The Lolita Complex: - Scholarly Commons Home

A true Gothic Lolita thus adheres to the modest Classic Lolita style, but
every single aspect of her clothing must be black, albeit covered in frills,
sashes, ribbons, roses, and or lace (also black). * She therefore gives the
impression of either a “ghoulish” doll or more simply a Victorian child in
mourning.
Figure 8: Kathryn Hardy Bernal
Yuki (age 19), Gothic Lolita, Jingu Bashi, Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan, 2007
* In keeping with mourning dress etiquette, there may be the addition of white as in the second
stage of Victorian bereavement. Although this would, strictly speaking, deviate from what has been
recognised as the Gothic Lolita style, the once separate black and white image is most often now
identified as belonging to the Gothic Lolita category as well (Fig. 9).
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