Making Lolita Brands More Accessible - A Response

Quite probably my favorite lolita blog (because who wouldn't love a blog with a name like F*** Yeah Lolita) was updated today with a post titled Making Lolita Brands More Accessible, an inquiry into why lolita brands do business the way they do and what they could do to improve. I was typing my reply in a comment, but realized midway through that I'd already written 2 full pages. This is clearly not an acceptable way to leave a comment (though I certainly wouldn't mind one like this on my own blog!), so I've decided to post it here instead, and link there.

I do not intend to write many opinion pieces on this blog, but perhaps once in a while I shall adventure into that territory. For now, here are some of my thoughts on lolita brands.

Please go and read Caro-chan's original post, "Making Lolita Brands More Accessible," before reading any further here!


Caro-chan writes of 4 main proposals she would have to improve brands, opening them up from a niche market and making them more accessible for "the typical Lolita". I quote from her original post and offer my own thoughts below.

・ Expand to the West.

First off, I believe they have done this remarkably well in the last few years. Most brands do ship overseas, and many have fluent, even native, English speakers working on this side of their business. It's still a new market that is in testing, so it's risky business for them, but they are doing very well. Keep in mind that the idea of not shipping abroad is not a lolita thing, but a Japanese thing in general - that's why things like J-List exist. Most shops will not ship overseas. It is very different from the way things are done in the US and Europe, etc, where most companies will ship anywhere provided you are willing to pay shipping. On this front, lolita brands are actually quite pioneering.

To respond further to this bullet point, Caro says:

It's no secret that Lolita isn't as big as it used to be in the early 2000's in Japan, the whole fashion seems to have migrated West. There are literally thousands of customers outside of Japan that many brands are cutting themselves off from by not, at the very least, offering overseas shipping.

I adamantly disagree with this statement. Lolita is not dying in Japan - on the contrary, it is increasingly popular. It has never been, nor will it ever be, mainstream. But it is not less prevalent than it has ever been. I cannot figure out where people keep getting this idea!

I agree that not offering overseas shipping does cut off international customers, but as I've already said, most do this.

・ Multiple sizes.

It is true that by offering larger sizes, they would probably get more customers. There is also, however, some worry by brands that offering larger sizes would alienate their main customer base, who would be afraid to be seen in something a "fatty-chan" could also buy, and it would lose exclusivity. Personally, I don't put too much stock in this concern, and I don't think it would actually be a problem, but it is true nonetheless that it is a prevalent worry in the minds of designers.

By the way, as an aside, I remember when I was taking an intro level economics class back in college, my professor telling us a story of a famous, highly-exclusive, highly-successful exercise clothing brand who offered only one size. It was an American brand, if I remember correctly. Despite offering only one size, in America no less, where sizes range much more than in Japan, it became one of the most sought after brands for exercise clothing. Why? Because if you could wear it, it meant you had the Perfect Figure. Girls would squeeze themselves in just to show off that logo that proclaimed "this is the ideal female figure". Now, is that ridiculous, silly, discriminatory? Sure! But it worked, and they had great economic success! Is this what the lolita brands are aiming for? I don't believe so. But I'm sure there's a tiny tinge of this kind of thinking somewhere in the back of someone's mind, and I can't blame them, particularly in the Japanese culture, which is quite different than ours on how they think of weight issues.

So it's not as simple as "more people who can wear the clothes == more people who will buy the clothes". They are concerned about losing current customers by reaching for these new customers.

But nonetheless, I do not believe this is the main reason why they do not offer larger sizes.

Why then? Because the customer base is simply Not There. Or at least they do not see that it is there. Perhaps it is, but they have not noticed yet. But in general, this again goes back to Caro's assumption that lolita is dying in Japan, and that only people abroad wear it anymore. (Okay, Caro never said only, of course, I am exaggerating. But nonetheless, she is coming at this from a viewpoint that lolita is growing abroad and shrinking in Japan, the latter of which I disagree with.) Most of the people who buy from the brands are still Japanese. When I say “most”, I mean a very very large “most”. It is still a Japanese fashion, and the brands cannot be blamed for targeting their Japanese customers as their main customers. And in this group, there are few who require anything larger than a size L. Do they exist? Sure! But they are rare…and while a Japanese girl may be willing to “forgive” a gaijin for being, well, “more to love”, she’s more likely to look down upon another Japanese girl for the same thing. And even the standard size 9, the standard M size, is rather larger than most average clothing you’ll find in a more mainstream boutique in Japan. It may seem small to us, but I could fit into lolita brand clothing easily while I could not walk into any mall and find clothing for work. On average, Japanese lolita brand clothing already runs larger than mainstream boutique clothing.

