Soft Sister

[Anonymous No.8320152]

Speaking of J-Fashion, I've been trying to figure out what the style name is for brands like Syrup and all I could come up with was simply "Kawaii Fashion". I recently found a blog post calling the look "Soft Sister", but I can find little to no information on it. Does anyone else have some resources they could share? Hell, even pictures. It's cute as fuck.

[Anonymous No.8320169]

>>8320152
Here's the article I was referring to: http://luna-rain.blogspot.ca/2014/05/soft-sister.html?m=1

[Anonymous No.8320211]

>>8320152
Seconding this thread. The only things I've heard are pastel kei, larme kei, even pastel gyaru (??!?).

[Anonymous No.8320222]

Why do you need to call it a name?

It's clothes people wear

[Anonymous No.8320224]

>>8320152
Soft Sister is the Taobao term you use to find clothes like that.

[Anonymous No.8320227]

>>8320211
Same here!

[Anonymous No.8320231]

>>8320224
Oh, okay. That's good to know, thank you.

[Anonymous No.8320237]

[Anonymous No.8320278]

[Anonymous No.8320304]

>>8320222
This. Not everything needs some bullshit psuedo-Asian name tacked onto it.

Just wear cute clothes.

[Anonymous No.8320327]

>>8320304
See this status
>>8320224
Is so we know how to find more. If you tried to find goth wear by searching "black shirt" you're gonna have a bad time.

[Anonymous No.8320341]

>>8320327
I second this.

[Anonymous No.8320478]

[Anonymous No.8320680]

>>8320304
>>8320327
On top of this, tagging and finding pictures of said style. Not having a name would make it a real pain in the ass.

[Anonymous No.8320853]

>>8320222
Well if you're buying clothes online and you want to expand your search beyond a few companies you know already, it's nice to have a search term to bring up results.

>>8320224 is right, also I think "Soft Sister" is generally a Chinese term and not a Japanese one

[Anonymous No.8320864]

>>8320853
Yep, "soft sister" is a Chinese term. You might as well just come up with a proper English name for it.

[Anonymous No.8320874]

>>8320853
>>8320864
Could just keep it 'soft sister' to avoid confusion. I think the Chinese made the look popular anyway since a lot of shops cater to it.

[Anonymous No.8320878]

>>8320874
isn't the japanese term just amo?

[Anonymous No.8320885]

>>8320878
Amo is a model.

[Anonymous No.8320887]

>>8320878
Amo was the name of the model who wore it a lot.

[Anonymous No.8320889]

>>8320885
right, but they use that the same way that china uses soft sister in order to tag and find clothes.

[Anonymous No.8320905]

>>8320889
Still doesn't mean the Japanese term is "Amo".

The listing names on taobao are spammy af anyway.

[Anonymous No.8321047]

>>8320853
I didn't know that it was a Chinese term. I apologize for calling it "J-fashion".

[Anonymous No.8321075]

>>8320878
I think larme-kei is the closest to soft sister in Japan

[Anonymous No.8321088]

OP your photo is definetly larme kei
I personally like cult party kei a lot, and it does fall into this soft vein (although i see it executed so wrong in the west urghhh)

[Anonymous No.8321091]

>>8321075
>larme-kei
Forever reading this as lame-kei

[Anonymous No.8321104]

>>8321091
accurate

[Anonymous No.8321424]

>>8321075
>>8321088
I haven't heard of larme kei before! I think you're correct. It's really cute. Thank you for your help.

[Anonymous No.8322127]

We just had a whole thread about this, it is called larme kei

[Anonymous No.8322877]

>>8320864
'Soft sister' have a negative connotation in the Chinese lolita world.
Mainly used for young, stupid girls who are too broke to lolita or any "proper" jfashion and buys generic tacky kawaii stuff / replicas be emulate the look they see in street snaps, and they do it terribly. Most of them are also rabid replica defenders and it seems that they would always try to start shit with lolitas.

[Anonymous No.8322884]

>>8322877
Paging CG-sama

[Anonymous No.8322964]

>>8320889
They also use "Katy Perry" as a search term for clothes that shes worn.

[Anonymous No.8322974]

>>8322877
This makes me curious. Does Larme-kei have that big of a following in China to get that name?

Any photos of actual Chinese girls in this style would be interesting. Does anyone have some?

