Lolita Life Hacks

You’ve heard of life hacks, right? Easy little tips and tricks that can make life so much easier. They’re usually pretty cheap and make everyday tasks easier.

Well, hold on to your pettis, because these are a few of my life hacks for the Lolita.

Salad Spinner

This is a trick I picked up from Busty Girl Comics, but it works for more than just bras.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I wear a ton of tights. I'm not really a socks sort of person, so tights are my go-to item when I get dressed. As a result, I have a lot of dirty tights and not nearly enough lingerie bags to wash them in.

Enter the salad spinner.

The process of washing tights with a salad spinner is much the same as the process for washing anything else

1) Put tights, lingerie soup, and water in salad spinner. Spin 5-6 times.
2) Replace soapy water with clear water and place tights in to rinse. Spin 5-6 times.
3) Dump out water and spin 5-6 times to dry (may require more line drying, but it's a good start).

Simple as that!

Square Dance Supplies

Get your flinches out now, because some of the easiest Lolita life hacks are related to square dance supplies.

1) Square dance patterns, as I’ve mentioned before, are some of my favorite patterns to adapt for Lolita. It bears repeating, though, that they’re an easy-to-adapt set of patterns.

2) Square dance skirts. Yes, you read that right. One of the biggest issues I face as a Lolita is that my skirts end up too short. I prefer it if my skirts hit my knees, and many Lolita skirts… don’t. So I tuck a circle skirt under my Lolita skirt. I use solid-colored skirts with ruffles on the bottom for this. It also works great for adding a touch of color.

3) Petticoats! Most girls already know this, but it bears repeating that Malco Modes petticoats are a good, reasonably priced way to add fluff to your skirts. The very fluffy 582 and the slightly less fluffy 580 are the two big ones. Square dance or no, these pettis hold their fluff like nobody’s business.

Crayon Lipstick

Ever driven yourself half-mad because you couldn't find a decent lipstick to match your outfit or skin tone? I have. I look best in brown-based shades (or, you know, brown) and they can be more difficult to find than you might expect. So I use this tutorial by Ms. Toi to make my own lipstick from crayons to get just the right shade.

For me, the best color is “sepia,” and that might work well for other girls who wear classic Lolita, but you can literally work with any color. Want the perfect dark red? Blend it yourself. Looking for a super sweet baby pink? You can have it.

I love the creativity that this gives me. I also love that crayons are pretty cheap, making my makeup pretty cheap.

Shower Curtain Rings

Storage is something we all struggle with (or at least I do), but shower curtain rings can help you store OTKs and tights in your closet. Just clip the shower curtain rings around the base of a clothes hanger, loop your socks or tights through the ring, and hang them up in your closet.

Do you have any lolita-related tips that you've picked up?