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Lolita is just a broad term encompassing many categories and subcategories for this style. I was blown away by all the different types of lolis present at Anime Central 2006:
Gothic Lolita
Gothic Lolita is the most familiar variety of Lolita, made popular by Mana of the band Malice Mizer in Japan. The style incorporates mostly black clothing with white lace or vice versa. Dark colors may accompany the black and white, but only if suitably somber. Crosses and skulls are a must for accessories as is anything else morbid.
The attitude is darker than for other Lolis and not as carefree but still maintains some innocence which is essential for a Lolita. The complexion is pale and the make up should be dark with either red or black lipstick, or no make up at all.
Sweet Lolita
Sweet Lolita is the soft babyish Lolita as characterized by Momoko in the film Kamikaze Girls (written by Novala Takemoto BTW). Colors are soft pastels (pinks, baby blues, lavenders), and white with floral prints, plaids, frilly headbands, ribbons, fancy finger nails, and lace, lace, lace, lace! Stuffed animals and BJD (ball jointed dolls) are common accompaniments of the Sweet style.
Classic Lolita
Classic Lolita keeps the color palette of the Sweet but without the excessive cuteness and frills. Classic Lolita is more adult and brings to mind Alice in Wonderland with the apron and princess-waist style dresses.
Kodona
Kodona is not really a Lolita but it’s still a style that runs in the vein of the Lolita, keeping with the Victorian era. I have no idea what the word Kodona means, but it’s a masculine style of Victorian dress that compliments Lolita. Girls and guys who wear it are reminiscent of mischievous school boys like the ones in Oliver Twist.
Wa Lolita and Qi Lolita
Wa Lolita and Qi Lolita are Lolis that draw inspiration for their dresses from the traditional kimono and qipao respectively.
Aristocrat Lolita
Aristocrat Lolitas tend to wear longer, straighter skirts and cut waaay back on the frills. Blacks, burgundies, darker colors, and velvets abound. The look screams school teacher or librarian and the style is much, much, more mature than Sweet, Classic, or even Gothic. It is a modest style and is not seen as much as Sweet, Classic, or Gothic.
Casual Lolita
Casual Lolita will probably be the gateway Lolita for most Americans as anyone can do it without really looking like your “dressing” like a Loli. Casual Loli is the simplest version of Lolita, giving a person ample opportunity to play with Lolita stylings without going all out and spending a fortune. The style is like Gothic but not so stern. T-shirts, chains and combat boots are all acceptable for Casual. Just think American Goth with a petticoat and some lace and there you have it.
Ero Lolita
Ero Lolita is a very mature version of Lolita that’s kinda like Gothic but showing more skin and bringing fetishes and leather to the mix. It’s still considered Lolita even though it’s not as demure as its counterparts; older women tend to gravitate towards the Ero Lolita style. The moderator was adamant that you’re no longer considered a Lolita once you start acting indecently and immodestly even though you’re dressed for just that.
Ojisama
Ojisama is the male counterpart to the Lolita style. Ojisama is the Japanese word for prince, and just as Lolitas are lil’ princesses so are Ojisama princes. Ojisama dress as any well mannered gentleman would have dressed back in Victorian times. They are NOT like the Kodona. The Kodona are rakish scoundrel looking folk whereas Ojisama are men of society.
Gory Lolita
Gory Lolita is a style I have never heard, seen, or dreamed before, but the panel mentioned it as a form of Lolita. Gory Loli is a version of Loli where the girl or guy dresses as a usual Lolita, then pours buckets of red paint or dye on their outfits. WTF?! Really? Do these people actually have that much money lying around that they can take an uber-expensive outfit and turn it into a bloody ruin? One possible reason for this style is that these Lolis have a thing for Jack the Ripper, the macabre, and/or are probably “touched” for all I know. Whatever buddy, to each their own.
I’ve only listed those varieties of Lolita that I’m most familiar with and feel comfortable writing about. I know that there are many more sub categories out there, with more and more popping up every day as the style progressively gets more popular. I’m aware of the Punk Lolita and the Nurse Lolita (maybe a sub category to Gory) but since I don’t have enough info on those I won’t be writing about them till I do.
