Can You Buy Lolita Fashion FROM HOT TOPIC ?! 

Being completely honest, the Japanese fashion community’s attitude towards styling is leagues ahead of the western community. I feel that the western community gets caught in the trap of only purchasing from established Lolita brands. We’re great at supporting indie brands sometimes, but it almost seems like incorporating items and pieces into Lolita that aren’t “Lolita brands” is seen as such a rarity or “advanced” skill. It’s important to understand what Lolita is if you wanna call it Lolita. But I feel we sometimes emphasize the label of Lolita over do we like how we look and feel in our clothes. I agree that just appreciating an outfit (I don’t even wanna use coord in this context) for what it is is not done enough.

A lower waist made to fit a taller person makes sense for hot topic since theyre selling to a largely american audience. Most brands are manufacturing in Asian countries where the average height is smaller. I myself am 6ft tall. So a bodice that would come to natural waist on the original model is always going to be an empire on me. This is why I make my own JSK's for the most part. They actually fit me the way brand dresses fit on the og models

I like to use “coordable”, as in “I can use this in a coord”.

So I'm ngl, the hot topic draculaura dress is actually what made me start going down this lolita rabbit hole! I put it on and put a (shoddily handmade) petticoat under it and it just felt so right. I loved the silhouette and got a lot of compliments on it, and now here I am doing a bunch of research into the fashion hoping to get some legit pieces eventually!

I never liked the word "loliable" either, I always thought it sounded stupid.

Hot topic is largely a resell store; very little of what they sell is produced under a hot topic brand. That means that how long lasting any given item is in their inventory depends on which fashion house they're buying from. Some of their sources are long-standing slow brands who produce (and then continue producing) the same items in addition to their new stock; this means their items can sell out and then be repurchased by Hot Topic; No one is surprised when HT continues to carry the same hair dye or body jewelry for years, and they carried Tripp pants for over a decade before they stopped. Some of the brands they carry are fast fashion brands who produce something at quantity quickly and then stop as soon as the trend shifts. This is the stuff that appears and the vanishes within a few months, even off the website.

American lolita confuses me so much more than it probably should. I was introduced to lolita by a now long defunct Japanese lolita on Tumblr, so the ideals that I was first introduced to were completely different to the ones the majority of the western lolita community sees as important. In my mind, because of the section of the community I started in, lolita is mostly about doing what makes you happy and wearing things that spark joy. The huge focus on specific brands and silhouettes and what counts as 'real' lolita just feels so strange to me because it's like the antithesis to what I was used to.

You are wearing so many bears on your head, and I love that. You look fantastic. ✨

Real talk I used to buy from hot topic relatively often, and the only thing I can say in regards to lolita, is their shoes. My god I bought these cute platform mary janes from hot topic and they’re actually really nice in terms of wearing with lolita, they’re not killing my feet, and they go with a lot of my outfits/coords. Literally just that one pair of platforms was basically able to match with my entire closet (makes sense since Im a hardcore gothic lolita lol) I can’t say much about anything else but, their shoes are pretty nice if you wanna look at them.

my local (latinamerican) community uses the term loliable (in spanish “loleable”) and it has never been used in a condescending way, it’s always used as a descriptor for not made for lolita items like you said, i guess there’s not a dislike for the word here cause there was never any exclusion of others in the community that way

I think even if you may be able to get away with buying something that could work for lolita from hot topic, you should still try to support ACTUAL lolita brands. Not just the core japanese brands, but indie and taobao/Chinese brands as well. I don’t know, I feel like the brands dedicated to lolita actually care about the fashion, instead of a huge company like Hot Topic trying to just make a buck with low quality products. IMO that money should be saved and maybe put towards something from Taobao or something used if budget is the concern. I think the appeal of Hot Topic is instant gratification for some. That’s just my two cents, not trying to upset anyone.

