Lolita fashion

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Lolita Fashion (ロリータ・ファッション, Rorīta fasshon^?) is a fashion subculture in Japan that is primarily influenced by Victorian children's clothing as well as costumes from the Rococo period. Lolita has made this into a unique fashion by adding gothic and original design elements to the look. From this, Lolita fashion has evolved into several different sub styles and has created a devoted subculture in Japan. The Lolita look consists primarily of a knee length skirt or dress, headdress, blouse, petticoat, knee high socks or stockings and rocking horse or high heel/platform shoes.^[1]

Although the origin of Lolita fashion is unclear, it is likely the movement started in the late 1970s when famous labels including Pink House, Milk and Angelic Pretty began selling clothes that would be considered "Lolita" by today's standards. Shortly after that came Baby, The Stars Shine Bright, and Metamorphose temps de fille. In the 1990s, Lolita fashion became better recognized, with bands like Malice Mizer and other Visual Kei (or visual type) bands coming into popularity. These bands wore intricate costumes, which fans began adopting as their own style.^[2] The style soon spread from its origins in the Kansai region, and ultimately reached Tokyo where it became popularized throughout Japanese youth culture. Today, Lolita fashion has grown so much in popularity that it can be found even in department stores in Japan. Today many young people wear the fashion all around the world.

Contents 1 Style types 1.1 Gothic Lolita 1.2 Sweet Lolita 1.3 Classic Lolita 1.4 Punk Lolita 2 Other styles and themes 2.1 Wa Lolita 2.2 Qi Lolita 2.3 Ōji/kodona/dandy (Boystyle) 2.4 Hime Lolita 2.5 Guro Lolita 2.6 Sailor Lolita 3 "Lolita" 4 Influence and popularity 5 In popular culture 6 Lolita culture 7 Gothic & Lolita Bible 8 Outside of Japan 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Style types

[edit] Gothic Lolita

Gothic Lolita (known in Japan as gosurori, "goth-loli") is a mixture of the Gothic and Lolita fashion. The origins of the Japanese Gothic style can be traced back to the English New Wave Movement during the 1980s: however, the Japanese Gothic scene is fundamentally different from the Gothic subcultures of the west.^[3] This Gothic fashion has been adopted into the Lolita fashion through the use of darker make up, clothing, and themes in the design. Unlike other Lolita Styles, in Gothic Lolita darker colors are used for makeup. Red lipstick and smoky or neatly defined eyes, created using black eyeliner, are typical styles.^[4] The Gothic Lolita makeup is not as heavy or dramatic as the Western Gothic counterparts. Newer makeup styles emphasize lighter colors but still retain the heavy eye makeup.^[5]

The outfits themselves usually use dark color schemes like black, dark blues and purples; often with accents of white. As with western gothic subculture, cross jewelry and other religious symbols are also used to accessorize the gothic Lolita look. Other accessories, like bags and purses, are often in uncommon shapes like bats, coffins, and crucifixes. ^[6]

Like many other Lolita fashions, the Japanese visual kei movement was responsible for helping to introduce and popularize the Gothic Lolita style. One artist in particular, Mana, a Japanese musician and fashion-designer, is considered to be the major force behind the popularization of the Gothic Lolita style, though he is not credited with creating it. Mana’s own Gothic Lolita fashion label, Moi-même-Moitié, has grown to be very successful. To describe the designs of his new label, he coined the terms Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL) and Elegant Gothic Aristocrat (EGA) .^[7]

[edit] Sweet Lolita

Sweet Lolita (amaloli) is heavily influenced by Rococo styles as well as Victorian and Edwardian children's clothing. Focusing on the child and fantasy aspects of Lolita, the Sweet Lolita style adopts the basic Lolita format and uses lighter colors and child fantasy themes in its design.

Makeup used in sweet Lolita is common throughout most Lolita styles. A natural look is emphasized, to help maintain the childlike feel of Lolita. Light pastels and natural colors make up the Lolita makeup color scheme.^[8]

Sweet Lolita places its focus on the child-like aspects of the Lolita style. Outfits consist of pastels, gingham or other colorful prints, lace, bows, and ribbons to emphasize the cuteness in the design. Popular themes in the sweet Lolita are references to Alice in Wonderland, fruits, sweets and classic fairy-tales.^[9] Jewelry often reflects this fantasy theme. Headdresses and bows are also a popular hair accessory to the sweet Lolita look. Bags and purses are often very cute with princess-like designs, and often in the form strawberries, crowns, hearts, and stuffed animals.^[10]

Momoko, a protagonist in the book/film Shimotsuma Monogatari (Kamikaze Girls in the US), is a popular example of sweet Lolita. She idealizes the rococo period and tries to "live" in the Rococo lifestyle through Lolita. She loves the popular Sweet Lolita brand, Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. Other Sweet Lolita brands include Manifesteange Metamorphose temps de fille and Angelic Pretty. Emily Temple cute (sister brand of Shirley Temple, a Japanese boutique for little girls), Jane Marple, and MILK are brands that carry more clothing that would be considered more casual, and are available to purchase at department stores in Japan.^[11]

