#Novala Takemoto

[fyeahlolita]

From a 2010 folder of Kamikaze Girls screengrabs.

[bitteryule]

handmade look & my novala takemoto x baby the stars shine bright necklace ₊˚⊹ (at the rdrr tea party a few years ago)

[girlyholic]

Not directly related to the theme of this blog, but Novala Takemoto's novel "Happiness" just got a manga adoption and is also getting a movie in May sponsored by Innocent World.

In case someone doesn't know the plot, the girl is dying from an illness and wants to live her remaining time as her true self wearing Lolita fashion.

[oldschool-lolita-archive]

Sakumaru wears Baby’s skull queen sailor blouse with tie in white. It was released as part of a collaboration between BTSSB and Novala Takemoto.

Edit: new photo added

[bonbow]

I found out (late) about this new movie with a lolita gir called Happiness. It's based on Novala Takemoto's book with the same name. According to google translate the girl has a week left to live and spends it making happy memories.

[cadence4801]

Does anybody have a repository of Novala Takemoto's essays that are translated....I'm begging for my life please....

[engshoujosei]

Kamikaze Girls

1 Volume

Licensed by Viz Media

Momoko is a "Lolita" stranded in the boondocks of rural Ibaraki prefecture, although she'd much rather be living in the Palace of Versailles. Ichigo is an impulsive member of a girls-only biker gang who firmly believes in honor, loyalty, and fist fighting. Together this unlikeliest of duos strikes out on a journey to find a legendary embroiderer who might just be able to make their dreams come true. Also in this series are two original stories by Yukio Kanesada, Koyubi-hime and its sequel, Nakayubi-hime.

Status in Country of Origin 

1 Volume (Complete)

Tags:

Adapted to Live Action

Ballet

Based on a Movie

Based on a Novel

Countryside

Crude Female Lead

Delinquent/s

Fashion Lolita/s

Friendship

Loner Protagonist

Modeling

Motorcycle/s

Older Male Younger Female

Opposites Attract

Romance Ending with Second Lead

Twin/s

[runawaycarouselhorse]

She collected her old translations here! https://www.lerman.biz/asagao/gothic_lolita/novala.html

Her whole website's fascinating if you want a look at Lolita fashion's earlier days.

As the beginning of spring passes, I often hear people discussing a particular problem: “I don’t have any friends! What should I do?” April comes around, and between new homerooms and the like, their environment and surroundings change. People are caught daydreaming while their new peers are forming groups, and before they realize it they are left all alone. When summer starts most are released from this dilemma and enjoy the break with the help of their old friends. However, even in the new season, there are some of these people who are still left alone. They show great strength and continue their lives by themselves.

A maiden does not need things like friends. Maidens are sublime and aloof by nature. In stories, the male heroes will form cliques and carry out their activities together. Like in Tom Sawyer, Tom, Huckleberry Fin, and Getalobe, joined together and the three of them made the “15 boy’s drifter chronicles”, and then the 15 had to be together; they weren’t adult at all. But young ladies are different. Alice went through the perils of Wonderland by herself, and Anju helped her brother escape from the bandit’s mountain and was abandoned herself. And if you think about Meg, she was always singing, “People say I can do anything but still / the witch girl Meg is always alone.” Being a maiden is an “absolute existence.” And being “absolute��� is by definition “uniqueness” that cannot be compared to others, so maidens need no companions. Like Ken from the gangster movies, maidens have a cool independence. They say things like, “If I open my heart to people I can make friends,” but opening your heart to others is sacrilege, and you mustn’t do that. A maiden’s heart is her glittering jewel, and should not be shown to others recklessly.

A maiden stands coldly like a glass plain that seems like it would shatter if touched, encased in a hard shell for protection, and that maiden, tightly bound in a web of honey and gazing at you all alone, isn’t she cute. There is no need for you to integrate yourself with the common people. It’s okay if people say you’re an “arrogant child” or a “gloomy child.” Thinking you can’t eat lunch by yourself and making friends, that’s a really silly thing to do. Being gorgeously aristocratic like Madame Butterfly is an indispensable part of being an independent princess. For me, my tv and potted plants are my close friends.

— An Essay on Loneliness by Novala Takemoto in translation that I stumbled on years ago in a now deleted corner of the internet

[hyallulonelyhime]

Takemoto Novala Hello Kitty Pour Lolita Gothic Edition - 1st Edition

White edition.

Punk edition.

harajuku hello kitty.

Images found in http://theosakakoneko.blogspot.com/2010/03/lets-talk-about-hello-kitty.html.

[cynicalneoprincessism]

A y2k kinda outfit inspired by an old 00s lolita blogger who I'm not sure many people know of anymore but I'm kind of obsessed with her style, Exquisite Lass.

T-shirt - Peace Now Skirt - Tunnel Vision Jacket - Novala Takemoto Socks - Ebay Shoes - Antaina Accessories - Tunnel Vision, vintage, thrifted

[fyeahlolita]

This popped up in my memories on FB today and I figured I would share this bit of Lolita history that was shared with me a decade ago by a wildly controversial, but undoubtedly massively influential member of the community who was involved in a lot of early Lolita events in the US.

[sweetteabirdie]

💗🤍”Lolitas do not recognize any authority. They follow only the values they have chosen for themselves, regardless of what anybody might say” - Novala Takemoto🤍💗

Jsk - @bodyline_tokyo

Blouse - @bodyline_tokyo

Capelet - @bodyline_tokyo

OTK’s - Taobao.

Shoes - Aliexpress.