[Anonymous No.8323058]

>>8320152
this just looks like a japanese version of the 'other lolita'

[Anonymous No.8323085]

>>8323058
It basically is bruh, but who gives a fuck, it's clothes

[Anonymous No.8323088]

>>8322877
Sounds like it would be the perfect term for Westerners then too.

[Anonymous No.8323105]

>>8322974
Larme as the name of the style is pretty new but the magazine has been around since 2012 and the style has seeped into general street fashion. It is mostly called "pastel gyaru". Last year, gingham, platform shoes, extremely red blush, cherry earrings and clips, pom pom earrings and clips, and daises were all trending in fashion, these are all "larme staples". When I first heard about Mon Lily and Swankiss they were advertising their brands as like a cross between gyaru and Lolita aesthetics and there was backlash on tumblr most due to lolitas mad at them using the word lolita calling it " nymphet style". I have no idea what soft sister is supposed to be other than a search term rather than an actual style.

[Anonymous No.8323110]

[Anonymous No.8324453]

>>8322877
Oh, shit. Well, good thing I haven't gone around using the term.

[Anonymous No.8324458]

>>8320905
>>8322964
yeah that's why i was confused.

[Anonymous No.8324478]

>>8323105
Thank you for explaining some of the history. I can understand why the Lolita community would be upset by that, but I think one can clearly tell the difference if you know anything about even a small variety of J-fashion sub-sets. If you like or it not, people are always going to use the term "Lolita" in a nymphet manner. Which sucks, because it's actually an adorable name.

[Anonymous No.8325180]

>>8323088

[Anonymous No.8325270]

I'm pretty sure 软妹 (soft sister) is just a phonetic translation of larme. 软妹 is pronounced ruan-mei, which is close to lar-me since there is no "lar" sound in Chinese.

[Anonymous No.8326382]

>>8325270
Soft sister has been around much longer than Larme style.

[Anonymous No.8326424]

>>8325270
>since there is no "lar" sound in Chinese.
If we translated larme-kei phonetically, it would be something like 菈兒姆系.

[Anonymous No.8327519]

>>8326424
Wtf do you even Chinese?
拉尔姆 would be Larm, rhyming with farm. If anything,
>>8325270 would be more logical. Chinese is not like Katakana, where you just translate the sounds into individual characters, the characters actually have a meaning attached to it, thus the direct phonetic translation would make it seems off and awkward.

There is a "la"(拉) sound in Chinese, but I think they just chose to use 软 since it's cuter. It wouldn't have surprised me since some Chinese teenagers (particularly girls) like to type in a "cute" manner.

[Anonymous No.8328757]

>>8327519
>Chinese teenagers (particularly girls) like to type in a "cute" manner
Can you explain this? How can you even type in a cute way? Is it like when people say "wub" instead of "love"?

[Anonymous No.8328929]

So it's light tones, short skirt with whiteish stockings, loose top with layers and an "I'm a cute girl" stance?

[Anonymous No.8329901]

I'll post some soft sister and larme, because trust me they are nothing alike.

[Anonymous No.8329913]

>>8328757
Basically, yes. They try to use characters that is close, in sound, to the character they're trying to represent to mimic baby talk/cute speak.

[Anonymous No.8329928]

>>8329901
Soft sister spam incoming, I'm using baidu as a source. There is a lot of gravure style cosplay shoots in the tag, if it means anything.

[Anonymous No.8329934]

>>8329928
Long Mao Zhin, popular soft sister.

[Anonymous No.8329938]

>>8329934

[Anonymous No.8329941]

>>8329938
KOKOkim seems popular, this shirt and it's one-piece counterpart are all over taobao (replicas though).

[Anonymous No.8329945]

>>8329941

[Anonymous No.8329948]

>>8329945
Image for ants, but this is a popular shoe choice for soft sisters from what I can see. Candy Stripper creeper replicas, as worn by AMO.
The tights are also probably taobao fakes.

[Anonymous No.8329954]

>>8329948
AMO wearing said shoes. AMO is popular with soft sisters, if you search her name in taobao tons of cute items and ehyphen bon bon/candy stripper replicas pop up.

[Anonymous No.8329969]

>>8329954
Her hair spawned a lot of wigs too.

[Anonymous No.8329978]

>>8329969
pic related

[Anonymous No.8329988]

>>8329978
Another wig based off her hair.

[Anonymous No.8329994]

>>8329988

[Anonymous No.8329996]

>>8329994

[Anonymous No.8330000]

>>8329996
They all seem to have similar makeup.

