About

Hello!

My name is Rosie, and I write The Ugly Duckling – a blog dedicated the lolita lifestyle, fashion, and subculture! This blog also focuses on raising awareness about the real life issues that many lolitas must deal with as members of a fashion based community.

I  am a big believer in the size acceptance movement and HAES (Health at Every Size) movement, which encourages people to love themselves for who they are, and to treat their bodies with the respect that they deserve.

This summer starts my 6th year of wearing lolita clothing, and my fourth year of being active in my local lolita community. I  have been blessed to have met a group of wonderful young ladies and gentlemen who share not only my love of lolita fashion, but also other passions as well.

You can follow me here:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RosieDuckling

About The Ugly Duckling

As mentioned before, this blog is dedicated to not just the lolita subculture and fashion, but to the real life issues that are connected to it as well.

Perhaps it is just the naivety wearing off, but the current state of the lolita subculture has left me feeling quite sad. Because the subculture is not defined by its religious, moral, or political beliefs the people in the community are bound together only by their fashion choices.

Though I joined the communities not so long ago myself, changes in our subculture  have made surviving in it more difficult, particularly when the word critique now means hard criticism, and many women equate being a good lolita only with owning the newest or most coveted brand prints.

As the online community has grown ever larger, I think that many women have forgotten that life is about more than just clothing, and that as a community we should be paying attention our peers. I feel that instead of just worrying about what coordinates we are planning to purchase, we should also be focusing on keeping ourselves physically and mentally healthy.  We often feel pressured to conform to ridiculous standards of beauty – standards that are enforced not by a large, faceless entity like “the beauty industry” or a “patriarchal society” but instead by other lolitas – often times, women that we will never meet.

I understand this feeling of ostracism well . Throughout my life, there have been times where I have felt as though I were the ugly duckling – that I was not pretty enough, not thin enough, not deserving enough to do the things that I enjoy. And in the lolita community, there are plenty of women who will encourage these beliefs in everyone that they meet. It has taken me a long time to realize that to some people I will always be an ugly duckling , instead of an elegant swan – and that perhaps the two creatures are really just one and the same.

About Lolita Fashion

Lolita is a neo-victorian fashion that began in Japan during the late 1970′s.  The look borrows heavily from fashions popular in the Victorian and Rococo periods and seeks to combine innocence, modesty and elegance.

If you are interested in learning more about lolita fashion, please visit the Hello Lace.

About HAES

Health at Every Size (HAES) is a lifestyle that advocates :

•  Treating your body with the respect it deserves.
• Finding an exercise that you enjoy doing .
• Exercising just for the fun of moving, and not to lose weight.
• Learning to trust your body. To eat what you want, when you are hungry, until you are full.
• Learning to love your body no matter what size it is.

If you are interested in learning more about HAES please take the time to check out the books Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon and Lessons from The Fat-O-Sphere by Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby.