The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls - Jezebel Comments

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

HelloKitty22 — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:12:06 EDT

Oh my gosh lolita is wonderful. Really, lolita doesnt look bad at all on tall american girls. Im 5'8 myself and a goth-loi and I get compliments all the time and people are always trying taking pictures of me. I think lolita should stay in japan though all in all. It should get out but it shouldnt spread throughout america in my opinion. My friend and I are both loli's and we've only seen one other loli in Ms. I think there should be more, but not like there is in japan. But seriously, I would love to see a dandy every once in a while.

HelloKitty22

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

shananigans — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:29:43 EDT

I do like that the Japanese take fashion to the extreme. I want to go there just to dress wildly for a while and not care. My problem is the obsession with traditional white and European looks. The blonde hair and blue eyes, etc.

shananigans

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

alittlesalt — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:42:25 EDT

@Spaceman Bill Leah: as in Agatha Christie's Jane Marple.

alittlesalt

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Sunshineyness — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:56:18 EDT

*pouts* You have to be thin and have no boobs to pull off this look. I have the shortness, but not the waist/chest. I'm also over the age of 18.

I fell in love with this sub-culture after I saw Kamikaze Girls. It's just so awesomely bizarre. I mean, we are such a casual and informal society now that I love it when people put that much energy into their clothes.

And that spider outfit in the pic? That is so fucking rad and punk rock. I. Want. Now. *SQUEALS* AND THE BOOTS!!!!!

It does grate me that this is considered "creepy" though. It's not that much different than goth/punk clothes in the states and is a lot less sexualized than a 12 year old in a halter top and mini skirt. And ten bucks says that everyone who said it's creepy sported the baby doll dress with the pacifier necklace in the mid-90's. You know you did.

Yeah, the boys look silly but you have to respect the women who can force them into that. :P I'm sorry, but I seriously have a hard time believing that any guy (even in Japan) would wear that stuff for any other reason than to get with the girls.

Sunshineyness

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

puredeadthingy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:01:31 EDT

God, I love Loligoth fashion. But I can't even get away with *normal* Goth fashion...

puredeadthingy

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Branza — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:31:37 EDT

Y'all should watch Kamikaze Girls. It's a good movie. I think it somewhat relates, as the main character is a Lolita who is friends with a Yanki (biker chick). If not particularly informative, it's at least funny.

Branza

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Shiroiko — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:35:30 EDT

I just love gothic lolita clothes... this post about made my day.

It's a thousand times better than the kinder-goth, poorly-crafted merchandise at Hot Topic by far.

One of these days I've got to make a gothic lolita outfit for Halloween...

Shiroiko

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Seeräuber Jenny — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:23:28 EDT

@RyanB:

Pretty Baby (based on a book called Trick Baby, about a real-life child prostitute in New Orleans) is going to be remade with a cast of dolls?

Yes, sick.

Seeräuber Jenny

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

constancescott1990 — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:20:29 EDT

That was real creepy to hear that they sport confederate flags over there. and to thing i think japanese guys are hot. what!

constancescott1990

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Miss.Sarah — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:52:48 EDT

I'd take a 16 year old Japanese girl in frills over a 10 year old North American girl in a thong ANY DAY! Props to these girls for dressing up in a way that they feel is fun, cute and doesn't require obscene amounts of skin showing to be appealing. Shame on North American for raising thousands of prostitots.

As far as "pedo" guys enjoying adult women with smaller boobs and such, isn't it better than they find an adult woman that fits the image they like as opposed to trying to date teenagers? As long as the women are ok with that and if you aren't, dump the perv.

Miss.Sarah

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

hartleys — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:17:33 EDT

@The Scarlet Pervygirl: I absolutely agree. Gothic lolita became how young woman really hated how creepy old men fetishize them. It's sort of hard to say "how creepy!" when we have little girls wearing things that people over 18 should. (of course there are real "little kid clothes" but there are also very nice clothes in Japan as well).
Sorry if that doesn't make much sense, it's early.

hartleys

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

astralgravy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:01:31 EDT

@lamo.i.am:
welcome :)

astralgravy

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

The Scarlet Pervygirl — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:53:56 EDT

Euro-Americans should take a long look in the mirror at our fuck-me pumps, our manicures, our push-up bras, our skinny jeans, our razors and tweezers and waxing, our women's magazines, our porn, our chick lit, our sitcoms, and our advertising methods before we trot out the righteous indignation over a fashion subculture because it objectifies women.

"Step into a world where [. . .] women are playthings"? Right, because that's a world so different from ours.

The Scarlet Pervygirl

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

lbeth — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:29:55 EDT

I dress like this sometimes. I don't own much brand, and make most my loli stuff myself. I actually just finished a new poofy skirt yesterday. Almost nobody wears the bonnets. I know I would never. x_X I love the head-eating bows, though. There's something freeing about wearing a GIANT bow on my head.

I'm not enough of a weeaboo to study up on the Japanese lolita community (except to know that the majority are unaware of the Nabokov book) but the western lolitas are mainly into it because we enjoy the aesthetic and have fun hanging out with other frilly bitches. And some trannies. Can't forget the brolitas. There isn't much overlap with fetish communities, because most lolitas aren't looking to get laid in their expensive, dry-clean-only, have to jump through flaming hoops to get it from Japan clothes.

