Elegant Gothic Lolita

[Lolita Izumi]

[COLOR=Blue][FONT=Arial]Hello loves. :love2: I am into the whole Gothic Lolita fashion in Japan....in fact it's the way i dress :catgirl: I am just looking for some other people that are into it as much as i am. :animesmil

Love, Kayako ^.~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Momiji Love]

[SIZE=1]I actually have never heard of it. :animeswea
Is there any way you can describe it or something? It sounds sorta interesting.[/SIZE]

[GTK]

[QUOTE=Momiji Love][SIZE=1]I actually have never heard of it. :animeswea
Is there any way you can describe it or something? It sounds sorta interesting.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

If you know anything about Japanese bands... like... Malice Mizer, Mana from that band is like the supreme example of EGL fashion XD (plus, it's not fair that he's so pretty T_T) here's a link with some random info~ There are photos too (even a photo of Mana-sama XD Squee)

[url]http://www.morbidoutlook.com/fashion/articles/2002_07_gothiclolita.html[/url]



I'm also into the EGL fashion (haha, in fact... I went to Japan just to buy clothes in Harajuku ^^; so sad. Now my closet is over stuffed with lace, leather, and tattered things)

Baby the Stars Shine Bright is a fave brand~ They have such pretty things T_T My goal in life is to own something BSSB~ I like shopping at this place in Harajuku called Nudy Boy ^_^ they have some pretty cool things there~ (more sort of punk-ish than elegant though... lots of ragged looking things. My brother buys things from there also~).

[Persona]

[COLOR=DarkRed][B]Information about this:[/B]

[I][SIZE=1]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 our Western Gothic ways. They do not listen to our music and they are not Gothic in the American and European sense. (Don?t worry there are Japanese Goths but they are just not a prominent mainstream subculture.) The Lolita?s music of choice, for the visuals and sometimes the sounds, is a version of Heavy Metal with gothic hints.[/SIZE][/I]


[B]Opinion:[/B]


[SIZE=1]I for one love the doll like look, always wanted to try that fashion out. But once again it is not my inner style of who I am. Like I said I love the EGL look, I just adore the females who wear them...they look so adorable :catgirl:. [/SIZE]

[I][B]P.S Lolita Izumi, lovely fashion choice and good taste upon this.[/B][/I][/COLOR]

[Epsilon]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=SlateGray][quote name='Lolita Izumi][COLOR=Blue][FONT=Arial] I am into the whole Gothic Lolita fashion in Japan....in fact it's the way i dress :catgirl: I am just looking for some other people that are into it as much as i am.[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]If you can seriously do that, I highly admire you. Gothic Lolitas' dresses look like they'll always be hot or uncomfortable.

For those of you who do not know what a Lolita is, regardless of the type, you can probably just type in various J-Rock bands. Which is how they fashion of 'Lolita' has larger impacted Japan's fashion market.

[QUOTE][i]Elegant Gothic Lolita - By Kyshah H.[/i]
[SIZE=1]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.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]I've designed and have made traditional Lolita dresses and sold them plus the designs at Anime Cons in the past. They seem to be a rather good way to make money and do not cost much to buy the fabric for. But the designs can become very confusing.


I personally do not like Gothic Lolitas. More often then not, their designs are either

1.) Over used / similar to another.
2.) Take longer too long to design and create.
3.) Unable to have very much motion.

I've noticed too many times that people who dress as Gothic Lolita [i]look[/i] are better when moving very little, or not at.

I really like normal Lolita, easier to design and a larger range to design in. Normal or traditional ones all more room to be creative since they aren't classified to specific traits. (Color, lace, design type, etc.) I've only worn Maid/Alice Lolita themes.

However, I do enjoy making Gothic Lolita dresses for my dolfie. XD[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[GTK]

[QUOTE=Epsilon][SIZE=1][COLOR=SlateGray]If you can seriously do that, I highly admire you. Gothic Lolitas' dresses look like they'll always be hot or uncomfortable.
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

It's really a lot more comfortable than it looks ^_^ Though, depending on the outfit, yes... sometimes it gets rather warm *laughs* but the same goes for a lot of other fashion that involves heavy fabrics and lots of black.

