What is Lolita?

Class is in session ^_^

First, I want to make something very clear. Lolita fashion has nothing to do with the book Lolita. It's not about sexualizing yourself or trying to attract pedophiles or people into lolicon. That's not what Lolita fashion is about. I don't dress the way I do for the benefit of other people. I dress the way I do because it makes me happy and I think I look nice in it.

So, if that's not it, what is Lolita fashion anyway? Well, Lolita fashion is based heavily on Victorian era clothing, with a few from the "Rococo" period (18th century or so). It's hard to really explain Lolita further without going into the different types, but most of Lolita fashion is characterized by its cute and child/doll-like qualities. It's more about elegance than "sexiness".

Gothic Lolita

Sweet Lolita

If it's not to do with the book, why is it called Lolita? That's actually a funny story, which goes back to Japan's relations with Portugal. If my sources are correct, the lolitas of the time thought that the word lolita meant something cute in Portuguese, so they decided to start using this exotic foreign word to refer to themselves.

How many different types of Lolita are there? A lot. There's Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, Classic Lolita and Punk Lolita as the four bigger types. Then there's Princess Lolita, Shiro and Kuro Lolita (they tend to pair up), Oji (Prince) Lolita, Guro Lolita, Sailor Lolita, Country Lolita, Wa Lolita, Qi Lolita, Casual Lolita and Bittersweet Lolita. Even in that list, I've probably missed a few. The style is always changing and expanding.

Most of these styles evolved from the DIY nature of Lolita fashion. As such, Lolita may not always be limited by type, as those types only came about because people put their own twist on the basic frameworks. It is, however, easier to separate into these sub-categories.

Class dismissed.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita_fashion
http://www.my-lolita-dress.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/r/dream-of-lolita-night-princess-lolita-op-dress-1-dl-13_1.jpg
http://www.my-lolita-dress.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/320x400/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/w/sweet_pink_lolita_dress_by_chiffon7.jpg