How I Discovered Lolita (Lolita 52 Challenge)

Because this is a con preparation week (and I have a bunch of other things going on this week, as well, both in school and in family), I thought that I would cover this short but sweet little story as a result! I've talked about this a few times on my Tumblr, but I thought it might be fun to share a more in-depth answer here.

I was about 14 or so when I first discovered Lolita. At the time, I collected porcelain dolls, and somehow stumbled across In The Starlight and Baby The Stars Shine Bright when looking at doll clothes. This was in 2007, when Old School Lolita still held the throne, but was beginning to transition into the "modern" Lolita (what with printed fabric becoming more popular and the cuts beginning to solidify into types more concretely).

Hawase Doll OP by Baby the Stars Shine Bright (2007), one of the first pieces I ever coveted

I fell in love with these dresses, but the price was way too high for me to afford--and I was horrified at the idea of asking my mother to buy me a $300 dress! I couldn't even fathom that dresses could even be that expensive at the time. It sort of just faded into the background after a while, and as I began to explore other avenues of alternative fashion (Goth and, briefly, Punk), I forgot about it.

I rediscovered it when I was 17 or so when a friend of mine began dressing in Sweet. She turned me onto Gothic, because it fit with the style that I built for myself, and the aesthetic I had always wanted to wear as a teenager. I began researching in earnest, and I can remember the very first Gothic Lolita coordinate I ever saw--this beautiful coordinate using Angelic Pretty of all things below.

A year after she rekindled my love for these frilly, cute dresses, I began to wear Lolita myself! It only took four years since my initial finding, but finally--finally, I had frilly, cute, doll-like dresses to call my own! Though, of course, I was decidedly more creepy than my original expectations would have thought...

So what was your story? I'd love it if you shared it with me in the comment section below!

The post above was a response to the Lolita 52 Week Challenge made by the ever so delightful Caro over at FYeahLolita.