An elegant Gothic Lolita, EGL or Gothic Lolita for short, is a Japanese teen or young adult who dresses in amazingly elaborate Gothic looking babydoll costumes. On the weekends these women walk the streets of Tokyo and Osaka and fill Yoyogi Park and Harajuku neighborhood where they pose for tourist’s pictures and sit around looking pretty. They are beautiful, glamorous, doll-like manifestations of their favorite Visual Rock stars.
In recent years, Japan has bred a youth culture with a passion for costume and dressing up. This is referred to as Cosplay or Costume Play and it has already made its way all across the world. (Most people Cosplay Anime characters.) Perhaps harkening back to the historic days of Kabuki, Japanese youth want to continue the tradition of escape through dress and style. The Gothic Lolita look is an amazing contrast of innocence and sexuality. The child-like physical look of young Japanese women contributes to this alluring illusion. As we all know, the Japanese have some of the most interesting fetishes and sexual habits of any culture on Earth. Female youth have long been exciting to older Japanese males and the innocence of looking like a child may appeal to these women because of the powerful sexual allure but also because it presents a way for them to escape growing up at least for the moments they are dressed in the Gothic Lolita style. The attention these women get must validate them in some way; it must make them feel special. Or it could just be that they dress this way to be closer to their idols.
The uniqueness of a subculture like this is quickly eaten up by the Japanese mass-market mind. Many stores and magazines like the Gothic & Lolita Bible (Issues 1 through 4 can be purchased at Fujisan.com, just click on “English” at the top center) cater to the women who want to dress in the Gothic Lolita style. A person can look at an EGL in Yoyogi Park and walk across the street to one of the many mall stores and purchase that look from head to toe. This is of course a curious and magnificent aspect of all mass marketed subcultures. Even though some costumes are partially or all homemade, the Gothic Lolita style is quite rigidly followed. All of the photographs I viewed for this article represent these women in the same style elements. Here is a basic
rundown of the look:
rundown of the look:
Mini to knee length frilly poofy skirts, most likely with a crinoline that does not show under it.
Ruffled elegant Victorianesque blouses.
Mostly black blouses sometimes with white Peter Pan collars, cuffs and sleeves. White lace can be at the bottom of the capped sleeves and at the collar. Both plain or embellished blouses.
Babydoll dresses, sometimes below the knee but mostly mini to knee length.
Colors for these separates are mostly black or white or a combination of both. Sometimes red, pastel pink, and pastel blue. The later two colors worn only with white.
The French Maid look or Alice in Wonderland look of a white apron over a black babydoll dress was an original Gothic Lolita look. It is not seen as much now.
These dresses and skirts are worn with knee-high or thigh high stockings. Some times white with little bows and ruffles at the top or in black fishnet with holes and without. Mostly black opaque stocking material.
[Source : http://www.morbidoutlook.com]
Tags : Fashion, Street Style, Harajuku Style, Visual Kei, Gothic Lolita, Decora & Kewaii, Ganguro & Kogal, Cosplay, Harajuku Indonesia.
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