[Anonymous No.8330002]

>>8330000
>those quads

[Anonymous No.8330003]

>>8330002
Is anyone interested in this dump btw? I feel like I'm bumping for no reason. Done with SS for now, I'll post a few Larme style outfits for comparison.

[Anonymous No.8330013]

>>8330003
Larme issue cover.

[Anonymous No.8330016]

>>8330013
Funnily enough, AMO models for Larme now.

[Anonymous No.8330021]

>>8330016
Larme is a "Sweet Girly Artbook" filled with pale delicate fabrics, plain (non-print) clothes and often contrast this with dark OTK socks or a dark skirt while everything else is light.

[Anonymous No.8330025]

>>8330021
Finally, here is a really nice introduction to Larme. It explains a lot.
http://universal-doll.com/2014/08/larme-magazine-introduction/

[Anonymous No.8330036]

>>8330025
Oh, by the way the "sister" in "soft sister" seems to have the same kanji for "younger sister", so it's basically imouto kei with more replicas. I'm not a native chinese speaker so this might be wrong.
>pic related

[Anonymous No.8330081]

>>8330036
Is that the pee girl?

[Anonymous No.8330231]

>>8322877
Um what? Where are you getting this information? Soft sister has a slight negative connotation because it's similar to "xiao jie" which is used for miss for a waitress or another female in a working position, but its gotten a more negative connotation because it has also begun to be used as the chinese word for prostitute. Calling someone with the word "mei", younger sister, is meant only for immediate family. Using it for a fashion name is unusual and can be taken as offensive. It has nothing to do with being too broke for any "proper" jfashion. Proper jfashion would technically not be any harajuku trendy fashion anyway, so that's not correct.

>>8322974
While several "soft sister" trends are prevalent in mainstream fashion, soft sister itself isn't a new fashion and doesn't have a big following because it's just a combination of pre-existing fashions. Rounded collars and waist emphasizing clothing have always been prevalent in Chinese fashion- slapping a name on it doesn't generate a large following. People don't actually "follow" larme kei actively because to them it's just casual fashion. Just as Westerners find Eastern culture interesting, Easterners find Western culture fascinating. There are many more young girls (both Japanese and Chinese) who are interested in what they believe to be American style than other Asian fashions. There are a few people who are aware of the name "larme kei" and follow it, just as there are people who actively follow lolita in America, but those people are few and far inbetween.

[Anonymous No.8330236]

>>8330081
what? do tell

[Anonymous No.8330279]

>>8330081

Yeah, that's definitely Yukapon.

[NationalistNEETcunt !.Mpxbn5yFQ No.8330289]

>>8322877
>>8322884
I'm herreeee. Also who are you and how do you know so much about the Chinese comm. Are you the same one who posted in the overly photoshopped cosplayers thread before? Let's make friends.

What she said is true. And Chinese lolitas have a bad rivalry with them. They buy a lot of replicas from 瑞青鸟 and 半杯牛奶, as well as 我和妹妹的小店. Usually middle-high schoolers that like fint/amavel/larme/swankiss/spank replicas.

>>8323058
Basically yea. The cute/pastel/sexy thing that tumblr neo-lolitas like.

>>8323105
It's a Chinese term for larme/swankiss/pastel/neo-lolita/nymphet fashion.

>>8326424
hi honey let's be friends 一起来撕逼八卦好吗 (づ￣3￣)づ╭❤~ 么么哒

>>8327519
妹 means sister, and in the North-East dialect, 妹子 (sisterling/girly) is a generic term for a young girl. Like in the South you can call anyone 帅哥/美女 (handsome/pretty) to get their attention or address them politely. 软 probably came from the fluffy/pastel type of aesthetic.

[NationalistNEETcunt !.Mpxbn5yFQ No.8330306]

>>8329954
AMO used to be the generic search term for soft-sister, AMO原宿风 (Amo harajuku style). Now there's Chinese original designers for Soft Sister style, but they are all pirates anyway. Some include SanKouSan (if you remember before ripped off Nameless Poem), and 熊的工作室 which is the 'original' branch of 我和妹妹的小店。 Apparently Bear's Workshop stuff sells for brand prices in Japan, idk how they're selling it but people have reported seeing their jsk's on Y!auction for 15k yen+.

