Lolita is the new pink.

June 19, 2006 11:49 AM

The appeal of Gothic Lolita fashion continues to grow and evolve. Originally seen in Japan, it has spread worldwide and into the toy shops. Potentially NSFW
posted by bigmusic (68 comments total)

Previously mentioned.
posted by bigmusic at 11:49 AM on June 19, 2006

That's a lot of pigeon-footed posing.
posted by OmieWise at 11:54 AM on June 19, 2006

see also: Gwen Stefani.
posted by Artw at 11:57 AM on June 19, 2006

Gwen Stefani is more "Clown Lolita"
posted by agregoli at 11:58 AM on June 19, 2006

It must be incredibly difficult for women to grow up in this modern world.

A little girl syndrome, perpetuated by a million middle aged men, pixel tanned and balding.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 12:00 PM on June 19, 2006

Life imitates Art, Art imitates Manga, Manga gets imitated by Life.
posted by homodigitalis at 12:02 PM on June 19, 2006

Gwen Stefani is more "Clown Lolita"

It's Harajuku, named after the kids who hang around Harajuku station and Yoyogi park.
posted by SweetJesus at 12:02 PM on June 19, 2006

I'm not sure I would call Gaiman's Death of the Endless a Gothic Lolita figure. She's certainly Goth in dress, but she wears jeans and strappy shirts and top hats, generally, not high boots and flared little-girl dresses. She *certainly* doesn't have the accompanying attitude that gets associated with Lolita-Goth.

That being said, thanks, I happen to like bits and pieces of the Gothic Lolita look, and these links have given me a lot of new stuff to drool over and contemplate spending money on.
posted by WidgetAlley at 12:05 PM on June 19, 2006

Well done, SweetJesus. Well done.
posted by boo_radley at 12:05 PM on June 19, 2006

Well, at least its not middle aged men dressed up in costumes that make them look like girl anime characters with those huge eyes and vacant expressions.
posted by fenriq at 12:07 PM on June 19, 2006

One of the strip clubs here in downtown Denver had one of their dancers handing out free passes on the 16th Street Mall today. I described her to a coworker as "Goth Raggedy Ann", I guess Goth Lolita Ann would have been more applicable.
posted by m@ at 12:10 PM on June 19, 2006

Lolita is the new pink.

Your double entendre here is ecstasy in print.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 12:16 PM on June 19, 2006

It would be more helpful if one could purchase these same outfits in pre-packaged ensembles at Target at a cost that makes it feasible for 4-6 year-old girls. They are the ones that really need a parent's help when it comes to teaching them a specific fashion paradigm.
posted by docpops at 12:16 PM on June 19, 2006

That's the creepiest thing I've ever read.
posted by stenseng at 12:20 PM on June 19, 2006

Lolita is the new pink.
Your double entendre here is ecstasy in print.

That's a pun worthy of H.H. himself!
posted by sonofsamiam at 12:21 PM on June 19, 2006

What about that Japanaese microstyle of "wounded nurses" or something? I was sure that was going to be the one to take off.
posted by rks404 at 12:26 PM on June 19, 2006

So that's what they're calling French maid outfits now. I can hear the stampede as thousands of strippers get their business cards redone.
posted by L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg at 12:32 PM on June 19, 2006

Nah, French maid is still French maid (the last toy linked is not goth loli, just plain 'ole maid).
posted by Bugbread at 12:37 PM on June 19, 2006

Fenriq—"at least its not middle aged men dressed up in costumes that make them look like girl anime characters"

You sure about that?

Interesting thing about lolita fashion (and I'd argue that most of the link in the OPP are not) is that the best-known popularizer of it, Mana, is a transvestite.
posted by adamrice at 12:38 PM on June 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

err, links, not link.
posted by adamrice at 12:40 PM on June 19, 2006

You sure about that?

Wow. Awesome. Middle-aged Japanese man dressed as Strawberry Shortcake. It's like madlibs come to life.
posted by GuyZero at 12:43 PM on June 19, 2006

Lolita is the new pink.

Your double entendre here is ecstasy in print.

EW! I hadn't gotten that and now I am mad that I do.
posted by ackeber at 12:50 PM on June 19, 2006

Go-Go http://imdb.com/name/nm0475752/
from kill bill wore it best. IMHO. Sorry for the copy and paste link.
posted by winks007 at 1:10 PM on June 19, 2006

Come to Disneyland on Bats Day, you'll see a ton of this.
posted by zoogleplex at 1:14 PM on June 19, 2006

Is anyone interested in launching a brand that specializes in clothing that looks like it's a tentacle monster raping the wearing person (preferrably either a pre-pubescent girl or a middle-aged-fat-hairy-guy that wants to look like one)?

