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Lolita Is Cancelled!!

Well, not really, just the post. Just the latest development in the 2020 Apocalypse. Japanese post has suspended shipment of EMS and Airmail to the USA. Now everything I’ve posted before the last few weeks has come true. It is officially 2004 again. There is no longer any way to buy from brands overseas. We must make due with the leftovers of our own local secondhand market. Nothing new is coming in. I guess it’s a good thing I have almost the entire collection of Gothic & Lolita Bibles complete with sewing patterns. The only new Lolita will be at the expense of my pricked finger tips rather than my bank account.

I remember when I first discovered Lolita in middle school. I taught myself how to sew so I could hold a little bit of this perfect world I discovered in my own hands. I would raid my step mother’s scrap fabrics to sew my own maxi pad styled headdresses to wear with my fishnets, camo mini skirts and big stomps boots. Wooo boy am I glad I never got any photos of that mess! But I still cherish the memories and remember my excitement. Brands didn’t ship overseas at the time, and the few pieces on the western secondhand market were pretty much market price even used because it was either that, or nothing. I didn’t even have a job yet so there’s no way I’d be able to buy anything. And my family still ordered stuff out of catalogs, no way would I be able to convince them to help get me something online for my birthday. Besides, they actually thought it was possible to purchase a new school year wardrobe, backpack and shoes for $60. No way.

So, I learned to sew. When I was allotted money, I would buy fabric to sew more. That’s the only way I could live in this beautiful world I knew I was destined to be apart of. I’m thankful for covid for bringing me back to the sewing machine. I have so many patterns to use and so many projects planned. Maybe next I’ll have to show off all of my handmade items? Here’s a small portion of what I have made.

OP on the left I still own and adore. Right JSK is one of the best pieces I’ve ever made, however, it did not quite fit my wardrobe, so I ended up selling it locally.

Both pieces I still own, and I’ve worn both in local fashion shows. The sax skirt is modeled after a Btssb skirt I once saw. It’s also the oldest handmade piece I still own. I think a lot of people think sewing is a cheaper alternative to buying Lolita, and honestly I usually spend MORE sewing than I do if I just bought Lolita. That’s mostly why I don have my earliest pieces now. Also, the few nice pieces I had made don’t suit my style and I ended up selling.

Ivory JSK from above, worn in a local fashion show with my daughter, wearing the matching dress I made for her.


I am really curious to know how many other sew? Have you seen in the past and then later switched to buying Lolita when it was accessible to you? Is the new shipping issues inspiring you to take up the needle and sew more of your own? If you have or seen a GLB pattern that you would love to make, Id love to know which ones you’ve always wanted to make yourself!
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