"Itas" and how to Not Be One

Before I begin talking about itas, I'd like to define what an ita is. An ita is someone, generally new to lolita, who hasn't gotten the fashion right. The common consensus is that "ita" comes from the Japanese word "itai": literally "ouch!" Itas make mistakes regarding lolita fashion that renders their outfits not quite right. I'm going to talk about common ita mistakes and how to avoid them, as well as talking about problems with more stubborn itas.

Let's get started!

COMMON ITA MISTAKES......

1. Not wearing a petticoat
2. Inappropriate accessories
3. Improper coordination
4. Calling lolita a cosplay or costume
5. Wearing clothes that are obviously poorly or cheaply made
6. Mixing colors that don't match
7. Accidentally (or purposefully) sexualizing lolita
8. Getting excited and making a coord out of non-lolliable clothes

Let's start out with petticoats. I commonly see newer lolitas forego a petticoat, whether it's because they didn't know to use one, or they decided they didn't need one. I'm here to tell you....you need a petticoat. There are exceptions for casual lolita, of course, but for every other sort of coordinate, you need one. There are no buts about it. One of the most important things in lolita is the shape of your silhouette, and without petticoats, you will not achieve the proper volume needed for this shape. Therefore, petticoats are a requirement in lolita.

Another thing I see with itas is some truly horrendous combinations of accessories: leg warmers, cat ears and collar, rainbow stripe socks, neon wigs, and more. Neon usually has no place in lolita at all; there are of course some prints that feature neon colors, but cheap Halloween-bought wigs are not usually compatible with lolita coordinates. 

Regarding the rainbow socks (which seem to be really popular for some reason), just don't wear them. Please. I don't think I'll ever live to see them successfully integrated in a coordinate. They're more suited for decora. And cat/kitten accessories....Western lolitas seem to really hate the whole ears/collar combination, and I can't say I blame them. They don't lend a nice look to lolita coordinates, even if there's cats in the print. Rabbit ears, bear ears, and deer antlers all seem to fit the lolita aesthetic better.  

One of the keys to coordination is to take inspiration from your dress or skirt (or salopette, or what have you). My Infanta Dolly House OP in pink is really easy to coordinate; if I want, I could wear a pastel pink bonnet like the teddy bears in the print. Or, I could wear pastel macaron accessories (like the ones on the dress). Even if your dress doesn't have a print, this is still fairly easy to do. 

(Infanta Dolly House OP)

  (AP Sentimental Scallop OP)

For instance, I have Angelic Pretty's Sentimental Scallop. The gingham fabric goes great with a straw hat and light pink or white accessories (white can bring out the trim of the dress, pink the ruffles). I find that, with a straw hat (that has a pastel pink ribbon on) lends this dress an adorable country look. Even without a print, it's still possible to coordinate quite easily. Again, you just need to take inspiration from the dress itself. And if you need help, check out lolita-advice on Tumblr (it's a blog I run to help newer lolitas and older lolitas alike!) Or, you can search for the dress online and see what other people have done for their coords.

Also....lolita is not a cosplay or a costume. It's a fashion drawing on aspects of the Rococo and Victorian periods. It's possible to do lolita-inspired cosplays, or themed coords (like Harry Potter themed coords, for example), but it certainly is not ever a costume. Many lolitas say that they feel more confident and comfortable in lolita and will get highly offended if you call lolita a costume so maybe.....don't.

So one of the number one mistakes I see is people wearing cheaply made clothes, or clothes made of costume fabric (think cheap velvet, scratchy lace, and shiny satin). These clothes are fine for costumes...but as we've discussed, lolita is not a costume. The fashion prides itself on having well-made clothes; quality is important. As such, shiny dresses with heaps of raschel lace are considered unacceptable (and actually quite insulting). 

As you can see, the lace quality is less than stellar.

Here, the dress is made poorly with cheap shiny fabric.

Both of these dresses would be considered very ita. Their poor construction and cheap components do not work with lolita. It would be fine to wear these if you want (not everyone can afford how much lolita can cost)...just don't say it's lolita when it isn't. And these dresses definitely aren't lolita. 

Now on to colors. A coordinate needs to stick to a specific color palette; if you have say, a pastel pink dress with a print that has other pastel colors, you wouldn't wear shoes that aren't also pastel (or white). Mixing bolder colors with pastels can be a risky business, and it can also look quite tacky. Sticking with a specific color palette (usually based on the skirt/dress you're wearing) is the key to having a really pretty coordinate.

So you know how feminine things have a tendency (at least in the US) of being sexualized? Well, unfortunately for us, that's still the case here. Especially with sweet lolita is the risk of being asked the question "are you an ageplayer?" You might be, of course, but lolita has nothing to do with kink (as it is literally just a fashion) and many lolitas prefer the two stay far, far away from each other. In this manner, lolita is sexualized, and it can also be sexualized by wearing the wrong things and calling it lolita (like wearing maid costumes and calling it lolita).

Above is a picture of what is most certainly not lolita. However, due to the lace and frills, it can be mistaken for lolita. One of the big problems is that someone could wear something like this, go around calling it lolita fashion, and then give a bunch of people the idea that this is what lolita fashion is. The fashion then becomes inherently sexualized to that person. There's nothing inherently wrong with sexual stuff or something being sexualized; the problem comes in that lolitas (some of them minors) are made uncomfortable by being sexualized in this way.

Finally, some people get so excited on finding lolita fashion that they scramble to find something in their wardrobe that will suffice (I find this actually quite adorable). The enthusiasm is great but the coordinates....not so much. Most clothing is non-lolliable (meaning it won't work for lolita). Again, I love how excited people get, but you usually have to wait to get lolita clothes before making your first coordinate. Many seasoned lolitas get irritated when people using clothes they had lying around tag their coordinates as lolita, especially because a lot of them are looking for actual lolita coords and don't want to have to sort through people wearing...non-lolita clothes.

I know how tempting it is to dive into lolita right away, but it is a fashion that requires patience, planning, and money. It's definitely not a fashion you can make using what clothes you have in your closet, as many clothes simply aren't the right shape or style. It's totally fine to tag your outfits as "lolita-inspired", but please-don't fill the lolita tags with non-lolita things (it's a pet peeve, for me). 

The final thing that I didn't list was the amount of people who refuse to follow the rules of lolita, while still calling their outfits lolita. This fashion is one that has a few rules that you need to follow, and you don't get to break the rules and still call it lolita (again, just call it "lolita-inspired"). If you're a newer lolita and you don't follow the rules....you're simply not a lolita. Which is fine! Just please, don't tag your things as lolita. You may also mislead other people who are discovering the fashion. I can't tell you the number of times someone has asked for constructive criticism and then said "well, I'm going to do what I want." Please. Please don't ask for concrit if you don't actually want it.

That's where I'll leave it for now. If you want to know how to get into lolita, I'll be writing a post about that soon, so stay tuned!