Best know for their samurai soldiers and their graceful geishas, Japanese culture has taken a surprising turn. Beautiful Japan has since changed and is now a synonym for something entirely different – kawaii. Kawaii combines everything that is cute and adorable and its essence is all about childhood nostalgia. Kawaii looks back on the time when everything was simpler, there were fewer problems, and everything was more colorful and bright.
The origin of Kawaii
The culture of kawaii has a little bit of an unusual story – it was based on the invention of the mechanical pencil. At the beginning of the 1970s, these pencils were widely adopted in schools. With these pencils, girls started changing their writing style. The strokes became more childlike, as well as a rounder. This new handwriting style spread like wildfire and started an entire movement which is still around today. Before memes and viral trends existed, this modern and trendy style spread to popular mangas, as well as to marketing campaigns which targeted young girls. Perhaps one of the first kawaii characters was Hello Kitty with her cuddly body and oversized head and she is still popular today. She is still recognizable, she is still kawaii.
Img source: tokyo-dreams.com
Kawaii Fashion – Harajuku, the place to be
Kawaii is not just an aesthetic choice, but it has become one of the most popular Asian fashion trends, which has a lot of subcategories and cultures. Harajuku girls or Lolita or button decorated jackets and bags spread so fast, that there was nothing that could stop the kawaii movement. Harajuku is perhaps the center of kawaii and if you are a fan, you will want to walk through the streets of colorful stores, shops that are loyal to your favorite anime characters in order to fully experience the best of this cute Japanese culture. While Harajuku girls prefer shorter hemlines and bright blues and pinks, kawaii has grown even more. You will be able to see people mixing quite feminine pinks and fringe skirts with long knee socks. Some subcultures of the kawaii style even combine features of the punk culture, big combat boots, however, the colors and style stay playful, colorful, and young.
You will also be able to see various girls dressed in Lolita which implements style mixing Victorian lace and other popular styles from the Rococo period. You will notice that Lolita girls often look like they have stepped out from an old, Victorian painting, but still much cuter and colorful. For some people, Kawaii is a specific style choice which can be noticed by the clothes they wear, however kawaii is much deeper than that. Someone who wants to fully embody the kawaii style, will not only dress in a cute way, but they will also change their manners, speak in a higher pitched way, and use various makeup styles in order to enlarge their eyes. All this is done in order to accomplish the mirage of youth in order for it to be considered cute.
Img source: allontario.ca/
Conclusion
The specific cuteness of kawaii has grown into a more subtle study of trends that are expired by youth. Look for clothes that are pink and bright, socks going above the ankles and to the knees, various colorful buttons, stuffed animal keychains, and you should consider to color your hair in pastel colors.
