♥Introduction to... Flappie Style! (Flapper x Hime)♥

 

Hello everybunny! I hope that your week is off to an absolutely lovely start!♥ 

Today I'll be doing a slightly different outfit post and in fact, it's something I've been wanting to do for a long time so I'm very very excited to finally be able to do it! ; v ;

So maybe a few followers will know that I love electro swing, I got to see Caravan Palace (with Alice Francis supporting♥) last May for my birthday and it was incredible. ; o ;♥ Sadly I haven't been able to make it to any electro swing events since, but I've been into the genre for over a year and a half now. ; u ; For those who aren't familiar with it, electro swing combines swing music with EDM and other genres like hip hop and R n B and it's basically pretty awesome (I'll recommend some artists later!).♪♪ I had been searching for a flapper dress since January 2013, when I bought tickets to the gig for my boyfriend and I, but with no luck at all. They were either costumey and tacky, or gorgeous and wouldn't fit me at all.. 

 

After going to see Caravan Palace and seeing so many people so amazingly dressed for the event, particularly some ladies wearing incredible flapper outfits, I became even more determined to be able to wear the flapper style too! Though I wanted to wear a cuter version, with maybe more frills and bows as well as the signature pearls and headbands and bobbed hair.♥ Of course, at the time I wasn't aware of the style "himekaji" which I mainly wear now, I mean I liked it but wasn't aware it had a name, was recognised as a style like sweet lolita, or fairy kei for example. I used to spend time doodling cute little flappers with big bow headdresses and lacy dresses and lace-edged sailor collars, I'll have to see if I can dig them out sometime even though the doodles suck haha!

 

So I continued to spend time scouring the net for pink flapper dresses of any kind which I could even alter to my liking if possible, but still no luck. (The whole time my mum was all "Just make one! You have dressmaking skills so put them to use! ; O ;" but my confidence really held me back. OTL) It wasn't until March 2014 (it took me that long to stumble upon something I liked OTL) that I found something that was cute, pink, flapper style, and fitted me! I bought it without hesitation. *v*♥ I picked up another two in my recent Taobao haul, and the other day I found two more that I quickly ordered.♥♥ I also picked up some cute accessories like pearly necklaces and lace gloves.♥ I'm trying to find a cute cloche hat at the moment, but it's proving tricky to find one I like to I might have to alter one.^^;

 

♥Outfits!♥

 

♥Rundown♥

Dress, Necklaces, Tights → Taobao

Headband → Bobon21 (It's actually a waist tie for a dress but it works really well this way!♪)

Shoes → DreamV

Gloves → Bodyline

The first version of this outfit I tried was actually with a wig, because being the idiot I am I forgot I have real hair that can work with outfits and it makes me so happy that it works with flappie style! ; v ;♥ The dress is flapper style, but has a lot of lace and slightly puffy sleeves!♪ The headband, one of the nacklaces, and the gloves have bows.♥ Bows, frills and lace are important for this look.(*^ ^*)♥ At the moment, these shoes and my ribbon heels work best for this look but of course I'd love even more cute flappie shoes!♥

 

 What to do for Flappie-esque makeup?♪ Big eyes, puffy eyebags and rosy cheeks!♥ Lipstick in shades of nude, pink, coral etc. would be cute too! Think of himekaji makeup, and then add more eyeliner and blush ww.♥ Hair in the signature bobbed flapper style, of course! Curly or straight.♥  When flapper style started, makeup was really rebellious because before then, ladies were expected to be refined! Makeup was only expected of sex workers, and for the refined lady it was all about intricate hairstyling instead. The flappers stuck a finger at tradition & expectation and piled on the makeup as well as cutting their hair off and driving, drinking and smoking! I've read that many flappers got their hair cut at barber shops! If you want to look at another great place for flappie makeup inspiration, take a look a 60's mod makeup! In fact, the 60's mod was basically a flapper without the trimmings, which is probably why I love mod style too.♥♥

 

Accessories are lots of pearls, headbands or headdresses with feathers and bows, lacy gloves, and more bows!♥♥ And a smile ww ; u ; ♥ (No really, this style honestly makes me so happy, I've been wearing it so much!♪)

 False eyelashes and plenty of eyeliner along with a fluffy curly bob. ; u ; ♥

 

 