What about make up that looks like bruises, shit stains, or both at the same time?
posted by qvantamon at 1:16 PM on June 19, 2006

qvantamon:
What about make up that looks like bruises, shit stains, or both at the same time?

I think Urban Decay started out along those lines, with colours like "oil slick", etc, but seems to have turned into just around range of traditional cosmetics.
posted by -harlequin- at 1:51 PM on June 19, 2006

around = another
posted by -harlequin- at 1:51 PM on June 19, 2006

Yeah, OmieWise, they're all wearing platform shoes to make their legs look longer, which is getting more and more common because something about our (global) culture has pushed the age of puberty for girls well down into the years of rapid growth; and since legs grow faster than the torso before puberty, and at more equal rates after, we are producing a generation of long-waisted, short-legged girls who are going to be unhappy with their bodies no matter how skinny they get.
posted by jamjam at 1:57 PM on June 19, 2006

Neat. Sweet. Petite.

Wednesday.
posted by Smedleyman at 2:19 PM on June 19, 2006

adamrice, ooh yeah, that "dude" has problems or maybe the rest of us do. I don't know but I'm not able to access the train of thought that ends up with getting dressed up like a little girl when you're a middle aged chubby guy. And then going out in public like that. I just don't get it. Or maybe he's never gotten "it" and that's why his sexual compass is spinning in circles at high speed.

Either way, that's pretty fucked up right there.
posted by fenriq at 2:27 PM on June 19, 2006

I think I'm turning Japanese.
posted by loquacious at 2:44 PM on June 19, 2006

You really think so?
posted by dragstroke at 3:20 PM on June 19, 2006

Its alllll over in Helsinki. That's just one, but the whole of the site is filled; I see Gothic Lolitas pretty much daily, anyway. Who needs to be in Japan?
posted by taursir at 3:35 PM on June 19, 2006

:x ... Although that chick in the link wasn't so lolita, there are others easily found on that site.
posted by taursir at 3:38 PM on June 19, 2006

ah those wacky japanese! keep 'em coming
posted by dydecker at 3:43 PM on June 19, 2006

Short girls wear platform shoes and funny costumes to attract attention/fit in with other insecure short girls = front page news?
posted by Cranberry at 4:10 PM on June 19, 2006

This is soooo old. I've seen pics of my mom clubbing in this gear, but with pointy laceups instead of frankenbooties, from the late 70's early 80's.
posted by zarah at 4:41 PM on June 19, 2006

To all the haterade drinkers - at least these girls are doing something creative and interesting with their look.

I would easily trade 10 of the ex-sorority-girl designer-brand fashionistas I see trapsing around soho with their big-ass bug-eyed sunglasses and purses that would pay a year's tuition for one girl who actually has some creativity and style.
posted by Afroblanco at 4:50 PM on June 19, 2006

Funny, I saw a few girls dressed like this in Tokyo, but I assumed it was just cosplay.
posted by clevershark at 5:29 PM on June 19, 2006

Big J-Lo sunglasses are possibly the worst fashion statement since the tiny dogs idiocy. But if the girl wearing them has "dead" eyes like Paris Hilton then its fine if they cover them up, zombies creep me out.
posted by fenriq at 5:29 PM on June 19, 2006

"This is soooo old. I've seen pics of my mom clubbing in this gear, but with pointy laceups instead of frankenbooties, from the late 70's early 80's."

That's it. Somebody inform the Japanese that they're not as cool as zarah's mom and she did it first. I mean, with pointy laceups instead of frankenbooties. And all the other stuff that's different. Soooo long ago in the 70s and 80s.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 6:19 PM on June 19, 2006

Oh big deal. Who wants to find pic/links/references to the Madonna-wannabes of the mid 1980s (which most Mefites won't remember because y'all were still in diapers)? "NSFW" my arse, compared to the average Baltimore jailbait in '86 these chickies are TAME. Even their makeup is modest. Sorry, but these "Gothic Lolitas" don't rate a drool, not even a leer.

"On preview, 'Yes to what Zarah said.'"
posted by davy at 6:43 PM on June 19, 2006

Afroblanco, "creative and interesting"? They look stamped out from a mold, like mass-produced dolls with slightly different "details". As in "Look, this one's got PINK flowery fishnets!" C'mon now, do raise your standards a smidgen.
posted by davy at 6:55 PM on June 19, 2006

"which most Mefites won't remember because y'all were still in diapers"

I dunno, I'm 41. I'd bet the average mefite age is about 32. Which would put most out of diapers. Zarah, on the other hand, is still under 20 and destined to be perpetually that age, I think.

Secondly, even if the outfits could have then been fairly described as "gothic lolita" (something I doubt), there's the little problem that what sarah is describing is club fashion, not street fashion of this sort which is very Japanese and very (increasingly) influential wordwide.

