Fluffy Skirts and Giant Bows — The Misunderstood Subculture of Lolita Fashion

And no, it has nothing to do with the book

I’m a self proclaimed weirdo. A nerd. A reader, a writer, a cosplayer, a gamer. And yes, a lolita — in the fashion sense.

It’s a very niche topic, but one that’s near and dear to my heart. In fact, my personal blog is solely dedicated to lolita fashion! These days, rather than being a very underground alternative fashion lolita is coming into the spotlight of television shows and web series that focus on people who deviate from the norm in terms of self expression through clothing. While this is a good thing — though to be honest, I long for the day to come when we don’t have “alternative” fashions because it’s the norm for everyone to just wear clothes they like — it does come with a slew of misinterpretations of the style and the general run of hateful comments.

The author with lolita model RinRin Doll, photographed by Little Raven Photography.

So while my voice here on Medium is still rather small, I wanted to put together an article about the fashion subculture that I love in an attempt to counter those misconceptions. While doing so, I also want to talk about alternative fashion in general and why I think, now more than ever, it’s a very important thing.

Before I begin I want to clarify that I’m talking mostly about my own experience with lolita…