confession #7: you’re not too old for fairy kei!

Japanese Streets- Tavuchi & Choco

Dear fairies,

Today I’d like to discuss how I’ve come across a few things, concerning fairy kei, in which girls talk about how they feel fairy kei is too “juvenile,” think they’re too old for fairy kei, or think it’s only for teenagers in which you grow out of the fashion into, say, something like cult party kei.

While I think peoples’, and my own, styles are always evolving in which one could go from fairy kei to another fashion like cult party kei, I think that there shouldn’t be a line drawn as far as what age you say you stop wearing a certain fashion! (though, there are exceptions to people who just don’t have good fashion sense to begin with)

I think people in the Japanese fashion community should be the least concerned with “age-appropriateness” considering how many of the best styles in Japan are many times misconstrued as “childish” or “costume-y” to some critical westerners with narrow views of what fashion really is.

Why even be part of Japanese fashion if you are going to restrict yourself??

With that said, I think people tend to think fairy kei is “childish” due to the dominant color scheme and use of 80s childrens’ characters like Popples and Care Bears. If fairy kei was meant to be for children, then wouldn’t it be a style only worn by girls under ten years old, considering the characters and bright colors?

Of course, on the contrary, fairy kei is usually worn by girls 17 and over! Not to mention, our representative girls at  6% Tokidoki and Spank! are over the age of 20!! Miss Tavuchi was about 23 years old when she began Spank! and will be over 30 years old soon!

Japanese Streets-Yuka

Tavuchi, in an interview, said that her customers range from 12 years old to 40 years old! To her, Spank! is more about the 80s culture than anything else, it seems.

It makes sense that young women (not young girls) would be into fairy kei. After all, those of us who were children in the 80s and 90s, who enjoyed fairy kei inspirations, are now over the age of 18! Fairy kei is nostalgic and speaks to our childhood in many ways, which makes it all the more appealing.

Really and truly, this fashion is for the young at heart.

"Style is style, fashion is fashion." If you have style, then you don’t need fashion, nor do you need to adhere to any "rules" like age limits. Tavuchi created her own style, likely not caring what the "rules" were. 

BOTTOM LINE: If you want to dress fairy kei, then you are not too old for fairy kei! Dress how you want and do it with style and you will be alright.

Do YOU think you are or will ever be too old for fairy kei?

24-year-old Kumamiki is a designer who created her own fairy kei style indie brand, Party Baby! She and her creations are adorable ^_^

Japanese Streets- Kumamiki

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust!

confession #6: i think fairy kei is more than just pastels!

Dear fairies,

For my sixth confession, I am going to say that pastels are not always necessary in order to have a successful fairy kei outfit!

When I first began to research and start my fairy kei wardrobe, I was overwhelmed with this constant idea that fairy kei MUST be pastel in order to complete the look! I was scrambling to find any pastel accessories and clothing in my own wardrobe and found very little to pass the pastel “rule.”

After much deliberation in creating pastel accessories, I continued my research to find, with much joy, that pastels were not really a must have in every fairy kei outfit!

With that said, I do get and keep pastel items in my wardrobe to give off that 80s innocent feel that seems to define fairy kei. Yet, I do not think that the colors alone define fairy kei!

Just wearing certain colors of certain fashions doesn’t necessarily make it the fashion For example, wearing a sepia color scheme does not make an outfit Steampunk or wearing all black doesn’t make it goth.

So, wearing all pastels does not make an outfit fairy kei.

To give you a very obvious visual: this woman would hopefully not be considered fairy kei. 

But she’s wearing pastels and is cute. Yet we know that fairy kei is defined by something more than the pastel colors and cuteness. If that were the case, then the past summer trend of pastels would make the all the women who wore pastels fairy kei, which we know is not true.

There are different ways to approach the fairy kei color palette. You can wear any other bold brights, neons, or even black! It just depends on what you feel like and what looks right.

So, don’t let the all-pastel “rule” get you down! It doesn’t exist! Don’t be afraid to go into the brighter or bolder colors and patterns.

6%DokiDoki opts for vibrancy in colors and theme, Spank goes for second-hand pop and rock inspired 80s kitsch, and Nile Perch is a proponent of softer, kinder colors such as pinks and pastels.

~TokyoFashion.com

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust!

Confession #3: it can sometimes be weird that there doesn't seem to be a straight "definition" of fairy kei

Dear fairies,

For my next confession, I have to say that I’ve come to realize that fairy kei is an almost loose term…

Did 6% DokiDoki or Spank! invent fairy kei? Tabuchi Sayuri (founder of Spank!) thought her clothing line differed from the “fairy kei” style itself, but in a way, she has defined the style. After all, I read in an interview with her that “fairy kei” came around after the opening of her store. At the same time, 6% DokiDoki, open long before Spank!, seems to be defined as a fairy kei (and decora) brand by TokyoFashion.com 

6% DokiDoki

Ok, well, there isn’t a REAL answer to the origin, but I realize that Spank! is by no means decora, while 6%DokiDoki seems to have decora as one of their main proponents, yet both brands are described as fairy kei.

But there HAS to be several defining factors that make or break a fairy kei ensemble or otherwise it would just be considered decora, lolita, deco-lolita, cult party kei, or other Japanese fashion. I would like to try and define these things in many more future posts.

Spank!

With that said, look at other fashions such as scene, punk, goth, hipster, lolita, cyberpunk, and steampunk. Each of those styles may be related in many ways (especially the first three) to each other but there are several things which make them distinct from one another.

Nile Perch

You can say that goth and scene may have stemmed from the punk style, but that does not make those two styles punk or make punk goth or scene, right? Therefore, I think this idea could be similarly applied to fairy kei or any other Japanese fashion. 

Fairy kei likely has its origins, but has come into its own kind of fashion that is not the same as its origin.

%6Dokidoki, Spank! and Nile Perch

TokyoFashion.com seems to define all three of these brands as residing under the "fairy kei" umbrella but all three have very distinct looks from each other. Dokidoki 6% has decora elements with bright colors, Spank! plays more on vintage clothing with a combination of brights and pastels, and Nile Perch is a sweeter look with mostly pastels.

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust!

confession #2: i don’t follow western fairy kei trends

Dear fairies,

So, for my second confession, I have realized, over the years, that learning about anything is best to go to the place of origin!

Therefore, I think it’s safe to say that the Japanese are the ones with the best inspiration in fairy kei considering that it is a Japanese style. So, my research and inspirations come from all Japanese women and girls, such as Spank! girls and other fairies who are just lovers of the fashion.

One Japanese woman, in particular, is a huge pioneer when it comes to fairy kei ! Her name is Tabuchi Sayuri. If you dont know her, then you should! She is the founder of Spank!. To me, she is the mother fairy, and I look to her whenever I am in a fairy kei outfit predicament (colors, accessories, pieces, hair, etc).

This is a picture of Tabuchi Sayuri surrounded by 80s cuteness ^_^

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust!