Why do I like lolita? The answer is simple. It makes me feel pretty.
Okay, so am I a walking stereotype or what? That's what all lolitas are 'supposed' to say, because of course pretty clothes make you feel pretty. Therefore that must be the only reason one would wear pretty clothes, right?
Wrong.
While that may be true for most lolitas on the surface, in reality it goes so much deeper than that.
Like every other 4-year-old girl, I wanted to be a ballerina princess when I grew up. I did ballet for a while. I drew dozens of pictures of elegant, floor-length ball gowns. Then, for some unexplained reason, I suddenly stopped and transformed into a tomboy. Pink? Gross. Dresses? Over my dead body. Skateboards, skinned knees, video games, and twigs and dirt in my hair were a way of life. Slowly but surely, I grew out of that phase, although I can still kick my brother's butt- both on Guitar Hero and in real life.
When I finally started getting into lolita, it gave me a much-needed dose of pure, unbridled feminism. Here were the frills, ribbons, laces, and general poofiness I had not seen since I had last drawn them in first grade. I looked at each dress with a sense of longing. I had dressed up before, sure, but I had never truly been pretty. I hadn't even known what pretty meant. How could I have, when pretty was staring me quite plainly in the face and I had never seen anything like it before?
When I tried on my first lolita dress, I felt something I had never felt before- beautiful. I had seen pretty, and thought pretty, but now I felt it. It was the most wonderful experience I had ever had.
I think we all want to feel pretty, deep down, even if we still have other reasons for dressing the way we do. For some, pretty means a skateboard in hand, ripped jeans and a T-shirt.
For others, it's that lovely strawberries and ice-cream JSK from Angelic Pretty's Milky Berry.
Who cares if I'm a stereotype? I have my reasons, and I feel good about it.
Do you?
