Kie Shimokawa
♥ Birthday: January 17
♥ Location: San Diego, California, USA
♥ Family: Husband, son, and cats Tassadar (“Tass”) and Zeratul (“Zertoo”)
♥ Studied engineering before ditching it for fashion design
♥ Blog since 2014
♥ Sweet Lolita since 2009
♥ Angel Hearts idol since 2003
♥ Cosplayer since 1999
♥ Anime fan since 1995
♥ Gamer for life =)
♥ Loves J-pop, drawing, cats, Hello Kitty, fairies, roses, rainbows, milk tea, and sparkly pink things. ♥
Fashion: I’ve always liked dressing up, and I’ve always been “that strange girl” who wore whatever she wanted regardless of what other people thought. When I was young, I never imagined myself pursuing a career in fashion. In high school, one of my teachers asked me if I wanted to become a fashion designer, because I was always drawing girls. The funny thing is, at that point, I had never considered it. My parents wanted me to become a scientist or engineer, so I studied Electrical and Computer Engineering for a few years. However, my true passion has always been in the arts. Japanese fashion helped me realize how much I do love clothes, and I eventually went to FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and earned a degree in Fashion Design. In a way, fashion design is engineering clothes. Fashion is more than just clothes, though, it is creating a look. Fashion is something that is a part of all of our lives, whether we like it or not. As a girly geek with “unusual” tastes, I have come to embrace it as a means of expressing myself. Lolita fashion and himekaji are a huge influence to my style, but I’m also a practical modern woman who loves simplicity and comfort. Then there is that streak of techno-geek that pops out every once in a while, and I don’t even know what to do with it sometimes.
Ethereal Hearts: “The Fashion, Lifestyle, and Hobbies of a Girly Geek.” Ethereal Hearts was created with the image of a modern sparkling princess who is both strong and cute. It is, of course, heavily influenced by Japanese fashion and pop media. I hope to create a brand in this image which will include fashion items, decor items, costumes, and other trinkets. It also includes this blog, to share things from my own life that have inspired this image (or maybe it’s just an excuse for me to gush about the things I love….).
Cosplay: I started cosplaying and going to anime conventions in 1999. I am the biggest fangirl and have literally hundreds of costumes on my wish list. There’s no way I could get through it all, even in a lifetime! But I just love dressing as my favorite characters. As I’ve grown older, I’ve also become more and more interested in designing my own original costumes and really letting my creativity run wild. Sewing for cosplay and designing costumes helped me recognize my love for clothes and fashion. Costuming will always be a beloved hobby for me. I am also grateful for all of the wonderful people I have met through this hobby, including my best friends and my husband.
Idols: I’ve wanted to be a J-pop idol since before I even knew what that was. Singing, dancing, flashy outfits, smiles that spread happiness, wholesome cuteness, positivity, and always doing their best. Even though I can’t be a real idol, I will always strive for this aesthetic. Aya Matsuura was my favorite idol. I was very into Morning Musume and Hello! Project during their Golden Era. I am thrilled that idol anime is now very popular. My favorites are THE IDOLM@STER, Aikatsu!, and Wake Up, Girls! I also listen to a lot of K-pop these days (particularly K-pop in Japanese).
Tips for Learning Idol Dances.
Cats: I. LOVE. CATS. Even as a small child, I was known for loving cats. My family used to have two black cats, Nightshade and Lumina (this is a Secret of Mana reference). Now my husband and I have two cats of our own, Tassadar and Zeratul. Cats bring so much joy to my life, with their irresistible furry cuteness. I also love snow leopards, and used to be known online as Baby Snow Leopard (a codename randomly given to me by a friend in junior high). I drew a lot of catgirls and catboys. I later changed my online name to Kitty Princess Kie. I don’t really use it any more, but I will always and forever love cats and be a kitty princess at heart.
Tassatul: Tassadar and Zeratul… and together, they make TASSATUL, POWER OVERWHELMING. It’s a StarCraft game reference. In the StarCraft I Map Editor there was an Archon hero unit called Tassadar/Zeratul (aka Tassatul), which isn’t canon to the plot, but suggests a merging of the two characters to create a super-powerful Archon hero. They are also my favorite characters from the game. I used to joke that if I got two boy kittens, I would name them Tassadar and Zeratul. Well… it happened. They are brothers from the same litter. Tassadar “Tass” is a shy and skittish blue tabby longhair. Zeratul “Zertoo” is a friendly and mischievous blue shorthair.
Follow them on Instagram @tassatul!
My Name: Because I now have a Japanese last name (my husband is half Japanese), people try to pronounce Kie as “Ki-e” or switch it around and think my name is Kei. However, it’s not Japanese, it’s a silly nickname my sister and I came up with when we were young, because we’re just weird like that. It’s pronounced like “key”. I like to say it was shortened from “Kimmie”, which is what I went by in grade school, but my sister was calling me “Kiki” (and still does sometimes) before we shorted it to “Kie”. By the way, my Vietnamese name is Kim Lan, which means “gold orchid”. Alas, I am not particularly fond of orchids.
Rainbows: As you’ve probably noticed, I love colors. Especially pastel rainbow things. My favorite color is candy pink. When I was little, I was obsessed with turquoise. I’m also partial to gold, perhaps because of my Vietnamese name. One quirk, though: I hate purple.
Age is Just a Number: Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something because of a number. What really matters is your health and your passion. Take care of yourself, put effort into the things you love, and don’t worry about what other people think. The same goes for fashion. Wear what makes you feel good. Fashion should be about what we can do, not about what we can’t.
Living Beautifully, Inside and Out: Surrounding yourself with beauty delights the soul, but “true beauty comes from within.” A beautiful heart will radiate joy and touch those around you.