Let’s face it. If you see a teen or young woman dressed in a short skirt, over-the-knee socks and pastel fabrics covered in frills and bows, you might think about Lolita. And you should — just not the kind you’re thinking.

Lolita is a type of fashion that was inspired primarily by the clothing and general aesthetics of the Rococo and Victorian periods. The fashion movement, which started in Japan in the 1980s, symbolized a rebellion against the reserved Japanese way of life and was a way for young people to stand out and express themselves.

Today, the fashion has spread to subcultures around the world, including the United States. Despite the off-sounding name because of the connotation it holds from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel of the same name, the fashion has been embraced by girls who feel beautiful in the clothing and have the confidence to pull it off.

“Lolita means elegance and innocence in a world so focused on conformity and sexuality,” says Grace Scott, 21. “It’s an escape from what I see around me that I personally have nothing in common with. I’m the princess of my own world.”

Lolita: Genesis of confusion
Grace strives to bring Victorian values into her daily life – like the idea that women should know how to cook, sew, play an instrument. She wears Lolita because it makes her feel beautiful.

“When people ask me about the fashion and I call it Lolita, they tend to cringe and automatically their thoughts go to the novel,” says Grace.

In Nabokov’s novel, Lolita, a middle-aged man named Humbert Humbert becomes obsessed and sexually involved with 12-year-old Dolores Haze. His private nickname for Delores is Lolita, which explains how the name has come to represent a sexually promiscuous schoolgirl.

The confusion between the two uses of the word is ironic. When it comes to the fashion, the term “Lolita” only refers to the child-like nature of some Lolita styles. People who choose to wear it are expressing values that are exactly the opposite of Delores’.

“I think Lolita appeals to women who don’t want to conform to the current norms of society. Women today seem to be empowered by showing off as much of their bodies as possible,” says Grace. “Lolita is a rather conservative style. It’s elegant, relatively innocent looking and classy in a society where practically flashing people is now seen as appropriate.”

Strict guidelines
While some fashions are open to being changed and individualized, Lolitas get their look by following by a strict set of guidelines to create a proper outfit.

Lolitas don’t want to show too much of their skin. Their fashion is meant to be modest. Skirts are short, so Lolitas wear thick, opaque knee-length socks rather than sheer tights that can look too sexy. Their bell-shaped skirts are worn over a collared, Peter Pan-style blouse, and the skirt should be no shorter than two inches above the knee.

Lolitas can learn how to put together a proper Lolita outfit from other Lolitas in online communities or from the Gothic and Lolita Bible.

The rules of Lolita fashion aren’t made to limit the wearers. Their purpose is to preserve the style and define it from other fashions.

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