Whenever people get into a niche interest or hobby, unique words and phrases are bound to be created. Lolita fashion is no exception! This is my collection of English colloquialisms that I use and that I hear most used within the fashion community. I imagine there are even more in other languages, especially Japanese, where this fashion originated from. If you have any terms you'd like me to include, please email me!
Current list: 35 Words

COORD
Short for "Coordinate". It means your entire outfit, which should look cohesive and well put together.
"Oh my gosh, I love your coord! It must've taken forever to find all those pieces."

ITA
An insulting term for a coord or specific item that doesn't look very good. The thought is that this phrase comes from the Japanese word "itai" which means "painful". Basically, it's so ugly that it's painful to look at.
"That dress has so much cheap lace, and pairing it with weird cat ears makes it full blown ita."

MEET
Short for "meet up", a meet is an event or social gathering for lolitas. Meet ideas include: shopping, going to a restaurant, attending a local event like a craft fair or festival, or just getting all the lolitas in the whole state together for an epic high tea.
"I have a meet tomorrow and I haven't even picked out my coord yet!"

HIGH TEA
High tea has a history all its own. For lolitas, high teas are when you can dress your absolute best and go all-out (OTT) with your coord for an elegant tea party. High Teas are not just a casual restaurant, they are fancy locations with very delicate and intricately prepared foods. Proper tea etiquette should be observed to one's best ability.
"That was the best high tea I ever been to! The finger sandwiches and macarons were amazing."

OTT
Stands for "Over the Top". An OTT outfit is not really one that would be worn every day due to its high level of intricacy and the sheer amount of time it would take to don such an outfit. Accessories are worn to the max (this is a ring on every finger kind of outfit), nails will most likely be painted and/or decorated, perhaps with 3d elements, makeup and hair should also be maxed out (but still fit with your overall coord!). Petticoat should be as poofy as you can get it, and so on...most lolitas save their OTT outfits for special events.
"I think I weigh 10 more pounds just from my accessories in this OTT coord I put together."

BORDER PRINT
A border print features images and illustrations on the edge of the print, towards the bottom hemline. This became a staple style in lolita fashion in the early 2000s as many brands started releasing pieces with this style of print.
"Look at the detail in this border print! I didn't even see this bunny eating a cake with ribbons on its ears until the 3rd time I wore it!"

ALL-OVER-PRINT
This is a print that covered the dress evenly. Similar to a tiled webpage background, but normally more intricate with its illustrations. More recently, people have not been accepting the all over prints in favor of the border print style from the early days of lolita.
"I'm so tired of seeing these all over prints from AP. I just want another pastel border print like they used to do!"

SHIRRING
This is when fabric is gathered by multiple rows of elastic thread. It allows for a piece to fit multiple sizes. Many old school dresses had shirring around the entire bust area, but these days it's primarily used as a back panel as to not interrupt the print or other nice details on the front of the dress.
"I'm glad this OP has shirring on the back or it never would've fit over my chest!"

TIERED
A skirt or dress mad from several horizontal layers, each layer being longer than the layer above it. This can be an expensive way to put a dress together because it requires so much more fabric than a non-tiered dress. It gives great volume and texture to the piece, however it sometimes make border prints harder to see.
"Tiered dresses and skirts are my absolute favorite cut!"
- Clover

DREAM DRESS
This is a dress that a lolita has been looking for or wanting to buy for a long time. Obstacles such as finances, or simply lack of availability of the dress could hinder the search, thus making it that more desirable.
"Toy Drops by AP has been a dream dress of mine for years now, I wish they would just re-release it."

AP / BtSSB / Meta / Moitie
These are common short-hands for major Japanese brands.
AP = Angelic Pretty
BtSSB or just "Baby" = Baby the Stars Shine Bright
Meta = Metamophose Temps de File
Moitie = Moi-Même-Moitié
"My shoes are AP, JSK is Meta, my bag is Baby, and I have some rings from Moitie! I'm a brand whore lol"

SAX
Derived from "Saxon Blue", now sax refers to a lighter pastel blue. There's a short history on the term here. Lolitas are too cool to simply say "blue" apparently.
"None of the sax pieces in my closet match! So frustrating."

