is a

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into three main substyles: '

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

', 'classic', and 'sweet'. Many other substyles such as 'sailor', 'country', 'hime' (princess), 'guro' ( grotesque), 'qi' and 'wa' (based on traditional Chinese and Japanese dress), 'punk', 'shiro' (white), 'kuro' (black), and '

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian ...

' lolita also exist. This style evolved into a widely followed subculture in Japan and other countries in the 1990s and 2000s and may have waned in Japan as of the 2010s as the fashion became more mainstream.

Description

The main feature of Lolita fashion is the volume of the skirt, created by wearing a petticoat or

crinoline A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a woman's skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which w ...

. The skirt can be either bell-shaped or A-line shaped. Components of the lolita wardrobe consist mainly of a

blouse A blouse (blau̇s, 'blau̇z, ) is a loose-fitting upper garment that was worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women, and children.The Concise Oxford English Dictionary It is typically gathered at the waist or hips (by tight hem, pleats, parter ...

(long or short sleeves) with a skirt or a dress, which usually comes to the knees. Lolitas frequently wear wigs in combination with other headwear such as hair bows or a bonnet (similar to a Poke bonnet). Lolitas can also wear Victorian style drawers under their petticoats. For further effect some Lolitas use knee socks, ankle socks or tights together with either high heels or flat shoes with a bow are worn. Other typical Lolita garments are a jumperskirt (JSK) and one-piece (OP).

History

Although the origin of the fashion is unclear, at the end of the 1970s a new movement known as ''Otome-kei'' was founded, which slightly influenced Lolita fashion since ''Otome'' means ''maiden'' and maiden style looks like a lesser elaborated Lolita style. Before Otome-kei emerged, there was already a rise of the cuteness culture in the earlier seventies; during which there was a high emphasis on cute and childish handwriting in Japanese schools. As a result of that the company

Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the '' kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are so ...

began experimenting with cute designs. The cuteness style, known as '' kawaii style'', became popular in the 1980s. After Otome-kei,

Do-It-Yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and se ...

behavior became popular, which led to the emergence of a new style called 'doll-kei', the predecessor of Lolita fashion. In the years of 1977–1998, a large part of the Harajuku shopping district closed for car traffic on Sundays. The result was an increase in interaction between pedestrians in Harajuku. When brands like (1973), Milk (1970), and Angelic Pretty (1979) began to sell cute clothing, that resulted in a new style, which would later be known as 'Lolita'. The term lolita first appeared in the fashion magazine ''Ryukou Tsushin'' in the September 1987 issue. Shortly after that Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (1988), Metamorphose temps de fille (1993), and other brands emerged. In the 1990s, lolita became more accepted, with visual kei bands like Malice Mizer and others rising in popularity. These band members wore elaborate clothes that fans began to adopt. During this time Japan went through an economic depression, leading to an increase in alternative youth and fashion cultures such as gyaru, otaku, visual kei, and lolita, as well as visualkei inspired clothing such as Mori, Fairy Kei and Decora The lolita style spread quickly from the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

region and finally reached

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, partly due to the economic difficulties there was a big growth in the cuteness and youth cultures that originated in the seventies. In the late nineties, the Jingu Bashi (also called the Harajuku Bridge) became known as meeting place for youth who wore lolita and other alternative fashion, and lolita became more popular causing a spurt of lolita Fashion selling warehouses. Important magazines that contributed to the spread of the fashion style were the '' Gothic & Lolita Bible'' (2001), a spin-off of the popular Japanese fashion magazine ' (1998), and ''

FRUiTS In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

'' (1997). It was around this time when interest and awareness of Lolita Fashion began entering countries outside of Japan, with The ''Gothic & Lolita Bible'' being translated into English, distributed outside of Japan through the publisher

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...

, and ''FRUits'' publishing an English picture book of the Japanese Street Fashion in 2001. As the style became further popularized through the Internet, more shops opened abroad, such as Baby, The Stars Shine Bright in Paris (2007) and in New York (2014). Over time, the youth that gathered in Harajuku or at Harajuku Bridge disappeared. One possible explanation is that the introduction of

fast fashion Fast fashion is a term used to describe the clothing industry's business model of replicating recent catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, mass-producing them at a low cost, and bringing them to retail stores quickly, while demand is at it ...

from retailers H&M and

Forever 21 Forever 21 is a multinational fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984,Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved 27 April 2014 ...

has caused a reduction in the consumption of street fashion. ''FRUiTS'' ceased publication while ''Gothic & Lolita Bible'' was put on hiatus in 2017.

Sources of inspiration

European culture The culture of Europe is rooted in its art, architecture, film, different types of music, economics, literature, and philosophy. European culture is largely rooted in what is often referred to as its "common cultural heritage". Definit ...

has influenced Lolita fashion. The book ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' (1865), written by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

, has inspired many different brands and magazines, such as ''Alice Deco''. The reason that the character Alice was an inspiration source for the Lolita, was because she was an ideal icon for the Shōjo (shoujo)-image, meaning an image of eternal innocence and beauty. The first complete translation of the book was published by Maruyama Eikon in 1910, translated under the title Ai-chan No Yume Monogatari (Fantastic stories of Ai). Another figure from the

that served as a source of inspiration was

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

; a manga '' The Rose of Versailles'' (Lady Oscar) based on her court, was created in 1979.

