There are many writers that attempt to explain the phenomenon that is Lolita fashion. As a four year admirer of Lolita and another year of actually wearing the fashion, I find explanations of Lolita fairly patronising. There are outsiders that objectively look at Lolita fashion if only for a day and then attempt to explain it in a few short paragraphs. The truth is, Lolita cannot be explained in such a way. The phenomenon is a mystery even to those who follow the fashion, where it came from, no one really knows, it may be just a crazy idea concocted in Baby, the stars shine bright designer Akanori Isobe’s head. Whatever the reason, however, the fact is that Lolita is now a part of the world’s alternative fashion scene. Like Goth, Punk or even Emo it is a fashion that oozes individuality away from the mainstream.
The history of the fashion dates back to the 1970’s in which a small shop showcasing dresses resembling those worn in Victorian Britain and in the Rococo era in France opened in Tokyo, Japan. The fashions popularity however, truly emerged when one of the most influential of Japanese Visual Kei bands Malice Mizer appeared onstage with guitarist Mana adorned in a Lolita dress. Because of the influence the band had at the time, Malice Mizer fans began adopting this style of dress and soon the style began to spill over into other visual Kei bands and into the general Japanese public. Though many credit Mana to have founded the style, he only popularised it.
Because of this lolita’s can be split into two very definitive groups. Those who discovered the fashion through Visual Kei music and those who deem themselves ‘lifestyle Lolita’s’ who adopt what is now deemed in the Lolita community as Lolita activities, not exclusively Lolita, but close to the activities participated in within Victorian times by the wealthy, for example, drinking tea and holding tea parties, sewing and crafts and other related things.
I digress, the basics of Lolita must be known, a petticoat is almost always a key aspect of the fashion, bell shaped skirts (sometimes A-line) at a modest length (on the knee or lower), lace (although bad quality lace will often receive negative comments from the Lolita community), frills (but not too many) and a blouse or ‘cut sew’ (a top that is cut and sewn in a specific way, as the name suggests) are all elements to create the ‘perfect’ Lolita outfit. However elements can be interchanged between the different Lolita styles of which there are many, Gothic, Sweet, Punk, Country, Classic, Kuro, Pirate, Shiro, Guro, Wa and Qi are all subgenres of the fashion, each with their own key elements, but all with the same basic structure. It is therefore difficult for one not to find a style they can either a) identify with or b) at least find aesthetically pleasing. Most lolitas however, will dress in more than one style conversely; there are other styles that a Lolita may hesitate to wear.
With so many styles one can understand why Lolita as an umbrella term is difficult to define. For the term to be confused with the Russian novel of the same name is a big no-no, the style has nothing to do with the book, the name is just merely a coincidence. The lolita style will always be a mystery to those on the outside unless one seeks to truly understand it, however for those who seek to try, just to talk to any lolita is a great start.
