How I Became a Lolita

Today I decided to browse through the Facebook pages of some of my favorite friends. I discovered that many of them have public blogs to share their musings with the world, so I thought, "Why not try blogging for myself?" And so began the blog of Ash.

I named this blog Lolita, Yall, because I have a deep interest in the Lolita fashion- I just love it all! I enjoy wearing frilly dresses, beautiful accessories, and colorful wigs to events all over the state of Georgia.

Why Lolita? The answer is simple! Between school and work and all other things hectic, my life fills up with stress and I find myself overwhelmed frequently, both physically and emotionally. Lolita began as a disconnect from the world of stress for me, a sort of fantasy to escape to, where I could wear beautiful clothing and be a princess and a sweetheart. Lolita quickly became very important to me, because through attending conventions, tea parties, and other events, I met numerous amazing people, and made many new friends. I find these new friends to be inspiring- they bring out the better parts of me. I've grown to love and respect my new friends, deeply.

I admired the Lolita style from afar for many years before I ever decided to become involved. After attending AWA 2011 and seeing the Frill Boutique, I discovered the Atlanta Lolita Community online, where I was pleased to discover a group of like-minded individuals. Sure, I was suspicious at first- I've not always been particularly good at making friends and being a social butterfly. Quite the contrary, actually- I spent a great deal of my childhood and adolescence feeling disconnected and cast out (though I later discovered that a lot of those feelings were brought on by my own inhibitions and fears). After some minimal socialization with a few of the members of the Atlanta community, I made a skirt and acquired some meager accessories, and worked up the courage to attend their yearly formal tea meet. Basically, I suited up in my ita armor and threw myself into the fray (that's an exaggeration). It was a fancy event, and everyone was so sweet to me! This was also when the Frill Convention was first announced, and I discovered that these fine ladies (and gentlemen) were deeply involved with the fashion and community. They wanted to build something larger. I started to feel that I wanted to be more a part of it.

Tea Hosted by the Atlanta Lolita Community

Flash forward! I attended Momocon, and further familiarized myself with other lolitas from the Atlanta community (it helped that I shared a hotel room with some of them). Being further exposed and excited by the fashion had an effect on my art- I started making Lolita inspired jewelry and accessories. I did constant shopping on sales communities specific to Lolita. I bought a ticket to the Frill Convention.

Everything was all happening so fast! I spent entire paychecks on Lolita clothing, when I'd been so frugal in the past. But building my wardrobe and making future plans to attend events thrilled me. It felt like a relationship that was getting too serious too quickly, but I didn't care because I was in love!

Attending the Frill Convention only deepened my desire to be more involved with the community and fashion. I got extremely creative with my outfits and accessories, I exchanged ideas with other Lolitas, and spent the entire weekend in some sort of fashion-induced high, and after the feedback panel, I went home feeling very fulfilled.

Now all I can think about is how I can participate and add to the community and future Frill convention. I know that this all sounds like some sappy love letter, but it's truth, and I feel very exposed emotionally for saying so. I wonder if anyone else feels the way I do about it?

Thank you, everyone who has been kind to me. Thank you, Atlanta Lolita Community, for inviting me to be a part of your events. Thank you, Frill Directors and volunteers, and everyone who showed up to add positively to the environment.

I've been filled with some kind of passion that makes me want to make magnificent cakes and cupcakes and fill the world with sweet stuff.

That's how I became a Lolita.

An earlier photo of me trying out Lolita for one of the first times.