[ intro music ] Hello Friends and welcome to another video. This week, I'm gonna be getting a Japanese Lolita makeover in Tokyo. That's right. You might just see me in some pink. So last year on our Japan trip I got a Tokyo makeover where we explored some of the current street fashion trends seen in the Harajuku neighborhood which is pretty much the fashion epicenter of the city, with many clothing boutiques, high-end department stores, and street photographers ready to snap shots of any fashionable people walking by. Including this guy, who's rocking it. Now, the Harajuku area is also strongly associated with some of the most well-known and frequently talked about Japanese fashion subcultures, including Lolita. which, to put it shortly, is a very poufy and frilly style inspired by vintage fashions from Victorian England and Rococo France and though it is very different from what I usually wear- insert reference photo of a bat here- I am very interested in trying it out, because besides being a very striking style, it has also become an increasingly worldwide phenomenon, with lolita tea parties and harajuku fashion walks held all around the globe. So this year while we're in Japan, we're gonna be doing a full-on deep dive into Lolita style and its community and to do so we're gonna be joined by our friend and guide of rinrin doll Who is a tokyo-based youtuber as was a working lolita, model and enthusiast. And together? We will hopefully be able to come up with a head-to-toe lolita look. Alright, so let's go and get Lolita-fied. So our first step once we got to Japan was to meet up with rinrin who arrived at our hotel in the full Lolita regalia. Hello everyone. My name is rinrin and I've been doing Lolita modelling for about 10 years now Thank you so much for coming rinrin to our hotel room Thanks for inviting me Oh I made it weird. I made it weird. Sorry and before going shopping for our outfit I wanted to figure out more of what Lolita is all about. Now, Lolita fashion as we know it today has been around since the 90s inspired by a variety of earlier Japanese fashion trends and visual k-rock bands and also notably bears no relationship to the 1950s novel of the same name. As we mentioned before, Lolita draws heavily from Victorian and Rococo aesthetics with the style goal being to blend feminine Sophisticated almost aristocratic looks with whimsical Fantasy elements and a dash of cute. So there's a lot of lace corsets ruffles and too over-the-top accessories with a couple of notable style inspirations being Marie Antoinette and Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Rinrin, one of the biggest defining qualities of the Lolita. Look is the overall shape Basically this sort of cupcake silhouette a lot of fluff on the bottom So petticoats and crinoline are pretty essential cupcake silhouette keep that in mind but contrary to what my first impression of Lolita was pastel colors are actually Not that essential as there are many subgenres of Lolita fashion. That includes some of the same Characteristics but have very different moods So you couldn't go from anything from goth to Punk to the sweet style Which is what I'm wearing or a pop style. There's so many styles So while I was kind of expecting I would end up with something like what rinrin was wearing It turns out that there are a lot of other options so I could wear an all-black outfit and still be in Lolita Yes, that's intriguing now one of the most common questions that people ask about Lolita is why do People dress like this and a lot of Lolita seem to say the same thing and it's quite a simple answer It makes them happy. It's fun for them And they like to express themselves with their fashion rinrin said that when she put on her first Lolita outfit and looked in the mirror I just got this clipped. This is how I would like to see myself It's very nice to love what you're wearing And how you're feeling at the same time and they often mention that part of the appeal is that they're not dressing for other people's Approval it's definitely your clothes for yourself. I don't think it's very like sexy It's not to catch a mate. I Like that. Mm-hmm, you're just having fun wearing what you want to wear. Yeah Now that sounded pretty familiar to me yeah, your Lolita is Tyler's gym shorts Ah, he did not wear them to attract a mate. Oh, you found one despite it Obviously, there's more time and effort that goes into a full Lolita outfit Then Tyler's 20 year old a pair of gym shorts, but I think the idea of dressing in something that makes you feel good Definitely resonates with me reinsert photo of bat here so with those guidelines sort of stylistically and Emotionally set it was about time for us to start building our outfit and our quest started in Harajuku at the La Fleur