The know how of Casual Lolita

As amazing as Over The Top (OTT) Lolita Fashion is let's face
it, it's just not practical for everyday wear. An over the top Lolita outfit will not only make you stand out and look a little crazy, but will be very impracticable in your everyday life. Although...why should you have to get rid of your frills for everyday life? You should wear what you feel happy and comfortable with shouldn't you? Even the over the top lifestyle Lolita will have an occasion or an event where dressing down is required. So here's the simple do's and don't's of dressing down your frills.

Cardigans, cut-sews and t-shirts

Casual Lolita still retains the basic elements of Lolita Fashion, yet is a more toned down version of the style. Casual Lolita is best described as what a Lolita will wear when 'not dressing up'. So don't forget to keep the key ingredients of a Lolita outfit in mind when creating a coordination.

A great casual Lolita outfit can be made with any colour or Lolita sub-style, as long as you remember to match colours, prints etc...like you normally would with any Lolita outfit.  

To keep things toned down for everyday life and for comfort, there are many options. Many brands sell simple cut-sews for this purpose. A cut-sew will be more comfortable than a blouse paired with a skirt, and will have a more causal toned down look. There are many affordable cut-sews out there for the daily Lolita, with Bodyline cut-sews being a great option, and affordable second hand pieces can be acquired from EGL sales and even Closet Child from time to time.

You can also pair a t-shirt with a Lolita skirt, although this isn't the easiest thing to accomplish. You need a t-shirt that will obviously go with the theme of your outfit (i.e cute kitten t-shirt with sweet skirt), and that will match well with the overall look of Lolita as a whole. To pair a t-shirt with a Lolita skirt, the best idea is to go for a tight fitting shirt. A baggy shirt will not only look awful, but it will not sit right with your skirt.

A simple cardigan, jacket, or parka over an OP, JSK or with a skirt can be an ideal casual look. It is an easy way to tone down any print and make it less over the top. A simple woolen long sleeved cardigan or a nice parka that matches with your outfit will be perfect for Winter, and a simple short sleeved cardigan will be perfect in the Summertime. These items can easily be acquired in mainstream shopping stores as well, as long as you keep everything true to Lolita.

T-shirt

Simple Cardigan

Cut-sew

Off Brand and Simple Prints

Offbrand can work quite well in a Casual Lolita outfit, and anything not heavily centered around a print. Just keeping an outfit simple can be enough to tone down an outfit. Go for solid colours, minimal print designs, minimal colour schemes, small amounts of lace, frill, ribbons etc.

Myself in an offbrand outfit

Minimal print

No print design on the skirt

Less Poof

 Although a petticoat is an essential part of Lolita Fashion, it is not something particularly essential for everyday life. Many garments although will not look entirely right without a petticoat and this will ruin the Lolita Silhouette.

Instead of wearing a very poofy petticoat with many layers, wear an older one that doesn't have much life left. Or if you have the money, buy one specifically for casual use. Wearing a less poofy petti will stop your outfit from interfering with everyday life, and will give you less stares when out in the public eye.

If you want to ditch your petticoat all together, then you still need to maintain some amount of shape or poof in your skirt. There are many ways you can go about this.

One idea which may not be entirely ideal, and does not always work with every garment, is to wear a frilly skirt underneath you Lolita garments. Purchase a poofy pair of bloomers, and then get a very frilly skirt in a neutral colour such as black or white, and wear it under your garment as a sort of everyday petticoat. This will provide very minimal shape to an outfit, while still providing some poof, but will not always work. Be wary and make sure an outfit looks right before leaving the house.

A more ideal option though would be to buy a pair of bloomers with a sort of built in petticoat. I have seen Baby The Stars Shine Bright at one stage sell a sort of petticoat/bloomer combination, and I'm sure other brands may have done so as well. You could also try creating your own.



Simple Accessories and Hair

Keep jewellery and all accessories to a minimum. Go for simple bracelets, and only a few on each arm, small rings, no prints or minimal prints on socks and stockings, wrist cuffs, and other cute yet simple pieces to accessorise with. Remember this is casual Lolita, we don't want giant head eating bows, and a million bracelets going up each arm, or giant coloured wigs and huge eye catching rings that you could easily punch someones eye out with. We want simplicity...

If you are a fan of wigs, go for simple styles and natural hair colours. To style normal hair you can do many simple hairstyles. You could put it in pigitails, twin-buns, simple ringlets, straight or wavy hair...anything that goes with your outfit that is simple looking and easy to do.

With hair accessories also keep these light. If you have a very plain and simple coordination and rather plain hairstyle, you could go with a large bow just to top everything off, otherwise you're just better off with a smaller bow to keep it all balanced. Go for small details on headbands, berets, hats or anything really as long as it is just a small detail to your outfit.

Basic Beauty Routine

Even outside of Lolita many girls just love to wear makeup. Yet wearing heavy makeup everyday is not only bad for your skin and time consuming, it will just over power your entire outfit. Keep things simple and easy to do, so if you plan to wear Lolita everyday you will be able to easyily get up and get everything over and done with.

Keep things plain and basic. Don't go over the top with sticking decor stickers all over your face, and giant swirly eyeliner, just basic makeup to keep you face looking nice and to enhance your natural features. If you plan to wear Lolita for most days, develop a beauty routine that will only take five to ten minutes on your face each day.

If you aren't too fussed on wearing makeup to cover your entire face, you still want to take care of your skin each day and may want to look a littler prettier. Your beauty routine may consist of taking care of your face with some moisturiser, adding a little lip gloss and mascara and just using a blemish stick for the few occasional annoying pimples.

Just look after your skin and keep things to a minimum while still being creative and having fun.


Simple shoes 

 If you plan to wear Lolita shoes for every day, they may not be the most comfortable choice in the world. Go for low heeled shoes, or flats, or maybe even try to find something nice in a mainstream clothing store that will go with your outfits. If you plan to wear Lolita everyday, try going for a versatile pair that are comfortable and go with most outfits.

If you want to wear a pair of simple shoes that aren't entirely comfortable, maybe carry a pair of bandaids with you or have some already on to stop your shoes from rubbing.

Also for casual Lolita, standard Lolita shoes aren't entirely necessary (although this is true only for casual). For a casual approach, or for everyday wear you can go with less conventional shoes. You don't even have to wear socks if you do not wish to (but only for casual). Still of course try to match everything in your coord together, but you can try unconventional shoes like ballet flats or a pair of cute sneakers. Whatever works well and whatever is comfortable, as long as it is balanced with your entire outfit.