Lolita fashion

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Image:Gothic lolita takeshita street.jpg Lolita fashion (ロリータ・ファッション) is part of the fashion style and subculture Gothic & Lolita, which originated in Japan, largely inspired by Victorian children's clothing and the elaborate costumes of the Rococo period. Other influences include the western goth subculture, punk subculture and french maid outfits. Skirts are typically knee length and are worn with a pannier or petticoat to add volume. Over-knee socks, knee socks or stockings are extremely popular, especially printed with roses or crowns or topped with lace. Footwear is typically cute, child-like shoes such as Mary Janes, though Vivienne Westwood Rocking horse shoes, and replicas of them are also very popular. Skirts are typically paired with either a Frilly, ruffled, or lace-trimmed Victorian blouse or a lacey 'cutsew' which stands for a shirt (usually tee-shirt material) that has been 'cut and sewn'. Other garments are either dresses in one or more pieces, which are labeled one-piece, two-piece etc or a pinafore jumper skirt worn over a blouse. These blouses often have Peter-Pan collars or sailor collars. Lace-trimmed headdresses, mini-top hats worn to one side, and intricate old-fashioned jewelry are some favored accessories of Lolitas.

Though not the founder of the style, the Lolita fashion is often considered to have been made popular by Mana, of the band Malice Mizer. The fashion started in the 70s, though it did not gain popularity and media presence until the late 1990s and early 2000s.

[edit] Lolita Subcategories

Lolita can be classified into Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, Classic Lolita, and Punk Lolita. There are also other spinoffs of the style, such as Wa-Lolita.

Additionally, related sub-fashions of Aristocrat (fashion) and Ouji are sometimes considered to be in keeping with the lolita culture and fashion. Some people in the west accompany japanese originating [Lolita fashion] with the western Dandy (fashion)

[edit] Gothic Lolita

Main article: Gothic Lolita

Influenced by certain elements of gothic fashion, gothic lolita (gothloli) has probably become the most popular style within Lolita fashion and certainly the most recognized in the west. This style started as a youth subculture sometime around 1997/1998 and became a well-established genre available in various boutiques and some major department stores by around 2001. Some observers consider it a reaction to the "Kogal" aesthetic.

It is commonly mistaken as the blanket term for Lolita fashion and Gothic Lolita in Western Lolita culture. The name "EGL" applies only to that specific line of clothing in Moi-même-Moitié, which is in the Gothic Lolita style. Non-Japanese outsiders sometimes refer to Gothic Lolita as EGL, but this is generally frowned upon within Western lolita circles, as anyone who uses it is assumed to have only a shallow understanding of the fashion. (See bottom paragraph for more.)

Gothic Lolita clothes can be devided into the further sub catergories of Gothic Lolita, Kurololi (black lolitas) and Gurololi (gruesome lolitas).

Gothic Lolita Gothic lolita is the most common and most popular in the gothic subcatagory of lolita fashion. Clothes are black and white in colour typically but the term may encompass blackxdark blue (Moitie) or black and red.

Kurololi

Kurololi is gothic lolita but with a strict blackxblack colour scheme

Gurololi

Gurololi means gruesome or horrible lolita. This style is often more of a costume and requires the wearer to dress with gore - for example bandages, fake blood, eyepatches etc.

Makeup is usually dark in color, in contrast with other Lolita genre where light makeup is preferred. A pale complexion is preferred, so white foundation might be used. Red or black lipstick is usually seen along with black eyeliner.

The outfits may be accessorized with other props like conspicuous pocketbooks, hatboxes and handbags, sometimes in the shape of bats, coffins, and crucifixes. Teddy bears and other stuffed animals are occasionally carried, and some brands make special "goken" teddy bears out of black leather or PVC. Super Dollfies may also be carried around.

