Japanese alternative fashions often catch the eyes of the Western world.  For a culture so seemingly predisposed to tradition and public image, the concepts of the extravagant, often outlandish, costumes worn by Japan's youth appears out of place.  The lolita image, if one can be said to exist, pervades many of these fashions, while disposable incomes and high school sentiments often fuel the desire and ability to wear expensive costumes.

 

Lolita

 

    Lolita fashion comes in many different varieties, including Gothic Lolita (the most popularly known in the West), Punk Lolita, and Sweet Lolita.  Lolita has nothing to do with the pseudo-pedophillic Western idea of "Lolita."  In Lolita styles in general, the costume consists of knee high skirts, Victorian style blouses, or Victorian era dresses.  The colors and looks vary vastly within these parameters, however, and Lolita is generally divided up into these four subcategories:

 

Gothic Lolita

 

    The most popular of Japan's current fashions began in the early 1980s as an elegant means of dressing in Edwardian style clothes.  The girls who dress in the Gothic Lolita style often look like porcelain dolls from a bygone age, their beautiful dark clothing making them seem like something from a Tim Burtonesque dream.  Men do not participate in Gothic Lolita culture, although many may like the rock and roll, suck as Malice Mizer and Dir en Grey, that heavily influences the current fashion trends.

 

    In general, those involved in "Gothic Lolita" dressing do not follow the Western conceptions of "Goth."  They listen to Visual Pop (known commonly as V-Pop or V-Rock) in which the performers dress in elaborate costumes as part of their act.  Although the Western gothic movement does exist in Japan, it hasn't garnered enough strength to become a widely recognized subculture. 

 

                                                                   

 

Punk Lolita

 

    Punk Lolita, unlike Gothic Lolita, utilizes plaid and multitudes of chains, bows, wristbands, and metal.  Like Malice Mizer and Dir en Grey for Goth Lolita, the singer Nana Kitade influences the Punk Lolita fashion trends more than others.

 

                              

 

Sweet Lolita

 

    Where the Goth and Punk Lolita fashions attempt the look of Victorian era porcelain dolls (or their plaid counterparts), Sweet Lolita attempts to look like baby-doll clothing.  Lots of whites, blues, and pinks color in the bows, knee-high skirts, and stockings designed to give the costume a school girl like look.  Aprons are commonly worn over the costume.  Often, Hello Kitty clothing lines appeal to Sweet Lolita girls.

 

                                                             

 

Wa/Qi Lolita

 

    This style builds largely off of traditional Kimono dress and adds petticoats and traditional boots, stockings, and patterns.

 

 

 

Elegant Gothic Lolita or Aristocratic Lolita

 

    Finally!  A Lolita fashion for men and women!  Aristocratic Lolita emphasizes androgyny, the costumes for men and women often look the same.  As the name would suggest, the style itself focuses on the simplistic elegance of Victorian era Aristocratic dress, often in dark colors but sometimes in light blues with black trim.  Bands like Malice Mizer also influence this division of Lolita, especially since most of its members, especially Mana, the violinist, appear more feminine than many women.  In fact, Mana began the off-shoot of Lolita fashion that would become known as Elegant Gothic, taking female Victorian clothing and wearing them as men's clothing with a heavy amount of makeup.

 

                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The Lolita style impresses many who see it through its apparent expense, elegance, and beauty.  It may seem extravagant, but it also exists in a culture where school systems allow very little variation in the dress code.  While the style looks expensive, there is a Do It Yourself feel to the costumes, lending to any range of prices.  It seems that those with a penchant for the unusual, the elegant, or even the traditional can find something to love in Lolita Fashion.

 

Wikipedia on Japanese Fashions

Morbid Outlook

Japan's World Fashion