5 Style-Icon-Worthy Places You're Not Shopping

We've all been told the old idiom that brand does not a lolita make. This is true. Slapping on the latest brand coordinate, pre-designed and labeled for you to easily add to your shopping cart, is easy and will look cute. And of course will send more money to the holy coffers of Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Angelic Pretty. But it's not very... well, memorable. How can you make your coordinate stand out from the pack? What makes one outfit a landmark, and the other a bust? Here is my list of 5 Style-Icon-Worthy Places You're Not Shopping (in case that was a mystery!)

By the way, that's Takulu, a Japanese lolita, shown above. Her coordinates are brand, but often amazingly unique. As I wrote this article, she seemed to keep jumping out at me. Consider her your style icon patron saint. We'll see more of her towards the end of this article!



1. Ebay. As baby lolitas we are trained to stay away from eBay, told that it's the axis of evil replicas and lace monsters. Guess what? It's not really true! Maybe back in the day, when I joined up, the place really was a minefield of ita-worthy dresses. But today you can find all sorts of unique items for your outfit. While there may not be a slew of brand dresses up for grabs, you can find other items that make an outfit pop. I've bought cute tights, Asian-inspired fashion suitable for everything from mori girl to ulzzang, and even cute vintage items for girls into popkei or sweet lolita. See an awesome no-name accessory in your favorite outfit snap? Go to Ebay and start hunting! Example: I just got mine in the mail of these... sheer white-dot tights. Sheer tights and socks are quite popular in street fashion lately. I hardly want to take mine off, they're adorable and feel like silk!

2. Don't buy new. Ever. Okay, okay, sometimes. If you're dying for the newest Sugary Mansion Rainbow dress, go for it. But I find my best pieces are bought second-hand. Not only is it shopping-savvy (you can save some major dough, sometimes more than 50% of buying new), but you can find all kinds of unique or rare dresses and brands you can't just snap up off the rack. Styles from past years can set new trends now, and in lolita fashion, nothing ever really goes out of style - it's just waiting to come back in. My top favorite is the oldie-but-goodie Closet Child. I really liked Fairy Angel for a while as they have a very wide selection, but the prices are rather steep for consignment (I'll eat my words - I just ordered a new dress from them before this article went live...). Another option along the same line is Alice Fururun - read the how-to-use guide here. All three of these secondhand shops ship internationally!



3. But that's not lolita! Shopping outside your genre can reveal great clothing items for head-turning coordinates. Stray outside the known lolita confines and you'll find exactly what you need to spice up your outfits. You can find lace-edged, cropped denim jackets. Fur stoles. Carousel headbands. Heart-shaped heels on shoes. Here's a quick list of other genres that can contribute to a lolita's closet:

• hime-kei
• otome
• gyaru
• mori girl
• popkei
• ulzzang
• vintage
• rockabilly
• punk
• dolly-kei
• steampunk

If you're not sure where to start, pick a few genres that interest you and join any communities you see. Lurk around and see where other style mavens are getting their hottest picks. Maybe you'd never dream of putting on a full gyaru coordinate, but are in love with gyaru circle lenses. Or maybe rockabilly isn't for you, but those black-and-white polka dot heels or saddle shoes perfectly complete your retro-era Metamorphose JSK. Case in point: the above wedges are cute and comfortable for lolita, despite being typically worn with himegyaru style.


4. Hole-in-the-wall, best-kept-secret places. Etsy, I am looking at you. For example: Chocomint had this one cute 'vintage kitten' style pin. I love vintage kittens. I can picture a sweet lolita outfit, channeling the 50s and the gals of Edward Scissorhand's neighborhood, and maybe even Professor Umbridge, in pink checks - like, say, Angelic Pretty's Sherbet Check JSK. But where are you going to find more than one vintage kitten to soup up your look?! Answer: type 'vintage kitten' into Etsy and get a host of perfectly adorable accessories. It's the details that take an ordinary JSK to unforgettable. Other places you might discover could be on Rakuten (shopping service optional), or just cute boutiques local or online. For girls in NYC, the Stone Flower is a personal favorite. I have a huge, gorgeous chiffon & mesh bow from them I couldn't find anywhere else.



5. Your local crafting and/or miniature store. Here's another cute, simple coordinate from Takulu. She has a piano on her head. And she's distinctly awesome. She's well-known (reposted, reblogged, saved to hard drives all over the world, etc) because of her amazing outfit photos. One of these reasons is her DIY skills. I believe she's also the first person to make a matching bonnet for Sugary Carnival from an eco-tote, which become a big fad for a while. Think outside the box and make even just a few accessories to correspond with your outfits. You don't have to be an amazing seamstress to make the local crafting store (Joann's, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc) your new friend. I have about 0.5% sewing ability, but even I can pick up a package of scrapbook bows, add clips to them with a hot-glue gun, and sprinkle them throughout lolita curls like Misako's model designed here. Other things you can find? Rainbow yarn to knit cute bows, felt to make into strange hats shaped like teacups or cakes, or doll house food for unique rings. Here's Takulu again, wearing a present-box headdress (headband? hair ornament? hat?), easily put together from simple crafting supplies:


It's super simple to make - gift boxes, ribbon, and stickers - it matches her print (Starry Candy Rabbit) and adorably innovative. I've recently snagged a carousel to put on my head (coordinate soon!) that I alas, did not make, but is handmade in a similar vein.


The trick to finding unique items, be they vintage, DIY-potential, or just plain different is patience, and time. Surf the internet or go window-shopping; rummage through bins at your local good will or church bazaar. Good shopping - the kind that finds exactly what you're looking for, not the kind we associate with huge bags and endless plastic credit cards - is about making connections in colors, motifs and

Labels: fashion, guide

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 1:10 PM