Jrock Revolution

Hello everyone! It’s been a little while since I’ve posted here. As the title suggests, I will be giving a breakdown of the basic gothic and lolita styles along with picture examples, since that is one of the areas you guys wanted explained.

Before I start, I would like to point out that I didn’t specify the gothic and punk styles as they are not Japan-centric and there is no significant difference between what the Japanese wear and what the rest of the world wears, save for the Japanese gothic style being more romantic and reminiscent of classical Europe.

Now let’s go!


Gothic Lolita—
This is the second most commonly known and misunderstood style, as it is what most people who are unfamiliar with the fashion use as a blanket term for the whole lolita fashion. The lolita style has technically been around since the 1970s, but gothic lolita itself wasn’t defined until around the mid-late 1990s. Gothic lolita is, at its most basic, a black and white outfit with the emphasis being on the contrast. As well, there are often gothic motifs that go with the ensemble such as crosses and coffins. You can, however, dress in all white, black, grey, or pretty much any darker color as long as it has what is known as the ‘classic gothic lolita’ look, meaning very simple and maintaining the dark and light contrast. It is called “classic” because when the lolita fashion boom started, gothic lolita was the most commonly worn style and it was very uncomplicated; there weren’t layers upon layers of frills or large head bows or detailed prints. BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT, which is now known mostly as a sweet lolita brand, actually originally made almost all gothic lolita style clothes! Today, however, there aren’t any well known brand names that exclusively make gothic lolita dress, so if you think this is your best fit, you should keep a general eye on all lolita brands.

Shot gun wedding	Pina sweetcollection

CHOCOCHIP COOKIE

Gothic Aristocrat—
Thought the gothic and lolita fashion was only for girls? Aside from the gothic, gothic punk, and ouji/dandy styles, this is probably the most commonly worn style by guys. As the name suggests, they take the aristocrat style, meaning shirts with often frilled cuffs and cravats and fancy vests and jackets, and put a gothic twist to it, like making bat shaped collars or long swallow tails with hanging threads. Typical accessories are top hats and canes. But the aristocrat look isn’t only for men. Women have the option of having a more elegant and mature look as opposed to the younger and cuter lolita style. Women’s aristocrat clothing usually has long skirts and jackets. This style might be more comfortable for guys and older ladies.

ATELIER BOZ	BLACK PEACE NOW

HAKUEI modeling alice auaa

Ouji and Dandy—
Ouji, which means prince in Japanese, and dandy can be easily confused. These styles aren’t very commonly worn like they used to be so it’s difficult to find brands that make clothes for them. Ouji is basically the gothic aristocrat style without so much gothic. Dandy is like the younger version of ouji to give a more boyish look with knickerbockers and ‘cuter’ looking shoes and such. MUKURO seems to be the only brand that has a men’s line that caters to these styles but other brands sometimes come out with ouji and dandy style clothes as well. Ouji and dandy can be worn by both sexes, but dandy is more often worn by girls.

KANON modeling MUKURO	EXCENTRIQUE

Elegant Gothic Lolita/Aristocrat—
By far, elegant gothic lolita is the most misunderstood style. Elegant gothic lolita and elegant gothic aristocrat were coined by Mana, previously from the band MALICE MIZER and currently of his solo project Moi dix Mois, when he started his fashion line Moi-même-Moitié in 1999. Since Mana is a big figure in the jrock scene, many people are under the misconception that all lolita is elegant gothic lolita. Even many in the lolita community call all lolita EGL (elegant gothic lolita). EGL and EGA solely refers to Moi-même-Moitié. Moi-même-Moitié can be considered a subset of gothic lolita but what makes it different is what makes the style elegant. The gothic motifs are much stronger and more apparent in Moi-même-Moitié but are created with a flair of beauty. There are coffin rings with the Moi-même-Moitié logo, intricately designed cross chokers, cathedral print dresses, etc. While the lolita side has the antique doll look, the aristocrat side is more masculine with elegant waistcoats and capes. There are also aristocrat style clothes for women, which gives a more mature lady look with the simpler blouses and long skirts with a touches of lace and ribbons. If you vie to be elegant, beautiful, mysterious, and are one of the “fallen angels who flourish in the depths of darkness,” this is the brand for you.

Mana in the EGL style	Mana in the men's EGA style

Mana in the women's EGA style

Sweet Lolita—
This style was already covered in the post about Angelic Pretty so I’ll just go over the basics again. Sweet lolita is comprised of light colors and cute themes. Pink, light blue, yellow, mint green…pastel colors are your friend. Not to mention cute concepts like fruits and candies and fairy tales. The big sweet lolita names are Angelic Pretty and BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT, but other brands like MAM and metamorphose temps de fille have very cute items as well. Sweet lolita has been really popular the past couple years and still steals the feature pages of the Gothic & Lolita Bible today, so if you want to follow the current trends or just really want to look cute, sweet lolita is the way to go.

BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT	MAM

metamorphose temps de fille

Classic Lolita—
Classic lolita has never really been especially popular until recently, and the interest has been slowly growing so I think it might replace sweet loli as the next ‘in’ style. Classic lolita takes the basic style of lolita and makes it look a bit more Victorian and simple with simpler designs and duller colors like rose, burgundy, and chocolate brown, as well as floral prints. The big names for classic lolita are Victorian maiden, Innocent World, and Mary Magdalene. If you want to look cute and elegant without going over the top, try classic lolita.

Victorian maiden	Innocent World

Mary Magdalene

Hime Lolita—
Hime is the Japanese word for princess, so hime lolita is princess lolita. Hime loli, like many of the other lolita styles, is not brand specific and just aims to look like a princess. Often brands come out with a princess style dress that looks like a gown a European princess would wear (except with a much shorter skirt) and lolita like to set it off with a tiara, gloves, and a wand or scepter. If you’re a princess at heart, you’ll feel at home with hime lolita.

Juliette et Justine	Mille Fleurs

Princess Doll

Wa Lolita/Qi Lolita—
Wa lolita and qi lolita are not very common but they do exist. Wa lolita is the style that encompasses lolita with traditional Japan, ‘wa’ meaning the traditional Japanese part (“wa” means peace in Japanese which is the symbol and tradition of Japan). You have the kimono/yukata top with the obi (belt) and a matching lolita skirt with high knee or over knee socks, and instead of the traditional geta (wooden sandals), you have lolita type shoes like platform Mary Janes. Qi lolita is the same idea except it mixes lolita with the traditional Chinese style. The traditional garb for Chinese women is called the qi pao and qi lolita has the basic elements of the qi pao which are the high collars, the patterns, and the intricate clasps. Qutie Frash has a lot of Chinese inspired clothing so you can find loli style stuff there, and sometimes brands that don't usually make wa loli come out with an outfit, but there are no brands that only make wa or qi loli, so in cases like this you could get creative and make your own.

Qutie Frash	despair

A+LIDEL

Pirate Lolita—
Pirate loli is a rather recent addition to the list of lolita styles as it was made popular by the creation of BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT’s sister line ALICE and the PIRATES. Mixing the unique pirate style with the cute lolita style, what more could a loli Johnny Depp fan ask for? In pirate lolita you can find boots, asymmetrical skirts, jackets, and of course pirate hats. ALICE and the PIRATES is the premier brand for this style.

ALICE and the PIRATES	ALICE and the PIRATES

ALICE and the PIRATES

White Lolita/Black Lolita—
As the name suggests, white lolita is when you wear all white and black lolita is when you wear all black. You may hear it called shiro (white) or kuro (black) loli. And it has to be strictly all white or black, literally from head to toe. You could essentially be any color lolita, but white and black loli are the most common. Girls often like to dress up with their friends and match! And since white and black lolita are not really brand or style specific, you could easily mix and match any brands.

Angelic Pretty	VISIBLE

Punk Lolita—
This is a very popular style as it incorporates both punk and lolita, two of the more popular subculture fashion trends. Plaid skirts, heavy boots, silver accessories, and a cute blouse and skirt are typical of a punk lolita outfit. The two brands most known for their punk loli designs are PUTUMAYO and MA. If you like both lolita and punk styles and can’t decide which to wear, mix them together!

PUTUMAYO	MA

PEACE NOW

Guro Lolita—
Guro is short for ‘gurotesuku,’ which is the Japanese pronunciation of the word grotesque. Grotesque lolita is where you, obviously, mix the cute with the generally grotesque. And I must note that there is a difference between gross and grotesque, for there is a sort of beauty in the morbidity of the grotesque. Guro lolita are typically seen wearing mostly if not all white with blood on them as if they were beaten and injured. Common accessories are eye patches, arm slings, and bandages to give the overall sort of ‘broken doll’ look. There are no brands that specifically make guro loli clothes as it has always been something the loli makes at home. So if you want to make a guro loli outfit, make sure it’s something you don’t mind losing to the permanent blood stains.

Self made outfit with KERA and PUTUMAYO accessories	KANA in a self made outfit

art by MITSUKAZU MIHARA

Gothic Punk—
This style never gets old no matter how much time passes. As the name suggests, it mixes the gothic style with the punk style, with more emphasis one either depending on the brand. Predominantly black, gothic themes like crosses and roses, punk signatures like tears, chains, and splotches, etc. World renowned h.NAOTO is the head honcho for this style, so if you want to bring out the goth punk within you, try one of many h. lines or another awesome brand.

H.jelly and h.NAOTO Blood	STIGMATA

HIDE ROCK Design

Phew! （死） I hope that helps many of you! If you are confused about anything, felt I left something out, or just have general comments, questions, or suggestions, please let me know!

Krystal

CHOCOCHIP COOKIE image from CHOCOCHIP COOKIE website
MITSUKAZU MIHARA art from her art book Alice Chuudoku and all other images from various volumes of the Gothic & Lolita Bible scanned by Krystal