Mocha's Fabulous List of Lolita-Friendly Gift Ideas

We all know that looking for holiday and birthday gifts is stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! I’ve had my fair share of secret Santa and white elephant gift exchanges, so I’ve taken it upon myself to share my expertise with a list of gift ideas that should please any lolita.


1) Planters 

Succulents and other small, apartment friendly plants are very popular among experienced green thumbs and neglectful plant parents alike. Skip a trip to TJ Maxx and look for a unique planter with a kawaii or gothic aesthetic instead.

2) Beauty and Bath Products

Maybe your friend is a classic lolita who is obsessed with European history (aka: me) or you have a friend who is too busy to be a daily lolita who wants to add a little romantic elegance in their day-to-day. Luckily for you, there’s a gift for these kinds of people.

LBCC Historical has an array of authentically reproduced cosmetics and apothecary products (minus the poisonous chemicals) with beautiful vintage inspired packaging. 

LauraBotanicals sells bath bombs, scrubs, and other aroma therapy bath products with rustic sensibilities.

If rose water salves and lavender pomades sound too granny for your giftee: 

Posh Goth has a line of delightfully ooky-spooky bath bombs, perfumes, and other beauty products for your favorite gothic lolita.

AiSuri Beauty is an indie makeup brand born out of the frustration at the lack of anime themed makeup products and born for those who are a sucker for kawaii packaging.

Nectar U.S.A has a uniquely kawaii take on Lush’s bath products, including waffle themed bath bombs and cupcake soaps.

3) Sugar

That’s right. Sugar. But for hardcore lolitas who are obsessed with tea parties. If your giftee loves to host tea meets, they’ll surely appreciate some fancy sugar doilies and molded sugar for the next meetup!

4) Books

Maybe I’m biased, but I feel like a good book makes a great gift – especially if they’re made for the lolita reader. Look for copies of Kamikaze Girls, Gothic and Lolita Bibles, the Gothic and Lolita photobook by Phaidon, Otome no Sewing books, or illustration books by Imai Kira or Macoto Takahashi. Don’t be afraid to look into Japanese books - there’s a treasure-trove of lolita and Harajuku-fashion based publications that don’t get translated!

Additionally, you can search for books with adjacent interests. If your friend likes Rococo history, they might like The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty. If they’re more into the macabre side of things, they might appreciate Quackery (A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything) or Wicked Plants: The A-Z of Plants That Kill, Maim, Intoxicate, and Otherwise Offend, especially if they’re into gardening. If your giftee likes to cook or bake, consider Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: A Book-to-Table Classic. For the sweet lolita in your life, they might appreciate any book on Pusheen or this how-to-guide on kawaii bento making!

5) Crafting Kits

Pre-packaged crafting kits are a fun gift for that creative lolita in your life. For your lifestyle lolita friend, consider an embroidery or cross-stitch kit, or a calligraphy set. For friends with less patience, they might prefer kawaii wool-felting projects instead. For friends with a LOT of time on their hands, they might enjoy spending hours completing a crocheted stuffed animal or a miniature house kit !

6) Brand Novelties

Brand novelties are a pretty easy and affordable gifting option, in my opinion. You can easily find them while browsing Japanese secondhand sites such as Mercari, Fril, and Closet Child. Some items like lolita brand mugs, makeup bags, and tote bags can be further personalized by filling them with candy and other stocking stuffer items.

(Moi-Meme-Moitie Royal Saucer and Cup)

7) Coasters

Lots of lolitas like to spend their time browsing the internet for great deals with a cup of tea for company. What’s a more useful gift than a coaster that suits their personal taste? Classic lolitas and mori-kei fans might enjoy wares by AbbysResinCrafts1099 who has a wide variety of customizable flower themed coasters and there’s an even larger number of shops catering to kawaii tastes. If that’s too sweet for their liking, there are all kinds of goth themed coasters for the gothic lolita in your circle.

(AbbyResinCrafts1099)

8) Artwork

If you’re not particularly comfortable with your own drawing skills, there are many lolitas who are! You can purchase ready-to-print lolita themed art work or ask to do commissions of your lolita friend with their favorite things and style. Here’s a list of my favorite lolita artists to date: 

Seamii - Canada 

SkizzeArt - U.S. 

Grimoire Hazelwitch - Germany 

YumiYumYum - Australia 

Daytona Moonlight - U.S. 