Popularization

People who have popularized the Lolita fashion were Yukari Tamura, Mana and

Novala Takemoto is the professional name of , a Japanese author and fashion designer. Biography Takemoto was born in Uji, south of Kyoto. As a child, he was shy and preferred drawing and reading (two of his favorite authors were Osamu Dazai and Yasunari Kawaba ...

. Novala wrote the

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

Kamikaze Girls ''Kamikaze Girls'', originally released in Japan as , is a 2002 Japanese light novel written by Novala Takemoto. The story centers on the friendship between two students named Momoko Ryugasaki and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri. These two are from ...

'' (2002) about the relationship between Momoko, a lolita girl and Ichigo, a '' Yanki''. The book was adapted into a movie and a manga in 2004. Novala himself claims that "There are no leaders within the lolita world". Mana is a musician and is known for popularizing the Gothic Lolita fashion. He played in the rock band Malice Mizer (1992–2001) and founded the heavy metal band Moi Dix Mois (2002–present). Both bands are a part of the visual kei movement, whose members are known for eccentric expressions and elaborate costumes. He founded his own fashion label, known as Moi-même-Moitié in 1999, which specializes in Gothic Lolita. They are both very interested in the Roccoco period. The government of

has also tried to popularize Lolita fashion. The Minister of Foreign Affairs in February 2009, assigned models to spread Japanese pop culture. These people were given the title of Kawaa Taishi (ambassadors of cuteness). The first three ambassadors of cuteness were model

Misako Aoki is a Japanese model represented by Twin Planet. She serves as the president of the Japan Lolita Association for lolita fashion. Misako was discovered as a model in Harajuku, Tokyo at the age of 15. While modeling for ''KERA'' magazine, Misako w ...

, who represents the Lolita style of frills-and-lace, Yu Kimura who represents the Harajuku style, and Shizuka Fujioka who represents the school-uniform-styled fashion. Another way that Japan tries to popularize Japanese street fashion and Lolita is by organizing the international Harajuku walk in Japan, this should caused that other foreign countries would organize a similar walk. Possible reasons for the popularity of Lolita fashion outside of Japan are a big growth in the interest of Japanese culture and use of the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

as a place to share information, leading to an increase in worldwide shopping, and the opportunity of enthusiastic foreign Lolitas to purchase fashion. The origin of the Japanese influences can be found in the late nineties, in which cultural goods such as Hello Kitty,

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

, and translated mangas appeared in the west. Anime was already being imported to the west in the early nineties, and scholars also mention that

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

caused the popularity of Japanese culture to rise. This is supported by the idea that cultural streams have been going from Japan to the west, and from the west to Japan.

Motives

Lolita is seen as a reaction against stifling Japanese

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

, in which young people are pressured to strictly adhere to

gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cen ...

s and the expectations and responsibilities that are part of these roles. Wearing fashion inspired by childhood clothing is a reaction against this. This can be explained from two perspectives. Firstly, that it is a way to escape adulthood and to go back to the eternal beauty of childhood. Secondly, that it is an escape to a fantasy world, in which an ideal

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

can be created that would not be acceptable in daily life. Some Lolitas say they enjoy the dress of the subculture simply because it is fun and not as a protest against traditional Japanese society. Other motives could be that wearing the fashion style increases their self-confidence or to express an alternative identity.

Social-economical dimension

Much of the very early lolitas in the 1990s hand-made most of their clothing, and were inspired by the Dolly Kei movement of the previous decade. Because of the diffusion of fashion magazines people were able to use lolita patterns to make their own clothing. Another way to own lolita was to buy it second-hand. The do-it-yourself behaviour can be seen more frequently by people who cannot afford the expensive brands. Once more retail stores began selling lolita fashion, it became less common for lolitas to make their own clothing. Partly due to the rise of

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manag ...

and

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

, lolita clothing became more widely accessible with the help of the Internet. The market was quickly divided into multiple components: one which purchases mainly from Japanese or Chinese internet marketplaces, the other making use of shopping services to purchase Japanese brands, with some communities making larger orders as a group. Not every online shop delivers quality lolita (inspired) products, a notorious example is Milanoo (2014). Some web shops sell brand replicas, which is frowned upon by many in this community. A Chinese replica

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...

that is famous for his replica design is Oo Jia.

Second-hand Used goods mean any item of personal property offered for sale not as new, including metals in any form except coins that are legal tender, but excluding books, magazines, and postage stamps. Risks Furniture, in particular bedding or upholstere ...

shopping is also an alternative to buying new pieces as items can be bought at a lower price (albeit with varying item condition) and is the sole method of obtaining pieces that are no longer produced by their respective brand.