And, whoever mentioned it above: Yes! It's pedo-porn when us flat girls get nekkid. I hate those creepy boob dolls, but I have friend in her mid-20s who has breasts just like that.

lbeth

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Peripheralvision — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:26:55 EDT

@sassymoniker: Hilariously, this is exactly what Asian women (especially in Asia) think when they see white women a) tanning themselves to a leathery finish or b) straight-ironing wavy hair.
There's this horrified sense of "AAAHHHHHH! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR LOVELY PALE SKIN/WONDERFUL CURLS???"

Grass is greener...

Peripheralvision

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

GodOfBiscuits — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:03:51 EDT

@Carbotarian: We can be terrible together, because I love most of these outfits.

GodOfBiscuits

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

lamo.i.am — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:03:15 EDT

@astralgravy:
those dolls ARE bitchin. Plus, I found my avatar, so merci to you!

lamo.i.am

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Carbotarian — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:33:50 EDT

Has anyone seen photos of Ukraine's Yulia Tymoshenko? She's like an awesome grown-up Eastern European LoliGoth pro-Western politician. She rocks the look.

See here: [www.pravda.com.ua]

And here:[farm3.static.flickr.com]

And here:
[southdakotapolitics.blogs.com]

(Random links, sorry, but these were the best pics I could find.)

Carbotarian

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Carbotarian — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:22:11 EDT

I am a terrible, terrible person for thinking the dresses in the third photo are hot stuff and I would wear them. To work even.

Carbotarian

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Erinjb — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:12:34 EDT

I wish Gothic Lolita was the cool style when I was about 8, because that's totally how I chose to dress. I always thought I looked a little bit more like an extra from Strawberry Shortcake, though.

Erinjb

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

fizzyg — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:06:47 EDT

I think it's totally fun. Then again, I was a raver kid for quite a while, so I've kind of proven that I'm down with crazy outfits.

fizzyg

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

descendfromgrace — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:01:18 EDT

I've lived, studied, and worked in Japan on and off for 10 years now, and I wouldn't say this subculture is "huge." It was definitely bigger in the past, but you'd still rarely see a fully lolita girl in Japan outside of Harajuku, nowadays they're getting replaced by new trends.

They also carry around suitcases of their clothes with them so they aren't seen by people on their way back to the suburbs of Tokyo... so much for having balls.

When I first saw a gothic loli costume in a department store costume section with the cheerleader and the nun costumes, I knew the edginess had died. ;>

descendfromgrace

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

astralgravy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:58:24 EDT

@TrixieB:
oops! my bad.

astralgravy

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nardo218 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:33:46 EDT

@virginiabelle: Well, they wear uniforms to school, so this is afterschool/weekend wear.

nardo218

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Hortense de Beauharnais — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:29:58 EDT

I feel like a lot of the posts are supposed to be button pushing to make people feel defensive or judgmental. I wish there was a lot less righteous indignation going on in general on Jezebel. I've been trying to tune it out because there is a lot of actual good stuff on this site.

I've always loved costumes so I bought a custom made gothic lolita outfit on ebay. Then I bought a corset to make the outfit look just so now I'm hooked on corsets. It got me sewing again and it's been so much fun. The corset turned out to be great back support. The corset makes me feel full faster when I eat so now I don't have to diet at all and my waist is around five inches slimmer. I'm definitely loving it. I've been thick waisted my whole life until now.

Hortense de Beauharnais

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nardo218 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:23:27 EDT

How 2003. BTW, boys can be lolishotas, too.

nardo218

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

jammiriffic — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:57:12 EDT

@RyanB: *glances down uncomfortably at own 13-year-old girl boobs* For some of us, they just never fill out. Even when we're almost twenty.

Actually ... in a maaaaajor tangent that no one will notice because I came so late ... I find that a kind of interesting question. Like - I look kind of like a pubescent girl. Except maybe a bit taller. Does this mean that porn/erotica featuring girls like myself is inherently icky because images of us cater to the preferences of pedophiles? And my boyfriend, because he likes teeny boobs, does that mean he's got pedophiliac leanings? Or is it just a natural thing, a preference/body type that some people have and that should be included?

This is actually something I wonder about, I'm not trying to be bitchy. It's kind of odd to think that nude photos of yourself (as an adult) could be considered "creepy", like faux child porn, but it's unavoidable that girls like us are used to satisfy the desires of guys who really just want to exploit little girls.

Also, these outfits range from "gross" to "secretly, I really need that" - now I kind of want to live in Japan. @Jessi Ramsey Skips Ballet: Ezackly - I HEART Violet Baudelaire as Victorian Gothic princess. If I only had the nerve to dress like that.

jammiriffic

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

rubalicious — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:56:01 EDT

I kind of love it. Not the contacts and bonnets, though.

rubalicious

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Bohoinparadise — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:43:47 EDT

For some reason I love the lolita look (ok, not the shoes). It's like some strange modernized yet slightly whored out victorian style. Some of the outfits are way to fucking expensive though.