a department store whose lowest floor be 1.5 is almost entirely dedicated to Subculture brands. You can't go wrong on that floor So I'd like to take you around there and I've selected a couple shops that have a wide variety So now you can try out different styles. Awesome. We had actually arranged to go to LA for a before it opened So we arrived around 8 a.m in the pouring rain Ready to get our shop on our plan was to visit three stores and try on two options at each one and first up was A via Tosh. Okay. So we are here at abia Tosh with na ho who is one of the shop staff? So this shop focuses on corsets? And they would like people to be closer to it and wear it in their everyday fashion Naho also mentioned that in addition to selling corsets. They also specialize in antique style clothing and accessories So what kind of stuff we're gonna be trying on right now? So she says she'd like you to try on a sort of gothic looking style and then a little bit more Light-colored style and the Gothic look was up first And two beside some roughly black items We also needed a corset of course, and once we had selected that it was time to try it all on Would you need help? Um, I'll call okay, if I need it. I'll just you'll hear me yelping. All right, groaning, perhaps Alright, let's do it Unfortunately, we weren't able to do a dramatic curtain reveal of our outfit because I needed some serious hands-on assistance to get Strapped in suck it in do your worst and from the impression I got from my rib cage Oh, yeah, I would say not likes her laces typed. How is it are you? Okay, kiddo? Great, but once I was in I did think the corset tied the whole look together All right. So this is like look number one. I very much enjoy it. I am very tucked in. Yes, I am Cinched now who is not messing around. We're just were in it I also do like this kind of like rump look we've got going on here. It's sort of oh, excuse me It's sort of um rokoko why don't--you're is a bootylicious. Oh, no, it's kind of like poofy licious Yeah, it's not not delicious right in addition to the pouf to boot We also added a bonus choker corset as well as a slightly askew mini flowered hat. Oh wow I sort of feel like a fashionable one. Who's the lady from Sweeney Todd? Mrs. Lovett. I kind of feel like a fashionable mrs Lovett like I could be in cahoots with a murderous barber definitely to round out the look. We added a few pieces of jewelry Including this finger thingy. That is something that like a Marvel villain would wear. Yes. It's kind of like the Infinity single ring It's like the infinity index finger as well as this almost very like ear cuff I'm getting kind of a Lord of the Rings vibe. You just went a little our way Yeah, I think with that they were finally pleased with the amount of things. I was wearing very thick you like it all Sticky and I was also generally pleased I mean I definitely feel a little short of breath, but I also feel good in it So it's hard to say so that was option number one now for our second outfit now help put me in a lighter Corseted look to give us our first taste of some pastel Alright, so this is option number two from a via Tosh now. This isn't necessarily a traditional Lolita silhouette, but it does have some Victorian vibes Especially with the sort of night to gown need duster coat that I could grab and be Outraged with like I almost feel like I need like a Shea's lounge to like faint upon like scandalized How dare you excuse you? So I would say that it was more of a Victorian pajama look one thing I will say is that my cleavage is definitely making an appearance magical appearance I think now ho has created it with her masterful corset skills. Yes She said you you have it already. Oh thanks, it was just hiding somewhere much further down now Most Lolita looks actually have quite high necklines and don't really feature cleavage However, since I usually don't have much I wasn't mad but though I enjoyed this outfit I am a big fan of of like an outer layer. I think that this was more of an alternative Lolita look So I wasn't sure that this was the one for us and though we still had the first outfit as one of our possibilities It was time to continue on to store number two, okay? So now we are here at Atelier Pierrot Which is actually just like a few sort of steps down from where we just were and we are here with my who is one of the shop staff today know Atelier Pierrot is a select shop that carries gothic and lolita items and when people mention Alice in Wonderland as a style icon I think you really get a sense of that here with like serious cupcake and Mad Hatter vibes. So let's get started Hey, where should we begin? Yeah key guy in my show You know, I thought the I she was my pretty much immediately grabbed the dress She wanted off the