Decoden – Japanese crafting
Decoden is a movement all about decorating items with kawaii (cute) things such as candy, whipped cream, pastel colors, and of course, chibi (small) animals. These items are layered to create a “quirky, cute, extravagant, top-layered look.”
It was originally known as “keitei art,” but became known as Decoden later.
The word Decoden comes from two different things:
1 – Deco (shortened from the word decoration)
2 – Den (shortened from the Japanese word for phone – Denwa)
It is popular among college age Japanese girls
You can create Decoden on anything from cell phones to jewelry boxes! Just look at how kawaii these Decoden creations are ^_^ !!!
Many people enjoy Decoden because it gives them an outlet to express their creativity, however, some find the over-the-top style to be tacky. Despite this, Decoden items sell on popular sites like Etsy for anything from $25 to $75!
One popular Decoden website is Sophie and Toffee. They sell accessories, clay and paint, and other tools to create Decoden on their page! They also sell pre-made Decoden phone cases and accessories if you don’t want to make your own.
People who get into this craft can use it as a creative outlet, stress reliever, fashion, or even use it as a business like Sophie and Toffee do.
It is very popular within the Lolita Fashion movement we learned about in class. These are decoden headbands that can be worn with Lolita costumes. If you don’t remember what Lolita is from class, it is a fashion inspired by the Rococo period in Europe. It is characterized by overly sweet girls who wear frilly and lacy fashion.
I personally do not find Decoden tacky at all. It is extremely cute and girly. Though some people would find it too girly, it is my style. I would definitely have one of the phone cases and take it out in public, but I would be hesitant to dress up fully in decoden because I don’t like standing out that much. I think for going to an anime convention it would be a fun style to dress up in, but I would not wear it in every day life.
I don’t know if I would want to spend my money on buying all the supplies to make a Decoden creation, so if I were to get one, I would buy it pre-made. I would also be afraid to mess it up completely and have wasted my money! Definitely having someone else who is more knowledgable make it for you is a good idea in my opinion.
There is even Decoden that would appeal to Fujise Sensei, because Hello Kitty is a common thing used in it. Look at this cute hello kitty decoden phone!
All in all, Decoden is a college fashion movement that is allowing tons of people to express their creativity and spread the joy of cute things!
Want to learn more? Here are some Websites that talk about Decoden and explain what it is or how to do it:
Japanese Culture Class 