A cornucopia of styles!

Lolita and J-street wear are divided into so many awesome sub-styles that anyone who's "bent that way" is bound to find something to suit their tastes.Pictures are here to demonstrate two of the less-seen styles; Gothic Aristocrat and Sailor Lolita.

Gothic Lolita

Gone are the times when GL only meant black and white. Rich shades of electric or dark blue and jewel-tones like ruby, amethyst or emerald are just some of the examples that may be paired with black to create a striking, yet elegant and somber look. Contrary to a general belief, Gothic Lolita is quite versatile. The style can either be very sophisticated and dressed-down, or it can be very ornate and detailed. It can even flirt with Sweeter styles, and still be undeniably Gothic! What I love about the style is that by wearing it correctly, one may take on a slightly creepy, morbid and still cute and doll-like appearance.

Kuro Lolita

What applies to Gothic Lolita, applies almost equally to Kuro, apart from the fact, of course, that it has no colour whatsoever (black is not a colour, remember? Nitpick nitpick) but is entirely and without exception, full-on black.The style, worn, was originally "meant" to always be paired up with Shiro Lolita (full white), to supposedly make a formidably noticeable monochromatic twins -effect. In the western countries, however, the style can stand just fine on its own.

Gothic Aristocrat (female version, of course)

The west and the east seem a bit ambivalent as to what this style includes, but here, at least, we seemed to have found a consensus of a very mature, Victorian mourning-style. Corsets, feathers, lace gloves, veils, elaborate hats, dark colours, jewelry, even furs and taxidermy accessories have established themselves as parts of Gothic Aristocrat. It was, just like its little sister-style, Gothic Lolita, originally created by Mana with the added term "elegant" in front of their names (no need to explain who this guy is, right?).

Shamelessly stolen from Iira's Tumblr (Rosanitida), but you know nobody really does it like her.

On the left, although a bit too simplified and MMM-standard for my liking

Ah, now that's better! ...me and my amazing MS paint skills show you how it's done.

Sailor Lolita

I love the ocean, I love the seaside and I love boats, ships and sailing. Only natural that I would find this nautical sub-style of Sweet Lolita super attractive! It seems to be a reoccuring theme for me every summer, a buring desire to wear Sailor-inspired Lolita clothing. It's somehow so fresh and crisp with its often two-toned white, black, navy blue and red colour combinations that it never fails to remind me of sunshine on my face and salty waves splashing against rock or sand.

 

Old School

Yes, well, it's not technically a style of its own, but it is the way Lolita looked for a long time. It's not just the nostalgic combination of black and white that's currently coming back into the fashion, but has a sort of a clumsy, home-made look to it in many occasions. This is very much the case when looking at old street snaps from associated magazines. The style was developing, and many of the so-called rules and regulations of Lolita were created by us westerners. Headdresses, clunky shoes and even black lipstick were all the rage way back in yesteryears, and let me tell you - not all Lolitas wore petticoats. (GASP) Styles develop and change, but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate what they used to be, and even be inspired.