Romantic lie

My loyal readers (if they even exist) might have already noticed that I don't like the use of substyles in Lolita fashion as I wrote in About Zeigeist: "Lolita is Lolita." These substyles aren't necessary unless you're doing a fashion editorial or if you want to market something (buzzwords and all that). Unfortunately, if you think about it, almost everybody has become some kind of marketer nowadays. We show ourselves from our best sides online and participate in "challenges" without a second thought. For instance, most fashionistas will post an Outfit Of The Day (or OOTD) consistently, whether these were documented that morning is up for discussion (more often then not they weren't documented that morning). With OOTDs being one of the only online phenomena that has withstood the test of time, it's only natural that it has also become a way for companies to earn a lot of money from it. Even if becoming an influencer never was one's plan, I think many people would accept a brand deal if it meant doing something you were doing anyway. Before posting you'd just have to add one extra tag: #ad. When I looked at my own Instagram account, I noticed that I did use #OOTD on some occasions, but never included a list of what I was wearing on that picture. It was and still is something I keep for my blogposts under the label coord.

Pierrot and his companion by Florence Hardy (1900)

Nowadays everybody includes a rundown of their outfit when posting a video or picture online, be it by including a list or tagging the brands in the photos. At first I thought including a list every single time was silly: Why would we need to know all that? The answer to that question came faster than I thought with one of the first comments I saw being people asking for the brand of a piece of jewelry that she had apparently forgotten to include in her outfit rundown. The reasons why people do this is quite simple: mimetic desire. Mimetic desire is the desire to want something because someone else has it. This is extremely human behavior as even toddlers display it when taking away toys from other children. Keep in mind that not all forms of mimetic behavior have negative consequences linked to them. If it weren't for our mimesis we wouldn't be able to teach ourselves new things or even empathize with others. According to anthropologists, it's another thing that separates us from animals. However, with mass production and mass marketing we've created a fully fledged consumer society where a large part of your identity is an amalgamation of the products you purchase or the services you use (Lululemon girls and VSCO girls).

Pierrot and Colombine by Florence Hardy (1900)

This mimetic desire has reached a peak where some feel like they need to copy someone's entire look to participate in a certain "aesthetic" causing them to replicate influencers' entire looks just to look coquette for instance. This isn't something new for people who want to be part of a certain group because this even happens in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. "Netdecking" is a term to describe the practice of copying a deck you found online. It used to be an insult as it meant you lack the creativity to construct your own deck, but over the years netdecking has become commonplace as every topping deck is heavily documented. Nowadays, if you want to do well at a tournament, you would be better off using a netdeck. To me, it seems like this is happening in fashion as well, at least, in online spaces. I've seen people recreating an outfit they've seen worn by some content creator, which was quite concerning to me. I understand liking a certain piece someone's wearing and wanting it for yourself, but that was taking it to a new level. It dawned on me that the reason why this happened, and is going to keep happening, is that people want to get the same dopamine hits (read: likes) as the original poster. It's just the metagame, but it kills creativity n my opinion.

Pierrot and Colombine by Florence Hardy (1900)

Dopamine addiction isn't the only reason why creativity seems to be shelved by people. It seems that Gen Z struggles with separating a garment from the way it's originally styled. Earlier this year, netizens almost blew a gasket when they saw Greta Gerwig wearing the Stripetease dress with blue and white stripes (yes, from the iconic Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection by John Galliano). She wore this beautiful poplin dress (if only I had the funds...) with a white pair of Christian Louboutin x Maison Margiela Tabi Heels for a photo call at the Cannes Film Festival. Her minimalist styling was almost confusing for fashion lovers online: "Where's the DRAMA?!!" @jacquemusx exclaimed on X. It's almost like they expect people to wear the full runway or editorial look because that's how it was presented to them the first time they saw it. They seem to completely forget that you can take one item from said look and wear it in a more toned-down way. I've seen this in Lolita fashion as well. When I look at other people's coords, it seems they either wear a full set or just go a little overboard in the styling department. This makes the look feel more theatrical than fashionable (then people wonder why they have to explain it isn't a costume).

Thank you, and take care.