There are many ways most of us view the Gothic concept of Lolita and sometimes most of us have a very narrow view of the style or afraid to push the style further or just plain lazy about it or maybe it is because what we think we know isn’t necessarily correct! So when we when wear Gothic Lolita or EGA or EGL sometimes it seems off. Wearing all black or wearing black and white doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in gothic Lolita or others types, one could be wearing a Classical Lolita in black or be wearing a sweet Lolita outfit in black thinking “I’m wearing a Gothic Lolita coordination” but wearing all black or having lots of black mixed into an outfit doesn’t make it Gothic Lolita {or EGL, EGA etc}. To have the right gothic Lolita outfit depends on what kinds of dresses or skirt you choose or what kind of blouses and socks you buy as well and most of the time how you do your hair and makeup and most of all COORDINATION.
So when I think of Gothic Lolita I focus on the “GOTHIC” part to help me dress up or coordinate myself properly and buy the kind of stuff for my looks and outfits and even when styling my hair or wigs and always ask myself “What is the nature of Goth?” and believe or not in primary school (middle school) I thought Goth had do with depression and cutting one’s self, the darkness etc, hahahaha well I got the darkness part but everything else wrong! At the time I didn’t even know I was Goth myself (silly me), you see Goth does have to do with but not in the way we think sometimes; in my view Goth is the Dark side of beauty! Taking what people find dark terrifying and showing its ok! The world is dark and scary and some just plain evil but Darkness can be beautiful.
When I got to thinking I started asking myself when you Hear Goth what do you think. What do you think influences Gothic styles or concepts? And Most of all what is your definition of Goth ?, so the best way I thought to get an understanding for others and myself was to interview a few people who know a lot in these about Gothic Lolita, EGA ,and EGL and dress in these styles 99.9% of the time.
Here are the few of the interviews
First interview was with fallen Angel on MySpace! She has been in the Gothic Lolita bible countless of times
Name: Fallen Angel
Site - http://myspace.com/fallenangel319
Me: What your Definition of GOTH?
Fallen Angel: To every person definition of Goth is different. I guess it depends on a person's life experiences. To me, Goth is simply elegance in darkness.
Me: What do you think influences certain gothic styles
Fallen Angel: I believe that an important part of aesthetics of a certain gothic style is a specific musical influence.
Me: What your definition of Gothic Lolita
Fallen Angel: Being a gothic aristocrat, I believe that gothic Lolita is the other half of elegance. Gothic Lolita is a cute, elegant, fragile, youthful person; sort of like a doll.
Me: Who are fashion icons that influence your style
Fallen Angel: My style is primarily influenced by Mana-sama. However, Visual Kei fashion also plays an important role in my style.
Second interview was with my awesome Girl who is a Graphic designer and illustrator
Name: Iris Chen
Site: www.deathful.net
Me: Iris What your Definition of Goth?
Iris: Goth, to me, is that which conveys a dark and elegant sense of style. That which is delicate, and bold in how it relates to death and mortality. I also don't believe the Goth style to be a pessimistic one, even though I think a lot of people consider it to be associated with depression. I believe the Gothic style to be a bit more honest and outspoken compared to that of other styles. Goth is a loud and quiet genre- where it sometimes will stand out so much compared to something that is not. But at other times I think it can be quiet and underappreciated.
Me: What do you think influences certain gothic styles?