But I really could not care less about this topic. I just thought that zarah's lame teen-girl snark deserved ridicule. I mean, fuck, t r a c y swore-off metafilter, why the hell can't zarah follow suit? At least her stopmom (occasionally) added something to the conversation.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 7:01 PM on June 19, 2006

davy : It's pretty obvious (to me, anyway) that a lot of these girls put a lot of thought into how they dress. Although they may all go for the same "genre," it's not that strange to see one doing something different and interesting. Many of them are not afraid to take risks with their look, which, to me, is attractive.

Furthermore, in comparison to the aforementioned soho fashionista fembots whom I see day in and day out (there's a high-fashion modeling agency in my building) these girls are the essence of originality.

This whole thread is pretty amusing, though. Nothing like a bunch of (mostly) guys sitting around and discussing womens' fashion on the internet.
posted by Afroblanco at 7:27 PM on June 19, 2006

I didn't think the FPP was that interesting, but the comments? Crazygood. An example of how one shouldn't pick their fights.

Me, I'm still sore about fat chicks in thongs.
posted by bardic at 7:37 PM on June 19, 2006

It's Harajuku, named after the kids who hang around Harajuku station and Yoyogi park.

Yes, of course! Who doesn't know about "the kids who hang around Harajuku station"?
posted by Alexandros at 7:42 PM on June 19, 2006

there's the little problem that what sarah is describing is club fashion, not street fashion

Street fashion and club fashion are rarely mutually exclusive. I have no idea what the really mainstream clubs for older folks are like, but the underground and after hours clubs are where the street fashions are shown off by the kids who've created them. It was like this way back in the jurassic when you & and my mom were kids, and it's like that today.

Tracy's not my stepmother btw, just so you know for the next time your apparently bruised ego needs to pitch a fit 8)
posted by zarah at 8:14 PM on June 19, 2006

So Bligh, is what bothers you that Zarah's under 20 or that she's not under 20 under you? Show some dignity, fellow codger. Oh and while you're at it, do admit that her "lame teen-girl snark" just happens to be rather apt and to the point. (And I'm slightly miffed she beat me to it.)

And bardic, "fat chicks in thongs"? Have you moved here to Louisville?
posted by davy at 8:25 PM on June 19, 2006

Vitamin D deficiency rickets caused by improper lifestyle in Japanese children.
posted by cenoxo at 10:35 PM on June 19, 2006

The best part about the Texas Lolita meetspot link is that according to their terms of service all members have to be 18+
posted by Spacelegoman at 10:59 PM on June 19, 2006

Pedophilia wasn't brought here by aliens.
posted by HTuttle at 12:03 AM on June 20, 2006

zarah writes "the underground and after hours clubs are where the street fashions are shown off by the kids who've created them. It was like this way back in the jurassic when you & and my mom were kids, and it's like that today. "

I haven't found that to be the case in Japan. Raver stuff and BDSM stuff, sure, is shown off at clubs, but when it comes to visual-kei, gothloli, etc. stuff, the square off to the left of Harajuku station is where those fashions are shown off. Sure, the clothes are also worn to clubs, but they're equally worn to the convenience store in front of Harajuku station, and I don't think you'd therefore argue that convenience stores are where street fashions are shown off by the people who create them.

Rephrased: at least in Japan, the street is where street fashions are shown off. The club is where club fashions are shown off.
posted by Bugbread at 1:23 AM on June 20, 2006

Indeed. It's one thing to wear strange outfits to a club, and quite another to actually wear them as regular clothes.
posted by clevershark at 6:27 AM on June 20, 2006

But clevershark, that was my point: in Baltimore in 1986 the 14 year old "Madonna Wannabes" wore their "risque" fashions in the street, e.g. to convenience stores, bus stops and malls, given that they were too young for clubs. Indeed, many night spots with liquor licenses started requiring women to be "properly attired" around then, i.e. NOT dressed like strippers and hookers.

Like I said: "Gothic Lolitas" might be shocking where sharia applies, but that doesn't mean they're not relatively tame elsewhere. For one thing, where are their belly buttons and butt cracks?
posted by davy at 7:45 AM on June 20, 2006

in Baltimore in 1986 the 14 year old "Madonna Wannabes"

Don't forget the metal chicks, dude.

I certainly can't. :) Kix at Hammerjacks, I'm buyin'!
posted by zoogleplex at 9:45 AM on June 20, 2006

Ah, yes, and the sight of a belly button is so shocking these days. Why, just the other day I stopped dead in my tracks - on the other side of the street was a girl with very low-riding pants... and a small tight tank top that left part of her midriff bare!

