Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Thrift Japanese Street Fashion: Natural Kei


I have been studying Japanese fashion for quite some time now and have figured that I can thrift a lot of certain styles.  I have also found out that a lot of the Japanese fashions are handmade or altered thrifted American clothes. Since I live in America I have found that to be easy as apple pie.


Natural kei has a very pastoral look, is natural and femine. Mostly Influenced by romanticized, western period clothing. Think long hippie dresses or Little house on the Prairie. For this reason, this Japanese look can easily be thrifted. At just about any thrift store you can find a good dose of long frumpy dresses often too large for the average 20 something "me".  So if you were to decide to thrift this look I would recommend you focus on one look, take a picture with you.

Elements to Natural kei

1. Layers
layer 1- an underskirt or a few, pantyhose, shirt
layer 2- dress or skirt
layer 3- bolero, apron, vest, cardigan, coat

2. Loose fit

3.  Prairie/ Country prints: florals, stripes, fruits, leaves, lace, animals etcetera



4. Embellishments: trims, small ruffles- if you are crafty you could diy a long white dress with white lace trim (please choose quality over quantity when it comes to lace)

5. Shoes are comfortable, clunky,  round toe(suggestion) and not delicate, not high-heels

6. Purses can be baskets, leather, or prairie printed

7. Accessories can be anything prairie: flowers, pearls, corsages, hats, skeleton keys, etc.

8. Hair: soft, romantic, curls and braids are common

9. Makeup is natural and soft

Here is an idea outfit from etsy stores

Inspiration


Layer 1:

cotton long sleeve

underskirt

 Layer 2:

Prairie dress


Layer 3:

capelet

white apron


straw hat

vintage boots

straw basket



Helpful site Moss Marchen

1 comment:

  1. Interesting post! I think a full natural kei outfit would be too much for me, although I'm in love with the prairie dress xD

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