I think you get what you pay for in this case, these dresses are obviously lower quality and have less detail than "brand" and taobao dresses (the first dress especially looked really thin and poor quality to me 🫣). Would have loved to see the dresses inside out to judge the construction but that's the sewing nerd in me hehehe ^^' I really dont like the brand worship aspect of lolita but idk if i like this fast fashion-ification of it either. I think it could be okay for beginners or people who want to try it out though!

i’m a gothic lolita, goth, and vkei. i hateeee hot topics items and even if they sold lolita stuff i wouldn’t buy it for quality reasons, and ethical reasons.

hot topic is known to steal designs from artists and even japanese brands so I don't think they should be recommended from an ethical standpoint. Not to mention their quality is quite bad, even if it passes for lolita. If you're a lolita on a budget, Taobao or secondhand from LM would be much better options. Simply put, in an era with a wealth of options out there, why go with Hot Topic?

Hot Topic has re-released a LOT of the OG fashions from when I was young. Like the gothic sweater cape. I’m pretty sure it’s a re-release. I’m seeing tons of places do this, now that retro fashion from the 90’s and 2000’s is trendy. That gothic salopette is amazing it’s perfectly shaped like a bell and it’s a lovely length - it looks so well made and measured. I would probably buy it to make a pattern for other skirts. I’m astonished. There’s definitely a Lolita putting her input in at Hot Topic and they’re listening to her!! Giving me a new opinion on them! Ig a lot has changed!

You should do a video on their sister store, Box Lunch! They have so many cute dresses that I feel could definitely be lolita. I’m talking BORDER PRINTS!!

i remember one of my first lolita coords i made used a skirt from hot topic. i posted it on tumblr and i was so scared about what others in the community would say, so i HAD to include the tag "i know hot topic isn't lolita." im so happy times are changing, and i just dont care what others thing, lol.

For lolita, more than any other subculture, “commodification” is fine because lolita was already a commodity. When it reached an international audience it (and kawaii culture at large really) lost all of its countercultural traction. Most of the conversations are about buying things anyway. Lolita gets to worry about marketing itself and sales and cost effectiveness because it really is just clothes. EDIT: one thing about hot topic lolita that I saw mentioned in the other comments is that hot topic does stock fast cheap fashion, which is not ideal. That’d be the main issue really, not, like, the adulteration of “pure” lolita or whatever.

this actually makes me more comfortable to style something that is not typically lolita more lolita-ish. I have this black dress that kinda has a bell shape but it was not sold as a lolita piece. I tried it with a petticoat and it works ! but I was scared to wear it at a meetup.. so I end up not wearing it. I might next time :)

I have a genuine question for you, Lor: You mentioned a few times that making lolita fashion more "mainstream" could contribute to its recognition and respect by the wider public (paraphrased ofc). My question is: Why do you think that the public's validation matters? I understand wanting people to know that lolita fashion is an actual fashion style, not a costume or cosplay; but please consider that many people have at least a vague idea of what goth is, and this doesn't stop people from disliking and even fearing goths. Why does it matter that the public know what lolita is? It doesn't guarantee that people will respect us; in fact, it might lead to the opposite. I don't mean to attack you with this btw so I apologize if I come across that way; I do honestly want to understand your perspective on this.

Omg I was just in hot topic and was like oop I'm noticing a lot more lolita silhouettes and accessories in there and I'm loving it! I know they're really short sometimes but that's the silhouette I like anyways so it works out for me😂

maybe its because hot topic (and most companies lbr) use really tall models but whyy are like all the dresses way longer than they look on the site? hek. its 2023!! can we get more height diversity in fashion models like???

Im obsessed with the coord change when you launched into the loliable rant, like yes the DRAMA i love it

Late comment but Hottopic had some good quality plain color peter pan blouses that look great under JSKs, I own two one in black and one in red. I think they clearanced them out to make room for their in-house brands like Cosmic Aura and Social Collision. Also, I keep pestering HT to bring back the infamous black and white lolita dress from 2006. You know the one.

