Actually analysing the outfits in Kamikaze Girls
summary: Let's look at the costumes in Kamikaze Girls!
words: ~1,800
content: spoilers for Kamikaze Girls (2004)
I love Kamikaze Girls (2004). I feel like with every watch I love the film more and more. I think the costumes in this movie are underrated, despite the fact that it's the main reason people watch the movie. Of course, everyone wants to see cute lolita outfits. But costumes are a great way to tell something about a character, without the movie spelling it out explicitly. I feel like the way the outfits help tell the story in Kamikaze Girls is rarely discussed. I think most people assume that the outfits were all off the rack from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, chosen based simply on cuteness. But Kamikaze Girls had a costume designer, Hiromi Saruya, who also created costumes for the movie. This implies that there was intention behind each outfit.
Plus, in real life, lolitas choose their coords for a variety of reasons. Obviously, a lot of people will just choose a coord because it looks nice. But plenty of people will also pick a theme or a mood to base their outfit on. It follows that Momoko would too. So, what can we learn about Momoko and her character arc from her coordinates?
Hawase Doll OP in pink
This is the outfit that Momoko is introduced in, so it makes sense that it's the quintessential sweet lolita look (or at least it was in 2004). To people that don't know about the fashion before watching the film, they instantly get an understanding of what lolita is. Meanwhile, lolitas will instantly see her outfit and understand the kind of lolita she is. Momoko is a brand obsessed sweet lolita, with an eye for coordination, as everything here matches. At the beginning of the film, Momoko explains her outlook on life and how she values being delicate and feminine more than anything else. Dressing her in pink and white with lots of lace, perfectly emphasises this.
Meanwhile, her infamous rocking horse shoes that she wears multiple times throughout the movie are thick and heavy. They kind of make her stomp when she walks. I like to think this shows her frustration with Shimotsuma and how this frustration is directly tied to her love of lolita. Rocking horse shoes are also impractical, as shown in the opening scene, showing her dedication to the fashion.
I also recently noticed that specifically, her rocking horse shoes are from the defunct shoe brand an-ten-na. You can tell because they are extra round at the toe, like a bubble. This gives the effect that the shoes have stepped out from a cartoon. I think this is to align with the aesthetic of the film, which is very fun and silly.
Casual Coords
Momoko wears a lot of long JSKs with no blouse and petticoat when she's chilling out at home. She also accessorizes them with a head bow or a hat each time. I like this because it shows her dedication to the fashion once again. Even in her downtime, she still wants to live the lolita lifestyle.
The point is hammered home by the fact that she has more than one of these casual JSKs. It would have been easy for the costume designers to give her just one casual outfit. Instead, by showing she has these in different patterns and cuts, we see how much Momoko values looking cute at all times. They feature cute prints like ducks and fruit, giving them a kitsch/retro cuteness. This could reinforce how at home she is surrounded by old things and constantly reminiscing on her childhood.
Elizabeth OP in red
When I think of Elizabeth OP, I think of the tiers of lace and how over the top it is. Momoko thinks a child wrote her the note, so maybe she picked an extra frilly outfit because she thinks it's something that a child would be easily impressed by. I wondered why they chose the red colorway specifically for this scene and I think it's because the red makes the white lace pop, emphasising the detailed design of the dress. Of course, instead of a young child, Ichigo turns up instead and the extreme visual contrast between the two girls adds to the comedy. The red also matches the pink lighting of her room, showing that it's a safe haven for her. Meanwhile, it really stands out from the browns, greens and yellows of the rest of Momoko's house, reinforcing that she feels out of place.
Tartan Check Hem Scallop JSK in red
On one hand, there's something childish about this outfit, it kind of resembles a school uniform. Momoko also styles it with pigtails, emphasising her youth. This makes it funnier for the audience when Ichigo starts lying about Momoko being 30 (then 40).
On the other hand, the tartan and chunky black Mary Janes call back to lolita's punk roots and Vivienne Westwood inspiration. It underlines that playing pachinko with a yanki is rebellious and out of character for her, hinting towards her character growth.
Checked dresses
When Momoko is lying to her father she's wearing the same dress, but in a different colorway each time. This is an original costume made for the film. Thanks to the peter pan collar and cherry/gingham print, it's very cute and feminine. If you squint, it looks lolita adjacent.
This reminds me of the experiences of lolitas that aren't able to buy brand. Often, you try and find something to wear that looks similar to lolita in the meantime. I like to think that maybe Momoko went to Jusco and found dresses that kind of resemble lolita until she was able to buy the Baby pieces she wanted. Alternatively, we can understand why Momoko was attracted to wearing lolita, since it included the girly elements that were already present in her personal style.
