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The skin zine is still available on craft or diy’s Etsy!

I keep my favorites stashed in a mini crate from michaels (like how some people store records lol but smaller). I spray painted it lilac to make it cute.

@@TheStitchess ohmigosh thats a great idea! thanks

I’m in a similar boat. I have a lot of body issues but they were the result of cruel classmates, not clothing. I never had much interest in normal fashion but when I found the goth community in middle school it opened up a whole new world for me and it actually helped me with my body issues quite a bit. Alt fashion still has it’s own problems but I think it can also be a powerful tool for people who want to reclaim their bodies. I’ve also found other people in alt fashion care far more about your coordination skills than your waist line so that helps. Focusing on the artistry of clothing and the artistry of the human body sort of separates it from regular culture and gives it a whole different power, at least in my mind. If i focus on what my body CAN do and how I can adorn it beautifully I feel much more beautiful inside as well. I don’t think it works for everyone but it can help some.

@@TheStitchess I agree with all of that. Definitely a good point about how alt fashion can be better for body positivity compared to mainstream fashion. I acknowledge it. The rest is TLDR, so you definitely don't have to read it. It looks like it has become an essay. At the same time I think lolita has some pitfalls for people with body image issues that mainstream fashion doesn't have. 1; lolita fashion has a certain aesthetic, even if it has minor variations amongst the styles. Along with that aesthetic comes a certain ideal face and certain hair styles that are considered ideal. When people don't have those facial features or aren't able to have those hairstyles with their natural hair (and wigs tend to look wiggy, unless very high quality and that comes with a price) I think it's logical that some of these people feel like they are lacking and that their natural body, face and hair is keeping them back from fully "doing their fashion in the way they want to" (for a lack of a better sentence, english is not my first language). It depends on what is considered the goal. Are people trying to achieve a certain look (along with hair and makeup) or are they just putting the clothes and accessories on their body? Meanwhile there are people with bodies that fit the ideal, faces that are the ideal shape with good quality natural hair. That means they can wear (nearly) every style of dress or combination of skirt and blouse, it means that their face fits the aesthetic and that all of the typical lolita hair styles suit their face, and they are able to do those hair styles. The counter argument that people then come up with is "life is unfair, deal with it". Of course that is true. Mainstream fashion doesn't really have this issue as much. Of course people are bullied for being considered ugly. But mainstream fashion offers a kind of safe neutral space of contemporary basics (jeans, t-shirt), and no-one will think "you don't suit this style" because the basics are kind of a "no flavor" fashion. Not even vanilla, just no flavor at all. So when you have features that make it so you don't feel like you suit lolita fashion and it severely limits what you can do style wise, and mainstream basics feel like a prison of fashion expression, that is quite the bind to be in. 2;Japanese brand sizing. Say, for example, you like really really old school btssb (but you don't like full shirring) and you like old and new Victorian Maiden, but you have the kind of body that is taller and wider (not necessarily overweight. Being a dutch size M with a wide ribcage will do it) than the sizes the clothes were drafted for, you're not going to fit into them as you are. Then diet culture comes along with its positive message of "Hey, you can do it, as long as you are diligent you can achieve the body you want". So you set to work, you try a few diets/ways of eating until you stumble upon one that gets some weight off. You find you still don't fit into the items you want, and you can't make yourself like the things that do fit. So diet culture tells you "you're not trying hard enough. No more excuses, you can do it". So you look for diets/ways of eating that will bring your weight lower than what worked for you in the past, and you set to work. It's harder than before but you push through anyway. And then it starts to affect your health and you still don't fit into the items. So when you then question diet culture it blames you for believing its original message in the first place. It says "ah, but you have to use some common sense". But at the same time people who have gotten to that point in their journey where they realize they cannot healthily lose more weight, and so they say "you cannot diet away your skeleton", they are met with messages of disbelief "that's just another thing that fat people say, you're not trying hard enough" from diet culture. So you mentally have to deal with the fact that there's going to be stuff you don't fit into, even if you're not fat, but getting to that point takes time unless you're already very slim to begin with. And if the stuff you prefer mostly doesn't fit you, that's really sucky. It's beyond your power to do anything about. Old school skirt/dress lengths often end up mid thigh for me, and the waist doesn't hit me where it should. Also that 62 cm waist and 83cm bust is never going to happen for me. So when VM was close to going belly up last year people of course thought it was sad and complained about it, the response to those people was "it was because of too many fatties", and if people wanted the brand to stay around they needed to lose weight (so they could fit into their clothes) and support the brand by buying more than just accessories. I was sad about VM closing, but if I had said that online I would have been met with "you don't fit into their brand, you don't get to complain about a brand that you never supported by buying their clothes. Lose some weight and buy their clothes, and then you can complain". These things simply don't happen in mainstream fashion. I can walk into an H&M or most other stores, and pick something from their regular size line that's not going to be too small for me. I don't support fast fashion, and I thrift when I need mainstream clothes. But I still will find clothes that fit. I can tell myself and think "I will still feel better about myself if I just dress up nicely and do my best with what I have" (but my feelings won't agree much), but that won't erase all of the above. From time to time the topic of weight and body issues comes up in the lolita community. The first time I saw such a thread I was shocked by just how many people had an ed. I'm not saying the fashion causes it. Many people say it makes it worse.

I feel you about the lolita sizing. I am one of those mediums with a wide ribcage :/ (not Dutch but still). I will never have a 24 inch waist it just isn’t physically possible - I used to be so thin you could see my actual ribs and i still couldn’t squeeze into older brand if I wanted to - and it’s sad cause some of my ultimate dream dresses are 2004-2006 era BABY 😭

@@TheStitchess I mean I don't blame brands for making them that size. And I do fit into most contemporary btssb dresses with a shirring panel in the back. It's just that I don't care much for printed items and high waisted stuff. I got into lolita fashion at age 19 (I'm 35 now), and that was back in 2003. I was in it until I was about 24/25, then had a hiatus until I was 33. I now see how lolita fashion has evolved over the years, but I still prefer old school btssb. I also like SOME of contemporary VM. Btssb's sizing has become much roomier and longer over the years, but VM is still quite small. I agree with the 2004-2006 btssb era love. I'd love to fit into some of their really old velvet OPs, but it just isn't going to happen. Some of my comm members are really into old school and buying old school pieces on japanese auction sites, and whilst I do love seeing them have fun with that I do wish I could as well. My last hope is making my own stuff. But that still feels like a cop out you know. I would be making dresses in old school btssb style. I have made a lot of stuff over the years though, mostly blouses and bloomers and a few JSKs and an OP here and there. But I still like my main pieces to be brand. I never made dresses to look like old school btssb, the copying feels wrong. I did make a btssb style blouse (from one of the glb extras) but I was halfway fine with that because they put their pattern in there.

GSUS -atelier- Gemma Flack is a FAV