About me

Hi there! My name is Rubalina Rubio. People call me Ruby. I'm a lifestyle lolita living in California. Welcome to my little website! 

What is loliita, you might be asking? It's a fashion from Japan consisting of girly dresses and other cute accessories. It actually has its origins in the old Victorian era style of dress before that. If there was one single most important defining feature of loilta, it would have be the "silhouette." This is mostly achieved by a dress with a poofy skirt and a waistline that hugs the body as tight as possible, thereby creating an hourglass shape. To give volume to the skirt, a petticoat is worn underneath, which can be either a bell shape or an A-line shape. The bell shape has a cuter overall look. The A-line shape looks more mature and sophisticated. Usually, the dress will have some form of tightening along the waist, which may be waist ties, back corsetry, or shirring. Most lolita dresses have waist ties. These hang on the side of the dress and are tied together in the back to create a back bow. You will find some lolita dresses that don't have waist ties but I don't consider them to be real lolita dresses, in my opinion, since this is one of the defining features of a lolita dress that you won't find on a normal dress.

There are actually many sub-styles of lolita. The one I wear is called "sweet" lolita. You can recognize it by its emphasis on cuteness. Common themes are children's cartoons, bears, ice cream cones, bunnies, strawberries... anything cute! There are other sub-styles that I also like, such as "classic," which is more conservative and mature-looking, often with darker tones and no cartoon characters. Gothic is another sub-style I like, which often features blacks, whites, and browns and has motifs such as crosses and ornate patterns. I just don't have space in my closet (or funds in my bank account) for another sub-style. Besides, sweet is wear my heart is. And for me, sweet lolita is more than a fashion - it's a philosophy. To me, when I think of lolita, I think of all the mannerisms and behaviors that it implies. For me, it's an aspirational way of living that is focused on etiquette, politeness, and caring for others. For me, at least, embedded within the concept of lolita is the fundamental belief in chivalry, civility, and the cultivation of a set of values where women act like ladies and men act like gentlemen. It's a belief in modesty, elegance, and attention to detail in one's appearance. It's a love for the antiquated world, including things like letter writing with fountain pens and hand-sewing. In the modern world, where everything is cheap, plastic, mass-produced, and disposable, it's a love for craftsmanship and artistry. So I consider lolita a philosophy and a value set that is manifested and expressed through the fashion. This is really what I mean when I say I am a true lifestyle lolita.

Let me tell you about the sections of the website so you can find your way around.

Blog:

Here is where I document my thoughts and experiences as a lolita. I do actually wear lolita all the time. Well, not all the time. I mean, there are a lot of situations where it's just not practical. Like for example, every morning I go running and for that I wear shorts and running shoes. But as much as I can! That's right, I wear lolita to the grocery store, to the coffee shop, to the post office. I would say people around town definitely know who I am because I live in a small town and I stick out like a sore thumb in my cute little pink dresses. Well, sometimes I wear red, sax, lavendor, yellow, or black,  but pink is by far my favorite color. One color I don't have is mint. I really want to get some mint peices.

Coords:

Here is where you can find examples of my coords. What are coords, you ask? Coords is short-hand for coordinates. This means that you coordinate the colors and themes in your head-to-toe outfit to create a cohesive composition. Lolita is like music in that it follows the principles of harmony. You will find that the lolita community is very insistent on adherence to "the rules." The rules are not 100% agreed-upon by everyone, but there are some generally understood guidelines I think most lolitas adhere to:

1. Shoulders must be covered. This means that if you wear a jumperskirt, or "JSK," you have to wear a blouse underneath it. 

2. A petticoat must be worn underneath your dress. Without a petticoat, you don't have enough volume to create "the silhouette."  

3. The skirt part of the dress should be knee-length. There is some flexibility if you're shorter or taller since most dresses come in only one size. But under no circumstances do you wear a mini-skirt and call it lolita. Similarly, a longer dress may be a very elegant garment, but it's also not lolita.

4. Colors and themes must match throughout the outfit in an overall visual harmony. I talk more about specific examples in the coords page. But as a general rule, the outfit should be cohesive and create a unified presentation. 

5. Stockings of some kind must be worn. Traditionally, they are to be knee-length, or just below the hem of the dress. 

There are many other guidelines, but I think the above list are really the big ones. Some of the guidelines I don't follow at all. For example, almost all lolitas wear a headbow or other head adornment. I don't only because it's annoying when you tilt your head and it falls off. So I don't obey that guideline just because of practicality reasons. Some lolitas don't always wear blouses or wear no stockings, especially in hotter climates. I'm of the opinion that knee-high stockings are an integral part of lolita that really gives it that girly look. So for that reason you will notice I always wear knee-high white stockings. I think other options like short frilled socks look really good, and I applaud these lolitas for venturing into more adventurous territory. But it's just not the look I want, so more power to you. In terms of gloves, I have not seen other lolitas wear long-sleeve gloves commonly. So this is something I do that makes my look a little bit unique. I pretty much always wear white as well. In terms of blouses, I only own two colors, white and pink. I wear white 90% of the time even with a pink JSK. This is because the visual weight of white stockings needs some kind of white in your upper body to balance it out. 

On a side note, all dresses featured on the coords page are from Angelic Pretty unless otherwise indicated.

Poetry:

Here I document all of my poetry. Sometimes I rhyme. Sometimes I just like writing for the sake of writing. I think the English language is very beautiful. You have the sounds themselves, and then you have the images or feelings they conjure up. Some of this is very hard to explain, but I spend a lot of time writing in my little book with my fountain pen and I write a lot of poems and lyrics. I think humans are best when they're creative.