Floral OP
In this scene, Ichigo is trying her hardest to befriend Momoko. Meanwhile, this is the most closed off we've seen Momoko, outright refusing to accept this offer of friendship. Her dress reflects this as it is very structured, with a high collar, symbolising her refusal to change her self-centred outlook on life. The dress has that old school bouquet wallpaper style print, showing she's still stuck in her fantasies of the past.
She's also wearing a pink straw hat with a brim and a matching handbag. When I first watched the film I thought the hat was a little ridiculous, but now I'll admit that it makes the look. I think it reflects that Momoko is trying to project an image of maturity and femininity to distiguish herself from Ichigo. Once again, this is part of her attempt to discourage Ichigo from befriending her.
Karami JSK in black x white
In this scene, both Momoko and Ichigo are wearing black and white. We think of Black and white as opposites, but as demonstrated by both of their outfits, they go very well together! Just like the two girls.
By having them match, we can see that they're growing closer. However, true to their characters they've styled these looks completely differently. Notably, Ichigo has accessories in other colors, showing that she doesn't value coordination and femininity the same way that Momoko does. This underlines that while they may be becoming friends, there are still a lot of differences between them. More Casual Coords
Here are some more casual coords that Momoko wears throughout the movie. Despite not being traditonally lolita, they have plenty of cute details and motifs so they still feel like they belong in her wardrobe. She begins to wear these as she feels more comfortable around Ichigo, providing a contrast to the floral OP she wears earlier. In addition, you could interpret the lack of sleeves on some of her dresses as a way to make her look vulnerable or out of place. This is especially noticeable in scenes in the pachinko parlour, or when she is talking to Ichigo at the railway station.
Apron with Heart Bib in sax
Sax blue in lolita always makes me think of the sky. The film frequently shows Momoko imagining herself flying through the sky as a way to escape from the mundanity of her daily life. By having her wear blue in this scene, I think it symbolises how for Momoko, it's a dream come true to be asked to help out with her favourite brand. It's like she's literally wearing the sky on her.
Plus, the heart shaped apron obviously symbolises her love for Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. This then becomes ironic when Momoko encounters Ichigo, who has just had her heart broken. Instead of reluctantly spending time with her like before, Momoko actively makes the choice to go comfort her, albeit awkwardly. The heart shape now becomes symbolic of Momoko's character growth. Instead of escaping into the sky, she is choosing to spend time with Ichigo and explicitly rejects her previous opinion that humans are inherently selfish. In short, she can have room in her heart for lolita as well as human connection.
Hawase Doll OP (?) in White
The OP Momoko wears in the climatic fight scene looks like Hawase Doll, but has a few differences (it has pockets and just one line of corset lacing down the front instead of two). I can't find which dress this is specifically, but I believe it's deliberately meant to evoke her pink outfit from the beginning.
Earlier in the film Momoko says that the moment she first saw lolita fashion, she felt as if she'd been reborn. However, in the climax of the film when she wears this outfit she actually is “reborn” after waking up from crashing into the cabbage truck. The choice of the white colorway instead of the pink makes her look virtuous and almost angelic.
It becomes an extra striking image when her dress gets splattered with blood (and mud). The cost of Momoko's wardrobe has also been demonstrated earlier in the film, making it shocking to the audience that she would go to these lengths to rescue Ichigo. All of this shows that Momoko is sacrificing her previously held belief that “good girls” don't defend themselves. Ultimately, her friendship with Ichigo has allowed her to reconsider her self-centred life philosophy.
Hawase Doll OP in Pink (again)
Momoko is wearing a similar pink outfit as she was in the opening scene, with the addition of some cute pink bandaids on her face. Of course this makes sense just from a practical perspective, as she's just been in a fight!
I think this detail is important though, because it shows she's wearing her battle scars proudly, and integrating this into her coordinate, rather than hiding them away. Plus, by having her in the same OP as the beginning of the film, we understand that Momoko's love for lolita has not changed. She is still the same person, only now she has a real friend. She also no longer looks down upon tough girls, because she's one herself.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I think Kamikaze Girls offers much more than just a pretty outfit slideshow. In my view, each coord and outfit was chosen with intention to portray Momoko's character arc, and reinforce the film's theme that toughness and femininity are not mutually exclusive.
Sure, it's not super deep. but there's definitely more than meets the eye. There's a reason it's stood the test of time as the most iconic lolita movie. I hope my brief analysis of her coords can offer some food for thought or even help you think of the film in a new light!
Credits
Screenshots from Momoko's closet
Dress pictures and info from Lolibrary