Lolitas At Connecticon

Lolitas and anime conventions are a funny thing. If you really think about it - or perhaps have attended a few, in Lolita or not - it's not really something you normally think would mix. Between the pack of fourteen-year-olds running around with Naruto headbands to the collection of light sabers around (no pun intended! ;), it's not the kind of place you'd expect to find us. Especially considering the - shall we say - divided camps - on the subject of anime. But somehow we're part of all this madness because we too are Japanese subculture. So next to the guy dressed like a cat-eared samurai, you might see a frilly concoction of lace and pearls.

Connecticon, or CTcon, is no exception. It's significantly smaller than most other anime conventions. This means there are less fabulous cosplayers (I say less, not none - because we did see, for example, a beautiful Sailor Moon cosplay and a lovely Suigintou) and more... well, teenagers with Naruto headbands. Consider it, if you will, the Wild West of conventions. Untamed, unbridled, and untested. And they had definitely never heard of Lolita!

Arm your parasols, girls, we're going in.

Aly, Julia, and I (right to left in photo) put on an hour-long panel and fashion show for the uninitiated. Topics included for basic Lolita 101 were styles, influences, and a long list of dos and don'ts. When a few prices were rattled off, a couple people gasped. A hush fell over the room when it was suggested that cat ears were unacceptable and 'sub-human'. And admittedly, not everyone was keen on the idea.

But some people were. Some took notes, others asked thoughtful questions. I suppose it's the idea of diamonds in the rough? One girl said, with a touch of emotion, that she had quit Lolita because of the scene - and we had reminded her why she loved it.

So, final prognosis: Lolitas at conventions? Is it a clash? I don't think it's so bad as all that. Maybe some day there will be a bigger name of Lolita, a place in the Western world. But until then, Lolita needs to keep blossoming wherever it can. And if the anime conventions are good soil for future Lolitas to grow from, then more power to them.

As Aly says, let's cut the epic :P

My Coordinate: dress, BABY the Stars Shine Bright; socks, Innocent World; shoes, Montreal; bag, SWIMMER; watch, GUESS; everything else offbrand.

Labels: event

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 5:24 PM