I am so very happy that nowadays in Lolita fashion alterations are now being considered very acceptable and common place, back when I first started getting into egl it was not nearly as accepted or talked about.
I didn’t see much around that went against it but it certainly wasn’t a suggestion I saw people having and a lot of Kawaii channels on youtube would also have a fitness and weight loss element somewhere on their channel
As I think body positivity has gone more mainstream I think it seeped into Lolita fashion spaces for the better. I altered two of my favorite pieces in my closet the first one was a baby JSK that’s seams burst when I was wearing it. That gave me the courage to finally take it apart and add waist tie panels into the bust. The feeling of having the clothes I feel cutest in also fit me the best is amazing! One of my goals for the month of March is to get through my pile of skirts and dresses that need to be altered so that I can fully enjoy my wardrobe without the constant reminder that these clothes weren’t made for someone like me
I am not plus size by mainstream standards, I fall between a dress size 12-16 depending on the brand, that would put me into what I would consider mid size, but it makes even buying mainstream clothes difficult for me from time to time. When it comes to egl I without a shadow of a doubt would fall into the plus size category. However for years I would squeeze myself into pieces leaving red marks and making my body ache just to feel like I belonged, however every time my weight would inevitably fluctuate and a piece would refuse to zip I would feel an intense shame rise over me as if these clothes were meant to dictate what size I should be, not the other way around.
So when I finally upsized two of my pieces the sheer freedom and love I felt when I put them on was incredible. Due to liking the more solid control of hand stitching I had hand stitched these two pieces and it had felt like I had put love and self acceptance into every stitch. For the longest time I equated my health with size and weight due to my family’s history of diabetes but I realize now that every time I start focusing on my weight I throw health behaviors out the window! It’s still a struggle for me and I know I have a lot more work to do on my body image as time goes forward but I’m hoping by transforming the clothes I love to work for me I can start to have that work be just a little easier
Luna By The Lake With Cake 