what exactly is menhera?
It’s basically a casual street fashion that originated in japan as a reaction to kawaii culture. It basically subverts kawaii and embraces ‘vent’ art that expresses the darker workings on the human mind. It’s basically like what would happen if the japanese invented goth. tbh I find it very similar to goth in that it’s not afraid to embrace dark themes. it’s also a bit morbid like goth. the main ‘theme’ of menhera, is illness, mental health, and looking ill. Most of the clothes are oversized tshirts with dark artwork on them, paired with matching socks, and sometimes medical accessories like pill earrings or a small syringe as a necklace. It also shares a name w/ the popular “menhera-chan” manga, and you see a lot of menhera outfits and themes both in official menhera-chan artwork and merch. Other popular artists are Kuua Oyasumi, and in the USA, cherrycheezy. There’s also blablahospital, listen flavor (they do a lot of stuff but they collab somewhat regularly w/ the creator of menherachan), and a large range od other indie japanese artists who sell their shirt on sites like tt-trinnity (its like japanese red bubble. i’d provide links but they blocked foreign ip addresses)
Here are some street snaps of actual menhera outfits:
Note: relaxed solliquete Casual shoes. Casual makeup. A necklace, or bracelet. Not a lot of accessories. Maybe one of each? Maybe three pins tops?
Now let’s look at some cosplay:
Note: raver kandi accessories, makeup that looks like halloween time, a bazillion pins. Decora-kei hairclips everywhere. I mean it’s cute, but it looks like a costume. Street fashion is not a costume.
This is a lolita-styled nurse costume. It’s not menhera. I don’t care what the designers said it was. Also- the halloween pink tears clown makeup. I love Lor’s channel and she can style a lolita coord like it’s nobody’s business, but her menhera looks really don’t capture the actual style you see actual people wearing.
Again… the makeup. The lolita outline. Costumey accessories like needless casts, and a face mask. The pastel wig.
And it’s like…. did you even bother to look at a single street snap in your damn life? Or is it just an outfit you took a selfie in for youtube/instagram? Is it a costume you wore to an anime convention? I’m not against over the top fashion. Goodness knows, I’ll throw on a bustle skirt and a top hat to go to the danged grocery store. I’ll go to michaels in lolita. But menhera isn’t supposed to be over the top. It’s supposed to be casual. You can wear menhera just to hang around. It’s comfy and easy. It looks effortless. The casual and comfy style of clothing only helps accentuate the theme of general malaise. Would a sick person bother putting on a petticoat, blouse, JSK, apron, hat, and 10000r885 accessories? Come on.
Also don’t call it “Menhera kei” in stead of menhera because the term “menhera kei” is actually considered an insult to mentally ill women in japanese culture and probably not a word you wanna throw around. Kind of like “otaku”.