KC / HEADBOW
Shorted version of "katyusha", a Russian word for "headband". It's actually easier to say and type out than Head bow or Headpiece, so you'll see it used often especially with older lolitas. An exceptionally large KC will sometimes be called a head-eater.
"Look at the size of that KC, it's an absolute head-eater!"

HEADDRESS
A rectangular decorative piece that sits atop your head. Normally decorated with lace, ribbons, pearls, or other dangly charms. They can tie under your chin or behind your neck/under your hair. These were seen most often in the earlier days of lolita fashion, but have evolved to be more intricate over time.
"My headdress keeps falling off! I need to secure it with bobby pins or a clip."

FULL SET
When a brand designs a fabric print, they typically also design matching socks, headpiece, accessories, blouse, bags, etc. When someone gets a "full set", that means they got everything in the release, which of course would be very expensive. Most lolitas don't wear full sets out as it can be seen as a lazy way to coord, but it is an interesting flex regardless.
"I had to sell a kidney to get the original Honey Cake full set...totally worth it!"

RE-RELEASE
Sometimes a brand will re-relase a print that was popular from years ago. Financially it's a big win for them especially if there is a lot of people who were clammoring to get the original release but couldn't. Or maybe there are people who want to buy a piece in another colorway or cut. Re-releases don't always have the exact same cut as the original, and sometimes they even include a new colorway. There are some prints that have been released dozens of times, and some that only saw one release ever.
"I swear if I see another Chocolate Rosette release from AP I'm going to scream."

WRIST CUFFS
Elastic bands encased in lace used as decorative accessories for your wrist. These can be used in place of bracelets, or in addition to. They help reduce the feeling of "bare arms" and balance out your look.
"I sewed a little bear onto my wrist cuff to keep me company at the high tea..."

LUCKY PACK / LUCKY BAG
A common sales tactic in Japan, a lucky pack/fuku bukuro/lucky bag is a random assortment of items sold for an extremely low price. You normally don't get to know what's in it, but some brands reveal more information than others or will even ask for your size to help get random items that actually fit you. Typically the items included are ones that didn't sell during the year, so they may not be the best picks. However, this is a great way for beginner lolitas to stock up on pieces for cheap and test out different styles. This type of sale occurs around New Years as a sort of "store purge"
"I've been saving all year for the luckypack sales! Let's GO! "

big sister/little sister/middle sister/little sibling/etc
A popular facebook group for asking questions about lolita fashion. If you are new to the fashion, you are a "little" sister/brother/sibling. If you are versed in the fashion, you can self label yourself as a "middle". "Big" sisters can only achieve this title by applying to the admins of the group. They must clearly display they have a lot of knowledge about the fashion and that they will be able to give sound advice to newcomers.
"Ugh- I wish the little sisters would do some more research on their own before asking questions...this has been asked a dozen times!"

MR.YAN
The original owner of the lolita brand Bodyline. He was known to be very creepy and gross especially towards young women who he would hire as models for their clothing. He is basically used as a punch line to represent someone you would never want to meet. Do not engage.
"I'm getting total Mr.Yan vibes from this guy....ew."

TAOBAO
Similar to Amazon or Ebay but for China. Many shops don't ship directly to the US, but some do. It's best to use a shopping service to keep things easy for yourself instead of dealing with mistranslations and such. Many Chinese lolita brands have entire shops on TaoBao.
"Clover, you are the taobao queen! You always find the best stuff there!"

INDIE BRAND
Typically used to refer to a smaller, single person owned brand. The term has changed over time as it used to refer to almost any brand that wasn't one of the bigger JP lolita brands.
"These hair bows match my OP perfectly, I found them from a cute indie brand on Etsy!"

SHOPPING SERVICE
A service that acts as a middle man between you (the buyer) and the store. A shopping service is required if the store you're buying from doesn't ship to your country. The most well known one is Buyee, but there are others like 42Agent, Bhiner, and Spreenow.
"My shopping service has the lowest fees around! I was able to get so much shipped to me from Japan."

BRAND WHORE
I don't hear this one used too commonly except as a joke from time to time. This term is to describe someone who will only buy and wear items from a specific brand. They will go out of their way to make sure they are decked out head to toe in a specific brand, typically for status reasons.
"I can't believe she got that visor from AP, it isn't even lolita! What a brand whore."

