Sexy Suits for Tokyo’s “Little Devils”

Long flowing dresses with wild and colorful decorative motifs. Girly one piece tops with lace and ruffles fit for a princess. These are the hallmarks of Koakuma (Japanese for “little devil”) style.

Such sparkling and charismatic looks beloved by devilish temptresses everywhere are chronicled every month in the pages of Koakuma ageha magazine, now celebrating it’s fifth year of publication. But there’s another side to Koakuma fashion that shouldn’t be ignored…one that seeks to bridge the gap between sexy and sophisticated…behold, Koakuma suits!

Dress Maria is an online boutique that specializes in the long dresses and shorter party dresses that form the hostess-club-ready backbone of “little devil” fashion. And, by a staggering coincidence, they also offer a line of suits branded by Koakuma ageha, worn by the magazine’s famed “agejyo” girls. Some of them are suitable for semi-formal occasions. Some of them belong strictly in the hostess club on “suit night”. All are at least worth a look, so here we go.

Here’s Maria’s “Striped Tie 4-piece Suit” as worn by stunning agejyo model Airi Kisaki. An investment of 20,790 yen (US$256.00) will pay out in a polyester and rayon jacket, skirt, shirt, and tie available in either black or gray.

Surprise! It’s Airi again, and this time she means business in a “Piping Line Striped 3-Piece Suit”, slightly cheaper (for someone, anyway) at 16,800 yen (US$207.00). Sadly, Airi has recently taken a break from the world of modeling to focus on raising her child, but at least she’s gone in style.

The hime-kei, or “princess style” side of the Koakuma look comes out with this amazing “Princess Ruffle Suit Set”, worn by model Satomi Yakuwa, complete with pink tiered ruffle back skirt. The bizarre sales pitches for this item scream, “I swear to get a job forever as a princess!” and ask “Can this suit blow away the Japanese recession?” Designed by the Dear My Lovely label, and selling for a mere 3,980 yen ($49.00), it’s certainly worth a try.

While the other Koakuma suits so far have merely skirted around the borders of taste and decorum, these “10-Piece Gorgeous Full Coordinate Suits” throw down the gauntlet by saying “SEXY” right there in plain English. Each 6,980 yen (US$86.00) suit – and I use the word “suit” loosely here – comes with a wealth of decidedly un-business-like accessories including ribbon, tiger print belt, and garter.

We say goodbye both business and pleasure in the presence of this pair of 2-piece Kokauma Suits for 6,980 yen (US$86.00). You can chose from long and short skirts and arrange them in four different styles for maximum impact in the meeting room. Once again, the catch copy explains the stakes better than I ever could, “a normal suit is not satisfactory for a sexy girl…out of a dream, the Koakuma suit finally appears!”

For more information, check out the Dress Maria Official Website.

Here are a few bonus Koakuma suit pictures – in case you haven’t had enough:

Article by Patrick Macias, photos courtesy of Dress Maria.

About the author:
Patrick Macias is the owner of media company jaPRESS and the author of “Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook” (Chronicle Books). He has written for a variety of publications in the US and Japan including Wired, Studio Voice, and Weekly ASCII. His blog can be found online at patrickmacias.blogs.com.