There is a sideline image (among all the negative images of cutting, self-mutilation, NEET, craziness, otakudom, social anxiety, social incompetence, and just plain bad fashion sense) that exists in mainstream Japan about lolitas, and it is that they are, well, pudgy. Your average lolita in Japan already may have a few pounds on her schoolmates. Not necessarily, to be sure! Lolitas do not like this image (unsurprisingly), so the idea of offering special larger sizes can be quite distasteful to many. So not only do brands not want the risk of making the larger (in their eyes, huge) sizes for the untested international market, but it’s also a risk they are taking domestically as well.

Those are just my thoughts on her "mystery". ;)

・ Friendlier customer service.

I agree with this one whole-heartedly. But I also would say they are working on improving. There can be horror stories told about any store, and in general the lolita brands do have amazing service, but they still do have room to improve. In their defense, I would say that stories like the one Caro linked (which is truly disturbing) are rare, but they should be nonexistent. I hope they will continue to improve. In IW’s defense in particular, they currently have a very lovely girl who is a native speaker (an American, and a friend) working on their international orders, so I am sure that this case would not happen again while she is there. I hope we do not see cases like this again in the future.

・ Lower priced items.

This one confuses me. They do offer inexpensive items. Maybe I haven’t looked recently, but if it is true that most don’t have totes, etc, I bet it’s just at the moment. Or maybe they’ve stopped offering them on the site, and just have them in stores lately? I’m not sure on this one. But you can buy hairbows, accessories, etc for $30 or so, so it’s not like there aren’t inexpensive items to be found. There are pouches, pen cases, and even Bunny Bear straps available on the Baby site for $20-30. And a pair of socks is always affordable and useful and so cute!

I think that the niche for cheapo items is taken up by lucky packs, which are being offered more and more frequently lately. Isn’t a full outfit, with a jumperskirt, blouse, bag, socks, and hairbow for $200 (or $250 or whatever) better than a tote bag for $20 or a tshirt for $40? I’m not sure people would be willing to pay the $15 shipping for a $20 tote bag anyway (at least I wouldn’t!).

Though I suppose it certainly wouldn’t hurt to offer these things, and perhaps people would buy them, and they are fun to have and also fun to give as gifts, so I won’t really disagree with you here. It’s just not a problem I’ve noticed.


I have now explained my thoughts on each of the four main points, but I have not touched the remainder of the post at all yet. I will leave much of it unsaid, as I think my thoughts are explained clearly enough with the above. But there is 1 more line I would like to address. I think the statement I take the most issue with is this one:

Someone really needs to send Mana a note letting him no that he's not actually Christian Dior, no matter how high he prices his clothes.

Why? He doesn’t have to be Christian Dior to have some personal values. There are not only 2 kinds of stores, Dior and Walmart. There are allowed to be, there should be, some in the middle. Some cute little boutiques that do things the way they want to, decide their own business plan, and follow their own hearts. Make their own unique designs and sell them in whatever sizes they want, regardless of whether they will be trendy or not. Regardless of whether someone wants to call them “elitist” or not. Maybe they are! Maybe we like them this way. ;) These are our lolita brands, and I wouldn’t change them for the world. ♥

Let's Talk About Milk

Below is an English translation of the fifth of 31 essays/short articles in Takemoto Novala's recently published 乙女のトリビア, or Trivia for Maidens, originally published in Zipper magazine.

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Let’s Talk About Milk.
Things About Milk That You Don’t Know About

Do you like Milk? I bet you do. Even if you’ve never worn it yourself, Milk’s clothing can make you dizzy just looking at it.

It’s extremely cute, but at the same time rock and roll, and very street even as it’s classy. It’s always cutting edge. So I’ve always loved Milk. My characters often wear Milk. After all, my debut novel Mishin was about a punk rocker who wore Milk. I don’t believe I would have ever made it as a novelist if Milk didn’t exist.


Missin' by Takemoto Novala

How much do you know about Milk? This time, let’s learn about Milk’s history.

