Problems of Being a Lolita in Serbia

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.