My Secret Garden

January 5, 2002 Someone asks the difference between bloomers and drawers, and get this magical response: Either way, we typically refer to them as bloomers in this fashion. January 27, 2002 This post about an early western indie brand piqued my interest. Unfortunately, none of the links work. So, I decided to try and snoop around on Google and see if I could find anything. They still seem to be active on both Facebook and Etsy ! Not lolita, but there are a lot of gorgeous Gothic and Victorian designs! I really wish I could find some older lolita inspired designs! Unfortunately out of 21 posts, this is all that was savable for January. Though I am happy that it seems like at least one early brand has been able to stand the tests of time!

It seems that the farthest back you can view EGL on the Wayback Machine is 2011. Like I mentioned in my previous post, many companies are choosing to purge old data. I fear I must start going through these posts quickly If I want document all the information before it is no longer available. Screen grab off the Wayback Machine from April 2011, the oldest view currently available. As you can see from the image, EGL once was a thriving international community, complete with monthly themes and contests. I was able to find this older screen grab from August 2009 via the EGL wiki fanpage. Well, to be honest, I don't recall much of the story of EGL origins because it was before I ever discovered lolita. I was first entranced by the wonderful, whimsical world of lolita 15 years ago back in 2004. However, the oldest remaining post on EGL is back from January 1, 2000, and is posted by none other then Tyler, the amazingly talented designer of American indie brand Lily of the Vall

Greetings and Salutations. I am a lifestyle and daily Lolita. I dabble a little bit in all the styles and colors Lolita comes in, probably because I’ve seen so many trends come and go in the fashion. Aside from trends, I’ve watched blogs, websites, brands and even people come and go over the years. The latest victim of time that I have noticed is photos. Lolita history. Gone. Wiped out. Photobucket, tinypic, free photo hosting sites that we use to rely on in the early years of the internet are wiping out years of old photos. EGL on Livejournal use to be the  go-to place for sharing photos and excitement with other fans of Lolita around the world. And don’t come at me for the use of the word fan . Back then, most people had to rely on diy, handmade, thrifted and modified clothing unless you were fortunate enough to know someone in Japan, or were able to go to Japan yourself for all your shopping needs. There were no shopping services. Hardly any good western indie brands. You can’t