Iris: I think that everything influences the Gothic styles. Everything that lives eventually dies and I think that everything spanning from architecture to animals have their part in the Gothic genre. There are many sub-cultures that associate themselves under the Gothic umbrella, steam punk, cyberpunk, Gothic Lolita, and so on... But all of these styles are based on very different aspects of life and death. Steam punk is a remix of the industrial revolution, Victorian fashion, and an elegant but dark DIY attitude. I think that this particular sub-culture celebrates the death of an era long gone. With the innovations of technology today, this genre is almost a response to the mass-production of technology and turns technology into something more personal and stylish to an individual. Cyberpunk is similar to steam punk except that it looks towards the future rather than the past. It's a very bright and "in your face" style that usually consists of a rainbow of neon colors and synthetic textures. Gothic Lolita is a beautiful eulogy to the Victorian style drenched in the Gothic style. It takes what is essential to Lolita and infuses it with Gothic charm. I particularly love the inclusion of animals or animal parts into Gothic fashion. A particular brand in Japan, Kikirara Shoten, creates beautiful hats with fake rats sewn into their bold arrangements. Many Gothic brands will make use of feathers or wings in their clothing and accessories. So in the end, just about anything and everything can be associated or paired with the Gothic style.
Me: What your definition of Gothic Lolita?
Iris: Gothic Lolita is a fashion based on the innocent, doll-esque style of Lolita but with the Gothic influence. Usually Gothic Lolita follows the same silhouettes as Lolita but bathes the dress in black instead of pastel colors.
Me: Who are fashion icons that influence your style?
Iris: I am greatly influenced by Hirooka Naoto (creator of H.naoto), Alice Auaa, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, and more than I could even list off the top of my head. I really love Gothic fashion and have been interested in it for a good part of my life. Those who are touched by the Gothic style are more than you would think. Not everything and everyone who is "Gothic" will stand out from the crowd~ but an appreciation for that which is Gothic is always around and will probably continue to influence great artists and designers for many centuries to come.
You can find more about Iris Chen here - http://deathful.tumblr.com
And finally the last interview I did was with Sarah
Name: Sarah
Site: – www.mana-sama.net
Me: What your Definition of GOTH?
Sarah: I believe Goth (aesthetically) can be defined as an art form that takes on elements of darkness, intricacy of design, emotion, romanticism, and finally religion/spirituality. While Goth is not limited to these aspects alone, these are common themes used for almost all Gothic art forms that have appeared in our world for thousands of years. It is not only about the type of music we listen to or where we shop, but also an appreciation for a developed art deeply rooted within western history.
Me: What do you think influences certain gothic styles
Sarah: as for today’s Gothic styles, I think it really depends on the style being used. However, as a whole, modern gothic styles seem to largely be influenced by many ideas formed not only from historical Gothic art, but also mysteries in religion, myths, folk lore, and even the horror genre. When thinking about modern gothic styles of music in particular, bands such as Moi dix Mois and Iron Maiden come to mind. Iron Maiden is a name that was coined from a 16th century folk lore now known as “The Bloody Countess”. As for Moi dix Mois, inspiration from the occult (religious mysteries) and “horror” are often times a huge representation of the messages coming from the band image and music. When it comes to other gothic art forms, I notice many artists (such as movie producers, fashion designers, and visual artists) seem to take inspiration to recreate and transform imagery used in mythological stories and even older horror and gothic literature. I think Gothic styles as a whole are still using some of the same aspects they rooted from thousands of years ago, but as we find many new developments and variations as the style itself modernize.
Me: What your definition of Gothic Lolita
Sarah: Gothic Lolita takes a combination of the aspects I mentioned above in the definition of Goth and influences of the gothic style, but it adds a twist of sweetness and innocence. Out of all the Lolita genres, I believe Gothic Lolita to be the most diverse because it can take on aspects of the role of a young maiden all the way to an elegant grown up Madame or aristocrat. It is a widely diverse style for a large age range that should always be seen as elegant and mysterious, but still pure and innocent at heart.
Me: Who are fashion icons that influence your style
Sarah: The fashion icon who influences my style is Mana-Sama. I also like to incorporate influences from the Sweet Lolita style into Gothic Lolita and even artistic imagery used in vampire and horror literature and movies. Mostly I like to take on a unique image based around my inspirations!
I hope reading these interviews helped you understand more about the Gothic Lolita Concept more a little more and also help you when shopping for Gothic Lolita apparel.
Stay Dark my Darlings XOXO
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