Bohoinparadise

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

pigeoninpink — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:50:24 EDT

uh. i used to dress like this in high school. granted i made my own outfits and would have killed to own anything from angelic pretty or jane marple. college made me boring.

pigeoninpink

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Phalene — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:43:18 EDT

This is adorable. If I'd had the option at 14 through 17, this is how I would have dressed. :D

Phalene

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

MissCricket — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:24:54 EDT

Loving the shout-out to Miss Jane Marple... I'd never wear an entire ensemble dedicated to her, but I'm sucker for anything Agatha Christie.

MissCricket

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

schnitzle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:05:31 EDT

Love Lolita clothing! If I was 20 years younger and had rich parent's I'd be into it too ;)

about the dolls...

@Hampsterpants: They are inspired by Hans Bellmer's work [en.wikipedia.org]

@astralgravy: These are not super dollfies. They're made by Koitsukihime doll studio. They are huge and cost many thousands of yen.

schnitzle

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

GodOfBiscuits — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:53:26 EDT

@lizaownstheworld: I don't know about Despair, but "Angelic Pretty" is a Gothic Lolita clothing line.

GodOfBiscuits

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

GodOfBiscuits — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:51:46 EDT

I like some of these better than most crap that has been strutting itself down the runway over the past couple seasons.

GodOfBiscuits

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

hwdgaysian — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:50:08 EDT

super kawaii? super creepy. but i gotta give the harajuku street kids respect for this.

hwdgaysian

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Katxyz — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:08:06 EDT

@Katxyz:
Sorry, should be teenagers and adults, but it's definately more for teens.

Katxyz

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Katxyz — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:04:44 EDT

I was trying to find more info on this and found a full Gothic-Lolita family pic:
[www.craphound.com]

Cuteness. Nothing like Gothic Victorian babies.

Katxyz

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

eri401 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:52:42 EDT

It is really cool when you see a goth-loli's clothing in person (who does it well). I once met a girl in full gear in the dead heat of an August in the US and she looked as cool as a...dead...doll...thing.

I think, like in all subcultures, people choose to get involved for various reasons. But seeing that this subculture is extremely expensive, includes men (though not as many), and is rigid in its own aesthetic standards - I'm not sure this can be written off as teenage rebellion/ feminist irony 100%.

Someone made a brilliant comment about how accustomed we are to expect *sexiness* in women's fashion that a style like this becomes doubly disconcerting (somehow I can't find the poster!). So true! The "lolita" throws people off but it seems the aim is for extreme frilly Victorian modesty (for the most part).

eri401

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

brokestephenswoman — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:52:22 EDT

@alcibiades: Yeah, sometimes it looks cool, but it has been my experience that kids in high school and college who dressed like that were really, really, really socially awkward. And thuoght that manga were tho only books worth reading.

brokestephenswoman

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Katxyz — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:52:00 EDT

@hannelore:

Men also dress in the Lolita type of fashion, but it's called ouji (prince) or kodona. They dress like Victorian boys or Aristocrats.

I don't feel like it's objectification or that it's meant to be sexual or fetishy. If anything, it's girls dressing a way that they find appealing and not dressing for men. It's a fringe culture, and I don't think men are the ones perpetuating, but the teenagers who are interested in it. It's all very ornate and most of the women are obviously trying to look cute rather than sexy.

Katxyz

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

takeitasred — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:43:03 EDT

@TrixieB: thanks for the correction - I should have recognized the face style was not quite the same as the super dollfies I'd seen, which look more anime-ish (if that's an acceptable descriptor).

takeitasred

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

lizaownstheworld — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:41:58 EDT

aside from the freaky garb, it's funny to read what they have written in english in the backdrops and random headers like "angelic pretty" and "despair." i guess it's homologous to how american magazines put random chinese characters on prints and backdrops because the symbols look cool but no one has any idea what they mean, though i'm hoping the characters don't actually say "DESPAIR" whilst trying to sell me cheap chain-link overalls as they do in these ads.

lizaownstheworld

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

takeitasred — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:39:59 EDT

@astralgravy: I was hoping someone would talk about the super dollfies! There's a whole culture around costuming and customizing (as in, repainting the faces of) these dolls. I've seen some artists' photos of her dolls, which were quite amazing, and then the uncanniness of looking at photos of someone's dolls on the internet weirded me out. Are they creepy? Are they works of art? I don't know, but I don't need to see, uh, any of their breasts.

takeitasred

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

TrixieB — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:27:51 EDT

The dolls are not Super Dollfies. I believe they are the work of Koitsukihime, a Japanese dollmaker. His dolls are quite distinctive & beautiful, if not a bit creepy. ( [akasaka.cool.ne.jp] )

TrixieB

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Peripheralvision — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:24:49 EDT

My little sister got into Japanese pop culture when she was thirteen and got super-enthusiastic about the "Gothic Lolita" look.
My 24 year-old friend loves that stuff, so it's not new to me, but I carefully explained the term "Lolita" to my sister - Nabokov and all - so that she at least knew the cultural baggage.
She was like: "Ohhh...."
She had NO clue about the sexual connotation.

