Gothic Lolita

Gothic Lolita is a fashion by japanese teenagers to manifest their favourite Visual Rock stars. The clothing style tends to imitate the looks of Victorian porcelain dolls. It has been described as French Maid meets Alice in Wonderland style.  Japanese culture places a higher value upon extremely youthful appearance and cuteness is very popular among Japanese teenagers. However in Gothic Lolitas, it can be described more as creepy cute. During weekends women dressed up as Gothic Lolitas pose for tourist’s pictures. It is also another way to gain attraction from the public.

In Japan it is mass-marketed and has wide visibility particularly in the streets of Tokyo and Osaka, on television as well as on manga. The fashion was influenced and popularise by Visual Rock bands such as X Japan. These are bands that wears elaborate costumes during their performance.

Lolita fashion (Rorīta fasshon?) is a fashion subculture originating in Japan that is primarily influenced by Victorian clothing as well as costumes from the Rococo period. Lolita has made this into a unique fashion by adding gothic and original design elements to the look. From this, Lolita fashion has evolved into several different sub styles and has created a devoted subculture in Japan. The Lolita look consists primarily of a knee length skirt or dress, headdress, blouse, petticoat, knee high socks or stockings and rocking horse or high heel/platform shoes.

Although the origin of Lolita fashion is unclear, it is likely the movement started in the late 1970s when famous labels including Pink House, Milk and Angelic Pretty began selling clothes that would be considered “Lolita” by today’s standards. Shortly after that came Baby, The Stars Shine Bright, and Metamorphose temps de fille. In the 1990s, Lolita fashion became better recognized, with bands like Malice Mizer and other Visual Kei (or visual type) bands coming into popularity. These bands wore intricate costumes, which fans began adopting as their own style. The style soon spread from its origins in the Kansai region, and ultimately reached Tokyo where it became popularized throughout Japanese youth culture. Today, Lolita fashion has grown so much in popularity that it can be found even in department stores in Japan. Today many young people wear the fashion all around the world.