marclair asked: Hiya! I'm in need of some advice. I love classic lolita fashion (Mary Magdalene, Victorian Maiden, Innocent World, etc.), but being rather on the large side (I'm a size 14/16 in American women's), I can never find anything that seems like it'll fit me... any suggestions?

Thanks for the message! Here are some times I’ve answered similar questions in the past:

fuckyeahclassiclolita.tumblr.com/post/11850291419/hello-ive-just-found-you-and-im-not-sure-if-youve

fuckyeahclassiclolita.tumblr.com/post/13642525006/this-is-in-response-to-the-anon-that-just-messaged-me

You can also check fuckyeahclassiclolita.tumblr.com/tagged/tips

Please let me know if you need a more specific answer!

the-life-quixotic asked: Where might one acquire some pieces like those featured on this blog?

Thanks for asking! hellolace, in my opinion, is the best site to go to for beginner information. If you’re able to spring for a higher price for a better quality piece, “Brand” dresses are the way to go. hellolace has a list of places to buy Lolita fashion, including popular brands. My personal favorites, and the best for Classic Lolita, are Innocent World, Mary Magdalene, and Victorian Maiden. These Brands specifically cater to this style. Other popular brands like Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Angelic Pretty often have great dresses that fit this style, but mostly cater to Sweet Lolita style. There are also several lovely offbrand shops, as well as seamstresses around the world who make quality dresses (I prefer Etsy sellers, myself), and also many items that fit within this style that can be found almost anywhere you normally shop. Also, you can check posts within this blog tagged “tips” for more information! Let me know if you have any more specific questions. Hope I was helpful!

sunsinourhands asked: Ask the seamstress/jewelry artist themselves. Or large retailers. I think F+F does wholesale.

Thanks!

This is in response to the previous question inquiring about wholesale, jsyk

piscean-memory asked: Do you know of anyway to buy lolita clothing/accessories wholesale? Are there any sites or companies that do this?

I’m sorry, but I don’t know! 

If anyone does, they’re welcome to comment/submit responses!

umichan90 asked: Hello! I'm looking for materials to create the beginnings of my Classic wardrobe and was just curious as to what kind of lace you would recommend for accents to my dresses/skirts or for making lace gloves (or if lace gloves would be appropriate for Classic). Thanks!

Hi there! The first point I want to make, which I’m sure you well know, is to stay well and far away from raschel lace! I’m big on trying to make things work but if I so much as see raschel I get an overwhelming urge to burn it. That said, I’m not exactly a lace expert, but I do love chantilly lace (I THINKthat’s what it’s called, at least, examples of what I’m actually talking about will follow though) for details on dresses, accessories, and for gloves! Crochet lace is also always awesome. I love pretty much anything Mary Magdalene uses, and I use their designs for crafting references a lot. For example: http://www.marymagdalene.jp/contents/dress/232/0107/232-0107_07.jpg, http://www.marymagdalene.jp/contents/dress/231/0102/231-0102_08.jpg, http://www.marymagdalene.jp/contents/accessary/231/0601/231-0601_07.jpg, http://www.marymagdalene.jp/contents/accessary/231/0604/231-0604_05.jpg, http://www.marymagdalene.jp/contents/accessary/231/0605/231-0605_04.jpg, http://www.marymagdalene.jp/contents/accessary/231/0606/231-0606_06.jpg, 

yoctavias asked: Online stores to shop for Lolita fashion?

I keep meaning to make a longer post but I don’t think I’ll get around to it so here’s the short answer: http://www.lolitafashion.org/brand_list_intshipping.php Hope it’s helpful!

nakedghosts asked: I've come to adore the Classic lolita look from watching your tumblog. It's mellow, it's very vintage, and it isn't as out of place, garish or outlandish as, say, Sweet. Most of all, I appreciate the look for the atmosphere it creates, and I won't lie, I'm totally jealous that girls get to wear stuff like this! Brolita is in no way an option for me, but have you come across any examples of what might constitute a masculine Classic outfit? I'm thinking tweed and boater hats,like RL Rugby. ♥Ghost

I toyed with creating a Classic Boystyle, and haven’t done anything with it lately, but it was more influenced by ~18th-century wear and the typical fairy-tale prince look. However, I LOVE the idea of tweed and boater hats, and I think it might be an even better idea for a boystyle version of Classic Lolita. If you’d like to submit anything, I’d be happy to post a few things under the above tag! Especially if everyone else would like it. In the meantime, check out http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/tweed+run 

Just want to let you know I’m not ignoring you but I’m about to go to bed so I’ll answer tomorrow

orgasmicyogurt asked: Would you agree Gothic is kind of the same as classic?

