How to Afford to Buy Lolita Fashion 

Super interesting point. Thank you for your insight!! This is definitely something I didn't really consider, so thank you for sharing your story

Raised poor, but my mom prioritized my appearance over other things she could spend on. She made it clear to me that, if the bills were paid and food was on the table, there was no reason to feel guilty for spending money on things that last. It's about what you chose to prioritize. I'm likely the exception to the rule. I just wanted to point out that it's not all about how economically privileged you were growing up, but about the family culture you grew up in.

@@Morgantritherion yeah I know in working class families like mine you are shamed for buying frivolous stuff. It’s a common class thing in my area but I think it might be a locational thing too. I was always raised to where if something wasn’t cheap it was a bad deal, even if it was regular Oreos vs off brand. So when I was like thirteen and learned expensive fashion beyond the basement of jc pennys existed I was like lol wut a stupid waste of money and now I’m over here like actually this 200 dollar dress was a steal!

yea, i had the privallage to come from a good income family (my dad was born into a good income family and became a teacher and my mom wasnt but she became a nurse so yea) so i already have 100 usd ( i live in indonesia so thats 1,450,000 idr and im 11 turning 12) so yea thats a big point to consider edit : yes i do still feel guilty for spending money bc i always think abt my collage and university funds and bills and also my adult hood and taxes and rent and bills etc. bc my mom always told me to think abt the future but not too much, i overthink alot so now this is my life

Do what's going to make you happy. I'm so proud of you for exploring your own interests and not letting anyone stop you

I'm so glad I could help a fellow college kid out on this one!

That is so awesome you have the skills and talent to make your own accessories and items! Do you have a favorite piece that you've made?

@@BeguruTeam it's a little embarrassing to show my work cuz I've been called Ita for my "garish" neon colours and patterns. 😳 more so a mixture of scenecore and lolita if that makes sense

Hi! I wore my first Lolita dress in public many months back and I felt so happy to finally embrace my true self. I'd say wear whatever you want. You only live once after all and you're not harming anyone. It's too bad that Lolita dresses are hard to purchase or find in Malaysia. Most of my Lolita dresses either come from Lazada or Shopee, but the cheaper ones aren't really good quality.

Hello ヤスミン, I'm from Singapore myself. Did you manage to buy any clothes so far? The cheapest ones you can get in Singapore are from Carousell. As for people dressing up in lolita in public, usually it's at anime and game conventions (which haven't been happening ever since Covid happened). Or you can look for people like me, I guess, and go out together, haha. I'm an old lolita though.

@@12kingdomstourism so far I hvn't bought any clothes so far tho I do hv some on my wish list!

That is so exciting!!!! Congrats!!! Do you know what print you're getting?? I am so excited for you! And happy early birthday!!!!!

How did it go?Did she buy you the dress?

Did you get it?!😊

Hola soy Dora how did it go?

Did you get the dress?

IM SO SORRY IN MY DEFENSE, I FILMED THIS LONG BEFORE OUR COLLAB VIDEO

@@BeguruTeam lolol I’m just joshin ya! ❤️❤️❤️😉

Damn how did you get thought that I didn't understand the language

@@candy_crave8580 There are shopping services + a lot of tutorials on youtube! And you can never go wrong with google translate lol

I never went anywhere haha, but thank you!

omg I completely forgot about Yahoo auctions

That's a great idea! It's always smart to start with smaller projects and accessories and work your way up slowly to bigger pieces. I think you're tackling this in a very smart way :)

Im 12 as well and really interested in casual lolita, sadly I cant sew anymore. You're luck to have such a good talent :).

I'm 13 and i'm really into lolita. I have enough money to actually get atlest 1 dress myself, but i'm too scared to wear it. I live in a small post-soviet country and i'm telling you there's LACK of any alt people.I'd be stared at and probably called slurs lol.

I love that so much!!! When are you going to start wearing the fashion? I'm so excited for you!

@@BeguruTeam I need to sell and throw out some clothes I don't wear anymore then I can buy tons of new ones!:D

We share the same issues. My mom promised me that if I get a 4 on at least 1 of my exams she'd buy me a dress. So now I'm trying to both find a cheap/affordable/trustworthy website, and study for my exam

@@miaow0706 how did it go? did she buy you a dress? 🥰

@@vanilla_216 she said she would but sadly, I have other more urgent things that need to be bought for school (like my performance attire) which is a couple hundred dollars, so I told my mom she didn't need to buy me the dress and that I'd get it on a different date.

Congrats! Thank you for being first

I'm so glad it could help!

@@BeguruTeam since the comment, I've budgeted for one dress, and made a routine to spend time with my mom on weekends and we've finished sewing one simple lolita dress :D

I actually already filmed one a while ago, and I’m in the editing stages for it ❤️

@@BeguruTeam thanks

whats wrong with devil inspired 🗿 i’m new to lolita fashion, idk whats going on-

@@neo.5014 its a reseller, and it hikes up the prices A LOT. (Among other things, taking long to get to people, ect, or that's what I've heard) You're way better of using a shipping service like 42agent. Personally, i have nothing against resellers, I've used them myself in the past and I understand that Lor talks about them because its her sponsor. The thing is that taobao really isn't that hard to navigate as these resellers make it seem. My personal problem is that she made a lolita horror story talking bad about a competitor of her sponsor, which isn't really a good look imo

Oh my god that sounds so stressful, I'm so sorry for your bad experience with them. I've heard some rumors recently about Souffle Song not being the most reliable and highest of quality, but I personally don't own any pieces from them, so I can't confirm or deny. I would definitely mention this in the Big Sisters of Lolita Fashion Facebook page. They are WAYYYY more knowledgable than I am, and I'm sure someone has been in a similar situation and offer you advice. Keep us updated on what happens, please! I hope it arrives in time for the wedding