Headbow - @angelicpretty_official

[lilac-nites]

Misako Aoki and Novala Takemoto were interviewed by Fashion Snap for the Happiness film. They talk about the fashion in the earlier years and how they feel about it now.

[jfashioncen]

How Kamikaze Girls (2004) Revolutionized Lolita

INTRODUCTION

Kamikaze Girls is a Japanese dramedy film released in 2004 based off of the 2002 light novel written by author and fashion designer, Novala Takemoto.

The story revolves around the unlikely bond formed between two high school girls: Momoko Ryugasaki, a lolita who is the daughter of a ex-gangster whom now gets along by scamming people with fake name brand items, and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri, a ヤンキー (Yankii, a young delinquent) from a motorcycle gang whom Momoko considers to be something of her antithesis.

They come to befriend each other after Ichiko gets impressed by the skills of Momoko's father's "business" as Momoko decides to sell some of her father's product off in order to be able to afford a dress from her favorite brand, Baby the Star's Shine Bright. The story itself follows the development of their friendship and their journey of self-discovery.

DESCRIPTION

In my opinion, the entirety of the story hinges on the fashion aspect. Momoko's ambitions begin from the fact that she lives in a small town known as Shimotsuma with around no one else her age or any interests like her--namely her obsession with the Rococo fashion era and thus lolita itself. She longs to not have to travel so far and extensively to reach her favorite brand's store and someone to share her interests with. This alongside her want of obtaining a new piece brings Momoko to meet Ichiko and what subconsciously makes her want to keep her around even though they appear opposites. The scene where Momoko twirls around in Baby the Star's Shine Bright's Elizabeth one piece in the red colorway really stood out me with the way it's had an outlasting on the lolita community.

To add a little bit of context, the way that lolita works as a fashion industry is that usually a new line/design is announced and preorders open for a limited amount of time, usually around 2-3 days. From there after preorders end and the dress is released, if they're extras that weren't preordered they go live on the website and placed within the physical store.

The thing about this process is that lolita lines rarely ever get a second drop, and if they do, it is usually on a strictly made to order basis for their most popular products. This causes the second hand market for lolita to really thrive and when people either move away from lolita as a fashion or are looking to make space in their wardrobe, they turn to second hand websites such as Mercari to sell them. And due to the process I described above, people are very eager to buy because that way they get access to releases from years ago that they weren't around for. With Momoko's almost entire wardrobe consisting of various classic Baby pieces, people are always eager to look for the pieces she has worn but especially so with the Elizabeth dress. Due to this, it rarely is sold off unless the person is looking to leave lolita. And if it's in the signature red as she wore it, it tends to price for large amounts.

Not only has she altered the way second hand items are valued and sold, she has also immortalized what's known as the classic and sweet style of lolita. With the rise of various new subgenres of lolita, Momoko's influence via the various coordinations within Kamikaze Girls keeps the original style of lolita fresh and attractive for many newer lolitas to still appreciate and enjoy. Just like Momoko, my favorite brand is also Baby the Star's Shine Bright and I'm a huge fan of the princess style that lolita encompasses. This connection that we share allows me to understand not only her feelings about isolation with how hard it is to meet others like her, but also the way she expresses herself via her identity as a lolita. Particularly, how much it means to her to be able to at least project parts of her personality onto others just by walking next to them. And even the way she's able to catch the attention of her first friend, Ichiko, from it as well.

ANALYSIS

Kamikaze Girls perfectly captures the feelings of isolation people feel when they're stuck in the small town they were born in, with no one around them that understands them. In this particular angle, Momoko uses her love of Rococo era fashion in order to let herself be heard--even if the only people hearing her are the older people in her town that coo over her eccentric style of dress.

Lolita has a subtle feminist aspect to it as it's meant for the wearer to embrace their own identity and reject the harsh stereotypes of what beauty is for a woman as defined by the patriarchy. Kamikaze Girls as a movie centering around lolita is no different. Although there are a couple of male characters around, it becomes clear that not only are they not the focus but neither is the hypothetical male viewer as the story is about the ways in which Ichiko and Momoko grows as individuals and use their fashion to express themselves and that growth.

CONCLUSION

Momoko's whimsical yet strong nature is portrayed through the shape of her dress, the lace of her parasol, and even the rocking horse shoes she walks miles in just to reach Shibuya from her small countryside town. However, with the way she stays true to herself and the voice she's crafted for herself through fashion, she befriends Ichiko. From there, her strong sense of self even helps Ichiko gain a stronger sense of self to the point that Ichiko begins modeling for a lolita brand herself by the end of the film. I 100% recommend the film, especially as a fun way to introduce yourself to lolita and japanese fashion subcultures as a whole. It's campy, it's funny, it's inspiring, and a pretty quick watch !

[cadence4801]

Was there anything else I could do at that moment except put my arms around you? Your trembling and the temperature of your body felt tremendously real. You didn't stop crying. Your tears fell on my shoulder. I realized that the person in my arms was living in an infinite wilderness of solitude. That land lay right next to the land I lived in. I would never in my wildest dreams have imagined that you too live in that loneliness. I thought you were someone who lived without ever even knowing that such a dismal world existed. That's precisely the reason I invited you to the exhibit. I invited you because, even for just one day, I wanted to see what it was like to spend time with a sweet girl who lived in a peaceful land. But, oh, you too were an inhabitant of that same wilderness. No, maybe yours was even more desolate than mine, than the one people like Kimiko and I lived in. Kimiko and I had loathed the world. But you didn't even know how to loathe the world. You just lived in fear of the world. Behind your bright smile--the one that could comfort everyone, no matter when--behind that smile was resignation, fear, and despair.