Welcome to the world of fashion in Japan. Japan is known for being the pushing power of fashion trends across the globe. You will find some fashion trends that take months or years to reach the rest of the world. When it comes to Japanese fashion, I’m sure many of you think of the vibrant subcultures, such as gyaru or lolita. However, there’s a lot more to J-fashion than that. Today we would like to introduce you all to Otome, a style first seen in Japan during the ’70s.

Earlier this year, we helped Merrybelle (a famous Japanese Otome-kei brand) partner up with the fabulous J-fashion YouTuber Lovely Lor. Lor styles Merrybelle’s popular Secret Garden JSK dress in many different ways and discusses otome fashion briefly. If you’re interested in Otome-kei or lolita fashion in general, then we recommend you check out Lovely Lor.

What is Otome Fashion?

Otome is commonly worn in Japan but does not yet have a large following abroad. Perhaps because many see it as a casual Lolita style? Otome means “Maiden” in Japanese and pulls influence from the 1960s British Mod scene. The dresses & skirts usually have a bright cute but elegant pattern on them and can be quite short in length (due to the 1960s mini skirt influence.) There are no limits for this fashion style. Feel free to use bold colors, mismatch your patterns, and draw fake freckles.

How does it differ from Lolita Fashion?

Lolita and Otome fashion often get mixed up. However, with these simple tips from our ZenPlus J-fashion lovers, you won’t get them mixed up again.

Otome girls usually keep their makeup and hair simple with accessories and vibrancy kept to the minimum. They typically wear mary janes or oxford shoes, but unlike lolita, there are no rules, and you don’t always need to wear a dress. The only rule is to look cute, so if you look kawaii, you’re ready to go!

For more tips on how Otome and Lolita fashion differ, take a look at the Venn diagram below. What point surprises you the most?

What fashion brands are considered to be Otome?

A lot of famous Lolita brands also stock otome clothes, for inside information about the hottest lolita brands in Japan at the moment, don't forget to read our Top 6 Lolita Clothing Brands in Japan blog post.

In regards to Otome fashion, our current four favorites are:

1. Merrybelle

Merrybelle has a vision of transforming people’s dreams into unique and beautiful dreams. Some of their previous collections were inspired by Mermaids, Alice in Wonderland, Secret Gardens, etc.

Everything Merrybelle produces is designed, created, dyed, and sewn in Japan; this helps to explain the price of some of their garments. Although their dresses and other items may seem a bit pricey at first, for the material and skills it takes to make the clothes it is worth it.

Shop Merrybelle

2. Jane Marple

Jane Marple started in 1985 in a tiny shop by a park in Tokyo. The owners were cherishing in imagination and creativity, which encouraged them to keep making the cutest collections. There shop expanded from there and now is sold around the world.

As you can see from the outfits displayed in the pictures above, Jane Marple focuses on vintage-inspired looks that follow the Otome-kei guidelines.

Shop Jane Marple

3. MILK

Milk clothing is considered to be one of the oldest and original shops in Harajuku, one of Tokyo’s most famous fashion districts. As the name suggests, Milk offers a lot of pastel-colored clothing. Most of the clothes are inspired by the 1960s and sometimes incorporate pretty flower or fruit prints.

If you’re into pastel colors, love frills, and ribbons, then this is a brand for you.

Shop MILK 

4. Axes Femme

Axes Femme is heavily influenced by what they call the “Golden Age” of Paris where people dressed up elegantly. They compare their clothes to artworks like Toulouse-Lautrec, with beautifully frilly hems decorated with lace and embroidery.

Axes Femme is cute but subtle perfect for everyday wear to work or to hang out with your friends on the weekend.

Shop Axes Femme

Did you recognize any of these brands? You may have heard that Otome-kei isn't the cheapest clothing on the market. A whole new wardrobe of these fabulous clothing will set you back quite a bit of money. But how can you get these cute clothes at a reasonable price? We recommend that you buy pre-loved clothing to save money. Buying second-hand may seem scary, but Japanese people are extremely caring of their possessions. Especially with clothing pieces that they have paid a lot of money for. Typically when these clothes show the slightest amount of wear, they buy a new garment to replace it. 

With one of Japan's most popular second-hand lolita clothing stores, Maiden Clothing, you can get all the best Otome and Lolita brands at 75% off the original price. 

Shop Otome Fashion

We hope this blog post helped you to see the differences between otome-kei and lolita fashion. We also hope it helped you find some new brands that you may not have heard of before. What is your current favorite J-fashion brand? Let us know via our social networks below.

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