Let’s get pinned. My mood board for the day is whimsically spiced like a cup of my favorite tea, Amandine Rose, which has sadly been discontinued from Teavana (so I’m hoarding my filled tea tin like I’m hoarding the inspiring photos you see below all over my pin boards). Drink a cup with glittery eyes and relax with visions of sugar dolls dancing in your mind.
I love falling in love with the world again and again and tumblr always seems to help make that happen. When feeling low or uninspired I take a stroll through my recents there and I’m feeling fine again (as directed by my best friend). Sometimes all we need is a little eye-candy you see.. and for you this is just the place to get it.
.. and yes I’m a little addicted to candy-colorful hair. Aren’t you?
One of the reasons I love this style so much is because it looks exactly like my world as a little girl. I wish I could raid my closet and room from then so I could create my own little fairy-kei world again. I’ve realized this is exactly what I’m doing with Colette’s clothes and decor.. she’s getting all those adorable goodies I kept safe! Popples, Baby Brite, Avon character jewelry and more.
I guess I’m probably a big fan of decora too? Seems to be a bit of a difference in color hues with both styles of fashion. I’ve been a long-time lover of decora and that’s because it’s bright and tasty (think Barbie hot pink and an overload of rainbow accessories).
So let’s take a look at what makes fairy-kei special and what makes it different from decora…
Fairy-kei is a candy-coated, marshmallow rainbow-covered delicious arrival in Japanese fashion. As Miseducated and SPANK! often do, it features the cute characters and motifs of the 80s: My Little Pony, Care Bears, Popples, Barbie, etc. The palettes favored seem to be all soft, light hues of the 80s marshmallow rainbow. Fairy-kei uses as many as 6 colors in an outfit, but don’t be too hasty with color — make sure that each of the colors balance each other out. Colors you use should be used at least one other time in the outfit, usually, to add icing on the cake and to tie it all together. Think bows, beads, accessories and pompoms!
Made In Girl Magazine
Tokyo Fashion
Niles Perch
SPANK!
Pop-Kei Community
La Carmina
Asia’s Vintage Clothing Explosion
Hello Reimei
Fairy-Kei Community
Drop Dead Kawaii aka Petsugar
If you’re an 80s kid, ransack through any old stuff you kept or stored and see what treasures you can find! It’s like new but has more meaning attached. If you can’t find any try ebay, flea markets and thrift stores for marshmallow rainbow 80s goods.
Tutus! They’re easy to find these days and very easy to make. You can make your tutu as simple or as decadent as you like; they’re all sweet when paired with a tee.
Pompons, bows, tulle — all in the marshmallow rainbow of fairy-kei — think of making yarn into large pompons for hair and keychains, smaller ones for other accessories.
Found some cute 80s fabric but the item is shot? Patch it onto a tee, add some glitter. Don’t wait for your favorite new t-shirt, make it!
A big pastel sweater with an alternating color of hair bow. Think big and ridiculously cute! Keep it simple if you like with a black tutu and flats, you can be Fairy-kei inspired without going over the top.
Do you want to catch the eye of everyone around you? Do you want to appear happy and healthy (even if you’re plagued with the flu and totally bummed out)? Do you want to look absolutely gorgeous without makeup, without a chic outfit, and without any effort? Well here’s how!
The first step to instant beauty is CONFIDENCE. Even if you aren’t confident in yourself, looking confident makes you feel confident. At the beginning of each day, take a minute to pause and say to yourself, “This is MY day. I can do whatever I want with this day, and I’m going to succeed.” Starting each morning this way will give you a confidence boost that will last all day long, and can give you the spring in your step needed to appear confident to the outside world.
Another thing that makes you look instantly gorgeous is SMILING. Make it a goal to smile every single day. Smile at strangers. Smile at friends. Smile at family. Even smile at your pets! Smiling makes you seem approachable, down to earth, and friendly. And nothing is more attractive than that! Also, simply smiling makes you happy. Smiling also leads to laughing, which can make you even happier.
