Gothic Lolita, Gothic style and Punk - Part I

Today is Halloween. A very well known holiday

most widely celebrated by Americans. Once a year,

everyone gets the excuse to live out their fantasies

and dress up as someone or something else.

In some countries like Japan, it is Halloween every

day. If you've never heard of the fashion movement

called Gothic Lolita, the picture above sums it up very

well. Think Gothic and frilly/girly together. Visions of rococo,

Victorian and old French styles can further give you an idea of

what Gothic style is like. It doesn't seem like any of these fashion

types would fit together but trust the Japanese to invent new

movements in fashion. It's actually a fascinating subculture and

it is commonto see people every day in Tokyo walking around

in costumes.

One may wonder why the Japanese are so creative in fashion,

animation and design. My theory is that their culture is so centered

around society rather than self, that there are few outlets for stress

and individual expression. And Voila! You see their expression in

outlandish fashion, outrageously beautiful packaging/design

and animation/stories that few can dream of.

Some of the Gothic fashion is related to punk fashion as you

see to the left hand side. I particularly love the juxtaposition of

the men's wear on this super cute little girl to the right.

The left side is a very classic definition of Gothic Lolita.

Gothic fashion is broad and often subdivided into more niche

trends such as Gory or Grotesque Lolita, White Lolita, Punk

Lolita, Elegant Lolita and more. Conversely you have such

male subdivisions such as Elegant Gothic Aristocrat. Funny

enough, all of the above genres look exactly as they sound.

I, myself actually prefer the men's gothic style rather

than women's gothic lolita style. I wouldn't be caught

wearing a lacy black poofy dress. However, I wouldn't

mind wearing some of these get ups above. They rather

look a bit fantastical or like a video game character in a way.

Here's an example of Gothic Lolita make up. The model

above is probably a man. They do like to cross dress in

Japan although they are not necessarily interested in the

same sex. It's simply the culture there - they view

androgynous looks as beauty. In the USA, a boy who is

beautiful would probably be termed a "pretty boy" and

it would not necessarily be a positive thing as it would

in Japan.

I once got it into my head that I wanted to streak my hair

blue like the model above. Of course I gave up when I

found out you first have to bleach black hair before you can

dye it what color you want. A bit inconvenient... I also don't

know how my hair would take it. I recently chopped my hair

and permed it. My hair is so straight that I had to have my

hair permed twice in a row for the perm to actually take.

Unbelievable!

Some Gothic Lolita fashions for a wedding ceremony.

When it comes to design in Japan, there are many companies

that specialize in niche styles. You can find almost any kind

of style or label there. The above is an advertisement for a

Gothic Lolita label.

This style is called "Dandy Gothic Style."

You can see on the left boy that he is wearing something like

a cravat. This is obviously inspired by eras past in England. I

quite covet the jacket on the left. I have a strange fascination

for skulls. I have a tendency to dress one of 4 ways...Casual,

Business, Very Girly, or what I call Bad Ass. Weird I know.

I think the jacket above appeals to my "Cool or Bad Ass"

sense of style.

The whole Gothic Lolita movement in Japan was started

and inspired but a genre called Visual Rock Bands in Japan.

Think alternative rock music but dolled up like this band

called "Versaille" above. If you can't tell, most of them are
men.

So you know how I said every day is Halloween in Japan?

Here's an example above of a teenager dressed up on a

weekend.

One may ask what one does dressed

this way. Having a picnic is a great idea.

Or you can have a lot of attention and get

your picture taken by strangers.

This is Carmen Yuen dressed in Gothic Lolita fashiong at

the famed San Diego Comic-con. If you're interested in

knowing more about Gothic Lolita, you must visit

Carmen Yuen's blog aka La Carmina. Her blog follows

all things Gothic Lolita and has a following of over 1 million

hits a month! It's astounding. She even has 2 book deals now

including one that will focus on themed restaurants in Tokyo.

What will you be doing this Halloween and

what will you or your children dress up as?

All photos from Carmen Yuen's La Carmina.