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Lolita fashion refers to a fashion subculture in Japan that is primarily influenced by Victorian clothing, as well as costumes from the Rococo period, with gothic and other design elements added to make a unique fashion. 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. The movement likely started in the late 1970s, became better recognized in the 1990s as Visual Kei bands such as Malice Mizer came into popularity wearing intricate costumes that fans adopted, and spread from its origins in the Kansai region to Tokyo and throughout Japanese youth culture; today it can be found in department stores in Japan and is worn all around the world.
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According to Wikipedia the term �Lolita� refers to a fashion subculture 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. In the 1990s, Lolita fashion became better recognized with bands like Malice Mizer 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 in department stores in Japan. Today, many young people wear the fashion all around the world.
"Lolitas" present themselves as Victorian children or porcelain dolls and prefer to look "cute" or "beautiful" rather than "sexy." Lolitas agree that the term does not necessarily have anything to do with sex. The irony of the name could be considered in that the fashion was created to fight the growing exposure of the body and skin in today's society; specifically in regards to young women. Lolita fashion can be considered a movement where girls, ranging from their pre-teens to late 20s, fight the current fashion with modesty. The style allows a girl to feel young, cute, beautiful, or off-limits, depending on which type of Lolita a girl chooses to be. There are several types, which include Gothic Lolita, Classic Lolita, Punk Lolita, and Sweet Lolita.
If your friends ask you, "how did you learn so much about Lolita fashion", please let them know that you learned on Apparel Search.
Written for Apparel Search by Regina Cooper June 2010.
You may also want to read about Gothic Fashion.
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The history on this page runs through music. Visual Kei — visual type — bands wore intricate costumes on stage, fans began adopting the style as their own, and a regional look from Kansai became a Tokyo-wide and then international youth culture. Growth to department-store availability in Japan marks the point where a subculture becomes a market: the garments, headdresses and petticoats that fans once had to make or hunt for could be bought as a coordinated look. The Victorian fashion and goth fashion pages linked on this page cover the two strongest influences on the style.
The page stresses a point outsiders often miss: the name's irony. Lolita fashion was created in part to fight the growing exposure of body and skin in the fashion of its day, and wearers — ranging from pre-teens to late 20s — choose among its types to feel young, cute, beautiful or off-limits. Coverage, layers and a doll-like silhouette are the aesthetic, which places the subculture closer to costume and historical dress than to mainstream trend fashion. Luxury retailers and houses are linked on this page because the look's devotion to detail and quality overlaps with high-end fashion shopping, and the celebrity fashion page covers the style's public faces.
A fashion subculture in Japan primarily influenced by Victorian clothing and Rococo period costumes, with gothic and other design elements added. Wearers present themselves as Victorian children or porcelain dolls and prefer to look cute or beautiful rather than sexy.
Primarily a knee length skirt or dress, a headdress, a blouse, a petticoat, knee high socks or stockings, and rocking horse shoes or high heel/platform shoes. The silhouette depends on the petticoat for its bell shape.
Gothic Lolita, Classic Lolita, Punk Lolita and Sweet Lolita are the types named on this page. The style is also considered a movement for modesty — a reaction against the growing exposure of the body and skin in contemporary fashion.
Lolita fashion shares its bows, lace and Mary Janes with the looser, more everyday coquette aesthetic — our coquette guide explains where the two styles meet and where they part.