The standards for makeup differ in some varieties of Lolis but the look for most Lolita styles remains constant; little or no makeup, and keep the face fresh and young. Of course for Gothic and Eros I’ve seen people smear on the black eye shadow and whiten their face with Ben Nye theatre makeup and then slap on a generous amount of black, red, purple, whatever, but DARK lipstick a la Mana. I imagine with Punk and Casual you can go any way you want to with the make up as well, but for Classic and Sweet the makeup must be at a minimum.
Lolita Hair
Lolita hair always eluded me as to how to get those perfect ringlets until I asked someone at the Loli panel how they did it. They said they used wigs and hair pieces which sounds simple but expensive. A good wig will probably run you $50 then add on the pieces, and whoa, pricey, but no one ever said going Loli was cheap.
Lolita Nails
Have you seen the other accessory that’s a must with most Lolitas? What’s with having those outrageous nails? How is that Lolita? You obviously can’t do much with nails that are manicured 10 ways to Sunday without fear of chipping something that cost a quarter of someone’s paycheck; I guess that’s the point. I just have never seen a little Victorian girl with long-ass acrylic nails with plastic roses glued on the tips, sorry. Must be a modern day Victorian affectation…
Lolita Poll
Early Lolitas hand sewed and designed their clothing themselves and many still do. A poll I took at Anime Central this year revealed that:
- 33% of the Lolitas that attended completely handmade their outfits
- 33% bought theirs online or from someone else that made them for them
- 33% were a composite of the two
So where can a stateside wanna be who can’t sew get hooked up? Some sites I found are:
- Apple Sugar
- Candy Violet
- Cosmates
- In the Starlight
- Milk Pearl
- Moi-Meme-Moitie (Mana’s clothing line)
- Noir Desir
- Supert3ch
Hot Topic has even jumped on the wagon and started selling Gothic Lolita style garb so that helps to a degree, but not if you want something truly unique, individualized, Sweet or Classic.
Ladies, a word to all those out there that are broke like me yet want something you can’t find anywhere else: thrift, thrift, thrift!! Get well acquainted with all the Goodwill’s and Salvation Armies in St. Louis cause believe it or not you can totally find a super cool loli outfit for under $40 not including the shoes if you really try.
Note: All images of Lolitas were taken at Anime Central 2006 unless otherwise noted.
OMG. U FAIL @ LOLI! *speechless*
“you can totally find a super cool Loli outfit for under $40″
*cries*
COMMIE LOLI?
Aingli_Deas is that you?
Classic Lolita….oh dear gods. That is not it. T_T
Go look at Mary Magdalene, Victorian Maiden, and Innocent World. Juliette et Justine is classic, too, but very….different.
Wow. This to me is amazing… All these hate letters coming from a small group of people who for some reason or other deem themselves Lolita experts.
I never said I was the end all be all know it all when it comes to loli fashion. What I put on the site concerning Acen Lolita varieties came straight from the Lolita panel; seeing as how I was there as press and therefore reporting on said panel.
NONE of the ACen post was pulled outta my ass; I just printed what was said so bite me.
Another thing: Yet again a tiny group of people F it up for everyone else trying to have a good time. I mean are ANY of you actually Japanese Lolis who hang out in Harajuku on the weekends? If so, please e-mail me; I have many questions
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I’m all for calling someone out for being wrong or if my opinion differs from theirs, but shit, at least I give express reasons WHY. Don’t post a shitty comment and give absolutely NO reason for dissing me. How the hell am I supposed to know the difference between one person’s version of Classic and another person’s version of Kadona? This is an ANIME BLOG that also HAPPENS to post frequently about Japanese subcultures. This is not a LOLITA blog.
Is Loli style that much of a hierarchy that there’re actual snobs out there? What happened to individuality? Did everyone say “fuck that noise” when the Lolita houses made it easy for people to look JUST like the other people wanting to be different?
