♥ Lolita Fashion in Media: Live Action ♥

It's time for part two on Lolita Fashion in media! In my first article on lolita in the media I discussed lolita fashion examples in anime and video games, their often terrible executions of the style and their few golden examples.  In this article, I'm going to focus on live action depictions of lolita fashion, in all kinds of genres and examples.

As for live action examples, surely everyone involved in the style is familiar with Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari) with it's immense popularity. Novala Takemoto can be a little bit eccentric, so it's no surprise that Kamikaze Girls is a little strange as well. Though Momoko can be a little sociopathic, I believe it was a very good depiction of the style at time. I'm very happy that it has gained the popularity it has over the past ten years!

No need to talk too in depth about something so well-known to the lolita community though, what of the other depictions that we as a community may have missed?

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The most recent example of lolita in live action form, as far as I know, is Nuiguruma Z! Nuiguruma Z, or 'Gothic Lolita Battle Bear' as it's known internationally, is a tokusatsu film starring Shoko Nakagawa.  In this film Shoko is a lolita named Yumeko, who along with her teddy bear, battle an army of undead by transforming into the hero Nuiguruma Z!

This film features Baby the Star Shine Bright in a collaborative effort. All of her clothes, when she isn't in her skin-tight super hero outfit, are supplied by BTSSB. The featured dress in the title is Baby's Princess Liddell’s Ice Cream Cake OP. The original dress was released in 2012, but there was a re-release of the set in early 2014 to coincide with the movie's release.

The film is on par with the director, Noboru Iguchi's usual fare. It's super violent, extra bloody and not for the faint of heart. However, it's funny, clever and entertaining still! Despite the strong ties to BTSSB, the film does unfortunately refer to her style incorrectly as "gothic lolita" throughout the movie. It's not the best movie ever made, and definitely not the best to represent lolita, but it's a good watch nonetheless.

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It seems like lolita fashion in tokusatsu  is a popular trend! The ever popular Super Sentai megaseries has a  television show, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, which also features a character that wears lolita!

The show features Yui Koike who plays Ahim de Famille. Ahim is the pink ranger of the team, Gokai Pink. When she's not in her sentai form, she wears lolita from many different brands! Much of her wardrobe consists of items from Metamorphose, Atelier Perriot and Victorian Maiden!

Despite being the pink ranger, she is often seen wearing many cream and brown outfits. She does often accessorize with pink items, however, and usually has a pink jacket worn overtop her lolita outfits! I think she is honestly one of the best examples of lolita fashion in live action form, despite often wearing non-lolita-style boots for running around in.

Another example of lolitas in the Super Sentai universe are Nai & Mea! Nai & Mea are henchmen featured in Mahou Sentai Magiranger. Magiranger ran from 2005 to 2006, so their style is a little outdated and costumey, but it's still a fairly good example for its time.

They dress in a strange gothic/punk blend but it really works for their playful and imp-like behavior! Mea is more accurate in depicting lolita fashion with her full skirt and princess sleeves, but Nai still shows a lolita-style influence in her clothing! While their style is really different, I really love their dark, but cute, look!

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Kamen Rider Wizard is another tokusatsu show that features lolita fashion, but not nearly at the same extent as Gokaiger.

One of the characters, Koyomi, wears a unique and comfortable style. While she does wear lolita items, both brand and otherwise, they usually aren't worn in the 'normal' lolita way. Most of her outfits are reminiscent of "old fashion" English clothing, dolly kei and cult party kei with their lack of petticoats and often short skirts. They all share a strong earthy and old fashion feel to them, featuring many browns, greens and other neutral tones.

 It wasn't until the movie, 'Kamen Rider Wizard in Magic Land' that there was a lolita outfit proper, worn in the traditional lolita style, in the series! The film actually features a collaboration set by Metamorphose as a tie-in. The collaboration set, which included the Gold Braid Tuck Pinafore Dress,  had incredible popularity and it is surprisingly cute too!

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The last live action example I'm going to share is one of my favourites, Deka Wanko. If you want to see something that isn't tokusatsu, this is a great one for you! No transforming sequences or aliens here, just a lifestyle lolita doing her job!

Deka Wanko is a tv drama, based on a manga by the same name. The show features Mikako Tabe as Ichiko Hanamori, or "Wanko" as she's called by her colleagues. Wanko is a young woman who is a homicide detective for the Tokyo Police. In her day to day, at work or at home, she is always seen wearing lolita fashion! Even her pajamas and loungewear have a cute, lolita-inspired look! Sometimes her clothing leads her into dangerous or embarassing situations, but Wanko is a character that sticks to her morals and won't change for anyone, clothing or otherwise!

The show is officially sponsored by Angelic Pretty, so most of the clothing in the show is by them. Quite often you'll also see Wanko wearing Meta and Maxicimam as well. Sometimes Bodyline is featured worn by secondary and background characters, oddly enough. Their outfits are usually worn in a more traditional lolita style, and very simply at that.

Wanko has a very original sense of style, and though they do fit the lolita aesthetic, she often pairs lolita in an unusual and unique way. The show is filmed in the fall or winter, so she often wears sweaters and cardigans under her JSKs. Personally I love the way she wears her clothing, but others may disagree and consider it too different and gaudy.

Her outfits may be a little strange, but I think the show is a fantastic example of the fashion as it shows the lolita style in a good light and also shows the "lolita lifestyle" with a really positive outlook towards it! Unfortunately the show is only 10 episodes long, but it received enough popularity to later release two television specials!

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There are a plethora of lolita characters in live action media, I could not have listed all the examples of lolita fashion. There are so many characers who dress in lolita inspired styles and items borrowed directly from lolita brands! Despite the large amount of these characters in popular live action media today, I find there still isn't a modern-day representation as accurate as Kamikaze Girls yet.

I'm very happy with the few characters that are visibly wearing lolita fashion, but I'd love to have a Kamikaze Girls for the mordern day lolita. Wanko is a good example, but I find it isn't as directly relateable or influencal as Kamikaze Girls.

What do you think - Do we have a modern day Kamikaze Girls-like live action representation of lolita? What do you think about the listed examples above?

Thanks for reading!