I have a few of those supposed “Lolita” dresses and I get a lot of wear out of them. I think Lolita is more of a keyword than saying they have true Lolita clothes and a place where people can buy dresses inspired by Lolita yet aren’t super expensive. It’s funny that you are making the dresses work. That’s super cool for us plus size girls who don’t have much money but can copy the style, because HT goes up to 3X in their junior sizes and 5/6 in plus. I like also that you have a goth look too. I do both of these too!

I remember in the mid 2000's when Hot Topic released what was then dubbed "the infamous Hot Topic dress". It was actually a really nice old school gothic lolita JSK (you can still find pictures of it through Google, if anyone's curious) , but it sparked a lot of controversy in the lolita community at the time because of concerns about what would happen if lolita went "mainstream". I remember one particular EGL member being concerned that it would lead to "slutty cheerleaders" wearing lace adorned mini skirts and calling it lolita fashion. It was that very 2000's anti-prep sentiment that was so prevalent in alternative communities back then, and I guess by lolita standards' even Hot Topic was too preppy. I'm glad we don't see as much of those kinds of attitudes anymore. I don't necessarily think the use of the term "loli" was meant to be a way to avoid saying lolita, it was just a common term at that time, even in the Japanese lolita community. There was even a Japanese magazine called "Goth Loli" at that time. And I never found "loliable" to be used in a way to demean certain fashion choices, either. When that term was coined, it was just harder to get lolita fashion in the west in general, so if you found a puffy sleeved blouse at Forever-21 that happened to look good under a JSK, "loliable" was a useful term for letting your fellow lolitas know that they found something that wasn't intended to be worn with lolita that could still be worn in a lolita way. I remember the days when it was common advice to look for square dance skirts on eBay because they were full enough to put a petticoat underneath and could be "loliable" if coordinated the right way. We really had to make do back in those days. I'm old lol

while i personally don't think most of these are working as well as they are for your eyes (a lot of them look very very thin and borderline seethrough at times, and even if they can technically hold petticoats the shapes are often looking very odd to me, either overstuffed or the petti ending/starting at an odd spot ), what i think is the bigger issue with hot topic is the blatant stealing of designs, which i'm disappointed you didn't touch upon rojiroji has had a printed sock design (not a simple one, either ) almost exactly stolen by hot topic recently, for instance. they've also been taking designs from selkie (not lolita but a very distinct style ), smaller taobao brands, and both big and small japanese brands. i'm pretty sure they've done replica ap socks, the gothic lolita looking skirt in your video i'm almost certain i recognize from taobao, and i know there was the recent issue of the spank tights as well. even if you don't think any of this is actually stealing (even the rojiroji one, which is way too close to not be intentional ), it's disappointing you didn't even bring it up

the pink clown bear dress is so cute! it looks like something i would get

I also find due to hyper competitive American culture , ocassionaly Lolita community in America tend to be treating the fashion somewhat like a competition to proves who is stands out as being superior among all , which sounded make it forget this fashion meaning that rooted from collective solidarity spirit and feminism movement that challenge hyper-sexualism of woman culture with conformist defying fashion which is not a competition to prove who is more superior

it’s nice to see a video like this, I have a few dresses I’ve gotten from hot topic that I’ve always thought could be styled in a gothic lolita way but have been too nervous to do anything with. looks stellar with a petti under it though

I have an Instagram friend and she has been wearing Hot Topic skirts and dresses that she adds into her Lolita wardrobe and the way she does it is just so beautiful the one I found on Hot Topic that was so pretty was the Grimm fairytale it has the same waste line as the Mad Hatter and I love them both especially when I asked my one friend where she had gotten those beautiful skirts and dresses and she said Hot Topic

the OPs seem like the "most lolita" items of the collection. but still, if i was a lolita i'd rather buy secondhand than to buy one from hot topic, so idk who they're really trying to appeal to.

I love how thorough your review of each piece was! the measurements & comparisons, talking about how it felt and where it was falling on you while wearing it, testing how it fit with other blouses or pieces, all of it! Thank you!!!!!!

