Style x Brand Focus: Angelic Pretty

Written by Krystal

Monday, 21 April 2008 00:00

So, from many of the comments I’ve received so far, it seems that pictures and descriptions of the different styles of Japanese fashion are in popular demand. Well that’s what you’ll get! In this post I will be talking about the very popular, especially recently, and personal favorite, sweet lolita brand Angelic Pretty.

Illustration by Imai Kira

What is sweet lolita? I’m sure most of you have a basic idea of what the lolita style looks like (frilly dress, high socks, platform shoes, etc). Sweet lolita is a subgenre, so to speak, of lolita. In the past couple years sweet lolita (aka amaloli*) has become really popular among the lolita in Japan as well as the lolita overseas, particularly here in the U.S.. The distinctions of sweet lolita from the other lolita styles are lighter colors like pink, light blue, mint green, and white, lighter and more natural make up, and an overall cuter appearance. Popular schemes and themes for sweet lolita involve, well, sweets, like candy and cakes and parfaits. Angelic Pretty is a signature brand for these kinds of themed lines! Just the other day a new series came out of the Angelic Pretty woodworks:

The Fruit Parfait series!

Isn’t it cute?? I rather like the black and pink version of this one piece!

And don’t forget the matching bag!

They also put up the Rose Princess Doll series!

What I wouldn’t give to have this series in my closet! I can’t wait to see the other colors!

But Angelic Pretty wasn’t always the lolita big name it is today. Angelic Pretty creator Honda Youko had to work hard and compete with the ever fast paced fashion trends of Tokyo, namely Harajuku where she first started her, back then much simpler, lolita creations. Angelic Pretty went originally by the name of Pretty and was only available in select stores, more specifically in a shop in the La Foret shopping center in Harajuku. She began Pretty in 1979 with the aim to create cute Western style** clothes which a lot of young girls seemed to yearn for at the time. As time went on, Pretty developed a big following of customers and since the latter half of 1990 they began inquiring if there was an actual Pretty store, suggesting that one be created. A meeting with all the staff happened and plans began for an original brand store. 2001 came and Angelic Pretty was born in La Foret in Harajuku and has been booming ever since with seven shops in Nagoya, Osaka, Utsunomiya, Sendai, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Kanazawa, and the head shop in Tokyo as well as select items in CUTIE and KERA!SHOPs in Shizuoka, Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Tokyo, and Kobe. Yours truly has visited the Tokyo shop a few times. ★

So pink!

Angelic Pretty likes to hold events like tea parties and fashion shows and are starting to bring them overseas as well! Last July, designers maki and asuka visited Japan Expo in Paris and held a fashion show! And in November at Pacific Media Expo in Los Angeles, maki and asuka were invited to hold a brunch as well as run an Angelic Pretty boutique during the run of the convention! It really looked like an actual Angelic Pretty store! I was there and was not surprised at all by the gargantuan line on the day of the boutique opening. Over half the stock was sold out on that first day! I also was able to spend some one on one time with maki and asuka and they are definitely sweet girls. I even bumped into them at their store in Harajuku on a certain recent trip to Japan. It was nice to see them again. ♥

Matching in black and pink maki and asuka at an Angelic Pretty x Gothic & Lolita Bible collaboration tea party event!

“Angelic Pretty provides adorable clothing covered in lace, frills, and ribbons like that of the fairytale princess you dreamed about as a little girl. We want girls to never lose sight of that dream – and this is a brand for girls who want to keep that dream alive.” (Angelic Pretty OHP)

Itching to get your hands on some Angelic Pretty now? Well you’re in luck! Just last month they opened up an English website and now sell internationally! Check it out here!
Angelic Pretty Official English Site
Hurry and don’t miss the cute items before they sell out!

*amaloli is a shortened version of amai lolita, amai meaning ‘sweet’ in Japanese
** Western style as opposed to traditional Japanese style clothing.
All images copyright of Angelic Pretty

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