We may all be mad here, but I don't think I like your version.

[cupcake_goth]

Isn't this interesting? From the L.A. Times "Fashion Forecast" article:

"All things Alice

Look for fashion/entertainment synergy to break new ground this year, including novel partnerships for on-screen placement and higher-profile designer collaborations. One of the first down the rabbit hole in that regard will be Tim Burton's live-action "Alice in Wonderland" remake, due to open March 5.

In addition to Disney Consumer Products' official high-style tie-ins with jewelry makers (Tom Binns, Swarovski) and clothing designers (Stella McCartney is among those rumored) set to roll out in conjunction with the film's release, Lewis Carroll inspiration is popping up like hallucinogenic mushrooms after an acid rain. The recent holiday window displays at Bergdorf Goodman in New York bore an Alice in Wonderland theme, and in March, Parisian department store Printemps reportedly plans to unveil window displays of custom "Alice" dresses by the likes of Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane.

Designers recently name-checking Lewis Carroll and his creations include Donatella Versace, Jason Wu, Kenzo's Antonio Marras, and Zac Posen. A self-professed lifelong fan of all things Alice, Posen has collaborated on a collection of Wonderland-themed jewelry and recently unveiled a pre-fall 2010 collection that he describes as "Lewis Carroll meets Paloma Picasso," which includes thigh-length, Alice-appropriate dresses in mad, mad plaids. He explained there are several things that play into the fomenting fashion fixation.

"First, there's a real sense of escapism and imagination to it that I think is important in popular culture right now," he said. "And Alice and 'Through the Looking Glass' have really become a part of the fashion vernacular." He pointed to everything from the familiar iconography of the tea party accouterments and playing cards to "the woman dressing as a little girl in a shrunken dress, and the black, white and red colors, and even the dandy tweed suit."

I'm sure a lot of the Alice-inspired high-fashion stuff will just make me roll my eyes and mutter about people who need to read the books, but I'll still be curious to see it. Tho' I'm already wincing at the notion of "thigh-length, Alice-appropriate dresses in mad, mad plaids".

On a much smaller level, I'm already starting to notice this happening. More strangers are starting to reference Alice In Wonderland when commenting on my clothes, even when I'm not wearing a top hat.

Comments

[gloomsan.livejournal.com]

I love the icon!!!

[riani1.livejournal.com]

I have to say I dislike the "woman dressing as a little girl" idea. It makes me think of the wrong kinds of porn. Your stuff has never struck me as "little girl"-ish. Red Queen, yes, little girl, no.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on the "woman dressing as a little girl" thing. And you're right, my aesthetic has never been that; in fact, one of the reasons I have the Stroppy One sanity-check my outfits is to make sure I don't wander into "mutton dressed as lamb" territory. I (obviously!) think it is entirely possible to dress in a whimsical manner and still look like a grown woman.

[miss-lisa-ma.livejournal.com]

I (obviously!) think it is entirely possible to dress in a whimsical manner and still look like a grown woman.

I.
LOVE.
YOU!

[paillettes.livejournal.com]

shortly after reading this i clicked over to etsy, and the front page treasury right now just happens to be alice/wonderland themed...

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Ha! So it is. But not featuring any of the Alice-themed stuff I've been coveting, I see.

[paillettes.livejournal.com]

hence safe to tell you about it XD

[jipsi-starr.livejournal.com]

(I'm sure you have, but it doesn't hurt to ask...) Have you seen the twisted princess version of Alice? Very awesome and creepy, hehe

http://jeftoon01.deviantart.com/art/Twisted-Princess-Alice-131282943

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

I have, and I am delighted by it.

[cherry-faery.livejournal.com]

I'm still trying to figure out what an "Alice-appropriate" dress would be and how it could be interpreted as being thigh length or have anything to do with "mad" plaids.

This sort of reminds me of when fashion people are all proud of themselves for tripping over something black or brown or some dark color and then slapping the Goth label on it. I just saw something on that recently and I thought it was kinda funny that some designers mined from like the old invader Goths from history and were somehow still trying to connect it to the subculture. Trust me there was very little whimsy or mystery so much as there were models cloaked in weirdness of the bad variety.

[miss-electra.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I could see rocking something in an electric blue and grey plaid that was EGL and thus "Alice Appropriate". I don't think it could be thigh length, because just thinking about that is kind of hurting my head right now...but mad plaid (which I love, so I'm biased towards) could be Very Alice in context.

(Let us also remember that the Victorians liked some VERY bizarre color combinations, and thus a mauve and lime plaid would probably be right in for Alice...)

[rocket-jockey.livejournal.com]

Thigh-length bustle skirt in plaid taffeta, maybe? (Okay, I'm stretching here...)

[miss-electra.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Maybe if it had some REALLY awesome bloomers underneath with teacups on them! And little slices of cake!