Peripheralvision

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Nunya B — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:13:32 EDT

I think they're kind of cool... maybe. I'd definitely like to see more crazy but insanely well-thought-out looks like these on the streets of NYC (March means the return of leggings and boots, apparently. NO MORE).

Nunya B

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

NameGoesHere — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:08:54 EDT

I like them.

NameGoesHere

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

thatsspinach — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:44:42 EDT

@alcibiades: OH MY. WANT. Too bad I'm po'.

thatsspinach

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

skoochie — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:43:02 EDT

The Goth looks are actually super-cool, although it's nothing I could *ever* pull off myself. Ever.

The Lolita looks scare the crap out of me. Not from any moral sensibility, but in a "whatever happened to Baby Jane" psycho killer way.

skoochie

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

machineangel — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:40:42 EDT

Not that it takes care of any of the total creepiness, but the header on the topless doll page says:

To the mysterious world of dolls
The world of the Love Moon Princess (???) of the dolls.

machineangel

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

wring — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:27:48 EDT

aaw I can't hate on japanese catalogs, they're so fun to look at.

wring

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

KaliMama (Ganesha is my Om boy) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:25:55 EDT

@hystericalredhead: But it's angelic pretty!

The thing that creeps me out the most is that most of those girls seems to have had their epicanthal fold removed.

KaliMama (Ganesha is my Om boy)

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

mariamariamaria — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:21:22 EDT

LOVE the kra-a-a-a-zee contact lenses! I have always wanted a pair of "I'm hypnotizing you" contact lenses ever since I saw a pair photographed by Arthur Elgort (or was it Irving Penn?) in Vogue in the early 80's. "Trust in meeeee!"

mariamariamaria

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

kinamoto — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:19:06 EDT

@pedantic_dandy: Yeah, "Pretty Vacant" would have been a better name.

kinamoto

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

pedantic_dandy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:18:25 EDT

"No Future" is the saddest name for a clothing line I've ever heard. I'm gonna go cut myself now...

pedantic_dandy

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

canhazhipster — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:13:01 EDT

as tim gunn would say "thats a lot of look"

canhazhipster

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

risenmitten — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:10:05 EDT

It's really depressing when you find out that some of the pretty "girls" in this magazine are guys. It makes a girl feel very Inadequate. Damn you androgynous Japanese men!

risenmitten

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Haystacks — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:07:29 EDT

oh my. Thoes speed eyes fill me with fear. So do the pedifile victim dolls.

Haystacks

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Oface — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:07:03 EDT

Its all very "Lemony Snickett". Kind of cool. I'd wear it...if I didn't look like the tuffett Miss Muffett sat on.

Oface

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

BlondeGrlz — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:04:29 EDT

@Jessi Ramsey Skips Ballet: That is EXACTLY who these outfits remind me of. Or maybe those pant cuffs are Esme Squalor's idea of what's IN.

BlondeGrlz

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

kinamoto — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:03:11 EDT

@aubonpam: You do know those creepy dolls are $500+, right? Their clothes run as much as regular people clothes, too.

kinamoto

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

VEGAFEM — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:02:46 EDT

I love, love, LOVE it. Maybe it's because I was a big goth kid in high school. And as someone else said, isn't fashion supposed to be about having fun and being creative?

VEGAFEM

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

CrazyLegsMeg — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:02:16 EDT

@funnyface: i dreamed that my boyfriend was having sex with "kristen" last night. you know, the elliot spitzer chick.

CrazyLegsMeg

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Tea Em Gee Eff — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:01:55 EDT

@TeeEmEff: (And yes, I know it's about $300...that's still a lot of money for clothes for me.) :)

Tea Em Gee Eff

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

pizza — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:58:28 EDT

love love love it

pizza

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Tea Em Gee Eff — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:57:48 EDT

@ManhattanManHatin': 30,000 Yen is a lot of money for a dress, period. :)

Tea Em Gee Eff

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

hystericalredhead — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:55:19 EDT

I've said it before and I'll say it again: WHAT THE FUCK japan?

hystericalredhead

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

jenalicious — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:50:56 EDT

@brendastarlet: i agree... its no longer individuality when everyones doing it, obvs. im slightly creeped, not gonna lie. but to each his/her own!

jenalicious

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

ManhattanManHatin' — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:48:39 EDT

@TeeEmEff: Wow, really? Good lord, ¥30000 for a dress is a ton of money for a political statement.

ManhattanManHatin'

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

southernbitch — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:47:09 EDT

i'm not going to lie, i would totally love some of those dresses. i had a friend study abroad in japan maybe four years ago and she brought back some awesome goodies for me, including a pair of giant super thick socks that go all the way to my crotch. awesomeness. also. the big trend in kyoto when she was there was something called "mountain hag". it's hilariously cool. she also talked about how she saw tons of kids wearing confederate flags and southern themed shit.

southernbitch

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

ManhattanManHatin' — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:47:03 EDT

@nerdsausage: jkfoapfjapgru0894fda I LOVE THAT ONE!!

ManhattanManHatin'

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

KidPresentable — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:46:12 EDT

It creeps me out to no end seeing Asians with colored contacts!

And what is up with girl #2? Makeup to fake undereye bags? Dude, I put on makeup to hide mine!