A parasol helps a lot on a sunny day ^_~


[QUOTE=Epsilon][SIZE=1][COLOR=SlateGray]
However, I do enjoy making Gothic Lolita dresses for my dolfie. XD[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Squee for Gothic Lolita dollfie~! A bit OT, but what sort of dollfie do you own?

[Lolita Izumi]

[quote name='Epsilon][SIZE=1][COLOR=SlateGray]If you can seriously do that, I highly admire you. Gothic Lolitas' dresses look like they'll always be hot or uncomfortable.[/COLOR'][/SIZE][/quote]

[COLOR=Blue][FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]It's actually not that bad. ^_^ The clothing sort of breathes.....considering that alot of them are made out of layers of lace. But personaly I think that they are the most comfortable clothes that I have ^.~

EDIT: Thank you everyone [IMG]http://chezdophy.com/Emoticons_Gifs_Smileys/Kaos/Amoureux/ka9.gif[/IMG][/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]I'm ecstatic that you made this thread. Two days ago I totally, completely and utterly fell in love with Gothic Lolita.

The best info on it that I've read is from my psuedo-bible, wikipedia. Check out this article: [url]http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_Lolita[/url] It even has Mana right on there in a picatoor. (I was browsing through some stuff when I discovered that Moi-meme-Moitie is so expensive. I almost died when I saw how expensive a simple knee length puffy skirt was. *_*)

How do you wear Gothic Lolita. Well, actually, that's a stupid way to word my question. Do most of you make your clothes or do you buy them/order them, and from where? I'll probably end up having to make my own but since I've never done anything Gothic Lolita, I'm sort of afraid to go to a fabric store and look for a pattern.

Personally, I love Gothic Lolita just because it draws off the Victorian clothes. I just find that they (victorian clothes) are just so unbelievably pretty. If there are ever a fashion statement that I wanted to make, I always wanted it to be with Victorian dress, becuase they're really pretty. But... where do you buy and wear crazy Victorian stuff, you know? That's why I really like Gothic Loli - it's not extreme victorian or anything, it's that & modern, too. ^_^[/color]

[Juke Box Hero]

[QUOTE=MistressRoxie][color=#9933ff]
How do you wear Gothic Lolita. Well, actually, that's a stupid way to word my question. Do most of you make your clothes or do you buy them/order them, and from where? I'll probably end up having to make my own but since I've never done anything Gothic Lolita, I'm sort of afraid to go to a fabric store and look for a pattern.

[/color][/QUOTE]

Try my pseudo-Bible- eBay

[r2vq]

A lot of girls in my school are near-obsessed with this fashion.

My best friend bought a couple Gothic-Lolita dresses while she was in Japan, and a couple others were designing a Gothic-Lolita style dress in Design class. Another group of girls painted a lot of J-Rockers in Gothic-Lolita dresses, but that might be just for the J-Rockers...

[quote name='Lolita Izumi']Hello loves. I am into the whole Gothic Lolita fashion in Japan....in fact it's the way i dress [/quote]

Wow, that's cool. I've never seen a person who dresses like that day to day, only at conventions and whatnot. Do you get a lot of stares? How often do people question you about your clothing? When they do, what do you tell them?

-ArV

[GTK]

[QUOTE=r2vq]

Wow, that's cool. I've never seen a person who dresses like that day to day, only at conventions and whatnot. Do you get a lot of stares? How often do people question you about your clothing? When they do, what do you tell them?

-ArV[/QUOTE]

I don't know about Lolita Izumi, but I often get asked if I'm in a play or some other sort of event ^^; people only look at me strange when I tell them I'm not and I dressed that way just because *laughs*

Questions come usually every time I go out ^^;;;




[QUOTE=MistressRoxie][color=#9933ff]
How do you wear Gothic Lolita. Well, actually, that's a stupid way to word my question. Do most of you make your clothes or do you buy them/order them, and from where? I'll probably end up having to make my own but since I've never done anything Gothic Lolita, I'm sort of afraid to go to a fabric store and look for a pattern.
[/color][/QUOTE]

I buy a lot of my clothes and mangle them.... "Normal" dresses can be bought and cut up and have lace added to them and so on. It's also easy enough to run out, buy a pattern, mangle it so it's the way you want it, and make your own things ^^

If you are scared of making complicated things like dresses and shirts, try small things like a mini top hat or something else that's really simple.

