Lolita culture

In Japan it is mass-marketed and has wide visibility particularly in the streets of Tokyo and Osaka, on television, in manga (see Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa for an example of gothloli inspired manga) and computer games. Outside of Japan it is still a fringe fashion although it has slowly begun to spread to other countries. Gothic Lolita, along with cosplay and other Japanese cultural phenomena, can sometimes be seen at concerts and anime conventions throughout Europe and the United States. The style has not yet been mass marketed outside of Japan. However, there are plenty of dedicated fans filling the gap. Gothic Lolita magazines are widely available for purchase on the Internet and at Japanese bookstores, which also deal in anime and manga. Adherents often sew their own homemade lolita outfits, sometimes offering them for sale to make up for the difficulty of acquiring them from Japan. Many adherents also purchase lolita outfits, accessories and dolls online through Baby, The Stars Shine Bright or through Ebay.

Gothic & Lolita Bible

One magazine in particular, the seasonally published Gothic & Lolita Bible, has played an instrumental role in promoting and standardizing the style. The 100+ page magazine includes fashion tips, photos, sewing patterns, catalog descriptions, decorating ideas, and recipes. This magazine is scheduled to be released in an English language version in February 2008

Classic Lolita

A Classical Lolita and an Aristocrat. Note the man's contact lenses.Classical Lolita (Classic Lolita) is a more mature style of Lolita that focuses on Baroque and Rocaille styles. This look can be seen as the more sophisticated, mature Lolita style because of its use of small, intricate patterns, as well more muted colors on the fabric and in the overall design. The colors in the classic Lolita style are lighter than those in the gothic Lolita, but are not as light as those used in sweet Lolita . Empire waist dresses are also used to add to the more mature look of the classic Lolita. Shoes and accessories are less whimsical and more functional. Jewelry with intricate designs is also common. The makeup used in classic Lolita is often a more muted version of the sweet Lolita makeup, with an emphasis placed on natural coloring. This Lolita style uses slimmer dress silhouettes than its counterparts to add to the mature style. An example of the classical Lolita brands are Juliette et Justine, Innocent World, Victorian Maiden and Mary Magdalene.

Punk Lolita

Punk Lolita (or Lolita Punk) adds punk fashion elements to Lolita fashion. Motifs that are usually found in punk clothing, such as tattered fabric, safety pins and chains, screen-printed fabrics, plaids, and short, androgynous hairstyles are incorporated into the Lolita look. The most popular garments are blouses or cutsews and skirts, although dresses and jumper skirts are also worn. Common footwear includes boots, Mary Janes or oxfords with platforms. Common Punk Lolita brands are A+Lidel, Putumayo, h. NAOTO and Na+H. Many of the Japanese punk Lolita fashion brands take influence from London's famous Camden Town Markets. Vivienne Westwood, who, though not a Lolita designer, has items and collections that reflect Lolita sensibilities, especially in her Japanese collections, is popular in the punk Lolita scene.

Other Lolita

Because of the do it yourself nature of Lolita fashion, many other subtypes have come out of the basic Lolita frame. These styles are often not as well known as the ones mentioned above, but they do showcase the creative nature of the Lolita fashion, and illustrate how people make the fashion their own.

Wa/Qi Lolita

An example of Waloli.Wa Lolita (or Waloli) combines traditional Japanese clothing styles with the Lolita fashion. Wa Lolita usually consists of a floral patterned yukata, kimono, or undivided-hakama modified to fit with common Lolita garments. The bottom half of the garment is altered to accommodate a petticoat, or the yukata is used as a top to accompany a plain Lolita skirt. The shoes and accessories used in this style are typical of tradional Japanese garb including kanzashi flowers, and geta, zori, or Okobo. These shoes are often used in place of the normal Lolita platform and high-heeled shoes.

Qi Lolita is a similar style but uses Chinese clothing and accessories in place of Japanese. Usually this includes qipao and cheongsam-dresses modified to accommodate a petticoat. Accessories include platform-slippers for footwear and bun-covers as hair accessories.[citation needed]

Ouji/kodona/dandy (male Lolita fashions)

Ouji (王子　or Oujisama　王子様), meaning "prince," is a Japanese fashion that is considered the male version of Lolita fashion. This style takes its influence from the clothing boys in the Victorian era wore.

Ouji is inspired by what was worn by Victorian boys, but can be worn by either gender and includes masculine blouses and shirts, knickerbockers and other styles of short trousers, knee high socks, top hats, and newsboy caps. The colors usually used are black, white, blue and burgundy, though there are feminine versions of the fashion with a broader palette. Make-up, when worn with the fashion, is usually light and minimal, though sometimes when women wear it, more make-up is used than what they would wear with Lolita. Ryūtarō from Plastic Tree and Yukke from Mucc are two of the most popular wearers of the oujisama style.

The term kodona (from "kodomo otona", literally "child-adult") was coined by Plastic Tree's vocalist Ryūtarō Arimura as he described his dress sense and is often used as the Western name for the fashion.

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