KidPresentable

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Tea Em Gee Eff — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:45:22 EDT

I'm supposed to be working, so I just skimmed the comments. Hopefully I'm not repeating something that has already been mentioned...if so, sorry.

I knew a photographer that lived in Japan for two or three years teaching, and he said that these fashion statements weren't so much that these girls were just dressing wildly for fun, so much as they were protesting the way that a lot of Japanese men fetishize young girls. He mentioned in his blog that a lot of the women will walk around dressed like that and carrying dolls or teddy bears, and that they usually didn't want to be photographed in that outfit.

Tea Em Gee Eff

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

caffeinequeen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:44:38 EDT

Is the FBI going to come knocking on my door now that I looked at that doll picture?

caffeinequeen

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

ManhattanManHatin' — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:44:24 EDT

@LottieLocks: Dude I look like crazy gorge with an empire waist and a petticoat. As if my inseam ISN'T 26 inches. D:

ManhattanManHatin'

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nerdsausage is a busysausage — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:44:01 EDT

I cough have a complete set of these. They're actually not quite as weird as they used to be. My favorite contains a comic about a man porking a chicken, and sobbing when the egg that results cracks. And then maybe eating it.

And every issue comes with a pattern! So you can make your own crazy-ass clothes!

nerdsausage is a busysausage

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

murderofcrows — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:43:47 EDT

somebody probably already mentioned this, but I totally love the names that they've given to the outfits. i would love some "despair" with my "no future" next time I visit "alice and the pirates"

murderofcrows

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Capitol — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:43:04 EDT

This is actually a subculture in the States, too. Not as large or hard core as in Japan, and it overlaps hardcore with anime fans, but if you go to any anime convention, you'll find at least a dozen chicks dressed up like this.

That said, I am waaaaaaaaaay too short for any of this. I'd wind up feeling like a rolly polly wedding cake.

Capitol

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

LottieLocks — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:38:18 EDT

@ManhattanManHatin':
'Most of it is very flattering to short-girl body types'
Amen, for the first time I was glad that I'm short with short legs, plus bloomers are the most comfortable.

LottieLocks

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

adj — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:37:31 EDT

This is actually quite an old trend. It started aaaaaages ago. Didn't know it was still around!

Personally I wish I could pull off some of the fashions they do. But then I realised I'd look completely redonkulous. :P

adj

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Brittany Bellgardt — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:36:52 EDT

girl in 8th picture is totes Christian's final runway look from Project. Am I right? Or have I now completely lost all good fashion sense?

Brittany Bellgardt

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

militia — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:36:34 EDT

i keep thinking that Bridget from Girls Next Door would love to play dress up like this everyday.

militia

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

ManhattanManHatin' — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:35:31 EDT

God on that second girl... her lace is terrible. Plastic Raschel, ick ick ick.

ManhattanManHatin'

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

ManhattanManHatin' — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:29:54 EDT

I wear this stuff every weekend, actually. Most of it is very flattering to short-girl body types, and quite frankly, I'd take it over leggings-as-pants anyday.

@Miss Smith Drank Your Vodka: There's an American version. It's... okay.

@flackette: A lot of it is based off of pre-1900 European fashions, so they use white models.

[community.livejournal.com] <-- the NYC lolita community

ManhattanManHatin'

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

marib — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:25:32 EDT

I agree that infantilizing women is no good, but at least the men in these photos look equally ridiculous. Those prepubescent breast bud dolls, though? Just plain creepy... like, child-porn-level creepy!

marib

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

eraserheadpixies (now representing norwegian xanax and JESUS!1!@#!) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:23:50 EDT

I don't think anyone mentioned it, but there are a lot of different variations of Lolita. I think there is Elegant Lolita, Punk Lolita, Sweet Lolita, one where you mix traditional eastern clothing with Classic Lolita, etc. I still think some of it is slightly creepy, but A LOT more interesting then what most people wear here. Most Americans dress so boring.

eraserheadpixies (now representing norwegian xanax and JESUS!1!@#!)

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

cabbagecabbage — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:21:10 EDT

Did you guys see this, too?
[www.nytimes.com]
Can you imagine stumbling into a sobfest cinema where everyone decked out all Gothic @ Lolita? It's a bully's paradise. Or E. Scissohands tearsoaked wetdream.

cabbagecabbage

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

dangergirl — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:19:32 EDT

This look is huge with the young girls of Helsinki....

Check out www.hel-looks.com, where you can have hours of fun perusing questionable fashion choices.

dangergirl

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

bipolarcurious — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:19:02 EDT

Oh wow, both those black dresses on the first full-page spread? Want!

bipolarcurious

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Dauphine — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:19:00 EDT

@Miss Smith Drank Your Vodka: Outfit deets, because they are streetsnaps. If you want to see the clothes, go to [www.celga.com] - they have links to a bunch of the stores.

Dauphine

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

wildside — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:17:36 EDT

@briardahl: Indeed, any Eastern culture. Cultural values very often do not translate. I suspect that's half the point here?

wildside

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Miss Smith Drank Your Vodka — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:17:36 EDT

Also, the lady in the all black spider-web get-up: totally Bai Ling.

