

I personally think the more a wig looks like real hair the better.

I've got 4 lapin d'or wigs from their mainstream line (not their lolita line) bought between 2004 and 2008. If anyone is not familiar with the brand they are a lot like Prisila except that prisila does more daring/edgy styles and lapin d'or does more simple and more everyday hair styles. Quality looks the same, so perhaps they use the same fiber.

Now to the practical bit;
The main issues with synthetic wigs in terms of aesthetic quality when realism is the goal is how it looks under different types of lighting. The other issues can usually be improved by plucking, buying a thinner/thicker wig, cutting it to suit you etc.

I can accept that wigs have an unnatural shine under photography flash lighting because it's easy to avoid that. Even synthetic medical grade wigs shine to high heaven under flash light so this is just an inescapable reality with synthetic wigs.

There's a few types of other lighting namely direct sunlight, indirect sunlight and artificial light (lamp light). The light, aside from photograpy flash, that produces the most shine is direct sunlight. Imagine walking around with a wig at noon on a hot sunny day.

What is popularly used on synthetic wigs to reduce their shine is an extended bath in fabric softener (there is a good tutorial over on deviantart). This did not work on my lapin d'or wigs, but weirdly seems to work incredibly well on party quality wigs that you get for 12 dollars. Must be because of a different synthetic fiber.
Another popular method is baby/talcum powder or dry shampoo. I've tried both. I prefer the baby powder since the dry shampoo I used made the hair too stiff. The baby powder method did reduce the shine somewhat but I am not convinced that it reduced it to acceptable levels for exposure to direct sunlight. Perhaps I need a better quality wig, if you start out with less shiny fibers the baby powder will help it get to an acceptable shine level.

Does anyone here use the baby powder method on their wig and it results in fairly realistic looking shine level under direct sunlight on a sunny day? If so, what wig brand do you use?

Thank you in advance.

PS: for someone who has been away for 10 years, I wonder where has the active international lolita community moved to? Back in my day LJ was the place to be. Blue Period was pretty active too.
I checked reddit and it's not very active.

As a last resort, I've decided to post here in hopes that someone can help, since my literacy in written/reading Chinese is terrible, but my spoken Chinese is fluent.
(I've also checked the master list of communities, one is dead the other is not found at all, maybe, deleted?)

I'll be in Taiwan (Taipei & Kaohsiung) from July 31 - July 2nd and would like to meet up with the lolita community there because it's pretty terrifying to wear lolita in Taiwan alone :( ... and maybe even go shopping with?

If anyone has links to facebook groups / weibo / LINE groups that would be great too! ;_;

Thanks for the help! m(_ _)m

(Also, I'm sorry if I mis-tagged anything >_</")

Hello ^_^ I was wondering if there are any lolita dress shops in the US that have cheaper dresses in the $30 to $100 range like mylolitadress.com and with custom sizing like they do? That shop is based in China and has shipping costs over $20. I'm basically trying to find the US equivalent to avoid costly shipping. In case anyone is curious, I've been in love with lolita dresses, socks, and shoes for over a decade, but without the entire lolita look, like just for every day non-lolita casual wear, which even includes wearing jsk with no blouse, like a op. I think I read somewhere before that this is called otome I already have a few custom size dresses that look like lolita dresses, but came from ebay and cost a ton. With limited income it's difficult to ever reach a full warddrobe. I can't keep doing that. My preference is sweet lolita, followed by some classic. Another example of casual non-lolita while wearing lolita dress is like what Springbok is wearing in this ASMR video from Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Zg-Nmspks&index=8&list=FLCbgG0rHV8oUXg2IV7WFhfg&t=912s

She's wearing a jsk in the video, and I'll never know where she got it since she never replied to anyone that asked back then. I love it so much! I also love op dresses too, including some with puff sleeves. Here's another jsk I like from mylolitadress. http://www.my-lolita-dress.com/strawberry-cookies-sweet-lolita-jumper-dress-v-12 They have pictures of just the dress with no blouse. I'm looking for cheaper dresses under $100, but not 'knockoff' dresses. Mylolitadress.com has a few knockoff dresses, but at least they tell you which ones are. Hopefully someone can direct me to some affordable online shops in the US. Any help would be appreciated. ^_^

taken from the lolita 52 challenge from F yeah Lolita


what are 5 movies you think every lolita should watch? 

