WSJ picks up on Lolita "trend"

[Kuang_Grade]

On Friday's Wall St Journal front page, in the middle column (the non-biz, human interest real estate on their front page), they ran a short piece titled

The Little-Girl Look Is Big in Japan Now
-- Among the Brave
(subtitle teaser)
'Lolitas' Dress as Baby Dolls, And Take a Lot of Guff;
'This Is the Real Me'

(sorry, no link due to required paid subscription)....but here are a few fair use snippets.

The look originated in Japan over 30 years ago and has flowered several times since then. The current boom is particularly intense. Many specialty shops sell expensive, elaborately embroidered Lolita clothes. Baby, the Stars Shine Bright stocks dresses priced at more than $200.

The young women insist they aren't out to appeal to men. Rather, devotees say the goal is to be as adorable as possible. Using props like lacy parasols, teddy bears and jeweled scepters, they try to approximate the look of a storybook princess.
"I'd like to go back in time, like to the era of Marie Antoinette," says Yoko Oguchi, a 24-year-old nurse who attended a pop concert in Tokyo wearing a red pinafore, a gigantic white bow in her hair and white high-heeled Mary Janes. "I wish the whole world were like this"

Yeah, that whole French Revolution thing was pretty happenin'

Within the group of Lolitas, there are subtle differences. One faction prefers the "sweet Lolita" style -- characterized by soft hues of pink, blue and cream. A growing number of fans are also exploring the "Gothic Lolita" style -- a macabre take on the trend in which women dress themselves in ruffles and lace of all black.

It might be my personal bias, but I've always seen a lot more gothic lolitas out and about than the sweet kind, whom I find much more disturbing. (athought that might just mean the the gothic ones are more mobile)

And they mention Novala Takemoto, previously discussed here at
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7777&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=gothic

[Charles]

$200 is an expensive dress?!? What planet is this writer from? Does he dress his wife and daughters in burlap sacks?

[Andocrates]

$200 is an expensive dress?!? What planet is this writer from? Does he dress his wife and daughters in burlap sacks?

er. . . actually what planet are you from? One made of gold I suspect

[Charles]

Back in the late 80s, I used to live next to the LA Garment district, my sister was a fashion designer, my girlfriend worked for a designer, and she knew all the cheapest outlet stores where you could get the designer goods for way less than wholesale, if you know how to shop. But even way back in the 80s, a nice formal dress still cost about $200. I guarantee prices haven't gone down over time.

[Big Booger]

Back in the late 80s, I used to live next to the LA Garment district, my sister was a fashion designer, my girlfriend worked for a designer, and she knew all the cheapest outlet stores where you could get the designer goods for way less than wholesale, if you know how to shop. But even way back in the 80s, a nice formal dress still cost about $200. I guarantee prices haven't gone down over time.

Charles,
You must be hung up on expensive clothing.. nearly every other thread you post in has a comment or two about it.. Who gives a rats ass what you wear. You'll be dead soon and as will most of us.. there's no need in trying to impress yourself or others based on what you wear.

I can remember in junior high school having that mindset. Now, as long as it lasts, I don't give a shit if it costs 2 cents.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Charles,
You must be hung up on expensive clothing.. nearly every other thread you post in has a comment or two about it.. Who gives a rats ass what you wear. You'll be dead soon and as will most of us.. there's no need in trying to impress yourself or others based on what you wear.

I can remember in junior high school having that mindset. Now, as long as it lasts, I don't give a shit if it costs 2 cents.

So do you walk around looking like crap?

He's right. Two hundred bucks ain't that much.

[Andocrates]

Oh cracker pleaze. Add up the price of the clothes you are wearing now, divide the jeans by 1/4 since we wear them everyday. Add that t-shirt your wearing and you got $40.00 tops.

Sure I got several $400.00 suits, but the article was about some dress up/ play clothes, not Evening gowns.

[Charles]

So do you walk around looking like crap?

Of course he does.

The value of proper attire is something I learned a long time ago when I was a wee little punk rocker kid. I attended a concert by The Tubes, I was expecting their Quay Lewd costumes, but instead, they all came out on stage dressed in 3 piece pin stripe suits. I think I was the only person who really understood, it was camouflage. Even a punk rocker can go places he could never go before, if he just dares to wear a 3 piece pin stripe suit. How are you going to subvert the system from the inside, if you can never get inside?

[Big Booger]

To be quite honest, I don't care. I know I will be dead in less than 70 years. I'd rather spend my time enjoying my life than worrying over my clothes. You value one thing, the aesthetic appeal of "finer" attire. Whereas I don't.

You may say I look like crap, and trust me, I do care. I worry if the new pair of shoes I just bought is going to impress my friends. If that fine hand tailored shirt has been pressed correctly and so forth. All of these things really occupy too much life "time" for me.

By your standards, yes I probably do look like crap. But the question remains, do I give two shits about what you think about the way I look? Hell no...

Clothes don't make the man.. they just cover up the insecurities inside.

[Steve Bildermann]

[Samurai_Jerk]

BB,

Not spending a lot of money on clothes doesn't mean you dress poorly. But are you telling me that when you buy an article of clothing you don't give one bit of thought as to how it will look on you? Will you wear absolutely anything as long as it fits? People who claim that they don't care how they look or what others think are full of shit. But maybe you're an exception to the rule. Maybe you wear jeans and a t-shirt to a job interview and sweats and a stained wife-beater to a wedding. After all you just don't care.

[Ptyx]

My fashion guide is the monthly Dos and Don't feature of Vice magazine.
And this month it's a special japan !

Girls don't masturbate the way we do. Instead of playing out a scene where the upstairs neighbor comes down to borrow milk and ends up sucking your dick in the bathroom, they're more into focusing on a color or a nice song or even an undulating golden air sculpture that flows in the wind. That's what's so brilliant about this guy's hair. It is literally the inside of a girl's brain masturbating.

And it doesn't cost that much.

By the way, i'm looking for the first issue(or any issue for that matters) of the japanese edition of Vice that has just been released last month or so. That's a collector.

[deltaco]

http://www.tshirthell.com/shirts/tshirt.php?sku=a241