Lolita Fashion
Lolita fashion is a Japanese street fashion style that is characterized by vintage and romantic elements and knee length skirts.
History
Substyles
There are two main schools of thought among western lolita as far as the categorization of lolita fashion.[1][2] The first school of thought defines three major substyles (Sweet Lolita, Classic Lolita and Gothic Lolita), and proposes that all other things are either themes that could fit under one of more of these categories, or crossovers with other fashion styles. So, for example, Country Lolita, can simultaneously be Sweet Lolita or Classic Lolita, and therefore, under this school of thought, Country Lolita is a theme, and not a substyle.
The second school of thought defines several styles, typically based on the 2006-era Lolita Handbook's list, sometimes with a few more recent additions.
Main Three Substyles
Sweet Lolita
Classic Lolita
Gothic Lolita
Additional Substyles/Themes
Country Lolita
Country lolita is a lolita coordinate that has pastoral elements or themes. Straw hats, calico florals and fruits are common motifs.[3]
Ero Lolita
Guro Lolita
Hime Lolita
Hime or Princess Lolita is lolita that a princess might wear. Commonly uses tiaras, scepters and pink.[3]
Kuro/Shiro Lolita
Kuro and Shiro (literally black and white) lolita traditionally is similar to twinning in that it is a set of two coordinates worn by two people, one in black (kuro) and one in white (shiro). The two coordinates are typically planned to match or compliment each other in some way. There are few other rules beyond the two coordinates being monochrome.[3]
Old School Lolita
Old School Lolita is the lolita version of wearing vintage clothing. Pieces typically can either be genuinely vintage lolita items, or new items made to look vintage. Old School Lolita currently is focused on the late 1990s and the first half of the first decade of the 2000s.
Wedding Lolita / [Chinese term]
This term is not frequently used in the west, but refers to very elaborate dresses that look like bridal or princess gowns. There is some overlap between this term and the western Hime Lolita term.
Crossover Styles
Crossover styles are styles that cross another fashion style with lolita.
Decololi / Deco Lolita
Decololi combines elements of Decora and lolita fashion. This is different from OTT (Over the Top) sweet, which is merely a ramped up version of Sweet Lolita.
Hanfu lolita
Hanfu lolita combines elements of Hanfu/traditional Korean dress with lolita fashion.[2][3]
Hime Lolita
Hime Lolita was also used as a term for coordinates that combined elements of Hime Gyaru and Lolita fashion. However, this has fallen out of favor as Hime Gyaru has become less popular.
Punk Lolita
Punk lolita combines elements of American and British Punk Fashion with Lolita.[3]
Qi Lolita
Qi Lolita combines elements of traditional Chinese dress with Lolita.[3][2]
Wa Lolita
Wa Lolita combines kimono / traditional Japanese dress with lolita fashion.[3][2]
