Is Classic Lolita dead?

Sweet, gothic, and classic. 

Whether you started out 10+ years ago and read a guide on LJ or joined yesterday and asked someone on FB, people will tell you these are the 3 main substyles of lolita fashion. And yet, with each passing year, it seems classic lolita is more and more irrelevant. One could argue that defining classic as one of the top 3 substyles may be immaterial at this point — and many of us would argue the substyle is in fact dead. 

But I'm not here to argue whether or not classic is dead. Rather, I want to talk about factors that have contributed to it being so unpopular, common misconceptions about what classic even is, and what the future of classic lolita might be. While I'll be drawing from facts, a lot of this is just my personal theories, so don't take this as the holy grail opinion on the topic! I'm someone who happens to wear a lot of classic lolita and considers it their main substyle, but I was not active in lolita fashion during the years in which classic brands were most active. 

What is classic lolita?

Sometimes I joke that if I had a dollar for every time someone posts a "classic" coord online, only for it to be sweet lolita with florals, I'd be rich. And yet, this is all too common. It's hard to say without sounding like an asshole or elitist but frankly, there seems to be a lack of understanding in the lolita community about what classic lolita actually is. I think this is largely because of the lack of examples or active brands, or the "everything Innocent World releases is pure classic" mentality, but anyway. 

Classic lolita examples.

Classic lolita can be defined, in my opinion, by 3 main traits. 

First: an A-line shape. Pretty much no classic dresses will have the bell/cupcake shape that sweet dresses do. 

Second: historical influence. This isn't to say classic lolita is "historically accurate", but that there is a clearer line drawn between classic cuts/motifs and Victorian, or Rococo, or Edwardian styles. This is tangentially related but you will almost never see border prints in classic either. Solids or all-over print fabric is much more common.

Third: Relatively simple styling. OTT classic is a thing but even then, it does not come close to OTT sweet. A lot of classic lolitas I know reuse the same brown shoes a lot, simple blouse, a hat or headdress, plain socks. By normie standards this is really extravagant, of course, but by lolita standards classic lolitas can look pretty plain! 

Florals do not a classic dress make! These are sweet.

Common mistakes I see are people assuming any floral/antique pattern is automatically classic, or any jewel tones are classic. In reality, classic lolita can come in all colors, including light pink and black. I also see people taking solid dresses with simple styling and call them classic, when the dress they're wearing has like 10 bows, lace and ruffles everywhere. This is technically possible in classic, but 9 times out of 10, a more cutesy, ruffly cut is a sweet dress. 

The brands (where are they now?)

The 3 most well-known classic lolita brands are Victorian Maiden, Mary Magdalene, and Innocent World — with a major mention to Juliette & Justine as well. Of these brands, the most active currently are Victorian Maiden and Innocent World. 

Victorian Maiden did shut down briefly, only to make a comeback and now are releasing things pretty regularly — though we haven't seen a full return in my opinion. No shoes, much less headwear, and an overall decline in quality (not to say they're terrible, just not quite the same). Most recently, designer Lumi announced her retirement. It's too early to say what impact this will have on the brand, but fingers crossed everything is OK. I do think a few of their newer releases have really scratched the classic itch, notably their recent Antique Rose release. I was also really into the Swan Lake series and am strongly debating getting the OP in black. 

Innocent World is very active and has found their niche with older lolitas. They release longer cuts almost exclusively now. They never seem to give their models long enough petticoats, though. Lampshade city. I haven't bought IW new in years, as I find their quality is very much lacking for the price — but almost all their releases sell out, so clearly they have a dedicated audience. Since I'm unsure how much of any design they produce, it's hard to say how much they're selling, but in any case older Japanese Lolitas seem to love them. I can't grumble about this as it's keeping classic alive, but my elitist self can't help but feel like the quality of their materials is not representative of what true classic should be lol. You can judge me if you want. I'm just saying, I bought an apron from them new like 2 years ago and it was riddled with loose threads. I was not impressed. 

