With pink satin ribbons and bows, pearls and white lace trimming a pink dress with a pink flamingo motif, nineteen-year-old Kierra Lucas of Kamiah cuts a striking figure in one of her many outfits in the Lolita fashion style.
The Lolita style (with no connection to the book by Nabokov) originated in the 1980s in Japan by girls who wanted to reject traditional expectations, as well as modern, overly sexualized clothing meant for the eyes of men. The style is luxuriously elaborate with lace and smooth, shiny fabrics, reminiscent of Victorian dress.
Even though Lolita fashion includes different subcategories, even Goth, Kierra prefers the sweet look with lots of lacy frills and ruffles worn with headpieces, gloves, white stockings and Mary Jane shoes. It always emphasizes “cuteness.”
“I started thrifting for clothes at secondhand stores a few years ago, and found I was always drawn to oddly patterned fabrics. I knew about it [Lolita fashion] and liked it from afar. When we moved to Kamiah, I decided to wear it,” said Kierra.
Kierra moved to Idaho with her family in 2020 from Glendora, Calif. Her parents, Michael and Debby Lucas, fully support her choice and help her by buying some of her outfits, which can be quite expensive. They approve of her self-expression and individualism; and her dad said, “It makes her happy.”
Kierra said she does get odd looks, but she likes Kamiah a lot and said, “There are a lot of people around, and they are nicer and more patient.”
While working in a retail store locally she was asked once by a woman, “Why would you dress like that?” She said she just responded with, “I don’t have a reason. I just like it.”
Dressed in pink and white, Kierra Lucas of Kamiah posed to show the ruffles and lace of one of her Lolita outfits. It is her everyday attire because “I just like it.”
Her life in Kamiah revolves around her parents and older brother, Sebastian, and she prefers staying at home and having fun with them rather than going out. Kierra enjoys drawing, digital design and arts and crafts. She does not enjoy one-on-one involvement with wilderness (“Ugh, bugs and stuff!”); however, with artistic sensibilities, she loves the visual beauty of Idaho’s landscapes and just looking at it gives her an appreciation of her new home.
At 19, Kierra doesn’t know where her future career lies. She was interested in being a radiology technician at one time until she realized it involved inserting needles for IVs, which she said she could not handle.
“I’ve never been concerned with making money. I won’t work a lifetime at something I don’t enjoy. I want to find whatever makes me happy,” she stated. “I know I need to learn to drive soon,” she added.
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