Sugarelly Shop - U.K

9) Office gear

A lot of people are choosing to work from home these days, so what’s a better gift for the office lolita than office and tech gear that’ll make Zoom meetings more enjoyable? 

Moon Cat & Pentagram themed air pod case and a bats themed mousepad by IvyPixie 

Peach Milk themed airpod case by PrettyLilStuffCA 

Adorable animal themed mousepads and cat toe beans themed cable protectors from YourGuideOutlet 

Vintage mushroom and art themed mousepads by MeowzillaDesign 

Mushroom themed laptop sleeve (And other kawaii themes!) by SenseForest 

Witchy occult laptop sleeves (and more!) from ShoresofMoon 

Decoden keyboard caps by PuggyCrafts 

Animal themed desk air humidifiers, diffusers, and other cute desk goodies by Click-Cute 

Whatever their taste is, I’m sure any tea obsessed lolita would appreciate a mug warmer!

10) Home Decorations

I wasn’t originally going to make a section on house décor, but during my research, I’ve discovered a plethora of lolita-friendly knick-knacks for around the house! 

Shores of Moon not only does witchy mouse pads, but they’ve got a huge selection of spooky blankets and bedding, pillows, posters, and tapestries! If you’re in the U.K., your gothic friend may enjoy these hand-reproduction prints by The Emporium Obscura (CW: some nudity and depictions of criminals). 

If “Everyday is Halloween” isn’t your friend’s vibe, perhaps they might enjoy these Beatrix Potter illustrations in their home, or a vintage florals or mushroom themed blankets by BeyondVintageShopCA. 

If you don’t live near a Daiso shop, KawaiiShoppu has got you covered for all your kawaii and surprisingly useful home needs and décor.

Keep in mind that this list is by no means complete and the purpose of this post is to encourage supporting small businesses and indie artists, but it should be enough to get ideas going in your own head. Whatever you decide to do, don’t feel too pressured to “getting it right” because from my experience, most lolitas will appreciate a well thought out gift! 

Let us know in the comments what you think of this list. Do you have any suggestions that didn’t make it up here? What are your community’s ILD traditions or plans this year?

Wishing you a Happy Holiday and a healthy New Year!

And as always, thanks for reading.

Mocha

Getting into the Lolita Spirit

I had originally compiled this list of lolita lifestyle ideas during the height of the pandemic, as a way to help keep a sense of positivity in a scary world, but as areas around the globe are working towards vaccinating populations, I wondered if this article would still be useful. I’ve come to think that a list of lolita lifestyle ideas can be useful for any given situation - whether you’re a lonelita, find yourself in quarantine, too busy to wear lolita with friends, or just because you need a little pick-me-up. 

1.) Watch historical films/shows featuring lolitas or other romantic aesthetics

 

Of course, much of the lolita fashion community are well aware of Kamikaze Girls (originally, Shimotsuma Monogatari) and Mister Rococo, but there are several other films and tv shows featuring someone wearing the fashion: 

 ❀ Musashino-sen no Shimai - a movie based on the manga about two NEET sisters who wear lolita (Sorry! No English subs to this link).

 ❀ Fatal Frame, an atmospheric horror film about a curse that affects girls who kisses the photo of the person they admire at midnight (CW: suicide)

 ❀ Deka Wanko - a comedy series based on the manga about a lolita detective who solves crimes with the extraordinary power of smell. 

This list is by no means complete, but these are the ones where I could find full length videos for. A couple others that come to mind include: Gothic Lolita Battle Bear, Gothic and Lolita Psycho, and X-Cross.

People sure like to feature lolita in horror movies. If that’s not your cup of tea (pun not intended), I find that a good Western historical fiction film, TV series, and documentaries puts me in a positive mood. Peruse the Period Drama selection on Netflix or other streaming service of choice. For something from the Rococo era, I recommend Belle and The Great. If you want something more grounded in reality, I suggest starting with Lucy Worsley's and Karolina Zebrowska's videos or visit the Absolute History Channel and the English Heritage channel. For a list of over 100 lolita fashion YouTubers, check out LikeaTeacup’s blog. 

Additionally, I highly recommend exploring non-English sources of lolita content, such as Weibo and Bilibili (which often uses the term “Lo” for lolita fashion) and in your social media of choice, searching for: ロリータファッション   

Even if you can’t understand the language, it can be quite heart warming seeing how far the fashion has touched people around the world!