[I also want to note that a lot of IW releases — the most popular ones, anyway — really toe the line for me. Lotta and Revival Anette are two of their most beloved releases, but both of them read as sweet to me. Toned down, maybe country-inspired sweet, but sweet nonetheless. Totally aware that people will disagree with me on this, but that's just what I think!]

Often thought of as "the" classic dress — I'm not so sure.

Mary Magdalene is very likely dead. Even in their heyday, they were comprised of a handful of people designing garments in an apartment in Kyoto (or Osaka? Someone correct me!). MM has been in slow decline for a few years now — they had a preorder for a Farutetto rerelease a few years ago which they didn't end up honoring (they refunded people). Then they had a coat preorder last year which seems to have done well, and those did indeed ship out, but we've heard nothing from them since February 2021. It's depressing, as I think people were excited to welcome them back. I'm particularly heartbroken since I love Mary Magdalene and I think they are quintessentially classic… but their designs have been famously ripped off over the years by Milanoo-type sites. I think newbies to the fashion still fall for those. I always facepalm when I see that — like, in what world could you buy a dress like Ekaterina or Petit Four OP for under 100$? Come on, people!

Juliette & Justine is the brand I know the least about, but they seem to still be active. They're a bit more niche and definitely not for everyone. Personally, I'm not into their painting prints and some of their cuts are straight up weird, lol. Anyway!

Overall unpopularity of classic lolita : The reasons

Regardless of each brand's situation, classic lolita as a whole is much less popular compared to sweet and gothic. When the pandemic first started, the other 2 substyles BOOMED, while classic remained more or less the same. I think there are two main reasons for this, which I'll get into now.

Sizing

It's no secret that the majority of classic lolita is small. Like, REALLY small. I'm 5"3 and quite thin but I can't fit into most older Victorian Maiden. The average waist on their older releases seems to be around 64-65cm, which as a fully grown 28-year-old man is not an option for me. I suspect this is small for many Japanese women as well! Mary Magdalene is also quite small, most of it unshirred. Basically, classic is the least size inclusive of the 3 substyles. And while there are Taobao brands offering some classic designs, I don't feel like a lot of them nail the "look" of classic lolita in the same way VM and MM do. (For the record, I think gothic isn't that size-inclusive either, but I see less comments to this effect.)

It's sort of a Catch-22, because I think classic brands for the most part didn't take off the way Angelic Pretty did. If you're not selling a lot, it's less likely you'll expand and branch out to larger sizes. But then if they had larger sizes, they might sell more. Hence the Catch-22. But suffice to say the teeny tiny sizing has not helped classic boom in popularity. 

Performance on social media

It's cynical, sure, but the reality is classic lolita does not perform as well as sweet or gothic. There is probably another blog post somewhere in this point, but I do think a lot of people in 2021 get into alt fashion for their social media presence, having a cool feed, and so on. OTT sweet and gothic do so much better in this regard! Sweet lolita is the most visible substyle and many people interested in lolita fashion think sweet is the only side of the fashion. Meanwhile, classic lolitas on IG often cater to totally different communities — historical fashion comms, vintage comms, and so on. 

Basically, I think lolita fashion in the last few years has become a victim of the Hype. AP releases are more and more competitive, Wunderwelt crashes every time Moitie has a release…and classic just hasn't carried nearly the same amount of anticipation or status. You don't really get the "flex" of owning the newest print. I'm not saying I'm above this — I definitely fall for the Moitie hype, too! But I mean, when is the last time a classic dress has been so sought after that a Victorian Maiden release crashed Wunderwelt?

The current state (and future) of classic

These days, I can probably count on 2 hands the number of people I know who wear classic regularly. A lot of them (most of them) bought their wardrobes years ago. Many of us wait years and years for that elusive rare MM or VM to pop up on a secondhand site. We get wardrobe fillers from vintage stores or non-lolita shops. Next to the other two substyles, it's hard to see any resemblance.

