Lolita fashion

Lolita fashion is a style of dress formed into a subculture that originated in Japan. In general, Lolita is inspired by Victorian girl's clothing and often aims to imitate the look of Victorian porcelain dolls. Skirts are knee length and may have a pannier or petticoat to add volume. As in mainstream Japanese fashion, over-knee socks, knee socks or stockings are extremely popular though white or black tights are also common. Shoes or boots with high heels (though not usually stiletto heels) or platforms, such as Mary Janes, complete the look. Frilly, ruffled or lace-trimmed Victorian blouses are popular, especially with Classic and Gothic Lolitas, who may favor long skirts and jackets rather than overtly child-like designs. Apart from the occasional shortness of skirts, designs are usually modest, sometimes with long lace-capped sleeves. Lace headdress, minature, side worn top hats and bracelets are some of the usual accessories.

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Mana (Gothic Lolita)

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 rather than sexy.

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. Lolita fashion is perhaps a more visible extension of this phenomenon.

Lolita Subcategories

Lolita can be classified into Classic Lolita, Gothic Lolita, Punk Lolita, Sweet Lolita, and Wa (Kimono) Lolita.

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, but not as overly frilly as Sweet Lolita. It is focused more on feminine fashion ideals than the childish look of Sweet Lolita.

Gothic Lolita

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.

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.

Punk Lolita

Punk Lolita, similar to the broad Punk style, is made popular by Gothic&Lolita brands such as Putumayo and MAXIMAM.

Sweet Lolita

Sweet Lolita (or amaloli) usually wear light-colored or colourfully and cutely patterned outfits containing a fairly high amount of lace and frills. The dresses tend to be along the knee length size and concentrate on looking as sweet and cute as possible. The fabric used may consist of not just solid colors but floral and fruit print, resulting in something sweet, little-girlish and doll like (such as the clothing worn by Momoko in Shimotsuma Monogatari/Kamikaze Girls).

Wa (Kimono) Lolita

Wa Lolita (or wa-loli) is the combination of traditional Japanese clothing and Lolita fashion with the name coming from the reference to Japan as "The Land of Wa" (harmony). Often, a simplified Kimono top would be worn with a Lolita skirt. There is also Qi Lolita, which is a combination of Lolita style and traditional Chinese clothing such as the qipao.

Aristocrat

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

Kodona

A masculine version of Lolita inspired by what was worn by Victorian schoolboys featuring knickerbockers, masculine blouses and shirts, trousers and knee socks.

Kodona is a Western used term, though the term was originally featured in the first issue of the Gothic & Lolita bible.

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.

Lolita Culture

In Japan it 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 for an example of Lolita inspired manga) and computer games. 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. Although being a fringe fashion, there are plenty of dedicated fans filling the gap. 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.

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.

Anime and Manga

Characters dressed in Lolita style may be found in numerous anime and manga, some of the most prominent being Kamikaze Girls, Cardcaptor Sakura, Paradise Kiss, Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, Sister Princess, Rozen Maiden, Princess Princess, Tsukuyomi - Moon Phase, Othello, Chobits and xxxHOLiC.Mostly they are far inferior in comparison with a real style.