⊹₊♔₊⊹Living the EGL Lifestyle & About Me⊹₊♔₊⊹

Hello fellow fashion enthusiasts of SpaceHey!

I’m so excited to present my first blog post to you all. Today’s topic is “how I live the EGL life every day and what being a lifestyle lolita means to me” (but it’s also kind of just an “about me” guide in the end…)!

INTRO AND DISCLAIMERS

In case you don’t know what that is, EGL stands for Elegant Gothic Lolita. It’s a Japanese fashion inspired by historical periods such as the Victorian and Rococo eras, with an emphasis on refinement, modesty, and elegance. Despite its looks, EGL was created as a way for Japanese women to rebel against societal expectations and the male gaze in favor of dressing for themselves and not putting an emphasis on the opinions of others. 

If you’re already interested in EGL you know this, but I feel obligated to mention that the fashion has NOTHING to do with the book of the same name and is entirely SFW with zero ties to any NSFW communities or content. It is also important to note that the community is very welcoming regardless of gender, race, or anything else. I find that as long as you have an interest in the fashion, you’re kind, and you have no desire to make anyone uncomfortable, the community welcomes you! 

With all of that out of the way, let’s talk about the lifestyle! However, I must confess that unlike the rules of what makes a coordinate truly EGL, there really is no set definition of what makes a lifestyler a lifestyler. Because of the array of different people in the fashion, one lifestyler’s definition may be entirely different from another’s, which is what makes it so individualistic and unique. This also means that everything I say is purely my opinion, which means it should be taken with a grain of salt! 

With all that out of the way, let’s get started! 

HOW I MAKE THE LIFESTYLE WORK FOR ME

EGL is a subculture that focuses heavily on fashion. Because of this, I define the EGL lifestyle as going beyond wearing the clothes by integrating the values and aesthetics of the fashion into other aspects of life such as hobbies and decor. I essentially try to live my life doing “lolita” things as much as possible such as wearing cute clothes, drinking tea, and partaking in hobbies that are in line with Japanese EGL culture and historical feminine pastimes. I am also naturally inclined to valuing manners and etiquette and I always try to be kind, graceful, and mindful when interacting with others as well as myself. Though it isn’t always easy, I strive to be kind and compassionate towards myself- being mindful of how I speak to myself and avoid viewing myself in a negative light. My idea of a great day would include getting dressed up and sitting in my room listening to music, flipping through Gothic Lolita Bibles, and sipping tea. Ultimately I want to live like a fairytale princess each and every day in every way I can, surrounding myself with beautiful things and living for myself. However, much like gems, people are multifaceted, and just because I naturally enjoyed many EGL lifestyle aspects even before I knew what EGL was, I also believe I should never deny a part of myself to serve a lifestyle.

For example, all of my furniture is inspired by the French Provincial style. I love furniture that makes my room look like a princess’s room in a castle, but I also love 2000s Japanese fashion culture- things like going shopping, drinking tea in cafes, and taking pictures of my coords on digicams. Though that may not sound contradictory to the EGL lifestyle on the surface since Japanese lolitas created a culture involving those pastimes, I also love anime and I personally find that my anime decor falls more into otaku culture than EGL. However, instead of denying my love of Japanese pop culture, I incorporate my interests into one another. My antique furniture is overflowing with anime figures, acrylic stands, and plushies of my favorite character. I have a glass door wardrobe filled with manga. My wall tapestries hang alongside the purikura I display in Rococo-style picture frames. I make it work because I’m me!

CLOTHING: DO I WEAR EGL EVERY DAY?

Despite having medication, it isn’t unusual for me to sleep poorly or wake up feeling lethargic, which means some days I only have enough energy to do my non-negotiables such as washing my face or brushing my teeth alongside other tasks I consider mandatory hygiene. While I do think it’s important to wear EGL if you’re going to participate in the lifestyle, I think it’s also important to remember that it would be difficult to find many lolitas who wear the fashion all day every day. Though I adore EGL, I have a few reasons why I don’t or can’t wear it constantly.

