Manifesteange Metamorphose temps de fille (Shortened to ''Metamorphose temps de fille'', ''Metamorphose'' or ''Meta'') is the name of a Japanese clothing boutique chain created in 1997 by the current president of Metamorphose and its designer, Kuniko Kato. Metamorphose specializes in the

Lolita fashion is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into thre ...

and like

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright is the name of a Japanese clothing brand created in 1988 by Akinori Isobe and his wife, Fumiyo. Baby, The Stars Shine Bright specializes in Lolita fashion. The company's flagship store, opened in 1999 in Daikanyamachō, Shibuya, was relocated t ...

, their main focus is the subcategory '' Sweet Lolita.''

Name origin

Metamorphose's website wrote that: "'Manifesteange' means the advent of an angel. 'Metamorphose temps de fille' means 'the time of transformation into a little girl.'"
The fictitious word "''manifesteange''" is thought to be taken from the word ''manifestation'' or ''to manifest'', and metamorphose from "''metamorphosis''", which means "to go through a drastic change". Metamorphose state they have used the French language to coin the phrase "Manifesteange Metamorphose temps de fille"; however, the French is worded with grammatical errors. "Metamorphose temps de fille" in French would literally translate to "Transforms time of the little girl". This is due to being translated directly from

Japanese grammar Japanese is an agglutinative, synthetic, mora-timed language with simple phonotactics, a pure vowel system, phonemic vowel and consonant length, and a lexically significant pitch-accent. Word order is normally subject–object–verb with parti ...

. In Japanese, the expression "''Chisai toki''" means "in 'little' time", and is used in place of the English expression "When I was young".
Metamorphose defend the mistranslation by saying that "because we invented the name ourselves, we feel there are so many different nuances and connotations that can be read into it, and we invite you to create your own."

Brand concept

Metamorphose's website states, "Almost everyone has the desire to “transform” one's self, be it into an angel, someone who is more elegant, or even back to the time they were a little girl. With this concept in mind, we created the Metamorphose brand. In order to assist you in your “transformation”, while not being a slave to the current fashion, we continue to conceive cute EGL fashion." Metamorphose are possibly the most imaginative of all the Japanese Lolita brands; they have developed a label within western lolita circles as being creative by having untraditional (in lolita fashion terms) cuts and prints of clothes; these include

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

style prints, circle skirts, and camouflage. Metamorphose is one of the more accessible Japanese Lolita brands to foreign customers. They have a translation of their website in English, ship abroad and accept

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...

, unlike other Lolita brands, which usually are not available overseas without the use of a shopping service. Because Kuniko Kato herself may be considered 'plus sized' in Japan, many Western girls find Metamorphose brand clothes an easier fit than other brands whose clothes tend to run a lot smaller. Many 'plus sized' Lolitas have found that Metamorphose clothes, which are made in one size only, can fit quite comfortably.

Go! Go! Lolita-chan

"''Go! Go! Lolita-chan''" is Metamorphose's news and information page in the English version of their site. It is divided between "News & Tidbits", "Pictures of You & Us" and "Metamorphose's Lovely Characters". "News & Tidbits" relates to upcoming collections and their pre-orders, shop holidays, sales and lucky packs. It sometimes takes the form of a conversational

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

and occasionally contains recommended reading and advice on coordinating the fashion. "Pictures of You & Us" contains galleries of modelled co-ordinates and a world map that shows the location and pictures of their worldwide customers. "Metamorphose Lovely Characters" contains pictures and information on Metamorphose's mascots: Punky Bear ''(Punkma)'' the bear and Rabbie-chan ''(Ra-bitch-chang)'' the rabbit.

Notes

External links

*
Metamorphose temps de fille official website in English

References