Korean Lolita?

[Eleryth]

It's something I've been wondering, and it just came up in another thread, so in order to not take over that one (the wa-loli thread), I figured I'd post here.

Does a "Korean" lolita exist? With a dress based on the traditional clothing (I don't know all the parts of it, just that it's sorta called "hanbok")? I've seen wa-loli based on kimono, and qi-loli based on qipao (forgive my spelling).

The closest thing I could think of/find as an image to give some sort of idea about what I mean is Justina from Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata. I think it would require some modification, of course, to go from what she's got to a full "lolita", but I think the basic idea is there.

http://magnacarta.co.kr/game/cjustina_3_1.asp <-- image

I search google now and again for "korean lolita", but I get nothing (nothing that looks like what I mean, anyway).

Has anyone seen this done before (not Justina, a Korean lolita)? Would it be "kosher", or would all the hardcore lolitas just laugh and point? Would you call it a "ko-loli" or something else?

[mikcy]

http://community.livejournal.com/loli_design/24594.html

Someone drew a hanloli once and I thought it was cute, but that's pretty much it. :c

[Nina Star 9]

I have a feeling that no matter what, some lolita somewhere will laugh and point becuase it is not within the strict style already defined. However, I personally think it sounds like a great, fresh idea, as i have never seen anything of the sort before. Go for it if you like it, I say.

[Meiki]

I have a feeling that no matter what, some lolita somewhere will laugh and point becuase it is not within the strict style already defined. However, I personally think it sounds like a great, fresh idea, as i have never seen anything of the sort before. Go for it if you like it, I say.

As long as it's done nicely there should be no reason. Don't use cheap lace or shiny fabric, no crazy stuff like fishnets, and you should be fine. Wa-loli and Qi-loli is acceptable to even the most critical of lolitas, I don't know why you're so bent on telling her someone will say something awful o_O

I dunno about Justina however, I like the idea of a top with slits in the side to accomommodate for the skirt, but the whole shoulder area is really iffy for me. I'm not really sure what you'd do for hair or shoes either, but I suppose that's more of a later decision. I'd say draw up a sketch and show us or the EGL lj community first, before doing anything.

[Hasu]

As far as hair and shoes goes, I think that's pretty variable. It's traditional to wear a braid with hanbok, and other times to knot your hair and put a special hair ornament through said knot, which I find adorable. There's also those odd little hats they wear, which I'd love to see with a korean loli design.

Image of hat: http://yeehan.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/goong51.jpg

Eeeh...I will make one.

As for shoes, I'd say anything from average mary-janes to those cute little turned up late 19th century korean shoes would look nice with it.

Example of korean shoes I'm talking about: http://www.upennmuseum.com/postcards/shoes29-161-1.gif

In any case, there's lots of variety in hanbok styles and lolita ones, so meshing them all together would come up with some wonderful designs, I think.

(Now that I know people wouldn't hate on it, I'm totally gonna make one, I may even start tonight. ^_^)

[Meiki]

As far as hair and shoes goes, I think that's pretty variable. It's traditional to wear a braid with hanbok, and other times to knot your hair and put a special hair ornament through said knot, which I find adorable. There's also those odd little hats they wear, which I'd love to see with a korean loli design.

Image of hat: http://yeehan.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/goong51.jpg

Eeeh...I will make one.

As for shoes, I'd say anything from average mary-janes to those cute little turned up late 19th century korean shoes would look nice with it.

Example of korean shoes I'm talking about: http://www.upennmuseum.com/postcards/shoes29-161-1.gif

In any case, there's lots of variety in hanbok styles and lolita ones, so meshing them all together would come up with some wonderful designs, I think.

(Now that I know people wouldn't hate on it, I'm totally gonna make one, I may even start tonight. ^_^)

I dunno, I'd almost go with traditonal lolita for shoes and hair. Partially because I'm not a big fan of the little hats, and partially because it's a ways off from a traditional lolita look, so it might be better to...anchor it in lolita style? If that makes any sense. But it could work I guess, I'd just have to see it first to really have a definite opinon.

[Nina Star 9]

As long as it's done nicely there should be no reason. Don't use cheap lace or shiny fabric, no crazy stuff like fishnets, and you should be fine. Wa-loli and Qi-loli is acceptable to even the most critical of lolitas, I don't know why you're so bent on telling her someone will say something awful o_O

Haha... wow my post came off with the completly wrong message. Let me attempt to re-phrase this thing.

