I grew up a total Tomboy. My idea of a successful color palette was one that included olive drab and mud! My personal beauty regimen involved letting shower water hit my face sometimes. I was a total wreck. When I was little I did have an article of clothing that I loved - my mom had bought me a thin knit, ankle-length, burgundy sweater that tied around my waist. I adored that ratty old thing and was heartbroken when I had to give it up. Something about the length and color made me feel very elegant, almost a child's version of EGA (Elegant Gothic Aristocrat). That was my first clue, looking back, to my internal (and secret) desire for an elegance that my gangly boyish self viewed as beyond my grasp.
with my family in Athens, Greece:
my bedhead was its own entity!
Fast forward a little bit, and at age fifteen, I still felt like Stacy London's worst nightmare. My wardrobe consisted of very boring and subdued clothing, almost entirely unadorned, in shades ranging from brown to black (by which I mean, not many of 'em!). Oh, there were some muted jewel tones thrown in (mostly reds), and olive drab was still a stock favorite, but it was mostly neutrals and blacks for me.
Fifteen-year-old me on vacation with family in Thailand:
still making very questionable fashion choices.
What I had developed however, was a very strong love of accessories! By this point I had gotten my (still fairly grubby) paws on a pretty large collection of scarves, hats, jackets, and basic jewelry. All of this was still pretty tame, but it was virtually unheard of to see me without at least 2-3 of these items piled on, even in the dead of summer!
pretty severe black leather jacket around age seventeen or so.
I actually like this picture, even if my hair looks like
I'm channeling Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka on a Monday
I actually like this picture, even if my hair looks like
I'm channeling Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka on a Monday
A lot of this lack of color and plain wear was due, as I mentioned in my introduction piece, to a general lack of knowledge regarding fashion trends and feeling intimidated by the fashion world and femininity in general. I had allowed my fear of being judged by my peers to rob me of my desire to experiment with apparel. I had become complacent with my sense of style and was content to live on the outskirts of fashion ( :( poor, poor me. boohoo, so sad!). I compensated for my lack of fashion know-how by being completely unafraid of changing my hair color (even if the shape has stayed roughly the same), a lot. Pictured below - several incarnations of hair color over the years (probably not in correct chronological order).
...And that is definitely a short sampling.
Now that I'm in my twenties, I have certainly been a little more open to adding new colors to my wardrobe and actually wearing prints (le gasp!!), but I'm still not satisfied with my look. It has no real direction, or anything definite that I can point to and say 'This. This is what I am inspired by'. I feel as though I am a blank canvas, which is some ways, makes this easier. I don't feel like I have a lot of unlearning to do about clothing, and I'm pretty good at following rules.
So. Looking back at my fashion choices over the years I find in myself a few style traits that parallel the Lolita aesthetic.
1. A desire for elegance, and subdued jewel tones - I think Classic is the way to go for me, to be honest. I think I'm definitely more geared towards that substyle of Lolita. I believe I would also like to attempt Kuro (mostly) and Shiro (some) Lolita, but I don't see straight-up Gothic or Sweet working for me.
2. Modesty - I'm pretty much always covered up, sometimes overly so.
2. Modesty - I'm pretty much always covered up, sometimes overly so.
3. Strong love of accessories - bring on the extras, baby!
And lastly:
4. High comfort-level regarding unnatural hair color - I often dye my hair on a sudden whim, and I TOTALLY look forward to wearing a wig, especially because I haven't had long hair since I was about five!
4. High comfort-level regarding unnatural hair color - I often dye my hair on a sudden whim, and I TOTALLY look forward to wearing a wig, especially because I haven't had long hair since I was about five!
Next Stop: Classic Lolita. Let's Do This Thing.
- Leda
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