I am reminded once again of why I am so cautious about joining communities on LJ or other 'online' communities pertaining to or of EGL (elegant gothic lolita):

I recently posted a few photos of my qi-lolita reconstruction on the EGL community at LJ and immediately was told that my outfit was *not* cute, not elegant, was not girly and was in fact, not lolita. Some others of course, agreed with the poster, but others were very nice and disagreed without arguing, which I appreciate. But the fact of the matter is that it upsets me that these people (whomever they might be) are so wrapped up in it being a 'fashion and a way of life' that they don't allow for any originality or 'new' movements to break through. So because I combined lolita (without the use of lace, mind you!) with traditional Chinese overtones and very little cyberpunk influence, it was automatically deemed by this person as *not* lolita. However, the tone in which she stated it was incredibly rude and I did not appreciate it.

I am considering leaving based on this as I do not believe a fashion (any fashion) should be locked into place so tightly that there is no room for expansion. What also annoys me is that upon further inspection, this person who claims I am not 'girly' enough is actually a fan of EGA (elegant gothic aristocrat) and not EGL (which features more of the frilly, effeminate dresses with lace, frills and a very Victorian doll appeal.

The poster admitted that I put a lot of work into the outfit, but because it didn't adhere to *her* standards, it wasn't lolita. People like that make me think of the community more as a tight-knit clique of people that I would ignore had I still been going to high school or college. They are, quite literally, the table of cheerleaders that only losers and jocks are interested in getting to know. You know, the kind of ladies that are so incredibly rude to everyone else because they 'don't fit in'?

Seriously, some people never grow up, no matter how old they get. Infuriating.