building a fairy kei outfit !

I love the cuteness of fairy kei, it's fun and happy! But often it's hard to make an outfit have a "fairy feeling", especially if someone is just starting out! So I thought i'd talk a bit about putting together a cute outfit!

What is Fairy kei?

Fairy kei (kei meaning style) is a style based around cute pastels, soft textures and dreamy motifs often coming from 80's cartoons such as Care Bears, Barbies and My little pony. Vintage toys are also popular with fairy kei, PJ Sparkles and Popples being the favourites. The style began with Tavuchi, owner of the vintage shop SPANK!, as her personal style and vastly grew from there! While fairy kei isn't as popular with jfashion wearers in Japan, it has grown in the west!

The "essentials" of fairy kei!

I think with most people wanting to venture into a new style, the first question that comes into mind is; What are the rules? Fairy kei has always been known as a fairly relaxed style, with no real rules, just some rough guidelines for the style. 

images belong to: tokyofashion, spank, mistydreaming, manamoko, xmypasteluniverse

The most important features of fairy kei are the vintage, dreamy motifs and the sweet colour palette. Motifs and themes that are popular in fairy kei are: moons and stars, rainbows, confetti, sweets, baby animals, unicorns and any vintage 80's cartoons or toys. Pastels and neon tinted pastels are the main colour scheme, with the most popular colours being pink, lavender, mint, turquoise/sky blue and yellow. White can also be used in fairy kei, however dark shades and black are not recommended; black polka dots are sometimes seen in outfits, however I find this to be more spank kei than fairy kei. 

images belong to: minaminakawaii, spank, mayu82_89, mahoudolly, shiningday_
spank, dreamytabby, tokyofashion, pastelhorror, spank

One of the more 'traditional' fairy kei silhouettes follows the guidelines of a defined waist with a large 'tutu shaped' skirt or petticoats. The defined waist isn't seen as revealing however, like current fashion, more like an aid to giving the outfit some shape. Fairy kei tends have more oversized clothes which allows for a layering look; big t-shirts can be tucked into skirts, oversized jackets can provide a lot of comfy layers and long legwarmers can be worn over cute tights. Fabric used in fairy kei tends to be quite lightweight as thin fabrics allow for layered looks; this is prominent in skirts and petticoats, dresses and peignoirs. On the opposite end, thick, fluffy sweaters and jackets are popular for a soft and comfy silhouette. Skirts usually follow a skater style at around knee length, but can sometimes be thigh length or even floor length. If skirts aren't your style though, pumpkin pants (similar to bloomers) are very popular due to adding volume and they look really adorable underneath oversized jumpers. Tights and over the knee socks are also very popular in fairy kei, especially if they feature cute motifs like hearts, stars and animals. Spank, fancy surprise and nile perch have super cute, pastel tights that fit the fairy kei theme perfectly.

images belong to: capsianokazaki, dreamytabby, minty_delight, snowbunnyem
pinksugarprince, beaouji, vicvonfabre, newniji

Recently, there has been a rise in 'boyish' fairy kei, substituting the stereotypical 'girly' silhouette, from a more cool and sporty style. A common change is skipping the skirts for jeans, trousers and shorts. Pyjama bottoms are a really cute alternative, as they often have really cute prints and allow for layering. Harem pants are incredibly popular due to the comfy and cool look they provide, with the 6%dokidoki pants being the most popular. Pastel jeans are also very popular and tend to be easy to find. Lastly, another cool addition to boyish fairy kei is the use of hats, mainly baseball caps. They tend to have a sporty feel, but can still be super adorable, especially if you add badges or embroidery to the visor.

Images belong to Dreamy Bows, WC, YRU, Fila and Reebok

Shoes in fairy kei are usually on the comfortable side, with sporty shoes being the preferred choice. Reebok classic high tops are the iconic pair of shoes that Tavuchi often wore, but any shoes that come in a pastel shade would be perfect for the fashion. Recently in the western community, platform shoes have become increasingly popular with YRU being the main brand of choice. Fairy-kei also uses items commonly worn in lolita (mainly sweet lolita) so tea parties, ruffly platforms, and heart-buckle shoes or boots are perfect for the fashion. Decorating shoes are also popular in the fashion, from painting the soles to decorating the sides with stickers and adding pastel laces.

Images belong to Monascas Banana, Sakura1tama, Moon-dreams and Nile Perch

D.I.Y is also prominent in fairy kei; from making your own clothing and accessories, to adding cute details to other clothes. I've seen vintage fabric being remade into clothing, lace and frills added to collars and sleeves and cute patches being sewn onto a denim jacket. Tote bags made from vintage materials are also really cute! Monascas Banana and Sakura1tama are some really good places to look for D.I.Y inspiration. The fairy kei forums also has a bunch of tutorials which can help inspire you to make your own items!

Where to buy fairy kei items?


Due to fairy kei featuring a lot of vintage items, you might be lucky going to charity stores (thrift stores) and looking through the second hand clothes. There is also second hand sales online for vintage items, but often prices can be inflated due to the want for these clothes being so high. 

Brands are also very popular in the fairy kei community; from famous japanese brands like 6%dokidoki and milklim, to indie brands such as Holleyteatime and Cherry_Cheezy. As there are so many shops that you can purchase fairy kei items from, i'm going to link Fairy-Tips' Shop List as it has a range of shops listed, showing where they're based and if a shopping service is needed.

Fairy kei videos and Youtube channels

• Rachelpinku
• Dreamytabby
• MahouPrince
• Caspianokazaki
• Mypasteluniverse
• PrincessPeachie
• Fattychan
• Dominick Pez
• PastelOphelia
• PaleGhosty

I'd like to thank you for reading my fairy kei guide ! Unless stated, none of these images belong to me, I'm just using it as a visual guide! Fairy kei means a lot to me, so if you try it out, be sure to let me know! Thanks and have fun ! ♥