>>8330236
>being this new

>>8330231
sry no. You read like a second/third gen ABC. 妹子 is perfectly normal term for young women in the north-east. Nobody calls a prostitute 妹子. And Chinese people call cousins/close friends 姐妹 anyway. Like we have a hard time differentiating between counsin-sister and direct-sister. A lot of people will call their cousins like direct siblings because family values are so strong. My friend has a big age gap between her and her little brother, and people always ask her "Wait, like direct-brother or cousin-brother?".

>>8322974
>>8330231
No, little-to-no girls have knowledge or money to afford Larme in China. But the similar pastel-baby-prostitute look is very popular. No, it's not mainstream Chinese fashion. I'd say there's no such thing as mainstream Chinese fashion. In the big cities you'd find hipsters with beanies/collared shirts/patterned socks/bob cuts/creepers, and in the smaller places it's a horrid mish-mash of ugly sweaters and ill-fitting sundresses.

Yes, Chinese girls have a bigger focus on feminine styles than Westerners. But ruanmei or larme kei are still very distinct and different from anything you'd find on the street. It's not just slapping a name on collared and wasited dresses. There is a distinct culture associated with it as well, including prominent shops that do releases, and prominent fashion leaders (i.e. longmaozhinv, sankousan).

[NationalistNEETcunt !.Mpxbn5yFQ No.8330320]

Don't be too spiffy about splitting hairs between styles. It's all pastel-hooker stuff anyway.

[Anonymous No.8330322]

>>8330306
>pastel-baby-prostitute
Perfect.

[NationalistNEETcunt !.Mpxbn5yFQ No.8330334]

>>8330036
Actually this is pretty close and accurate. idk much about imouto kei, it seems to include a lot of ageplay elements like randoseru and stuff? This stuff also appears in soft-sister but not quite as much. Imouto-kei seems to be emulating 3-10 year old girls, and soft-sister is more like 10 - 16 year old girly style.

[Anonymous No.8330338]

>>8330306
>Wait, like direct-brother or cousin-brother?
We do the same in Eastern Europe, heh. We call them 'brother from my aunt/uncle/parents' godmother'. My bf once got really scared when I started listing all my 'brothers' - and I'm an only child.

[Anonymous No.8330409]

then what the hell is Swankiss supposed to be because it's in Larme magazine and is quoted as being larme kei but it looks exactly like Soft Sister shit

[Anonymous No.8330545]

>>8330306
You're not entirely wrong. First gen ABC but raised in China until about 5 years ago to come to America for college.
I heard that the dating websites referred to prostitutes as 小姐? Are they the women who date the married men online? Or is that false?

The immediate family part was incorrect. I meant to say that it was for families, not for strangers. I've never had friends in China refer to me as 姐姐 or 妹妹 before and so it sounded strange.

I apologize for the outdated information. I was not involved in the communities when I lived in China, so most of what I said was from what I experienced where I lived and what my cousins tell me. In the city where I lived (大连) the women mostly dressed similarly. I don't remember creepers or beanies or patterned socks, but I think long jackets and collars were popular. I thought they still were.

Because replicas are so commonplace in China, and I never had any bad experiences with it, I thought that replicas would not be a big deal in the community. How strict is the community?

Once again, I apologize for the misinformation. My text was outdated. Thank you for the update.

[Anonymous No.8331097]

>>8330289
I know so much because drama spreads like fire on weibo, thanks 黑米君! 树洞 and stuff are always filled with dumbshits, and you get easily trollable lolitas reposting their stuff. 10/10 entertainment.
I wasn't the one that did the cosplayers, though!

>>8330545
小姐 is a very common term for prostitutes, depending on where you're from. 小姐 =/= 妹子,姐姐. Native speakers can usually tell the difference, though. The latter are terms of endearment and 小姐 is more fake-respect for the prostitutes. I think a lot of SEA speakers uses 小姐 and it creates misunderstanding between mainland vs SEA.

>>8330409
It's Larme, more expensive to the pastel hooker kei. I think the general aesthetics is the same, but I do prefer Larme, the girls seem more put together.

[Anonymous No.8331672]

>>8330334
I'm surprised I had got that right. It really is just a cuter version of imouto-kei.
>CG-SAMAAAA✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧

[Anonymous No.8332837]

>>8330409
everybody is called Swankiss Larme but tbh it falls under gyaru more, more gyaru wear Swankiss and it's in Shibuya 109, I'd call it Larme flavored Gyaru

[Anonymous No.8332879]

>>8330003
Yes I'm interested, I just dont post much coz I got nothing interesting or relevant to add.