Day 4

The Other

Unfortunately when it comes to the perception of beauty, the saying "Different strokes for different folks" doesn't always apply. People by nature are subjective creatures and judge the unknown or different according to their own past experiences and conditioning. We base what we don't know on what we do know, and often that may lead to prejudices.

Today on Twitter a Japanese fashion blog I follow posted a link to a New York Times article written on the popular and very unique Gothic Lolita style. What was most impressive was not the article itself but the negative response it generated. Even I was inspired to comment and put forth my opinion on the subject.

The full article: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/nocturnalist-all-dolled-up/#comment-774547

What impressed me the most was that the readers comments were not rude, but rather well supported arguments. And even though there are and will always be closed minded individuals, it is refreshing to see people start to defend one another instead of making them outsiders.

"If journalism is truly supposed to allow the readers to make their own call, Ms. Nir failed spectacularly. Her distaste for this fashion is obvious from the article's tone - she hardly presented an objective viewpoint." (Martha, 2010)

One may not understand other peoples choices or the reasons for it, and some peoples idea of beauty may seem foreign and strange, but it is truly inspiring to see how some are starting to take a step back and respect the differences between them. How bland would the world be if we were all grey.

Lolita is one of the many vastly different types of Japanese street fashion that has now spread all over the world and has gained itself a bit of a cult following. Gothic Lolita is one of the most popular and well known variations of the style. In essence Lolita fashion is primarily inspired by fashion of the Victorian ages, but is a more "cute" and "dolled-up" version of the original look. There are also fairly strict rules that would qualify someone as a Lolita.

Nir, S, 2010, Noctrunalist | All dolled up. Retrieved October 7, 2010
from http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/nocturnalist-all-dolled-up/

TokioFashion, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2010
from http://twitter.com/#!/TokyoFashion

What is Lolita? n.d. Retrieved October 7, 2010
from http://www.lolitafashion.org/what_is_lolita.php

Gothic Lolita [Image] n.d. Retrieved October 7, 2010
from http://www.lolitafashion.org/images/gothic7.jpg

Shiro Lolita [Image] n.d. Retrieved October 7, 2010
from http://www.lolitafashion.org/images/shiro5.jpg