Seven Castles

Lolita

                                      

July 25, 2006

 

If you are Japanese culture mania, you might have heard or seen "Gothic Lolita" (or "Goth Loli"). The word "Lolita" actually comes from the Latin word "Dolores", meaning "pain and suffering". Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita" is the most famous dark satire, standing alongside "In Search of Lost Time" and "Ulysses" as one of the master works of the last 100 years. In the novel, the protagonist is often associated with eroticism and incest, far from anything positive.

 

However, "Gothic Lolita" has nothing to do with Nabukov and his nymphets or pornography. This "Lolita" is a uniquely Japanese style of dress. Although it is difficult to describe, it is a combination of 18th- and 19th-century Western (especially French) designs with Victorian, gothic, and others to imitate the look of Victorian porcelain dolls. It is a fashion particularly popular among Japanese teenagers and young women.

 

"Gothic Lolita" has many different sub-styles from "elegant gothic Lolita" and "elegant gothic aristocrat" to sweet, country and classical "Lolita" and even more recently the development of boyish styles.

 

In Japan it is mass-marketed and has wide visibility particularly in the street in Tokyo, on television, in manga and computer games. Now mainly thanks to publications, it has come to the attention of the world outside Japan and slowly begun to spread to Europe and the United States. "Gothic Lolita", along with "Cosplay" and other Japanese cultural phenomena, can be seen at concerts and anime conventions throughout Europe and the United States.

 

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2006年07月25日 星期二 05:54】【注册】【打印】