Living Dolls – Introduction to Lolita Fashion

Lolita fashion is something most of us have seen before at conventions, or in our anime and manga.  When the term comes up, most of us think of black lace and tiny top-hats, with big price tags.  However, Lolita fashion goes much, much deeper.

While most people think of the fashion style as something new and modern, the first Lolita fashions hit the market in Japan in the 1970s.  In spite of the name and the connotations it holds, the style is primarily worn by teenagers who view it as ‘cute’ and not overtly sexual.  Most Lolita fashion followers see it as a direct conflict to more revealing modern styles, and enjoy the modest beauty.

The basics of Lolita fashion take their inspiration from Victorian, Edwardian, and Rococo period costuming.  For most, the goal is to appear like a child’s doll.  Common elements of the fashion style include dresses or skirts that do not fall above the knee, petticoats, knee-high socks or stockings, and mary-janes or rocking-horse shoes.  Colors and patterns are girlish and sweet.

Though there are many sub-styles of Lolita fashion, the most well known are Sweet Lolita and Gothic Lolita.

Sweet Lolita

A little girl’s fantasy tea-party would be filled with Sweet Lolita fashions.  Fairytales like Alice in Wonderland have inspired many Sweet Lolita styles and themes.  Its trademarks include white lace, pastel fabrics, gingham, ribbons, and accessories including stuffed animals, ball-jointed dolls, and parasols.

Hair comes in many styles, ranging from naturally straight black or brown hair, ranging to corkscrew curled blond pigtails, with a variety of looks in between.  Sweet Lolita makeup is very understated, with natural or pastel colors.  Overdoing makeup creates a mature or cheap appearance that conflicts with the goal of the style.  False eyelashes and black mascara may sometimes be used, because in proper application, they can cause the eyes to look very large and childish.  Of course, when eye makeup is bold, lips are left understated with light pink shades.  Proper application takes practice; when used incorrectly, dark eyeliner and mascara can create a ‘closed in’ appearance that make eyes appear smaller.

While men are not common participants of this fashion style, masculine styles do exist.  Like their female counterparts, the goal is to appear boyish, and often manifests with white button-up shirts, Capri-style pants or shorts that come to at least the knee, and accessories such as tophats (sometimes undersized), suspenders, bowties, or ascots.

Gothic Lolita

Though this style came into existence around the same time as western goth subculture, “goth-loli” took a very different direction.  Gothic Lolita started with the basic groundwork of Lolita fashion, but strayed from the ‘rougher’ elements of industrial or horror goth to create something ‘darkly cute’.  Black and white color schemes are almost requirements of the style, though other rich or dark colors such as ruby red, emerald green, navy blue, royal purple, and burgundy are perfectly acceptable.

Contrary to popular belief, Gothic Lolita makeup remains modest and understated.  While black eyeliner, mascara, and false eyelashes are common, along with smokey eyeshadow, more “costumey” elements like white face powder and black lipstick are typically avoided.  This kind of “stage makeup” is typically relegated to Visual Kei styles.

Men who follow this style tend to come in two types.  Inspired by the Visual Kei performer Mana, some men chose to pursue Gothic Lolita as a form of crossplay, dressing in the same styles as their female counterparts.  Because of the modest style, it can be easy for men to dress in feminine Gothic Lolita styles while maintaining a level of taste and sophistication.  Men who prefer to remain masculine often draw from “Elegant Gothic Aristocrat” styles, wearing slacks, long coats, tophats, vests, and so on.

This article is only touching upon the surface of Lolita fashion, and the style can be much deeper and more complex.  Also, because it is a clothing style, individual matters of taste and local trends do make an impact on each wearer’s view of the clothing and lifestyle.  Not everyone may agree with what makes up ‘Lolita fashion’ and opinions vary on both sides of the Pacific.  If Lolita fashion interests you, I encourage you to research the styles on your own!

Sites of Interest:

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (Japanese)
Angelic Pretty (English)
Angelic Pretty (Japanese)
LolitaFashion.org