GRAVEYARD CHIC.

(From International Herald Tribune (Herald Asahi))

Gothic Lolita complex To slip into the world of dark fashion is, for the uninitiated, like tumbling headfirst down a rabbit hole. Polite applause follows the matching pair of nuns as they curtsy and exit stage right. Next comes the swish of pinafores against petticoats, as the audience-a troop of young women dressed as milkmaids and Alices in Wonderland-leans forward for a better view of the evening's main act: Mistress Ren, a doe-eyed woman who looks barely past her teens, will be teaching her uncooperative Bunny who's boss when it comes to cake

Giggles fill the room as the two women get into a tickling match. But soon the tickles bring on pinches, slaps, dripping candlewax and-in what Ren calls her trademark-a finale with the Mistress eating her cake as a beaten Bunny looks on

Such were the goings-on at the most recent gathering of Lolitas held at Shibuya's basement Blue Room club

Even if you don't exactly know what a Lolita is, chances are you've seen them. Dressed in dollhouse and death chic, these young women are a common sight in touristy Harajuku, where their main pastime, it seems, is posing for cameras

Yet the Lolitas come as multi-layered as the skirts they wear. There are standard…