[cherry-faery.livejournal.com]

Totally fair. :)

I like plaid myself though I've never necessarily though of them in the context of Alice in Wonderland stuff. Doesn't mean it can't be done and I'd be interested to see it anyway but I think I have more faith in independent artists and designers rather than bigger names. They might surprise but I've been disappointed a lot of times too so I'm wary.

(And mauve and lime is actually one of my favorite color combinations.)

[miss-electra.livejournal.com]

Admission: I have never paired mauve and lime, but I *am* a fan of most pink and green combos, so it sounded cool when I said it.

And now I think I need to make a plaid Alice-esque outfit. Oh noez, just what I needed, more inspiration! :)

[cherry-faery.livejournal.com]

Hooray for inspiration! Happy outfit making! :)

[schmi.livejournal.com]

I'm dreading that movie coming out and my favorite childhood book getting Hot Topic-ized. Guh...

[lylassandra.livejournal.com]

At least Hot Topic won't just be jumping on the bandwagon; after all, they've been mining Disney's version for tween-"edgy" merch for years.

[untouched-sugar.livejournal.com]

Still, it's going to be painful to see. The fact that it looks like Tim Burton has dragged out his "WOOOOOOOOO, I'm Tim BURTON!" acid colors is going to make any fresh-spawned media merch that much more eye-burning.
I'm all for his early gloom. <3

[lylassandra.livejournal.com]

Especially considering that acid-meets-the-80s seems to be the popular color scheme right now... *shudder*

[untouched-sugar.livejournal.com]

*I-Love-Lucy-Style: Uwaaaaaaaah!*

[satellite6.livejournal.com]

OK, I was so ready to poo-poo all the commercialized products. But, well, Alexander McQueen. *sigh* He's awesome. I may not be able to snap up any of his stuff - but he'll know what he's doing. :)

[i-fart-bats.livejournal.com]

ugh, and i bet in a year, maybe even less, this whole phenom will be over. i've loved alice in wonderland since i was a wee tot. i've played the EA computer game so many times, i could beat it in only two hours (sometimes less). i'm planning a whole alice-themed sleeve (based on the game), but i bet people will think i'm being "trendy". and i REFUSE to acknowledge disney's cartoon version. the version i liked as a child? the original book.

[indilwen.livejournal.com]

I like Alice, but I also like Gothic Lolita, and Alice in Wonderland is ALL OVER the place in that fashion, so much so that I've become more than a little burnt out on it. I'm underjoyed that I'm now going to be seeing it everywhere else too, simply because people are hopping on a bandwagon. I quite like Alice in Wonderland, I'm just starting to feel that it's overrated :/

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

For once I'm ahead of a trend. I should wear Alice out clubbing soon.

[nocturnalice-66.livejournal.com]

I could care less about the rest of the world as far as trends and people's assumptions about my motivations go, the story of Alice is very important to me for personal reasons so I'm absolutely thrilled about Wonderland-themed items being more available. Skirt-length of the manifestations and inaccuracies have always bothered me, but I've found ways to deal with it lol. I suppose I'm more excited about the jewelry than the clothes for that reason... though I'm interested to see what they come up with. Alexander McQueen in particular. It is possible to do Alice tastefully, so here's hoping. It's possible I'll sing a different tune once I see it *shrug* but for now I'm excited.

The Victorians did have a unique sense of color lol, but I have to admit Tim Burton's color choices with the Mad Hatter do kind of hurt my eyes... >.< Despite all that I'm still excited. I'm like an addict, except that instead of being the problem, Alice solves the problem...

When I walked by the Bergdorf Goodman windows this year, they gave me a Wondergasm so big I almost had a heart attack. They were phenomenal, particularly for fans of the books. I took a ton of pictures - whole windows and the little details that made me go squee - so I'll try to post them in my journal if you'd like to see them ^.^

I was very confused for a minute when I first saw your post. That was my default user pic for years lol.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

As much as I'm excited to see the movie, and plan to suggest a lolita meetup in Portland to go see it--

it sucks that any time I'm out in lolita, I'm going to have people asking me if I'm dressed up as Alice.

[kibarika.livejournal.com]

Speaking of top hats! I definitely need to keep the big one, but I'm going to make a little black crocheted cap to wear underneath it so it doesn't slide down my head. I'll have pictures as soon as I work up an appropriate picture-taking ensemble.

[staxxy.livejournal.com]

'Alice appropriate' can only include 'thigh length' skirts if they are worn as an over dress and have longer skirts beneath.

Okay, now i am picturing how awesome THAT could look - layers of different lengthed plaid skits in complimentary colors...

[rocket-jockey.livejournal.com]

I wonder if maybe some fancy men's waistcoats will come from it, say, double-breasted, notch collared, with a watch pocket, made of jaquards or tasteful stripes and nicely lined? Or am I hoping in vain?