Glossary

  • 2L / 3L / 4L – Japanese plus sizes. Sizing goes SS (extra small), S (small), M (medium), L (large), LL or 2L (Extra Large), 3L (XXL), 4L (XXXL), etc. Japanese sizing is different from other countries.
  • AP- Usually short for Angelic Pretty; a lolita brand. Can also be short for Alice and the Pirates or Atelier Pierrot.
  • AatP – Alice and the Pirates; a lolita brand.
  • Baby – Short for Baby the Stars Shine Bright; a lolita brand.
  • Best – When used as a garment type, this is a mistranslation of “vest”.
  • Bloomers – shorts worn under a dress or skirt for modesty. Typically should not be visible, though there are exceptions to this.
  • Brand – An established Japanese company that makes lolita clothing. Alternatively, the clothing made by a Japanese lolita fashion company is often refereed to as “brand”. “What brand is that brand dress” is a grammatically correct, if confusing, question.
  • BtSSB – Baby the Stars Shine Bright; a lolita brand.
  • Boater – A straw hat originally worn by men in the summer with a flat crown and a flat brim. They often have a wide contrasting ribbon around the crown.
  • Canotier – a round hair accessory worn to the side of the head. (example)
  • Cut – short hand for Cutsew
  • Cutsew – A top made from teeshirt material that was sewn using a serger which cuts and sews the material at the same time.
  • DDC – Day Dream Carnival; and Angelic Pretty carousel print.
  • Deputy Service – A shopping service.
  • DA – Direct auction; this person is selling an item by auction.
  • DS – Direct Sale; this person is selling an item.
  • DT – Direct Trade; this person wants to trade item A for item B.
  • EGL – Short for Elegant Gothic Lolita, an oldschool way of referring to lolita fashion. The main lolita online community from around 2004-2012 was a livejournal group called EGL. (It still exists but it is not as commonly used).
  • Forwarding Service – Someone you pay to forward a package to you. (You buy the item, put in their address and they forward the package to you for a fee. Used when a shop won’t ship to your address
  • Full Shirring – This item has elastic all the way around, so it fits a wide range of sizes.
  • Headbow – A headband with a bow on it.
  • Headdress – A generic term for almost any lolita hair accessory that isn’t a bow. Usually headdresses are a rectangle maxi-pad style one, but the term is also used to describe a canotier, or a very decorated headband.
  • Head Eating Bow – An older slang term for a headband with a very large bow on it that seems to “eat” (cover) your whole head.
  • Ita – The Japanese sound effect for “ouch”. Literally something or someone that is painful to look at. Very much an insult.
  • Jumperskirt – A dress with straps instead of sleeves.
  • JSK – Short for “Jumperskirt”; a dress with straps instead of sleeves.
  • Kuro – Black, see Kuro lolita
  • LL – Japanese size extra large (varies widely)
  • Maxipad Headdress – a slang term for an old school rectangle headdress.
  • Milk Tea – a warm shade of beige; basically the color of tea with milk added
  • OBO – Or Best Offer; this person is selling something, and you can haggle (within reason).
  • Old School – Lolita fashion prior to ~2007 and/or intentionally wearing lolita fashion in a way that is reminiscent of that time period (this is not a negative or insulting concept. (example))
  • OP – Short for “Onepiece”; a dress with any sort of sleeves.
  • One Piece – a dress that has sleeves of any length.
  • Pannier – Another word for petticoat.
  • Petticoat – a type of skirt worn under a dress or skirt to give it volume. Typically made of tulle, organdy or chiffon. It should not be visible when you are standing. Some brands call their underskirts petticoats in English.
  • Pretty – A shop that sold items from multiple lolita brands, including their own line of “pretty” brand items. The name was later changed to “Angelic Pretty” and they now only sell their own designs.
  • Race – Common mistranslation of “lace”
  • Raschel – A type of lace. Cheap raschel is often made of plastic and should be avoided (example)
  • Rectangle Headdress – a rectangular strip of fabric with lace or ribbon that is worn flat on the head like a headband and often ties under the chin. These are sometimes called maxipad headdresses.
  • Salopette – a casual, baggy, piece of clothing similar to a pair of overalls, except it’s usually a skirt on the bottom.
  • Sax – light blue, from the term “saxon blue”, which refers to a type of fabric dye. May sometimes be incorrectly translated as saxophone.
  • Shiro – white, see shiro lolita
  • Shirring – an elastic panel on a garment that allows it to fit multiple sizes.
  • SK – Short for skirt.
  • SNT – Star Night Theater, and Angelic Pretty circus print.
  • SS – Shopping Service; someone you pay to purchase something for you online or in person. (Most common usage)
  • SS (sizing)– Extra Small. (Japanese sizing is different from other countries)
  • Shopping Service – Someone you pay to purchase something for you online or in person.
  • Shipping Service – Someone you pay to forward a package to you. (You buy the item, put in their address and they forward the package to you for a fee. Used when a shop won’t ship to your address)
  • Taking Offers – If no price is listed, this person is unsure if they will sell an item or not. They are trying to see how much the item will sell for. Typically people in this situation will only sell if the offer is high enough. If there is a price listed, and the person mentions they are also taking offers, you can try to haggle.
  • Torchon – A type of lace (example)
  • Underskirt – a slip-like skirt with a decorative lace or ruffled hem worn under a dress or skirt to add detail or length to the hem of the dress. Typically does not add significant volume (a petticoat is still required) and often is not suitable to be worn alone (the top may be thin or strangely shaped).
  • WTB – Want to Buy; this person wants someone else to sell them a specific item
  • WTS – Want to Sell; this person is selling a specific item.