2.) (Re)read old egl posts

For a long time, the Elegant Gothic and Lolita (EGL) Community on livejournal was THE place to be. You could learn about the latest releases, ask for advice (so long as it wasn’t already in the “memories”), peruse through people’s meetup photos, and find inspiration for making one’s life “more lolita”. 

It’s been long abandoned for more modern social media outlets, and many of the old photos are missing, as well as much of the information is considered to be outdated by today’s standards, but I think there can still be much joy to be had by paying the egl community a visit. I also suggest paying a visit to the old daily_lolita community page where people used to submit photos of their outfits of the day. While you’re at it, cruise around the Wayback machine and Archive.org and imgur for lolita fashion content. 

3.) Play doll dress up games

Doll dress up games are a fun time waster, and although Flash is long gone, there are still places floating in the internet where one can customize their own lolita character. Picrew and Love Nikki are particularly popular.  A more recent one that has popped up online is Alice Closet.

Love Nikki

Alice Closet

4.) Spice up your virtual meets

I’ll admit, virtual tea parties and video streaming meets have gotten pretty stale and they’re just not the same as in-person meetups. However, until lolitas worldwide can meet in person again, here are some ideas to have fun with your community safely: 

❀ Powerpoint parties - Have everyone put together their own powerpoint of whatever they like or know a lot about and do a live screen-shared presentation. It can be informative or just for jokes. It’s a great way to get to know people better. 

❀ Bake/Craft-a-long: To do this, set a date and project with ingredients or craft supplies people will need to participate, and live stream yourself making the thing(s) step-by-step. A bake-along in particular would be a great pre-tea party activity. 

❀ Book a virtual escape room session

❀ Go on a virtual museum tour

❀ Game Night: Skip video games and instead play classic social party games like Pictionary, Scattergories, Who Am I?, Never Have I Ever, and trivia (I recommend setting it up with the Kahoot app). Make the subjects lolita related, like using print names, brands, clothing pieces, and lolita models. 

5.) Pursue “lolita lifestyle” hobbies and crafts

A lolita lifestyle may be something individually defined, but passing the time doing old-timey activities can be a good breather, especially for those working/studying from home where everything is virtual. Here’s a fun list of ideas by Vanilla Bear.

If you’re not particularly artsy nor crafty, order some lolita fashion coloring books for a relaxing coloring session (here are a few cute ones I found on Aliexpress and Amazon). 

6.) Make coordinates for future meets

Just because you’re not going to physical meets right now, doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for them. This is a great time to play around with your wardrobe and try something you’ve never done before. You can even get your community involved in this (if you have one), by making a post for sharing coordinates and asking for concrit or suggestions to add what is missing in your wardrobe. You can try wearing these coords, or if you feel too tired (and more comfortable in PJs), make flat lays or collages. This is also a good time to practice posing for future outfit shots. 

Source: F Yeah Lolita

7.) Research and plan for future in-person meets

While this situation can feel dire, it's important to keep your spirits up and try to look forward to a brighter future. Make plans for meets you've always wanted to be a part of, so that when it is safe to have in-person meets again, you and your comm are ready to party. 

8.) Listen to music

I'm usually hipster trash when it comes to music, but occasionally I'll tune to my local classical music station or listen to a stream of Baroque music on YouTube, and I find that it can be a breath of fresh air to top 40 radio tracks and sometimes gets me in a romantic mood, especially while I am embroidering. 

If you're not into Bach, Vivaldi, or Chopin, listen to string covers/arrangements of pop songs. Try different eras of classical music and listen to non-white/non-male composers like Joe Hisaishi, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Saint-Georges. Or pay homage to lolita's roots and listen to visual-kei music and music by artists who wear lolita (Merry Merli, Ali Project, Nana Kitade, Kokusyoku Sumire). 

9.) Read lolita magazines and other publications

Sometimes it’s good to step away from your screens and flip through a good old-fashioned Gothic and Lolita Bible or Kera magazine. Similarly, you can explore other magazines dedicated to lolita and other J-Fashion, including Spoon, Melt, Girlism, Le Panier, Wunderwelt Libre, and Tulle. 

Try digging up lolita comics and art on image hosting sites like Pinterest, Imgur, Instagram, and Deviant Art (not on DA, but I highly suggest this comic that still is on its own site called I R Lolita). Search for news articles and academic writings on the fashion (my favorite articles are by Masafumi Monden and An Nguyen). 