This poor dress has been replicated so many times. I think a lot of newbies don't even know it's MM!

To me, it feels like classic lolitas are almost separate from the lolita community in general. Maybe I'm being negative, but it feels like classic lolita ""culture"" is just different — again, much less hype, fewer releases to discuss, more of an affinity with vintage or historical fans. 

I think for classic to boom again, we'd need to see brands be more active. We'd need more sizing options. OTT classic would probably be popular over standard classic. These are just my theories, though. 

I love classic lolita with a passion and I dearly love the dresses I've found over the years. I'll keep trying to complete my classic wishlist and I'll keep wearing classic even if it totally dies out. This blog post probably seems negative but I write it all because I love classic so much! 

She Past Away Show

I recently got to see She Past Away perform and I'm so happy I did! As I probably have mentioned before, I got really into the goth subculture during quarantine, so up until now I didn't have a chance to see any music live (for obvious reasons). Truthfully it was a bit weird being there, in the sense that I don't think the pandemic is over by any means and yet people behaved as if everything was fine. Once there I was like "well, I'm here, might as well enjoy it", but I'm not sure if I'd rush back to a show until we have more info on the new variants. 

Anyway, heavy stuff aside, I had a lot of fun. I went with a good friend and my partner, both of whom aren't familiar with She Past Away, so I got to introduce them! I'm really bad at sharing stuff I'm passionate about. I have a fear of annoying people or boring them. So this was a challenge for me, but I soon relaxed and I think they both had fun! The show was at the Fairmount Theater, which is an OK size, definitely a music venue but nothing massive. A local act called Oiseau de Proie (bird of prey) opened for them. I wasn't familiar with her but my friend said they went to high school with her?? 

I didn't want to wear gothic lolita because it's so sweaty, so I wore a goth outfit using lolita elements. Some goth women told me I looked really good which was super flattering!!!!

Skirt: Meta

Cutsew + socks: Moitie

Bustier: Killstar

Shoes: Yosuke

Choker: Necrosarium

The show itself was so fun! They played mostly from their newer album, Disko Anksiyete, which is really upbeat and great to dance to. They played their more popular songs from their first album, too. I drank beer and danced but didn't go into the crowd. We stayed more to the side and that was a better option for sure. I also got a t-shirt from the merch table.

I debated which design to pick and almost got one with just the band name, but my partner thought this hand one looked cool so I went with this one. It was a good choice. Anyway, that was my time at She Past Away! Depending on how things go with COVID, I'd really like to see Molchat Doma in May and maybe Lebanon Hanover. That's all for now!

Chandelier JSK Coord

JSK, socks, bag : Moi-meme-Moitie

Blouse: BTSSB

Headdress: Antique Beast

Parasol: AP

Shoes: Miho Matsuda (purchased 2nd hand as I refuse to support them)

This weekend I went out for brunch with my boyfriend and then went Christmas shopping. It was a gloomy, rainy day but I think that worked to our advantage since brunch places were less busy than usual. I didn't get pictures but I had a really good breakfast plate with extra-thick bacon and homemade bread. Really good!

We also went to the east end to go record shopping for Xmas presents. I was successful in that regard, but not at finding anything for myself (not that I should be spending money on myself this month). I can't say this without sounding ~pretentious~ but the reality is, the albums I want are rarely if ever stocked at record shops...I'll have to bite the bullet and do a bandcamp shopping spree one day! 

We finished our morning by getting starbucks christmas drinks! I used to work at Sbux and while people assume I'd be sick of their stuff by now, their Xmas drinks really put me in the holiday mood. 

I was really happy with my coord that day. I got the JSK from a former member of my comm and while I was a bit worried about the bustier cut, I think it looks good. I might get some removable clear straps added to it down the line but as it is now I like it. Also pretty much all my gothic looks involve this bag lately but whatever, it's a good bag. 

