Queen of the Lesbians

Lolita is one of the most popular subcultural styles found in the Harajuku area. One of the girls I interviewed said, "I love Harajuku. I go there almost every day. I like to watch people walking down the streets of Harajuku. I love the atmos­phere of Harajuku. I like the smell of Harajuku. It's a sacred place for us."

Local landmarks of Harajuku are Takeshita Street, with small stores selling Lolita brands, and La Foret, a department store. Similar to Shibuya 109, the streets around Harajuku station on weekends are so packed that pedestrians hardly have space to walk. The population of Lolita on the Harajuku Bridge started to decline in the past few years, and some claim that this is a sign that the subculture is dying out. On the contrary, Harajuku remains exclusive and sacred for Lolita. A Lol­ita girl says:

I've been there only a few times. The Lolita girls you see on that bridge are sim­ply cosplaying and are not real Lolita. We, the real ones, never go there. Those who used to hang out there were the fans of the Visual-kei musicians with heavy makeup and flashy outfits, and they are not real Lolita. The real ones are well and alive, and we are here to stay.

Lolita fashion was once a fad, but as a fad it has died out because Harajuku subcultures are very much tied to Visual-kei rock bands, which emphasize their costume and makeup, and the popularity of such bands is on the de­cline. Those who are left are the authentic Lolita members who are here to stay. The authentic ones enjoy being marginal. Unlike the Gyaru and Gyaru-o subcultures found in the Shibuya district, which require members to leave the group when they reach a certain age, Lolita have no graduation or retirement age. They can, according to one of the Lolita girls I interviewed, "remain a Lolita as long as you look young and don't have wrinkles around your eyes."

LOLITA AS AN IDENTITY AND A LIFESTYLE

Westerners may mistakenly associate the Lolita subculture with the novel Lolita, written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1955. The book is internationally fa­mous for its controversial plot in which Humbert, a middle-aged man, be­comes obsessed with a twelve-year-old girl named Dolores Haze, also called Dolly, Lolita, Lola, Lo, and L. Similarly, in Japan, the term Lolita complex, often shortened to Loli-con, refers to a man's perverse sexual preference for young girls. Therefore, the term Lolita carries a negative sexual connotation. However, the Japanese Lolita subculture that emerged in Harajuku has nothing to do with such references. Many Lolita members know nothing about the Nabokov novel. According to Momo Matsuura, author of The World, Myself and Lolita Fashion (2007) and herself a Lolita, the term first appeared in the Sep­tember 1987 issue of a Japanese fashion magazine called Ryukou Tsushin; Lolita as a category of fashion appeared in the early 1990s.

THE ORIGIN OF LOLITA STYLE

Following the historical evolution and development of Japanese fashion, it is evident that today's Lolita style is nothing new. Some of the main characteris­tics of a Lolita look have been present for many years. The brands Milk (established in 1970 by Hitomi Okawa) and Pink House (started in 1973 by lsao Kaneko) were the forerunners of this fashion genre. Both brands became extremely popular among teens in the 1970s and 1980s. Milk still has a store in the middle of Harajuku and holds a very high status among Lolita followers. Kaneko sold Pink House and remained a head de­ signer for a number of years, but eventually left the company in 1994. These brands often appeared in Olive magazine, which created a trend called Olive Girls. Milk and Pink House clothes had all the characteristics found in Lolita fashion, such as frills, lace trimmings, ribbons, sheer fabrics such as chiffon, and layers of petticoats, projecting a childlike, innocent, girlie image.

The designers who used to work for Milk later created their own labels with a similar taste and image. Rei Yanagikawa began a children's wear label called Shirley Temple in 1974; Megumi Murano started a brand called Jane Marple in 1985. Atuski Onishi's brand that began in 1984 had a girlie image, and Akinori lsobe, who used to work for Onishi, started a brand called Baby, the Stars Shine Bright in 1988. More and more brands with a Lolita touch fol­ lowed: Metamorphose in 1993, Marble in 1998, Victorian Maiden in 1998, Mary Magdalene in 2003, and Innocent World in 2009, among many others. Among the foreign brands, Vivienne Westwood, which began in 1971, is a symbol of Lolita fashion. Her first store in Japan opened in La Foret in 1978, and it has been popular among Japanese Lolita.

