Wednesday, June 1, 2011

How to be KAWAII in KS: Let's Shop for Shoes*!*

Fairy~kei & pop~kei are two Japanese street styles that can be easily incorporated into "normal" everyday outfits. Both styles are fun and youthful with a retro vibe. Pastel is your pallet:D frilly and girly cute ^-^ is fairy kei . Bright colors and black and white patterns :D 80's evolved~!~is pop kei.

Whether you're just incorporating one of these styles into your wardrobe or doing street kei from head to toe, we all know...our shoes complete our outfit. Upon meeting any person the first thing I check out is their shoes. I'm a shoe junkie, but in a weird way...I'm so picky about style that the number of shoes I have owned is quite few. I assure you they have been fab. So, for me, when it comes time to finish off a fairy kei or pop kei outfit the shoe is make or break.

When I began searching, in America, for awesome street style shoes I began to realize how hard it was going to be to find suitable shoes without importing. I wear an 8 or 8.5 and many(most) of the shoes I found to import didn't even come in sizes that big. I've spent months, actually, scouring stores(without much luck) and the internet and am now here to share what I've found with all you luvlees.

Did you know you have the ability to create your own shoe if you go to some major shoe manufacturers websites*?!*
~!~it's too good *&* so true~!~

I designed this Nike Woman's Morgan Mid 2 to be a very fairy kei shoe. Isn't the little flower pattern tew presh*?!*


The absolute best thing about Nike iD shoes is that you can personalize them EVEN MORE by adding text.You can see above that I was able to put different text on each shoe. As a person who is generally obsessed with originality I get such a thrill knowing my kicks will be truly one of a kind. I have saved this style in my locker as Fairy Kewl. Feel free to buy the style or modify it to your liking, but please don't jack my iD, okey?

The colors we have to choose from at Nike lend themselves much easier to pop-kei.The bold teal and brighter pinks on this shoe make it pretty perfect for pop-kei.You can find this design by clicking DESIGN SEARCH at Nike iD and entering Fairy Kewt in the search window.

~*♥*~

I couldn't pass up an opportunity to make a totally rad shoe to go with my 80's inspired wardrobe.
That text is on shiny silver=SO RAD*!!*

Be sure to create a locker so you can save your own designs and share them~!~with me~!~and all your frinds.

Since I'm seeing reebok on so many J-street cuties I decided to check out Reebok's website and sure enuff ~!~custom shoes there too~!~


~*I juss loves the glittery option*~


~*♥*~

For 79$ I could have these Rainbow Reeboks I spent 5 minutes designing just now. Life is AwEsOmE*!!*


Reebok doesn't have the greatest color pallet for fairy kei, but there are plenty of variations you can create using the their only pastels: blue(hydrangea), yellow(thunderbolt), pink(innocent pink), and white. Plus there are several shades of grey to throw in. Only with pastels would I ever wear grey, lol. There are plenty more bold and brights to play with.

I had to go fetch my password, then log in before being able to save my design, so the link below takes you to a slightly improved version. I named it Rainbow.

Reebok allows you to put text on their shoes, but it's not at all prominent or as cool as NIKEiD. With Reebok it's more like you're just able to ID your shoe, but that's still classier than a label-maker and it's permanent.

These custom sneakers are not exactly cheap, but with Nike and Reebok you already know you're getting quality and how can you put a price on custom shoes you designed??? You'd spend as much, or more, importing some super cute shoes, but those wouldn't be made by and for just you, now would they?

