So what is #Lolitafashion? Lolita is a street style (like goth or punk) that originated in Japan. The name was assigned to the style around the mid 1980s, but brands like MILK say in interviews that they had been making things in this style for years already.

Much like goth, punk and most other street fashions, #LolitaFashion has evolved over the years, and now, about 30-40 years since the fashion started the current generation is far removed from those who selected the name for the style.

#LolitaFashion is an oddity when it comes to fashion aimed primarily at women: it's not meant to be sexy. The "male gaze" is generally absent entirely from advertising and promotion. This has been a point of confusion to many who have never encountered fashion not made to be sexy

and so an assumption is made that #LolitaFashion is somehow secretly sexy, because surely it must be sexy in some way. This is not the case. It's a rebellion against that idea that one must always dress one's self in a way that is sexy or attractive. It's dressing for one's self.

#LolitaFashion is appealing to many young people because it is for one's self and it's fun and quirky and it doesn't care that it's not stylish. It's very freeing to put on a fluffy dress and to say "I don't care if society thinks this is fashionable, I feel cute, so I'm happy!"

If you are interested in a good book that dives into this in a more scholarly way, I recommend Fashioning Japanese Subcultures by Yuniya Kawamura.

Image Sources: Cutie Magazine 1993, Kera Magazine 2005, GLB (various issues), Current IW and AP stock photos.