opposite rack, which was a long layered dusty lavender gown So it's a little bit summery because if the sleeves are shorter Also feels a sort of breathable material. I like that. So at this one first, okay, perfect So I was quickly whisked away to the dressing room with my stockings following close behind We have tights for you. Oh great. Thank you. Now one thing to note. Is that although I usually do Okay, getting into Japanese sized clothes my feet are a different story so I brought a few of my own shoe options from home and during Rin and my Unanimously chose the six inch platform ones, which is fine, but they do also make me a giant. So just everyone be prepared All right, I can walk I'm good. I'm good Super cute. Yeah, though at least I was a supposedly cute giant. I like this a lot. Actually, it's quite comfortable I like this sort of like easy almost like baby doll silhouette like the stockings a lot - the stockings are super cool They're kind of like Haunted Mansion II next up rinrin outfitted me with some wrist cuffs now, we're matching Why do these make me feel like a cat I guess feel like I've paused now and then I squatted down so they could add a Lacey necklace. This is a thigh workout Oh, yeah and a mask for your head over my head It's just you know, I'm just leaving the masquerade. So it's just sort of askew. I thought this outfit was really cool And I did feel kind of like an elegant basketball player sized porcelain doll come to life which I think is part of how you're supposed to feel with Lolita like a little vintage and a little Fantastical but my and rinrin had further plans for me and quickly handed me their pick for our second option All right, here we go. Once more into the breech which was made up of a black blouse and a blue pinafore over dress Oh, this is cool. I love this one. I feel kind of like a pirate Yeah, like a sort of like Gothic Lolita pirate. Okay. I feel like I could get into that I guess this is more of an Elizabeth Swann than an Alice in Wonderland, but there were definitely some fantasy elements at play our Our oh and you'd like that single index finger ring from Abbey. Atach. I'd be like our Yeah, exactly. Very good. It's all coming together but before I could start plundering my and rinrin moved in with the accessories you got any Booty for me and Aleut any puffed snacks Riven gooey. Goo Sofia an eyepatch. I Thought tonight Is she getting an iPad yeah, I Still can't believe they had an actual eye patch to try on. It's a lolita eyepatch. Oh my god, it's happening But after the elven ears and infinity index fingers, I guess I shouldn't have been all that surprised. Is this a look? Yeah, yeah, is it is it a good look as if you look unfortunately for me I don't think it was the look. Is it gone super? Kawaii to like that? Kawaii? I Preferred no eyepatch. Yeah, I think that's why to call but - the eyepatch though, I really did like this Look, I think this really suits you. Hmm. I like the color on it. Do you guys like this better than the purple dress? I do. So I think that this outfit might have been moving into the front-runner position for us But we still did have one final store left to visit, okay Yeah So we are here at angelic pretty with aya and lime who are two of the shop staff are gonna be helping us out today now angelic pretty is the brand that Rinrin has been working with for a long time and they're well known for these sweet Lolita outfits that they sell and two iya lime and rinrin the store's motto is for the little boys and girls inside of us who dream of being Princesses which I think is a pretty different vibe for me when I was a little girl I wanted to be snow-white who's got the blue and the yellow but now I'm more of a boy I said it Great. Well the store looks awesome. It's very pink. But I'm I'm willing I'm open and ready and willing. So let's do it So we started searching for a couple of sweet Lolita options sort of literally I love the food on this one popcorn cherry soda, and marshmallows I could get down with that All right, so why don't we try on this one? Then this guy is wearing a similar one - oh, yeah, you have the same one on popcorn Marshmallow strawberry milk, it's making So they gave me a blouse to put under my pinafore and Descent me to the dressing room farewell But this giant curtain tie and I gotta say it was kind of poetic I went into a giant curtain of pink and I came out as a giant curtain of pink Wow, this is me as always of course rinrin had many accessories for me including some that were food themed As well as surprisingly some shoes it fits my foot is it it's a Christmas miracle Yeah, and we finished off the outfit with a hair ribbon and a purse. How do you feel I feel a little warm but Overall, I feel like I'm in the right zone. Like I feel