All About Decora Outfits

 All about Decora Outfits

In this post we are going to explore what makes a Decora outfit Decora! As well as how to style your own Decora outfits. 

Firstly, there isn’t any one way to style Decora. The only ‘rule’ is to have an excess of accessories. 

In this style guide. My opinions are just that, opinions. There are no rules listed here but observations and helpful tips ^_^ 

This post… might get long heheh. 

If you are new to Decora I’d suggest you read my blog post, What is Decora Kei? To become more familiar with the culture before we dive right into the anatomy of a decora outfit. 

So we know that Decora requires a lot of accessories. It’s pretty much the only rule, however there are common features seen in Decora outfits that may take your outfit to the next level. 

For those with sensory struggles, you do not have to wear any of the following categories or suggestions. You can eliminate an entire category and it could still be considered Decora as long as there are other elements.

Hair accessories 

The most recognisable element in Decora fashion are the hair accessories. Let’s break down all the accessories seen in Decora Kei.

-Hair Clips

An excess of hair clips have been seen in Decora fashion since its birth. First there were a few, then more, then a lot more! 

Snap clips, alligator clips and barrettes are the most common for straight hair. Butterfly clips work well in textured or teased hair, or in braids. 

Hairclips are easy to come by. You can buy a couple focus piece hair clips and pad out the rest of the space with generic ones. The more unique the hairclips, the more interesting and quirky the overfit can look. Matching the motifs on the hairclip with the rest of the outfit, example: Strawberry shirt with strawberry hairclips; helps create a really iconic look.

Hairclips that are also bows or different fabric can really add to an eclectic vibe. Some hairclip features include: Ribbons, shaker pouches, shaker charms, diy glued on toys, single colour designs, multicolour designs, illustrations, plushies, patterns, glitter etc. 

 In my opinion, collecting small accessories like hairclips is one of the most enjoyable parts about Decora. 

-Headbands

Headbands are a really easy way to elevate your Decora style, whether you want it OTT or casual, headbands have got you covered. Headbands can take your head taller and more busy looking if it has a bulky design. They can have antenna or plush or bows or flowers to bulk out your hairdo. 

Decent headbands are a little harder to come by than hair clips, only because many of the flashy ones are for parties like new years or birthdays and can be poorly made. Still, they aren’t so hard to source depending on your vibe. 

-Wigs or Hair Colouring

A colourful hairstyle can really make your Decora look pop. It isn’t necessary at all to have coloured hair, but if you want to really stand out and have a simple colour scheme, a colourful wig or hair dye might interest you. 

The easiest way to have colourful hair is to wear wigs. Because of cosplay, you can get almost any colour wig!

-Hair Extensions and Braids

Hair extensions are a really fun way to add volume to your hair. In Decora, they are often shoulder length but you can also wear festival extensions that are longer. You can add ribbons and butterfly clips to extra Decora-fy them. 

Layering and Clothes

Lots of Decora outfits include commonly seen Japanese street wear items. They include baggier fits, zip up hoodies, leg warmers and either pants or skirts with high socks. In Japan, Decora is styled fairly 'modestly’, covering up the chest, shoulders, arms and often legs. One of the reasons is because Japan tends to dress more covered than western countries anyway, but because maximalist layering is such a big part in Decora, it’s really popular. 

-T-shirts

Graphic baggy T-shirts are a staple in Harajuku fashion as well as Decora. Many brands popular within the Decora community make colourful top prints that can be worn over the top or tucked into a skirt/pants. Because of the baggy fit, Japanese one size can fit a bit of a wider range than usual. 

-Skirts

In Decora, short skirts are seen more than long ones, but you can absolutely wear longer skirts too. The most common size are miniskirts or above-the-knee. 

Panniers and petticoats are also super common in bold Harajuku street fashion. They can be layered together to create a skirt or worn underneath to give the skirt a bigger shape. 

-Pants and shorts

I don't have too much to say about pants. You can find good Decora patterns on Pyjama pants. Shorts are perfect for summer as well as layering with tights and socks.

-Dresses

It can be a bit hard to find dresses that suit Decora. Unfortunately all the cute stuff is small child sized. There are some alternative brands that do cool dress prints. You can also wear pinafore or 'overall dresses', because then you can layer with cool shirts. 

-Jackets

Zip up hoodies are the most common jackets to wear with Decora. They aren’t super hard to find in bright colours, and Harajuku brands make some really colourful patterned ones. Wearing them open to reveal the shirt underneath is the best way to layer, as everything can be seen.

