A continuation to my guide on yume kawaii, I will discuss how “yami” features in yume kawaii, and how to incorporate it into fairy kei!
As mentioned, the person behind the term “yume kawaii” was ex-BiS member Ichigo Rinahamu, the self proclaimed strawberry princess. In this screencap she is describing her vision of yume kawaii:
Fairytale + Yami = Yume Kawaii♡
But what actually is “yami”? Yami means “sickness” or “poison”. It’s a way of incorporating a slight darkness into your outfit, despite it looking cute. Dreams are never perfect, and can often turn into nightmares. Due to this, it’s fun to add a bit of nightmare-ish edge to your coord! Listen Flavor often has a yami twist to their pastel clothing, with needles, melting motifs, and evil characters in all pastel.
Here are some examples of Rinahamu’s coords, and how they feature yami:
image sources: Girls Be, Unsung Hero, Rinahamu on Twitter
These coords all feature yami despite looking cute - the first coord features a pastel bondage-style choker, which contrasts the cutesy look. The second coord features two anime characters in an…erotic situation, for lack of better words, and the third is a dreamy yankee style. These things all contrast the original theme, while still fitting in with the outfit. You can do the same, using warning signs, chokers, “offensive” text, and cute band-aids! With these small changes, you can add a dangerous feeling to your coord ☆
Yami doesn’t necessarily mean creepy cute, and can often be found in pastel coords. Even before it was given a name, yami items were still often used.
The one that sticks out to me was from a feature I saw on Kawaii International, where Moco discussed this handmade choker which says “Keep Out ⚠ Danger” on it. She said she liked the contrast it gave to her all pastel magical girl style coord.
Yume kawaii is usually seen as more of an aesthetic than strictly a fashion, which means when you google it lots of cute images pop up that don’t actually feature any clothing. However, as well as cute dreamy aesthetic pictures, often (slightly depressing) menhera images pop up, as well as magical girl themes.
Japanese text: L “Would you like to reset?” R “If you call me ugly, I’ll kill you”
image sources: lettuce, makamegu516, naver, charismatalk,
This picture is often shown when searching “yami kawaii’ and “yume kawaii” as it features dreamy clothing with yami staples, specifically the band-aid knee OTKs and loose socks. sadly I can’t find a source… Menhera and yume kawaii are often linked and yami kawaii was actually made to go against yume kawaii! If you want more info check @fymenhera (trigger warning for gore)
Another point is LAVENDER. Something that I found extremely interesting is how lavender is often worn in yumekawa. This is because the cool tones of lavender gives the outfit a more mysterious and dreamlike feeling!
OTK socks are extremely popular as these can feature yami motifs while adding cuteness to your outfit - indie subcul brand Shoujo Kenjoku Kakumei features yami kawaii designs, with dreamy colours.
images: shoujo kenjoku kakumei (autoplay warning!)
Overall, it’s a really interesting topic to see how the two styles are mixing! Can you see how this fits in to fairy kei? I’d recommend looking at your favourite coords to see if you can spot any yume and yami elements ✨
I hope you enjoy! If you have any more questions about yume kawaii or any other upcoming styles, please feel free to ask~
