00:04When I was little I was the typical girl who wanted to be a princess.
00:07It's not like I'm still a little girl and still want to be a princess,
00:11but I just really love dressing up like this.
00:13I feel really pretty in it.
00:17My outfits are a kind of walking piece of art where I can just make it into whatever I want.
00:27I've come to the Netherlands, a place known for its liberal views on sex,
00:32in search of a group of women taking their fashion cues from an era of purity and hyper-femininity.
00:38The lolita subculture may have originated in Japan,
00:42but this style takes its inspiration from the silhouettes and modesty of the Victorian era in Europe.
00:48Now, lolita fashion has come full circle,
00:51back to a country with one of the most active lolita communities in the world.
00:56Who are these lolitas?
00:57And why do they choose petticoats over t-shirts and jeans?
01:02I'm on my way to a wonderland of frills and bows,
01:05a hub of the lolita community here in the Netherlands,
01:08the Summer Tales Boutique.
01:12Tell me, what is lolita?
01:15Well, lolita is a Japanese fashion.
01:17It's very princessy, very elegant,
01:20and girly as well.
01:22The name lolita has some different perceptions.
01:25Because it's after the book that had the 12-year-old girl named Lolita that had a sexual connotation.
01:30And the fashion is totally not about that,
01:32but the Japanese chose the term because it sounds so girly and so sweet and innocent,
01:37so we have to deal with that here in Europe.
01:39What about it speaks most to you?
01:41For myself, I feel really pretty when wearing lolita.
01:44There was no sub-style where I could find my own creativity and just be myself,
01:49so I was always a little bit wandering.
01:50I just wore pants and band shirts until I found lolita.
01:54And now it's totally shifted.
01:56I personally get a lot of inspiration from other lolitas.
01:59Now we have like more than 300 girls.
02:01Katie has invited some of the local lolita girls to her store to help me better understand the many styles
02:07and rules.
02:08It has many different sub-styles, sweet lolita, classic lolita, and gothic lolita.
02:14And what better way to learn than to try it for myself?
02:19Since we're going for a bit more classical look, we'll just...
02:21What would be the difference if it wasn't classical?
02:24Well, when we see Renske, she's like sweet lolita, so her bow is up high, and FIFA as well.
02:29She has a really poppy bow.
02:31And classic is more demure and elegant.
02:34What are the other rules to being a lolita?
02:37Always wear a petticoat.
02:38Yep, rule number one.
02:40Shoulders should be covered, you should have no cleavage.
02:43Bare legs is not a thing.
02:49Despite being covered in layers of fabric,
02:52dressed in full lolita seemed to draw more attention than if I was leaving less to the imagination.
03:02Now that I've dressed in this fashion and I've walked around the streets with you, I can't help but notice
03:07that it does bring a lot of attention.
03:10So my question for you is, why not just dress more modest?
03:13It's still fashion style, but it's just more elaborate than what we're used to here in Europe.
03:18I think especially in Holland, people are just a little bit less used, people who really express themselves through clothing.
03:26I am a really, really shy person, and this is probably the loudest I'll ever be in public.
03:34How did you become so confident then?
03:36When I walk around like this with my friends, I tend not to notice the people around me or the
03:42catcalling.
03:42It's irrelevant.
03:45You get quite a thick skin from wearing lolita as well.
03:48People will laugh at you.
03:49In the beginning it's really tough because you take it very personally.
03:52You just go out with friends who also wear it and we're all just like, well whatever, we just like
03:57it and that's it.
03:58I find it really beautiful and it makes me feel good about myself.
04:04Would you still have the courage to dress this way on your own?
04:07I think I would, but it would take out a lot of fun because, yeah, you really get friends through
04:13lolita.
04:15I'm starting to realize that this return to demure clothing allows these women to truly dress for themselves.
04:21What may at first glance seem childlike or even a costume is simply a bold break with fashion conventions.
04:28They can stand out, but also stand together.
04:34I'm about to meet a lolita who has forged her own direction.
04:39I've never really liked rules to begin with, so perhaps that is why my things stand out in the lolita
04:46community.
04:47Linda Friesen is a fashion designer who has been working with the lolita style since 2007.
04:53With an emphasis on shape, corsets and construction, Linda's distinct style may draw more from lolita's European roots than the
05:01Japanese subculture that first attracted her.
05:06When you saw the Japanese fashion for the first time, what was it that you loved?
05:12The clothes, they looked very rich, like something I would want to wear, I would want to be.
05:17So this perfect, immaculate porcelain doll.
05:20But it's kind of evolved over the years.
05:23It became more a grown-up version, so less frills, less bows.
05:27It gives you the chance to become that fairytale princess for that day.
05:32It changes your whole demeanor.
05:36I've gone from being some grungy hipster to being incredibly ladylike.
05:40You feel like you're floating. That's what it is.
05:45It's almost as if dressing this way helps you reconnect to a time where you get to be treated like
05:50a lady.
05:52Yeah, instead of like a piece of ass.
05:54Right, exactly.
05:55It takes a lot of balls to do it.
05:57The fairytale and the princess-like silhouettes, it's always appealed to me.
06:03Did the lolita fashion start because it is women being more ladylike rather than how we are today, where we
06:10kind of tend to exploit our sexuality?
06:13I think it's just playing dress-up, really.
06:17So it's a nice chance to doll up, like literally.
06:22You can't really do it on your own.
06:25You need like-minded people that want to create this atmosphere and this world together with you.
06:31When we are on the street, we usually are going somewhere to meet other lolitas.
06:34There is no fun in it to wear it at home with no friends.
06:38Katie has organised a petticoat and tea party, with girls coming from as far away as Luxembourg and Germany to
06:46celebrate their personal style in a like-minded community.
06:50I always wanted to hide myself, wear black and then I suddenly discovered this style and I was like, this
06:56is what I want from life.
06:59It enhances who I am rather than it hides who I am.
07:03It's just this group of really open-minded people and they don't really judge because they know what it's like
07:09to be judged.
07:14I like to come to the Netherlands a lot because people here are more open and it's more fun.
07:18In Belgium they are more like, hmm, be more normal.
07:22The world is too boring regarding clothing.
07:25They need to dress what they really like because everybody has that thing that they actually want to wear.
07:30When I arrived, I thought Lolita Style might be a simple statement against an over-sexualised modern day culture.
07:37But what I found instead is a longing to reconnect with a bygone femininity and fairytale atmosphere.
07:45As a group, they found strength through friendship and a fashion that creates a world that's just for them.
08:00Do you ever see a time when you won't be dressing like this?
08:03Well, when I go to metal concerts and...
08:07Metal concerts?
08:08Yeah! I wouldn't get beer on this.
08:09I wouldn't get beer on this.