Any seasoned lolita will suggest Kamikaze Girls and So Pretty/Very Rotten, but do also explore Google Shopping or Amazon for all kinds of other books dedicated to lolita fashion (whether they’re accurate or not). Lolita may be a niche subculture fashion, but there’s quite a world of writings out there. 

Source

10.) Read books set in a historical or fantasy setting

Escaping the humdrum of modernity through reading books about a distant past is a great way to refocus your mind and eyes away from glaring bluelight screens. Pick up a story or two on historical fictional romance and adventure, like a Jane Austen novel or classic gothic stories like Carmilla - or Rose of Versailles for a bit of both! If you prefer non-fiction, read up on biographies on royalty or life from centuries ago. I’m a fan of Antonia Fraser’s biography on Marie Antoinette, Georgette Heyer’s Regency World, and books on the real world of Downtown Abbey.  

11.) Curate a lolita lifestyle Pinterest board

Putting together an aesthetic mood board is a great mood booster. Here’s a link to my board for inspiration.  Pinterest boards are also a great place to put together your wardrobe post, so you will be ready for the next Wardrobe Post season.

12.) Embrace "quarantine-kei"

So you’ve spent $200 on your dream dress, but it's been collecting dust in your closet since last year because there aren’t any fancy tea parties to go to (whether your comm isn't meeting in person yet, or because you’re a lonelita). Wear it anyway. You can leave the petticoat in your closet, throw on a pair of house slippers instead of heels, wear a tee shirt instead of a blouse, and put on your favorite bathrobe. No one needs to know or have any business telling you that you have to dress in a full coordinate in the comfort of your own home. Let me tell you, wearing a princess dress while doing light chores is an experience in itself. Just be sure to wear an apron. 

Source: Weibo

13.) Dress up to the Nines (to get essentials)

On the opposite end of the spectrum, make going out to run even the most mundane of errands an opportunity to live life to the fullest and treat the grocery store aisle as your own runway.  

I hope that you’ll find this list helpful! Tell us what suggestions you’ve used or if you have any other ideas on how to add a little lolita in your day-to-day life. 

Thanks for reading.

Mocha

Things Brands Should Be Making

Man, I just love lolita fashion. 

I love it so much that I want to surround myself with all kinds of things made by brands as an aesthetic reminder of how much of a lolita I am without always needing to wear the clothes. But sometimes I have complaints on what the fashion has fallen short on. Here’s my list of things I think brands could and should be making. 

1.) Printed Leggings and Workout Clothes

Sometimes I wonder how much more enthusiastic about working out if I were the most kawaii person at the gym (or rather, working out at home these days). Just imagine a pair of black joggers with the Moitie’s signature blue candelabra instead of the Nike sign, or an obnoxiously 2000s velour track suit with BABY foil printed on the butt. 

Leggings are an inescapable facet of fast fashion, especially in the era of stay-at-home orders. It’s sometimes really hard to get in the kawaii mood when you’re in boring leggings all day. To combat the monotony of normie leisurewear, I’d love to see popular AP prints in leggings form to throw on with a matching oversized t-shirt that’s meant to be worn together. 

Until then, I’ll settle for joggers by indie kawaii fashion creators. 

2.) Fully Shirred Skirts 

People who’ve been around the fashion for some years and/or old school lolita enthusiasts know and love Meta’s Crown Label “mini” skirts, and it’s a real shame that comfy, fully shirred skirts are barely a thing anymore. 

3.) More Basics

I don’t mind purchasing workhorse pieces from indie Chinese brands, but I do miss the days when it was more common to find practical cardigans, versatile socks, other staples, and accessories from Japanese brands. I do enjoy seeing over-the-top princess dresses, unique prints, and floofy chiffon blouses, but sometimes I just want to tone down my coords with wearable every-day poly-cotton pieces for a Target run. 

4.) Matching Clothes and Accessories for Brand Mascots

I love my Kumakumyas, but I wish that they’d have separate clothes and accessories that I can easily buy and change them into like you could at Build-a-Bear instead of normally selling these as special edition kumyas. I bet brands would make a killing off of mascot enthusiasts. Or at least me. 