What are you using to buy? If you're buying off of Taobao or Fril or something similar, you need to use a shopping service. My friend MoriMademoiselle has a fantastic tutorial on YT. Otherwise, if you're buying off of a reseller like Clobba or Lolita Wardrobe or etc, you don't need one and can purchase normally like you would a regular website. Same goes for Bodyline or Lace Market (Second hand)

@@BeguruTeam I’m using lace market mainly bc I’m broke but I’m new to this fashion and too scared to buy anything, because of the conversion price thingy. But yeah I’ll take a look at that video, thank you for telling me about it. There’s like no information I can find on paying Japanese websites from USD so this helps me out a ton! :>

Bodyline sells dresses for $10 :)

@@BeguruTeam i just ordered bodyline yesterday . The dress says $25 in US currency. i can not read Japanese currency until I checked my bank and realize I got charged for $51 :(

Great question! The ones I have on my wishlist are from Soufflé Song’s Amazon store front. They’re not replicas, they’re by the actual brand Soufflé Song! This is the only actual brand I’ve been able to find on Amazon, apart from Antaina and a couple other non-dress-selling brands. Amazon mainly is all replicas, so I definitely advise staying away from it. It’s super hard to find any real pieces on Amazon, and I only found Soufflé Song’s storefront because I stumbled across it from a different lolitas review

@@BeguruTeam Thank you so much for the quick and thorough answer!

Hmmm lolita isn't super common anywhere. I've liked in 3 countries now (England included) and I wouldn't say it's anymore common or less common in any place in particular. It's a pretty unknown and niche fashion, so it makes sense not a lot of people wear lolita, or even alternative fashion.

@@BeguruTeam that makes sense. When I think of Lolita (though Japanese) I don’t really see it being a main fashion trend anywhere.

I wear lolita out and about in public a fair bit, I live in the US, in Seattle, WA. I am a performer, and people have asked a few times if I am performing in a play, but this is not the typical thing said to me. I've been in England one day, but wasn't wearing lolita. I did go to the Edinburgh Fringe, and wore my regular lolita attire as someone who was not performing, and people were asking me right and left if I was a performer. It was super weird. I was surprised that the Edinburgh Fringe didn't seem that out there to me, it seems like it is only that out there compared to the overall culture. I didn't understand how it would be 65F outside (which is cold for a summer for a lot of the world, but perfectly tolerable for me from a climate that is wet and cool September to June), and every single person is still wearing a black raincoat outside, and I just left my home where it is 80F, and I am doing fine in a flowery or lacey dress. I saw advertisements in the stores telling you to buy a dress to wear on holiday somewhere warmer. What! People could have summer dresses in slightly warmer fabrics appropriate for the local climate, and still get to wear beautiful colors come summer. From the few days I was in the UK, it seems like you need more people wearing lolita and other similar fashions.

@@SugaryRoyaltea its heavily sexualized by bigoted men who think its about ABDL or DDLG.

Aw yay! That's so cool! I used to live in London when I did a study abroad :)

Ahh thank you so much

You can use calculators online to translate the price into pounds! Just look up however many dollars, euro, yen etc to pounds and it should show you roughly how much your purchase will cost. Most credit/debit cards and other methods of paying online should be able to pay for stuff even if the price is in a different currency.

i think you can be lolita as long as you understand the sub style, and know enough information on it that you know where you want to start. I am not quite sure if this is true but i am not an expert myself.

@@seijancarter9143 Thank you so much!!!🥺😊😸

I'm moving onto year seven and I've been wanting it since I was in year 4

@@pixie5810 That’s cool! lets hope we can both start soon!:D!

@@SADIE_Maybe_SADISTIC :D

When in doubt, size up. It’s good to have extra room in dresses since a lot of lolita dresses don’t account for busts. Plus, most have waist ties so it really doesn’t matter much. Not to mention you need the room for layering if you prefer JSKs (and even for OPs, it’s good to have that extra arm room). And if it does bother you, it’s always easier to take something in than it is to let it out. Just be sure to check the sizing chart, too, since sizing like Small, Medium, Large isn’t a standard and can change store to store and country to country. I have some items that are an XS from one shop and others that are XXL that have the exact same fit, so it’s crucial to check your measurements against the size guides

Same problem for me, except I'm a USA X large and barely any lolita and goth clothes are in my size

Omggggg hello!!!

I would try to avoid Amazon at basically all costs. They are not a good resource for lolita and you won't be able to find petticoats and dresses and shoes that are legitimate and not replicas. If it is your only, only option, then Souffle Song does have a legit store on there. Just be mindful that Souffle Song has quality issues. They also use cotton from labor camps, so a lot of lolitas are trying to avoid purchasing from then until their materials are ethically sourced. I'm not really sure what other legit stores are on Amazon since I don't personally use it, but generally, I would just save yourself the hassle and overpaying.

Ahh thank you so much

Did you buy THE dress tho??? (Aka the notorious replica dress lol)

I would absolutely not recommend this. If you search "cheap lolita dress", a whole bunch of known scam sites like Milanoo and Lolitain pop up. I don't want anyone to be scammed out of their money, so it's important to do you research and know what sites are reliable!! Let me know if you need a list of reliable brands and/or sites, and I can draw one up

@@BeguruTeam do you mind making a list of them?

@@BeguruTeam Hi, i just started this lolita fashion. And i don't know where to get these lolita dresses, accesories. I come from malaysia so everything is pretty expensive. Could you recommend a reliable shop?

@@12kingdomstourism I see, thank you