Sweet Lolita Through The Years

Sweet lolita through the years

Part 2

2005-2008 (ish) “midschool” sweet

Moving out of the oldschool era we start to see sweet Lolita becoming more like we know it today. While solid color mainpieces and simpler styling were still common, printed pieces and more accessories were becoming more popular.

This transitional period between oldschool and the iconic 2010s ott era is often left out in conversations about Lolita history despite it really having its own interesting trends.

In general this era was very glamorous in its trends- gyaru was a huge influence on the trends and you can absolutely see that influence.

This is the period where balancing colors and having elaborately themed coords started. Brands really started to have their own styles and identities.

As a sort of in between of heavy prints and solids appliqué prints and screen prints were very popular at the time. Brands put a lot out and the community caught onto this trend very quickly

I also often see coords from the early part of this era mislabeled as oldschool despite them already being quite modern. I do think there’s overlap, especially around 2005-2006 but familiarizing yourself with the styling differences makes it pretty easy to see the differences. The “new” way of coording at the time was far more sweet, more elaborate, more detailed, and more accessorized. THIS is the period where tea parties, modern usakumya designs, baby’s heart bags, and many other iconic designs that are often labeled as oldschool were made. Mislabeling them as oldschool both harms the ability to properly emulate oldschool and erases the history of the transitional period between then and the ott era. Wrist cuffs were also becoming common place at this point.

Printed socks started to become both more elaborate and more popular though lace topped otks stayed pretty common and popular in this period.

Jewelry got more detailed and cutesy. Plastic jewelry started to become more common, however more detailed metal jewelry was the majority of what you’ll see. Jewelry and socks that matched the motifs of dresses started to become the standard at this point.

Other accessories were very varied though mini Alice bows were really the most popular and common. A lot of fun and experimental headpieces like plastic headbands, mini hats, and the always iconic napayoshi bunny bonnet were made in this time.

Novelty bags and heavily printed totes also started to become more common and popular. Strangely it seems that plush animal bags fell out of popularity until the tail end of this era moving into the ott craze. Printed hand bags were the most popular, but some shaped novelty bags were still made- especially towards the end of this period.

This is one of the first Lolita eras where hair and makeup became a big part of styling a coord. With the popularization of gyaru you could see many influences in how Lolita’s did their hair and makeup both in this period and in the 2010s. Though the makeup was simpler and typically didn’t veer into full gyaru territory until the later part into the 2010s

More accessories like wrist cuffs, faux collars, brooches, gloves and little chains that clipped from one jsk strap to the other were seen at this time too. Faux fur in details was extremely popular with some brands even including fur trims on their mainpieces. Pearls, polkadots, charms, and florals were all also rampant.

Motifs were all over the place at the time but some of the most popular / common were: poodles, cakes / sweets, polkadots, Alice / card / trumps, berries, crowns, cats, houndstooth, florals, and crowns!

Thanks so much for reading, if you’re interested in reading more see: part 1 part 3

Search terms for Mori and Yama Girl, Grimoire Girl/Dolly Kei

This is a work in progress and will change over time. Not every search term will come up with clothing suitable for each fashion, it takes a good eye and some imagination to make it work. It is best to study the best known brands of each fashion to understand what to look for. Google searching the following fashions in japanese give the best results: 森ガール、ナチュラル系、山ガール、グリモワールファッション

A few things to remember: modest clothing, layering, loose fitting clothing that drapes nicely, the right fabric and minimal makeup is absolutely key for mori girl. embellishments, asymmetry, varying colors and textures are also important. Additionally, because of confusion, the biggest difference mori girl and natural kei is the amount of layers.

Mori kei, or 森系 is not a Japanese term. I am unsure of the origin, but it used in Chinese (and searching it in google brings up Chinese results), and westerners use it the same way for example Visual kei, a long known Japanese street fashion is used. For this reason, I have not included it for recommended search terms.

