| Elegant Gothic Lolita Kyshah Hell 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. This subculture's physical look began around the fall of 1999 as a sort of French Maid meets Alice in Wonderland style and has expanded gradually to encompass many nuances in a Victorian Gothic look. Make no mistake, these women want nothing to do with the Western Gothic ways. They do not listen to our music and they are not Gothic in the American and European sense. (there are Japanese Goths but they are just not a prominent mainsteam subculture.) The Lolita's music of choice, for the visuals and sometimes the sound, is a version of Heavy Metal with gothic hints. Visual Kei, or Visual Rock, is a form of Japanese pop rock music where the musicians dress in elaborate costumes. Anything from a twinge of glam to full blown female impersonation can be called Visual Rock. These artists feel they must dress up to act out their music. X-Japan seems to be the band that started it all. Visual Rock is a blanket term that encompasses J-Rock or J-Pop. J-Rock is not usually the music Gothic Lolitas listen to. J-Rock is very influenced by the American Heavy Metal Glam bands like Motley Crue. Gothic Lolitas want to emulate the Visual Bands that dress the most femenine. There are male fans of all forms of V-Rock but men do not usually participate in the Gothic Lolita culture. Male fans are uninterested in looking femenine and it is the women who want to look like their idols. Dir en grey and MALICE MIZER are the most popular and authentic of the bands the Gothic Lolitas follow. MALICE MIZER's (pronounced Marisu Miseru) guitar player, Mana, is commonly given credit for starting the Gothic Lolita look. Sometimes he wears a kind of modern Victorian mourning style with large elaborate dresses, big hair, and dark makeup. The amount of time, energy and money all of these people put into their appearance is truly amazing and inspiring at the same time. 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 its 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 1-4 can be purchased here) cater to women who want to dress in the Gothic Lolita style. A person can look at a Gothic Lolita 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. A basic rundown of the look can be found here. The women who dress in the Gothic Lolita style do so only on the weekends and for "Lives" or concerts. This is a form of escape for them; a way for them to look like their idols and attract attention. Trying to look young and elegant all at once is a purely Japanese phenomenon. Possibly this Lolita look holds the same allure for them as does the "Romantic Goth," Victorian or Renaissance style in the west. That allure or a more cordial and better dressed time in history. Or perhaps these young Japanese women are just following a trend to be part of the conformity of a bigger crowd. Either way, this style is a welcomed look in the American Gothic scene. |