One of the Lolita girls said:

From the outsider's viewpoint, our dresses seem all the same. They may look like a uniform. That is a false conception. New styles and new collections come out every season from Lolita brands. Lolita styles do change. They are not static. So we always try to catch with the latest trend in Lolita fashion. Some are manufac­tured only in limited numbers and that's how the prices go and its status goes up. Sometimes, you have to place an order at the beginning of the season. They don't sell it in the store.

While Gyaru and Gyaru-o fashion bought at Shibuya 109 is rather inexpensive, Lolita dresses can be expensive, so many followers buy them at secondhand stores in Harajuku. Some stores sell only secondhand Lolita brands, such as Maiden Clothing in Osaka and Closet Child, which has stores in Harajuku, Shinjuku, lkebukuro, Yokohama, and Sagamihara. Subcultural members cre­ate their own values and norms, and purchasing exclusive Lolita items gives members status and respect among followers.

FROM COLLECTIVE TO INDIVIDUALISTIC IDENTIFICATION WITHIN THE LOLITA SUBCULTURE

While Western youth subcultures, such as British punk or U.S. inner-city hip­ hop, often convey a strong political or ideological statement, the Lolita girls claim that they have no message and say that their distinctive styles are purely for enjoyment. Fashion and how they dress are of utmost importance, because they want to stand out and be noticed; they have no intention of rebelling against the formal and traditional ways. None of them consider their community as a counterculture. They enjoy hanging out in small or large groups around train stations, going to events together, and taking pictures of each other. Those who belong to the subcultures are connected by a strong bond and spend time with friends who dress in similar fashion. One's choice of dress and fashion is a representation of one's inner self as well as one's group membership. Having no message to express does, however, convey a message; it may be a hidden one of helplessness and hopelessness. Thus, group members do have a message-silent rebellion.

Muggleton (2000), who is in support of postmodern theory, explains that subcultures today exist in postmodern form. His idea of postmodern subcul­ture involves a combination of hybridity, diversity, and fluidity. According to Muggleton (2000: 15), traditional points of collective identification, such as class, gender, race, and place, are gradually replaced by elective, build-your­ own, consumer identities, and the members of subcultures are postmodern in that they demonstrate a fragmented, individualistic, and stylistic identifica­tion. This is a sensibility that manifests itself as an expression of freedom from structure, control, and restraint, ensuring that stasis is rejected in favor of movement and fluidity (Muggleton 2000: 158).

Style differentiation no longer defines different social classes. There is a great deal of interclass and intraclass mobility. Social identity that used to be based on the economic and political sphere is now based on something outside of these spheres. The consumption of cultural goods, such as fash­ionable clothing, performs an increasingly important role in the construction of personal identity, while the satisfaction of material needs and the emula­tion of superior classes are secondary (Crane 2000). There is a shift from class fashion to consumer fashion. In postmodern cultures, consumption is conceptualized as a form of role playing, as consumers seek to project con­ceptions of identity that are continually evolving. Social class is less evident and less important in constructing one's self-image and identity in contempo­rary society.

MASKING ONESELF WITH A LOLITA IDENTITY AND ACHIEVING A SENSE OF SELF-LIBERATION

We are what we wear. Many of the Lolita girls I talked to said that when they dress Lolita, whether it is Punk or Sweet or another variation, their personality changes. They feel more confident and strong. It is empowering. One girl said, "My life revolves around Lolita. I am constantly thinking about Lolita. I went to a fashion school because Lolita brands are so expensive and I cannot afford them. Now that I have acquired the sewing skill, I can design and make my own Lolita dress. I even created my own brand online." Another high school girl dressed in Punk Lolita said: "I couldn't talk to you if I were not dressed like this. When I am at school, I am usually quiet and shy. I am an introvert. But I can change when I dress Lolita. I feel powerful." The Lolita girls are playing the role of a princess. An Italian Lolita girl said:

I like the feeling when I look at myself at the mirror with Lolita clothes. I may be naive, but I really feel like a princess. I love it. I like the Lolita culture too, but probably because it suits my usual way to act and think. And if I'm dressed like a princess, I act even more properly like a lady.

A Japanese Lolita girl who wears the style on weekends goes to a butler cafe (see chapter 6), where waiters are dressed as English butlers and treat fe­male customers like princesses. She continued:

When I dress Lolita, it changes my demeanor. The way I talk. The way I walk. Every­ thing about me changes. I feel like a princess. I love coming to this cafe, because I am treated like a true lady. This is real me. When I am not dressed Lolita, that's not me. Lolita is real me. When I put on a Lolita dress, I am thinking to myself "which look do I want today?" After deciding that I want to go Ama-Loli, then I put all the accessories together to make that look. That thinking process itself and turning into a princess are great fun.

