Cult Party Kei

**Cult Party Kei** (カルトパーティー系 *Cult Party Style*) was a fairly recent style from Japan, coming out of Harajuku in the mid-2010s.  The style was well known for its focus on religious imagery, pastel colors, and cute themes.  It is now considered an inactive fashion due to its extreme drop in popularity, although there are still some active participants in the style remaining.

Cult Party Kei is often confused with Mori Girl and Dolly Kei.

## The Name

The name Cult Party Kei was coined by the store The Virgin Mary, formally known as CULT PARTY, and was created to be a style encompassing the store's personal aesthetic.  As the name only refers to the Virgin Mary's own style, it is not a term that is commonly used by Japanese locals. The name CULT PARTY was changed to The Virgin Mary during a rebrand in 2010, adding a website to the shop to help appeal to more people to gain a higher online presence of the shop.

## History

In 2006, the vintage fashion store CULT PARTY opened in the Koenji neighborhood, which was known for its underground culture and second-hand stores. In 2010, the store moved to Shibuya and was rebranded as the Virgin Mary. Although the name of the store changed, the staff continued to refer to the Virgin Mary's aesthetic as "Cult Party Kei".

## Style Basics

Cult Party Kei is not a style with many strict rules and regulations. However, the style does have many common themes that most, if not all, outfits encompass.

### Colors

Some common themes are pastel colors in all shades, as well as large amounts of white. Bright red is also a popular color, especially in accessories and small details, however, some coordinates are based around the color. But not all outfits are pastel! Brighter colors can also be used as well. Dark Cult Party, however, rejects the pastel colors and instead focuses on mainly blacks and dark blues.

### Materials

There are many types of materials and fabrics that are popular, such as lace, gingham, and sheer fabrics. Peignoirs and other types of nightwear are popular items, as well as other floaty pieces and lingerie, although it is not used in a sexy way. Layering is essential to the style's silhouette, as well as lots and lots of small details, such as embroidery, pom-poms, tassels, DIY aspects, patchwork, and different forms of texture.

### Pop Culture

Pop culture and vintage aspects are popular in Cult Party coords. Specifically, 80s and 90s characters like Sanrio and sailor moon, as well as anime characters, are widely used.

### Hairstyles

There are no hairstyles requirements for Cult Party. However, the messy look is common, so messy twin-tails, buns, and curls are commonly seen. Fringes, or bangs, are also popular. For hair colors, natural hair is fine, but pastel colors are also popular.

### Makeup

The makeup style often seen worn with the style is a pale face with heavy blush under the eyes. The big eye effect, using contact lenses and makeup, is also popular, as well as brightly colored eye makeup. Bright red lips, small jewels around the eyes, as well as pearls or glitter, are often used as well.

### Accessories

Like with materials, accessories are many and detailed. Religious motifs or accessories are the most common factors in the style, specifically crosses. Flower crowns, teddy bears and other plushies, tattoo tights, and pop culture are also widely used. A few other themes exist as well, such as creepy cute (doll heads, braids of hair, etc.), and medical themes (syringes, pills, etc.).

### Shoes

Many shoes in pastel colors work well with the style. Rocking horse shoes by Vivienne Westwood are popular, as well as platform shoes such as the Vivienne Westwood "Wing" platforms and Tokyo Bopper platforms. Other Tokyo Bopper shoes were popular as well, alongside Converse platform shoes which are often customized with lace ribbon shoe ties. Platforms resembling ballet shoes, thrifted 80s-90s athletic shoes/sneakers specifically converse, ballet flats or even just ballet shoes, uwabaki, and other shoes that feature ribbons or notable pieces on the ankles are also popular choices.

## Brands & Shops

Thrift shopping is popular due to the uniqueness and vintage inspiration of the style, however, there are a few popular brands:

* Comyu
* Etsuna Otsuka
* Gunifuni
* Keisuka Kanda
* Lulu Amulette
* Meno
* Opantsu Usagi
* Rurumu
* The Virgin Mary (former Cult Party)
* Tokyo Bopper
* Virgin Birth

There are also a lot of small handmade shops.

## External Links

1. ↑ Dates determined from the creation of the Cult Party Brand (now the Virgin Mary)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cult Party Kei unofficial handbook (PDF). vivi-shiba. July 20, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2020 from https://vivi-shiba.tumblr.com/post/55958968891/the-cult-party-kei-handbook
3. ↑ "Cult Party Kei." fyeahjapanesefashion. July 30, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2020 from https://fyeahjapanesefashion.blogspot.com/2014/07/cult-party-kei.html
4. ↑ "'Round the World: Cult Party Kei." White + Rose. July 22, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2020 from https://tlslu.blogspot.com/2012/07/round-world-cult-party-kei.html
5. ↑ *Citation Needed*
6. ↑ "The capital of underground culture in Tokyo" GO TOKYO. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2020 from https://www.gotokyo.org/en/destinations/western-tokyo/koenji/index.html
7. ↑ "ABOUT - the Virgin Mary" the Virgin Mary. Retrieved December 4, 2020 from http://shop.the-virgin-mary.tokyo/?mode=f1
8. ↑ Trashtastika. "The Virgin Mary Store in Harajuku - Cult Party Kei" The Fashionate Traveller. September 29, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
9. ↑ haruhiism. "So, Cult Party Kei." Dolly-kei Livejournal. January 26, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2020 from https://dolly-kei.livejournal.com/32186.html
10. ↑ "Cult Party Kei." POP kakumei. March 2, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2020 from http://pop-kakumei.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cult-party-kei.html