Miss Smith Drank Your Vodka

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

alcibiades — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:16:40 EDT

By the way, anyone who finds this sort of fashion kind of interesting but too extreme and expensive, check out the "corset front dress" in the current Target GO collection. It won't be as pouffy and frilly as the real deal, but it has a little bit of the EGL vibe. It even comes in classic EGL colors of black and cream. I only passed on it because I imposed a shopping ban on myself.

alcibiades

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Miss Smith Drank Your Vodka — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:15:38 EDT

I really want to know what's in the quotation boxes of the multi-peopled pages.

It reminds me of American mag features where they find random ppl on the street dressed a certain way, and ask them about their fashion choices.

Someone translate please!

Miss Smith Drank Your Vodka

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

AGreenEyeDevil — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:15:31 EDT

Those dolls remind me of the Vampire Lestat for some reason.

AGreenEyeDevil

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

lermanzo — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:14:09 EDT

those last outfits TOTALLY look like country western singers back when they were still called that.

ever watched hee-haw? yeah. they'd wear that.

lermanzo

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

libertine17 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:13:08 EDT

i am disturbed. and those naked dolls...just no. no no no.

libertine17

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

thatsspinach — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:12:41 EDT

@thatsspinach: Oh, and those dolls, WTF?

thatsspinach

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

HoneyLush — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:11:48 EDT

@Dauphine:
o.m.g.

love your avatar.

HoneyLush

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

thatsspinach — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:11:24 EDT

Asian fashion is such a crazy thing. I would love it if they did lean so much towards things pedophiles would love.

I do love some of the dresses, but being that I already look about 16 (I'm 23) I am thinking I would look 12 in those clothes. Do not want.

thatsspinach

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל] — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:11:01 EDT

@eraserheadpixies: kinda like rhinoplasty in iran

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל]

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

eraserheadpixies (now representing norwegian xanax and JESUS!1!@#!) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:09:30 EDT

I got this magazine a few times. Also, the contacts rock! I got purple ones before, but they don't seem to show up much and they felt harder in my eyes then my normal clear ones.
@flackette: @nodoubt9203 (Reefer Madness '36): Yup, it is somewhat of a trend. I think I read somewhere that some girls (and guys?) get it for their sixteenth birthday, similar to how we have Sweet Sixteen parties in the U.S.

eraserheadpixies (now representing norwegian xanax and JESUS!1!@#!)

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

CrazyRedd — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:08:40 EDT

Man, I bought one of these mags. While they have valuable information such as sewing patterns you can use, they are still expensive.

The freakiest thing about the Goth/Loli trend is that the girls who dress like this tend to talk like "widdwe giwls" and throw tantrums in train stations... all kinds of entertaining shit.

CrazyRedd

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

pq — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:08:17 EDT

dolls: a little creepy, but i'm not a doll fan in general.

clothes: fabulous! i would totally dress like that if i could get away with it. same with the contacts.

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

briardahl — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:08:00 EDT

@SharonTaint: @wildside: Haha trying to filter Japanese culture through western lenses about gender & social organization = a game no one will ever win

(Note: there is plenty of feminism in Japan, but it's a feminism aimed at a wildly different culture with very different issues -- we could parse that forever in here.)

briardahl

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

TeenageGangDeb — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:07:35 EDT

I like how "loligoth" fashion is so, like, obnoxiously, aggressively hostile in it's femininity. To the extent that loligoth boyfriends either have to deal with ruffled loinclothes and dude maryjanes, or just pack up and leave.

I have so much respeck for teenage girls with the cajones to pull off those outfits, too. And to be honest, it seems fun (at least, if you got the funds). And the complete polar opposite of Paris/Lindsay worshipping.

Those creepy dolls are weird, though.

TeenageGangDeb

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

virginiabelle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:07:06 EDT

so- what do you wear on a day when you don't leave the house if you have a closetful of bonnetts and lacy goth pinafores?

virginiabelle

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Dauphine — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:06:38 EDT

Actually, the full title of the magazine is the "Gothic & Lolita Bible". You've just got a picture of volume 22 up there.

Dauphine

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

sassymoniker — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:06:02 EDT

I really, really, really don't like it when asian women wear blue contact lenses. When I was living on that side of the world I saw a lot of it and it was always intensely creepy looking and distracting in conversation.

Plus, it kind of reminds me of the ANTM episode where Tyra makes the gorgeous Indian woman take out her contacts and love her natural, dark beauty. I felt like that A LOT with the women over there. Stop try to look like white women! Don't you know we all secretly want to look like YOU!

sassymoniker

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

olivia2.0 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:05:57 EDT

The dudes in these clothes have EXACTLY the same expression as the kats in the kat kontainers/straight jackets. Exactly. And otherwise, SCARY!

olivia2.0

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

royal72 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:05:26 EDT

jezebel = pedobear

royal72

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל] — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:05:25 EDT

@alcibiades: cosplay! half my friends in HS were nerdy japanophiles.

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל]

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Juicifer — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:04:58 EDT

@Jessi Ramsey Skips Ballet: I live in Las Vegas and I have started seeing the teenagers rock this style. God, just typing that sentence made me feel old!

