The Lolita style is probably considered one of the most popular subculture fashion movement in Japan due tot he fact it suits a variety of tastes; from gothic Lolita to sweet Lolita, this sub-culture has a style to suit anybody.
The Lolita fashion is based on the Victorian era. it focuses mostly on modesty such as knee length skirts, petticoats which can be mortified with the use of knee high socks and corsets.
The first band to adopt this style was Princess Princess with many of their fans replicating their look, the style then spread and reached Tokyo where the youth culture welcomed the look with open arms. Unlike Gyaru the Lolita style was created as an act against the exposure of flesh in modern society. Lolita was also made even more popular by feminine Visual Kei singers such as Mana, the guitarist from Malice Mizer and Moi dix Mois.
Gothic Lolita - Gothic Lolita is a mixture of gothic and Lolita fashion. What makes Gothic Lolita stand out from other forms of Lolita is it’s dark make up such as eyeliner and it’s dark clothing. Mana is the style icon of the Gothic Lolita world and has his own fashion label Moi-meme-moitie which is dedicated to Gothic Lolita fashion.
Other Japanese brands dedicated to the Gothic Lolita style include Atelier Boz, h. NAOTO Blood, and Atelier-Pierrot.
You can find most of these gothic street fashion looks in the Japanese magazine ‘Gothic & Lolita Bible’
Sweet Lolita - The sweet Lolita style is heavily influenced by the Edwardian and Victorian clothing style. The sweet Lolita adopts the basic classic Lolita format but while using lighter colours. Make up also contains lighter shades such as pink, peach and bright red. The outfits usually consist of pastel colours as well as various themes to add to the fantasy level of the style. The themes usually include fruit (such as cherries and strawberries), animals (especially those of fantasy such as unicorns) and also flowers (roses and cherry blossoms) The sweet Lolita theme usually makes reference to Alice in Wonderland as well as other classic fairy tales. The most popular accessory for the sweet Lolita is the headdress and bonnet.
Sweet Lolita brands include Angelic Pretty and Metamorphose temps de fille.
Punk Lolita - The punk Lolita fashion adds punk element to the Lolita fashion. The stereotypical motifs you would find with punk clothing such as ties, safety pinks, plaids and androgynous hairstyle is in incorporated into the punk lolita look.
The style usually includes blouses and skirts, and the common footwear would be mary Jane’s
The punk Lolita takes it’s influence from Britain, especially London’s Camden Town Markets as well as Vivienne Westwood, whose Japanese collection is extremely popular among the punk Lolita scene.
Punk Lolita brands include A+Lidel and Putumayo.
Classic Lolita - The Classic Lolita is the matured style that focuses on Regency and Victorian style. It could be considered the ‘in the middle’ style, as in it’s not as dark as Gothic Lolita and it’s not as cutesy as the sweet lolita style. It’s considered a more mature, sophisticated style of Lolita due to it’s intricate patterns and muted colours. The Classic Lolita designs usually contains Empire Waist which is used as a more mature look. The Classic Lolita look sticks to the basic Lolita silhouette.
Classic Lolita brands include Victorian Maiden and Mary Magdalene.
There are many other, younger styles to the Lolita theme. These new sub-styles shows how creative you can be with the Lolita fashion and it shows how they can make fashion their own.
Princess Lolita - The Princess Lolita style is based on European Aristocratic style. The style Hime Gyaru is often credited for the princess style. The look includes a tiara.
Oji Lolita - Oji is short for Oji-sama which basically means ‘prince’. In Japanese fashion, Oji Lolita is considered a male version of the Lolita fashion, even though it’s worn by both genders. The style is influenced from the Victorian Era. The style includes shirts, knickerbockers as well as other style of trousers. Accessories include top hats and newsboy caps. The colours are usually black, white or burgundy.
Guro Lolita - Guro Lolita portrays the ‘broken doll’ look so it’s followers are avid users of fake blood and bandages. The reason they wear white is because blood red contrasts better with white.
Shiro & Kuro Lolita - Shiro Lolita translates to ‘white Lolita’ while Kuro Lolita translates to ‘black Lolita’. This sub genre of Lolita is one that you do with a friend. Shiro Lolita wears an outfit made entirely out of white and cream garments, while Kuro Lolita dresses all in black. The Shiro and Kuro Lolita looks can be taken from any style such as classic, gothic or sweet lolita however it has to be either all white or all black.
Sailor Lolita - As the title of the fashion style suggests the Sailor Lolita style incorporates the look of the sailor, which includes ties and collars, the sailor hat and of course, stripes. It works well with another small sub-genre of Lolita entitled ‘Pirate Lolita’ which incorporate the look of a pirate which would obviously include an eye-patch.
Wa Lolita - The Wa Lolita embraces the traditional Japanese style and combines it with the modern lolita fashion. The outfit will be the usual Japanese kimono which is then modified with the stereotypical lolita garments. A petticoat is still used but the garment as well as the kimono is altered. There is also Qi Lolita which combines the Lolita fashion with tradition chinese clothing.
And that concludes my article on the Lolita style.
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