Here’s the background: a few months ago, writer Kyshah Hell contacted me because she was updating her 2002 Morbid Outlook article about Gothic Lolita fashion, which had created something of a stir. Kyshah recognized that much has changed in the last five years, and she wanted to gather as much info as possible to ensure an accurate and current portrait of Goth Lolis in America.

She and I arranged a phone interview, and it lasted for over an hour! How enormously satisfying it is to “talk shop” – to throw out acronyms (BTSSB, MMM), ponder gosurori’s cultural implications, dish on the esoterica of the Bible – all without the other person thinking you’ve escaped from the sanitarium.

Kyshah was a thoughtful and well-informed interviewer, and she’s written one of the best English-language articles on Gothic Lolita to date. Her Morbid Outlook piece covers the origins of Gothic Lolita, the style and its sub-sets, watershed moments (Kamikaze Girls, Phaidon’s Gothic & Lolita), and its emergence in America. I loved the paragraphs about the attraction of Lolita fashion, a question that I ask every Goth Loli of the Week. Kyshah kindly included some of my quotes, a link to my blog, and two photos of me modelling the fashion. Please take a moment to read the article here.