Juicifer

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

dontbogartthewine — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:04:34 EDT

Oh my god that doll with the black top hat is the most terrifying thing I have ever seen. You just ruined that whole 'living alone' thing. Because obviously that is what is waiting to kill me when I turn the lights out!

dontbogartthewine

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

brendastarlet — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:04:30 EDT

@Cam/ron: yes, except that now that this trend has been around for much of the 00s, it's no longer individual. It's a look, like having a mohawk, and you can pick it out of a catalogue.

brendastarlet

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

LottieLocks — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:04:00 EDT

There are lolita community's in most countries, although obviously the scene is alot smaller.
The fashion is amazingly fun and comfortable to wear because it's genuinely just about having fun. Not looking 'hot', wearing something simply because it's fashionable or to look like a celebrity, just because you love the style. There's no 'colours of the season' or buying things simply because your old things are out of style.

The only problem is that most people can't wrap their heads around the idea that woman can wear clothes for any reason other than to be sexy, hence you get harassed alot as people think it's a fetish if you're not dressing in an overtly sexual way.

LottieLocks

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

curiousyellow — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:02:42 EDT

I totally wish Americans would commit this way. It would make riding the subway so much more entertaining. But no. we reserve it for that one glorious gothy, costume-y, party all night day of the year.

Damn I love Purim.

curiousyellow

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

alcibiades — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:02:22 EDT

@Jessi Ramsey Skips Ballet: There are already a few people in the States wearing this look. Usually they are already big on Japanese culture. I see some at the local Japanese bookstore. But yeah, I'd be inordinately delighted if I saw more people roaming the streets in this stuff. People who dress in amusingly demented fashions are almost always awsome in my book.

alcibiades

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

BraidMyHair — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:01:43 EDT

@astralgravy: uhhh yeah. I actually think I knew that. Blythe and Dal collector, here :)

BraidMyHair

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

JessicaLovejoy: Heart of Dykeness — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:00:14 EDT

ACK @ dyed blond Japanese women. I'd kill for my hair to be that natural, mesmerizing blue-black. Mine is the boring and sad flat black.

JessicaLovejoy: Heart of Dykeness

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

aubonpam — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:59:16 EDT

I want one of those creepy dolls. I would put a little shirt on it to cover the buds though. I'm getting kind of a Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby vibe from them.

aubonpam

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

astralgravy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:58:45 EDT

i'm going to blow my extreme dork cover here but...
those dolls are super dollfies..they come anatomically correct, with tons of different faces and bodies, both male and female-they're also fully customizeable, from the eyes and hair down to the makeup, which you pain on yourself XD
also, a lot of the girls over there make their own outfits, which is pretty badass, even though the bonnets and over the top frills are not my speed, haha.

super dollfe.....[www.volksusa.com]

if these weren't expensive as shit, i'd totally have one.

astralgravy

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל] — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:58:31 EDT

@flackette: yep, look up asian blepharoplasty

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל]

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Cam/ron — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:58:14 EDT

Who knows, maybe our descendents 50 years from now will look back and believe that our regular fashions are freaky.

Cam/ron

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

wildside — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:57:38 EDT

Then again, this is the nation that gave us "The Doll Master". Nightmares guaranteed...

wildside

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

flackette is frustrated — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:57:15 EDT

Um, some of those models look very non-asian. Is that part of the trend as well?

flackette is frustrated

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

sylvie calls shotgun!! — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:57:14 EDT

That second girl is SO "If Slash and one of the Olsen twins mated." Anyone?

sylvie calls shotgun!!

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

BraidMyHair — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:56:43 EDT

This is awesome. I would certainly never dress like this but man, you have to admire their commitment! (I do!) and the first doll in the first pic is Pullip (which are very cute dolls!), and a LOT less creepy than those 13 year old porn-y dolls. gross!

BraidMyHair

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Algren — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:56:37 EDT

@nodoubt9203 (Reefer Madness '36): YES! I was thinking that myself.

Algren

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

BrutallyHonestBabes — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:56:32 EDT

Oh, I like except for half naked dead hooker dolls. No no no.

BrutallyHonestBabes

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Pseudonim — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:56:11 EDT

The boob bud dolls look like Mary Kate and Ashley a little bit. So weird.

Pseudonim

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

alcibiades — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:56:06 EDT

@Cam/ron: I think that look you are referring to is more Shibuya than Harajuku, though the two areas do mix a little.

alcibiades

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Algren — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:55:32 EDT

@HoneyLush: As I've mentioned -- creepy contact lenses.

Algren

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

wildside — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:55:28 EDT

Germaine Greer could write a book on this - dressing as dolls? Did feminism reach Japan yet?

wildside

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Hamsterpants — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:55:10 EDT

@RyanB: I think that they are perhaps influenced by the painter Mark Ryden (these dolls, specifically, that is): [www.markryden.com]

I find some of this is strangely appealing. I like little Edwardian and Victorian vintage touches and romantic clothes. On the other hand, the infantalising and objectifying stuff is a little queasy-making.

Hamsterpants

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

ThisIsWhy... — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:55:09 EDT

I kind of admire kids that dress absurdly. I mean, you can only do this when you are really young, after that you are just "insane."

ThisIsWhy...