Another Lolita told me:

I became interested when I was sixteen to seventeen years old. I first saw Kera! [magazine]. Then my mother bought me a dress at Marui One that costs about 30,000 yen [about US$370]. I like the attention I get. I get a sense of superiority when people look at me. I change from a style to style. One time I liked Hime-kei for six months and wore Lizlisa. It just happened that the type of dress I like is Lolita.

Lolita followers are aware that their style is often perceived as strange, and people turn their heads to look at them when they walk on the streets. The Japanese Lolita said, "If my boyfriend doesn't like me in Lolita, I would rather break up with him than change my style." Lolita is self-expression and self­ satisfaction. Just by looking Lolita, girls may appear as if they are subservient and dressing in a way to get male attention. On the contrary, these girls do it for themselves or for other girls. If they care at all about what people think of them, it is the opinion of other Lolita girls. They compete among themselves and criticize each other. A Lolita follower said: "When I pass another Lolita girl on the street, I cannot help but check her out. Just look at her in the corner of my eyes to see how she put her Lolita outfit together from head to toe. If she looks great, there is a slight sense of jealousy, I admit." Adornment and self-display are always social. The girls never simply wear Lolita dress and stay at home. They dress Lolita when they go outside to meet their Lolita friends. For some it is an authentic identity; for others, it is a temporary iden­tity with a mask. One thing that is certain is that dressing Lolita takes them to a different world psychologically and emotionally, and that in turn affects and changes their personae for that moment.

A Lolita who goes by the name Alice said:

I got interested in Lolita in my second year in high school after I saw a magazine Alice. My family did not like it first. But I used to go to secondhand stores such as Bodyline and Closet Child and bought them. I took a night class at Bunka so I can now make Lolita-style dresses. My boyfriend doesn't like me in Lolita, but I don't care. I feel happy when I am wearing Lolita. I enjoy people's attention. It is the image of Marie Antoinette. I basically dress Classic Lolita. My favorite brand is Innocent World. Lolita is my life itself. My life is all about Lolita. I am always thinking about Lolita.

Recently, some fashion schools have launched classes that teach Lolita fashion. Ueda Yasuko Fashion School in Osaka created a major in Gothic and Lolita fashion, in which students learn to design, drape, create patterns, and sew Gothic and Lolita-inspired dress. Vantan Design Institute, a fashion school in Tokyo, also has a major in Goth and Lolita fashion that trains stu­dents to become brand designers or costume designers.

All the Lolita girls I met dressed Lolita only on weekends or during their free time, and never to their jobs. The majority of them change into a Lolita identity on a weekly basis. During my research in Tokyo, I met only one student who said she always wore Lolita wherever she went. She was studying to be an ac­countant, so once she passed the exam to work as an apprentice accountant she felt that she would have to give up Lolita.

A separate identity is assumed when girls dress Lolita. One Lolita girl I interviewed said:

From Monday to Friday, I work as an administrative assistant. I wear a uniform. I feel so oppressed on weekdays. But on weekends, I dress Lolita and go out shop­ping or to events. I feel so free. It is another identity. It is a totally different identity from the one that I have on weekdays. In fact, my real identity is the one I have on weekends. My Lolita identity is real me. This is real me.

Humans need to define their identity in one way or another whether it is based on gender, sexuality, occupation, income level, or race/ethnicity. Being a Lolita is an identity that gives the followers of this subculture a solid sense of belong­ ing. Through dress, they assure themselves that they are part of the group.

Lolita followers have created numerous online communities around the world. There are rules as to what kind of topics can be posted on the Inter­ net so that the subcultural identity of each site can be maintained. There are discussions on Lolita brands, instructions about how to put together a Lolita look, and how to make handmade Lolita items. Members share images from different Lolita brands and auction, sell, and buy Lolita-related items. The Lol­ita members are bound together by their stylistic expressions and have cre­ ated a global subcultural network. They communicate both face-to-face and online. They organize meetings and tea parties and get together on weekends to take pictures of each other to post online.

There are no official organizations, clubs, or gangs that Lolita belong to. They tend to organize groups of their own and engage in Lolita-related activi­ties together.

