lolita

over the weekend i discovered & proceeded to research a world of fashion unbeknownst to me until some (i'll be frank) random facebook stalking provoked my curiosity. intrigued by the weird combination of victorian & childish costumes prevalent in these pictures, i went to google &, using clues from the captions, discovered lolita, a fashion subculture that originated in japan in the 80's. @ first i was under the impression that it had developed as a materialized form of fan-fiction for a manga character. i appear to have been wrong. while many a manga does depict japanese super-girls in the lolita image, the fashion culture is more than fan-fiction. the style has become its own movement & has managed to permeate the western hemisphere, almost detached from manga.
even though the most common definition of the word "lolita" is a seductive adolescent girl (think reverse pedophilia), the fashion movement is almost entirely antonymous. from what i have gathered, lolita is most simply described as a fashion subculture influenced by the victorian/edwardian & french rococo movements of art/clothing in history. part of the harajuku social scene in the 1980's, lolita has developed a vast following for teenage girls & women in their early twenties. lolita has recognizable sub-genres, the most popular of which include gothic, sweet, classic, & punk, not to mention more specific styles like waloli (incorporating japanese traditional styles), oji (boystyle & more gender-neutral), & guro lolita (incorporating fake blood/injuries).
sweet:
followers & analysts explain that lolitas dress like aristocratic children from the early 1800's to rebel against the modern societal tenet that women's clothing should be sexy & flatter/reveal the body to make the woman more attractive. regardless of the sub-genre, a typical lolita outfit from top to bottom consists of a large bow or headpiece, a ruffley blouse worn under a jumper-type dress or with a full skirt, an apron, bloomers or a petticoat, knee-high socks, & platform mary-jane shoes.

needless to say, the ensemble is 100% chaste, save for the skirt/dress, which rarely falls below the knee. many a pervy mind might think this is supposed to appeal to pervy middle-aged men who love little girls. lolitas' reply: WRONG WRONG WRONG. refusing to conform to the societal norm that is revealing clothing & escaping to a "fantasy world" where things like princesses, garden tea parties, & parasols are staples, not tomfoolery, are two major principles that characterize the lolita culture.
supposedly it also makes a statement against the gender roles prescribed by japanese culture, but i think that might not apply to every frill-loving lolita out there. there are some lolitas that completely immerse themselves in the movement, but others that just use the movement - which consists of the clothing (never referred to as costume) and social gatherings (usually tea parties) - as an escape from their daily lives. this is where the appeal to the western world lies.
part of me loves the idea of entire stores devoted to the re-creation and marketing of victorian clothing, because i am a history nerd. but part of me really can't quite decide what to make of the whole thing. i checked out the website for baby, the stars shine bright, a lolita pillar from the 80's that has recently adapted its website into english & opened stores in america & paris. the clothing is weird & adorable, but extraordinarily pricey. the life of a lolita is one of extreme expense. because every element must be historically accurate & match perfectly - coordination is inextricably bound to lolita fashion - outfits cannot mix & match. a cheap lolita ensemble might go for $300.
in conclusion, i may secretly want to order myself a few blouses & bows from places like angelic pretty or innocent world, but for now i think i'll continue to keep my historical dressing frequent but subdued. except on days i must present something in euro. then this is totally appropriate.