Fashion 101: Elegant Gothic Lolita
September 29, 2004 | 12:00am
I’ve been a fashion lover since I was 11, and when you’ve been into fashion as long as I have you sometimes think you’ve seen everything and nothing can shock you anymore.
I don’t remember which trip to Japan it was but for sure it was before 2000 when I did see something that surprised me.
I was in Harajuku on a Saturday, on the street level of the Laforet mall when I saw these two doll-like creatures holding teddy bears. And I thought, OMG, they’re so cute. I want that look!
I had never seen anything like it. Then I noticed there were more of them in that place, always in twos. Like two girls in matching doll outfits.
Then I found a store called Jane Marple which had some of the tamer stuff. Bonnets and prairie clothes, frilly blouses and little top hats with long bows to tie under your neck.
There was a very cute, chubby Japanese salesperson in a floral country outfit. I wanted her dress. In my meager Nihongo, I told her I wanted to try on the same thing.
When I put it on, all 99 lbs. of me, I looked pathetic. Like a third-world malnourished doll. Pass! I tell you there are some looks that look better on chubbier women.
The look is called EGL or Elegant Gothic Lolita. It has nothing to do with devil-worshiping goths or Nabokov’s book or Kubrick’s film which I didn’t understand when I saw it at the age of 14 (and guess what, I still don’t get the ending, though I’ve seen it a few times).
There are several kinds of EGL. One is the sweet/country Lolita where the color scheme is pastel and girls carry cute things like teddy bears and baskets. Straw hats and bonnets are worn and skirts are usually longer, below the knee. Think Little Bo Peep or Nellie Olsen of Little House on the Prairie.
Another is the aristocratic or black Lolita, where they try to look like Victorian dolls. Think Claudia, the Kirsten Dunst character in Interview With The Vampire.
Take note: though Kirsten Dunst looked good in it as an eleven-year-old blonde, the EGL look does not look good on older Caucasians. This is just my opinion – and my Dutch husband’s. I’ve seen trying-really-hard white chicks on the Net doing EGL and they just look awful.
Like most fashion trends, there is good EGL and bad EGL.
My husband adds, it does not look good on tall people.
I imagine it would not look good on a dark person either. I therefore conclude, it is only for Asians. Kill me now. Even so, I’ve seen really odd-looking Japanese EGLs (read: baduy).
No wonder many Japanese look down on EGLs.
Says the Asian Wall Street Journal: "Many in Japan have little tolerance for the look. (EGLs) talk about being called ‘stupid’ by strangers, getting mean looks, and having chewing gum stuck to their dresses."
Many EGLs are in their 20s and have day jobs. Some are nurses, some are store clerks, etc. They wear costumes only on weekends and for concerts, and they band together. Like they want the attention, but don’t have the guts to do it alone.
"Dressing up like this and having people stare at them makes them feel their existence is worth something," said Yo Yohata, a clinical psychologist interviewed by the Asian Wall Street Journal.
Some say they do it because they think it’s cute, but many admit it’s a form of escape.
The look is not for everybody. It is easy to look tacky in it, primarily because you don’t have to be stylish or clever to get the look – you just need some money. You could decide in one minute, I want to be EGL, and simply buy the whole outfit in Harajuku or online, meaning, the hat, the dress, the knickers, the tights, the bag, and the accessories.
Bangs or fringes are a must, so most EGLs will wear a wig which can be super straight or curly like Nellie Olsen.
Now do the math: You will need at the very least $200 to get the whole look, so it’s not exactly cheap.
When my husband and I went to Japan for our honeymoon during the winter of 2000, I made sure I got the outfit, in fact I got two. I didn’t know the difference, so I settled for the industrial Lolita look from Mari’s Rock on Takeshita-dori.
The industrial Lolita is sort of punk-related, so the color scheme is black-white-red, with frilly dress and white petticoat. I even got the pink floral bonnet and Karen O. gloves which my friend has stolen.
I now realize I’m not the industrial type at all. I prefer the black or country Lolita. Not that it matters now. I’m a bit old for EGL and I never got to wear the outfits: I got pregnant two months after the shopping trip and though I’m back to my pre-preg weight, my body’s not quite the same.
