Being a lolita in Serbia is not something easy for
4 main reasons.
Paypal
It just started to work here just a couple of
months ago, before that the only way to pay was Western Union (Which commissions
suck badly), or credit card, which basically prevented from buying in the second
hand market and Japanese stores. I’m not an expert in this matter, but a girl
from here told me that is was almost impossible to buy online, and actually
none of the people I know here do it. Yes, now there is paypal and it’s not a
problem anymore, but sure it helped to the fact that there are almost no
lolitas in Serbia.
Shipping prices
Serbia is usually one of the most expensive
countries to ship something, at least from my experience. I’m not really sure
how does the postal system works, but every time I put Serbia in a web page,
it gives me a really high price. When I ship from México, the cheaper price is for America,
then Europe, Australia, Asia, and almost at the end small countries like Serbia
with no concrete list. Or for example, when I ordered a coat from Infanta, the
shipping cost to Serbia was 60euros with no tracking, while it was 45euros to
Vienna using EMS.
Economy
Most salaries in Serbia are not high, everyone
say it here, Serbia is a poor country. Yes, if you go out, all people is having
a good time all day long, bars are full, and it gives the impression that
everyone have money, but that’s not the case. Lolita cloth is very expensive,
especially for students who don’t have a work.
Material
I’ve been going around fabric stores, and there
are really not that many options. There are a few nice prints and that’s it, I haven’t
found a lot of lace either, so, handmade is not that easy. Of course that plain
dresses with no print can be made, but finding a beautiful fabric always
inspires.
Lack of a community
I don’t really consider this as a really big
problem, but it’s a plus I wanted to mention. I talked a little bit with a girl
who used to be Lolita, and she told me that what I’m going to find are those
girls who dress like lolitas in anime conventions. I was looking around and I
couldn’t find anything. For me this is not a problem, but there are girls that
could get discouraged with the problems above plus, the lack of other lolitas
to share their interests.
But not everything is black in Serbia for the Lolita,
there is a positive and beautiful side which I’ll write about in my next entry.
