As spring is near and the birds start to sing...
I am having such a struggle between Sweet and Classic
- between the girly girl and the elegant lady
- between floral, pink, strawberries and muted colours, velvet and cameos...
So I always seem to end up somewhere in-between:
Country Lolita
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| Impossible Woman Blog -Pics from White Moon, Tumblr and Dynamite Blog |
What is Country Lolita?
Is it a theme of Sweet Lolita? Is it even a "true" Lolita sub-style?
The debate will continue, some do truly consider Country Lolita to be a sub-style of it's own, and some just consider it to be a theme-variation of Sweet Lolita.
So what is Country Lolita?
Country Lolita defines itself as a more mature, "natural" Sweet Lolita (thereby the reflection that it might be a fuse between Classic and Sweet).
According to Caro of FYeahLolita (who btw has an excellent post upon Country Lolita, and I've borrowed some pics from her!), in the beginning of Lolita (00s something), there were only two Lolita substyles: Country Lolita and Gothic Lolita.
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| I especially remember this Old School photo from Fruits! One Lolita is more Classic, and the other Lolita is more Goth by today's standards. |
The Country Lolita coords of the Old Days could range from anywhere between what we today would consider "Sweet" and "Classic" - the definition of "Country" was simply what it wasn't; aka a black (Gothic) Lolita outfit.
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Then, "Country Lolita" was named as the style where you wear straw accessories, aka a straw bag and a straw hat. Preferably you'd match 'em up with lace gloves and Rocking Horse Shoes...
Classic Lolita of today is described to wear fabrics with floral prints (small prints), fruits or gingham (think kitchen curtains for fabrics ;)
The feel of a Country Lolita isn't as snobby as the Elegant Classic Lolita, and it isn't as playful as Girly-Girl Sweet Lolita. Country Lolita is more a rural, hard-working girl in her Sunday Best.
It's a simple style, leaning heavily upon Old School-Basics.
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| Braid-Crown Hair-Do as a political power statement... |
Yulia, former president of Ukraine rocks the Braid-Crown Hair-do.
Braids are great for Country Lolitas'! You can simply have two, or make braid-loops or the Ukrainian peasant crown :)
But apart from straw hats and bags, how could you really define Country Lolita as a sub-style of it's own?
Julie at Northern Star made a post that put my head spinning :) Maybe Country Lolita isn't just a seasonal theme of Sweet Lolita, maybe it could be something more!
You could do an Apple Jack - American Country Lolita, a.k.a. Cow-Girl Lolita, but I'm not pursuing this look :) This feels more like a clearly theme-based outfit.
But still - what if there could be more to Country Lolita than just the straw hat and basket?
What if we used our European heritage to update the Japanese Country Lolita style?
The whole idea of the Country Lolita is to create an outdoorsy pic-nic feel.
When looking at Swedish mainstream that are inspired by the countryside, I instantly come to think of the Lifestyle Magazine "Lantliv" and the fashion designers Nygårdsanna and Odd Molly.
Lantliv
Looking at Nygårdsanna and Odd Molly makes me discern two things with "Country-style":
1) A rugged, wistful feel
2) The clothes are more practical, hair and make-up is natural and simple.
It's the art of looking as if you didn't dress up at all. You just stepped into your wellies and started to pick blueberries for your breakfast pancakes in a 4000 SEK/ 610 USD coat ;) LOL Totally "casual"! ;)
Another Country Classic is the Understated British Gentleman/ Gentlewoman style.
I get the feeling that Odd Molly and Nygårdsanna lean J-fashion-wise more towards Dolly Kei and that the British Country Style has a more Classic Lolita (elegant upper-class) feel to it.
All muddled up the country style ends up in crochet, wool, tweed, wellies, oil waxed twill cotton, quilt, embroideries, sweet darling words, flannel, ribbons, chunky knits, braids, rosy cheeks, effortless style...
Bringing these elements into Lolita would be fun!
It's a true challenge to make Country Lolita work for winter as well.
It shouldn't just be to add a wicker bag to your ordinaire Classic outfit,
to be Country Lolita the winter coord should feel like you are truly outdoors,
doing something like skiing or maybe choppin' wood? :)
Maybe I'll give it a try :)
I would love to prance around in Lolita + Wellies!
But apart from straw hats and bags, how could you really define Country Lolita as a sub-style of it's own?
Julie at Northern Star made a post that put my head spinning :) Maybe Country Lolita isn't just a seasonal theme of Sweet Lolita, maybe it could be something more!
But still - what if there could be more to Country Lolita than just the straw hat and basket?
What if we used our European heritage to update the Japanese Country Lolita style?
The whole idea of the Country Lolita is to create an outdoorsy pic-nic feel.
When looking at Swedish mainstream that are inspired by the countryside, I instantly come to think of the Lifestyle Magazine "Lantliv" and the fashion designers Nygårdsanna and Odd Molly.
 |
| Nygårdsanna |
 |
| Odd Molly |
Looking at Nygårdsanna and Odd Molly makes me discern two things with "Country-style":
1) A rugged, wistful feel
2) The clothes are more practical, hair and make-up is natural and simple.
It's the art of looking as if you didn't dress up at all. You just stepped into your wellies and started to pick blueberries for your breakfast pancakes in a 4000 SEK/ 610 USD coat ;) LOL Totally "casual"! ;)
Another Country Classic is the Understated British Gentleman/ Gentlewoman style.
 |
| British Country style |
All muddled up the country style ends up in crochet, wool, tweed, wellies, oil waxed twill cotton, quilt, embroideries, sweet darling words, flannel, ribbons, chunky knits, braids, rosy cheeks, effortless style...
Bringing these elements into Lolita would be fun!
It's a true challenge to make Country Lolita work for winter as well.
It shouldn't just be to add a wicker bag to your ordinaire Classic outfit,
to be Country Lolita the winter coord should feel like you are truly outdoors,
doing something like skiing or maybe choppin' wood? :)
Maybe I'll give it a try :)
I would love to prance around in Lolita + Wellies!
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| Shoedaydreams Joules Posh Wellies |
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