Lolita Charm: Coming Soon To A City Near You

Monday, June 15, 2009

Coming Soon To A City Near You

For a long time, when new girls questioned about lolita stores, the weary reply came: There are no lolita stores in America. Some brands don't even sell absolutely anywhere outside of Japan; Baby the Stars Shine Bright Paris is one of the few locations. But it seems like lately, that's all about the change.

After a few large events like Yumemiru Musical Paradise, where American lolitas came in droves to attend an Angelic Pretty event; or the NYC fashion show put on by Baby the Stars Shine Bright, with broad turnout - the lolita brands can no longer afford to ignore their overseas buyers. This summer, Baby the Stars Shine Bright will be opening its first American location in San Francisco - which I am happy to say I will be present for! I'll be making a cross-country sojourn to see the opening and report it all right back here on Lolita Charm and the Charm Channel. I can't even begin to imagine how amazing this will be - a large turnout of lolitas from the west coast as they all watch history being made. Lolita has admitted to going overseas at long last.

Of course, I'm an east coast girl at heart, and I was even more excited to find out that the NYC shop called Tokyo Rebel is becoming a licensed Angelic Pretty seller. Angel pony socks, princess blouses, and bunny-shaped purses are just a two-hour drive away from my country house in Connecticut. The opening date is not yet announced, but I can just imagine a wintery evening, maybe even New Year's Eve, where girls can shelter and shop in a lolita store that carries everything from the latest candy prints by Angelic Pretty to the beautiful styles of H. Naoto.

So the real question is, will we start to see an upswing in foreign lolita fashion? I would not say a deep trend - every girl and her sister won't be wearing your favorite cutsew, never fear. It takes a special kind of person to become a lolita and stick with it, in my opinion. It requires a level of bravery, tenacity, and strong belief in beauty and old-world feminism to become attracted to lolita fashion and to continue following it. Working up a wardrobe, sometimes on a minimal budget; wearing it outside on main street, or taking the trolley; and even falling in love with that first, lace-trimmed skirt - these things do not happen to very many people. I doubt that lolitas will become as dime a dozen as Abercrombie and Fitch lovers, or even as commonly known as Goths. But for every girl who walks past, maybe even for every one hundred girls who walks past, there is one who will stop and stare in wonder. Perhaps the girls who would not otherwise have found lolita - never seen the few websites, or gotten a hold of a Japanese fashion magazine - are waiting out there somewhere, and unaware that their lives are about to change.

Links

Tokyo Rebel Website
Tokyo Rebel Blog
Press release on San Francisco's new J-Center
Give your opinion on new Angelic Pretty stock here!

Labels: discussion, event, fashion

14 Comments:

At June 15, 2009 at 7:11 PM , Chelsea said...: I think it will be a while before any brands venture to the UK =(
At June 15, 2009 at 7:22 PM , Victoria Suzanne said...: You never know... nobody expected Baby the Stars Shine Bright Paris, after all!
At June 15, 2009 at 7:32 PM , Cassandra James said...: It is indeed very exciting and I'm not even located in the U.S!
At June 16, 2009 at 12:58 AM , Isabela said...: when is the official opening? do you know? I would love to be there! Thats lolita history! I'll tell my grandchildren about it...
At June 16, 2009 at 8:22 AM , Momoberry said...: There was some interrogations about it when BABY came in Paris : would it become a big trend in France ? But it seems that a big evolution appeared in the Lolita community by the inside and didn't go out in the other fashions.
At June 16, 2009 at 8:29 AM , Victoria Suzanne said...: The San Francisco opening is Aug. 15. The NYC opening is to be announced.

I hadn't heard about the Parisian evolution, do you have an article about it?
At June 16, 2009 at 8:44 AM , Anonymous said...: lolita can be interesting for otehr sub cultures maybe. without these customers these shops would have no chance
At June 16, 2009 at 12:24 PM , Umi said...: You're making it to the BABY opening? Excellent, I will be there too, sounds like the opening will be overflowing with lolitas, I can only imagine what will happen when you add in the anime and general japanese street fashion crowd that may turn up at the opening.
At June 16, 2009 at 1:21 PM , Victoria Suzanne said...: @Umi: I would love to meet you! Is there going to be any kind of SF meetup? Miss Lumpy might be going with me, too :3

@duplica: I wouldn't be surprised if lolita started to inspire other subcultures as well, I think that would be very cool :D
At June 17, 2009 at 5:25 AM , Momoberry said...: The evolution I talked about is that the other Lolitas could find clothes more easily and become much "proper" Loli. There are also a lot of events organised by BABY ( tea parties, fashion shows... ) that influence other events too.

Did you understand me ? ( I'm not a native Englih-speaker )
At June 18, 2009 at 7:03 PM , Musouka_Ningyou said...: SF is only about two hours away from where I live, so if I can find someone willing to drive me there for the opening, I'll probably be there, as well. :D (Though, I can imagine how hard it will be to shop with hoardes of lolis crowding the place! :O Not that I'll buy anything, since it will all be so expensive, but I might splurge...)

Maybe I'll see you there. :D
At June 19, 2009 at 8:15 PM , Umi said...: Ah, sorry for super long delay. On lolita meetups in San Francisco, some of the local lolitas were actually thinking of doing a 3-day event type of thing for the BABY opening. Like doing something the day before, some sort of organized meetup at the opening, and an event the day after. Nothing firm planned yet tho'
At June 20, 2009 at 12:54 AM , Victoria Suzanne said...: @Umi: Well, I've never been to San Francisco, and Miss Lumpy and I have a laundry list of Japantown things to do, so we might go to one of those events... but probably not three days' worth.

@Musouka_Ningyou: Yes I'm sort of terrified of the lines/crowds/battle for items! Mostly I'd like a parasol and some socks, but secretly I'd like the horoscope print in lilac/ivory...
At June 28, 2009 at 12:02 AM , Batterie said...: Man! These cute Sweet Lolita brands need to come to Kansas City! It's in the middle of the country, so it's fair....in a loose way!

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Lolita Charm

Monday, June 15, 2009

Coming Soon To A City Near You

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