Sociocultural dimension

Many lolitas consider being photographed without permission to be rude and disrespectful, however some rules differ or overlap in different parts of this community. Lolitas often host meetings in public spaces such as parks, restaurants, cafes, shopping malls, public events, and festivals. Some meetings take place at members' homes, and often have custom house rules (e.g. each member must bring their own cupcake to the meeting). Lolita meetings therefore are a social aspect of the lolita fashion community, serving as an opportunity for members to meet one another. Many lolitas also used to use Livejournal to communicate, but many have switched to

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

groups in the interim.

Terminology

Lolita fashion did not emerge until after the publication of the novel ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Hum ...

'' (1955), which was written by Vladimir Nabokov, the first translation of the novel in Japanese appearing in 1959. The novel is about a middle-aged man, Humbert Humbert, who grooms and abuses a twelve-year-old girl nicknamed Lolita. Because the book focused on the controversial subject of pedophilia and underage sexuality, "Lolita" soon developed a negative connotation referring to a girl inappropriately sexualized at a very young age and associated with unacceptable sexual obsession. In Japan, however, discourse around the novel instead built on the country's romanticized girls' culture (''shōjo bunka''), and instead came to be a positive synonym for the "sweet and adorable" adolescent girl, without a perverse or sexual connotation. ''Lolita'' was made into a movie in 1962, which was sexualized and did not show the disinterest that Dolores (the character in Nabokov's novel to whom the nickname "Lolita" is given) had in sexuality. A remake was made in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. The 17-year-old

Amy Fisher Amy Elizabeth Fisher (born August 21, 1974) is an American woman who became known in the media as "the Long Island Lolita" in 1992, when, at the age of 17, she shot and severely wounded Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife of Joey Buttafuoco, with whom ...

, who attempted to murder the wife of her 35-year-old lover and whose crime was made into a film called ''

The Amy Fisher Story ''The Amy Fisher Story'' is a 1993 American television film dramatizing the events surrounding Amy Fisher's teenage affair with Joey Buttafuoco and her conviction for aggravated assault for shooting Buttafuoco's wife. The film was produced by A ...

'' (1993), was often called the Long Island Lolita. These films reinforced the sexual association. Other racy connotations were created by Lolita Nylon advertisements (1964) and other media that used Lolita in sexual contexts. Within Japanese culture the name refers to cuteness and elegance rather than to sexual attractiveness. Many lolitas in Japan are not aware that lolita is associated with Nabokov's book and they are disgusted by it when they discover such relation. The Japanese sense of "Lolita" also appears in ''

lolicon In Japanese popular culture, is a genre of fictional media in which young (or young-looking) girl characters appear in romantic or sexual contexts. The term, a portmanteau of the English phrase " Lolita complex", also refers to desire an ...

'' (from "Lolita complex"), a term associated with Russell Trainer's novel '' The Lolita Complex'' (1966, translated 1969) and associated with '' otaku'' (anime and manga fan) culture. The concept and genre of media reflects a blend between the aesthetic of ''kawaii'' and sexual themes in fiction. Another common confusion is between the Lolita fashion style and

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture ...

. Although both spread from Japan, they are different and should be perceived as independent from each other; one is a fashion style while the other is role-play, with clothing and accessory being used to play a character. This does not exclude that there may be some overlap between members of both groups. This can be seen at

anime conventions An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activ ...

such as the convention in Götenborg in which cosplay and Japanese fashion is mixed. For some Lolitas, it is insulting if people label their outfit as a costume.

Gallery

File:Lolita dresses at IDO32 (20200118120309).jpg, ''Hime Lolita'' File:Girl in pink lolita fashion.jpg, Classic Lolita File:Gothic lolita dress.jpg, Old School Lolita File:Gothic lolita takeshita street.jpg, ''Shiro/White Lolita'' (left) and ''Kuro/Black Lolita'' (right) File:Nana Kitade.jpg, ''Sweet Lolita'' (

Nana Kitade is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to being the lead singer of the rock band The Teenage Kissers, she has (or had) success as a solo artist, model, actress, and fashion designer. Kitade is particularly known for her song ...

) File:Sweet Lolita Style Women.jpg, ''Sweet Lolita'' File:Pink gothlolita.jpg, ''Sweet Lolita'' File:Nana Kitade 20070707 Japan Expo 22.jpg, ''Country Lolita'' (

) File:Pirate loli.JPG, ''Pirate Lolita'' File:Punk Lolita, V&A Museum.JPG, ''Punk Lolita'' File:Waloli.JPG, ''Wa-Lolita'' with characteristics of ''Guro Lolita'' (eyepatch) File:Dark Lolita (Kodona Style).jpg, ''Ouji'' (a similar fashion with a more masculine appearance) File:Two gothic lolitas in Harajuku 20050427.jpg, ''Gothic Lolita'' File:Classicloli.JPG, ''Elegent Gothic Aristocrat'' (left) and ''Gothic Lolita'' (right)

References

Citations

General references

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Japan Lolita AssociationLolita library of brands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lolita fashion 21st-century fashion Fashion aesthetics Gothic fashion History of fashion Japanese fashion Japanese subcultures