What a good question! The answer is a definite and resounding “no”, but there is a lot of intersection! For instance, just scrolling down the tracked tags “Gothic Lolita” and “Classic Lolita”, one can see good examples.

For instance, http://dailylolita.tumblr.com/post/13814915603/omenaruusu-reminding-us-that-less-really-can-be.

Also, http://croixdememoire.tumblr.com/post/13692306259 is an example of two coordinates that could be either Gothic or Classic, or as I like to say “Gothic Classic” (or “Classic Gothic”, whatever).

There is a lot of range within the confluence of these two styles (for instance, http://herajika.tumblr.com/post/13799968561/a-classic-lolita-outfit-from-a-few-weeks-ago is a good example of Classic Gothic that leans more towards Classic, but still has a few striking aspects that lend a solid Gothic feel to the outfit; and http://chasingcrowns.tumblr.com/post/13905778254 is an example of an outfit that is more Gothic, but still has many aspects of true Classic Lolita).

However, there are definitely outfits that are Classic and not at all recognizably Gothic (http://fannyrosie.tumblr.com/post/13808871346/brown-outfit-to-go-shopping-with-my-sister, for example) and outfits that are obviously Gothic (http://dailylolita.tumblr.com/post/8663083092/clefdemoname-in-gothic)

But as I said before, there is a lot of intersection, and there are especially a lot of element in Gothic Lolita that would qualify an outfit for Classic Style, and many Classic outfits would be perfect Gothic outfits if they were only in a black or other Gothic color (dark red, Moitie blue, etc.).

However, the same can be said of Sweet Lolita, Mori Girl, Dolly Kei, and many other fashion styles, because both Classic and Gothic Lolita have the widest ranges of possible styles of any of the substyles of Lolita (at least to my eye), so they are bound to meet in the middle!

18thcenturytears asked: I've asked this before but never received an answer. Do you know any places do buy ouji and/or any good blogs for ouji?

Sorry, sometimes questions don’t come through, but I do remember getting this one time before and ignoring it because I just don’t know anything about ouji, sorry! But I’ll submit this so that other people can see and maybe send in some better answers.

Anonymous asked: I'm not sure if you've answered this before, which you probably have, but do you know of any good shops to purchase Plus-sized Lolita Clothing from that you would recommend? I've wanted to start my own Lolita wardrobe for a couple years, but I've never known where to look. Please help? ♥

I have answered it a couple times but I haven’t organized things just yet so I can quite go “hey, look at this FAQ” or “hey, look at this post”, but you might find something useful in this blog under the tags “FYCL answers” or “tips”

muninandhugin asked: Check out shadesoflolita for, of course! Lolis of all shades. (Just found that tumblr, actually.)

Hunting through it right now! 

Anonymous asked: Ok, so first of all your lolita day outfit (even if it wasn't technically for lolita day) is adorable and you look super cute and classy! Ok, here is my actual question, though, it's about the hoop skirt. This might seem like a silly question, but can you sit down in it? I think the shape it gave your skirt is amazing but I can't imagine wearing something that I'm not able to sit in comfortably. Thanks!

Thank you so much!

It was actually very comfortable! Well I can’t speak for all hoop-style skirts because this is the first and only one I have worn, but it wasn’t a problem at all! The hoops proper were plastic and very pliable, so even though it did take up a lot of room in the small car I rode in, it squish down to size fine as long as I held it and popped right back into shape. I sat in my friends armed lounge chair and had no problem sitting either. I only had to sit on bar stools pretty much the entire night, for which it was much more comfortable than a regular petticoat because all i had to do was plop down and the hoop fell around the chair instead of bundling under me uncomfortably like a regular layer petticoat. The only problem I had with it, in fact, was that I couldn’t bend over very far or risk flashing my bloomers to everyone, but all I did was just kneel down to pick things up if I had to. No big deal.  

mini-magpie asked: Oh my gosh. You are/were a Florida Lolita?!! Sorry, it's just kinda surreal for me @o@

Yes! I lived in Tampa, and the Tampa and Orlando Lolitas all hung out together. I don’t know what the scene is like there today, because I’ve been gone since last year and my last meetup in the area was ages ago, but we might know some of the same people :)