Every time she appears at school, Hieu Nhi attracts everyone's attention with her bell-shaped Lolita dress, similar to the character "Little Red Riding Hood".
The first-year student at a university in Ho Chi Minh City said she loved Lolita fashion dresses since 9th grade, but it wasn't until she turned 19 that she dared to wear this style of clothing to school every day.
Hieu Nhi (19 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) chose a simple classic Lolita style with few patterns to go to school, October 4, 2023. Photo provided by the character
At first, Nhi only dared to wear Lolita dresses to travel and take pictures with her family because the dresses were big and heavy, and decorated with many accessories such as bows, keychains, bells, toys, and teddy bears, which was quite inconvenient.
After learning more, she learned that Lolita has many types of dresses besides sweet Lolita (youthful, feminine), there are also gothic Lolita (cold personality, mainly black or white), hime Lolita (noble, luxurious), country Lolita (countryside). Nhi often chooses classic Lolita to suit school because this type of dress has light colors, not as bright as other types and has few childish patterns.
"At first, everyone in school looked at me. Some stared and judged me, some complimented me, but now my classmates often take pictures of the clothes I wear every day, look at them, and give me points," Nhi said.
Lolita fashion emerged in Japan in the 1990s as a form of street style. Because of its luxurious and discreet style, this type of clothing is meticulously selected from materials to design and production ideas.
Nguyen Thuy Trang, 28 years old, administrator of a group of young people who love the Lolita style with more than 50,000 members, said this fashion style was introduced to Vietnam about 10 years ago but became popular in the last two or three years.
"Since the beginning of this year, young people in the group aged 14-27 have been more interested and daring to express themselves, wearing Lolita dresses more often," said Ms. Trang.
Hieu Nhi owns more than 300 Lolita dresses, she both buys and sells them to serve her passion and experience many designs. Photo provided by the character
Ms. Tuyet Nhung (30 years old, from Tay Ninh) has been selling Lolita clothes for more than 5 years. She said that each month her shop has about 100 customers, mostly from 14 to 29 years old, mainly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The number of customers since the beginning of this year has doubled compared to last year and about 10 times higher than three years ago. "I sell these clothes partly because I love the youthfulness, cuteness and modesty of them," Ms. Nhung said.
The goods Ms. Nhung sells are mainly ordered from China and Japan, priced from 500,000 VND to 4 million VND, with some sets costing up to tens of millions of VND.
Kieu Nhu (26 years old), owner of a second-hand Lolita shop in Hanoi, said that in September alone, there were more than 200 customers renting and buying clothes, three times more than the previous month. "In addition to those who have long loved Lolita clothes, many people rent or buy Lolita clothes with colorful princess-style flared dresses to create a different style when taking photos," the shop owner said.
As stated, the rental price for Lolita dresses is about 250,000-300,000 VND per day. The selling price ranges from 500,000 VND to 2 million VND, rare designs are more expensive. Regular customers return to the shop regularly, some come several times a month to shop for items.
In recent years, groups of Lolita fans in Vietnam have organized many festivals for members to dress up as their favorite characters.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phuc, head of the organizing committee of Japan Festival Cosplay, a costume festival for Lolita lovers, held once a year at Dam Sen Cultural Park, Ho Chi Minh City, attracts a lot of young people. The program started in 2019, with about 2,000 participants. In 2022, there will be nearly 10,000 people coming to the festival, of which young people aged 14-28 account for more than 70%.
Cam Van wants to collect many dresses to change her style from cute to personality, October 2023. Photo provided by the character
To buy Lolita clothes, Ngoc Han (24 years old, Can Tho) said she had to wait more than a month to three months for the goods to arrive because they were ordered from abroad, so each time she bought, she usually ordered 3-4 sets with accessories such as socks, bows, shoes, and hairpins. She started pursuing this style in 2022 and now wears Lolita clothes every day, even at home.
"I got married at the end of last year. Luckily, my husband and his family both like my style. I always feel younger when wearing Lolita dresses," Han said.
Han said that depending on the situation, she will wear different types of Lolita, such as when going out with her husband. If wearing couple clothes, Han prioritizes the sweet Lolita style but limits accessories. She chooses shirts for her husband with the same pattern as her dress so that they can both wear them on holidays. "When going to the gym, to parties or even to temples, I always choose to wear appropriate Lolita to avoid being offensive," she said.
Han hopes that when her child turns one year old, she and her husband and child will dress up in Lolita costumes to take wedding photos, something she was unable to do last year.
Psychologist Tran Huong Thao (HCMC) said that Lolita style originated in Japan, expressing cuteness. Today's youth like to express themselves and stand out from the crowd, so it is understandable that they are quickly attracted to it. She believes that the community should support those who pursue this fashion trend because it makes the wearer feel happier and more confident.
However, some other opinions say that Lolita dress style is too flashy and not suitable for public places.
According to Master of Culture Luu Huyen Trang, lecturer at the Academy of Journalism and Communication, the traditional culture of Vietnamese dress has characteristics that are still maintained today, which are practicality in work and daily life, flexibility to suit the environment and living conditions. Loving Lolita fashion style to the point of "craziness" and using it in different spaces, times and economic conditions is going against the aesthetic thinking about costume culture. It is only suitable when participating in cultural festivals, costume parties or private spaces, private purposes.
In addition, according to experts, exhibitions, performances, and festivals with the nature of cultural exchange also need to be moderate in terms of quantity, scale, and timing to be appropriate. "The organizing unit needs to have enough qualifications and awareness to clarify what we learn from the cultural features of our host country, what we absorb, and how to absorb and change appropriately," Ms. Trang commented.
Although she doesn’t wear them to school or every day, Cam Van (18 years old, Hanoi) still has a passion for collecting Lolita dresses because of their cuteness. She often spends from 500,000 VND to 7 million VND to buy dresses with sweet styles, colors and many accessories. She currently has more than 50 dresses with different designs.
"My parents really like me wearing Lolita clothes because they see that I look gentler and more graceful than when I wear normal clothes," Van said.
Thanh Nga
Vnexpress.net
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