I feel like lolita is mostly how it is worn as opposed to the pieces

the silhouette you describe is called fit and flare!

tbh the mad tea party skirt is EVERYTHING

ive been looking to get more into “kawaii” fashion and have been lookig at Hot Topic stuff for inspiration, so this video is great timing!

While I appreciate the generous sizing and western dress lengths, I have seen these dresses in person. The material is not the greatest, the lace is cheap, and the waist is pretty long. Those long ribbons are super cheap as well. Most of these are not going to be big enough to hold a proper petticoat either, and Lor has waterfall skirt in a lot of these shots. I would suggest this to experienced lolitas only. It reminds me a lot of older bodyline pieces.

hot topic is one of the worst offenders when it comes to fast fashion design. they create patterns and cuts that are so garish that customers are obviously gonna get tired of them, and they go right back to the same place for more

hot topic blouses are fire for the plus size community, i have two and they’re great for my skirts

Im also in between L and XL in hottopic and its so nice seeing someone with the same struggles! This was extremely helpful!!

I loved the clowny coord you did with the skirt! so cute!

Uh... I am ashamed to say I started actually started getting interested into Lolita via a dress from Hot Topic. And yes, I did buy a real Lolita dress from Bodyline (even though they're not really a Lolita brand, it is recommended for beginners) later. I have the Pink Clown Bear dress and it's pretty cute! I mainly wear it in fancy occasions like going to a performance. I mainly dress in sweet lolita/classic lolita when dressing lolita, and I wonder if I should try doing other styles like Gothic Lolita...

tysm for the video lor! I'm trying to scrape together money to start wearing Lolita Fashion, you've been my inspiration to dress the way I like!

Most of the pieces feel like they can be styled in a lolita way, but I have to hard disagree on the first dress. Fit aside, the drape and thickness of the fabric just looks wrong with a petticoat imo. The other items all had much better drape and the fabric looked either like cutsew OPs or an actual lolita skirt. The first dress just looks too light, you can see the petti through it.

I don't necessarily recommend this for a total beginner. Hot Topic still sells the type of dresses people shunned back in the LJ days. I worked at Hot Topic for 6 years (2016 - 2022), and never saw a dress suitable for lolita in my time there; they were generally either skater skirts or rockabilly/retro, which have silhouette that differ greatly from the lolita silhouette. Being able to tell the difference while shopping and experimenting is really necessary. I absolutely think the 20dollarlolita link you posted under references is worth a read to illustrate the difference. This whole thing reminds me of the infamous H&M dress back in the day, though, lol.

I'm not really a fan of you encouraging people to buy fast fashion right after a bunch of indie brands died due to not being able to keep up with cheaply made fast fashion.... Not to mention that hottopic is known for stealing from artists and isn't even that accessible to people outside of north America, it's weird to me that you keep mentioning accessibility when angelic pretty and btssb literally have stores in America and pretty much every major brand ships overseas? I don't think 'accessibility' should mean fast fashion :-//

my very first “lolita”-like dress was from hottopic, it was the pink circus bear one, may not have been lolita, but definitely brang me joy.

Oh that bear circus dress was VERY cute!

loved this video!!

I'm so happy you made this video as I've been meaning to make one about this myself!! I've been keeping an eye on Hot Topic since they've been doing more and more lolita fashion inspired pieces lately! I love that they're selling these pieces as it's a very approachable and affordable way to get into the fashion and introduce the fashion to new people! 💕

i love your videos, they make me want to dress in lolita fashion more often!! 🥰💕💕

The gothic & dark Alice coords are super cute 😭😭😭 i wish I had hot topic in my country smh

I love all your outfits, and the last one especially is giving Lydia Deetz vibes. I love your coffin bag and I think I'm going to pre-order one for myself!

I'd like to hear your thoughts on Maya Kern, it's a store that sells a lot of skirts and is mady by and for plus size people, and when I found out about it from a friend I noticed a lot of their midi skirts look like they could easily be styled in lolita coords with the right petticoat underneath them. It might be a good option for people who don't fit into the sizing of most Japanese brands and it'd be cool to see you cover it sometime

I have the same Mad Tea Party skirt! I love it so much, it was the last one available when I purchased it and was a size smaller than I wear. When I got it it's actually too big, but I loved it so much, I didn't want to return it. As someone who shops HT every so often, they sell out of fashions a lot, but will bring them back after some time, so it's always good to keep an eye out.

