Customer Reviews

Gothic and Lolita

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

]this book doesn't have the creative variety that the 2 other books in the Phaidon Fruits series have. I am a follower of the Gothic Lolita style, and i was very disappointed in the mediocrity of the fashion shown.

it is less "gothic lolita" and more "club goth" styles, with a large percentage of rather lackluster gothic ensembles: mostly just a black skirt, black shirt and over the top (frequently smeared) make-up without the individual flair and creativity i was hoping to see. there are also many photos of girls wearing what appears to be nothing more than their underwear, which might appeal to some, but i feel is out of place when paired with Gothic Lolita, which values modesty, and it takes the book in a more voyeristic direction. a lot of the photos seem very random, like they just grabbed the next kid who walked in the club, regardless if he/she was dressed in a unique style or not.

there were a few notable exceptions: there is a stunning 2-page photo of a girl wearing a sweet lolita alice dress in her room, with striped stockings, and a pair of girls wearing handmade outfits and crinoline cage skirts (amazing! why wasn't there more like this?) . but for the lolita component it's mostly just a few Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Metamorphose dresses worn by the book.

there was also not very much representation of the various sub-genres of the Lolita style (of which there are MANY) which is what disappointed me the most.

i would recommend purchasing instead of this book: the japanese fashion magazine Kera, or one of the Gothic Lolita Bibles, which are published several times a year.
[[ASIN:4860480937 KERA Maniacs Special Mook: Gothic and Lolita Bible (KERA Maniacs Nuuberuguu Mook) (in Japanese)]
Gothic & Lolita Bible Vol. 4 (Gothic & Lolita Bible) (in Japanese)

i hope this does foretell the end of this series of books; because the Fruits books were so well executed, and this one was such a let down.

This is a book on both fashion cultures NOT just on Gothic Lolita. I did notice on one of the pages that the information about two of the girls had been switched - but that seems to be the only mistake I could find. I am not sure why there are so many bad reviews. These are not models but people found off the street. Many have great skill with sewing and tons of money. Most have to do with what they can find second hand. So you're going to get a mixture. There is a big mixture, from the very serious Gothic to the just starting, or seems to be just starting, Lolita.

Many of us in the West were introduced to Harajuku street fashion through a) Gwen Stefani and b) Fruits and Fresh Fruits by Shoichi Aoki. These photo collections, published by Phaidon Press, document the over-the-rainbow style of Japanese teens. Last May, Phaidon released a new lookbook, titled Gothic & Lolita. Each page has a full-color portrait of one or more youths on the streets of Osaka and Tokyo. Included are their names, ages, and replies to questions about their outfits.

Gothic & Lolita is a prime example of never judging a book by its cover. The term "Gothic Lolita" refers to a distinct category of fashion, along with its subgenres and social culture. The title and cover image (of two Sweet Lolitas) imply that the book focuses on Gothic Lolita and its complementary styles. But the "&" proves to be crucial: the introduction differentiates Lolita from Goth, and the portraits include a number of Punk, Cyber, and Club Goth looks with no Lolita elements whatsoever.

At least half of the photos have little to do with Gothic Lolita; in other words, we're got a lot of pancake-powdered extras from Dawn of the Dead. All this is fine - but if someone picks up the book looking for an overview of Gothic Lolita fashion, then she will be disappointed, or even worse, utterly misled.

Phaidon's lookbook DOES contain unequivocally Goth Loli outfits, such as dresses and coats from Baby, Metamorphose, and Black Peace Now. But the wide and exhilarating spectrum of Lolita subgenres is under-represented (see next post). And the outfits portrayed are rather bland.

When I read Fruits, my eyes were popping out as I turned each page. I didn't have nearly the same experience with Gothic & Lolita; the inclusion of strictly Goth looks is confusing, and the originality and whimsy of Lolita fashion is not conveyed. The book is worth a flip-through, but I would turn to the Gothic and Lolita Bibles, Japanese style magazines such as Kera, and websites to get a more coherent understanding of the style. Definitely check out the Gothic Lolita fashion website, http://www.lacarmina.com

I haven't bought this myself, but I've seen scans.

Yes, there's a lot of cyber (I can see C in there XD) and regular goth, not much lolita... but the title says "Gothic AND Lolita" after all.
But my problem is that not everyone notices the AND lolita part, and will get the wrong idea.
But I do like the pictures, as I'm interested in more than just Lolita.

When I lived in Japan (in a suburb of Yokohama), my friends and I sometimes flirted with the girls who wore these kind of fashions and hung around Harajuku station. We didn't know the fashion was called Gothic Lolita, and we called these girls "Amish Punk chicks", although in retrospect, there is nothing really Amish looking about this style.

