There's a post on Tumblr that goes around every now and then, about characters who are never directly seen in a story, but the world around them feels the impact of their absence. This isn't about that. It's about something a lot sillier.
SOMEBODY KEEPS SELLING ALL THEIR LOLITA AT MY LOCAL CONSIGNMENT SHOPS AND I DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE.
"Aster," You may say, "It's pretty common practice to take old pieces to thrift or consignment shops when they won't sell on Lacemarket." But I don't think this person is on Lacemarket. I'll explain my reasoning later but for now, put a pin in that and trust me. It started two years ago when a local comm member posted a photo of an Amavel set they found at a store in my neighborhood.
Cute, lolita adjacent, a fun oddity that made me wonder where it came from. A few months later, somebody else went to that same store and found a Bodyline Blouse and some Liz Lisa and Ank Rouge. Another comm member saw a Nile Perch sweater at another store in town. This surprised me a little since I went to my local store often and had never seen any J-fashion there. But the next time I went...
And a couple months after that...
(I did end up taking this one home with me!)
I also kept finding offbrand and Taobao blouses. At first, I thought there must be a lolita in our comm who was offloading some stuff they couldn't sell online, but wasn't active enough in our online chat to see that I had found their things. I brought the idea up at meetups; nobody knew who it could be. After a while, I stopped seeing things at that store.
But then, this spring, things changed. I was in decora, attending a "thrifting crawl" organized by a kawaii influencer from my city, and one of our stops was the sister location of the store where lolita had been popping up. When we arrived it looked like someone had dumped their entire wardobe there. Pair after pair of shoes, loliable blouses, and a total of six JSKs from assorted Taobao brands. There was even a knockoff Kumakumya. At the next store we visited, the rogue lolita had struck again with two pairs of adorable shoes that were sadly too small for me. (I was very happy for the newer lolitas at the event though, what an incredible day!)
My theory changed. Since most items were Taobao pieces of inexpensive quality that were in great condition, perhaps somebody had gone through a lolita phase and sold everything once it was over. (It would explain the crappy fake Kumakumya too.) They went to different stores to sell things that the others wouldn't buy, and because those stores had so much stock, they were simply meting out these big sales by a few items at a time. It made sense to me. After a few months though, I don't know what to think any more, and it's all because of THIS.
THE Axes Femme Coca-Cola dress, and it wasn't even a replica. Needless to say I took it home with me, but it kind of rocked me. The blue colorway hasn't been rereleased ever since its debut in 2017, so it's unlikely for a newbie to just stumble across it somewhere, but any lolita veteran worth their salt would know its secondhand resale value is way too high to just dump it at a neighborhood store that wouldn't give you more than ten bucks for it. This is why I don't believe they're in any comm or on Lacemarket.
I don't really... know what to think any more? Who is this rogue lolita and where did they come from? How are they getting their clothes? Can they join my comm? I've literally never seen another lolita just out and about in my neighborhood. If you have any theories, let me know in the comments because I'm at a loss for words.
🪻See you next time!🪻