like I've got the right elements going I've got the blouse. I've got the pinafore. I've got something in my hair the bag cool socks So I feel like I'm like suited up and I once again love my little wrist cuffs In fact, I was very impressed by the wide variety of wrist cuffs that angelic pretty had to offer. Oh Those are awesome pretty awesome. Yeah. Oh don't look at my naked nails I wonder what better nails a nine so with one sweet lolita look test driven We had just enough time to try one more outfit as at that point la foret was starting to open Wow, I like this one you are poufy I like this one a lot. I'm very goofy. Yes. We added two petticoats Don't petty right now. I'm double payment Wow hanky ' now I quite liked the elegant fish pattern on this dress also rinrin and I I think have matching blouses Yes, they did. I mean I then got basically NASCAR pit stopped into my accessories double-fisting Mystic double wristing that sounds better. Yes, which finished off our final outfit option? I was very impressed by just how poofy I was I feel like a Bell and I think that really brought together the classic Lolita Cupcake aesthetic that we had heard so much about I actually like this one on you a lot. Me too I think I actually prefer it to the food one. Even though I am still wanting food But now that we had tried it it was time to evaluate All of our possible options and decide on what we wanted to wear. So let's do that. So We had tried on a lot of different outfits But in the spirit of what we had mentioned before about finding something that I would like to wear that I believe Expresses me through it while still being Lolita we settled on our Gothic pirates look from Atelier Pierrot now Of course, I'm not literally a pirate but I feel like in a fairytale scenario I'm more of a swashbuckler than a princess. So we went with that one with a few small tweaks Alright rinrin found via a new shirt and it has a batwing sleeve I'm gonna be a pirate bat with no eyepatch But a wing I ran a pirate PI bat what we also added a corset from Abiah Taaj. What do you think? I liked a lot. Yeah, I like this one. Can you breathe great. No as well as a few more pieces of jewelry I feel like I'm marrying you now Alright, so after a little bit of shopping, I think we have the final outfit in these two very large almost acts Yours is a mine is more of a sack. I'm so excited. I'm excited too so next up we're gonna be doing a makeup and hair and completing the look So the next day we rounded up our outfit haul and headed over to the shinjuku area to shot degrom Okay So we are here at Shanta Grom which is a hair salon that has a large lolita clientele because of the styles that they do with Linda who is a hair stylist as well as a Lolita herself and de Linda was gonna be Tackling my main and giving it an appropriate do and as for my makeup Rinrin was actually going to be the one to scale the mountain. That is my face What rinrin is today outfitted in a gothic when you call it a Gothic Lolita style pretty goth I think pretty Gothic Lolita style Linda says yes. Linda says yes. God. Yes, just to kind of match my vibe So I popped on my outfit - the corset and stuffed my petticoat itself into a chair. I'm just like kind of like Fluffing out of it I'm kind of like bread and a can right now so I could get my Makeup did no rinrin's vision for the look was something dramatic and purple to complement my dark outfit now I think overall Lolita makeup follows general Japanese makeup trends, but just more exaggerated There are some pretty extreme looks out there But I think the general rule is that you just don't want your face to get lost in your bonnet It's just all about balance So first up rinrin used some purple and gold eyeshadow to give me a bit of a smoky eye Let me see cute, and she was pretty liberal with the dark shadow all around the socket We are going for that funky. I look so the j-league works with it perfectly. Yes, you'll have natural natural bags natural gosh And she also added some red blush like really high up my cheeks to emphasize that pulled an all nighter Vibe after that. We popped on some long fake lashes This is my come hither look and finally added a dark blotted lip with a faint bit of gold at the center Alright, so what do you think? We're done? Oh Wow This I see a lot right here. I love it. Yes. I look so different amazing. It looks great. You did a great job Thank you. Yeah, I love it. Hello. And with our makeup look done. Our next step was the hair style So Linda what's our plan for the hair today? Is that kind of like what rinrin has with the ribbons yeah. Oh So I'll have my hair be corseted my waist be corseted and my ankles be corset it of course Is it everywhere did now for this look? Linda basically started separating my hair into