If I buy anything outright, it's usually from places online or was purchased in a store in Japan.

The Gothic and Lolita Bibles also have patterns of various kinds in the back of them (which range from stuffed toys and hats to shirts and dresses. All kinds of stuff!) Even if you don't use the patterns, the magazines are very nice ^_^

This site might help you ^_^ it has lots of links to Japanese brands that are popular and places to buy the clothes (both English and Japanese).

[url]http://www.avantgauche.co.uk/Links/index.html[/url]

Randomly, if you want to buy Japanese things, Crescent Shop is a service who will buy you things from japan (for a fee). They are really nice ^_^ I've purchased several things through them (I purchased my lovely La Croix Noire tate roll wig through them. Very nice~)

[url]http://www.crescent-shop.com/[/url]

There's a link. You just supply them with a link or image of what it is you want and they'll let you know if they can get it or not ^_^ Keep in mind though, popular name brands like Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Putumayo are usually pretty expensive ^^;

Some places do ship internationally (I think Metamorhpose Temps de Fille does, but I'm not sure?). When I was in Japan, the lady at Yellow House told me they would ship internationally as long as they were paid in Yen, but there doesn't seem to be much on their website ^^; (they sell lovely things though~ I have a suit from them).


There's also Hot Topic, if there's one near you. I don't particularly like to shop there (clothes are often over priced and poor quality and tend to fall apart after a month or so), but things can be purchased from them and mangled (lace or other things added). I, personally, wouldn't buy anything from them unless it was on sale though.


I hope that helps XD;

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]Thank you for the tips. I'm taking a sewing class at my school in the fall, so when I do, I'll probably be more proficient to make something on my own. ^_^ (unfortunately I can't afford to buy something from places like Baby, the stars shine bright, or putumayo. *_*)[/color]

[instantramen14]

[QUOTE=GTK]I don't know about Lolita Izumi, but I often get asked if I'm in a play or some other sort of event ^^; people only look at me strange when I tell them I'm not and I dressed that way just because *laughs*

Questions come usually every time I go out ^^;;;

There's also Hot Topic, if there's one near you. I don't particularly like to shop there (clothes are often over priced and poor quality and tend to fall apart after a month or so), but things can be purchased from them and mangled (lace or other things added). I, personally, wouldn't buy anything from them unless it was on sale though.


I hope that helps XD;[/QUOTE]

Hahaha. I have a really nice squaredancing petticoat I got at the swap meet. Sometimes I'll have "EGL Days" and go in my petticoat and a nice blouse and my parasol and my hair up in little ringlets. I have been asked "are you in a play?" so many times. Earlier in the year, the choral group did the musical "Scrooge" and I got asked if I was in it so many times. Tee hee.

I too, do not reccomend hot topic. I have never really bought anything besides band shirts and fishnets from there. (Even their band shirts arent very good. I had a nice bauhaus one with peter murphy[their lead singer] on it in a deep lovely red. I washed it once and it faded to an ugly wishy washey pinkish red colour!) All I've heard about hot topic though is that the clothing are very low quality.

I suggest digging around thrift stores and swap meets/flea markets and garage sales. I have gotten so many good things. I got adorable wingtip mary janes from the swap meet along with my petticoat. And then I have all sorts of cute little lacey floofy blouses and such.

Second hand is your friend!

So is making things from scratch. I have some nice bloomers that I made, I wear them all the time. (Right now, in fact!)

EGL is fun.

