In the above images, you can see four different people at first glance- but if you look closely, you might notice subtle similarities or facial features.
They are, in fact, all me- just different "versions" of me.
The top two images are my Lolita self, and the bottom two have a more androgynous feel, leaning towards a more male aesthetic. (Or at least, I hope so.)
Just like I dress in Lolita, or apply girly makeup to feel a certain way, I dress in Boy Style to feel a certain way.
I don't consider it as cross-dressing or cross-playing, but just another different kind of clothing I like to wear to express a part of my personality.
However, this style does incorporate some elements of cross-dressing to achieve my aesthetic... and it is a lot of work, taking much trial, error, and experimentation!
For example, sometimes, my face is too feminine to do the clothes justice, so I will contour my nose, cheek bones, and jaw lineto achieve the full effect.
Also, being a rather busty individual, I use a safe, medical-grade binder to get the perfect fit for button downs, blazers and vests.
Since I don't want to cut my hair short, I use different short wigs depending on the look I am going for- but I also try to learn about different boy and visual kei hair styles, to make the wigs look more realistic.
There are several kinds of Boy Style, including:
- Ouji/Prince or Dandy Style
- Elegant Gothic Aristocrat
- Casual Visual Kei
- Stage Visual Kei/Kotei Kei
Today, in the interest of helping someone find a comfortable, every-day style, I will be focusing on "Casual Visual Kei".
I find that this is what I wear the most often, when I do Boy Style. The clothing pieces are also relatively easy to find, whether you are in Japan or not; and unlike Ouji and EGA, it doesn't require strict guidelines or branding to achieve the complete look.
There are even publications out for this more casual form of Boy Style, drawing inspiration from Punk, Grunge, Rock, Glam and Visual Kei. This publication, called "Boku" (a masculine pronoun for "me") features female Boy Style icons such as Oni, vocalist of Ganglion; Akira, vocalist of Disacode; and Root, who has recently risen to fame as a model in Kera magazine.
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| A cover of "Boku" magazine |
I remember writing a report on this magazine a couple of years ago, examining the social phenomena of females using masculine pronouns to refer to themselves while dressing in Boy Style. That might be a bit too dry a topic for now, but what you should know is that years later, this publication and style are still going strong.
If anything, the amount of girls dressing as boy models in publications or in bands, and "everyday" people following suit has risen.
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| Mitsu, Vocalist of Dolly |
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| My Polyvore |
- For tops, select slim-fit blazers and collared shirts, with longer hemlines if possible.
- Avoid blouses and jackets cut for a woman's body, which may emphasize curves.
- Dress up tops with broaches, scarves, ties, or jabots.
- For pants, select a skinny colored or patterned denim; or if you have more full hips and thighs, try a straight-cut pant that doesn't hug your curves.
- For shoes, select an oxford with a pointed or slightly pointed toe. This will elongate your foot and your leg, giving you height and adding a slight slimming effect. Rounded toe shoes will make your feet look smaller, more feminine, and potentially emphasize any curves you have in your legs or thighs. Heels should be one inch or less, and never pointed.
- For Mitsu's look, feel free to mix different patterns and colors. But to avoid looking like a hot mess, stick to a certain color palette- warmer tones like tan brown, bronze, red, and warm grey can pair together with black and gold. Cooler tones like blue, burgundy, cool grey and crisp white pair better with black and silver.
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| San, guitarist of Nega (disbanded) |
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| My Polyvore |
- Opt for thin, flowing, and comfortable layers, and don't be afraid to mix genres. Try a long, flowing vest over a comfortable tank top, under a structured jacket or blazer.
- Stack on the Rock and Roll accessories- studded belts, scarves and thick, chunky rings are iconic.
- For bottoms, opt for slim-fit pants that lengthen and slim your leg. Or, try a pair of full, flowy saurel/harem pants. These fit a wide range of sizes and disguise fuller hips.
- For shoes, boots are always acceptable; either mid-calf or ankle cut for a more masculine look. As with Mitsu's look, I would recommend a pointed toe over a rounded toe, for an extra masculine kick.
- San certainly wears a lot of black. Add dimension with different textures, patterns, and even subtle prints in tones of grey.
- For hair, San often keeps his natural dark tone, with bold color block of blue or violet. A layered or shaggy short style can emphasize this. If you're not into bleaching your hair, pick up some color wefts at your favorite beauty supply store, and trim them to blend in with your hair length.
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| My Polyvore |
- Kyo's recent style is about abstract, artsy things, a monochromatic palette, and clean lines. Though layers are used for contrast, he goes very scant on accessories and unnecessary layers.
- Play with the different volumes of clothing. Try a long, slim-fit collared shirt with a fitted blazer, and baggy pant.
- Play with hemlines and forms. Try a strict, slim-fit pant with an asymmetrical jacket and boxy-cut top underneath.
- For accessories, keep it simple- a statement necklace, or an on-trend hat will do.
- For footwear, Kyo tends to go with comfortable sneakers, or an edgy-looking style of boots.
- This look is best suited to very simple aesthetic. If you normally sport a clean pixie cut in your natural color, or maybe you bleach it blonde; if you don't normally sport a lot of makeup, but may occasionally rock a smokey eye; this look will definitely work for you.
