Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.10.2013, Blaðsíða 24

Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.10.2013, Blaðsíða 24
24The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 16 — 2013 Culture Mya shuttles between the kitchen and the living room, delivering fresh pan- cakes as they come off the griddle. As everyone claims to have stuffed them- selves before my arrival, I’m the only one eating, precariously balancing my plate on one knee as I scribble notes. I’ve been invited to this intimate pan- cake party to learn about Lolita fash- ion culture, its vibrant online forums, and the fledgling Elegant Gothic Lolita community here in Iceland, which now boasts 22 members (10 of whom are active). The current discussion is centred on the petty criticisms sometimes lev- elled at fellow Lolitas within “seedier” online forums. I’m told these sub-par message boards are where “the scum of the earth” lurk to dispense judge- ment on members whose eyebrows, for instance, might be too thick. “Of course, that’s the secret re- quirement for Lolitas,” Mya says, sigh- ing with a wave of her spatula. “They have to be total bitches.” I laugh, but it is a bit hard to take this statement seriously, standing as she is, in a chocolate-striped, knee- length pinafore dress layered over a cream turtleneck and a frilly bell skirt, a pearl necklace and white silk roses in her hair for adornment. She’s cov- ered the ensemble with a red flow- ered apron and tucked her feet into two oversized slippers, which look like teddy bears wearing strawberry hats. I’m more inclined to believe the assessment of Aino-Katri, who Mya sometimes affectionately calls “Auntie Aino.” Like most subcultures, she says, Lolita “has its elitists,” but in countries like Iceland and Finland, “we are kind to a fault.” The lonely Icelandic Lolita It’s Aino’s home we’re all gathered in, and from her seat under shelves of miniature clocks and floral teacups, she tells me how the Iceland Lolitas got together. In general, Lolitas connect via on- line forums, mostly hosted through Live Journal (as if, Mya jokes, “it’s still the ‘90s”). These are strictly monitored websites—one I visited featured a page on which dozens of site moderators posted their daily hours of availability to chat, offer feedback, and intervene in member disputes—and they pro- vide an important avenue of support, friendship and second-hand clothing sales for Lolitas worldwide, who may not know others who share their inter- ests. These forums prominently feature “Daily Lolita” pages where mem- bers post pictures of their recent en- sembles or “coords” (Lolitas prefer “coordinates” over “outfit,” since the latter can imply that they are wearing costumes) and get feedback (nearly always positive) from other members. As chronically camera-shy Mya points out, it isn’t necessary for these photos to include the wearer’s face—some members photograph their coords on mannequins, and some Photoshop over their faces with hearts. “Lolitas are fairly private, especially because of how people might react to them,” she tells me. “So posting pictures tends to be more about what you're wearing and your skill at coordinating the fash- ion.” Apparently, it is quite common for Lolitas to receive aggressive or nega- tive reactions to their clothing. So most forums also give members space to discuss such problems. One post I found detailed a young woman’s ex- perience wearing her first Lolita out- fit in public—one that she had spent months saving up to buy—only to have a can of black paint thrown over her by a passing car. “That’s why I have to give up Lolita all together,” she wrote. “I’m just so discouraged.” This post received over 200 unique comments, nearly all of which encouraged her not to give up, and many of which pushed her to file a police report (which she later did). “Wear that experience with pride,” wrote one commenter. “Turn your black-stained dress into a work I’m sitting in a cosily cluttered sitting room in Brei!holt, a suburb of Reykjavík about twenty-five minutes from downtown. The coffee table in front of me is spread with cream, jam and pancakes three ways: paper-thin Icelandic crepes, baked Finnish pannukakku and the classic American buttermilk variety, each a nod to the nationalities of the three women bedecked in flounced skirts and perched like iced cupcakes around me. THE NUMBER 1 MUSIC STORE IN EUROPE ACCORDING TO LONELY PLANET SKÓLAVÖR!USTÍG 15, 101 REYKJAVÍK AND HARPA CONCERT HALL Matt Eismann Words Larissa Kyzer Pancakes And Petticoats Getting to know Iceland’s Elegant Gothic Lolitas Visit the Elegant Gothic & Lolita page at egl.livejournal.com/
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