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

BrutallyHonestBabes — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:55:05 EDT

Dude I really look like the first pic. Minus bonnet. I like vintage, but bonnets are a little too old even for me. Freaky, and I kinda dig it. But I want to be both Alice and the Pirate.

BrutallyHonestBabes

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

funnyface — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:54:19 EDT

I'm going to have bad dreams tonight about scary doll people.

funnyface

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Jessi Ramsey — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:53 EDT

You know what? At least nothing is velour and says JUICY on it.
People don't wear costumes enough. That black dress in the fourth pic makes me think Violet Baudelaire. Lets bring this look to the states, who's with me??

Jessi Ramsey

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

crazylazy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:47 EDT

baby boobs! AH!

frightening

crazylazy

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

randomeliza — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:45 EDT

Those dolls are going to haunt me in my nightmares. *shudder*

randomeliza

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Cam/ron — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:40 EDT

At first, many of these Harajuku fashions creeped me out (especially the overtanned faces with silver mascara), but after awhile I began to appreciate their individuality in a culture that traditinoally stresses conformity.

Cam/ron

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nellicat — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:34 EDT

@RyanB: Yes, I thought that was seriously disturbing, too.

nellicat

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

v_spangles — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:11 EDT

@RyanB: i was thinking the exact same thing!!! that, and they look like they're on heroin or something.

v_spangles

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

iHEARTschadenfreude — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:08 EDT

japanese street fashion is awesome if only for the "wtf!?!" factor.

iHEARTschadenfreude

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

jenneisawesome — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:00 EDT

This is why I can never go to Japan. I would come back with two extra suitcase absolutely stuffed with this kind of stuff. My closet is too full already.

jenneisawesome

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nicebrownboy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:52:54 EDT

Unless it comes with a skeezy European to steal my flower, I'm uninterested

nicebrownboy

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל] — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:52:31 EDT

doesn't one of them look like one of the olsens?

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל]

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Mego — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:52:00 EDT

Does. Not. Compute.

Mego

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

ineffable.me — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:51:58 EDT

I love the japanese because they really get into their clothes. ridiculously so.

ineffable.me

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Spaceman Bill Leah — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:51:55 EDT

I like the one with MarPle Jane or something printed on it. She looks like Anny of Crazy Gables.

Spaceman Bill Leah

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

hannelore — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:51:54 EDT

I first saw gothic lolita fashions on [Hel Looks] and given that the majority of individuals photographed wearing the look on that website were in fact 10-20 years of age, I didn't think it was particularly creepy.

But fashion that infantilizes adult women? Is something of which I'm not particularly fond.

hannelore

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל] — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:51:27 EDT

stoned, sexed, this should be called ravaged lolita w/schmeared schtuff.

nodoubt9203 [אִיזָבֶל]

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

beastybeatsy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:51:23 EDT

I kinda like the bonnets. On others. obv.

beastybeatsy

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

zivah — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:51:19 EDT

@Algren: Never actually go to Harajuku, then, where all the kids are wearing 'em. I wanted to tell them: Yes, you've succeeded in completely freaking me out. Well done. Well done, indeed.

zivah

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

alcibiades — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:51:13 EDT

Too bad you didn't post any pictures of best friends in matching black-n-white ensembles. The friends would wear identical outfits, one entirely in black, one entirely in white, and each would don a black and blonde wig respectively. Sometimes they may be handcuffed together. Now THAT'S committment.

alcibiades

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

SharonTaint — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:51:08 EDT

Japan, you have some 'splainin to do...

SharonTaint

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

treecut...will cut a beech — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:50:37 EDT

@RyanB: The dolls are arching their backs!

treecut...will cut a beech

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

HoneyLush — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:50:17 EDT

I like the one with the skirt and knee high boots. The rest scare me. But damn, how did they get their eyes to look so gorgeous!!

HoneyLush

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

fulanita — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:49:49 EDT

Lost in translation, indeed. Does not compute.

fulanita

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

EleanorRigby — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:49:48 EDT

My friend just got back from Japan. I sent her this link and she said "There were absolutely people dressed like that on the subways and in the streets.
No joke. Those outfits aren't even remotely an exaggeration."

EleanorRigby

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

NoInheritance — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:49:46 EDT

@lesleykat: YES! I was just considering how that would look perched on my head.

NoInheritance

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

Algren — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:49:23 EDT

I can't get past the dead-eyed stares that comes from those contact lenses. Creeeeeeeepy.

Algren

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

anastasia beaverhousen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:48:33 EDT

duuuuude...those white pant cuffs are gonna get dirty so fast.

anastasia beaverhousen

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

alcibiades — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:48:13 EDT

Ha! I used to collect issues of Gothic and Lolita Bible. Once it was my plan to own every single issue. I have since come to my senses, but it's still fun to browse through them at bookstores. Sometimes they even come with patterns so you can make your own EGL clothes. I have an irrational love for EGL fashion.

alcibiades

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

RyanB — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:47:39 EDT

Eeks, those topless dolls have 13-year old boob buds! There's something sick about that

RyanB

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

lesleykat — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:46:20 EDT

I WANT THE TINY TOP HAT!

lesleykat