By Eric Talmadge

Associated Press Writer, Tokyo

Growing up - forget it. Looking sexy, too. And appearing as though you might have a pulse? Better to glow blue like porcelain, or break out the black lipstick.

Check out any place where young women hang out in Tokyo, and you are likely to find Lolitas. In fact, it's hard to miss them.

"People notice us - we stand out," said Sachi, the lead vocalist for Black Pansy, a two-woman band whose look, from poofy wigs to bright purple stockings, has made them the darlings of the Tokyo Lolita scene. "The pure, girl-like world inside of me, that is what Lolita is all about."

Tokyo can compete with any city in the world in terms of how many upscale boutiques sell the creations of the stars of fashion, the Versaces, the Dolce and Gabbanas, the Chanels and Pradas. Japanese designers have made it in Paris, and, at home, Japanese are among the world's biggest consumers of brand-name fashion.

But Lolita thumbs its nose at Japan's fashion establishment.