Any takers?
I don’t remember which trip to Japan it was but for sure it was before 2000 when I did see something that surprised me.
I was in Harajuku on a Saturday, on the street level of the Laforet mall when I saw these two doll-like creatures holding teddy bears. And I thought, OMG, they’re so cute. I want that look!
I had never seen anything like it. Then I noticed there were more of them in that place, always in twos. Like two girls in matching doll outfits.
Then I found a store called Jane Marple which had some of the tamer stuff. Bonnets and prairie clothes, frilly blouses and little top hats with long bows to tie under your neck.
There was a very cute, chubby Japanese salesperson in a floral country outfit. I wanted her dress. In my meager Nihongo, I told her I wanted to try on the same thing.
When I put it on, all 99 lbs. of me, I looked pathetic. Like a third-world malnourished doll. Pass! I tell you there are some looks that look better on chubbier women.
The look is called EGL or Elegant Gothic Lolita. It has nothing to do with devil-worshiping goths or Nabokov’s book or Kubrick’s film which I didn’t understand when I saw it at the age of 14 (and guess what, I still don’t get the ending, though I’ve seen it a few times).
There are several kinds of EGL. One is the sweet/country Lolita where the color scheme is pastel and girls carry cute things like teddy bears and baskets. Straw hats and bonnets are worn and skirts are usually longer, below the knee. Think Little Bo Peep or Nellie Olsen of Little House on the Prairie.
Another is the aristocratic or black Lolita, where they try to look like Victorian dolls. Think Claudia, the Kirsten Dunst character in Interview With The Vampire.
Take note: though Kirsten Dunst looked good in it as an eleven-year-old blonde, the EGL look does not look good on older Caucasians. This is just my opinion – and my Dutch husband’s. I’ve seen trying-really-hard white chicks on the Net doing EGL and they just look awful.
Like most fashion trends, there is good EGL and bad EGL.
My husband adds, it does not look good on tall people.
I imagine it would not look good on a dark person either. I therefore conclude, it is only for Asians. Kill me now. Even so, I’ve seen really odd-looking Japanese EGLs (read: baduy).
No wonder many Japanese look down on EGLs.
Says the Asian Wall Street Journal: "Many in Japan have little tolerance for the look. (EGLs) talk about being called ‘stupid’ by strangers, getting mean looks, and having chewing gum stuck to their dresses."
Many EGLs are in their 20s and have day jobs. Some are nurses, some are store clerks, etc. They wear costumes only on weekends and for concerts, and they band together. Like they want the attention, but don’t have the guts to do it alone.
"Dressing up like this and having people stare at them makes them feel their existence is worth something," said Yo Yohata, a clinical psychologist interviewed by the Asian Wall Street Journal.
Some say they do it because they think it’s cute, but many admit it’s a form of escape.
The look is not for everybody. It is easy to look tacky in it, primarily because you don’t have to be stylish or clever to get the look – you just need some money. You could decide in one minute, I want to be EGL, and simply buy the whole outfit in Harajuku or online, meaning, the hat, the dress, the knickers, the tights, the bag, and the accessories.
Bangs or fringes are a must, so most EGLs will wear a wig which can be super straight or curly like Nellie Olsen.
Now do the math: You will need at the very least $200 to get the whole look, so it’s not exactly cheap.
When my husband and I went to Japan for our honeymoon during the winter of 2000, I made sure I got the outfit, in fact I got two. I didn’t know the difference, so I settled for the industrial Lolita look from Mari’s Rock on Takeshita-dori.
The industrial Lolita is sort of punk-related, so the color scheme is black-white-red, with frilly dress and white petticoat. I even got the pink floral bonnet and Karen O. gloves which my friend has stolen.
I now realize I’m not the industrial type at all. I prefer the black or country Lolita. Not that it matters now. I’m a bit old for EGL and I never got to wear the outfits: I got pregnant two months after the shopping trip and though I’m back to my pre-preg weight, my body’s not quite the same.
Any takers?
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