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What is “Kawaii” ? Kawaii means cute, pretty, adorable and child-like. Many girls in Tokyo like to wear young and colourful dresses with cute and sweet accessories - “strawberry” earrings, “chocolate” rings, “biscults” necklaces, with “diamond” and “crystal” etc…. Such dressing style is popular in recent years. Besides Japan, this “kawaii” culture is also popular in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and among some youngsters in Western countries and even some in Paris.
Kawaii Online shops
Many mini desserts are found in the accessories in Tokyo kawaii boutiques. Tokyo youngsters who learned how to made such kawaii accessories and clothes open online shops in internet and started their business. These are hot items amoung most girls in Tokyo, sweet and coulourful dresses and accessories are always attractive, and these items are popular since it first created. Such online stores are also popular in Hong Kong and China. Some photos are taken by themselves and posted to the online stores, people can choose and order it at anytime and anywhere.
Some kawaii online shops:
http://www.shopkawaii.com/New-Arrival-March-10-s/211.htm
http://topsites.kawaiiexchange.com/index.php?cat=Online+Store
Kawaii DIY
The picture shown on the left is a DIY iphone shell made by my friend, Vicki, 25. She said that the iphone shell in the shops are so expensive, about HK $250-$300, so she bought mini stuff and made a DIY one, it is about $100 something. She used nearly 5 hours to finish it. She said that she is happy to use it because it is cute and her friends said that the accessories on the shell make them want to “eat” it.
Kawaii nails are also hot items in Kawaii culture. We can see many shops in Hong Kong, Macau and China which also help customers to design and make their own fake nails. Girls likes to change the styles and colours of their nails during holidays and weekends, some will “DIY” their own fake nails.
Kawaii TV
Kawaii TV is a channel in Tokyo. This show is hosted by Ikki Sawamura, with a pop singer Beni and a model Saya. They introduced the “Kawaii” style to the audience and show all hot items and fans’ stories to audiences.
The program covers everything from fashion to culture. It mainly introduce the kawaii fashion in Tokyo. It had become a hot show in Tokyo and the Hong Kong channel “J2″ had bought the program and show it in their channel. It becomes one of the hottest program in J2 immediately and many young girls in Hong Kong and Macau love to watch it.
All items that introduced in Kawaii TV will be shown in this gallery “My Kawaii”. Some photos are the favourite items gathered from the Kawaii girls.
Kawaii Online Groups
Kawaii fans also opened groups in interent, they will join together to discuss the hot items and some of them will share their photos on the blogs, some of it are lifestyle photos and some are photos of their handmade accessories. One of the online groups “kawaii.meetup.com” is started by people from North America, and they will held some meetup groups to chat and share kawaii things in this group.
<<<An American lady with a cupcake neckerchief.
Some onine Kawaii groups:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/kawaii/
http://rainbowcatz.ning.com/
http://kawaii.meetup.com/
How to be Kawaii ?
Kawaii is not only a fashion style, it is also a culture which some kawaii fans think that they should follow the rules and characters in order to be truely Kawaii.
~ Keep up with the latest trends
~Wear bright colors
~Sport toys and/or bags with characters like Hello Kitty, Chococat, or My Melody
~If you choose to buy clothes, you can find some really kawaii clothes at places like Hot Topic, or any store that carries clothes imported from Japan
~If you wear makeup, keep it light
~Listen to J-Pop, Bubblegum Pop, and pop music
~If you don’t mind, keep a cute looking
Some tips by kawaii fans:
Reference: http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Kawaii
“Kawaii project” from Japan to Paris
Kawaii TV held a project in Paris in order to introduce kawaii culture to top fashion designers over there. They knew that there are some Kawaii fans in Paris, so they wanted to bring this culture to this top country of fashion in the world, and held a fashion show over there. Below is a video showing this project. It was held quite successfully.
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“Special” Kawaii fans
It’s true that many girls like kawaii culture, but it is also interesting to hear that boys in Japan also like kawaii style. They are not gay but they feel happy to dress up as kawaii girls in a show in Japan. Some of the boys look pretty after they put on kawaii make-up. Some foreigners comments that they also want this interesting show to be held in their countries. The show was uploaded in website, and it was quickly shared by online users to friends. Enjoy!
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