PIECE
Often used interchangeably with "dress", but can also refer to another component of an outfit like a headdress/head piece or even jewelry. Lolitas see fashion as beautiful and artistic "pieces" that we wear on our body, which is why I think we commonly use this word.
"Oh that is such a nice piece! I haven't seen you wear that before."

MAIN PIECE
While piece can technically be any major component of an outfit, Main Piece refers specifically to the dress of the coord.
"What brand is your main piece from? It's so pretty!"

OP / ONEPIECE
This is a dress that has sleeves sewn onto it. Essentially, you don't need to wear a blouse with this type of dress because it already has arm and shoulder coverage. They are harder to coord because you can't switch out blouse options or go blouse free, however they are often more ornate.
"I feel like I'm about to hulk out of this OP! It's so tight on my shoulders."

SALO / SALOPETTE
This is a more casual version of lolita fashion that sometimes appears more often in fairy kei. Some lolitas don't even consider salopettes "true lolita", despite many big brands selling them. They don't have much room for petti coats unless you have a specifically shorter petti. They often feature overall style straps and only cover the stomach area instead of going all the way around the waist/torso but it depends on the cut.
"I love wearing my salo on casual days! They are so cute and comfortable."

PETTI / PETTICOAT
A fluffy tutu like undergarment that adds volume to your skirt. Lolitas often search long and hard for the perfect petticoat. You do not want it to show from beneath your main piece, and you want to make sure the shape is right for the piece you're wearing.
"You are getting some epic poof from that petti! Mine totally deflated an hour after I left my house."

JSK / JUMPERSKIRT
A dress that has straps, typically wide rectangular straps when it comes to lolita fashion. Not to be confused with suspender skirts. They are the most common type of dress seen in lolita fashion due to their versatility in style and size.
"I like JSKs. They're comfy and easy to wear."

LACE MONSTER
A dress that has so much lace on it that there is almost more lace than dress. Basically, there is a tacky and overdone feeling to how much lace is on the dress. It can border on ita territory or can just be full on ita. Some girls enjoy calling specific pieces they own "lace monsters" as a nod to this, but they don't truly think it's ita. They just recognize it's a bit heavy on the lace. Typically OPs are called lace monsters as they can fit even MORE lace onto the sleeves of the dress when JSKs can't.
"Even though that OP is kind of a lace monster, I bought it on sale on lace market."

ASIAN SIZING / JAPANESE SIZING
Short hand for "too small for most westerners". Although a lot of brands have expanded their sizing, many westerners still can't fit into the clothing sizes they offer and need to turn to western/indie brands or custom sizing for correct fits.
"I can't really buy anything from Innocent World, it's all asian sizing over there."

CUSTOM SIZING
Some brands offer custom sizing, which means they will tailor a piece to fit your specific measurements. This is a very popular option for many people because we all have different bodies that are beautiful ♥
"Thank god for custom sizing or I never would've found a pair of Ouji pants that fit me!"

OUJI / PRINCE
Often called the "boy version" of lolita, it is a more masculine style of coord that involves wearing pants and vests. Fancy coats and blouses are often seen in Ouji, as well as short boy-like hairstyles. Anyone can dress Ouji regardless of how they identify gender-wise. Every lolita dreams to have an Ouji accompanying them to meets.
"My Ouji boyfriend is amazing, he takes coord pics for me and holds my purse when I get tired. Plus he looks AMAZING!"

TWIN / TWINNING
When you and another lolita wear the same main piece (intentionally or not). Twinnings are often planned, and the two lolitas involved can match each other exactly or style the piece in totally different ways. Can be the same colorway, or different. Makes for great pictures.
"You just got Happy Garland? We HAVE to twin this weekend! What shoes are you wearing with it?"

I know I've been doing this too long when I was able to write this whole list without looking anything up...
xwx oh lord.

RESOURCES:

Check out MintyFrills breakdown on some lolita terms. Her blog in general is just beautiful and amazing, so have fun exploring.

FYeahLolita - this blog is actually managed by a lolita in my local comm O: so kewl. 

Lolita tips tumblr - an old tumblr that stopped updated around 2021, but still has some good info.

THINGS WE NEED WORDS FOR:
[__] The feeling you have when you finally found and purchased your dream dress, but it's currently in the mail and ANYTHING could happen to it before it gets safely to you... (anxiety? lol)

[__] When all you can do all week is think and dream about the meet you have coming up on the weekend.