And yes Moebius, you most certainly can find a rock’n loli outfit for under $40:Allow me to give you a lesson in addition:
Loli shoes= $32
Thrifted skirt from Rock Star Rags= $1
Thrifted Lacey Shirt (also RSR)= $1
Tights (new)=$3
Thrifted Crinoline or petticoat= $2
Gasp! OMFG! The grand total is…$39!!! Last time I checked that was UNDER $40. BTW I said you could totally find an awesome Loli outfit IF you thrifted it AND excluding the shoe. I got under $40 WITH the shoes. But I suppose it’s just easier to spend $400 of SOMEONE’s hard earned cash on the same damn thing a hundred other people have than actually trying to achieve the look on your own…
you cant achieve the look on your own unless you sew.
beautiful classic lolita dress:
ugly mishmash of strange colors:
The bright pink shirt under the green dress is just weird…
and there is no such thing as mint lolita or whatever…
A lot of lolitas are bitches. and that is that.
Also, look at western goth and emo. they all look exactly the same. that’s just the way fashion is
sorry the pictures didnt show up
pretty= http://www.victorianmaiden.com/onlineshopping/catalogue/dress/col_op/eri_op_code1.jpg
ugly= http://theanimeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/classic-loli.jpg
ok – Nice green dress!
I do feverently beleive that the STYLE can be pulled off (to a degree) without spending more than $40 (how many times is that gonna come up?)
I swear that the place I used to go to (they finally shut down:() had some awesome skirts and shirts. I should take some pics some time when I’m not too lazy and post em’…
IMO and only MO since as someone clearly stated I “fail at loli”; Loli style is about looking dainty, young, innocent and/or elegant. It’s not about having an assload of lace all over the dress it’s about looking like you do. It’s the whole “you wear the dress, the dress doesn’t wear you” thing. Make sense?
I have a couple Loli bibles and I see shirts and skirts sold separately that look EXACTLY like the ones I bought, sans a brand name label declaring how I got ripped off. Style (and loli IS, or I guess nowadays, WAS a style) should be individual and not bottled. When you bottle style and mass market it, it loses it’s fizz and becomes fashion.
Anyone can be fashionable if they have enough cash but some people just don’t have enough of anything to be stylish.
BTW, do any of the haters and posters sew? If so, please send me your pics and I’ll give you due props on my site.
I sew and believe you me; I know what a whore it is to sew one of these dresses. Say it loud and proud and I’ll post it along with how you sewed it, what you used, how much it cost, etc.
too much lace can be very bad.
an outfit doesnt have to have lace to be lolita…
I agree with you -ok. Too much lace makes one look like a cupcake (unless you like looking like a confection). To me, it’s about the elegance and the refinement of one’s outfit. Also, it’s about personal taste. I personally like Kadona and Classic. I couldn’t pull off the cupcake look, but some lace in the right place is a nice touch.
$40 PLUS you’re able to sew well = I think that’s okay. (Honestly, EVERYONE CAN LEARN TO SEW WELL)
$40, and you can’t sew = Welcome to http://community.livejournal.com/lolita_fucks!
The pics are… okay. But the text! Please, I do not want to insult you, but this: “The style is like Gothic but not so stern. T-shirts, chains and combat boots are all acceptable for Casual. Just think American Goth with a petticoat and some lace and there you have it.” will make every lolita scream WTF???. Seriously.
I think I need to repeat this once more: I DID NOT MAKE THIS SHIT UP ABOUT THE LOLI VARIETIES! What’s printed came STRAIGHT from the panel at ACen. I just sat there with my notepad and a pen and wrote down whatever the moderator said in reference to loli varieties. I asked some questions, got some answers, came home and typed the article. So, -Moebius, I’m not insulted since I personally, never said that was Casual. Nope, wasn’t me.
If someone would like to contribute to the site with a more accurate and up to date article about loli varieties, please feel free, honestly. This article was written as part of ACen coverage. If anyone who feels they know enough to contribute to an INDEPENDENT article, e-mail me and we can discuss it. I’m always looking for new talent
.
