The book and the style are completely unrelated. You wouldn't emulate British Victorian styles to pay homage to a book set in 1950s America. The name was borrowed by the anime subculture to otherize any objectification of children in their media and they ended up shaving off the hard edges off of the title and subject matter. Fashion designers and trendsetters adopted the name and styles from these cute anime characters and the rest is history.
The book and the style are completely unrelated. You wouldn't emulate British Victorian styles to pay homage to a book set in 1950s America. The name was borrowed by the anime subculture to otherize any objectification of children in their media and they ended up shaving off the hard edges off of the title and subject matter. Fashion designers and trendsetters adopted the name and styles from these cute anime characters and the rest is history.