Welcome!

Hello everyone and welcome to Fairy Kei's first post! My name is Kitty and I am an avid fairy kei admirer and enthusiast. I check Live Journal's Pop Kei community as well as Spank's shop staff blogs daily. However, lately I feel like something has been missing and that something is a Western-based blog about fairy kei/ Spank! style in general. Today I have decided to break the silence in the Western blogsphere and shout my love for fairy kei!

If you are not (yet) a fan of fairy kei, let my explain it to you. "Fairy kei" or literally, "fairy style" is a Japanese fashion genre taking inspiration from American Children's pop culture from the 80's and early 90's. According to Tokyo New Tribe Sebastian Masudea, a fashion producer, set the grounds for Fairy Kei fashion when he opened his boutique 6% Doki Doki in 1996. Later in 2004 a vintage store named Spank! opened up in Kouenji. They sold American clothing from the 1980's as well as origional handmade goods. They later opened up sister shops Ticket to Darling and Spank Me! Many people consider Spank! to be fairy kei, however Spank! owner, Tabuchi (aka Tavuchi) said in an interview that Spank! is not fairy kei but is it's own unique style. Other Fairy Kei shops of interest are Nile Perch, Mania Q, and B Be Bee. There are also many shops that sell Fairy kei items but not exclusively, for example; Listen Flavor, Swimmer, AC/DC Rags, Milk, Chocomint, Bodyline, and many more.

Fairy Kei fashion can take many forms, however it tends to keep to a pastel pallet, with pastel pink and lilac as almost essentials. Black, White, red, neon colors, as well as other colors are often but not always added to the look. As with many Japanese fashion genres, layers are prevalent. Petticoats, panniers, rompers, and baby doll tops layered over t-shirts are extremely popular in the fashion. Bows, conversation hearts, confetti, polka dots, pastel cartoon animals, teddy bears, ice cream, unicorns, carosousels, and popular 80's plush toys (i.e. Carebears, Popples, and Yum Yums) are all popular Fairy Kei imagery. Fairy kei also has sub genres such as Fairy deco and Fairy loli but I will cover those later.

Overall, interest in Fairy Kei outside of Japan is growing fast. Luckily for myself and many other North Americans, like Americana and heritage fashion, many Spank! items are imported to Japan from America, making it an easy to achieve look. I get my fairy kei clothes almost exclusively from thift stores and ebay. Spank! and Nile Perch-style items also happen to be very easy to make! I will have tutorials later. Anyhow, thank you for reading and I hope you check this new blog often!

Great links to check out:

http://spankworld.jp/staff.html

http://community.livejournal.com/popkei/

http://www.style-arena.jp/en/tribe/0007.html

http://www.style-arena.jp/en/tribe/0035.html

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1377151@N23/

http://spankgirls.tumblr.com/

http://fuckyeahtabuchi.tumblr.com/

http://yaplog.jp/damare_kozou/

Shopping:

Nile Perch: http://www.nile-jp.com/
ACDCrag: http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/acdcrag/index.html
Chocomint: http://item.rakuten.co.jp/chocomint/ac_sw_183/
Swimmer: http://www.swimmer.co.jp/
Listen Flavor: http://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/listen-f/
6% Doki Doki: http://www.dokidoki6.com/
Spank!, Spank me!, Ticket to Darling: http://spankworld.jp/
Milk: http://www.milk-web.net/

Bodyline: http://www.bodyline.co.jp/bodyline/

Notable Fairy kei enthusiasts:

Spank! Girls Tabuchi, Maga, Saki, Eric, Asami, Maasa, and Nachiko

6% Doki Doki shop girls Reika and Yuka

Ambassador of Kawaii Culture Yu Kimura (Peep4U lead singer and Kera model)

Amo (Kera and Angelic Pretty model)