Gothic Lolita was influenced and popularized by the imagery of more feminine Visual Kei (or "visual rock") bands. Visual Kei is a Japanese form of rock music defined by bands featuring performers in elaborate costumes but whose musical style varies. Mana, the crossdressing former leader and guitarist of the Visual Kei band Malice Mizer is widely credited for having helped popularize Gothic Lolita. He coined the terms Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL) and Elegant Gothic Aristocrat (EGA) to describe the style of his own fashion label Moi-même-Moitié, which was founded in 1999 and quickly established itself as one of the most coveted brands of the Gothic Lolita scene.

Common Gothic Lolita brands are Moi-même-Moitié and Atelier BOZ.

[edit] Sweet Lolita

Main article: Sweet Lolita

Sweet Lolita (or "amaloli") clothing usually contains a fairly high amount of lace and frills, is knee-length and concentrates on looking as sweet and cute as possible. The colors usually used are usually pastel pink and blue, cream and red. Black can also be sweet if it meets the style guidelines. Prints contain such designs as flora, fruits and sweet foods. Accessories that may be worn include dolls or a cloth teddy bear. The clothing worn by Momoko in Shimotsuma Monogatari/Kamikaze Girls is of this style.

A sub catergory of Sweet Lolita is Shirololi (White Lolita). A shirololi only wears pure white.

Common sweet lolita brands are Baby, The Stars Shine Bright, Metamorphose and Angelic Pretty.

[edit] Classical Lolita

Main article: Classical Lolita

Classical Lolita (or Classic Lolita) is a subcategory of Lolita fashion that is inspired by Victorian girl's fashion, Baroque and Rocaille. The style tends to be more mature and features florals, deep and muted colors, slimmer styling and empire waists. The colors used are off white, antique white, pink, burgundy, blue, brown and black. Accessories usually worn are hairbands, hair corsages, headdresses, handbags and miniature hats.

Stereotypical Gothic Lolita, in a black and white Maid-style clothing and Alice in Wonderland-style aprons are often mistakenly given the label of Classic Lolita.

Common Classical Lolita brands are Innocent World, Mary Magdalene and Victorian Maiden.

[edit] Punk Lolita

Main article: Punk Lolita

Punk Lolita (or sometimes, Lolita Punk) combines punk fashion elements to the Lolita fashion. Pieces that are usually found in punk clothing, such as tattered fabric, plaids, safety pins and chains, screen-printed fabrics, short hair, etc are incorporated into lolita. A lot of punk clothing shown in The Gothic and Lolita Bible is not lolita at all, but merely a complimentary style. Many of the japanese punk brands take influence from London's famous Camden Town Markets and similar clothing can be found here at less cost. Punk Lolita is also tied to Vivienne Westwood, who, though not a lolita designer, has items and collections with a lolita feel, especially in her Japanese collections. Common Punk Lolita brands are A Lidel, Putumayo, h.NAOTO and Na+H.

[edit] Other Lolita Styles

[edit] Wa Lolita

Main article: Wa Lolita

Wa Lolita (or abbreviated as waloli) is the combination of traditional Japanese clothing and Lolita fashion and usually consists of yukata (sometimes kimono) and a skirt or the bottom half of the garment is altered to mimic the typical lolita style.

Similar to Wa Lolita is Qi Lolita, pronounced "chee-loli" , which is a combination of Lolita style and traditional Chinese clothing such as the qipao.

[edit] Erotic Lolita

Erololi is an abbreviation of "Erotic Lolita," which is erotic in a fetishistic sense, rather than the revealing of skin. Erololi can use shorter skirts than other lolita styles but is often more modest than a great deal of contemporary fashions. Erololi is erotic in the conservative Victorian sense; as its main components are often undergarments worn to be seen, such as corsets, bloomers, petticoats and stockings.

An erololi brand is Antique Beast

[edit] Ouji

Main article: Ouji

The male counterpart to Lolita fashion inspired by what was worn by Victorian schoolboys featuring knickerbockers, masculine blouses and shirts, trousers and knee socks. Sometimes it overlaps with Dandy style. The band Panic! at the Disco wears clothing similar to this style.

