LOLITA fashion has hit Singapore in a big way.

Part of a popular Japanese subculture, “Lolitas” refer to women who enjoy dressing up in Victorian-era clothes.

Last Saturday, a new store opened at The Cathay to sell such apparel. The shop, Black Alice, brings the number of major Lolita stores in Singapore to four. And Black Alice’s owner, Mr Tim Wong, 26, said that business is booming.

He started his first Lolita shop in Bugis Village in December 2007. Business was so good that he decided to expand by moving into the new 222-sqfoot space at The Cathay.

“There’s been a dramatic increase in the number of Singaporeans interested in this subculture,” he said.

The Lolita trend – named after the eponymous character of a 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov – comes at a hefty price: An outfit can cost as much as $700.


But that has not stopped young urban professionals from getting hooked.

Graphic designer Michelle Sua, 26, who discovered the trend from Japanese fashion magazines, has even walked down the aisle in a $300 classic Lolita dress in 2007.

“I wanted my wedding to be unique. I had just started exploring Lolita fashion at the time, so I thought, ‘Why not dress up in it?’” she said.

Pick up Lolita fashion at Haru Goth (Far East Plaza, #03-42/46); Atsuki GL (Liang Court, #03-10); Black Alice (The Cathay, #04-09); and Blood Romance (Far East Plaza, #03-92).

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