-Tights and high socks

You can wear tights or socks or a combination of both under a skirt to add even more colours and patterns. They are really popular in Harajuku fashion. 

-Leg warmers

Leg warmers are a personal favourite to wear. Decent leg warmers aren’t as easy to find as other pieces as they are most commonly seen only in Jfashion communities and not worn in the west very often, besides 80’s themed party costumes, however the 80’s ones are usually a different shape to Japanese street fashion leg warmers. 

-Collars

Collars are another more unique item piece that can be harder to find in the west. Collars can be sailor or clown inspired, with cute patterns and colours. 

Accessories

Accessories are the lifeblood of Decora fashion. There are countless ways you can style accessories or use items not intended as accessories for decoration. In Decora, there are no limits!! 

-necklaces

Necklaces are fantastic for layering. To layer perfectly you may want a small, medium, large one in different colours and materials. Super long ones are really popular in Decora to highlight a certain charm and add to the maximalist look. 

-bracelets 

Kandi bracelets are super common in the west to go with Decora as they are easily made and shared. A helpful tip I could give would be to not over rely on strictly kandi and find more unique shapes for a super intricate look. Kandi isn’t as common in Japanese Decora from what I can tell. 

-rings

Rings are super commonly seen in Decora and another personal favourite of mine. Collecting unique rings can be a bit pricy as kids jewlery can sometimes look too cheap or not fit adult fingers, and many adult jewlery is silver or gold and doesn’t fit the Decora aesthetic too well. One of the best places to find cute rings are gatcha machines or second hand. 

-Can badges, Pins, and Brooches

These are a super fun way to add extra embellishments to your outfit, and they are fairly easy to collect in fun colours from artist allies or online. They can get lost on baggy jackets, or sometimes fall off and piercing through a favourite shirt is a bit sad, but they really add to the maximalist aesthetic. 

-Belts and chains

You can use belts to create a waistline in baggy clothing or wear them low around the lower hip. You can pair them with any skirt or pant with belt loops. Waist beads can also be worn in Decora. You can hang plushes off of thin belts, waist beads and belt hoops to super Decora-fy your look. Ball pit chains are really popular. 

Bags

Bags come in so many varieties they deserve their own category. Bags are great to add to any Decora outfit because there are so many options for kids that can be worn by adults and the mini backpack trend has birthed so many different licensed bags you can wear.

 

-Backpacks

Backpacks are the most useful when going out because they can hold the most stuff. Most cute backpacks tend to run small but there are some ‘school backpack’ styles that can hold more items. They are perfect for going to conventions if you don’t have a friend to carry all your stuff.

-Cross body and long strap shoulder bags

These bags are probably the most common in Decora fashion. They are easy to access and come in many many cute designs. They tend to not hold many things but they don’t look bulky or weigh you down.

-tote bags

Tote bags are often a cheaper style of bag that can have a colourful print on it that can also store a lot of items 

-Ita Bags

Its bags are the most fun of all the bags (and most expensive) because they have a little clear window to show off your interests often in the form of badges and pins. They can be multi-fandom, single character or series, or a repeat bag with the same badge repeated. They could also be styled with a colour scheme without any licensed characters displayed. Ita bags come from Otaku and Oshi culture so they aren’t seen very often in Decora, but they fit the vibe to a T. 

-keychains and hangers

Finally! A use for all the trinkets we’ve collected over the years. These can be hung of bags and belt straps and even glasses. They are sold at almost every store and can represent so many interests and fandoms. They’re also super noisy when you walk with so many of them if they are acrylic or other plastic charms. I’m a fan of plush ones. Plushies in keychain form or sewn into the clothing itself are common in Harajuku fashion. 

Colours and Patterns

There’s no hard rules about what to wear in Decora, but some really common items have solid bright colours or vibrant patterns. Patterns help create a maximalist look, especially by mixing different patterns, but be careful, because balance is the most important thing when creating a striking outfit that’s street snap worthy. 

To start with as a beginner, you may want to pick a colour palette that you really love and then buy clothing that features mostly these colours. For Decora, this palette doesn’t have to be simple, as long as you can find enough clothing items to match. 

Let’s take the colours, Pink, blue, and purple. Any offshoots we could potentially include could be light pink, magenta, salmon, turquoise, mint blue, etc. you can work with anything within this colour range and even small trinkets that aren’t included. 

Here are some items I own that have these colours in them.