By Rachel on June 5, 2006
As I was perusing online Japanese fashion sites (which are either never in English or just show pretty pictures with no text), I came across a site which actually analyzes the sub-sects of Japanese street fashion, of which Lolita and Gothic Lolita are a part of.
Gothic Lolita is a distinctive style, though. Sweet or country Lolita is typically very innocent and girlish. Gothic Lolita, however, places more emphasis on the elegant elements of the style and typically is limited in color to black and white (with the occasional bit of red). Gothic Lolita, like sweet Lolita style, is inspired by Victorian clothing, but more particularly Victorian mourning clothing. It has been described as “French Maid meets Alice in Wonderland style†(Hell). The knee-length skirts and frills of the style mark it as particularly girlish while the fullness of the skirts, along with the types of materials used (velvet, brocade, etc.), mark it as more grown-up and serious.
As there are cultural concepts that do not translate well within sweet Lolita style (particularly the sexualized references to Nabokov), Gothic Lolita suffers from the same problem. The “Gothic†of the title is in no way associated with the Gothic style Westerners are familiar with. It represents for these girls and young women a period of elegance rather than scary stories and a morbid approach to life.
Worth checking out if you’re into the various Japanese underground fashions or even if you wonder why the hell they dress that way in the first place (and where it all originated)…
*UPDATE: The site is now defunct, but you can still get it via it’s archived page.
Posted in Japanese Culture, Lolita Fashion | Tagged gothic and lolita fashion, japan, japanese fashion, origins of fashion
I was exposed to anime as a child while living in Germany after watching the Japanese version of Hans Christian Anderson’s the Little Mermaid. In high school, a classmate in art brought in Akira as an example of Japanese art. I wasn’t very impressed with anime at the time, but my re-exposure to it in 2000 thanks to Escaflowne had me hooked for life.After sorting out what I liked about anime (great stories, beautiful animation and epic battles) and disliked about anime (big boobs, angst-y 15 year-old kids, most mecha, sports stories and style-over-substance), I got into it with a vengeance.I do love almost all aspects of Japanese culture and try to be involved with it as much as possible. I have no problem admitting that I incorporate a lot of Japanese trends and traditions into my life as I modify them and make them my own. Anime is a big part of that, along with all the sub-cultures, past and present.
Reader Comments