The ‘Lolita’ Look
Posted by casey on 10-02-2008
Shortly after Teen Vogue kicked off a “street style” contest on their website last month, the opportunity was posted on a “Lolita” fashion forum and the contest quickly became inundated with girls dressed in stereotypical Lolita style. Puffy caroline crinoline [thanks Ann!] skirts, sweet Mary Jane flats, and bow-adorned headbands were popping up on page after page and I was stunned. I like to think that I’m fairly informed about fashion trends, but this entire style subculture came as a huge surprise to me.
The Lolita look has been a notable counterculture in Japan with subtypes ranging from gothic Lolita (a mostly black wardrobe, dark wardrobe, red lips) to sweet Lolita (pastel dresses, ruffles and bows galore, childlike makeup) for over 10 years. In Japan, this culture is more influenced by Lolita-looking anime characters than the actual Lolita novel.
Just this week, the New York Times, reg. required, reported about this latest generation of girls who are drawing inspiration from the classic Lolita image. A multimedia aspect of the story features five different “New York Lolitas” who are all quick to point out that the similarity between them and Vladimir Nabokov’s precocious character is a girlish sense of style. Sexual assumptions aside, modern day Lolitas dress that way for the same reason that I reach for my favorite jeans every single day: it makes them (and me) feel good.
While the term Lolita is usually associated with Vladimir Nabokov’s ground-breaking novel “Lolita,” about a 12-year-old temptress, these Lolitas insist there is no connection between them and their namesake. “We share the same name,” said Amber Rutland, 18, of Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Ms. Rutland, a student of City-as-School, an alternative high school, is an active member of the city’s Lolita community, whose numbers are elusive. She added: “Our Lolita is an elegant young girl inspired by Victorian or Rococo times. They aspire to create a sense of nobility.”
Although I have yet to spot a single girl walking the streets in a caroline skirt, lacey tights, or fruit-print flouncy dress – not during my summer in New York nor my few years at the University of Missouri – the potential for more exposure is very likely. Elle and the Guardian both described collections from last month’s fashion week as very “Lolita,” and new It girl Katy Perry rocks ’50s-silhouette dresses, heart-shaped glasses, and mary jane heels every chance she gets – and she has gotten a lot of chances, from MTV’s red carpets to runway show front rows to magazine covers. She, however, does cite Vladimir Nabokov’s classic book as inspiration (but then, she also sings about kissing girls because of their cherry chapstick, so keep that in mind). What do you think of the Lolita-style? Is there more of a cultural or societal subtext about women and girls than the Lolita-fashionistas care to admit or are even aware of themselves?
Categorized under: Fashion
October 14th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I am a designer about to begin a Spring collection of Lolita style dresses in Birminghams Flea Market in the Custrad factory, Digbeth. I was very interested on what you had to say.
October 14th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Thats Birmingham, England!
October 26th, 2008 at 6:40 am
A great read!
Puts the Japanese subculture into perspective in modern day realities. Glad that the style is slowly gaining acceptance on runways.
Very useful information as I’m doing a school project on Lolitas :)
November 24th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Ummmmm… so you did a very good surface level analysis, and found yourself an American “Japanese style” Lolita. But it’s not all about fruit prints and girly lace. or about a “sense of nobility” It’s about being capturing the innocence of youth. And it’s been around for definitely more than 10 years. It was a groupie type fashion, popularized in the underground by Japanese concert-goers. Mana of the now defunct Japanese Visual Kei (visual style) band started to dress in Elegant Gothic Lolita, and Elegant Gothic Aristocrat, both terms coined by him. As the band’s popularity sparked, more and more people became aware of the fashion.
If you want more information on the Japanese (but now international) fashion called Lolita, find yourself a Japanese bookstore, or google magazines such as Gothic and Lolita Bible (GLB), Kera, or Fruits and see for yourself what the fashion is about.
And Katie Perry is not even recognized as a Lolita by most members of lolita fashion communities. She might strive for that “young, innocent, yet seductive and sexy” look, but that is Nabokov’s Lolita and should not be even mentioned to an actual Japanese lolita.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
caroline skirt?
do you mean crinoline?
http://store.elegantbridaldiscount.com/brcrpefrmabr.html
or
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/frankbeecostume_2033_2006583
or
http://www.heavenlyvintagelingerie.com/store/item/30078.Darling.50's.Vintage.Bouffant.Crinoline.Slip.~.Small
etc
December 30th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Ann Martin: Thank you! I did indeed mean crinoline.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:44 am
Hi, this is Amber from the article. (Happened to run into this while googling my name x_x)
I wanted to touch up on a few things:
“In Japan, this culture is more influenced by Lolita-looking anime characters than the actual Lolita novel.”
It isn’t, anime characters are inspired off of Lolita fashion and it’s influences, the Victorian and Rocco Eras. Lolita started in the 70′s and is said to be not only influenced by J.Rock/Visual Kei bands of the time, but also brands and designers of that time as well, i.e. Pink House, who’s designs are not particularly Lolita (but can probably work into it), but very old-fashioned and natural.
“…similarity between them and Vladimir Nabokov’s precocious character is a girlish sense of style.”
This is wrong, I was actually pointing out the character differences. Lolita the character was a tomboy who was a active, normal growing girl. The image of Lolita the Japanese style is of an elegant girl from the Victorian and/or Rococo era. Something that screams elegance, gracefulness, the style itself concentrated on quality, and modesty of the designs.
“Elle and the Guardian both described collections from last month’s fashion week as very “Lolita,” and new It girl Katy Perry rocks ’50s-silhouette dresses, heart-shaped glasses, and mary jane heels every chance she gets – and she has gotten a lot of chances, from MTV’s red carpets to runway show front rows to magazine covers.”
Katy Perry does indeed rock her look as “Lolita”. Not the Japanese fashion style. As far as I remember reading there was a small “Lolita trend” back in the 80′s based on Nabokov lolita. The examples I saw from that source were inspired by 50′s fashion (the time of which Nabokov’s story took place) so yeah.