[edit] Kodona

(from "kodomo otona", literally "child-adult") is a Western term that was originally featured in the Gothic & Lolita Bible for clothing that would usually be described as Ouji though it is not used in Japan.

[edit] Aristocrat

Main article: Aristocrat (fashion)

Aristocrat (or Madam when referring to the feminine version of the fashion) is a Japanese fashion that is inspired by what is thought to be worn by European Middle Class and above status persons in the Middle Ages and by fashion worn by the upper class in the 19th Century. The fashion includes long sleeve blouses and shirts, long skirts, corsetry, pants and dresses that are styled similarly for men and women, since it is centered on androgyny and elegance. The fashion is usually seen as a mature version of Lolita and is usually worn by people in their twenties and beyond. Make-up, when worn with the fashion, is on the darker side, may be heavy and can be worn by both genders.

It is often mislabeled as Elegant Gothic Aristocrat, which is a brand label created by Mana for one of the lines in his Lolita and Aristocrat fashion brand Moi-même-Moitié. While never used in Japan to describe Aristocrat style as a whole, it is often mistakenly used in Western Lolita culture.

Common aristocrat brands are Atelier Boz and Moi-même-Moitié.

[edit] Dandy

Main article: Dandy (fashion)

The western fashion Dandy, inspired by what European upper class men wore in the 19th century is sometimes used in western lolita circles in place of the Ouji style and the Aristocrat fashion, though the term isn't used in Japan. Its most outstanding feature is the use of Frock coats and the jabot (neck-ruffles).

[edit] Nomenclature

[edit] "Lolita"

Although "Lolita" is a reference to Vladimir Nabokov's famous novel, and Lolita is often worn by teens, followers of the style do not consider it overtly sexual. In fact, in Japan many of them were unaware of the connection to the book until it was introduced to them in the Gothic and Lolita Bible as a suggested read. Instead, adherents present themselves as children or baby dolls and consider it necessary to look "cute," "beautiful," or "elegant" rather than "sexy."

Japanese culture places a higher value upon extremely youthful appearance and behaviour than Western, and some adult women buy large amounts of products, such as Hello Kitty goods, that are typically marketed only to children in the West. GothLoli is perhaps a more visible extension of this phenomenon.

[edit] Lolita Culture

A culture has evolved in the west from the Lolita fashion; similar to the Neo-Victorian culture, it embraces Victorian style and sensibility and, like the fashion itself, advocates a return to the child-like innocence and feminine sweetness thought to be lost in modern day life. Like other anachronistic fashions and cultures which revive historical styles, it will still incorporate some modern principles, technology, and style with its ideals.

[edit] Gothic & Lolita Bible

One magazine in particular, the irregularly published Gothic & Lolita Bible, has played an instrumental role in promoting and standardizing the style. The 100+ page magazine includes fashion tips, photos, sewing patterns, catalog descriptions, decorating ideas, and even recipes. Mana is affiliated with the publication and often has exclusive photo shoots inside.

[edit] Gothic Lolita & Punk Brand Book

This competitor of the Gothic Lolita Bible has increased its market share considerably in the past year. It offers similar features, but presents itself as a catalogue for the various Japanese brands falling under its target audience. Mana is not affiliated.

[edit] Shopping

Currently the heart of the Gothic and Lolita subculture, at least commercially, is the Marui Young department store in Shinjuku, after its predecessor Marui One closed at the end of August 2004. This large youth-fashion oriented department store has 4 floors entirely devoted to Gothic and Lolita and related fashions. Now stores such as Moi-Meme-Moitie, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, Metamorphose Temps de Fille, Closet Child and many others sell the delicate fashion at their outlets and online. Boutiques are increasingly offering English-language web sites and international shipping; however, some fashions are only available through shopping services. Western Gothic and Lolita boutiques such as Apple Sugar, Blasphemina's Closet Delirium Kawaii and In the Star Light are becoming increasingly popular. These boutiques offer Lolita-style clothing with fit and sizing modifications suitable for American and European women.