Many people say that they have had self-confidence issues before they discovered kawaii fashion, myself included. Kawaii fashion has given them the boost they needed in life, has helped them discover self-love, meet great new friends and affected their life in really positive way - but what happens if you're too scared to even start wearing these styles in the first place?
I interviewed a few of my friends to find out their opinion on such matters, and I hope that they can inspire you to finally start dressing in your favourite style!
Question 1: How has your prefered 'kawaii style' (lolita, fairy kei, gyaru etc) helped your confidence?
Chris: Wearing Lolita has affected my self-confidence in a really positive way, especially when it comes to crossdressing. Not that I ever had significant issues with self-confidence, but I was very self-conscious about my appearance as a female. Everytime I wore Lolita in public, people approached me and complimented me on how good I looked and a lot of people were surprised to find out that I'm actually male, which was the best kind of reaction I could possibly get. Going out in such eye-catching fashion-style helped me get confident with more casual styles aswell.
Katherine: I have passion, drive and motivation that didn't exist before. Lolita fills my whole life and gives me new opportunities every day. I can talk to people rather than just hang around the edge of the group and hope something good happens. I even find myself ready to teach others about lolita fashion. Most of all I just find that I have a life I can enjoy how I want to, and a passion that'll never really go away.
Question 2: What was your life and fashion like before you started dressing in your 'kawaii style'?
Chris: To be honest, before I got into Lolita, or j-fashion in general, I didn't give much of a damn about fashion at all. I pretty much just wore shoes, jeans and a shirt, preferably all in black. Typically male. Thanks to a friend who wore j-fashion styles to school. I become interested in it and for the first time in my life I started researching fashion. Oh, and I had great interest in crossdressing before that, but it wasn't any good and I didn't do it in public either, because I knew it wasn't good and I wasn't confident enough.
Katherine: Rather boring. I lived with little passion, much social awkwardness. I was interested in emo fashion but due to a lack of motivation couldn't really get into it.
Alex: before japanese fashion my look was a lot less cute! My mum is a goth so I was mostly influenced by her style. I'd probably say the fashion has made me (try) act more cute as well!
Question 3: Did you have any worries before dressing in your favourite style? How did you get over it?
Chris: I was shy at first. I feared that I might be "ita". However, I ran my blog for about two years at that point, constantly reblogging things I like and I researched a lot about Lolita and took my time putting my first coord together. I also double-checked things with friends and after I got their approval I first wore Lolita at a small convention near my home town. I wasn't good at putting on make-up so I had a friend do it for me. I received a lot of positive feedback during that day and my shyness was reduced significantly. My first time with Lolita in public was during a j-fashion meet-up, so again I wasn't alone doing it and that helped me feel "safe".
Katherine: My family were my biggest worry because they all seemed to want me to dress how they dress. I found I've had to overcome this gradually by using lolita to improve my life thus improving their image of it
Alex: I'm mostly shy about seeing people I know when dressed in lolita, like class mates who I'm not especially close with. Sometimes if I see some one I recognise I hide in a shop or somethin.... OTL But I find it a lot easier if I wear a wig because then less people can recognise me!! xD I was quite nervous about wearing fairy Kei for the first time, but I decided to wear it at a rock gig. Yeah, I stood out a lot.... but the band are all about accepting people and the fans are all like family so I was positive they wouldn't hate on it. In fact some of them were asking were I bought my things from!!!
Katie: I started off too shy to wear Lolita, but then I was invited to a meet up and saw how everyone there didn't seem to have any trouble wearing it, so I decided to order my first Lolita dress.
Question 4: How do you deal with the negative attention you receive?
Chris: I haven't received any kind of negative attention so far. People have always been friendly and asked if they could take photos and so on. Of course I noticed people looking at me, but I always thought they were looking, because I looked so good haha. I liked wearing such clothes so much it really boosted my confidence to another level.
Katherine: I like it to be honest. Most of it comes from jealousy so I take it as a compliment. Also it means that my conscious decision to dress differently to the crowd hasn't gone unnoticed.
Alex: I haven't actually had to many negative reactions. Mostly people curious about why I'm dressing up.The stares aren't a problem thanks to the previously mentioned goth mother, I gotten used to stares a long time ago! xD
Katie: I deal with negative attention by ignoring it. I don't usually pay attention to what's going on around me, and that has finally come in useful
Question 5: Any advice for newbies?
Chris: If you want to start wearing kawaii fashion, I recommend going out with friends. Everything's easier if you're not the only one doing it. If you have any friends who can give you advice and feedback to outfits and so on it's really helpful aswell.
Katherine: The first time is the worst so I'd recommend being with a friend or few, and do something you enjoy talking about pleasant things. Confidence usually won't come instantly so find your feet in your own time. After you keep gaining confidence you'll find the rewards get greater and greater, but you have to take that first step to set out on any journey.
Alex: I'd probably suggest wearing it at a convention like Hyper Japan [or MCM Expo] first because you wouldn't look like the weird one!
Katie: Also, I think that wearing kawaii fashion makes people more confident, so if someone is too nervous to wear cute stuff, they should just go for it.
♥Lauren
Thanks for choosing Kawaii-B! Your number one place for Kawaii in the UK!
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