When I emant to say was something more along the lines of that someone, somewhere will bash on it, but that will probably be in the minority and should not be worried about anyway.

Then again, wa-loli and qi-loli are already established styles, adn this is something new, and people, from my expirence, do not seem to be as open to new ideas in in anything, especially lolita, it seems, as they probably should be. But since a Korean style would be along the same lines and most likely turn out very well, there should be no problems.


I was not trying to be overly negative, sorry that it came out that way.




As for shoes and hair. I have to agree with the more traditional lolita style on those as well, otherwise it may get to far from the original style and not be recognizable as lolita. I would say some cute hairclips and other simpler hair decorations would be best with this style, hopefully something that ties it back to the Korean influence, but is still very lolita, which maybe a bit difficult to pull off, but I know very very little about Korean dress, so I am not of much help in that subject.

I tend to feel that the traditionally-themed lolitas tend to look better with full tights than knee-socks or any other sock variation, but that could just be me and probably is. I do like those cute little turned-up shoes, though. I think those might actually work in a Korean lolita style if you made the dress slightly more traditional than lolita. Or, they can even be a quirky accent to a Korean lolita dress that is more to the lolita end of the spectrum.

[Hasu]

Hmmm...I've thought of a big difference between hanbok and lolita, and that is the color scheme. I've always seen lolitas with very muted, calm, and almost stern colors, and hanbok are very colorful and tend towards shades that would make many lolita enthusiasts vomit. What's the best compromise in this situation?

[Meiki]

Now this is the tricky part. I'd suggest something more muted. Creams, dark reds, deeper blues, sage greens, and light pinks seem to be a good route, and one that's used fairly often in ladies hanboks. This (http://www.lifeinkorea.com/pictures/tcs10.jpg), this (http://www.seoulsearching.com/grfx/culture/hanbok/hanbok1.jpg),this (http://www.seoulsearching.com/grfx/culture/hanbok/hanbok3.jpg), this (http://x2c.xanga.com/4e0b42636573042011777/z28552573.jpg), this (http://theseoultimes.com/ST/db2/images/858-20040806185458.jpg), this (http://mudeng.files.wordpress.com/2006/06/hanbok_honey.jpg), you get the idea ^^; I think also different shades of yellow would be really pretty. Like a golden color and a light yellow?

[Hasu]

Yeah, I think having a maroon skirt with gold or yellow patterns is really attractive. Another thing I'm wondering about is fabric. (Sorry to have so many questions, but I think this is a strict fashion that I need advice on, despite my extensive research.) The majority of hanbok that I've looked at over the course of 6 months have used silk, and about half of them are all silk or a similar fabric. I've been told that lolita fabric should be domiantly cotton and matte fabrics, and not really shiny. I think certain types of silk, especially raw silk, could be pretty attractive in lolita fashion, but I don't know just how concrete the rules for that are....all I know is that there are loli-nazis out there who are bloodthirsty. >.<

I agree that tights would be good in this style, or stockings. I'm not sure where I'd get the turned up shoes from, though...

This is a really odd combination, when you think about it. Lolita, the epitomy of European-ness and victorian dolls, and hanbok, highly Asian and the total opposite, being combined. Crazy world. *shrug*

[Meiki]

Yeah, I think having a maroon skirt with gold or yellow patterns is really attractive. Another thing I'm wondering about is fabric. (Sorry to have so many questions, but I think this is a strict fashion that I need advice on, despite my extensive research.) The majority of hanbok that I've looked at over the course of 6 months have used silk, and about half of them are all silk or a similar fabric. I've been told that lolita fabric should be domiantly cotton and matte fabrics, and not really shiny. I think certain types of silk, especially raw silk, could be pretty attractive in lolita fashion, but I don't know just how concrete the rules for that are....all I know is that there are loli-nazis out there who are bloodthirsty. >.<

I agree that tights would be good in this style, or stockings. I'm not sure where I'd get the turned up shoes from, though...

This is a really odd combination, when you think about it. Lolita, the epitomy of European-ness and victorian dolls, and hanbok, highly Asian and the total opposite, being combined. Crazy world. *shrug*
I love the red and gold idea! It sounds very elegant.

