Lolita Wonderland: First, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Kari: I'm Kari and I'm studying to become a nurse. When I'm not busy with school, I like to craft things. I don't really stick to one particular thing, but I draw, I read, I sew, just about anything where I can express myself in. This also often results into my room being a mess. I also have three cats and all of them are happy to help me with any of the projects I'm working on, especially when it comes to falling asleep on them.
Lolita Wonderland: When and how did you discover Lolita?
Kari: How I discovered lolita is a pretty long story, but here it goes. A few years back we had this channel on Dutch television and they aired all kinds of anime. And I actually liked it so much that I went looking for anime online. But what really caught me, was the music they used. So I started to listen to Japanese music from there on. And this led me to Malice Mizer. Mana grabbed my attention and I started to look up more and more about lolita. I think this was about ten years ago.
Lolita Wonderland: What is the very first dress you bought and why did you choose it?
Kari: I still have and wear my first piece pretty often. It a red jumper skirt that I bought from a Dutch designer. She was looking for models for a fashionshow and I volunteered, but I fell in love with the dress I wore there and decided to buy it. I still wear it pretty often.
Lolita Wonderland: How would you describe your own Lolita style in three words?
Kari: All over the place. Oops that are more than three words, but I don't stick to one style. What I wear mostly depends on what mood I'm in.
Lolita Wonderland: Has your Lolita style changed over the years?
Kari: Yes, my lolita style has changed a lot over the years. I went from 'beginner' to 'oldtimer' in the lolita fashion. When I started wearing lolita old school was well not old school. At that time I also tried to do everything according to the ‘rules’. But as the style changed and I grew older, they didn't matter as much as they did before to me. And I even often break them nowadays.
Lolita Wonderland: What is the most favourite outfit you ever wore?
Kari: This would be with the dress I mentioned earlier. I wore this to the Enchanted event. I should really make more photo's, since I don't have any full outfit shot of that outfit.
Lolita Wonderland: What is your best Lolita-related memory?
Kari: Not one particular memory, but the friends that I made through lolita. I have a lot of memories of the people I met through lolita that make me happy and smile.
Lolita Wonderland: What does your family think of Lolita?
Kari: I hardly wear it around my family, but when they see it, I always get positive responses.
Lolita Wonderland: You are a model. Do you feel like your Lolita style has been influenced by your modelling in some way?
Kari: Not really. I started modeling before I got into lolita. The only thing I can say about it that it made me more confident.
Lolita Wonderland: And do you feel like your modelling has been influenced by your Lolita style?
Kari: In a way yes. I like to do lolita-related shoots. I make a lot of things for lolita and I also want to get them on photo so I don't have to keep every piece. And there are a lot of photographers interested in doing a lolita shoot. So it works both ways.
Lolita Wonderland: Do you incorporate Lolita elements in your daily, non-Lolita outfits?
Kari: I normally do not incorporate any lolita elements in my daily outfits. I mostly need comfy outfits that may get damaged. Which means most of the time I'm wearing a tee or sweater with some jeans.
Lolita Wonderland: What is an absolute must have for a Lolita in your opinion?
Kari: That's a though one! Next to all the basic stuff, I think it would be something with flowers. Nothing can go wrong with flowers!
Lolita Wonderland: Finally, what does Lolita mean to you?
Kari: Lolita for me means in one word happiness. The friends that I make and the things that we do, just makes me happy in general.
I hope you liked this interview!
