Scans from Old-School Magazine Alice Doll

I recently snagged a copy of an old-school magazine called Alice Doll, and I wanted to share some of my favorite street snaps from the magazine!

This is one of my favorite looks, featuring a Cornet OP that combines satin with eyelet lace. Click through to see more snaps!

About Alice Doll

Alice Doll was a short-lived lolita magazine from the early 2000's. I've seen references to different issues around the internet, but I have only ever been able to track down and confirm the existence of the first issue, released in September of 20091. The format is reminiscent of FRUiTs- it primarily focuses on street snaps and short interviews with the subject of each snap. There is also a short history/how to section about lolita and visual kei, a 4-5 page long section with current brand releases, and then a few ads.

Unlike the GLB and Kera, Alice Doll's primary focus is lolita, and in particular kuro and shiro gothic coords. There are one or two sweet coords and a handful of classic-ish floral coords, but most of the individuals featured are wearing monochrome black or white looks. 

My one gripe about Alice Doll is that its publishers/writers were...not that accurate when it came to identifying items lol. I was first keyed into this when I stumbled across this magazine on an old-school gothic lolita fansite (sorry it's pretty much impossible to read...) where the author complained that Alice Doll had incorrectly translated the name of indie brand Mauvais Ange when it converted the brand name to kana. At first I noticed minor things- like they would identify an OP as a top and skirt set. But then I noticed they incorrectly identified a few brand pieces that were very recognizable as being "handmade", and there are a few more places where they straight up get the brand wrong. 

Despite that, I would definitely recommend picking up a copy if you can! There are a lot of really cute and interesting looks and I found it really inspirational to look through. It's not the best as a historical record for identifying brand items, but let's be honest, you're buying it for the photos.

Anyways, without further ado, on to the snaps! These are just a few of my favorites, the magazine features a total of 150 snaps.

The Meta rabbit plush bag was everywhere in this magazine! I spotted it in at least 5 coords.

I'm obsessed with her amazing bell sleeves!

Plush toys in general were a common accessory item! I love the way this lolita combined a cute little plush with her MMM OP. 

This panda on a chain is another favorite and I'll definitely be stealing this idea for a future coordinate.

This little white teddy bear is perfect with her crew socks. And this outfit showcases another thing I really like about this magazine: it demonstrates how folks worked then-current items from brands that we generally don't think of as "lolita", like Emily Temple, Jane Marple, and MILK, into their lolita coordinates. This girl is wearing an old Emily Temple Cute JSK that was released in 1998 or 1999.

 

Another example of brands we now think of as "otome". She's wearing a BPN skirt paired with a Jane Marple blouse and Emily Temple Cute socks.

Meta was very popular in Alice Doll's snaps. Lots of folks wore both their clothes and accessories! The socks both of these girls are wearing (from the Thorns series) seemed to be particularly popular, as did the platform shoes the girl on the right is wearing. Hime cuts and blonde hair weren't that popular yet, either. Most of the subjects have very dark brown or black hair in a more natural cut.

More Meta fans, featuring some of the brand's classic items. The dress on the right had a couple of re-releases between 2000 and 2002 in different cuts and fabrics (this one is flannel, there have also been velvet and cotton variations). The set on the left has also seen a few re-releases in various cuts and colorways over the years, though the original raschel-lace-covered iteration is my personal favorite.

Meta's bags were popular, even with lolitas who weren't wearing Meta. The description says this lolita is wearing Putumayo. Both her pochette and her tote are recognizable Meta releases and as Jenny pointed out in the comments her dress is this OP from 2001! 

This is also one of the rare magazines that features snaps of early AP items! Though this is erroneously identified as an Emily Temple Cute top and Angelic Pretty skirt, it's actually a dress and appears to be a cotton version of this onepiece.

 

More early AP! The dress is Angelic Pretty and the blouse is described as being from "Pretty," AP's select shop predecessor that still would have been open for business around this time. The suspender skirt is described as Meta, but I haven't been able to pinpoint it for sure. The layered lace and kind of doofy cut is reminiscent of Meta's late 1990s releases, though!

Like many lolita magazines from this time period, there are tons of handmade items featured! These two are both wearing handmade black x white OPs. I especially love the soft, girlish way the lolita on the left styled her hair! The girl on the right looks like she made the 2001 predecessor to Meta's nun OP.

 

More handmade pieces! The girl on the left was one of the only people wearing dark blue in the magazine and I love the fabric's texture. The girl on the right has the cutest sack-like OP and her crew-length socks are to die for.

 

Predictably, there's also some Marble and Visible featured. At the time, Marble also sold Visible's items so all of their items are attributed to Marble/Visible. I love the ero coord on the left, and the raschel lace maid headdress on the right is just to die for.

More Marble/Visible and get a load of that Patchy statement bag! It's such a shame they aren't around any longer, and because their items were made of pleather very few have survived to the present day.

 

No old-school street snap magazine would be complete without a little Moitie. I love how each of these lolitas have put their own spin on the brand- the girl on the right has the perfect Mana-style look and makeup, while the girl on the left has given her skirt and blouse a slightly cuter feel with the angel wing accessory, bubble-toed shoes, and knee socks.

More MMM, this time featuring a long skirt and what appears to be a pleather nurse headdress from Atelier Pierrot.

Speaking of Atelier Pierrot- here's one of their older designs! 

The magazine also features some Innocent World- there are a couple of street snap subjects wearing the floral dress on the right, but this lolita with the tightly curled ringlets was my favorite! I love the coordinate the girl on the left is wearing, and though you can't see it very clearly here, she has some of my absolute favorite legwear in the magazine. She's wearing sheer tights with fishnet knee-high socks on top, and then sock garters to hold up the knee-highs. So cute!

I've showcased a lot of all-black coordinates because that's my personal preference, but the magazine also showcases a lot of all-white coordinates, too! This one was a personal favorite- I love how she paired this BTSSB OP with subtle black accents in the ribbons, pochette, and shoes.

I hope you enjoyed looking at this post! If you liked it, I would suggest snagging a copy of the magazine for yourself- I think I paid about $7 plus shipping for mine. You can also check out a few more scans over at Lolita History!