Decora

Decora (デコラ) is a Japanese aesthetic and style that revolves around an excessive amount of accessories, the primary focus being colorful plastic hair accessories and bracelets. It is often associated with Harajuku Fashion.

History[]

The origin of Decora can be tracked down to the popularity of the Japanese idol Tomoe Shinohara among teens during the 1990s. Her fashion sense was visually very similar to nowadays Decora, but featured childish hats instead of many hair accessories. Her fans, which were refered to as "Shinora", would often try to emulate her style while also trying to maintain originally. In the end, some of them would end up featured in the "Fruits!" streetsnap magazine which then would also coin the term Decora as name for their style.

One of the nowadays Decora icons is the Haruka Kurebayashi, who first appeared in various streetsnaps before becoming a model for KERA! magazine. She was also in charge by the design of the arches in Takeshita Street, which resemble her Decora style.

Fashion[]

This style can be combined with pretty much any clothing but the most popular base fashions are Fairy Kei. The outfits combine casual clothes with many layers in the form of multiple hair clips, bracelets, tulle skirts, stockings, leg warmers, and pins. Face stickers are very common to be worn with colorful make-up that matches the clothing. Wigs of unnatural colors may be worn. Clothing may have many prints, such as colorful prints, heart prints, and many other patterns.

Music[]

Artists incorporating Decora include:

Rainbow Panic

Activities[]

Decoden[]

Decoden (デコデン) originally refers to the excess decoration of mobile phone cases, but has expanded beyond the original meaning over the years and can refer to anything over-the-top decorated with cabochons. It is very popular among Japanese women in their teens to late-30s.

Subgenres[]

Cyber Decora[]

Cyber Decora refers to Decora outfit based on Cyberpop fashion.

Oshi Decora[]

Oshi Decora refers to a Decora outfit that revolve solely around one's favorite series or character as its theme while also being based on its signature color. Even while this type of Decora has existed for a long time, the name was only coined in 2022 by Bisuko Ezaki.

Hadeko[]

Hadeko is a sister style to Decora with a focus on bright rainbow colors. The outfits are characterized by a more androgynous appearance as well as psychedelic elements, often featuring tie-dye.

Dark Decora[]

Dark decora is a substyle characterized by darker color schemes (with bright colors sometimes seen) and horror elements (e.g Eyeballs, Skeletons, Bats). Some punk elements are also seen within coords.