[Ninjah]

[size=1]I am highly in love with this fashion. Although, I cannot dress like it. My parents wouldn't accept it and hate me. o___o;

Oh how I long to wear EGL clothing. Roar! Yay for Mana![/size]

[GTK]

[QUOTE=Hatake][size=1]I am highly in love with this fashion. Although, I cannot dress like it. My parents wouldn't accept it and hate me. o___o;

Oh how I long to wear EGL clothing. Roar! Yay for Mana![/size][/QUOTE]

That's awfully sad T_T Perhaps you could introduce your parents to it slowly? (that's what I did with my mother ^^; first cosplay, and then EGL style... and then I just sort of stayed that way *laughs*)


And I'm randomly going to reccomend Ebay again~ *laughs*

Currently, there are a few nice things there~ (like [url=http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11553&item=5403887493&rd=1]this[/url] and [url=http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3061&item=5403463840&rd=1]this[/url]!)

There's also bidding service places that let you go through Yahoo Japan (which is sort of like ebay)

you have to pay a service fee ~_~ but some of the things aren't as expensive as they would be buying them else where.

(here's the EGL general search through the bidding service [url=http://www.rinkya.com/twview.pl?URL=http://search2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/search?sb=desc,cat&desc=(%a5%b4%a5%b9%a5%ed%a5%ea%a1%a1%a5%b4%a5%b7%a5%af%a1%a1%a5%ed%a5%ea%a5%bf%a1%a1gothic%a1%a1lolita%a1%cb&cat=23288&auccat=23288&acc=jp&f=0x12&alocale=0jp&mode=1]Rinkya[/url])

Just keep Japanese sizes in mind ^^; Most Japanese girls are all around the same size and height... so there are a like of one size fits all sort of things. (and, generally... if it's a size M in Japanese, it's prollly more like an American size S)

[Sara]

[color=#6699cc]I think it would be a lot of fun to dress like this--on occasion, heh. I've been toying with the idea of making myself an outfit (I doubt I would have the patience for two or more), just to wear every once in a while up at school. It's a big college; no one would bat an eye.

And it would make me laugh, so that's always good.[/color]

[Godelsensei]

More people should dress this way. Clothing is too simple these days. We need more lace!

I'm a big fan of this style. It's simply...elegant. And far from tasteless, like so many non-mainstream veins of fashion.
I'd love to dress this way, but I fear I would simply be a mockery of it. (Also, my mother is so conservative when it comes to clothing, she'd probably refuse to be seen with me. Tch. *rolls eyes*)

I actually like this style best when mixed with simpler, more worldly articles of clothing. For instance, a fancy dress, covered in bows, lace, and with a lot of bodice, accompanied by a jean jacket. It's somehow more interesting than right mundane or right Gothic.

Come winter, I hope to add some more elegant pieces of clothing to my wardrobe, since cold weather allows for layers without boiling. : )

[GTK]

[QUOTE=Godelsensei]
I actually like this style best when mixed with simpler, more worldly articles of clothing. For instance, a fancy dress, covered in bows, lace, and with a lot of bodice, accompanied by a jean jacket. It's somehow more interesting than right mundane or right Gothic.

Come winter, I hope to add some more elegant pieces of clothing to my wardrobe, since cold weather allows for layers without boiling. : )
[/QUOTE]

You see a lot of simular combinations (frilly things with jeans) in Fruits magazines like Kera. Mostly it's frilly skirts with jeans under, or a cute lacey shirt with jeans. (I often wear a cute t-shirt, an EGL style skirt, and jeans together ^^)

You should try and check out a magazine like Kera or something for more examples~ Fruits is pretty cute also ^^


EGL things can be worn in the summer also XD; It's not all about HUGE dresses with lots of layers... there are other types of clothing as well (without as many layers of lace).

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23911[/img]

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23907&stc=1[/img]

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23908&stc=1[/img]

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23909&stc=1[/img]

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23910&stc=1[/img]
(I own this one XD it's so fun~ and it's really comfy~ mine has black lace instead of white though)

There are also cute summer dresses that are more sweet lolita than gothic, but I can't find any images right now ^^;;

All examples are from [url=http://www.bodyline.jp/cgi-bin/category.php?cd=C1_2&pageno=4]Body Line[/url]

[Black Moon]

Oh ... I would simply love to wear Lolita-style clothing ... It's so beautiful .... but, alas, things like that cost money ... of which I have not. So I'm stuck owning three pairs of old jeans and a couple shirts. -__- But I love looking at the outfits ... just imagining them on me ... then I realise I'm not good-looking enough to wear stuff like that. >_< But it's okay to dream, ne?

