Japanese Fashion Wikia
Advertisement

Yume Kawaii is a dreamy fashion that refers to pastel, fairytale, fantasy-like things. It appears like the embodiment of a “girls dream” and you can find many illustrations, clothing, and goods, which incorporate this. The style also includes small "non-cute" items to create a "nightmare within the dream" effect. [1]

The style is not to be confused with Yami Kawaii, as most who wear the style do not identify with its themes. Some even consider the style a "taint" on the name Yume Kawaii, although not everyone feels this way. [2]

The Name[]

The term Yume Kawaii (ゆめかわいい) is a portmanteau of the japanese words for "dream" (ゆめ) and "cute" (かわいい), and is meant to stand for the cute, sweet, and light aesthetic of the style. [1][3]

Style Basics[]

Yume Kawaii does not have any strict rules for its fashion. Rather, it has common themes and color palettes that can be seen across the style. [1][2][4]

Color Scheme[]

Yume Kawaii color palettes consist of primarily pastels and white. Although darker colors, such as dark blue, purple, and black can be used as accents, they are never the focus of the coordinate.

Cute prints like polka dots, florals, stars, clouds, and 80s inspired prints are also popular in the style, although they are used a lot more sparingly than in fairy kei or decora.

Clothing[]

Yume Kawaii fashion includes feathers, frills, ribbons, and other fluffy materials in its looks. While Fairy Kei emits a retro, vintage kind of kawaii, Yume Kawaii is a modern style which features lots of motifs related to japanese popculture, such as magical girl anime. However, there is a lot of motifs which combines these two styles. There are many goods which use a dreamy pastel color palette , and sprinklings of candy stars (conpeitou).

Makeup[]

Yume Kawaii makeup is what makes the style unique, and what makes it stand out from other cute styles like fairy kei. Yume Kawaii makeup includes the standard big eye look, with lots of cute makeup, such as glitter, being used. The most unique feature is the "sick" makeup look, popular with the style. This includes using eye makeup in a sick but cute way, such as red used under the eyes, to make the wearer look slightly sickly, but not in a gross way. [5]

Accessories[]

Yume Kawaii accessories are cute, but used sparingly. Accessories are never overwhelming, but instead complimentary. Sometimes creepy aspects are used in the style, like eyeballs, or kanji of words like "sick", but this is not consistent across the style. These creepy aspects were most popular in the style before the creation of Yami Kawaii, and fell out of popularity after the distinct style was created.

Brands & Shops[]

Gallery[]

External Links[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Menhera Archive. "Genres of Kawaii: Yumekawaii." August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtDp2FumekI&t=83s
  2. 2.0 2.1 kaokitsune. "What are the differences between Yume and Yami Kawaii? (Translated Title)." March 16, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FGmKRBFtfI
  3. "ゆめかわいい (yume kawaii)." Japanese Word of the Day. AUgust 27, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2020 from https://japanese-word-for-today.blogspot.com/2016/08/yume-kawaii.html
  4. Differences Between Fairy Kei and Yume Kawaii Tumblr Post. Fairy-Kei Tips! July 9, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2020 from https://fairy-tips.tumblr.com/post/147155928832/its-a-bit-of-a-hard-one-to-explain-yumekawaii
  5. 桃桃 momo. "ゆめかわいいメイク ♡Japanese yume kawaii make♡ by 桃桃" May 16, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWTSaNltoQI
Advertisement