For one thing, I do unfortunately have chronic health issues. Despite having medication, it isn’t unusual for me to sleep poorly or wake up feeling lethargic, which means some days I only have enough energy to do my non-negotiables such as washing my face or brushing my teeth alongside other tasks I consider mandatory hygiene.

I also have sensory issues which can lead to certain clothes being far too uncomfortable to function in. An outfit I set out the night before will sometimes have to be replaced for something far less fashionable if my body decides that everything that day feels too restraining, itchy, heavy, or bulky. Unfortunately, I’ve had this issue for so long that as a toddler my parents used to call me “The Princess and the Pea” because I was so hyper-aware of how clothing, bedding, and noise amongst other things had such a profound effect on me. Though the nickname was cute as a child, an adult being able to hear electricity and detesting overhead lights is less “princess core” and more “autism spectrum disorder”, but I digress.

The third reason I may refrain from wearing lolita is that it’s simply unrealistic for whatever I have going on that day. Though my work and school is remote, sometimes I’m required to attend meetings where the dress code simply wouldn’t be appropriate. If I’m going out that day I may refrain from wearing lolita if I’m not with friends, since I get anxious wearing it alone. I also opt for more casual outfits if I know I'll be in clothing stores just in case I see something I’d like to try on!

Of course, my relationship with fashion isn’t as negative as it initially sounds or I wouldn’t bother being a lifestyler! When I can wear lolita I’m confident and feel absolutely adorable. I love every aspect of the fashion, from planning coords, picking accessories, putting on makeup, and doing my hair to taking pictures and going out with my friends. Casual lolita has also been a lifesaver for comfort and I enjoy wearing brands’ less conventional items, such as Angelic Pretty’s miniskirts and salopettes to still wear lolita without going all out. 

In the same vein, even when I’m not wearing EGL I prefer to dress in looks that are inspired by it. To me this means outfits with extra attention to details like lace, ruffles, and bows as well as incorporating actual lolita accessories into non-lolita outfits such as the shoes, bags, hats, jewelry, and parasols I’ve bought from lolita brands. In the past I’ve had multiple occasions where people compliment me on my “lolita coords” despite me not being in a lolita dress, petticoat, and there not being a trace of the lolita silhouette at all. This of course is no fault of the complementor and I have no interest in correcting them as it’s by no means offensive. To me it serves as evidence that I’ve developed enough of an understanding of the fashion over the years to the point that I’ve successfully learned how to accommodate myself while still managing to convey the lolita style, and that’s something to be celebrated! 

Following along with my “be who you are” mentality, I thought it was worth noting that I also love other j-fashions that are dark, detail-oriented, and feminine so my closet is filled to the brim with clothes that work for dark shoujo, jirai kei, and the newer horror game protagonist style as well. I also dabble in kimono and wear them on special occasions. As long as i like the clothes I will wear them regardless of the style!

Another thing worth mentioning is compared to some styles, EGL is a type of fashion that takes time to build a proper wardrobe for. There’s so many garments, accessories, and parts to make a proper coordinate let alone a functional wardrobe, and EGL is not cheap. I'm still building my dream wardrobe despite discovering it all the way back in 2010!

Despite not wearing the fashion every day, I still 100% consider myself a lifestyler. I think about fashion every single day no matter what, and even if I can’t wear it that day for whatever reason, I can’t even walk into my room without immediately being reminded that I’m an EGL lifestyler, which brings me onto my next topic~

DECOR: MAKING MY ROOM LOOK LIKE I LIVE IN A CASTLE

My room has always been my happy place but after investing in some dream pieces it’s even more wonderful. After a long day, it’s lovely to come back home to a place where you’re surrounded by all the things you love. Though I love elegant gothic styles, I found that black furniture made my various rooms over the years feel extremely cramped.