multiple braids and then lacing those braids together with ribbon So my scalp almost resembled a bodice Oh interesting. So you're like corseting my braids together Yeah, I get it. Now. This is a current hair trend that's popular amongst loli does that Linda does a lot I am terrible at shoelaces and tying my shoes and Anything involving shoelaces. So this is way out of my league now besides corset hair There are a couple of other staple lolita hair looks that you see a lot notably the he may or princess haircut Which is basically like straight across bangs with two longer side locks that frame your face as well as wigs hats and general head pieces But I think in our case we were getting away with just doing a lot of ribbons and aside from those Linda was also curling the bottom part of my hair. That wasn't corseted. I'm being doused in hairspray and I like it Smells like apples and with that my hair was done. Oh wow Oh look at the back of my head. It was ridiculous. I'm very disappointed that I didn't say that in person I don't even understand what's happening there, but Linda's skills are ridiculous How did you? Where does one end and the other begin see I told you I this is way out of my league So with my head fully dressed it was time to put on the rest of my outfit and I'm preparing myself mentally They're preparing the corset. I'm preparing my long You should hold on to something y'all turn around I think I should have realized when Linda was doing my hair that she really wasn't gonna take any prisoners with the corseting Yeah, no, it's great. Like I have a giant fake butt right now. So I think that's like a Late Victorian style. Oh, yeah We'll look it up when we get back to the u.s. From there We added on our jewelry and des stepped into my very high heels to finish off the ensemble You're like an avatar thing Blue oh, wow. I can't see my head But I love the outfit after getting a better view of the whole look I was actually feeling way more Tim Burton than James Cameron right now because you're in like a hair salon It is kind of like time exactly Alright one day you and I are gonna go into the murdering business together Rinrin jumped in to explain exactly what we were proposing and what I will say is that linda seemed kind of down Yeah, yes, yes, I knew there was a reason we got along so having been fully Lolita fied We bid Linda adieu and ventured out into the world or more specifically back to Harajuku All right, so this is my final Lolita look, I think we ended up with a really cool goth Lolita bat pirate look Ren's giving me a thumbs up. I was like, will you validate me? She says yes and in addition to our corseted pirate base our look also included the All-important petticoat these patterned tights a garter with a bow that fell down a fair few times Some black wrist cuffs one ring and two necklaces which we matched with our sunken eye makeup Look our corseted hair and a pair of gray colored contacts. I actually feel quite good in the outfit the corset is a little tight and the shoes our little Intimidatingly tall but I'm feeling quite at home in the batwings. And I'm also loving these wrist cuffs. I just keep like Squirreling around beyond feeling like this was a very personalized Lolita look that I connected with I definitely had enough Trappings of 19th century pirate to really get me into character Sure, definitely a phrase But though I was feeling the outfit like Emotionally there were some physical elements to contend with look at these tiny steps You're making tough like trying really hard not to tip over a mountain goat And also not to trip over my own feet on the stairs, haha Victory is mine surprisingly though. The corset wasn't really giving me that many problems I'm actually doing quite well in the course and I'm standing up straight. Give me a few more hours We'll see how I feel, but right now I'm feeling pretty good now while we were in Harajuku We wanted to take our own streets nap style photos of us in our Gothic Lolita looks but my shoes once more posed a challenge If I have like one foot up and one foot back, then it kind of evened out, right? Yeah, is it the perfect place for you to take this photo together? slightly on like a slope and once we had those under our belt or should I say on our phones it was time to move on to a Common Lolita activity afternoon tea now as rinrin mentioned in our interview afternoon tea is a pretty typical activity for the Lolita community and it gives everyone a chance to dress up a little bit nicer and to go and have an enjoyable evening or lunch together that said it seems like it's less about the Actual tea, and it's more about showing off your proverbial Sunday best outfit and hanging out It does very much fit the aesthetic. I would like to take a lot of pictures. Yes