I am baffled at the number of people who insist that Lolita fashion be static and shackled with rules. Street style is thrilling because of never-ending experimentation, evolution, cross-categorization – and this is what Japanese Lolita designers do every season. Sure, there is a Lolita archetype, and you can argue ad nauseum over what should/not be included. This conversation puts me to sleep. I’d rather discuss whether a brand or individual’s ensemble works on its own merits; if it is striking or provocative at this particular moment.

Take, for example, the Spring 2008 collection released by HellCatPunks, a Tokyo label associated with Punk Loli and often featured in the Gothic & Lolita Bible. The model wears a black lace bell-skirt and heart-shaped sunglasses (how interesting – a reference to Lolita in the Nabokov/Kubrick sense! ). The rest of her outfit – hot pink/yellow/blue striped leggings, Converse sneakers, hooded graphic T-shirt – is pure London New Rave.

My question is not “is it sacriligious?” but “is it compelling style?” Not particularly, if you ask me; the T-shirt designs play off House of Holland, and 1980s neon has been lighting up nightclubs for the past two years. The brand’s Punk Loli outfits are fresher to my eyes, but perhaps this is the opposite case in Japan, where Lolita is everywhere and New Rave is a blip.

“Happy Yellow” has ecstatic connotations, but instead of smiley faces, we have wallflowers and nutcrackers. A bad trip, perhaps?

The spiky red dog collars are my personal pick. The rockabilly jacket and leopard print jeans remind me of Paris brand April 77.