Ganguro + Goth = Sweet Lolita

Tokyo sub-culture fashions are oh so fickle! I guess this means that Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook by Patrick Macias is pretty much obsolete according to this article:

Ganguro, Goth gals come together to close dark past with ‘Sweet Lolita’ trend

“Ganguro gyaru, young women known for their deep tans, panda-like make-up and bright fashions are fusing with once bitter enemy “Gothic Lolitas” in their Goth garb and little girl look to create a new fashion mode in trendier parts of Tokyo, according to Weekly Playboy (11/5). “There were three rules that made up the definition of a gyaru: a tanned face, flamboyant make-up and hair dyed in the lightest color possible,” Kyoko, the girl once dubbed the Empress of (gyaru haven) Shibuya, tells Weekly Playboy. “Anyway, you’ve got to look as flashy as possible. Scary if need be, which gives you the mental strength that’s part of being a gyaru.”

Gothic Lolitas, however, have deeper, darker roots. “What defines a Gothic Lolita is the color black. Black can’t be dyed any darker than it already is,” author and self-professed Gothic Lolita Karin Amemiya tells the weekly. “The Goth look comes from Europe in the Middle Ages and its supposed to give its proponents a regal air.”Ada, a journalist who specializes in Tokyo teen girls’ culture, notes that the gyaru and Goths haven’t always been as receptive to each other as they appear to be now.

“About three or four years ago, relations between the two groups were horrendous. They were like oil and water,” he tells Weekly Playboy. “Gyaru hung out in the Center Gai district of Shibuya and the Gothic Lolitas in the area in front of Meiji Shrine in Harajuku. The gyaru ridiculed the Gothic Lolitas, saying that their gruesome look was ‘sickening.’ The Gothic Lolitas, for their part, hated the gyaru, too. But recently, the boundaries haven’t been as firm as they were and relations between the groups are changing.”

Prime reason for the change has been an increase in gyaru types who frequent Harajuku, a Mecca for Tokyo fashionistas. They spawned a fashion now being dubbed the amerori, or “Sweet Lolita.” It’s basically the same style as Goth garb, but instead of dreary black, the amerori are choosing to deck themselves out in whites and other bright colors like pink. Another offshoot of the fused fashion is the himerori (Princess Lolita), which is basically the same look as the amerori, but also requires adherence to a particular type of well-heeled behavior, such as strictly refusing to buy from convenience stores or to go out to eat noodles because such activities are too common.”