I just got into lolita, and its one of my favorite fasion types. Hot topics stuff is very costumey sometimes, but i adore lacey dresses. But thier skirts are wonderful for lolita wear. The dark alice stuff they have is great. But I actually you recommended you check out more independent stores for the style, because their quality is usually better quality.

I think you should talk about how Hot Topic has a habit of stealing designs from indie designers and small brands, and even well known Japanese Lolita fashion brands. Examples: the SPANK! Tights, Holy lantern. I'd be extra cautious buying things from Hot Topic if you don't want to support that fast-fashion habit of stealing art from artists. Yeah yeah something something gatekeeping, but there's a lot of baggage that comes with those low prices, and it's often that there's some theft somewhere along the line (art theft, slave wages, etc).

Omg I was just about to email you suggesting this. I’m very new to actually wearing Lolita fashion, but I’ve been in the “kawaii” or “cute core” community for a while, and as a high school student with sensory issues, having a physical hot-topic store to go to has been a big help for me. I personally think that there are some blouses that could work really well in some Lolita cords. I’d recommend searching up “sweet society” if you’re a sweet Lolita and you want to see if some pieces work :D

I wanna see bad Lolita but elevated like I want camp ita to the max I want that to be an entire genre I don't know how to explain this

yessss ty for this vid

Most short skirts/dresses can be fixed with an underskirt. Personally, I like lower waist on dresses. Glad to see hot topic make some lolita stuff finally. I need that dark alice skirt.

I actually have a dress from hot topic that I wore in a coord once ! It’s a really nice dress and it definitely felt like it had potential (although my petticoat didn’t do it justice lol,, the joys of being broke) the only issue w me was that it had a heart cutout that exposed part of my chest but that was easily remedied with a piece of fabric that I put under it !

As a complete stranger to lolita fashion (i find it cool, it'd just make me dysphoric personally lmao), the word "loliable" would be setting off HUGE alarm bells if i heard it in the wild haha. Maybe best to leave that one to history. "Compatible" might be a better word for it :)

Dress 1 is super Lolita and the coord was super cute. I'm really excited about this series I've been Lolita at heart since 2005 and dabbled here and there but accessibility of money and being plus sized this gives me so much hope! Dress 2 blew my mind! Thank you Lor! 💜💜💜

The mad tea party skirt is so pretty!!! All of them were though. ✨

I have that Through the Looking Glass dress. :) They also have that fabric in shorts and other items too.

I am LIVING for that bear headpiece, 12/10 accessorizing

I have the clown bear dress lol, it is def not lolita but i still adore it

Ok I always used the term "lolitable" but hear me out: I came from a small rural town where i couldnt find any lolita fashion at all (any alternative clothing tbh) So me and my friends started with "cute clothing that fits lolita" aka lolitable clothing so idk, to me the term still very usable

I've bought a lolita skirt from a popular western alt brand and I'm not accepting criticism on it. They literally build in a peticoat because it wouldn't look right without one and the average person doesn't have one laying around. There's not even a "can I coord this" question. It fits in with my wardrobe flawlessly.

Loliable has always rubbed me the wrong way! But I definitely know I want the cute magical girl themed pink dress and the Mad Hatter skirt now!

literally put that hot topic suspender skirt in my wishlist since im still unsure about getting into gothic lolita and its cheap

the last dress reminds me of putumayo i miss them omg

Wow, I am impresed how many cord you wear in this video. All cords are stunning ^^

I'm not a Lolita and I still really love your videos! I'm more into decora kei, but post pandemic made me focus on lighter and casual wear but I NEED a skirt to feel that inner feminine empowerment I need! HT kinda saved me, as they have hoop skirts for gamer or blackpink lovers! I want to try a petticoat (or similar) to the pink gamer hoop skirt, because it had a itch for one based on the item without the petticoat! I know its loved and hated at the same time, but just to have an in person easy access for a shopping expeeience feels nice! (Also on my budget too...) Oh yea. The Sanrio stuff is nice too. 😅