[edit] Classic Lolita

Classic Lolita is a more mature style of Lolita that focuses on Baroque and Rocaille styles. Colors and patterns used in classic Lolita can be seen as somewhere between the Gothic and sweet styles; it is not as dark as Gothic Lolita, but not as cutsie as sweet Lolita. This look can be seen as the more sophisticated, mature Lolita style because of its use of small, intricate patterns, as well more muted colors on the fabric and in the overall design.^[12] Designs containing a-lines, as well as Empire waists are also used to add to the more mature look of the classic style, most classic Lolita outfits, however, still stick to the basic Lolita silhouette of a 'cupcake' shaped skirt. Shoes and accessories are less whimsical and more functional. Jewelry with intricate designs is also common. The makeup used in classic Lolita is often a more muted version of the sweet Lolita makeup, with an emphasis placed on natural coloring. An example of the classical Lolita brands are Juliette et Justine, Innocent World, Victorian Maiden and Mary Magdalene.

[edit] Punk Lolita

Punk Lolita (or Lolita Punk) adds punk fashion elements to Lolita fashion. Motifs that are usually found in punk clothing, such as tattered fabric, ties, safety pins and chains, screen-printed fabrics, plaids, and short, androgynous hairstyles are incorporated into the Lolita look. The most popular garments are blouses or cutsews and skirts, although dresses and jumper skirts are also worn. Common footwear includes boots, Mary Janes or oxfords with platforms. ^[13] Common Punk Lolita brands are A+Lidel, Putumayo, h. NAOTO and Na+H. Many of the Japanese punk Lolita fashion brands take influence from London's famous Camden Town Markets. Vivienne Westwood, who, though not a Lolita designer, has items and collections that reflect Lolita sensibilities, especially in her Japanese collections, is popular in the punk Lolita scene.

[edit] Other styles and themes

Because of the do-it-yourself nature of Lolita fashion, many other themes have come out of the basic Lolita frame. These styles are often not as well known as the ones mentioned above, but they do showcase the creative nature of the Lolita fashion, and illustrate how people make the fashion their own.^[14] Listed below are just a few examples of the smaller subtypes of Lolita fashion.

[edit] Wa Lolita

Wa Lolita (or Waloli) combines traditional Japanese clothing styles with the Lolita fashion. Wa Lolita usually consists of kimono or hakama modified to fit with common Lolita garments. The bottom half of the garment is altered to accommodate a petticoat, or a kimono-style blouse is used as a top to accompany a plain Lolita skirt. Outerwear can include haori or adult-sized hifu-vests. The shoes and accessories used in this style are typical of traditional Japanese garb including kanzashi flowers, and geta, zori, or Okobo. These shoes are often used in place of the normal Lolita platform and high-heeled shoes.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Qi Lolita

Qi Lolita is a similar style but uses Chinese clothing and accessories in place of Japanese. Usually this includes qipao and cheongsam-dresses modified to accommodate a petticoat. Accessories include platform-slippers for footwear and bun-covers as hair accessories.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Ōji/kodona/dandy (Boystyle)

Ōji (王子^?) or Ōji-sama (王子様^?), meaning "prince," is a Japanese fashion that is considered the male version of Lolita fashion. This style takes its influence from the clothing boys in the Victorian era wore.^[15] Though it is considered a "boy style", some both genders often dress up in it.

Ōji is inspired by the royal clothing of nobles or princes, those often seen are more inspired by 18th-19th century French wear, good examples would be some of the outfits sold through Baby, the Stars Shine Bright's line Alice and the Pirates.

Kodona is inspired by what was worn by Victorian boys, and includes masculine blouses and shirts, knickerbockers and other styles of short trousers, knee high socks, top hats, and newsboy caps. The colors usually used are black, white, blue and burgundy, though there are feminine versions of the fashion with a broader palette. Make-up, when worn with the fashion, is usually light and minimal.

The term kodona (from "kodomo otona," literally "child-adult") was coined by Plastic Tree's vocalist Ryūtarō Arimura as he described his dress sense and is often used as the Western name for the fashion. Ryūtarō, as well as Yukke from MUCC are two of the most popular wearers of boystyle. Visual Kei bands such as Versailles are also good inspiration when trying to achieve Ōji.

[edit] Hime Lolita

Hime, or "Princess," Lolita is characterized by a princess-style look based upon the European aristocratic style.^[16][17]

[edit] Guro Lolita

Also called "Grotesque Lolita" or "Injured Lolita", Guro Lolita uses items like fake blood, eyepatches, and bandages to give the appearance of injury. The concept of Guro Lolita is mainly to take on the appearance of a broken doll. Guro Lolitas often have a gun or knife in their hands in photos to represent the grotesque.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Sailor Lolita

Lolita fashion that incorporates the look of a Sailor Seifuku. This can include sailor collars and ties, sailor hats, and stripes.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] "Lolita"