Hm...I'd definatley use a nice silk. I'm not really good with specific fabric types, but I'd almost avoid raw silk. It tends to look a little too...raw for back of a better word, like not fancy enough? But I'm not entirely sure what other kind of silk isn't shiny.

Heh, it's the same thing with wa-loli. Odd combination, but it's cool-looking in the end!

[Eleryth]

Wow, many responses already!

The LJ post suggested making a longer skirt to the girl with the sketch... I'm going to have to do some research, then, to find out what length is best. I figure I'll work out some sketches after my porjects for school are due next week, and see if I can find something I like. If not, I may just go wa-loli (though I guess technically it'd be "cosplay lolita", since this is not my "everyday fashion" but something I'd like to have fun with at a convention. I have no intentions of dressing like Justina, that was just the image that made me think of a "Korean Lolita" a while back.

Looking forward to whatever you come up with, Hasu! Are you using a pattern to construct your garments?

[Hasu]

And in cosplay, "as long as it looks cool" seems to be the general mentality. So I guess it's alright. -_-

I made one basic sketch, and it leans more towards hanbok that lolita. The colors are more muted in real life, but my scanner killed them and made it look crazy. x_x

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/TwixleStars/Extra%20Shots/koreanloli.jpg

That's my first, rushed, and not too incredibly well-planned design. The big yellow patches on the sides of the sleeves indicate where there'd be a nice, elaborate pattern. Ignore my random gibberish hangul as a pattern on the skirt. I did add lace on edges, ala wa-loli, and shorten and bell-shape the skirt, with a petticoat showing a little bit underneath. I also used a more overcoat-style jeogori to make it more lolita-like. I used white tights, even though you wouldn't guess from the picture, and the hat, (which I for some reason like the idea of- lolitas wear little tophats, so I thought I'd make it look a little more like a pillbox hat) is tied on with a ribbon, like all lolita hats are. The thing sticking in the back of the head is the traditional hair stick things...when I really do this I may just have normal lolita pigtails, or a hime-cut, to keep more with the lolita side of it. And I kept the turned up shoes...just 'cause...but I'm short, so I might wind up using some sort of heels for it. Any comments or suggestions? This design isn't too serious, it's just an idea. I used green and red because I heard that was a popular color combination recently, but that color popularity changes every year. *sigh*

Eleryth: Thanks for your encouragement. I'm not using any patterns, actually- I'm a very visual person, so I just sew what looks right and it comes out somehow. Besides, patterns are too expensive- I don't pay 10 bucks for little pieces of newspaper. XD Someday I'd like to sew a real hanbok all by hand- I read a really lovely article about how much pride Korean women used to take in sewing for their families and how every stitch counted and all that, so I'd like to do that someday too. (<<<*is a total idiot/geek*)

[penny_dreadful]

Han-loli! Oh my lawks, you people have to stop. I am totally preoccupied with Korean culture right now anyway, and you are just giving me more ideas than my time or budget will allow.

Actually, my favorite Soul Calibur character, Seung Mi-Na (http://wind-charmer.net/dancing/official.php), is Korean and actually wears a Hanbok as her 2P costume in SCII. There's a theme loli in there somewhere, although I think that might be overkill. I'd love to try fiddling with a design for a han-loli, even if I never get around to completing it.

As a note, I saw that ramie is a traditional fibre used in fabrics in Korea, and that it's very close to linen, so linen or linen-like fabrics may also be a possibility for some pieces. However, I find that linen wrinkles terribly, which is not a good look for lolita. I definitely wouldn't use it in a skirt. I think silk is nice; there are several kinds of silk which are reasonably priced and aren't shiny or cheap-looking at all. Dupioni is a favorite of mine, but then again that also has a bad wrinkling tendency.

PS, Hasu-- I love sewing by hand, even though a machine is much easier. In fact, when I don't have a serious deadline, that's pretty much all I do. I'm taking a break from hand-sewing some Roman garb right now, actually, although I imagine I'll have to do the rest on the machine since we're leaving for the event Saturday morning...

--Penny

[temari-chan-yay]

I agree. Dupioni wrinkles rather easily though it is used for many things. good luck with that!