While black is my absolute favorite color for clothes, it just wasn’t realistic for me to exist comfortably in an already small room made smaller with looming, ink-black furniture. So when I finally saved up enough to get some new pieces that really fit the EGL aesthetic, I turned to my second favorite color: white! I must admit that being surrounded by all white puts me in a far happier mood than my previous gray-black rooms. I love how bright and clean everything looks and I think when I take pictures of my mainly black coords amongst all the white it makes them stand out even better!

The actual aesthetic of my room is based on shiro-lolita with furniture in the French Provincial style. My furniture is made up of pieces I’ve mixed and matched alongside a Disney fairytale furniture set collection I hunted down piece by piece on FaceBook Marketplace. This means lots of ornate details mixed with rose patterns and bows! As I mentioned before, my color scheme is white with gold and black accents. The actual contents of my room consist of plush bedding and rugs, my clothes, accessories, and makeup, books, my bjds, video game consoles, and anime merch. My favorite motifs to use in decorating are roses and my favorite anime character, Chrollo Lucilfer XD My goal is to do a proper room photo-tour (and maybe a video if anyone’s interested!) once my latest shipment of Chrollo merch gets to me from Japan. I bought lots of Chrollo tapestries so I’m very excited to redesign my walls and space out my merch better!

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

As I mentioned before, my hobbies tend to naturally align with historic or traditionally EGL interests. Throughout school I fenced and played the violin before stopping to focus on college. I worked as a florist for my mother through high school and while pursuing my first degree in college. I still love flower arranging as well as wandering gardens when I can.

I’m also a huge fan of cafes, tea, and baking. I’m aspiring to bake more this year and start making parfait! I’m also getting into decoden so I can design cute pastries that don’t have to be eaten XD

I love to read Japanese classic literature, manga, and Gothic Lolita Bibles or other j-fashion magazines. Studying Japanese is a more mandatory pastime as it’s required for my Asian Studies degree, but is a hobby nonetheless. I also love to compose Japanese-style poetry and write in my diary. 

I adore skincare and makeup so I love using the beautiful products I’ve collected. I also enjoy taking fancy baths after a long day. 

Online shopping for j-fashion and Chrollo merch is also a major part of my life as well as browsing Lolibrary and the CocoPPa wiki (the fashion designs for their gacha are so stunning and inspiring!)

I also want to start drawing more consistently and of course posting to my blog, which gives me a place to post my thoughts and photography.

I love working on my ita bags and designing top loaders for Chrollo art cards I have. I also love doing fashion-related crafts such as hatting and jewelry! I’m considering trying to sell some of my bracelets and necklaces once I get better, but I'm not sure

As you can see, I have quite a few interests but it always gives me something to do in my free time and that makes my life feel very fulfilling! 

MEDIA

Similarly to how my hobbies are whatever interest me, media is somewhat EGL centric but overall just depends on if I like it or not! I’m currently playing Vampire Knight DS and Diabolik Lovers for the gothic vampire vibes, but I also enjoy fashion and makeup games like Style Savvy and Cosmetic Paradise. I have a huge backlog of other games I think I’ll love that fit the aesthetic (Princess Debut and Selfy Collection: The Dream Fashion Stylist come to mind). 

I also love anime and manga and for more EGL aesthetics I recommend Pandora Hearts, Vampire Knight, The Magic of Chocolate, Trinity Blood, Chobits, Black Butler, and the “Alice in the Country of…” Series. I have a huge backlog of manga and anime series as well, so I’ll keep this blog updated with my thoughts as I get through them all (so many blog posts, so little time! )! 

For music I recommend Ali Project, Kanon Wakeshima, Malice Mizer, Hatsuki Yura, and Phantom Siita though I also adore 2007-2010s Vocaloid! 

Phew. I think I’ve rambled for long enough now! If you’ve actually managed to make it to the end of this, thank you! As you can probably tell, I have lots of ideas and inspiration for this blog. The goal is to write about my fashion, lifestyle, media, and 2010s anime nostalgia. If those things sound interesting to you, consider friending me!

Until next time~ Bye