To petti, or not to petti?

I'm just a little bit curious about this.
Does an outfit stop being lolita as soon as you remove the petticoat?  I have a petticoat, and I wear it a good bit, but sometimes, especially if I'm going to be somewhere crowded or meeting older family members, I'll wear a JSK or a skirt with a blouse, kneesocks, and headdress, and I'll call it a day.  I'm usually wearing almost all lolita or loliable items, but no petticoat (for some reason, that makes my slightly uptight mom a lot more comfortable with the outfits).  Does the lack of petticoat stop these coordinates from being lolita, or does it just push it into casual territory?  I tend to wear pretty basic and old-school stuff, too, and sometimes my outfits border on otome.  Does that make them just plain otome?