Hama girl, or 浜ガール is not coined in Japan. It was coined by someone on Tumblr, who then aggregated a series of photos of mori girls by the sea. For this reason I have not included it in recommended search terms since it will difficult to find anything.

Yama girl is more a lifestyle than fashion. The term originated in 2009 when the Japanese government was actively promoting trekking around Mt. Fuji.

The terms for dolly kei are based on the fashion around 2010; the store Grimoire has changed since, with an overall lighter palette.

森ガール Magazines: Spoon, Valon

Themes: nordic, amish, boho, bohemian, lagenlook, mennonite, mori girl, mori kei, nautical, rustic, shabby chic, upcycle, loose clothing, vintage, layered

Colors: Main colors are beige, the natural color fabrics like cotton, linen, etc. and shades of brown (from light tea brown, clay to tree bark). Secondary colors are blue, green, rust, earthen colors. Can use blues, reds, yellows, pretty much other colors as well, but in natural tones. Shades of brown matching skin color are also a plus.

CLOTHING Tops: pintuck, crochet vest, oversized cardigans and sweaters, peter pan collar, shawl, flannel, smocked, henley shirt, sailor collar, Bottoms: layered skirt, long flowy skirts, button down skirts, baggy lose denim pants, kapri denim, harem pants, boot cuffs One Pieces: prairie dress, a-line dress, overalls Accessories: lace socks, cotton tights and socks, leather and/or canvas backpacks, straw bags. I’ve seen deer antlers flower crowns and capes in mori girl but it seems to be prominent in western mori girl

MATERIALS cotton, linen, gingham, crochet, knit, patchwork, plaid/tartan, denim, floral fabric, leather, suede, polka dot, wool, gauze, muslin, chintz fabric

EMBELLISHMENTS cotton lace (especially eyelet), tulle, wood buttons

HOUSE/ROOM DECORATIONS knick knack, kitsch, knotty pine, rustic, country home living

MASCOTS Muumin, Little Bear, Where the Wild Things Are

SHOES round toes are very common in mori girl. combat boots, mary janes, desert boots, duck feet boots, penny loafers, moccasins, moc toe boots, oxfords, wood clogs, espadrilles, sheepskin boots (ugg, bearpaw, etc)

BRANDS Clothing: Wonder Rocket, Favorite One, Onepi-C, Dearli Shoes: A lot of comfort shoe brands are suitable for mori girl. Some examples are Birkenstock, Dansko (they are advertised in moi girl magazines), Born/BoC, Clarks, Taos, Blowfish (some styles are made out of linen) Accessories: same as clothing brands

山ガール Magazines: Randonee, falo

Themes: mountaineering, rustic, nordic, hiking, camping

Colors: Yama girl uses a lot of neon colors because for safety reasons during hiking. So there arent set colors.

CLOTHING Tops: flannel vests, Bottoms: mountain skirt, compression tights One Pieces: Accessories: leather canvas backpacks, hiking backpacks, leg warmers

MATERIALS cotton, wool linen, gingham, plaid/tartan, denim, nordic print, waterproof material (tyvek, gore-tex)

HOUSE/ROOM DECORATIONS rustic pine, knotty pine

SHOES Hiking boots, duckfeet boots, combat boots

BRANDS Clothing:Columbia, North Face, l. l. bean Shoes: Keens, L.L bean, Columbia, Birkenstock Accessories:

Grimoire Girl/Dolly Kei Themes: antique, 1920s, grimoire, eastern european, russian, slovak vintage, victorian, edwardian, catholic themes

Colors: reds

CLOTHING Tops: sailor collar, folk vest Bottoms: One Pieces: dirndl type wear, victorian day dress, peignoir Accessories:

MATERIALS cotton, tapestry, patchwork, plaid/tartan, needlepoint, leather, suede, fur

EMBELLISHMENTS

HOUSE/ROOM DECORATIONS

SHOES Shoe style: wood heels, clogs

BRANDS Clothing:Grimoire, Vintage Gunne Sax Shoes: Accessories: