How to Dress Oshare Kei

Do you like Oshare Kei? Here's a simple guide on how to dress like your favorite bands!

Steps

1. The first step in becoming Oshare Kei is having the right make up. Make sure for the make up you use bright colours. However, some Oshare Kei wearers keep their make up natural-looking (such as Teruki from An Cafe) , so you don't need to wear too much make up if you don't want to. Black eyeliner is commonly used in Oshare Kei. Look at pictures for ideas. There are videos of Cure Style Council on YouTube (Cure is a Visual Kei magazine in Japan), or you can just look up Oshare Kei make up tutorials - there are plenty of them.
2. Now, you need the clothing. Oshare Kei is all about bright colors. You can find many items at local stores which can be coordinated into an Oshare Kei outfit. Remember: Bright colors are key, but try to add some darker colors too, or you will just look 'Decora'.
3. Wear shirts with cute patterns and motifs. Animal print and polka dots are also good for Oshare Kei. A good place to get darker Oshare Kei like things is Sex Pot Revenge, a brand that An Cafe have worn before. As mentioned before, many things can be found in local stores. You just gotta shop around. Some Visual Kei clothes can also be classed as Oshare. You can find some things on eBay, but be careful and make sure you read the feedback and reviews of the items. Some Oshare Kei artists, such as Mashiro (ex:Himeyuri/x[PaRADEis]) and Waka (Danger Gang) incorporate clothing from the Lolita fashion. Make sure you get educated on Lolita fashion before wearing any of it.
4. Jackets are cute. Wear a fluffy jacket, or one with cute prints on it. Animal print, cartoons, anything as long as its bright and colorful. Remember, you can always sew your own clothing!
5. Skirts or pants are obviously important (don't want to go without them now do we? ). For skirts, get cute bright ones, and layer. Wearing bright leggings or knee high socks with skirts looks best, in my opinion. Get colors such as pink, purple, yellow or green. Any bright colors. You can layer the skirts, but make sure you don't look Decora, unless that's the look your going for.
6. Ripped jeans with bright leggings/socks underneath work good too, and shorts with socks/leggings (as Miku from An Cafe demonstrates oh-so well).
7. Knee high socks are good. Striped socks, socks with bows on them. You can also layer them, but again, not too Decora. Pastel colors paired with bright colors look wonderful.
8. You can wear bracelets, but not too many (unless you want to of course! ). Ones that compliment the outfit are best.
9. Necklaces with cute things on them are good. Beads can also work. Some Oshare Kei wearers wear plushies on necklaces (JunJun from DOG in the PWO, Bou ex:An Cafe). These can look cute, but can be a bit much, and again look more Decora.
10. Have clean and shiny hair. Make sure it doesn't look scraggly. You could straighten your hair, curl it, dye it bright blue, anything! But it's got to be clean and neat looking. Look at pictures for inspiration.
11. Some people put gems and stickers on their face. But don't go too over the top or you'll look like a sticker collection. Fake eyelashes also look good.
12. Piercings look good in Oshare Kei, but you don't need them, as they are painful and leave scars. But if you have them, leave them, they look great!
13. Try different kinds of shoes. Converse, platform shoes, ugg boots, Lolita shoes and even slippers can work - just make sure they are bright and colorful.
14. Listen to the music, obviously. A few of my favorite Oshare Kei bands are An Cafe, x[PaRADEis], Decola Hopping, SuG, Lolita23q, LM.C and Aicle. There are many more then this, however. Decola Hopping are fairly unknown by now, and many people don't listen to them because of their weird name, but I promise you, they are amazing. You have to listen to them!
15. You could also listen to Visual Kei bands such as The GazettE, Versailles, Direngrey, Miyavi and Nightmare. If these aren't your thing, don't listen to them, your music taste is your music taste!
16. Make sure you don't look 'cosplay'. Well, not cosplay, because a lot of time, money and effort goes into that too... so I guess don't look BAD cosplay. Make sure you do enough research. Remember to be creative! Good luck and have fun!

Tips

• Learn as much as you can about Oshare Kei!
• Price can add up, so get a job or make your own clothes.

Warnings

• If you're a guy, it will be difficult for you, but don't worry.
• Be aware you will get stared at, but ignore it. Do you want to look like every other person in the street? No! So just smile! Don't forget that you are dressing this way for yourself, and nobody else.
• If you're a girl, many guys won't like the way you dress. But just think, keep dressing that way, keep yourself happy, keep your chances of finding someone who loves the way you dress!