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'Round the World #3: Lolita

My mid-year exams are finally over! I'm not sure what I feel about how I did but that's not what I'm here for. I originally planned to add another entry into formal dresses but that will have to wait as I'm still thinking about how I'm going to make my dress. Instead, I'll be adding another entry into alternate fashion.


Lolita has to be one of the most well-known styles. When I say "Harajuku", this style will be one of many styles that pop into people's minds. It's probably one of the older styles too as it goes back to the 70s/80s. Of course, there are many different styles of Lolita - just like how there is in Goth. 


If you are unfamiliar about Lolita, please don't relate it to the book by Vladimir Nabokov. It has nothing to do with it. Lolita fashion is about modesty (usually...) and not about dressing up like girls to attract pedophiles. Lolita fashion is based on Rococo and Victorian fashion, so it isn't really unique but you don't often see people wearing it when you're walking down the street.

I also feel like I know more about Lolita fashion than any other Japanese styles as I'm a constant viewer and admirer of lolita fashion, but I don't wear it (I wouldn't mind though but it is quite expensive).  Lolita is basically all about the bell-shaped skirt (petticoats!) and elegance. 

The most colourful has to be Sweet Lolita. It's all about pastel colours (pink!), teddy bears, rabbits, sweets (ie. macarons), strawberries, big poofy curly wigs (if you want to be OTT) and just child-like. I find this style very adorable but I could never see myself wearing it. Angelic Pretty and Baby The Stars Shine Bright are just some labels that sell Sweet Lolita clothing.  






Angelic Pretty (both images above)






Baby The Stars Shine Bright or BTSSB(Yeah... the last picture was from Australia's Next Top Model 2010)

 A more reserved form of Lolita would be the Classic Lolita.  BTSSB offers some Classic Lolita garments. Other labels like Innocent World, Victorian Maiden and Mary Magdalene also offer this style. It's is more neutral and patterns tend to be floral. Definitely more mature than Sweet Lolita.




Lolita can also be a bit more darker in the form of Gothic Lolita. On the top of my head, I don't really have any brands in mind that offer this style but looking into it, there's Millefleurs, Moi-même-Moitié. Millefleurs also branches into Classic Lolita but basically any black lolita dress can be used in Gothic Lolita, despite the brand. There is also Alice and the Pirates, which is a part of BTSSB, and they offer a more pirate style but it can also be used in Gothic Lolita (I'm quite fond of their dresses and that pirate-ish look). 


 Only the first one is definitely Gothic Lolita but the others could work.
For Gothic Lolita, dark colours and white only. You'll never see pink in Gothic Lolita. Also, it is more Lolita than it is Gothic so you won't see white theatrical makeup. It's all neutral. Gothic Lolita can have bats, or anything Gothic (like silhouettes of chandeliers and Gothic-style gates) but you can also see solid colour. It still has the frills and lace just like the rest of the styles.

There are more styles of lolita than what I've listed so far ie. punk, casual, aristocrat. The three I've written about are perhaps the more popular styles and the ones that I know most about. If you're interested and wish to find more information, you can look it up. There are many internet communities with people interested in Lolita fashion and the lifestyle is comes with.

So, this concludes the third entry of 'Round the World. (Sorry, I had to rush it.)

Photo/Picture Credits: here, here, Kera (magazine), other various sources (ie. Google images). None of these pictures are mine.

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