Okay okay, it’s not your fault, I understand ^^°
But I think you understand why this sets lolis up… ome of the explanations may make little girlies say: “Wow! If I sew some cheap lace to a black mini skirt and buy a ruffled top at H&M, I’m totally lolita!!!”. (lol I know I sound like an elitist – but that’s the way it is, sadly.)
Sorry for my first postings, I was just… shocked.
It is sooooooooo sad that people like this moderator explain lolita fashion, by having no idea how it’s supposed to look like and how everything works. Just… sad.
for the nails, I have a friend who makes them so here’s an image
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a214/Mizzinsanity/img20061103_p.jpg
but it’s not only lolita’s who have a nail art fetish. it’s the japanese people in general. This friend who makes nail art is actually a normal girl. Lolita’s like nail art because it’s another way to show the lolita fashion. Does this help?
and I’m sorry to say but this image
http://theanimeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/classic-loli.jpg
is 100% not classic lolita. One could call it Neo Lolita just because its the watermelon colors brightly blended together but that couldn’t describe it either… the victorian maiden is a perfect example of classic lolita.
the image you used for Sweet Lolita is more like Dekora (or is it decora?). She used too much make up.
Don’t take any of this offensively. I’m just trying to be of some help :]. I think you should have credited the panel for this at the beginning of this blog so that people wouldn’t have believed you said this. Some things stated are quite odd in a sense…
Please don’t trash the love of nail art. Japanese in general love nail art, not only lolitas.
@ アリス, I’m not trashing nail art. I was conveying my disbelief that these mini daggers are considered a fashion accessory for lolitas. I’m aware that the Japanese love their nail art. That doesn’t negate the disbelief.
Why are there so many elitist loli-fucks around here? There’s no such thing as a true lolita or a faux lolita. It is a fashion style and not a real subculture.
Moebius is a ‘tard. Learn to understand what people see when they look at lolita fashion and think about your words more carefully. Like I mentioned, it is a fashion style, therefore it’s adaptable and shouldn’t have any set rules. Even if some people don’t look that great, there’s no need to be a dick about it.
ch1×0r, Lolita is a sub-culture. If you ever actually met a real lolita, you would know it. The talk differently, act differently, and hang out at places and do things that people normally won’t do. When was the last time anyone you know attended a really, Victorian style tea party. Those who are serious about lolita do belong to a subculture. Most Americans don’t realize the detail in which most Japanese lolitas go into thier “fashion style”. Sorry, but it’s true.
I agree with Sam. There are some Lolita who act like normal people and dress the part, but the Lolita who exist in the sub-culture population are easier to be associated with the fashion than the Lolita who act like normal people. They get very into it :]
By the way, some of those dresses up there are excessively short D:
Your lolita nail example fails epically.
That is not a good example of lolita nails
…wow….just wow…
I consider this whole article fail.
Especially the sweet and gothic lolita.
pictures= epic fail
@J, you’re a day late and a penny short. This article was a report on an event, I wonder if you read that, you know, at the top of the article, where it say The Anime Blog covers ACen 2006. Where it doesn’t say “This Is What I Think Lolita Is”. I never claim to be the one who made up the info. It was a report. On an event. With pictures. From the event. The event being Acen 2006. If you want to insult the pictures feel free, I did in fact take those, but if want to slam the people in the pictures, you’ll need to track them down. It might be hard since they were taken two years ago at Anime Central.
observational skills= epic fail
Guys, GUYS! (and Ladies!)
I think we’re forgetting one major thing here, no? These are all CONVENTION Lolitas, or Cosplay Lolitas. They pour their heart and soul into these costumes, which are to be worn in a fun and welcoming atmosphere, surrounded by like-minded people for one, maybe two days TOPS.
Personally, as a Lifestyle Lolita (I wear it every day, and DO consider myself an elitist, but that’s because I’m pedantic about MANNERS, etc…) yes, I was shocked at the gross misrepresentations of the categories here, but c’mon! It’s just a report. Not an article. And all those poor things led astray by the “panel” will eventually learn more, and hopefully develop more refined styles.
But my God…The “casual Lolita” was like a Goth wolf in sheep’s clothing, and the “classic” flashed a bit too much leg, I think.
This is the worst review ive ever read!!!