Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Lolitas on a Plane


It's a weirdly controversial topic I've seen hotly debated on the EGL livejournal community and other such places. Names have been called, wigs pulled, petticoats ripped-- okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. But still the question remains- is it acceptable to travel by air in lolita clothing?
I like to think I'm fairly qualified to offer my thoughts on the subject (as an American traveler anyhow). Since my parents divorced when I was three and moved very, very far away from each other I've been flying on average 5 times a year. Pre 9/11, post 9/11, international, domestic, with family, by myself...you get the idea. I've also been a rather eccentric dresser most of this time.
So is it okay to wear lolita on a plane? From my experience, yes. And here is why.

People dressed like frilly vampire princesses don't blow up planes.
The thing about murderers and terrorists is that generally they dress just like everyone else. And despite what you might think of TSA, it seems they know this as well. I have never been pulled over for a "random" check. The few times I have been subjected to additional screening was because I failed to remove enough shiny metal things from my person, or I was wearing a particularly poofy skirt (I'll get back to the poof issue in a minute). It is far more important at the security check that you are organized and prepared. Have your laptop where you can easily remove it, don't wear much metal jewelry, be prepared to take off your shoes. I'm also always very polite and agreeable with the security personnel-- it'll do you a lot more good than a sour attitude, even if you're stressed or running late.

It's space-efficient to wear your bulkiest items. 
After the shoe-removing policy was instated, there was nothing like the look of horror in the eyes of fellow travelers as I rolled up the the security check wearing 10-buckle boots (little did they know that Demonia boots are equipped with an emergency exit zipper). I wasn't doing this to purposely traumatize anyone, it just saved a ton of room in my suitcase. So in the same way I would wear my biggest stompy-est boots, I also wear my floofiest petticoat. Now this is the only part of lolita that occasionally presents a problem, as security might want to pat you down--it's definitely a risk. But honestly, I don't really mind, literally all that happens is that you step aside and a same sex security person pats down the sides of your skirt. It takes less than 5 minutes and you're on your way again. However, with the increasing use of body-imaging become standard, pat-downs are less common. A full-body scan does not require that you take off half the stuff you usually do, and you don't need a pat-down if you're a little poofy. Simple as that! Most major airports have them now.

And honestly, I just like to look nice when I travel. It's a personal preference, but hey, traveling is stressful enough, if wearing lolita makes you feel better about it, go for it! (I'm traveling to Los Angeles on Friday, if I'm arrested, I'll rescind this statement).


3 comments:

  1. Although I don´t dress lolita I do dress in other rather eccentric styles and that has never been a problem fo me either! I also always dress in my most bulky items, the largest skirts, the top hat, the coat that might be a bit too warm but that I will need later... At times it is rather uncomfortable, especially when there are a lot of items that just won´t fit in the bags and I have to wear it all... Layering bulky skirts on my person just to take them with me isn´t fun, but it works! I get patted down about half the time but it´s always by female personnel so that´s fine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've always been on the fence about traveling in lolita, but when I had a portfolio interview a few months back, I decided to go ahead and wear it. Going through security was a breeze, and the TSA were a lot more polite than usual..? (One of them even recognized me as a lolita!) I would totally do it again in the future uwu.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Free game download from the Android market have not been as popular as its Apple counterpart. Nevertheless, given that Android is an open source platform from Google, it has got to have some fun games to while away a few hours on your computer. This does seem to be the case as the new releases include some top- notch free games that offer plenty of excitement to the gaming enthusiast. Hence, Android gaming is picking up among gaming fans. Even smartphone users who aren’t interested in the gaming experience enjoy these free games.

    Free game download from the Android market have not been as popular as its Apple counterpart. Nevertheless, given that Android is an open source platform from Google, it has got to have some fun games to while away a few hours on your computer. This does seem to be the case as the new releases include some top- notch free games that offer plenty of excitement to the gaming enthusiast. Hence, Android gaming is picking up among gaming fans. Even smartphone users who aren’t interested in the gaming experience enjoy these free games.
    Buy LOL Account

    Cheap League of Legends Elo Boost

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...