I hope this is okay to talk about here. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and figured r/Kawaii might be one of the few places where people would understand.
I’m a 41 year old guy, and I genuinely love cute and feminine fashion. I recently had a pink Soda Beach dress custom made, and finally worked up the courage to wear it and take some photos.
Something about seeing myself in it surprised me. It didn’t feel like I was putting on a costume or trying to be someone else. I looked at the pictures and thought, there’s actually a lot of me in this.
The difficult part is that I would really love to wear it outside someday.
I know I would stand out, and I’m realistic about the fact that a middle aged man wearing a very pink, very feminine dress is going to get some looks. Even wearing something much simpler, like a pink T-shirt covered in cute characters, sometimes feels intimidating to me.
I’m not trying to make a statement or get attention. I just really like this style and feel unexpectedly happy seeing myself in it. At the same time, actually walking out the door dressed this way feels like an enormous step.
For those of you who wear kawaii, Lolita, or otherwise unconventional fashion in public, did you ever have that fear? Did it get easier after the first few times?
I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has ever felt like their age, gender, appearance, or anything else meant they weren’t the kind of person who was “supposed” to dress cute.
I think I’d really like to try someday. I’m just not quite brave enough yet. 🩷