Monday, August 17, 2015

How Lolita has Changed Me (52 Lolita Challenge)

This is one of those posts that I actually found kind of difficult--not because I don't agree that something like fashion can change a person, because it completely can. Instead, I think the most difficult part was separating the changes caused by Lolita, and the changes caused by the usual process of growing up and becoming an adult.

But I think the biggest change Lolita has had on me was in one simple, but very important, thing: it taught me how to dress myself, and dress myself well. Though I'd always liked the structured, Victorian-esque Gothic look, I never quite figured out how to properly achieve the look. (At times, I'm still not sure I'm quite satisfied with where I am--I want to greatly improve my makeup skills, for example.)

Lolita encouraged me to get outside of my jeans-with-a-T-shirt-and-no-makeup comfort zone. I had a lot to learn, given that I never really learned much about makeup and clothes as a teenager. I needed to learn how to do my makeup properly (and even picked up how to put on false eyelashes properly--something I never would have attempted for fear of it being "too hard" before). I had to experiment until I learned how to balance colors in an outfit properly. I had to figure out how to combine items into a working outfit, to mix and match things, and how to identify clothing that I'd be able to wear a variety of ways.

I had a lot of things to learn when I started Lolita, and lots of these skills on "how to put together a Lolita coordinate" have helped me to pull together office- and work-related outfits more cohesively, as well. Lolita was a way to motivate me to learn how to dress myself in "regular" fashion, as well, because it provided me with a fun goal (a Lolita coordinate) to encourage me to gain mundane, if somewhat tedious, skills.

Other things about me has changed since I started wearing Lolita, of course, and plenty of them have been instrumental in me wearing Lolita. My sewing has improved by milestones; I've started a project (my blog) and consistently provided it with content, rather than letting it die after a week or two like most of my previous blogs; I've gained amazing followers and met new friends; I've gained confidence and the ability to stand up for myself, despite what others might think of me. But I don't think I want to contribute these solely to wearing Lolita. I feel like these sorts of things probably would have happened anyways--but were just helped out by having Lolita as a hobby!

I apologize for how short this week's post is; it was honestly quite difficult for me to think of much else that felt relevant! What about you? Have you noticed Lolita making any changes for you? Or do you feel like it hasn't changed much at all? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments below! Until next week.

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

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