Going to spend the rest of this month finalizing Xmas shopping (I get it done early ok!) and getting hyped for the She Past Away concert! I also have a pair of knee-high Yosuke boots coming in the mail soon that I'm super excited about since they'll be great daily wear on top of being useful for lolita. And that's about it! 

Recent Music Favourites

In an attempt to make my blog more varied than just fashion topics, I thought I'd share some of the albums I've been listening to lately! I prefer to listen to albums all at once when I listen to music rather than just individual songs, so I thought it made sense to focus on them. I'm also far from an "expert" at talking about music or describing it, so expect a lot of inaccurate or bad descriptions. 

She Past Away - Disko Anksiyete 

A darkwave group from Turkey, I discovered them through their first album, Belirdi Gece. Lately though I've been digging this one, their latest album! It has even more of an 80s sound and is extremely high energy. I like a more morose and low key goth sound too, but anything I can dance to will always be my favourite. I'm supposed to see this group at the end of the month and my fingers are crossed that I can actually go! 

Joy Division - Closer

Yeah I know, I'm like 40 years late to this one. Whatever. Unknown Pleasures is their better known album and it's also really good, but Closer is the one I keep going back to. I particularly love "Passover" and "Heart and Soul". Every track is distinct but also bleeds into each other, which is what I love in an album. And I wish I could sing like Ian Curtis could.

Switchblade Symphony - Serpentine Gallery

To be honest I'm not generally a fan of ethereal darkwave/goth rock, as I find it too slow for my taste. But this album has been really enjoyable for when I need to focus on work or if I need a break from high energy stuff. I haven't listened to their other work so I can't speak for it, but the vocals on this album are extremely atmospheric and make me feel like I'm in a 90s teen fantasy movie...

As an aside, I love this album cover.

Lebanon Hanover - Tomb For Two

I've actually been really into a lot of their albums lately, but I picked this one in particular because it has Gallowdance on it, which I think is their best song. I believe they're German (?), though their music is in English. The main vocalist, Larissa Iceglass, has such a haunting and androgynous voice. To me, she is the epitome of goth vocals.

Kaelan Mikla - Undir Köldum Norðurljósum

My final pick and possibly my favourite on the list. Kaelan Mikla is a darkwave group from Iceland, I think they're all fairly young (younger than me anyway), but they sound like they've been making music for decades. This album has a really strong witchy vibe, particularly the main single "Stormurinn". This album literally just came out and I think it might be their best one to date. I'm tempted to buy it on vinyl, especially because it comes in this gorgeous teal blue colour. 

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Anyway that's just a few albums I wanted to share and recommend! Again, I'm literally terrible at talking about music in any profound sort of way, but it's enough to say I like these. I hope you do too. 

5 Gothic Coords (September-October 2021)

It's officially Halloween month, so I figured I'd do a breakdown of some of my latest gothic coords. My first post on this blog was a roundup of some of my favorite classic coords, so it's about time I do the same for my other main substyle. 

My relationship to gothic lolita is sort of complicated, in that I only got really invested in gothic lolita in the last 2 years. I'm still quite new to it. It's also complicated by the fact that—to be honest?—I'm not a diehard Mana or Malice Mizer/Moi dix Mois fan. I like Au Revoir and that's basically it. I know that you don't need to love those bands/Mana to wear gothic lolita, of course, but sometimes I feel sort of bad loving Moi-meme-Moitie without the attachment to its origins! 

In any case, my normal daily wear is mostly black clothing, so gothic lolita makes me feel most like myself. I've also been getting very into the goth subculture the last couple of years, coincidentally in line with when lockdown started (as they say, a lot of us picked up new interests and hobbies during quarantine). While the western goth subculture and goth music have little to do with gothic lolita, I often enjoy both of them simultaneously. 

Anyway, I've been loving supporting and discovering new goth accessory artisans these past few years, and while my collection is humble, I can't wait to grow my wardrobe in the future.

