Japanese Lolita

The Lolita Culture

(Tokyo) This story demonstrates the utter unpredictability of trends in fashion and culture. A growing segment of the population of young Japanese women are adopting a "Lolita" persona in their wardrobe.


The look encompasses elaborate, doll-like costumes with lacy parasols, teddy bears, and jeweled scepters as props.

Lolitas regularly gather in places like Tokyo's Harajuku, a neighborhood that for decades has served as a magnet for Japanese counterculture. On a recent warm weekend in Harajuku, dozens of women -- including many who had traveled great distances to be here -- stood around completely covered in frills, holding hands or sucking on lollipops while passersby snapped photos and gawked. Some sat on the ground with legs stretched out in front of them like toddlers.

Interestingly, strong impetus to the Lolita movement is from a man named Novala Takemoto who has written several novels featuring Lolitas. In one big selling novel, he writes:

[A]bout a lonely Lolita in rural Japan who meets a bad girl biker and discovers true friendship. The novel has become the basis for a popular movie, whose English title is "Kamikaze Girls." The producers are seeking a distributor in the U.S.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some pedophiles at the root of the Lolita movement. As such, I don't think it will have a wide nor enduring appeal. (via Rob Sama)