3 Tips on Making Kawaii Outfits Work for Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays because it gives me an excuse to dress up (more than usual), but putting together an outfit for this day can be challenging, especially with a wardrobe full of kawaii fashion items. Kawaii clothes are made to create a cute and girlish image, rather than give off a feminine and womanly air. The latter is much more appealing on Valentine’s Day than the former, based on my personal experience.

I have come up with three simple tips on how you can turn your kawaii wardrobe into Valentine-appropriate outfits, striking a balance between the girlish and feminine—it’s all about silhouettes and hadamise, which means show your skin in Japanese. Bonus: I am showcasing outfits applying these tips in three popular Valentine’s Day colors.

1. Off-Shoulder and A-Line

Off-shoulder tops are a straightforward and easy way to show off some skin, and it could be classy too depending on what you pair them with. Wearing an off-shoulder top with a tight, form-fitting skirt deviates too far away from the kawaii end of the spectrum for me. Let the off-shoulder top do all the feminine talking and opt for an A-line skirt to preserve some kawaiiness.

*Top: LIZ LISA; skirt: LIZ LISA; bag: LODISPOTTO; tights: Calzedonia; shoes: LIZ LISA.*

The off-shoulder top I recommend is LIZ LISA’s feather strap sweater, a super hot item from this year’s winter collection re-released in white and a new pink color for spring. This soft sweater keeps you comfy and warm on a cold February day, and its delicate, removable straps accentuate the femininity.

The bottom is LIZ LISA’s burgundy embroidered skirt from last year’s winter collection. The crinoline layers underneath give the skirt a poufy and consistent A-line shape. Wearing a midi skirt with this feminine top will push the outfit over the edge to the mature side. By contrast, the shorter length of this skirt coordinate with the sweater to make a kawaii impression.

Valentine’s Day is all about red and hearts, so I topped off the outfit with black accessories to really let that color come through and red LIZ LISA pumps with a heart motif to customize this outfit further for the theme.

2. Lace and Defined

Nothing creates a more feminine and romantic look than lace. A lacey, see-through material provides a subtle hint of hadamise, so you are showing some skin but not too much. The delicate fabric shows off a soft and ladylike image, and works well with a wide variety of items. Short skirts and lace are an obvious match with plenty of kawaii chemistry, but shorts with long boots take it one step further and add playfulness to the feminine feel.

*Top: Rasmile; shorts: Lily Brown; bag, boots, earrings, hair clip: All LIZ LISA.*

The Rasmile blouse I recommend achieves all of the above and more. It is the perfect marriage of cuteness and femininity thanks to the kawaii ribbon tie details at the collar and sleeves complementing the plain gauzy parts where there is no lace with an ornate touch.

The slightly boyish air of shorts helps pull the dial back a little, and the details on these sparkly pink Lilly Brown shorts offer even more of a contrast to the dainty Rasmile top. The fringe on these tweed shorts adds a modern feel, and its slightly fitted shape gives the look definition. A little bit of skin and a little bit of bodyline, that’s what this outfit is all about.

The theme of this outfit is definitely pink, but I also don’t want to overdo it and encroach on overly cute territory. I chose a pink bag to intensify the overall pink color, but wore a pair of white long boots to keep the pink in check.

3. Cut-outs and S-Line

Last but not least, a one-and-done outfit, AKA a one-piece that ticks all the boxes—hadamise, shows off your silhouette, and combines the girl and lady in you—and that in my book is a cut-out, form-fitting sweater-dress. The knit material is often associated with not only warm but also softness and cuteness, and it’s easily tweaked to add a bit of femininity through a shape and simple details like cut-outs.

The one-piece that satisfies all these criteria is the LIZ LISA turtle-neck, frilled sweater-dress. It looks plain compared with their other dresses because the body of the dress is blank, but the interesting details are all on the periphery, whether it’s the lace overlay at the top, the bow details on the sleeves or the lace-trimmed underskirt that comes with it. The kawaii details come into view as you move around, and the simple, feminine body and subtle cut-outs on the shoulders leave all the spotlight on your S-line.

To add just a bit more cuteness, I finished off the coordinate with the white embroidered pom-pom short boots, leaving room for the main color focus of the outfit to shine. Beige/brown is also part of the Valentine’s day color palette even though it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as red or pink. The light beige color of the dress gives you plenty of opportunity to dress it up with accessories of an intense brown color like the ribbon tote bag I paired with this outfit.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day! Let me know how these tips work out for you in the comments below or on Instagram.