~*LINKS*~

NIKEiD Women's Air Morgan Mid 2 FAIRY KEWL <-MY DESIGN
Link
LinkNIKEiD Women's Air Morgan Mid 2 KEWT CHAOS <-MY DESIGN

NIKEiD Blazer High POP-NON-STOP <- MY DESIGN

NIKEiD Women's Air Morgan Mid 2 BLANK <- CREATE YOUR OWN

NIKEiD Blazer High BLANK <- CREATE YOUR OWN

Reebok Custom Women's Freestyle RAINBOW <-MY DESIGN

Reebok Custom Women's Freestyle BLANK <-CREATE YOUR OWN

{EDIT}I'm new to blogging & some of the links aren't working, but if you enter fairy into DESIGN SEARCH at NIKEiD my designs come up{EDIT}

If custom shoes are out of your price range, no worries*!*

A popular fairy kei style of shoe exclusive to Japan is these pastel hi-topsBut did you know that these are basically just reproductions of 1980s reebok shoes*?!*

~*♥*~
I found these on ebay in less than a minute and InMyNotSoHumbleOpinion they're WAY more cute than the repros pictured above.

~*♥*~

I even like these better than the Japanese ones because they are totally pastel and thus more true to fairy kei.

Be sure to check your local thrift stores or raid your(or your friends) parents' closets for authentic expressions of appreciation for the 80s fashion era...tehe, I mean oldskewl shoes =^-*=

At DSW(Designer Shoe Warehouse) I found lavender, soft yellow, and light blue low top sneakers for about 40 bux each. They prolly had pink, but were sold out. I always want to call DSW Designer Ware Shoehouse, so I do. When I was little it was just a result of getting the words mixed up. Maybe it's just from hearing myself say it all these years, but I like the name better that way, teehee.
I just went to their site and found these just now*!* So cute*!*
GO TO DSW AND BUY IT on clearance now*!*

There is some weird and pricey zigzag shoe at reebok that made me think maybe I could customize one to be reminiscent of Rainbow Brite, but the colors were just too uggg. I then searched Rainbow Brite shoes....

~*Look what I JUST found*~

GO TO HALLMARKSTORE TO BUY IT NOW

These even offer a bit of customization, so I selected black rubber. I would totally make these have glow-in-the-dark stars on the toe and a rainbow sole. OMG, I want them SOOO bad*!!*

Keds actually allows you to upload your own images onto your custom shoe{faints} and once I recovered from the shock and sheer joy of all the possibilities before me I real quick made a Jem shoe just using pics I already had on my drive. It is so super EZ ;D I wanna see lots of shoes from you guys =^-*=
GO HERE TO MAKE YOUR OWN
Keds has the greatest customization by far*!* I pretty much just found it out by accident too, lol. =^-*= I can't wait to see what my readers create.

~*♥*~

Target and WalMart will sometimes have cute, rhully cheap & cheaply made, shoes. I've found some of my favorite shoes at Goodwill and Salvation Army. For all you know you'll find shoes in the street ;D everything is possible.

Be open to finding your ideal shoe and the best fit will find you. The most important thing to do before setting out on a shoe search is to say to yourself and the whole universe that you are going to find a pair of shoes that you love. That's what is of utmost importance after all. No matter your style there is an affordable shoe out there in the world to complete your look and make you happy.

~*T!PS*~

cheap or old shoes can be made more comfy with shoe liners like Dr. Scholls

diff shoe brands fit differently, so try them first or double check the return policy when buying online(you can typically try on similar shoes in a local store that are by that brand to determine if they run big or small on you)

a simple pastel(fairy) or bright/black/pattern(pop) high heel makes fairy & pop kei more chic and grown-up, but platform stilettos tend to go trashy-has a lot to do with your attitude and the rest of your outfit of course, so strut your own runway

if unsure about size, but you must have them, buy a half size bigger cuz you can put on a thicker or another sock, but you can't shrink your foot(this rule is reversed when buying high heels, cuz a too tight shoe will deffy stay on ur foot, but a loose one will prevent you from walking and thus wearing your lovely new shoes)

think of white shoes as a blank canvas for painting or dyeing and if the shoes aren't white but are canvas they can most likely be bleached

♥ boots(esp black) make even the cutest outfit bad-ass ♥

BEST Mindy T!P~ShOeLaCeS change the look of any shoe, so pay attention to cute laces when you're out and about and take the time to de-lace *&* re-lace before stepping out


~*HaPpY ShOpPiNg luvlees*~