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Apple’s post about Dolly-kei fashion!
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The other day I saw a picture that really caught my eye, and I posted it on my page to share it with everyone.

I had no idea what this style was called, so I asked for help, and amazing Namie (check out her page if you like lovely, girly things!) helped me find out what this style was!

After looking at some other similar-style pictures she found for me, we concluded that this should be Dolly-kei! ^^

What is Dolly-kei? (By the way, kei (系) means style.)

Dolly-kei fashion is where you dress like an antique doll. It is inspired from Eastern Europe folklore and dark fairytales. This style has many stunning details and layering of vintage clothes. Their accessories are also amazing, and many of their accessories and clothes can be re-makes or handmade. Makeup is usually distinct pink on the cheeks and long dolly false lashes. Hairstyles are beautiful (think long tresses with soft curls or cute little bobs), but can sometimes be quirky with short straight-cut bobs or above-the-eyebrows straight fringes.

I also observe that wearers of this style usually don’t show their bare legs. They cover legs with cute stockings or just plain black stockings. Whatever it is, usually you won’t be able to see the bare skin of their legs. Isn’t this so wonderful? They are really like antique dolls!

If you like dolly-kei style, you should read Kera or Cutie!

Kera was my favourite magazine when I was a teenager. At that time, I was intrigued with Classic Lolita styles, but Classic Lolita (check out Baby, The Stars Shine Bright) is a very expensive style for teenagers! So, I was looking for styles with elements of ‘doll’ in it, because that is what I was truly in love with.

During that time (more than 10 years ago!), there wasn’t so much information on Japanese sub-culture styles yet on the internet, so it was quite difficult to find images which you can get inspired on or study. The best thing you can do is to buy their magazines in Japanese bookstores like Kinokuniya.

So I bought my first Kera magazine and was awestruck by all the amazing styles in it! You should definitely check Kera out if you are a creative dresser or designer. It’s very inspiring. It does not only have Dolly-kei, it has lots of different Japanese street styles we all love in it.

Source

Even though I was really inspired at that time, it was hard to find clothes that were seen in the magazine! So I mixed and matched and interpreted many clothes in my own way to come up with styles that are…close enough. Haha! At this time and age though, it may be easier to dress in many different ways, so please try it if this style speaks to you. ^^

Kera magazine Street Snaps. Bottom left is Dolly-kei.

Also, although I love looking at these styles in the past, I had no idea it had a name for it. Haha! I always called it Kera style.

To me, Dolly-kei is difficult to replicate because I’m not a person who likes accessories at all, so I may not be a very good Dolly-girl. Also, it takes talent to look at different vintage pieces and come up with different ways to wear or layer it, and look amazing!

Can’t wait to see more styles and learn more about Dolly-kei? Check out this website that provides information about Dolly-kei to help you get started!

Also, I want to encourage young girls to just experiment with styles you love. I know many Western girls have circles or groups for Japanese sub-culture fashion, which sounds awesome in theory, but reality is that some girls can get really mean and critical about each other’s dressing (“Please! This is NOT gyaru!” “How can you call yourself a Gothic Lolita?!” “Dressing in this brand doesn’t make you a (enter whatever style it is)!!”), so I don’t know if it’s a good idea to join them after all…

Just dress in whatever you love! Fashion is creative and I don’t think there are really any cold, hard rules. Dress in whatever style you want to express. I don’t even think grabbing interesting elements from different styles and combining them into one style is bad! Look at Gothic Lolita for example. From there alone, many different kinds of Lolitas have been created.

So you may even be the one who creates a brand new style! Don’t worry too much about what other people say. They are just being mean and want to feel better about themselves. Have fun and good luck! ^^

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This post is written by Apple, who has also written about Mori Girls style on TKE. She has recently started an interesting page for girls who would like to make cute food for their loved ones. Check out Happy Girls Cute Food’s blog and ‘like’ her Facebook page if you do!