[PiroMunkie]

Hahaha, oh, how I love cross-dressing. I never really new this style was a very prominant fashion, but I always enjoyed it whenever I would go back to looking at websites of random J-rock bands. I don't really care if there are guy styles, too, I would still dress like a woman. They usually have the more fun stuff, anyway. I doubt I would be the first either. I am sure there are plenty of men who would do, or do the same already. I know there were a lot of pictures I saw where I couldn't tell if the person was a man or woman.

I don't know if I will ever actually get around to maybe trying this style ever, but I really do admire it. It is just far too awesome.

[GTK]

[QUOTE=PiroMunkie]Hahaha, oh, how I love cross-dressing. I never really new this style was a very prominant fashion, but I always enjoyed it whenever I would go back to looking at websites of random J-rock bands. I don't really care if there are guy styles, too, I would still dress like a woman. They usually have the more fun stuff, anyway. I doubt I would be the first either. I am sure there are plenty of men who would do, or do the same already. I know there were a lot of pictures I saw where I couldn't tell if the person was a man or woman.

I don't know if I will ever actually get around to maybe trying this style ever, but I really do admire it. It is just far too awesome.[/QUOTE]

Mana is the best example of a guy dressing in this fashion...and he looks great XD

The "guy's" version of this fashion, I think is called Elegant Gothic Aristocrat. Mana designs some thinks like that ^^ If you check out his site, you can see them~ They are really nice, but very expensive T_T

[Aiko]

[COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Book Antiqua]Hi there. I'm into the whole japanese gothic lolita. I love dressing this way, even though no one here really gets it and they all think that I'm just a wierd freak for wearing what I do, but I don't care because I like it and so does my boyfriend. He's also into this whole kind of fashion as well and he always tells me how cute I look and everytime I always end up blushing. Don't know why, but I just do :D [/COLOR] [/FONT]

[Mihoruru]

yep...lolita sure is pretty...=D
i love all the lace and bows and stufz...i think its so adorable~<3
ai...they do sell lolita dresses around my area but they're handmade and therefore much too expensive for a student like me...T^T
btw, just asking a naive question here...recently i've been very into doll making... does lolita require staight bangs?? would it look wierd without it?? i kinda wigged my doll wrong and now there's like no way i can get her straight bangs...=o= are there any other hairstyles that can replace the usual straight-bangs-w/-curly-hair look??
Arigatou ^^+ hehe...xP

[The13thMan]

[COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]Ok... i think there will be a slight possibility that some people will be angry at me for saying this, but i think it's pretty weird. Don't get me wrong, i'm not bashing. And i respect you for having the "balls" to wear something like that when i'm quite sure anybody that does is aware of what most people will think of it outside of your circle. But yeah... weird. =D

I have a question though... let's assume that people are the way i think they are and most think that it is really odd that people would wear that sort of stuff in public. Why would you subject yourself to the awkward staring and whispers behind your back? Of course, i could be wrong here! Maybe people don't act that way where you are... but if you were where i live (let's just say in the south) then you probably would get a lot of weird looks. Once again, though, i'm not trying to bash or be disrespectful. I think this is a legit question.

I've actually been aware of the look for several years now, but have not known that it was called gothic lolita. It's an interesting look, i'll give you that. I've been a fan of Malice Mizer for a long time (since introduced to it way back in highschool). I think it'd be good for stage shows and appearances and... i dunno, halloween? But everyday? Eegad! Do you ever take breaks from it and wear "normal" clothes?

Anyways, more power to ya. Seriously though, this world needs a little more individuality and bravery as you show.

Ok, thanks, bye bye.
[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Korey]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]Gothic Lolita does look flattering on most women to me, and Misa from Death Note looks reeeaally great in GL clothes..:animenose

But as far as the style goes, it's probably not something you would wanna do if you were the tadest bit self conscious. Lots of weird looks and probably evil stares from people over the age of 50 would ensue. I have no problems with it, but lots of people seem to think Gotchic= Devil Worship. So, a word to the wise is, wear GL if you don't mind being noticed and or talked about in public under hushed breath. [/FONT]