Fashion Fancies: Dolores Haze
August 04, 2015Bonjour,
Today I have a new instalment in my 'Fashion Fancies' series, in which I take a fictional or historical character and put together some outfits I imagine they would wear. Previously I've created looks for Catherine Howard, Cathy Dollanganger, Wednesday Addams, Mia Thermopolis and Daisy Buchanan, so today I thought I'd do the same for Dolores Haze, aka Lolita in Vladimir Nabokov's novel of the same name. Just to be clear, I decided to call this Dolores's (or Dolly's) wardrobe and not Lolita's because Lolita isn't her real name - it's the nickname given to her by Humbert Humbert, the middle aged scholar lodging in her mother's house who rapidly becomes obsessed with her over the course of the novel. Personally I think the use of the different names are kind of symbolic of how one interprets the story, so I'm sticking with Dolly.
The character of 12-year-old Dolly/Lo/Lolita is fairly well known as the original 'nymphet' type, and has become quite an icon among a certain class of Tumblr users. As a character, Dolly is childish, capricious, stubborn and often petty, but she is also flirtatious and has a strong sense of fun. I don't really want to get too much into my interpretation of the novel because that's a whole different post, so lets move on to the outfits.
1. Queen of Coney Island
This is probably the most girly outfit of the four, but it's made up of a few iconic nymphet items including heart-shaped sunglasses, pink plaid and bardot necklines. I can imagine Dolly wearing this to a party or on some kind of other occasion, given the heels. Although I don't think it's particularly 50s (maybe more modern day?) I think it fits with her character.
2. Darling Carmen
Lolita is set in 1949, and I thought that time period ought to come across somewhere, such as in these school shoes, the adorable dress (which I would totally wear) and the vintage-esque suitcase - very appropriate given much of the novel recounts a road trip. There's definitely an element of glamour in Dolly's life though, so I included some high end type makeup products as well.
3. Sparkle jump rope queen
It's important not to forget that Dolly is 12 years old at the beginning of the novel which makes her still essentially a child. Rollerskates, pinafores, daisy chains and milkshakes are all things I associate with childhood, and perhaps especially being a child in America. Also I love that Wizard of Oz case so much!
4. Scarlet starlet
The whole 1950s starlet vibe has become quite a big part of the Lolita image and I think this outfit represents that pretty well. More plaid, red heart-shaped sunglasses, saddle shoes and red lipstick all work to create the impression of a young child star in mid-twentieth century Hollywood.
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