I Am A Weapon of Massive Consumption

We live in a society of voracious consumption, we routinely crave new things in a programmed quest to feel complete, but the second we buy something it loses it's newness and so we can never fulfill ourselves in that way. Everything in our culture compels us to feel this way, yet we are also made to feel guilty about turning inward and focusing entirely on ourselves. No matter how much we try, it's almost impossible to escape this mentality. Lolis are no exception.

In a world where shopping=happiness we are the leaders in that belief. We even have entire live journal communities dedicated to cataloging and praising others for new purchases. We talk constantly about new items brands release and the sales community is still thriving despite recent problems the feedback database has been experiencing. But is getting new things the only focus of the loli community, and if so what kind of monsters are we turning ourselves and each other into?

Shopping in itself is not a bad thing, it only becomes negative when it becomes an obsession and puts us in a difficult financial situation. However, our items shouldn't be considered worthless after the first two or three times we wear them. In a fashion as expensive as loli, few can afford to continue with the standard mentality of "more, more, more". It's important for lolis to appreciate what we have, and try to be content with our wardrobes. Think about it for a moment, if you could never buy anything for your loli wardrobe ever again, could you be ok with what you currently own? I'm sure the majority of us would answer no, so in an effort to change that we should take a moment to be thankful what we already have.

Go to your closet and look at your clothes. What are your favorite pieces? Touch them, appreciate them and remember how special they make you feel. In an effort to control your ever expanding wardrobe, maybe you could stop buying new pieces so frequently and focus on buying smaller things that would improve your existing coordinates.

Here is a short list of things I love about some of my wardrobe:

• I love the sweet pockets on my BTSSB tartan JSK.
• I love that my Harajuku Lovers pumps are the perfect shade of pink.
• I love how well my KidsYoYo blouse fits.
• I love the detailed print on my Alice and the Pirates cutsew.
• I love everything about my Wizard of Oz Jsk.

We may never be able to change the way we think about buying, but maybe we can shift our thoughts a little so that we may put less emphasis on it and more on appreciating what we have. After all, lolita is about how wearing our clothing makes us feel and how is can transform a normal day into something extra special! I feel that too often we forget about that, but let's never lose sight of that magic!