Being a Super Plus Sized Lolita

Let's face it, Lolita fashion is not really made for those of us with a little more "squish". I'm writing this blog post both as a cautionary tale and also as encouragement for those out there who think they're too big to wear Lolita.

When I first became interested in Lolita, I was about 18 years old (almost 10 years ago, I'm getting ancient!). I have always been plus sized in one way or another, even at my medically-healthy smallest size, I'm about a size 10 - 12 US and I weigh 180~185lbs. I naturally have a large frame and thanks to years of rugby, field, and marching band, I have a ridiculous amount of muscles in my legs and thighs. But I digress! When I was 18 I had about a 112 - 115cm bust and around 100 - 105cm waist. I was so fixated on the images of the tiny perfect Lolitas in magazines and books that I said to myself, "There's no way you can ever fit into that." So I sat that dream aside.

When I thought I was too fat for Lolita

College came, along with some extra pounds. By the time I went to live in Japan my junior year my bust was about 125cm and who knows what my waist was. It took meeting and getting some encouragement from some nice Japanese Lolitas for me to actually realize that, yes I can wear this fashion and be damned cute!

Japan during 花見

When I got back to the US, I was mostly a closeted Lolita... okay, let's face it, I was full blown ita. Once you get to a certain bust and waist size (usually above ~120cm B and ~110cm W), your visible options become very limited if you're new. At that point you don't know all of the indie brands yet or usually anything about taobao, so you just kind of "make it work". To make matters worse, a lot of the available plus size resources are outdated and abandoned.

After 5 years of being a closet-lita, I decided to buckle down and join my comm this past fall. Of course by then, grad school had come and gone, along with the stress of being a first time homeowner. Soooo, I picked up another 10 - 15cm on my bust, thankfully my waist didn't change as much.

My biggest regret is that I let my size stop me from jumping into Lolita when I wanted to. I realize now that I could have fit into a lot more burando than I thought. On the bright side, being in Lolita is also my motivation for losing weight, so I suppose that's a win. Still, at 135cm bust and 110cm waist, I'm kawaii as fuck. For those of you who aren't paying attention, that makes me a size 20 - 22 US at a height of 5'9" (175cm).

You can't touch my kawaii

So whether you have a 100cm bust or 140cm bust, don't let that stop you! There are plenty of options for you, from brand to custom sized!

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