Dreaming Tropical Juice: Liz Lisa’s 2017 summer collection

To a lot of fashion lovers, Liz Lisa IS girly-kei. The brand’s popular with hime-kei, gyaru, and dolly-kei fans too. Take a look at the setups and kawaii outfits they post on Instagram, and it’s easy to see why.

You’ll always look and feel super stylish wearing Liz Lisa. The little details make a huge difference: embroidery, ribbons, pompoms, appliques, and special stitch finishes. Each piece is made in limited numbers – and once it sells out, the only way you’re gonna find it again is by trawling second-hand stores. It’s easy to see the quality of the clothes, and to use that high standard to spot fakes.

New items are released with the seasons like clockwork. The Liz Lisa summer collection, ‘Dreaming Tropical Juice’, recently dropped online and in stores. Pre-orders started back in March. Surprisingly there aren’t that many physical shops in Japan. Only 4 Liz Lisa stores in Tokyo? That’s exclusivity for you.

Random words picked out of a fashionable hat

Can we talk about this name for a minute?

Dreaming. Tropical. Juice. From a brand that mainly makes clothes that are either flower-patterned or pink, this is kinda unusual. We’ve definitely seen fruit-themed clothes by Liz Lisa before, though. Like in last summer’s ‘Amazing Bird’ collection. Which also had a whole bunch of flower prints.

This summer, the season concept is something like:

‘The early afternoon beach, hidden by the bright sun, a taste of colourful tropical juice. Pink, orange and more, colourful vivid colour on lace and embroidery, a delicate hand-crafted taste that continues from spring, to wear stylishly and romantic.’

We’re 90% sure that translation isn’t 100% accurate. So we kept it to single quote marks instead of double, to be on the safe side. As you can tell, it was worded strangely in Japanese in the first place.

The spring collection was called Innocent Dream Flower, so this must be the next step. The delicate hand-crafted taste continuing, whatever that means. Flower fans, stay calm – the latest ‘himawari’ series of summer sunflower prints has got you covered. Liz Lisa isn’t about to stop doing florals completely.

(Images via the Liz Lisa website, Tokyo Kawaii Life, and from Popteen.)

Colourful tropical colourful fruits… colourful

So ‘juice’ means there must be ‘fruit’ somewhere in the mix. And yep, there are several fruity dresses and skirts in the new range. The halterneck one-piece in mint matches the limited-edition mint chocolate sweets at convenience stores right now. (The Chocomint Frappe at Family Mart won us over.) But back to the clothes. This dress is also made in white and pink, because duh.

The long, flowing summer skirt’s made with the same fabric pattern, and in the same colours, as the dress. See the shirring at the back here? This is why a lot of Liz Lisa clothes are listed as ‘free size’ only. The elasticated, stretchy shirring adapts to different body types. Helpful if you don’t know your exact measurements – and even if you do.

The great thing about some of the shorter Liz Lisa skirts is that they have ‘safety pants’ built in. Keeps your butt protected from breezes. Trust us, it’s seriously useful. Anyone who’s ever been surprised by a blast of wind from an approaching Japanese subway train will understand.

You might find with skirt-pants that the fit feels more like culottes.

Delicate, pretty layers like flower petals

The next item in the summer collection is… a fairly thick knitted cardigan. Much less strange than it sounds. Japanese summers are hot as hell, but the air con indoors is like walking into a fridge. A little shoulder coverage goes a long way.

As well as having frilly bits down each arm, the cardigan’s accented with a ‘margaret’ at the neck. Not your best mate’s grandmother – it’s a type of daisy.

Margarets are the motif on many a 2017 Liz Lisa item. Spot them on necklaces, earrings, handbags, and socks. Makes a change from sunflowers.

Have a yummy summer

A cool cocktail-style drinks pattern in pastel colours creates a new print for the sunny season. If only we could use those heart-shaped straws with every drink. This drink-themed dress is on sale in white, yellow, and pink. You can just about see the built-in safety shorts peeking out from under the hem.

Ice cream’s another unique print that’s coming soon. Considering Liz Lisa spent most of 2016 doing collaborations with My Melody, we’re surprised this isn’t a crossover with Baskin-Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery. ‘Dreaming Soft Cream’ sounds like a great name for a girly fashion range.

The bright candy stripes on this skirt are a nice contrast – like deckchairs on the beach. And the beach is, as everyone knows, the best place to eat ice cream.

The matching woven tote bags are pretty… sweet. (Ha.) These straw basket-style handbags are always a summer hit – often paired with a big summer straw hat. Which is also part of the ice cream range, with a striped ribbon in red, pink or blue. The same stripy material lines the inside of the bag.

Building an entire matching outfit from Liz Lisa items is surprisingly easy. You could have a year-round wardrobe that’s completely from this one fashion brand. If you wanted.

The cute details go down to the little heart-shaped sprinkles on the ice cream cone, and the embroidered bits on the lace frills. Look closely at the hat, and you’ll see a tiny metal ice cream charm hanging off the striped ribbon’s bow.

Unlike the real thing, it won’t melt as soon as you get out in the sun.

Dreaming of our next summer holiday

Aside from the new patterns, anything that’s got ‘Tropical Vacation’ written all over it is part of the summer collection. Like the new pochette-style purse. Also available in yellow – the writing isn’t as clear on that one.

Keep in mind that the front’s got a ‘window’, so whatever you’re carrying will be visible. Invest in a super cute phone case and wallet, so everyone can see how stylish you are.

These wedges are sold as ‘sports sandals’. The Japanese version of ‘athleisure’, if that included massive shoes instead of sensible sneakers. Jogging in these is probably not safe. But we’ve seen enough people running to catch trains in dangerously high heels. And we heard that closed-toe Liz Lisa shoes have extra padding, so your feet won’t hurt wearing them.

The beige shoes have a ribbon pattern instead of cherries, which is almost impossible to see in this image. The bright red’s a little unusual for the brand, as typically the red shade’s a bit darker. Even so, it goes really well with the strawberry dresses released so far this year.

Browse the collection and start/add to your own

Liz Lisa’s online shop gives you an international shipping option, but there’s no way to order directly for global delivery. And, as you might expect from such a popular fashion brand, some of it’s already sold out online.

What you can do instead is hunt down Liz Lisa clothes on DEJAPAN – in English.