So, I've loved lolita fashion for years now, but had distanced myself from it because I'm a boy and I wouldn't be able to do it myself.
Likewise, I've loved drag for years and have wanted to become a queen myself, but I also distanced myself from that - having no idea where to start with my aesthetic or fashions.

Because I got into these things very separately, the concept of combining them has only occurred to me very recently.
I would like to start as a drag queen and base my style and aesthetic around lolita fashion, and would also want to stay true to the principles of lolita and respectful of it as a fashion.

I just wanted to know if the lolita community would have any thoughts on this, concerns, tips, pointers, etc.
Thank you.

Attempt №2 as LJ ate my first post and it never went through.
Apologies for posting so late - this is my first wardobe post and I horribly underestimated the amount of time it required. I also decided to include just my main pieces to save some time where I could. Next time, I'll be sure to start well in advance and take pictures of everything else.
2017 was my first full year in lolita, so I kinda went ham and bought a lot of stuff on impulse or because I thought it was a good deal, and I also like to try different styles rather than settle on one, so if I had to describe my wardrobe with one word, it would not be "cohesive" for sure :) I think it's what some people call "eclectic"? Apart from a heavy preference for navy, blue and green, my wardrobe is pretty all over the place, but tbh that's exactly the way I like it.

(I suggest opening the post in a new tab, if you open it in the community feed it effs up the layout a bit.)
Without further ado!
( Take a look at my main piecesCollapse )

It's been a while since I looked up lolita updates and a few days I did. Sooo many taobao dresses...and some chickens? Why did no one tell me about the chickens?
What ones did you like or would rahter have egg on your face than wear?

Bear with me, I've never really made one of these, and obviously it's a few days late but... Here's my Wardrobe Post! Mains, and bolero/cardigans only I'm afraid-- never got around to blouses and accessories, but they aren't too terribly interesting anyhow!

So, without further ado, here's my mostly classic, mostly Innocent World wardrobe!

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Welcome to my 2018 OTT sweet - country - classic wardrobe! I missed last year, so I tried my best to have it in by the end of January, and spectacularly failed. I hope you enjoy!

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Hello again! I’m reviving my LJ account for this year’s post. I finished taking pictures like a week ago, but somehow still ended up posting late… Kept putting off editing and formatting the actual post haha.

I mixed the photos of my lolita stuff with some jgoth/punk brand clothes, so please enjoy my wardrobe and let me know what you think! Warning… I took almost 300 pics, so there is a lot under the cut. Also, consistent lighting/crop? I don’t know them. :P


Previously: 2016|2017

Instagram: artemis_argyi

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Hi! Here's my wardrobe post for this year. Late again, sorry. :_: I think I bought more dresses than I usually do and even introduced more brown into my wadrobe and a new color, black. :D Hope you enjoy my wardrobe post!

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Thank you so much for taking a look at my first wardrobe post! While I'm posting under a very old username, my handle these days is @petit_piaf on Instagram. I can't believe this, but this is the first year I will have completed my wardrobe post on time. I've been in lolita for approximately 5 years now, and it's been quite the journey from my first lolita dress to my collection now. Some things have happened in the last couple of years, including graduating and getting a fulltime job, and since then my collection has exploded. In short, I need to downsize my wardrobe.

I'm very much a classic lolita, but I do have a very soft spot for sweet-classic/otome prints, particularly rabbits, and I have a guilty pleasure for graphic heavy dresses with stamps, florals, cute animals, and the like. I have an unabashed addiction to Mary Magdalene pieces. I'm also fond of Victorian Maiden - I'm incredibly sad that after this year they'll be leaving us.

Some notes:
- I actually did take closeups of most of my pieces, but unfortunately didn't have time to post it here. I'll maybe make a separate post with detail shots in time.
- I had a mini disaster in which tonight (of all days) I found a few of my main pieces pictures missing. Unfortunately, it was already pitch black when I got back to my apartment. It's only 3-4 pieces however. I may add them in at some point if I have the chance.
- I did not have time to photograph every single support item. I hope the collection I show is representative.


( A long Classic and Otome post is aheadCollapse )