Juicy Couture is known for its terry and velour tracksuits, which are about as far as you can get from Gothic Lolita. So you can imagine my astonishment when I glimpsed the most exquisite white ruffled collar… in the window of the Juicy Couture shop on Madison Ave. Inside – I kid you not – was a rack of finely-constructed, Victorian-inspired black and white clothing. Scalloped lace trims; loop-and-button-closures; puffed elbow sleeves; sheer silk overlays; pintucked ruffles. As Nabokov puts it in Lolita, “I was winking happy thoughts into a little tiddle cup.”
And then I looked at the price tags. Items range from $500-2000. Le sigh. I consoled myself by splurging on vintage at Beacon’s Closet in Williamsburg.
Here are my favorite looks from Juicy’s “Couture Couture” collection. You can see more items (and buy me something, hahaha) on the Neiman Marcus website.
OUJI GOTHIC ARISTOCRAT BRIAN ERMANSKI.
Ouji a) is the Japanese word for “prince”; b) describes the male counterpart to Gothic Lolita. One little ouji apparently got lost and wound up on the streets of New York:
Artist Brian Ermanski calls his look “Edwardian Punk Fop,” which puts him in good company with the dandy/aristocrat oujis. You can read New York Metro’s style interview with him here, and in New York Look Book: A Gallery of Street Fashion, which just arrived in stores.
Artist Brian Ermanski calls his look “Edwardian Punk Fop,” which puts him in good company with the dandy/aristocrat oujis. You can read New York Metro’s style interview with him here, and in New York Look Book: A Gallery of Street Fashion, which just arrived in stores.
EVAN RACHEL WOOD.
In the West, Gothic Lolita style manifests itself differently from what you might see in a Japanese magazine. Actress Evan Rachel Wood may not be Goth Loli by Harajuku standards, but her fashion sense and romance with a certain shock rocker definitely toy with this aesthetic.
Evan Rachel Wood raised more than a few eyebrows when she began dating Marilyn Manson – yes, he of the butoh face and the milky contact lens. Their coupling caused a stir because of the age difference - she’s 19, he’s 38 - and its role in ending his marriage to Dita von Teese. Ladies and gentlemen, a jarring visual: a blonde, blue-eyed, innocent-looking teen, hanging from the arm of Mr. Halloween.
Wood enjoys teasing with the Gothic Lolita dichotomy. She tells Nylon Magazine about her fondness for frilly girl-socks. She wore heart-shaped glasses (a nudge at Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita ), inspiring Manson’s latest single. In the music video, Wood rolls around naked with her boyfriend as blood pours from the sky:
Wood frequently appears at events in elegant, black and white dresses, sporting Manson as a gruesome accessory. Her makeup is generally subtle on the eyes and bloody on the lips. Wood’s style is probably closest to Aristocrat Lolita; she adds girlish touches, such as her heart-shaped glasses, but her blouses and skirts are never too frilled.
Evan Rachel Wood's winking sense of humor definitely comes across in her dressing. It’ll be interesting to see how her outfits evolve as does her relationship with Manson…
Evan Rachel Wood raised more than a few eyebrows when she began dating Marilyn Manson – yes, he of the butoh face and the milky contact lens. Their coupling caused a stir because of the age difference - she’s 19, he’s 38 - and its role in ending his marriage to Dita von Teese. Ladies and gentlemen, a jarring visual: a blonde, blue-eyed, innocent-looking teen, hanging from the arm of Mr. Halloween.
Wood enjoys teasing with the Gothic Lolita dichotomy. She tells Nylon Magazine about her fondness for frilly girl-socks. She wore heart-shaped glasses (a nudge at Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita ), inspiring Manson’s latest single. In the music video, Wood rolls around naked with her boyfriend as blood pours from the sky:
Wood frequently appears at events in elegant, black and white dresses, sporting Manson as a gruesome accessory. Her makeup is generally subtle on the eyes and bloody on the lips. Wood’s style is probably closest to Aristocrat Lolita; she adds girlish touches, such as her heart-shaped glasses, but her blouses and skirts are never too frilled.
Evan Rachel Wood's winking sense of humor definitely comes across in her dressing. It’ll be interesting to see how her outfits evolve as does her relationship with Manson…