Iconic Love Letter: 80's/90's Magical Girl Series

Growing up as a child of the 90's, I was fully submerged into the new obsession of the young female gender: The Magical Girl Show! Granted, some of these shows can be considered cheesy, silly and sometimes just plain odd - but do we care? No! As long as there is a character with a cute sense of style, fun powers we dreamed about and some cute guy to crush on, we were set for fun! But wait, Style!? Inspiration!? From a kids television show!? But of course! My absolute favorite part of these shows was the look of each character, and I wanted to dress and be like them all so badly. So, in tribute to these fantastic series that we've all grown up with, I decided to make them my Iconic Love Letter for this week! So hop on your magic wand and let's get started!

Let's start off with my favorite series of the 80's, Jem! If you don't know about Jem, let me tell you that you are missing something, as the iconic heroine would say, Truly Outrageous! Jem is the story of Jerrica, who has just been given the complete ownership of her Father's record company after his passing. She also has to be in charge of an orphanage for little girls. She's so stressed and on top of that, she's dating the cutest guy Rico! What is she going to do!? One day, Jerrica is given the power to transform into Jem, her rock-n-roll goddess alter ego! New, Jerrica must decide between which life to lead: Her own or the one of Jem. The series has some of the coolest and catchiest songs I've ever heard, along with the most epic and tackiest outfits ever. But what makes Jem so cool is that it knows how silly it is, which makes you want to be in the world of the series even more! I mean, I'd love to transform myself into a pink haired rock star, wouldn't you?
Next up, we have Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (also known as Princess Starla in other countries). The plot revolves around an alternative version of Avalon (think Rainbow Bright mixed with Samurai Troopers in terms of style), where people who are given the magic of Merlin can protect the world with The Crown Jewels and chosen animal companions. Our star is Princess Gwenevere, who is now destined to defeat the evil Lady Kale. She also has two allies, known as the Jewel Riders, named Tamara and Fallon! My favorite character of the series was Tamara, considered to be the oldest and prettiest of the Jewel Riders. She carries the heart stone and is known for taking care of the animals of Avalon. Maybe it was the British accent or the fact that she's the reason I'm obsessed with Mint and Pink together, but Tamara is a class act all on her own. Also, who doesn't want to ride on a pet Unicorn named Sunstar? (my favorite of the horses!) I highly recommend this if you haven't seen it!
Now, you can't go without mentioning the popular Magical Girl anime series that were huge at this time as well. Though there are a lot to chose from, I wanted to give special shout outs to my favorites - Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon (S and SuperS being my favorite seasons!). I'm pretty sure that anyone and everyone reading this blog knows of at least one of both of these series, and I'd manage to say you even are a big fan of them too. It was hard to ignore the success of these shows, but especially Sailor Moon here in the states. Though, we were never truly treated to seeing the entirety of these shows (but at least we were given Cardcaptor Sakura uncut many years later), they still are incredible and hard to not adore.
Cardcaptor Sakura is one of those unique series that really, in my mind, has no flaws. It's also important to note that this is probably the closest we've come to having a Lolita super hero of any sort! You can't deny the fact how excited you were to see Sakura's new fighting outfit each episode, created specially by her friend Tomoyo! I'm also a sucker for anything with angel wings, and this just made that aspect even cuter for myself. I have so many favorite outfits and moments from this show, allowing myself to never grow away from it completely.
... and don't even get me started on Sailor Moon. It's hard to clearly define the impact this series has had on me and the millions that have watched it, but it's probably in the time-line of things why I'm even writing this blog today. Sailor Moon was the first anime series I ever saw, watched every episode, and know every plot line by heart. It also brought my down the track line to learning about Japanese pop culture and now, you know the rest of the story. Sailor Moon is also in this unique category of complete pure and fabulous timeless story telling. Sure, there are your occasional filler episodes (there are in EVERY series, honestly.), but they are charming when you get to know all the characters - which I almost consider friends after seeing them for the past 16 years of my life. If you're going to rewatch any part of the series, I recommend the Pegasus story arch along with the R series movie! They're romantic, funny and touching!
Side note: Sailor Chibi-Moon isn't my favorite, Sailor Saturn is actually!
So now you want to incorporate these into your style, but how?
Here is my own personal outfit based on these magical ladies!
First off, pick an empire waist cut JSK or OP. Make sure that it creates a sort of round cuteness effect, and looks a bit casual so you can run around in it. I'd also suggest going with a cutsew or parka that has a sailor/peter pan collar. This is to go along with the sailor uniform inspired style from the anime shows, which are all based around this school uniform style. Next, I'd chose a pair of more comfortable but cute shoes, like these AP Engineer Boots in Pink! I'd also go with a bag that resembles a school styled one, especially since most of these characters are in high school or young adults! Make sure to pick out a cool brooch that looks magical girl inspired, like this one I found on etsy that's based on a Sailor Moon design. Remember to get a big and adorable bow to finish the look, see if you can find one with stars or sequin in it. Even though this coordinate is almost entirely AP and Mint/Pink, you can do it whatever way you like - if Sailor Moon would wear it, then go for it!

So whatever Magical Girl you like the most, feel free to incorporate them into your style! What is your favorite Magical Girl series? Was it not mentioned here? Have you ever made an outfit inspired by them? Mention in the comments below!