Trends I like and dislike.

I have been wearing lolita fashion for about five years, and a lot of things have changed both in the community, what is popular, and how exactly my fashion has changed. On that topic, I thought I'd include the look voted as a favourite from my Wardrobe Challenge post last week, since it is actually a revamp of an old coordinate I wore years back.

This is how I wore it the beginning of my junior year in college (omg this photo looks so old, haha, I don't even use that camera anymore, I have TWO new ones!):

I feel like now I have have a much better grasp of colour balancing and make-up, hahaha~ A lot has changed in a couple of years. Also omg, look at my dorm room!! This is when I first moved in with one of my best friends.

I remember when I first started lolita fashion--people didn't really wear wigs unless they were natural colours, and when the trend first started to arise, I was just so upset about it. I felt like I couldn't pull off any wigs and I started to moan and grumble about how people were picking a wig colour that matches the print they are wearing and I just didn't understand why. I also felt like with my incredibly long and thick hair, wearing wigs just wasn't in the cards for me (but that's before I learned this really quick trick to doing it). Now, I have a giant box full of wigs, and even though I don't think I wear them that often, I do wear them now, and it's pretty funny thinking that I ever thought I looked bad in them in the first place.

I also used to be really against set-wearing. I just didn't see the point in spending extravagant amounts of money on the headbow and socks to match a dress because it seemed to take the point out of dressing up and coming up with your own coordinates. Now I find set-wearing a really nice alternative to those who are starting out in lolita and haven't quite found their niche style yet. Not to mention, collecting a whole set for a certain line increases the value of the items as a whole in some situations. Lately I've been seeing lolita as more of a collecting opportunity too, it's just nice to have entire sets.

This next part was a Lolita Blog Carnival topic some time ago, but I thought I'd just address it now. Initially when the topic came up, I just couldn't think of three things I dislike that is trending now because I almost always see someone pull off something or the other wonderfully. With over a month to contemplate the topic, I finally came up with two (I was supposed to come up with three!!) things that bother me that have been becoming more popular in alternative fashions.

Blended Wigs: Not to be confused with split wigs or ombré-dyed wigs, I'm talking about those blended wigs that have two colours just swirled throughout the fibres. It just seems really confused and sloppy to me, especially if the colours really contrast. I've seen a couple girls pull it off, but I think it has more to do with how sweet and confident they look just pushing them into the "bearable" category. Normally I think a hundred different wigs would have looked better than the blended option.

Under-the-knee socks: I'm really strange and really don't like knees. I just like how they look covered up, whether with tights or a longer skirt or something. I actually think some plus-sized lolitas look adorable with under-the-knee socks, but I usually dislike it in general. Not to mention, when knees are showing in lolita--which tends to utilise skirts that sit on the waist, it just makes a person look shorter or strangely disproportionate, and it's not a very good illusion.

Just for fun, I'll also address three commonly listed pet peeves that I've seen that I actually don't have a problem with!

(Credit: DayJaVUE Photography)

Blonde hair on darker skin: (I tried to find high quality photos of darker skinned people wearing blonde wigs, but only found this one in silver.) I prefer silvers/white vs. platinum  blonde on myself, but I think pretty much everyone can pull off whatever hair colour they please. I really don't like the whole "only certain skin tones can do this" kind of talk that I hear a lot, because in the end, no one but the person wearing the stuff can dictate what they wear. If they want to look like a fierce blonde, so be it! I'm sure there are colours that people want to say don't look good on light-skinned people as well, but they shouldn't be stopped because of it.

Pigeon-toes in pictures: I'm actually slightly pigeon-toed, so sometimes if I don't consciously make it a point to stand a certain way, I can look like I'm doing the forced doll pose. For this reason I just don't really judge other people who do the same thing, who knows if they actually have the same condition! And besides, I don't really pay attention to the kind of pose someone is striking if I like their outfit.

Religion in fashion: For some reason, people have been up-in-arms about others who choose to wear headscarves with lolita or the prints that have religious figures on them. I really don't see a problem with it as long as it is done respectfully, and the people who are practicing those religions do not try to force their ideologies onto anyone else. Lolita (sometimes unknowingly) becomes a large part of a person's life because of the amount of money it takes to fund it, and that can lead to people mixing it with other major parts of their life. There is nothing wrong with that, and honestly, if it really upsets you so much, just don't buy that dress. And for those who feel like they need to say something about a person wearing a headscarf, you're not being forced to wear it by being around them, so just keep it to yourself.

I think to sum it all all up, everyone has their pet peeves and the things they think look good in the fashion, but fashion is for only you. In the end you really can't tell anyone what they can or cannot wear, or force your opinion onto others.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving if you celebrate the holiday! =)