Lolita fashion

Shirololi (Left) and Kurololi (Right) in Takeshita Street, Tokyo

Lolita fashion is a style of dress that originated in Japan. Lolita is inspired by the clothing of Victorian women and children. It often aims to imitate the look of Victorian porcelain dolls. The Victorian theme is emphasized more in the Classic and Gothic styles of Lolita. Sweet Lolita, or Ama-loli is largely based on the luxury and sweetness of the Rococo period. Other influences include horror movies, the punk subculture and anime characters. Skirts are typically knee length and are worn with a pannier or petticoat to add volume. As in mainstream Japanese fashion, over-knee socks, knee socks or stockings are extremely popular. Frills and other charms are often added to the top of the sock. White and black tights are also common. Footwear is typically shoes or boots with high heels, though not usually stiletto heels. Platforms, such as Mary Janes and the ever-popular rocking horse shoe, are also worn. Frilly, ruffled, or lace-trimmed Victorian blouses are popular. These blouses often have Peter-Pan collars or sailor collars. Classic and Gothic Lolitas, may favor long skirts and jackets rather than overtly child-like designs. They still aim for elegance, but tend to lose the child-like aspect the other styles of Lolita emphasize. Lace-trimmed headdresses, mini-tophats worn to the side, and intricate old-fashioned jewelry are some favored accessories of Lolitas.

The founder of the Lolita fashion is often considered to be 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.

Although "Lolita" is a reference to Vladimir Nabokov's famous novel, and Lolita is often worn by teens, most followers of the style do not consider it sexual or at least overtly sexual. Adherents present themselves as Victorian children or baby dolls and prefer to look cute, beautiful or elegant rather than sexy.

Lolita Subcategories

Lolita can be classified into Classic Lolita, Gothic Lolita, Punk Lolita, Sweet Lolita and Wa (Kimono) Lolita/Qi Lolita and related sub-fashions of Aristocrat, Dandy and Oujisama.

Classic Lolita

Inspired by more traditional and mature looking styles that features empire waists and slimmer styling. Deep earth-tones and jewel colors are prevalent, in addition to floral and traditional fabric patterns. Traditional, though not overly frilled and ornate, Maid-style clothing and Alice in Wonderland-style aprons may be classified into this genre. Classic Lolita style tries best to capture the essence of Victorian girls fashion and is focused more on feminine fashion ideals.

Gothic Lolita

Abbreviated as "gothloli". Influenced by certain elements of gothic fashion, this 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.

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 are usually black, white, navy or burgundy in color with a dark theme. Makeup is usually dark in color, in contrast with other Lolita genre where lovely and light color makeup is preferred. Black eyeliner is typical. A pale complexion is preferred, so white foundation might be used. Red or black lipstick is usually seen.

The outfits may be accessorized with other props like conspicuous pocketbooks, hatboxes, handbags and other bags, sometimes in the shape of bats, coffins, and crucifixes. Teddy bears and other stuffed animals are used, 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 popularise 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 meme Moitie and Atelier BOZ.

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 white, pastels such as pink and light blue, red and black or prints with such designs as floral or fruits. Accessories that may be worn include dolls, such as a simple babydoll with lace or a cloth teddy bear being carried around.The clothing worn by Momoko in Shimotsuma Monogatari/Kamikaze Girls is of this style.

Some Sweet Lolita outfits are entirely in one color and are named by color such as Kurololi (Black Lolita) and Shirololi (White Lolita), though sometimes Shirololi is worn with black shoes. Kurololi may be confused with Gothic Lolita, because of the color worn.

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

Punk Lolita

Punk Lolita 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 to create a look that could probably best be described as Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) ready for a Sex Pistols concert.

Common Punk Lolita brands are h.NAOTO and Na+H.

Wa (Kimono) 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 mimick 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.

Erotic Lolita

Erololi is an abbreviation of "Erotic Lolita," which is not as graphic as it sounds. By today's standards, Lolita fashion is very modest and conservative and is meant to show very little skin. The erololi ignores this modesty and dresses in garments like skirts that only reach her mid-thighs and tops that show a bit of cleavage. She may wear garments that are traditionally meant to be underwear, such as corsets and petticoats, as regular clothing. She is "erotic" only in the conservative Victorian sense.

Aristocrat

Considered a more mature version of Lolita, Aristocrat gets its inspiration from what was thought to be worn in the Middle Ages (best shown by some of the clothing from Atelier Boz) and the 19th Century by the upper classes in Europe and focuses on androgyny and elegance.

Dandy

The mature, masculine counterpart to Lolita, that is usually worn by men, though it can be worn by women, is inspired by what European upper class men wore in the 19th century and (at least in the West) is named after the Dandy of 19th century Europe. Its most outstanding feature is the use of Frock coats and the jabot (neck-ruffles). Pirate-themed Dandy attire seems to be somewhat popular.

Oujisama

A boyish version of Lolita inspired by what was worn by Victorian schoolboys featuring knickerbockers, masculine blouses and shirts, trousers and knee socks. Sometimes there's overlap with Dandy style.

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

Lolita Culture

In Japan, the fashion is not mass marketed. Outside of Japan it is still a fringe fashion, although it has been spreading slowly to other regions and countries (for example, Hong Kong has a number of Lolita outlets). Lolita, along with Cosplay and other Japanese cultural phenomena, can sometimes be seen at concerts and anime conventions throughout Europe and the United States. Lolita magazines are widely available for purchase on the internet and at Japanese bookstores, which also deal in anime and manga. Adherents outside Japan often sew their own homemade Lolita outfits, sometimes offering them for sale to make up for the difficulty of acquiring them from Japan.

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.

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 brand falling under its target audience. Mana is not affiliated.

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 and Delirium Kawaii are becoming increasingly popular. These boutiques offer Lolita-style clothing with fit and sizing modifications suitable for American and European women.