A girl who likes Sweet Lolita said:

I organized a Christmas party last year. I posted it on Mixi. Only two girls showed up, but that's okay. It was fun. We went to a restaurant that Lolita girls often go to. Even if we don't know each other and we have never met before, we can con­nect right away because we all love Lolita. We are connected by Lolita. We end up talking about it for hours.

Like many other Lolitas I have met, this girl's work is unrelated to fashion or Lolita; she works at a fast-food restaurant so she cannot dress Lolita when she is working. But otherwise, she is almost always Lolita. She said: "Lolita is central to my everyday life. I cannot imagine a life without Lolita."

VARIATIONS OF LOLITA STYLE

Lolita girls put much effort into getting the right look from head to toe. A Lolita girl explains: "It is difficult to coordinate a Lolita style, so many of us end up buying the entire outfit with accessories and shoes from one brand. That's why it gets expensive." Variations to a Lolita look include:

Ama-Loli (Sweet Lolita): the typical Lolita style with lots of lace, ruffles, and frills; mostly white and pastel colors such as blue and pink.

Classical / Elegant Lolita: similar to Ama-Loli but with fewer ruffles and frills.

Ero-Loli (Erotic Lolita): a controversial style because, in principle, Lolita has no erotic elements, and too much skin should not be exposed.

Futago-Loli (Twin Lolita): two girls dress in the same Lolita outfit.

Gosu-Loli (Gothic and Lolita): the combination of Gothic and Lolita ele­ments; monochromatic palette, often black and white.

Guro-Loli (Gore Lolita): using bandages or blood splatters or anything that looks gory.

Hime-Loli (Princess Lolita): similar to Classical Lolita, with pastel colors; princess-looking, often with a tiara.

Kuro-Loli (Black Lolita): black from head to toe.

Ouji (Prince for Lolita): the male version who would accompany a Lolita, or a Lolita girl who does not want to wear a skirt.

Pinku-Loli (Pink Lolita): pink from head to toe.

Punk Loli (Punk Lolita): a combination of Lolita and Punk elements, such as leather, zippers, safety pins, and chains.

Qi-Loli (Chinese Lolita): Lolita combined with traditional Chinese elements. Sailor-Loli (Sailor Lolita): nautical style inspired by Japanese school uniforms.

Wa-Loli (Japanese Lolita): Lolita combined with traditional Japanese ele­ments, such as kimono and obi. (Lolitafashion.org n.d.)

New variations or combinations of existing ones-such as Light Gothic Lolita, Candy Lolita-or those that merge with other subcultures-such as Loli Gyaru or Gyaru-Loli-are appearing. According to a magazine editor I spoke with, these new groups occur naturally, and one cannot tell exactly who or how it started.

Each Lolita variation has its own distinctive style and rules that the follow­ers adhere to. The Lolita subcultural lifestyle has spread worldwide among teens in the United States, Europe, and Asia. While some belong to a spe­cific Lolita category, others enjoy choosing a style depending on different occasions. Some Lolita impose strict rules as to what is considered authen­tic Lolita, and heated discussions take place on Internet message boards.

Whichever Lolita look one dresses in, it is difficult to tell whether one is a real Lolita or a cosplayer. When I started my research on Lolita subculture in 2004, I thought Lolita was part of cosplay, and I could not tell the difference between a maid costume worn by a waitress at Maid Cafe in Akihabara and Lolita fashion.

Even industry professionals are confused about the differences. A fashion marketer I interviewed in Tokyo explained, "This is a style that has been devel­oping out of the cosplay phenomenon in the streets of Japan since the mid- 199Os. The look has evolved and is slowly beginning to take roots in other countries around the world." Lolita girls are often mistaken as cosplayers who dress like their favorite characters in Japanese anime and manga, but they insist that they are not.

An American Lolita girl told me, "When people see us on the streets or coffee shops, they think we are in a play. They think this is our theatrical cos­tume. That's why a lot of people think this is part of Japanese cosplay, and we are cosplayers. But we are not!" I heard similar comments from Japanese Lolita and European Lolita over and over again. For the authentic Lolita fol­lowers, it is highly offensive for them to be called cosplayers. Lolita is an im­portant part of their life; sometimes, it consumes their entire life.

Reflecting many Lolita followers, one Lolita girl said:

I am constantly thinking about Lolita. It is my whole life and identity. Cosplay is not a reflection of your inner self. It is just an entertainment. It's their hobby. You are playing a character in anime for a couple of hours. We are not like that at all. We live Lolita. We breathe Lolita. Lolita is our authentic self.