I give the Harajuku girls a lot of credit for their creativity. Most of them made their own clothes, and customized them in very imaginative ways. The whole Harajuku scene was definitely not the same thing as the "club kids" scene in NY (popularized by that McCauleigh Kaulkin movie), because Harajuku girls were not (as far as I could tell) about irresponsible hedonism or being at the center of attention. I think they really were about being creative and expressive, and having fun with fashion. The girls who took it seriously had a friendly competition about it, and I think they did have a lot of fun, but being a bohemian (probably the best characterization of this crowd) is harder in Japan than in the West- there are more social pressures and expectations, especially on women, than in the West... so if you think these clothes are a bold statement, it is actually twice as bold (a random figure that feels about right) for being in Japan.

*sigh* I can't believe I'm writing so much about a topic that I have only a passing familiarity with, but another big fashion in Japan in the late 90's/ early 2000's was the Yamanba or Ganguro fashion, which was all over Tokyo back then, and characterized by bleached hair, excessive tanning, excessive eye makeup, and outrageously tall platform shoes. Yamanba link
I don't think most Yamanba really knew what sort of statement they were trying to make, and did not have the sense of artistic dedication that the smaller, tighter-knit Harajukus had. One thing the Yamanbas did have going for them, though: their undisputed leader was singer/actress Ayumi Hamasaki. If you want a Japanese techno record that will absolutely blow your mind, check out her CD "Ay-EuroBeat".

I love how it's nothing but pictures and you can get great ideas from it! IT's also nice to know when they handmade something or bought the item =3

Out of 252 different color plates, there are 78 "Lolita" as I would describe it. PERSONALLY, I am "goth" or "cyber" depending on day and club. This book was everything I expected. It is a really good representation of street fashion, just as the title suggests. There seems to be some clothing that I would define as "club wear", because it would be most appropriate for clubbin. Mostly, great creative street-wear! I Love the modified kimono looks. Not something that you see a whole lot of in the states. LOTS of different platform, Japanese style, sandals.....also something that is not as common stateside. The Victorian style goth reigns supreme in this book. But it is not limited to that niche, there's enough other fashion examples to keep from getting too bored.
There are a lot more instances of designer brands that I recognize and can afford. 'Fruits' and 'Fresh Fruits', both featured couture designer brands that were out of my league. This book has a good deal of affordable brands like, Morbid, Cyber Dog, Lip Service, Metamorphose, etc...
The text is short, just as in the previous books. Just name and age of fashionista. And a brief synopsis: point of fashion, designer brand or where they got their clothes, and current obsession. The font is still simple and small. At times STILL hell to read. But they did keep the colors of the font a consistent red and green. An improvement over some of the impossible candy colored text of the 'Fruits' books.

the range it shows is impressive, although I'm not sure some of the cyber outfits can be properly classified as gothic lolita. I particularly liked the pictures of people in their homes wearing the outfits--some of their creations were spectacular. Overall, this book is pretty indispensable for anyone interested in the gothic lolita scene.

I'm not a fashion expert nor have I played one on television. I'm mostly a normal American guy who is fascinated with art, photography and all, or most-things Japanese. I found this photographic essay fascinating not because it represented the cutting edge of photography, but because it captured a random sampling of Japanese teenage and the twenty-something's culture. It's nice to see the replacement of Japanese Student Uniforms with something much more interesting. The photographer roamed the streets of Tokyo and Osaka and simply took "stand up and face the camera" color photos of his young subjects. He occasionally also photographed his subjects at home in their rooms which added another dimension to the book-length photographic essay.
The styles seem to be the current manifestation of the centuries old Japanese fascination with flowers and flower arranging. Each of these young Japanese is the living representation of a colorful human flower. Each person dressed in their often hand-made fashions is individually unique, but combining to make a beautiful bouquet of people flowers. The photographer Masayuki Yoshinaga obviously sees the beauty represented by the colorful fashions of his subjects. Assuming he is just not trying to pick up a lot of pretty, hot young women by using his camera, he has indeed captured an interesting portrait of Japanese Culture at this time in history. Like most fashion fads, the Gothic & Lolita Trend has already run its course and is now probably almost obsolete. Included in the book are lots of examples of the larger Anime phenomena as well as echoes of traditional fetish fashions. Pirate Captain Jack Sparrow seemed to be pictured in one double portrait. Other reminders of recent motion pictures included "The Fifth Element" and the various manifestations of Vampire flicks. The style is morphing into new subcultures and by this time the fashions pictured in this book are probably passé.
The book is a fun look at a distinct chapter in Japanese cutting-edge fashion for a brief period in history. It will probably remain an entertaining and amusing snapshot of an era as time passes.

When you read the title and see the cover, you think it's going to be nothing but the street fashion known as Gothic & Lolita. It's not. Yes, it has somg Gothic Lolita fashion, but it's mostly Cyber Goth and Gothic Styles.