I hate that we don't have hot topics in Quebec, shipping is way too expensive

when I saw the belt you chose on the pink bear clown dress I SCREAMED it was literally the perfect thing to tie the outfit together

It would be SO cute to have a lil beaded chain belt with circus theme lockets on with the circus bear dress!!!

i got some really cute pastel striped thigh highs from hot topic, i actually wear them every day to go on walks in the forest to protect my ankles from ticks and itchy grass, they're actually really comfy!

Just finished your video ❤️ i think hot topic is opening doors for people to look into different styles. For me its harder to find styles that fit my chest (way too large ugh) but thank you for saying you can use pieces as lolita :) i agree with you tho (and usually do. Youre always open minded)

4:27 I never had a problem with the term but tbh I barely see it at all Almost 10 years ago I saw one girl use it in her videos talking about how she’ll look for specific types of vintage and thrifted clothes to alter to make it Lolita and what she looks for in thay

Babe Come Quick ! Lor is Posting a New Video !

Regarding the hot topic vest gatekeeping thing, I think your friend is mistaken. It's not that hot topic keeps listings up with the intention to restock, it's that they seemingly never delete their listings. I have a Pride + Prejudice + Zombies dress that looks very similar to the Alice dress, just with a different print obviously, and it's still a listing on their site that says out of stock from 7 years ago. They're obviously never going to re-stock my P&P&Z dress lol.

i ususally go into hot topic for band tees but i do sometimes get small things for my coords. necklaces, bracelets, ankle socks, etc etc. however, i do not really see anything that would make a full coord. you would need the basic dress, petti, a blouse, and shoes if you wanna actually have the necessary building blocks for full coords...

I did get a great blouse from Hot Topic as well a purse. Personally I wouldn't go for a skirt or dress that wasn't made to be lolita.

Turned 21 last week and I'm still tryna finish the dress I've been sewing since like MAY/JUNE . It's too hot to wear in 100 degree heat so I'll have to wait until it gets cooler since it's really layered. 😭

OMG LOR UPLOADS MY DAY IS AUTOMATICALLY BETTER

Where can I get the popcorn shirt? I want one so bad 😅

I’ve seen a lot of the lolita-inspired dresses in person at HT, and the quality seemed pretty bad. I’m all for the fashion being more visible and widely available, but I feel like HT would be a terrible place to learn about it or for beginners to start

Does anyone know what print lor is wearing in this video? :)

I love gothic Lolita and I’m glad that it’s so flexible! I’ve seen some stellar gothic Lolita’s who push the envelope and cross styles! Btw I bought the bear dress because it’s exactly what I want and love in a cute simple Lolita piece

You need to look at there button up tips

What is the "Sailor" Lolita style called?

My poor brain is still recovering from a disposable cheaper dress needed for Ice Skating. Do people fall often, figure skates are my go to, easy to stop with and thicker blade then hockey skates for more balance. I have been Skating since I was 5, so that might be clouding my views on ice Skating.

I really appreciate the context behind not liking the word loliable

I’ve noticed more lolita-esque (hopefully that sounds better) dresses at hot topic and for me personally, I wouldn’t buy them at all.. I’m pretty picky about what I buy so the dresses just look tacky to me \(;-;)/

why did you have to remind me of my mid 00s "loliable anxiety" 😂

I like accessories from there but aside from the cardigans the pink girl clothes look costume-y to me. I'm coming into lolita from a pure pink wardrobe and looking at actual jsks are so beautiful in comparison

I'm not surprised with the case of most Cheap Halloween costume stores that try to make Lolita Fashion which a fashion with a niche following to be recognized by general audience too , but poorly executed it because they only care about quick bucks Yeah instead the word Loliable probably the good substitute of that word is Lolita-esque i think