Rococo – it was what dominated the latter part of 18th century France, a period of extreme prosperity and extravagance, appearing after the ultra-solemn Baroque with the most frivolous of artistic expressions.
Rococo – due to its ostentation and decadence, it is discarded and lost in history, and is hardly even mentioned in world history textbooks. The critics say the art of this period is too coquettish, insolent, gaudy; obscene, pure decadence.
However, life is like diving to be submerged in a world of dreams; to drown – that is the soul and essence of Rococo.
We're taught to turn our noses at Rococo, the artistic equivalent of Cheez Whiz and Heidi Montag. I fell in with the norm, professing my love for De Stijl or Bauhaus or any avantgarde movement with a manifesto. And then I discovered author Novala Takemoto, who claims to have been born in 1745 and opens his novel Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari) with a swoon-worthy snapshot of the era. Oh, to be a lady at the court of Versailles... to wear rib-crunching corsets and five-foot tall powdered wigs... to faint into the arms of a dashing aristocrat who cries "KAWAII"!
I decided to give Rococo another shot, so I visited New York's Frick Museum, an intimate round-up of 18th century European art. I wasn't expecting much from painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard, who is rarely more than a sentence in an art history textbook. But then I walked into a drawing room covered floor-to-ceiling with his Four Ages of Love, commissioned by Madame Du Barry (mistress of King Louis XV). I stared with mouth agape for half an hour, then revisited the room at least three times more! Digital reproductions of the paintings cannot begin to capture the tremendous scale and the lush pastels - but I did my best by putting together a few spotlights. (Click on the titles to see the full painting.)
The first row has scenes from The Pursuit: a young man emerges to offer a rose to a maiden. Fragonard frames the encounter with blooming flowers, ripe fruit, sensual statues of mythological beings... the stuff of 99 cent romance novels, but made beautiful with his brush. In The Meeting, the suitor scales the wall to visit his lady-love (it's literally always springtime for these lovers).
We move to their wedding day in The Lover Crowned; the scene is strewed with musical instruments and enough greenery to cause a deadly histamine reaction. The story ends not on Maury Povich, but with the calm contentment of The Love Letters.
In addition to these paintings, the Fragonard Room contained ornate (yet aesthetically pleasing) furniture from the late 18th century. The Frick collection was full of pleasant surprises and made me eager to explore the interconnections between Rococo and Lolita fashion.
I hereby declare that this shall be Rococo Week! I'll do several posts related to the art, fashion, and culture of the time; let me know if you have suggestions. Here is to a life like candy – of sweet self-indulgence and decadent dreams. Mmm.
The male counterpart to Gothic Lolita fashion goes by many names: dandy, boystyle, ouji, elegant gothic aristocrat, kodona... Volume 6 of Kera Magazine Maniax throws up its hands and puts it as "Little Prince B-592". (I have no clue what the letter and numbers refer to.)
The coy boys/girls are dreamily styled and set against a blistering winter background. The red zips on the A+Lidel pants (left) add punk to a suit that could have belonged in the 19th century. Putumayo's skull-printed overcoat (right) barely reveals a black/white diamond-print tie.
h.NAOTO's boyish Na+H outfit (left) is charming, but I can't tear my eyes away from the dead fox dangling from the model's shoulder! (One of my friends found a similar scarf in his aunt's closet, with head, feet, and tails intact.) Kikirara Shoten displays a trademark waist corset and top hat (right), without the usual carnivalia.
Black Peace Now salutes la drame with ruffled sleeves and a trailing cossack hat (left). Atelier Boz (right) merges a Victorian topcoat with modern Goth. All of the shoes pictured are by Yosuke, except on the Kikirara Shoten model (who wears Dr. Martens).
Which Prince Charming would you want to whisk you away on a white horse?
The number one reading material for Lolitas is, of course, the Gothic & Lolita Bible. (It's an apt title: I picture girls clutching their dog-eared copies, reciting passages about Moi-Même-Moitié in somber tones as if pronouncing the Word...) However, it isn't the only Japanese magazine that covers the fashion. Alternate titles tend to take a more panoptic view of Lolita; some may not consider it rorita at all. But I find these "apocryphal works" to be a welcome respite from the same-old, same-old.
Cosmic Mook's guide for girls, for example, is a celebration of second-hand shopping. The April issue styles several of the models à la Lolita, entirely from vintage pieces.
This interpretation may not conform to the canon, but I must say I'm charmed by the Bonnie and Clyde beret and patterned grey stockings.
The Country Lolita look is too much for me, but I love this simplified look built from light, cotton 1970s dresses. (Sears Catalogue Lolita, anyone? ) Cosmic Mook shows you how to braid and pin up your hair to mimic the Lolita crowns worn to one side of the head. Brilliant! I can't wait to try it out.
Cosmic Mook's "used mix" issue can be ordered through
Kinokuniya. What are your thoughts on the magazine's unconventional "Vintage Lolita" styling?
On March 17, Sweet Lolitas worldwide let out glass-shattering squeals and fell backwards on the couch (one hand lifted to brow) - for it was the day that Angelic Pretty unveiled its English-language website. Now, anyone outside Japan can buy Angelic Pretty products with the click of a mouse. A few caveats: only PayPal is accepted, not all items are available for sale, and you'll be scratching your head at the "Engrish" instructions on the site.
Like La Carmina, designers Maki and Asuka are currently obsessed with huge doll-like bows pinned to the head. How many variations can one make on a theme? Brahms had eight "Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn"; Mozart managed twelve for "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" - and Angelic Pretty one-upped both by producing fifteen versions of the giant hair bow.