From the beginning, Milk’s director has been Hitomi. The shop was started all the way back in the 70s. Milk’s been around longer than you have. Currently, the head shop is in Harajuku on Meiji-doori Street, but originally it was in a building called "Central Apartments" in Omotesando, in a tiny room that would be full to the brim if there were even 5 customers in it at one time. Milk’s clothing at that time had a similar design as now, and it was carefully constructed, so the price was quite high and most girls couldn’t afford it. The sizing was also a bit smaller than average.


Minami Saori

Because of this, the people who wore Milk the most tended to be famous idols and models. Most famous of those who loved Milk was Minami Saori. But then, have you even heard of her? She was at the top of the idol world in the 70s, with a sincere image. She wore Milk outside of work as well. As for someone who you’ve actually heard of who wore Milk, how about Candies? Ishino Mako as well. If I keep going on about idols who wore Milk, I’ll never be done!


Candies


Ishino Mako

Milk was therefore the brand that started the practice of providing a lot of clothing for stars in Japan, a practice that is considered obvious today.

In the late 70s, it became more possible for normal people to be able to buy brand. Matsuda Seiko loved Milk when she was in high school, and it seems she would save up to buy it. In the 80s there was the DC Boom, and it was no longer the privilege of famous talents and models alone to wear Milk, but even still, Milk was special. Milk was different. Different from other shops…

I have many friends who are designers, but for the most part, designers are quite mean-spirited, and won’t express admiration for any other brand, even if the target customer base is completely different. But everyone admires Milk. Milk is incredible. Usually, a brand will change its image and direction based on trends and the needs of their customers, but Milk has always kept the same policy, and continues to grab the hearts of new girls. When I went to Paris for the first time, I was wearing Milk. And all the stylists and models there asked me what brand it was from. They loved it, and became very interested in it. Milk has never been featured in a Paris Collection, but they still continue to make clothing that can be beloved around the world.

To digress a bit, the designer for Jane Marple used to work at Milk. The head of Shirley Temple, the foundation brand of Emily Temple cute, started Shirley Temple because of her involvement with Milk. It may be surprising, but there are even many people at Under Cover and Comme des Garçons who have connections with Milk. So in a way, Milk stands at the base of the Japanese fashion world.

So you see, Milk truly is special! Several years ago, I was introduced to Hitomi-san, and at that time, I apologized to her for wearing Milk rather than Milk Boy despite being a guy. She told me, "Gender and age are irrelevant. I want my clothes worn by those who understand their spirit." These words gave me confidence, and I ended up reserving a lot of new reservation items.

If there’s something with a heart motif, I can’t help but buy it... Oh dear, I was supposed to be writing about Milk’s history, and ended up just writing a love letter to Milk! You’ll forgive me, right? After all, I can’t help it. I really love Milk.

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I’ll finally be able to keep my own thoughts on this one brief, as I really don’t have a lot to say about Milk. They are adorable, but not my own style, which is lucky, considering they’re a bit too small for me! I absolutely love their accessories though. I mean, come on, how cute is this?



Yep, I thought so!

This time, instead of my own comments, I’ll leave you with this magazine feature on Minami Saori, who Novala writes about above. An English translation follows the original Japanese.





From PuchiPuchi magazine, September 1973.

I should probably also include an apology. Despite promising at least 1 new translation every week, I fell off the horse last week and it's been 2 weeks since my last translation! I will work on being better! Please don't lose faith in me! ♥

Let's Talk About the Orb

Below is an English translation of the third of 31 essays/short articles in Takemoto Novala's recently published 乙女のトリビア, or Trivia for Maidens, originally published in Zipper magazine.

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Let’s Talk About the Orb.
That Orb That You Yearn For.

Do you like orbs? You know, Vivienne Westwood’s symbol that looks like Saturn. I’ve been a fan for a long time, but even now, all it takes is to look at the orb for me to get excited.

So, about that orb that we all love so much, do you know why Vivienne chose this to be the image of her shop? Wait, before I get to that, I suppose I should first explain what the orb is. Let’s start by learning some basic knowledge about the orb.


Photograph of the actual official Sovereign’s Orb from the official website of the British Monarchy

To translate “orb” into Japanese gives us 王球 (royal sphere) or 宝珠 (crown jewel). This odd round ball is one of three royal regalia, forming a set of the orb, the crown, and the sceptre. Of course we have all seen photos and images of kings and queens wearing crowns and holding sceptres, but we don’t often see them holding orbs, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you were not aware that this is another way of showing royalty.


