Parents & Lolita



Click on image for source



I'm pretty sure you'll all have read about parents' reactions to their children wearing lolita fashion generally being quite negative, at least to begin with. There must be hundreds of articles (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it feels that way) out there giving advice about how to persuade the old ones to let you wear it, or to help you build up your wardrobe or even just to have a little acceptance and encouragement.

Well I'm not going to add to that list. Know why? Because I would have no idea where to start.

I've never had to go through that, you see. My mama's always been pretty supportive of my fashion decisions and experiments--even if I look back now and think they were disastrous and why did she ever let me leave the house dressed like that? In fact, she's always been wholly supportive with most of my decisions. Now and again I'll hear about friends' parents going round the bend if their child didn't get a high enough grade on an exam, or urging them to take a subject or go into a profession that they don't want to, and it used to shock me. Now it just appalls me. My mother's always encouraged me just to do my best and take whichever path I enjoy most, without ever pushing me. When I took my GCSEs, I ended up with A*s in my favourite subjects right through to Ds in my worst. I put my all into the things I love, and if that means I don't do well in the areas I don't enjoy then so be it--and my mother has the same mindset, so she was happy with my results rather than disappointed that I didn't study hard enough. When I chose to go to art college rather than follow an academic route, she didn't complain that I was wasting my time and that I'd never land myself a proper job, like some of the parents of my college friends did. And now that I've chosen to apply for a Japanese & Linguistics course at university instead of furthering my graphic design knowledge, she's supporting me yet again.

In fact, she's been more than supportive; she's been enthusiastic.

But I'm getting off the point. What I mean to say is, she loves lolita. She loves it to the point that she sits browsing brand sites with me, drooling over new items way beyond our budget. She gushes over my latest dress purchases and wistfully tells me 'if only I were a few decades younger.'

Don't get me wrong, I'm not meaning to brag. I appreciate that I'm incredibly lucky in this aspect and I suppose I just wanted to rejoice in that. And please don't get the wrong idea: I'm not spoiled, my mother doesn't buy all my clothes for me--I work hard to save enough to buy them myself.

So I'm interested--what do your parents think of lolita, and more specifically your involvement with the fashion/lifestyle?