♥Rundown♥

Dress, Necklaces, Tights, Shorts → Taobao

Shoes → DreamV

Gloves, Sunhat → Bodyline

Spectacles → eBay

Flapper dresses were rebelliously short for their time, but not this short ww so I've worn shorts with this outfit.♪ I've found that a lot of himekaji pieces are quite short, like the pieces from Bobon21 so these dresses fit the unshaped aesthetic of the flapper dress and the shortness of himekaji.♪

 

The hat isn't so flapper, but super cute summery cloche hats aren't easy to find, sadly. ; - ; Straw boater hats will be good for summer.^^ Plus they add a bit of a vintage feel.♪

 

Short wavy hair again, but with spectacles and a sunhat.♪ As I said above, a cloche hat would be much better! I think I need to make one or something.. but remember in summer that wearing a hat is very important!♥ The detailing at the top of the dress reminds me of Art Deco, which is perfect for flappie!♥

 

 

This outfit is the same as the first, but I added my Lacy Rose OTKs from Angelic Pretty to make it just a little OTT. Of course it's not completely OTT since there's no feather headdress, but I'm working on that. ; v ; Normal lacy stockings would work too!♪ I'd really love to get a garter from CreepyYeha to match the outfit and add a bit of babydoll style to it.♪

 

Any sort of interesting lacy tights, stockings, socks work super well as long as the colours coordinate!^^♪ Colour-wise for flappie style, pale pastel colours or pale earthy colours work best, just like colours you'd find in himekaji!♥

 

 

The detailing on the bottom of this dress and on the socks is gorgeous. ; u ; Sorry for chubby thighs though.. OTL but hey,  pretty socks! ; v ;''

 

 

♥Rundown♥

Dress, Tights → Taobao

Cardi → Hand me down

Shoes, Hat, Headband → Bodyline

Handbag → River Island

This is a more casual outfit that leans towards himekaji, but the sailor collar and lack of tailoring on the dress keep the 20s aesthetic!♥ And yes, the were a fair few sailor collars on dresses in the 20s!♪ It's a more "easy wear" outfit for going out shopping and such.^^

 I actually took these photos after going out a little (I was so happy to make it out, plus it was a quiet day so it was confortable ; u ; ) so my hair went a bit floppy. OTL I need to get some better hairspray to keep the curls in place!♥

 As you can see.. floppy hair... luckily my hair is short and bobbed anyway ; v ; I think it's time to bust out my rollers and curl my hair properly!^^

So... what makes it flappie?♪

♥Flapper style dress

♥Flapper style hair

♥Flapper headbands with bows and/or flowers

♥Himekaji handbag

♥Pastel colours, pale earthy colours

♥Dolly eye makeup and lots of blush. Maybe also lipstick in shades of nude, pink, coral etc.

♥Lacy tights

♥Lacy gloves

♥Bows!

♥Lace!

♥Flapper jewellery like long strings of pearls

♥Cute heels. To make it more flapper style, try pointed toe shoes.

♥Stockings and more jewellery, also a feather headdress if you want to go more OTT or for a party.♪

♥For winter: cloche hat, faux fur trims, more faux fur (especially collars), perhaps also ankle boots.

Bonus: Recommended/well known electro swing artists!

(There are loads out there, and if you want a taster I really recommend this 8tracks playlist which includes some awesome tracks (credit to my sweetie Josh for putting it together!) Electro Swing radio!)

♥Parov Stelar

♥Alice Francis

♥Caravan Palace

♥Lyre Le Temps

♥Tape Five

♥Dirty Honkers

And if you have any to recommend to me, let me know please!♥♥

 

Photo with Captain Martin Alpaca. c:

 

  

Thank you so so much for reading!♥ I really hope you enjoyed this post, it's actually something very close to my heart that I've been working on (and trying to put together) for a long time. ; u ;♥ It was actually very difficult to do, as explain at the start of the post, but I'm getting there with my collection of dresses and accessories!♥ I'll probably make another flappie post when my other dresses arrive. c: Special thanks to the lovely Josh for getting me into electro swing (and helping me out with this)!♥ I'm actually quite surprised that so far I've had so many lovely comments about this style on my instagram and facebook (like page & account), so I'm really grateful for that. m(_ _)m I was actually a little worried, because I've seen people get it in the neck a little when experimenting with new styles so I'm quite relieved haha. ; v ; I hope you like "flappie style" too!♥♥

Have a supersweet day and a dreamy night everybunny.♥

♪hug & chu♪

チュー！♥

Love, Elizabunnii♥♥