[Hasu]

On the fabric subject, does anyone know anywhere that actually sells real hanbok fabric? The designs on their skirts and sleeves are very elaborate and specifically placed, so I suppose that that sort of thing would have to be specially ordered. So...are there such places? If there are online kimono fabric stores, could it be the same for hanbok? Then the fibers would be correct too...just a random thought.

[Kung_Fu_Candy]

I have to jump in and say--Go for it!!

I love it when people do creative new things with loli fashion, instead of being G&L Bible-thumpers! Just have fun with it, do your best, and infuse it with lolita spirit! ^_^ And don't worry about the hate that might be spewed from the LJ community.

[Raenef]

http://community.livejournal.com/loli_design/24594.html

Someone drew a hanloli once and I thought it was cute, but that's pretty much it. :c

Hey, that's mine~ ^x^

I still think bloomers would be nice with that outfit. Reminds me of a children's korean dance outfit I used to wear...

On the fabric subject, does anyone know anywhere that actually sells real hanbok fabric? The designs on their skirts and sleeves are very elaborate and specifically placed, so I suppose that that sort of thing would have to be specially ordered. So...are there such places? If there are online kimono fabric stores, could it be the same for hanbok? Then the fibers would be correct too...just a random thought.

I know that there are actual custom hanbok shops that have hanbok fabric. Dunno if they're willing to sell the fabric, though...
Not sure where you live, but I searched out some hanbok shops for you (I think they're hanbok shops...)

Also keep in mind that fabric may be ridiculously expensive... but Koreans are usually open to barter so if you're really set on buying, don't be afraid to try to bargain them down. ^^


길영숙한복연구실 (아씨랑쇼핑센터내)
3525 W. 8th St., #218 Los Angeles, CA 90005
Tel: (213) 385-3690

김미희고전방
3461 W. 8th St. Los Angeles, CA 90005
Tel: (213) 388-3377

님프만혼수백화점
1102 S. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90006
Tel: (323) 735-2599

동원주단
3261 W. 8th St. Los Angeles, CA 90005
Tel: (213) 386-8017

문현심우리옷 (호돌이몰)
1001 S. Vermont Ave., #204 Los Angeles, CA 90006
Tel: (213) 365-0981

백봉님한복
3528 W. 8th St., #B Los Angeles, CA 90005
Tel: (213) 385-4369

미쉘패션
209 E. 11th St. Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tel: (213) 747-1157

복신귀족한복
21735 Gail Dr. Castro Valley, CA 94546
Tel: (510) 415-7211

서울한복
9636 Garden Grove Blvd., #6 Garden Grove, CA 92844
Tel: (714) 530-1327

서울한복집
3191 W. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90006
Tel: (323) 732-9292

우리한복
9691 Central Ave. Garden Grove, CA 92844
Tel: (714) 636-0135

원앙혼방
35171 Lido Blvd. Newark, CA 94560
Tel: (510) 793-6833

장안한복집
1915 Bush St. San Francisco, CA 94115
Tel: (415) 922-8069

이수영고전방
2971 Benton Ave. Santa Clara, CA 95051
Tel: (408) 249-0095

이옥자한복
254 S. Hobart Blvd., #1 Los Angeles, CA 90004
Tel: (213) 388-6368

이조한복
3341 W. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019
Tel: (323) 731-7369

이화고전방 (웨스턴플라자)
555 S. Western Ave., #210 Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel: (213) 252-0022

코코스패밀리
1105 San Julian St. Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tel: (213) 749-8959

한복이야기
3000 Wilshire Blvd., #109 Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel: (213) 427-0560

[Hasu]

That's awesome! A few of those shops are only about a half an hour away from me. Thank you so much! I think those might be in Little Korea, so I should plan a trip out there some time. I really appreciate listing the stores for me, it was a great help.

Luckily, a lolita would need less fabric than an actual hanbok, so maybe that'll help me cut a little bit of the cost off...though if I do have the opportunity to buy fabric from them I might wind up buying enough for a real hanbok too. ^^

[penny_dreadful]

Hasu, you would look so awesome in a hanbok. I wonder if they have any stores in Flushing, NY that sell hanbok fabric? There's a Little Korea there, too, and it's about a 40-minute drive so it might be worth a looksee for me. Plus, I haven't had Korean food in a really long time.

ETA: Okay, apparently there's a buttload (http://www.hansory.com/kbd/index.php?cat=354). I have some SHOPPING to do.

--PD