Although "Lolita" is a reference to Vladimir Nabokov's famous novel, and Lolita fashion is often worn by teens, most followers of the style do not consider it overtly sexual. Adherents present themselves as Victorian children or baby dolls and prefer to look "cute" rather than "sexy." Many Lolitas claim that the term 'Lolita' doesn't necessarily have anything to do with sex at all. The usage of the word may also be considered wasei-eigo. Japanese culture places a higher value upon extremely youthful appearance and behavior 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. Sweet Lolita is perhaps a more visible extension of this phenomenon. ^[18]

[edit] Influence and popularity

Lolita was influenced and popularized by the imagery of more feminine Visual Kei (or "visual art") 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 cross dressing 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 Lolita scene. ^[19]

[edit] In popular culture

This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (December 2008)

Due to the popularity of this cute style with many fans of Japanese animation and comics, characters dressed in the "lolita" style may be found in numerous anime and manga. Some of the most prominent are Negima!, Paradise Kiss, Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, Pandora Hearts, Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase-, Othello, xxxHolic, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Infinity Arc), Princess Princess, "Doll", Godchild, Death Note, Chobits, Rozen Maiden, Cat Street and Dazzle. These titles are popularly referred to by anime and manga fans when the topic of Lolita is brought up, but for the most part, they are not Lolita, but rather have some elements that Lolita may share with certain time periods of history such as the Victorian era. Large numbers of lolita girls are visible at anime/manga events such as Comiket. Cosplaying Lolita is usually looked down upon by the EGL community, since Lolita is a fashion style rather than a costume.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Lolita culture

In Japan, despite still being a subculture and fringe fashion, Lolita fashion is mass-marketed and has wide visibility particularly in the streets of Tokyo and Osaka, on television, in manga (see Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa or Princess Princess (manga) by Mikiyo Tsuda for examples of Lolita inspired manga) and computer games. Outside of Japan it is still a widely unknown fringe fashion although it has slowly begun to spread to other countries. Lolita fashion, along with cosplay and other Japanese cultural phenomena, can sometimes be seen at concerts and anime conventions throughout Europe and the United States. The style has not yet been mass marketed outside of Japan, although increasingly Japanese brands are available for purchase abroad directly from the brands. However, there are plenty of dedicated fans filling the still-remaining gap. Lolita fashion magazines are widely available for purchase on the Internet and at Japanese bookstores which also deal in anime and manga. Adherents often sew their own homemade Lolita outfits, sometimes offering them for sale to make up for the difficulty of acquiring them from Japan. Apart from most western fashions, Lolita tends to hold higher expectations to those that dress it. Higher quality clothes are favored over "cheap" lace and cosplay-esque designs. ^[20] Many adherents also purchase lolita outfits and accessories online from Japanese brands such as Baby, The Stars Shine Bright or other fellow lolitas.

[edit] Gothic & Lolita Bible

One magazine in particular, the seasonally published Gothic & Lolita Bible, has played an instrumental role in promoting and standardizing the style. First published in early 2001^[21] , The 100+ page magazine includes fashion tips, photos, sewing patterns, catalog descriptions, decorating ideas, and recipes. Tokyopop has been releasing the English language version of the magazine since February 2008. ^[22]

[edit] Outside of Japan

Outside of Japan, the Lolita fashion is limited. Lolita, along with cosplay and other Japanese cultural phenomena, can sometimes be seen at concerts and anime conventions throughout North America (see Anime North), the UK, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, France, Russia, and the Netherlands. The style is not mass marketed outside of Japan, though small stores have emerged, including "One Day in Paradise" in central Melbourne. Baby, The Stars Shine Bright has a store in Paris and will be opening another in San Francisco in August 2009.

Major brands, such as Metamorphose temps de fille, Angelic Pretty, h. Naoto, Baby, The Stars Shine Bright and Moi-même-Moitié have recently shipped goods to the international market. This is still not widespread, as many of the clothes produced by non-Japanese designers are not accepted by the Lolita community for being inaccurate in portraying the style as related to the British 'goth' or French maid look, and not as high-quality as the expensive Japanese brand clothes. Lolita magazines are widely available for purchase on the internet and at Japanese bookstores, which also deal in anime and manga. However, there is a growing group of dedicated western Lolita fans who wear Lolita clothing on a semi-regular basis, and the Gothic and Lolita Bible now has an American version which not only features translated content from the original magazine but also content from a small but growing group of western Lolita designers from around the world such as Candy Violet, Fanplusfriend Garden, In the Starlight, and Blasphemina's Closet , and sweet rococo . Celebrity author Novala Takemoto, who is an important figure within Lolita culture and was once involved with Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, traveled to America in 2006 and remarked at a panel on the resourcefulness of western Lolitas, who often make or adapt their own clothing.

[edit] See also

• Madam
• Aristocrat
• Elegant Gothic Aristocrat
• Neo-Victorian

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lolita fashion

• Avant Gauche - Lolita Shop Reference and Image Galleries
• Lolita Handbook - Guide to Lolita fashion on Livejournal
• Lolita Snap - Lolita forum and photo community

v • d • e Japanese subcultures Subcultures Bōsōzoku | Cosplay | Erokawa | Ganguro | Gyaru and Gyaruo | Kogal | Lolita fashion | Sukeban Cultural phenomena Gyaru-moji | Visual kei