1. Vampire Prelude Coord

JSK, socks: Alice & The Pirates

Headdress: Innocent World

Blouse: BTSSB

Bag: Metamorphose

I wore this coord to get fancy cakes. It doesn't sound exciting but I liked just riding the train to the other side of town while listening to music and zoning out. Guess I'm an old man. Anyway, I'm extremely happy with how this coord turned out. When I received this JSK (to replace my red one) I was surprised by how ivory it is. I was a little concerned it would clash with my wardrobe but in the end I think it's perfect!

2. A Velour Nightmare

Skirt: Metamorphose

Jacket: Black Peace Now

Choker: Raspberry Mazohyst

Shoes: Yosuke

I mean nightmare in the cool edgy way. I got this skirt on a good deal and I love the long raschel lace and velour texture. Plus, the way the cut drapes in the front is so flattering! This coord is also the first time I wore my Yosuke platforms, which shockingly are pretty comfortable (I just need to concentrate when I walk). 

3. "Casual" Cross OP 

OP, socks, necklace, bag: Moitie

Horns: Eat Me Ink Me

Choker: Necrosarium

I'm calling this casual because I find the Cross OP always looks somewhat casual-comfy. I mean that in a good way though! It's easily my most comfortable piece, which was useful in this case, as I wore it to get dinner and watch Shang Chi in theatres. 

4. A Gloomy Walk

Skirt, bag, socks: Moitie

Blouse: BTSSB

Headdress (which you can barely see): Antique Beast

This was my second time coording my Holy Queen skirt, which as I mentioned in a previous post, I received with some fading. Again, I think it barely shows here, so I feel like I got a great deal on this piece. I wore this to go on a walk with my partner, during our week off together. It was threatening rain for most of the day but I think it suited my look!

5. Bat Maid

OP: Sheglit

Apron: Innocent World

Shoes: Fluevog

Velvet Ribbon: Mary Magdalene (repurposed from a coat)

Bag: Moitie

This coord probably toes the line between gothic and classic, but I love that combo to be honest! I wore this most recently, as I'm starting to get in the Halloween mood. "Bat maid" coords are definitely a Halloween lolita staple, but they're usually only popular with sweet lolitas, so I did my own spin on it. Again, this coord was incredibly comfy! I wore this to get lunch and go to the post office.

And there you have it, some of my most recent gothic coords! I'll probably do blog entries like this periodically with classic and gothic coords. It's fun to do slightly more in-depth breakdowns of my coords when I have the energy. 

Weekend chill + Lolita meetup

Since things are opening up here and my city has introduced a vaccine passport, there have been a lot more opportunities to go out while feeling relatively safe. I spent this past weekend dressing up, eating delicious food, and attending my first meet in literal years. I wanted to record it here so that when it gets dark and cold out, I can remember the fun times that summer brought! 

Jacket: Victorian Maiden
OP: Mary Magdalene
Hat: Sylvia Quaint
Socks: AP
Bag: Innocent World

On the Saturday, I went out with my partner on a date. We stopped by a local thrift shop I really love — there's always a ton of cool stuff and something for every aesthetic you can think of. I thought this room in particular was perfect for classic lolita, so I got a photo of my coord. I ended up buying myself a mini painting of a woman dressed in regency attire. The frame it came in was also gorgeous.

Summer 2021 Haul!

After an absolutely terrible 2020 and a rough start to 2021, things are finally working out for me.

Long story short, I had to leave my job in Japan in 2020 due to COVID. I got a job in Canada a few months later but for various reasons including bad company culture, I had to leave. So for the first chunk of 2021, I was unemployed AGAIN. Finally in April, due to a complete stroke of luck and knowing the right people, I landed a job I truly love. 

I'm not really a career-minded person and I certainly don't live to work, but it's important to me to work somewhere with a positive vibe and good people. I finally have that, plus I write for a living. And of course...I get a sweet, sweet paycheque. All this to say, I've had a lot more freedom to indulge in my hobbies lately, which means I can show off some purchases from the last few months!