Friday 13 September 2013

"One is not born, but rather, becomes a woman"

What do you get when you combine these two images ?
  

Lolita fashion Crash Course: 
The girl in the very first picture is dressed in 'Lolita' fashion, a style which, in its early forms emerged in the 1990s in Harajuku, a district in Shibuya, Tokyo well known for its street or alternative fashion. It is a style that evolved from and is closely connected with Visual Kei artists and inspired by Victorian silhouttes, themes and prints. Mana, the front man of popular Visual Kei band Malice Mizer has been one of the pioneers in developing and promoting the fashion- he wears the style himself, and co founded Moi Meme Moitie, a premium and well loved Lolita clothing brand. Lolita fashion combines the elements of 'girly' innocence and cuteness with Victorian aesthetics (the 'bell' shaped full skirt achieved by wearing layers of  fluffy petticoats is a defining factor of the style) and caters largely to a female audience. "Conservatism" is considered important to the Lolita look, and wearers of the fashion often place huge importance of not showing shoulders and knees, though on the other hand the silhoutte and print of dresses are often over the top and can be very elaborate. Lolita is an umbrella term which has various sub-styles such as 'Gothic Lolita', 'Classic Lolita', 'Sweet Lolita', and 'Punk Lolita'. 

It has been said that the Lolita style is worn by girls who reject the image of a sexualised female so prevalent in society, and want to draw focus on the more 'innocent' manifestations of being female. Simply put, girls do not have to be 'sexy' or wear revealing clothing to identify with being feminine, because girls can also show their feminity through being 'sweet' or 'cute', thus the importance of covering up shoulders, arms and legs in the fashion - the point of Lolita is not to look 'sexy', or even 'slim' for the matter (the fashion creates bulk on the body through layering of clothing although paradoxically Lolita brands only cater to girls of a certain Asian petite size) and the baring of shoulders and chest area is generally frowned upon in the Lolita community and among prominent Japanese Lolitas. 

outfit rundown:
JSK: Alice and the Pirates
Bonnet: Triple Fortune
Socks: Chantilly
Parasol: Baby the Stars Shine Bright
Rosette: Pizzicato Kei
Jewelry: Regal Rose, Vivienne Westwood, F21
http://octavekitten.tumblr.com/

Modified Lolitas
Outside of Japan, there is a significant international following of the fashion (thanks to the internet), we shall refer to them as being part of the 'international Lolita community'. It is in the international community that deviances from the 'prescribed lolita look' can be found- one of its manifestations is that select group of girls who sport multiple piercings or tattoos and wear Lolita. Although this look is relatively uncommon, they still do exist and the topic of 'combining' styles of being modified and wearing Lolita have surfaced for debate in the international community once in awhile (I have not studied Japanese Lolita communities and forums in this aspect mostly because the Japanese Lolita community do not often interact with the international and their websites are difficult to access, but from observation of Japanese street fashion websites, piercings and tattoos are relatively uncommon and when spotted hardly among the people who wear lolita). From observing forum discussions about 'Modified Lolitas', there seem to be these main ideas


1. Girls who personally do not like or engage in tattoos and piercings, but think it is OK for others to wear the style as the choose - being the most popular standpoint
2. Girls who do not like tattoos and piercings and think that 'Lolita' and 'Modifications' do not go together
3. Girls who profess enthusiasm about the look, and may or may not be 'modified' themselves.


The point of contention is that tattoos and piercings do not fit in with the 'standard' lolita look projected by leading Japanese lolitas and magazines, and possibly also the idea that Tattoos and piercings, often associated with its painful process, isnt feminine and goes against Lolita aesthetics. After all, very much about the lolita style has got to do with looking 'cute' and perhaps socially tattoos and piercings are deemed as 'not cute'


Personally, what I see going on here is that perceptions of what one deems as ‘feminine’ or ‘girly’ or ‘cute’ is up for contention. These people are putting forth what the ‘feminine’ look (within the context of what lolita fashion should be) and telling other Lolitas that they think that is the way the fashion should be. While modified lolitas are taking these ideas of the ideal ‘lolita’ look, and challenging it by wearing their piercings and tattoos prominently, while still showing that they identify with Lolita and do not love fashion any less than the girls who do not have modifications.


Much like ‘girl zines’ from Schilt’s reading, the Lolita community, be it through Livejournal groups or real-life regional meetups, ideally creates a space where it is ‘acceptable’ for girls to express themselves, hang out with each other and not feel judged by society who do not understand what the fashion is about. They get to dress in poof, lace and frills with people who share the same fashion aesthetics. The paradox arises then that while they accept dressing different from the mainstream society, they discriminate against others in their group who look different from them. Even though when it comes to it, both lolita fashion and body modifications are a reaction against mainstream ideas on what ‘looking good’ should be.


It is true that Lolita is a rather exclusive fashion because of its acquired look and the fact that it requires alot of money to dress in Lolita- furthermore there are very strict codes to its fashion that, due to the relative exclusivity of it makes any form of deviance from the ‘rules’ deemed unacceptable. Although the nature of the fashion itself is why it most caters to girls, the girl-on-girl discrimmination seems a little bit anti-feminist, even as by claiming to reject the ‘mainstream’ image of femininity Lolitas are buying to feminist ideals?


Subcultural Appropriation?
We’ve all heard about “culture appropriation”, but can this be applied to subculture and body modification? After all it is generally acknowledged that most Lolitas do not wear the fashion regularly or as part of their daily style, and some of them do wear other styles, be it Japanese street fashion or not. So, what modified Lolitas are doing is taking different, contrasting subculture fashions and channeling it their own style, which in a way is more original that just strictly adhering to one style (but whatever floats your boat). There is a particular line in Schilt’s article which quotes that zine making allows girls to   
“Move away from being passive consumers and encourages them to be cultural producers who make cultural products relevant to their own lives”
I wonder if that can be applied to a modified lolita as well?


As a modified Lolita...

I used to wear Lolita and still do identify with being one though I have since switched to another style closely related to it.  I did not have a single piercing when I first wore Lolita, and unlike other Lolitas, I got into the style myself and did not know anyone personally, even in the Singapore community. It was only until recently I got to know other girls in the Singapore comm, but  I think I’m probably the only Lolita in Singapore who has visible piercings, though others might have tattoos that cannot be seen when they wear lolita. Personally I never thought that I was ‘mixing’ styles, though someone from the outside might say that. I was just doing what felt ‘natural’ to me, I don’t even identify with any other style than Lolita. Dressing a certain way is just a matter of dress choice, it doesn’t affect my interest in body modifications, or the way that I act or live, which is far from ‘girly, demure, feminine’ or ‘goody two shoes’ more the matter, and all those things associated with looking cute or innocent which Lolita is associated with. At the end of the day, I just want to look the way I want to look.

(very) selected links:
Modded Loli discussion (Tattoos in Lolita) http://egl.livejournal.com/18005356.html

Modified Lolitas:  

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