Six of the bows are attached to headbands and positioned on one side of the head. All of the designs pictured are offered in several colors (usually black, white, red, pink, sky blue). Some have cute patterned fabrics, others are rimmed with lace. The cherry-patterned one with two crocheted cherries in the center is cute overload.
Nine of the mega-bows sit on top of the head. Gingham, polka dot, and tartan fabrics create variety. Love the one on the bottom right, which has a strand of faux pearls and is secured under the neck with satin ribbon.
Each hair decoration is priced around 3000 yen ($30). Only four of the above are available through Angelic Pretty's English-language online shop - but perhaps these photos will urge you to grab some fabric and create fifteen more variations!
While at the NY Comic-Con, I received a copy of Manga Cafe, the quarterly Animefood magazine dedicated to manga, anime, J-rock music, and convention culture. I read the Feb/Mar 2008 issue front to back. If I had to pick a highlight, it would be the comprehensive interviews with Visual Kei bands (including BLOOD and Rentrer en Soi), accompanied by full-color glossy photos.
I laughed out loud when I read Manga Cafe's chat with The Candy Spooky Theater, the Tim Burton-esque trio with a demented sense of humor. Formed in Tokyo in 2003, the band quickly became infamous for its wild on-stage antics and B-rated horror-inspired music. (For those of you playing the "She-male or Female?" guessing game, the answer is: all the members are men.) Here are some excerpts from their interview:
† How did you pick your names?
Jack Spooky: I just felt the groove of the name and thought it fit me. Jack is a very generic name, yet it can remain a little mysterious.
Peggy Giggles: It just came to me.
Kiddy Skeleton: Me too.
† How did you meet?
J: Basically, Peggy and I were in a band called Dororo. That band broke up, and after a time we met Kiddy.
† And your parents' reaction?
K: None of our parents have ever seen us on stage. They always say "Do something better with your life."
† Do they know you perform?
J: They know that we wear makeup and perform on stage.
K: My parents called me right before I was getting on the plane, and I told them, "I can't talk right now I am about to get on a plane to America to perform." Then my mom started screaming at me and said, "You are still in that band?! You are leaving to America?!" So I told her I would call her back.
† Do you believe in Santa?
J: We really like Christmas, but in Japan, Christmas time is the day when couples hook up. So Christmas is a very annoying nuisance to guys, and it can be lonely.
† If you were not a musician, what would you be?
K: Lots of things.
J: An actor.
P: A fisherman.
† With a fisherman's hat?
P: Yes! (laughs)
K: I think I would be... a homeless guy!
† What? A homeless guy?! (everyone laughs) With a homeless guy sign?
K: No sign. Just a house out of cardboard.
† Final message as a band?
J: We are not all scary, and we won't eat your head alive.
Many of you have been singing the praises of the Countess of Beaumont, who opened up her powder room to us in the last post. I think we'll be inviting her and her friends to our tea parties on the lawn from now on!
Here's another delightful selection from The Countess's photo collection: John Galliano's dramatic runway ballgowns. He and Vivienne Westwood are frequently cited as the Western designers that have most influenced Japanese Gothic & Lolita. Makes sense, since Galliano cites his love of theater and femininity as central to his creations: "My role is to seduce."
For the Countess, Galliano is: "Such a creative whirlwind. The Prince of high glamour. He says his creations are about 'theatre and femininity' - a delicious concoction! I adore his gowns as they often echo the old grand excesses of French courtly fashions." (As for myself - nothing makes my heart flutter like a sweeping satin skirt that fills up an entire ballroom! )
I previously wrote about Hello Kitty's collaboration with designer h.NAOTO. Now, this lucky puss has been styled by John Galliano! In the June issue of Japanese Vogue (above), Hello Kitty went shopping with the designer, air-kissed fashion big-wigs, and modeled every piece from the Dior fall/winter 2008/09 collection. The spread also included a montage of images of Hello Kitty with her famous fans, including Paris Hilton, Carine Roitfeld and Hilary Duff. I don't know... the thought of a life-size Hello Kitty traipsing around Paris gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Fond and frilly regards from The Countess and La Carmina!
I am delighted to have kindled a friendship (via MySpace) with the charming Countess of Beaumont, also known as Lady Pearl Elizabeth Chester of Sissingford Manor. The Countess's dressing room is a trove of elegant decadence from the past century - an aesthetic that has resurged in today's Lolita fashion. She has kindly permitted me to share some of her treasures, in the hope that they will lift your imagination away "to magical worlds, secret hideaways, dark corners and exciting flights of fancy."
The ribbon-trimmed bloomers are darling; don't be surprised to find them under a Lolita's skirt! The Countess and I are fond of feather fans, especially if they're made of lush pink ostrich plumes. Also pictured are an antique cameo brooch, pale blue "lace" earrings, and a reproduced Edwardian shoe.
Designs by Baby, The Stars Shine Bright are only a few steps removed from the Countess's Victorian cotton petticoat, Edwardian tea gown, and late Victorian undergarment with a J.Lo bustle.
The above 1796 illustration by Hannah Humphrey is my model for living! As the Countess puts it:
"You can often find me sitting in my favourite gold and pink chair, fluttering a fan. I daydream for hours, thinking, musing and fantasising. Life is so fleeting... we should enjoy every sensation while we can."
She invites you to visit her manor for Earl Gray, pink champagne, marshmallows, and other genteel titillation. You'll certainly be hearing my skirts rustling and dainty shoes tip-tapping on her wooden floors!