afternoon tea set So with a team here's the twist. You only talk about the beauty guru community It's not supposed to be that kind of tea it's supposed to be real tea and that's the team oh my god And chick talk has made its way into our video Now rinrin had made us reservations at a place called cue pot cafe in Oda wadda Which is a very charming shop that has a lot of lolita complimentary backgrounds and seating areas. Oh did I mention? this month this place has a Community cat themed there's no actual cats here. We thought his cat cafe for a second, but As the part of the cat tea while we were deciding on what cat themed snacks we should get oh my god luck And so here we were presented with matching cat jewelry to wear during our tea party It's quite the contrast of your other necklace. Yes. Yeah. It's sort of like Emily Dickinson and her cats That's darkness and very quickly our food and drink arrived p.m. Funds off. Yes is tea time all you could ever hope for it is Coffee and buy food, I mean waves and waves of sweet snacks. Oh my Wow, that's a fun day You know homemaker you do this I had a really great time at our small tea party and I think Rinrin was correct in that it just felt like the right place to be while all dressed up There are actually also other girls dressed in Lolita Apparently some combination of afternoon tea Graham worthy treats aesthetic surroundings and cats brings all the lolita's to the yard look for cats But eventually after finishing our tea set posing at the surrounding booths and exploring the other floors of the cafe Look, there's a giant mushroom. Wow, look at that. It was time for us to say farewell to cue pot my soccer changing shoes up Don't tell anyone and I think my shoes coming off kind of marked the beginning of the end of my first Lolita Experience. Okay. So was it a successful Lolita day Reverend? Overall I really dug my time in our Lolita outfit there are a lot of elements to this outfit and keeping track of all of the elements is definitely a task, but I Really enjoy it as a former theater kid myself I had a great time playing what I felt was like a very meticulous and Extravagant round of dress-up and my ribs are hurting a little and my feet are definitely hurting but my wrists are warm and comfortable So as for Lolita style overall, I definitely understand the appeal I mean the outfits and the accessories are awesome But beyond the actual clothing What's interesting to me is how Lolita fashion brings people together? because the emotion and enthusiasm behind the style becomes like a shared passion as rinrin says it's like having friends in different countries you Might have never met before but you have this already strong bond. I love that It's fashion plus community and to be honest. The tea party was pretty tasty So I get why people like that - so when all is said and done I could see myself wearing this look again Especially if rinrin comes to visit us or you know, maybe if I wanted to dress up for a performance of the Pirates of Penzance Let's wrap this up. Thank you guys so much for watching And once again a big THANK YOU to rinrin and to everyone who made our Lolita makeover possible if you liked that video Make sure to smash that like button and if you want to see more videos like this Make sure to chumash that subscribe button here are my social media handles and a big shout out to Hoosier Sarah for watching Thanks for watching Hoosier Sarah and I will see you guys next time
I think she showcased the fashion in a great way. She gave a mini overview of the history of the fashion, went over a few different styles of Lolita, and made sure to put a disclaimer that the fashion is not affiliated with the book and it’s not meant to be fetishized. I also really appreciated that she contacted a Lolita model to guide her instead of going in uninformed. I think this was a cool way of introducing people to the fashion and lifestyle while getting rid of some incorrect stereotypes
Its such a great video! loved the fact that she brought up what the fashion means for a lot of people. I was a little surprised though that there was such a focus on corsets, but perhaps they're currently in fashion in the Japanese lolita community?
She did a great job, probably one of the best outside perspective videos on the fashion in a while, and I'm glad she got Rinrin in on it, too. Since she's been modeling for such a long time and she speaks fluent english, she was able to clearly express the point of the fashion. Japanese is difficult to directly translate, so interviews with (i.e.) Misako tend to end up misinforming english-speaking people.
I loved that she was able to showcase a few of the different styles AND brands while she put together an outfit! A great primer for anyone getting started!