I ♥ Princess style (Hime)

The New York Times ran an interesting piece a few days ago on Japanese fashion titled "Cult of the Living Doll in Tokyo."

“I get bored if I'm not made up,” said Naoko. She gets up at 5 a.m. and spends at least two hours applying false eyelashes, false hair extensions, layers of foundation and other complicated makeup procedures."

One example of EXTREME Princess/Hime Style



For some reason, the picture of her with a beer cracked me up!!! I really do love pink, but her room secretly freaks me out a little bit. Just a little. O_O Still, she looks so happy - she's just having fun & enjoying life!!!

So what happens to these girls when they grow up? This is an interesting news clip from the Wall Street Journal about 36-year old Mayumi Yamamoto



She is still so adorable!!! I like how the reporter differentiates hime style from other forms of Japanese fashion, describing it as more sophisticated and polished -- a style popular among women in their 20s and 30s! Woohoo! That means I still get to live quite a few more years of princess-y goodness!

For cheap-y finds, there is always Forever 21. They have a lot of hime-type fashion if you look hard enough -









For some reason, this season's attire is extra-hime-style with big bows, ruffles, lace, floral, and all around girly-ness! :) As always, there is always Yesstyle.com too - I especially like Yumi & Tokyo Fashion lines.

The following is the real deal though...boutique style Japanese Hime Paradise:

http://www.jesusdiamante.com/

http://e-coma.jp/lizlisa/category/

Definitely must visit during my future Japan trip! ♥

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A sweet hime hello to Lisa & Iris :)