A third key that can instantly improve your appearance is POSTURE. People that walk around with their shoulders slumped and their eyes to the ground don’t look very appealing, do they? Instead, roll your shoulders back, keep your head held high, and look straight ahead. This makes you look ready to take on the world, and feel that way too!
My last tip is to drink a lot of WATER. This will keep your skin glowing without any makeup. Drinking water helps clear your body of toxins, so your skin will look fresh and gorgeous. It not only makes skin look ravishing, but it’s also incredibly healthy and can help with many other things.
Try these tips and you will see an instant difference! You don’t need expensive makeup, fancy clothes, or dramatic hairstyles to look beautiful. Just be confident, healthy, and enjoy your day! People will definitely take notice.
When we’re younger, a huge amount of us girls grow up with The Princess Syndrome. A lot of us latched on to a favorite Disney princess. If not Disney, perhaps another storybook princess. She helped to shape us as we grew up and for good reason. She was beautiful, kind, smart, loving, maybe animals flocked to her when she sang. It was all very awe inspiring.
As we grow up, do we lose The Princess Syndrome? Is it something we should hold onto? While I don’t always agree with waiting for Prince Charming to save you, I think that Princesses still offer a good framework for an individual.
Princess stories are often a transformation tale which can still remind us to not lose sight of becoming the best we can be.
Princesses are often very kind, caring, and empathetic which is something a lot of people lose when they get older and get out into a colder world. It’s something to hold onto. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.
Princesses are often kind to animals. This is an important thing to learn as a child and something we should hold onto. Relationships with animals are incredibly rewarding.
Princesses are often courageous. Fighting for what’s right and for their own happiness. I know so many people who forget this. It’s something you should never stop fighting for.
In Cinderella type stories we are taught to never give up and that your situation does not define you.
Princesses like Belle teach us that beauty starts from the inside and it’s best to look to see who people really are outside of appearances.
Snow White was kind to animals and less fortunate individuals. She teaches us to look after the needs of others.
Ariel teaches us to be strong willed and brave. She also teaches us that what seems impossible can in fact be possible if you believe and if you try hard enough.
All of these things can and should still be implemented into our lifestyles as we become adults. Perhaps the biggest change I would make in Princess stories would be to show that you don’t need royal blood or a marriage to be a Princess. Every girl can be one in her own right. It’s all about embodying the positive traits and outlook. Sometimes it’s still a good thing to look back to our childhood heroines to remind us of things that are easily forgotten.
This is a pair of old shoes I had lying around.. I felt they were a bit boring so I rarely wear them. hehe… I think a lot of people have a similar problem, there are always something we don’t want to wear / use, but we are reluctant to throw it away or be wasteful. It is a good idea to give them a new birth with alterations and decoration!
All we need to snazz up these shoes is some lace, two heart-shape cabochons, and some pearls.
First, wrap the heart-shape cabochons with some lace and sew it tight at the back.
Then, string up the pearls and sew them around the cabochons.
Sew some pearls on the ribbon (or shoe!) randomly.
Finally, stick the cabochons on the ribbon.
DONE!
Eh, so sometimes when my husband and I are running late or feeling really nasty we’ll grab happy meals — mainly just when the toys are cute… but what the hell do you do with the little plastic toys after you eat your meal?
Make something out of them!
My plan was to attach gems and glitter all over my lovely ponies and headbands with sweet unicorn emblems. Every headband is on it’s way to a special home for fun and whimsy instead of being chewed up in Wanwan’s bed or thrown in the garbage. 😉 Perhaps soon we’ll do some more silly DIY with all the plastic junk we always come across! ha
(go ahead and keep the box too for silly gifts to friends — haha)
Photos by Benjamin Amick <3 Dress: Manoush; Headband: DIY; Shoes: Russe & Rilakuma