5.) Speaking of Kumyas: 

I require a proper Usakumya/Kumakumya kigurumi.  I need this:

But make it like this:

6.) Makeup Collabs

In an age of MUA youtubers and “influencers” pumping out Morphe collabs every month, I’d love to see things like a by lolitas-for lolitas eyeshadow palette. 

Imagine a heart shaped eyeshadow palette with this logo on it and inside includes a mirror and pretty colors inspired by famous prints or motifs (that’ll be ¥10,000). If AP can release a Misty Sky perfume, I require the red colorway of Fantasic Dolly in a lip stick.

AP,  just take this concept and run with it. 

7.) More Home Goods

I love browsing Japanese app stores and I often encounter random houseware goods and novelties there. While some items are available in the shops, most of them are novelties gifted to people who attended special brand run events. Whenever I see these, I can’t help wishing I could easily surround myself with my favorite brands on the daily without wearing the clothes all the time. 

8.) More Casual Lolita Pieces

In the same vein as #3, I miss casual lolita. I miss how easy it used to be to find cute cutsews, camisoles, and mini skirts to wear when I wanted to dress and feel cute without bumping things off surfaces with my petticoat. 

Reinstating point #2:  Considering the growth in popularity of the fashion worldwide, I'd love to see plus sized/fully shirred versions of mini skirts and cutsew tops and knit dresses that were once quite popular. Or at least salopettes that look more flattering for the plus sized lolita market.

9.) Fewer Empire-waist and more Just-waist and Long Bodices

Not everyone looks great in empire waist dresses. So why are brands still making so many of them? Not to mention that just-waist and long bodices generally fit better and look better on taller/plus sized lolitas. Brands, please bring back more regular and drop-waist bodice dresses and you can have my hard earned money. 

An example of a very flattering cut: Regimental Stripe JSK by Atelier Pierrot 

10.) Bring Back Bustiers

Yet another old-school piece I love and miss. Lolita bustiers were like stays meant to be worn over a blouse. They were great for making a plain skirt coordinate look fancy by giving an illusion of wearing a dress. Sometimes people would wear them in place of a blouse in warmer weather. I’m disappointed that they’ve fallen out of fashion for some time and hope that they’ll make a comeback soon. 

11.) Large Posters of Prints 

Because it’s not enough to just wear Honey Cake, but I want it on my wall next to my favorite band poster. 

12.) (More) Roomwear

Let’s face it, some of us are spending more time in our pajamas than usual. Why not make us spend ¥10,000 for some lolita brand PJs? Because we will. 

(From eBay)

(Liz Lisa)

Victorian Maiden released some nightgowns in 2020 that were very popular, but I wish other brands would make their own versions too. I think it’d be so cute to see nightgown versions of Angelic Pretty’s iconic prints! 

13.) (Tiny) Neckties

There once was a time when blouses and cutsews came along with detachable lace edged ties. It was kind of a goofy accessory, but they usually added a kind of girly and punk like coquettishness to a coord. 

14.) Scalloped Hemlines and Embroidery

As much as I love prints, it seems like all brands have to do these days is slap it onto a basic lolita dress and call it a day. I very much miss seeing all kinds of lovely sewing details that made lolita special, especially cute rounded edges and charming embroidered motifs. 

(Scallop Princess, BTSSB)

(Flower Cart Embroidery, BTSSB)

15.) Releases of very sought after 2000s-era Prints and Designs 

I’m very pleased that Baby made the move to launch their Classical Line where one could find re-releases of their iconic main pieces, like the Karami JSK and Elizabeth OP. I only wish that other brands would follow suit. I know AP’s has a history of re-releasing popular prints, but I’d be over the moon to see them bring back some iconic pieces like Puppet Circus and Marionette Girl; or if AATP brought back Vampire Requiem from the grave (lol) and (most importantly) Metamorphose collaborated with Kuniko Kato to revive Teddy Motors and the Rabbitchang and Punkuma collection. 

Meta can has coin if they has re-release (Teddy Motors OP, source: Lolibrary)

 Meta, please.

Meta, I beg of you. 

16.) Improving Old Ideas 

There are many dresses out there that brands have made with high expectations conceptually-wise, but fell very short upon release. It would be great if brands would go back to the drawing board to see what went wrong with the original ideas and made better versions of pieces, like Innocent World’s Mucha print. My wallet is ready. 

What do you think about this list? Do you want these things to make a comeback? What sort of stuff do you wish brands came up with? 

Thanks for reading!

Mocha