How do you avoid being an ita, especially as a poorer American? Is it something that can be avoided by tips and knowledge, or is it a period everyone is doomed to while starting out? Do you have any such tips or knowledge, especially things you wish you knew?
1: set a budget and stick to it. 2: accept that it's going to take longer for you to build a decent wardrobe than it is for others. 3: because your budget is more limited it's even more important to make your purchases count, so don't buy things that you can only coord in very limited ways, don't buy things that you wont be able to make a full coord with yet (unless you don't have a wardrobe to begin with), don't buy low quality, don't impulse buy, only buy things you actually love and not just to check a box (fulfill a purpose in your wardrobe). 4: learn to sew well. Doing repairs and alterations yourself will save money. 5: keep track of your wardrobe with an app that also allows you to make outfit collages. 6: find friends so you can try on each other's stuff, maybe save money on combined shipping together. 7: Get the following basics= black lolita shoes, white lolita shoes, black blouse, white blouse, black bag, white bag, black socks, white socks. 8: don't just focus on main pieces (dresses, skirts), you have to have blouses, socks, shoes, hair accessories, bags, etc as well. 9: stick to one substyle and one colour scheme, you can branch out later on. 10: ask the community where you can buy certain things, they will help you find reasonably priced stuff. 11: consider the second hand market. 12: know your measurements and use them to shop, not the size you wear in mainstream clothes sold in your own country. 13: know the inner length of the shoes you think are comfortable, use this information (or foot length if the seller cannot be contacted to ask for size recommendations according to your preferred inner length) to buy shoes online. Some people do avoid an ita phase, so it's not unrealistic to do this.Things you should avoid (you can try some of these when you have more experience): shiny fabrics, animal ears, scammers, maid/nurse/military themed outfits, normie shoes.Nobody will expect you have the right coat right away, wrist cuffs are optional.
>>10943358What about brands? I see people disparage indie or Chinese brands a lot (And I think for good reason, but I am not 100% sure why), but those generally are cheaper and offer sizing that fits me as a kinda tall American (not a small Asian, like I assume most "proper" Japanese brands are made for?). There are also just so many, proper Japanese and Indie or Chinese. Where do I ever start to learn what is good?
>>10943361Stick to secondhand brand until you can actually differentiate quality.
>>10943362But what brands do I buy secondhand? Where I do even begin to learn that?
>>10943361Ayrt, I don't hate Chinese brands, unlike a lot of people here, but I rarely buy anything from them that's not shoes and outerwear. They simply don't have the styles I like in the quality I like.The difficulty is going to find a group of people who have experience with Chinese brands but also know how to judge quality. Someone with a closet full of Chinese low budget brand might tell you it's decent quality, but if they're only accustomed to fast fashion and low budget Chinese brands then you cannot trust their judgement. I think you should still ask for recommendations though, as it might be easier to tell what's worth trying and what's not compared to having no data at all. International indie brands are sometimes just as expensive as jpn brands, but can have lower quality than jpn brands. Ask the community if they have any negative experiences with the brands.Some prices for Chinese brands are even lower second hand compared to buying them new, so if you can get stuff for super low prices (10-20$ for a dress for example) and you like the way it looks then it's worth it just for the experience you'll gain from wearing it and washing it. Do not buy items through resellers, no matter how low people claim the markup is.Some Jpn brands do offer plus sizing which caters to wider and taller people, but it's expensive (relative to your financial situation) both new and second hand. You might be able to find fully elasticated skirts and the occasional fully shirred blouse for a low price.What are your measurements? It's hard to give recommendations if I don't know your options.
>>10943363>Where I do even begin to learn that?unironically lurkmoar in places where lolitas post. look for styles that you're aiming to try and look at what brands people mention.>>10943361the thing about budget chinese brands is that a lot of them don't feel as nice to wear and a lot of them (especially main pieces) only look good in shooped promo photos. if you're used to fast fashion items then this might not be an issue for you but once you get your hand on burando you'll be able to spot the difference pretty quickly.there are known chinese indies that do produce better quality items but from experience finding them secondhand is a lot harder than finding jp burando secondhand.
>>10943361If you are interested in gothic or simple pieces with good construction, I would highly recommend Atelier Pierrot and Physical Drop. You can find them both on AtePie’s webstore because they stock several brands with a focus on gothic styling. Both of those brands in particular are priced very well for a good quality main piece from Japanese brand, and the sizing is friendly to Americans (check measurements on each piece though). Invest in good quality pieces and over time your wardrobe will grow with pieces that will last for years to come.
>>10943384Not OP, but in a similar boat, thanks! I'm personally leaning more classic. It seems like Physical Drop and Atelier Pierrot also lean a bit classic as well. Also, please pardon my asking you directly, but do you have any tips on how to coord more classic looks while favoring black and pink clothes without veering into sweet? I don't want to wear goth or sweet cords, but I feel emotionally safer wearing black and more muted pink than most other colors. I'm just used to that palette in my daily life and not ready to break out of it.
>>10943447Ayrt and I think the biggest things to look out for are going to be construction and lace used. Some construction on blouses to look for to stay on the more classic side would be stand collars, bishop sleeves, and princess sleeves. Most silhouette is going to be A line as well. I would take a look at the kinds of pieces Victorian Maiden, Mary Magdalene, and Sheglit make and see what speaks to you about them and then try to find a similar look that you like among AtePie, Valee Lys (their sister brand), and Physical Drop pieces. You can really oomph up a classic coord by accessorizing well and Atelier Pierrot has plenty of accessories and appropriate headwear and outerwear to use like bonnets, corsages, and jewelry. It’s actually a bit easier if you start by staying to a clear colour scheme because everything you add to your closet will be able to be coorded with everything else.
>>10943449princess sleeves look awful with classic.
>>10943451I’m personally a fan of a cotton princess sleeves blouse paired with a floral/gobelin skirt but our tastes are different I suppose.
>>10943453agreed, I like cotton blouses with princess sleeves combined with velveteen and gobelin main pieces. There are also some dress designs with princess sleeves that I like.But I don't know what >>10943451 's image is of classic.
>>10943361Japanese brands goodChinese brands mostly badWestern brand are fucking garbage
>>10943453>>10943455princess sleeves mostly read as ott sweet or gothic to me, depending on styling. they usually don't suit the mature vibe classic has. i don't consider anything meta or atelier pierrot are putting out to be classic, though.
>>10943470>tell me you never bought from a western brand without telling me
>>10943551I don't have to, they all have ugly trash prints that look nothing like lolita
>>10943470western brands that faithfully replicate simple oldschool designs, like wirehead and distantmelody, aren't garbage but i would still not spend $250 on a full set from either of them when secondhand burando is right there. however, they're great for things like camisoles and bustiers which are rare on the secondhand market and usually don't go larger than an 80cm bust.
>>10943551>tell me you're fat without telling me you're fat
>>10943481Afaik all classic brands have items with princess sleeves, I don't think that automatically makes them look sweet, depends on the piece.
