Bloomer basics, do you really need them?

Ask a lolita about bloomers and you will get a different answer every time. Some of them will curse you if you don't wear them while others take it more lightly and say do whatever you want sweetie.

Lets see what it's all about...

To start of i'll introduce to you the lolita bloomers, also known as granny panties for outsides.
Why would you ask? Well they really look like historic underwear. It's as simple as that.
Bloomers have a long long historie in fashion, in the year 1851 bloomers where introduced by Elizabeth Smith Miller. She was the first that wore the turkish dress/pants. That was it's original name before Amalia Bloomer introduced it to her readers of "The Lily". Which leaded to it's new name, bloomers.
In the late 19th and early 20th century the bloomers became a lot shorter. They where mostly used by woman for athletic things like cycling, gymnastics and other sports besides tennis. And not for everyday!
These bloomers look the most as our lolita bloomers these days, knee length and fastened to the leg a bit below the knee. In the 1920's and 1930's the bloomers changed a bit lengthwise and became a little bit shorter. These type of bloomers are still very common in the lolita world.

Top: Bloomers 19th and early 20th century

Bottom: Bloomers 1920 and 1930

Right: Turkish dress

That's enough for todays history lesson! Now it's time for the bloomers in lolita fashion.
We have 2 kinds of bloomers the difference between them is the length. A couple of years back both of the types had his own name. The long bloomers where called "Drawers" while the short ones where called "Bloomers".
A bit complicated don't you think? Well these days they are both called bloomers just to keep it simple. All though both of the types are very common to wear underneath your skirt or dress.

There are a few things that you need to know about those bloomers. Like why do we wear them?
I'll give you a couple of reasons why most of the lolita girls wear them.

♥︎ It keeps you warm in the colder days
♥︎ It prevents that your petticoat scratches your legs
♥︎ It prevents that someone can see your underwear when the wind blows or while you walk on the stars
♥︎ It can give some extra poof to your lolita skirt
♥︎ It prevents your legs rubbing against each other
♥︎ It's cute to wear

All though most of these points are really useful there are still some lolitas out there that don't wear them. That's fine as well in my eyes, but it's still a bit not done.
In my eyes you can do whatever you want with it, since it's something like underwear. And not noticeable when you don't wear it.
I know a lot of lolita girls that don't wear them but for my personal taste I love them! And I will not go outside without wearing them.
Even in summer time I will wear them, just to protect my legs and to protect myself from the pantie shots when I sit down for a picknick on the ground.

Short bloomers perfect for summer time

You don't need to buy official bloomers to wear something under your skirt. Some of the girl wear biker shorts instead of bloomers. Which is really a great option if you are just starting out.

An other thing you need to know is that it's mostly not done when your bloomer is showing underneath your skirt. All though a little lace trim can be cute but most of the times it just look ridiculous and nonchalant. I'm also guilty when it comes to the bloomer shots! But with some of my coords I think it looks cute. And I would rather see some bloomers with a shorter dress or skirt than a lot of bare skin underneath it.

Long bloomers, also known as drawers. Perfect for winter time

So do you really need those bloomers? In my eyes no you don't. Feel free to wear whatever you want underneath your dress/skirt, it's not something that we would look at when we meet! But for a personal view on this topic, I would say wear them. In winter time for the cold, layering is a must in that time of the year and for the warmer days to prevent your legs from rubbing. I also love them because they are super cute and come in many different designs.

Short bloomers, with frills on the back for extra poof

A funny fact to end this post about the bloomers is that some of them come in matching fabrics which is so awesome! Than you can match your underwearings with your outfit. You would look so cute in your matching granny panties... Just think about it...