MASS MEDIA EXPOSURE TO SPREAD LOLITA SUBCULTURE

To sustain a subculture-and keep it from simply being a group of friends who share the same values, norms, and beliefs that may go against the main­stream-it needs to spread to the masses first through word of mouth and then through the media. Yusuke Tajima, editor-in-chief of Kera! magazine said:

We need to make more occasions and places where the girls can go to wear­ing Lolita dress because Lolita styles are very distinct. The majority of them don't wear it every day. They wear it for special occasions when they meet other Lolita. Otherwise, the Lolita market will shrink, and Lolita-related businesses will shrink.

An owner of a well-known Lolita brand says:

When we started the brand, I told my girls to always dress in Lolita. If we had a new bag designed, I gave it to all my workers and told them to carry it every day, every where they go. They were like walking advertisers. Then people would ask them, "Oh, that's cute. Where did you get it?" Luckily, people and the media began to notice our brand slowly. Our two designers started to appear on TV and in fashion magazines.

Fashion as a genre or a category spreads quickly through the media and via the Internet. There needs to be a network of industries and institutions to help spread the subcultural fashion phenomenon. Kera! is the magazine that Lolita followers read. (It was launched in 1998 with the title Kerouac.) Kera!'s editorial team arranges a photo shoot every month at the Marui One department store in Shinjuku (not Harajuku) so that anyone who wants to show off her style can line up and get her picture taken by a professional photographer.4 The best ensembles appear in the magazine.

Readers' comments in Kera! show that the girls eagerly await the chance to appear in the magazine:

Hi, everyone; I have been influenced so much by Kera! that I am now going through a make over I will definitely be on the magazine someday! (January 2010: 118)

Some day, I will be cute enough to appear in Kera! (April 2010: 110)

I didn't buy Kera for two months because I wanted to be an ordinary girl. But I saw the January issue and felt an intense urge to buy it. I am now convinced that it is a source of my life. I don't care if people around me don't understand me What's best for me is not normal for others or how people look at me strange as long as I am happy, I can bear it I am back to Kera-kko. (March 2010: 108)

Kera! is my textbook. (July 2010: 104)

Just started highschool! Gonna walk around Harajuku and dress up so that I'd get my picture taken! (July 2010: 105)

I want to be Kera's model. (November 2010: 61)

Regarding Marui One, one of the girls I interviewed said, "I come here almost every month. It is a great feeling to get your picture taken. It is a thrill to check in the magazine whether I am in it or not every month." Besides Kera! there is Gothic & Lolita Bible, a quarterly magazine that began publication in Japan in 2001 and has been published in English since 2008. A novel titled Shimotsuma Monogatari (Kamikaze Girls), written by Nobara Takemoto, was published in 2002 and became a movie in 2004. A character in the novel, Momoko, wears the brand, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. She com­mutes two and a half hours by train from lbaragi to Tokyo to buy the Lolita out­ fits. Momoko is obsessed with Lolita fashion. "If you claim that you are a real Lolita, you have seen the movie and must have read all the novels by Nobara Takemoto. We look up to him," according to a Lolita girl.

Mana-sama of Malice Mizer, a Visual-kei band, is another figure who is wor­shipped within the Lolita communities. He is the most extreme in terms of outfits and makeup. He is known to have started a genre called Gothic Lolita, based on the separate genres of Goth and Lolita. He started a label called Moi-Meme-Moitie, and his fans dress Gothic Lolita to attend his concerts. He is androgynous in appearance and wears men's as well as women's clothes, just like Nobara Takemoto. Over time, celebrities eventually lead the subcul­ture and become the followers' role models.

Various organizations host events and parties for Lolita, and many Lolita organize meetings and arrange tea parties (they do not drink coffee or alco­holic beverages) themselves. Lolita brands, such as Angelic Pretty and Triple Fortune, organize tea parties on a regular basis for their customers and show their new collections. There is also a trade fair twice a year for Lolita fashion called A La Mode Market. To further promote Lolita fashion subcultures, major events are organized such as La Foret x Kera x Rock Collections in 2009, Harajuku Style Collection, Butoukai Cool Japan Style 2010, and Hyper Japan 2010 in London. These are the events that mobilize Lolita followers, and they confirm the girls' camaraderie and sense of belonging.

CONCLUSION