Dear Janice, Adding to what Devon wrote, it’s an unfortunate coincidence that the Japanese street style known as Gothic Lolita shares part of its name with Nabokov's novel. Even to this day many Japanese are unfamiliar with the book, and simply like the sound of the word Lolita as it sounds western and cute. I am actually writing a little bit about Lolita in my essay for Devon's lace catalogue so hopefully that will shed some more light. The style is often criticized by outsiders as infantilizing young women, but really in Japanese traditional society it allows young women to escape the pressures of school / marriage / housewifery (as women are still expected to give up their jobs) and rather live as a sort of Peter Pan. Many girls enter the fashion while they're young and wear it well into adulthood. There are also many subsets of Lolita; Gothic Lolita is just one, but it also includes Sweet Lolita, Classic Lolita, Wa Lolita, Country Lolita, etc.
Here's some more information about it, from Lolitas themselves rather than journalists: https://lolita-handbook.livejournal.com/3035.html http://onthedm.com/style/anatomy-of-lolita-style/ Best, Elena - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
