Remember when Momoko (of Kamikaze Girls) realizes that the man examining her embroidered bonnet is none other than the... Creator... HIMSELF? She collapses in a swoon - albeit a calculatingly cute one - which incites her loyal pal Ichigo to head-WHACK the effete designer.
Momoko could recognize her beloved brand in a police line-up. And I'm sure many of you can match a clothing item to its Goth/Lolita/Punk brand in your sleep. But how well do you know the faces behind the labels?
Test your skills with La Carmina's matching game! Can you pair each designer's face to his/her name (in the pink dress above) and brand name (in the background above)? The answers are after the jump.
I wouldn't have recognized most of these designers if they head-butted me in the street! How did you score?
I was browsing through Japanese street fashion snaps when I came across this:
Ruh roh! I turned to Basil, resident Scottish Fold kitty cat, with an evil grin. A bit of black felt, some white ribbon and lace, and ta-da:
Doesn't he look like a little Victorian madam?
Basil wasn't happy about cross-dressing in a Gothic Lolita headdress, but he put up with it like a champ.
Love his big sideways feet.
I previously posted about Basil and his feline brethren in Gothic Lolita fashion here. Here's a new video of him pouncing on his mouse toy and plastic bags. Can you figure out the song in the background?
Ronan requested a post about Eva Green, who has been stealing the spotlight at the premieres of her new film, The Golden Compass. (Earlier, I posted about the movie's steampunk costume design.) I love her Gothic flair and air of mystery; I wouldn't have cast anyone else for the role of witch queen Serafina Pekkala. Believe it or not, the French actress is a natural blonde, but has been darkening her hair since her teens.
Eva's look is a close cousin to Gothic Aristocrat: sweeping black gowns, 1930s-style hair, pale skin and red lips. She would look stunning in a bell-shaped Gothic Lolita dress and platforms, non?
Introducing our baby: Basil the Scottish Fold! Ronan raised him from kittenhood - and after I rubbed his round head and foldy ears, I couldn't leave without him (Bazzie, that is). This delicate soul now lives in my loft and Ronan has visitation rights. He fits in with my Goth Loli aesthetic, wouldn't you say?
In fact, Gothic Lolita fashion is pussy galore. HellCatPunks' logo is a menacing feline skull with an ear stud and choker. Cat ear headbands, hoodies, and hats are popular (a Lolita Kisama version is pictured). Kitties are often found in prints and graphics, such as on this Putumayo top.
One of the most cat-happy Lolita designers is h.NAOTO. Every season, he releases a full line of juniors clothing, toys, and accessories featuring the undead kitties Hangry and Angry. Naoto also styled Hello Kitty for a collection of cell phone charms (as seen above), which you can purchase from
Strapya World.
Felines are a recurring motif because of their Gothic associations. Anyone who's watched Sabrina the Teenage Witch knows that scowling, hair-raised black cats are linked to witchcraft. In the Dark Ages, cats were feared as imps given from Satan to his followers. Witches supposedly took the form of their "familiars" to travel unnoticed. Many people still shudder when a black cat crosses their path, believing it to be bad luck.
But we musn't forget that pussies have a Loli side. They are adorable, loving, gentle... everything that a Sweet Lolita strives to be. Sanrio's Hello Kitty, Chammy Kitty, and Chococat prove that in Japan, the pointy-eared animal is the definition of totemo kawaii (uber-cute).
Fuzzy Basil is both Gothic and Lolita. Trust me, your heart melts when he raises a fat paw and mews and curls up beside your pillow. But he's also a creature of the night, with a flat owl-face and glow-in-the-dark eyes. No wonder we had to steal him. Totemo kawaii ne???
The next time you’re itching to dress Kodona – comme un garçon victorien – call upon the ghost of French poet Arthur Rimbaud.Ah, quelle histoire! As a boy, Rimbaud often wandered to neighboring countries and had to be brought home by the police. The poetry bug bit at age 16. Soon after, Rimbaud may have joined the Paris Commune and was possibly gang-raped by soldiers. The poet became a street-dwelling anarchist, complete with long hair, shabby clothes, and body lice – not unlike kids today, eh? He moved into the home of Symbolist poet Paul Verlaine, who promptly fell for the sullen blue-eyed teen and abandoned his pregnant wife for him. The pair ran to London and took up la vie bohème, spiking it with absinthe, opium, and hashish. They traveled; they fought; in Brussels, a drunk and raving Verlaine shot at his lover and hit him in the wrist. Quand il a realisé que Verlaine avait perdu la tête, the boy had him arrested. Verlaine was subjected to a humiliating interrogation of his lifestyle and sentenced to prison for two years.
Rimbaud returned to France, and at age 18, completed Une Saison en Enfer (A Season in Hell). The work, which switches between poetry and prose, is "widely regarded as one of the pioneering instances of modern Symbolist writing and a description of that drôle de ménage (domestic farce) life with Verlaine."
Througout his twenties, Rimbaud worked random jobs and extended his travels to uncharted terrains. He enlisted in the Dutch army for a free ride to Java (as soon as he reached the shore, he deserted). As an importer-exporter (possibly dealing with slaves), he led caravans through Cyprus, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia. A knee carcinoma forced his return to France. His leg was amputated. At age 37, he was dead.
Un soir, j'ai assis la Beauté sur mes genoux. Et je l'ai trouvée amère. Et je l'ai injuriée.
One evening, I sat Beauty in my lap. And I found her bitter. And I cursed her.
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.
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…