I wouldn't call the Gothic Lolita style "shocking," but it does stand out against the backdrop of today's fashion. [And yeah, part of that might be the lack of bare midriffs and pants that expose buttcracks, along with the ornate and almost formal aspects of the style.] It's also more interesting to look at, in my opinion.
posted by ubersturm at 10:17 AM on June 20, 2006

Yes, of course! Who doesn't know about "the kids who hang around Harajuku station"?

Apparently you, Mr. Sarcasm.
posted by SweetJesus at 10:28 AM on June 20, 2006

Apparently you, Mr. Sarcasm.

Actually, I do know, but I've noticed your posts seem to have no other purpose than to try to make yourself seem cool or knowledgable. Like name-dropping neighborhoods in cities most people have never visited -- without actually naming the cities -- or insisting that hip hop and baile funk are the same thing.
posted by Alexandros at 1:56 PM on June 20, 2006

Actually, I do know, but I've noticed your posts seem to have no other purpose than to try to make yourself seem cool or knowledgeable. Like name-dropping neighborhoods in cities most people have never visited -- without actually naming the cities -- or insisting that hip hop and baile funk are the same thing.

Wow, ok... I've been to Japan a few times (Mostly Yokosuka, but even Yoyogi park when I was in Tokyo), minored in the language in college and I happened to know the specific term for what agreoli was talking about. So I told him, and does that makes me super cool (I won't disagree with you).

Anything else, e-mail is in the profile.
posted by SweetJesus at 2:16 PM on June 20, 2006

Alexandros : "I've noticed your posts seem to have no other purpose than to try to make yourself seem cool or knowledgable. Like name-dropping neighborhoods in cities most people have never visited -- without actually naming the cities"

I'm a l'il confused. SweetJesus' comment "It's Harajuku, named after the neighborhood" is apparently in reference to the American name for the way kids in Harajuku dress. I don't think he's name-dropping the area, he's providing the American name for a certain style of clothes, and a brief etymology. I found it interesting and informative (it's always weird to me when certain Japanese words get appropriated to mean similar but different things in English - such as "hentai").
posted by Bugbread at 2:32 PM on June 20, 2006

Hey, I know a Japanese word too: "seppuku"! What do I win? Maybe a date with a 37 year old balding tranny "Lolita"?
posted by davy at 7:07 PM on June 20, 2006

who are these middle age balding trannies everyone keeps talking about and why are there no links being posted. I want photographic proof!

I like the look personally (and love Mana - but that is beside the point) The strange thing to me is - how do these kids afford these outfits! I am daunted by the price of some of the blouses let alone an entire outfit. Are they that much cheaper if bought in Japan or are more of these outfits home-made then I think?

If they are home made - then I am even more impressed.
posted by Julnyes at 7:45 PM on June 20, 2006

Vitamin D deficiency rickets caused by improper lifestyle in Japanese children.

I was wondering why so many of the girls in the gallery are bowlegged. Malnutrition seems like an unlikely explanation (although that's the main reason for the prevalence of rickets in Japan, according to the article) because Japan is obviously a very wealthy nation with an educated populace, but then again many kids in the US have terrible diets and poor nutrition. Perhaps the genetic bottleneck in Japan is partially to blame.
posted by Devils Slide at 7:58 PM on June 20, 2006

1. It's not bowleggedness, it's a pose meant to look childish and cute. You see Western kids dressed lolita posing the same way for pictures.

2. A lot of the stuff is homemade, a lot is store-bought, and it's expensive. I have no idea where the kids get the money.

3. I posted a link upthread to one middle-aged man dressed lolita. I subscribe to the "Harajuku" tag on Flickr in my feedreader, and there are two or three crossdressing lolitas that crop up very regularly.

4. With some exception, the whole point of lolita fashion is resolutely non-erotic (which is not to say that nobody fetishizes or eroticizes it).
posted by adamrice at 9:51 PM on June 20, 2006

Question: How many potential-pervert lists did I get stuck on for clicking on one of those links?

Comment: Nabokov is fucking doing the mashed fucking potato in his grave.
posted by Football Bat at 10:39 PM on June 20, 2006

Julnyes : "Are they that much cheaper if bought in Japan or are more of these outfits home-made then I think?

If they are home made - then I am even more impressed."

As adamrice said: there's a lot of homemade stuff, and a lot of storebought stuff, and the storebought stuff is crazy expensive.
posted by Bugbread at 6:14 AM on June 21, 2006

adamrice: I posted a link upthread to one middle-aged man dressed lolita. I subscribe to the "Harajuku" tag on Flickr in my feedreader, and there are two or three crossdressing lolitas that crop up very regularly.


oh I missed the link before - I have this odd feeling of being grossed out and at the same time finding that little old man oddly endearing.
posted by Julnyes at 7:14 AM on June 21, 2006