The Queen of England at her coronation. Photograph from the official website of the British Monarchy.

I’m not sure myself when the orb began appearing as a sign of royalty, but even back in the times of Alexander the Great, in 356 BC, who became king of Greece at the tender age of 20 and then went on to conquer Asia Minor and Egypt and attempt to become king of the world, he already had an orb in hand. If you should happen to have a deck of cards near you, pick it up and look now, at the image of the King of Clubs. This King of Clubs is actually traditionally Alexander the Great. And this Alexander the Great is pictured holding a sword and an orb.



Basically, the orb therefore represents the privilegentsia and power. England, where Vivienne was born, still has an active monarchy. Therefore, in English, this orb still has power as a royal symbol of the royal dynasty, along with the crown and the sceptre. Before Vivienne became very successful in the fashion world, she was one of the founding parents of the birth of the punk world, bringing the Sex Pistols to debut alongside her husband Malcolm McLaren. One of the Pistols’ most famous songs, God Save the Queen, is actually derisive of the Queen of England, and Vivienne herself at this time was making t-shirts with collages of Queen Elizabeth’s face. So why would Vivienne, with her rebellious message of “Royalty can all go to hell!” use the orb as her own symbol for her shop? If you’re a little bit clever, you should be able to understand, right? After all, the orb is a symbol of power and authority, so she used it as a parody of this.



The English people have a strange kind of irony to their feelings about the monarchy, condemning it as foolish while all the while deep down actually loving it. This can be seen not only in Vivienne Westwood’s creations, but also in the works of Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland, and Oscar Wilde, who wrote The Happy Prince. They write works disparaging the Royal Household, but still take pleasure in the fact that there still is one. In our own times, the English ballet choreographer Matthew Bourne’s remake of Swan Lake was a parody of the Royal Family as well.

What do you think? In learning the simple reasoning behind the symbol of Vivienne Westwood, without even trying, you’ve also learned abut the history of European monarchies from the time of Alexander the Great to the present! It’s a shame they won’t teach this kind of history in school. I bet your teachers don’t even know who Vivienne Westwood is… If you start to research fashion, however, at times it can be quite academic. Isn’t that interesting? By the way, while we’re on the subject of Vivienne Westwood, did you know that her famous Rocking Horse shoes are not actually named after a rock and roll horse? Actually, a rocking horse is a child’s toy in the shape of a horse but with a sled-like bottom rather than legs that rocks back and forth as you sit on it. The shape of the wood on the bottom of those unique shoes is similar to this toy, don’t you think?



Even amongst those who love Vivienne Westwood, there are few who stop to question just what the orb is. But I want you to wonder about this. In order to become a cultivated young maiden, of course!



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I think the information in today’s selection is probably not so new to most of my readers, but when you think about it as being written for Japanese girls, it makes much more sense. Of course knowledge about European style royal families is not as widespread in Japan as in the West. Even in America, we know a little something about the British Royal Family (though probably not enough to keep our friends across the pond from laughing at us!). Still, I wonder just how much of the information in this article is new information for many of you. After all, there are still “girls who wear Vivienne Westwood but don't even know the Sex Pistols.” And on the other hand, there are Sex Pistols fans who are entirely unaware of the connection between their beloved boys and one of the queens of the fashion world.

For myself, I was not previously aware of the orb as a royal symbol until I became a fan of Vivienne Westwood. I don’t even know if this is something to be embarrassed about or not, as I’m unaware to what degree it is common knowledge. I’m sure any readers from the UK (are there any of you out there?) would scoff at that! But the truth is it is still not as well-known as the crown and sceptre. In fact, I wonder if there are people who would see an image of the orb and think to themselves, “Wow! That looks almost just like Vivienne Westwood’s symbol!” How amusing! And yet, not entirely surprising. These days, the orb is known worldwide as Vivienne’s mark. Of course all lolitas know it, and those interested in fashion in general, but not only us! Even most anime and manga fans these days have seen it in great quantities because of the influence and popularity of Yazawa Ai’s masterpiece Nana, and many of them may even own replica jewelry! In fact, this replica jewelry has become so widespread that now we may find young girls in any mall across America wearing an orb who are not only unaware of its royal origins, but also completely unaware of the name Vivienne Westwood. I guess Novala had more to worry about than just the Vivienne fans who’ve never listened to punk!