Gothic Lolita
Local student Tessa Hansman got into Gothic Lolita fashion (a style that originated in the late ’90s and peaked a year or two ago in Tokyo) last year when she saw the film Kamikaze Girls. “I fell in love with the look,” Tessa says. “I started buying clothes that looked like this at Hot Topic.”
Soon after, she discovered the real thing — outfits from Japanese designers like Baby the Stars Shine Bright, who specialize in the Gothic Lolita style. The fantastical fashions are inspired by Victorian and Edwardian clothing and the Rococo period (18th-century France). Fans of Gothic Lolita dress aim to look like Victorian porcelain dolls.
Tessa (who studied at the Ritsumeikan Keisho school in Sapporo, Japan, last summer) boasts nine outfits in her collection. She describes the dark dresses as representative of Victorian mourning wear, and the flowery dresses as inspired by Victorian day wear.
[Photos by Jonathan Welch.]
|
Skirt, lace top and miniature hat by Baby the Stars Shine Bright, shoes from her grandmother.
|
|
Black dress by Candy Fruit, bloomers and over-the-knee socks by Baby the Stars Shine Bright, platform shoes by Demonia.
|
|
Blue lace-up shoes and one-piece outfit by Baby the Stars Shine Bright.
