"Gothic and Lolita" a Pictorial of Japanese Subculture

Corsets, frilly pink dresses, face paint, tinted contact lenses, and skeletal designs all make up the popular Japanese fashion subculture known as Gothic and Sweet Lolita. Having originated in the 1990's when rock bands started to dress up in this style, the fashions quickly made their way into concert goers as well as Japanese youth who liked dressing up in a much different way than the classic kimono and geta. Indeed, the Sweet Lolita models look like they jumped off the page of a Charles Dickens or Lewis Carroll novel. Meant to emulate Victorian England, the Sweet Lolita look has become popular with girls in their late teens and early 20's, wearing frilly dresses in pink, pale blue, yellow, with lots of lace. Accessories are bountiful, too: Alice in Wonderland jewelry, lacy parasols, heart-shaped handbags, and hats complete many of the outfits modeled in this book. Most of the models pictured in this coffee table style book are in their twenties. Many of the fashions come from popular stores like Angelic Pretty, Chocochip Cookie, Atelier Pierrot, Metamorphose, and Jane Marple. Some of the models wear handmade clothes, which shows their natural talent with a needle and piece of fabric. Combined with store bought accessories, the Japanese lady inclined towards the Sweet Lolita look is ready to go out for a night on the town. It is not uncommon for people into the Gothic and Sweet Lolita look to spend weekend nights clubbing in Tokyo or Kyoto.

The Gothic look which utilizes lots of black with red and occasionally purple accents is not difficult to emulate here in the United States, either. In the western world the Gothic look has been made popular with the likes of designers Jean-Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood. Some of the Gothic models are even wearing tinted red contact lenses to emphasize the "vampire look" which would probably go over big with fans of the "Twilight" books by Stephanie Meyer. You might run into teens wearing Gothic clothes in SoHo or other big cities but the Sweet Lolita look is something that can be found pretty much anywhere due to the light, bright colors used in the garments.

There are a few 2-page spreads of models in their bedrooms striking a pose wearing Gothic or Sweet Lolita clothes. My favorite is of the model named A.K.I sitting on her bead wearing a handmade top, with the wall behind her adorned in all kinds of collectibles, complete with a string of skull lights at the top of the bulletin board. The most striking Sweet Lolita dress is worn by Yurika, which was purchased at a thrift store and is metallic purple and magenta in color, with black fishnet stockings and a pink purse. Neither frilly nor Gothic, this is the kind of dress I could feel comfortable in.

Excellent blend of both Gothic and Sweet Lolita throughout the book from which one can cultivate the style easily here in the United States and even adapt existing dresses and accessories to get the proper fashion look. The Gothic look is perfect for any Halloween party, and the Sweet Lolita is perfect for children, teens, and 20 year-olds. This book is a perfect reference for anyone who wants to start dressing Gothic or Sweet Lolita.

"Gothic & Lolita", by Masayuki Yoshinaga and Katsuhiko Ishikawa. London: Phaidon Press Ltd, 2007.

272 pages.