/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

>Lolitas wear lolita as a costume
If you only wear frills once or twice a month, or year, like some people I know, it's hard to argue it isn't a costume. Clothes are made to be worn, you don't need to stockpile all your nice things to be used "some day" like you're preparing for the final boss in an RPG, you're going to get old and die and never have enjoyed any of your cool shit. Clothes are made to be worn, and they can be washed and mended. If you feel overdressed there are ways you can tone down your outfit, and if you're overshooting that far into OTT you could probably afford to dial it back anyway. That said, expressing your style and looking nice shouldn't be discouraged even if you're just running errands.


>OTT trend
I think this is where you can costume it up for a convention or something, but the way some people only own extravagant costume jewelry and don't know how to else to wear their dresses. I'm all for self expression, but if you're bringing a sceptre and wearing a giant pink wig with a unicorn horn glued to your forehead when we go out to a coffee shop.. you make everyone look a little more ridiculous by proximity.


>Lolitas won't wear the same thing twice
I think this stigma contributes to wearing it like a costume. I know people who will buy a dress and wear it once or twice, take photos, and resell it within a month or two. I think this is some affect of social media and CoF posting, where we only show ourselves at our best. Livejournal used to be for daily coords, but almost everything that was posted there would now be considered casual. I know people who are upset because they own everything they want and feel like their wardrobe is complete.. but they don't want to rewear things too often so they feel like they need a constant flow of new clothes. You used to be able to find dresses 50% off secondhand, but now while the number of items is increasing, the prices are all near or at retail because "NWT worn once"