Today I want to talk about Shizuko and her hair. This one will be formatted differently, comprehensively going over base Shizuko and Shizuko’s sports outfit, then her swimsuit, and finally the hair brushing segment.
First, Shizuko’s hair. Shizuko’s hair color is a dark, chestnut brown that goes down to her knees / upper calves if it’s laid flat and Shizuko is standing straight. Her hair is straight, but also slightly messy in how it has an almost conifer-tree look to it, striking the perfect balance between playing into her clumsiness while also looking like an idol. Her hair sticking out, and her bangs with her smile giving her an almost chipmunk-like look, really gives her a unique and distinctive appearance. She has two short fluffy ponytails completing her hairstyle, making an almost perfect idol appearance. The imperfection, as stated before, is intentional, to play into the desire to want to help her a bit.
The hair accessories she wears are simple but add a lot to her design. First, the maid hairband tells the viewer in no uncertain terms what she does in the cafe, if the hybrid between the maid outfit and kimono didn’t indicate that. It lets her ponytails smoothly connect together, almost like rolling hills, with the hairband at the center, providing an easy way for the eyes to look at Shizuko’s smile. The bit slightly to the left adds character and really pops, appearing like the maid headband itself is happy to see the viewer. It’s also another indirect arrow back to the winning smile, but also lends itself to tracing the eyes along the headband, resting on the pot of gold at the end of it. In this case, a cute ribbon that blends with Shizuko’s outfit is found, giving an itinerary of Shizuko in a simple accessory. Cherry blossom pink with pure white and noble blue, all held down by a bell for Shizuko’s appearance to be known whenever she walks, with what looks like more bells below in strings of three like ponytails, all held together by Shizuko’s heart. Truly, Shizuko is able to cast a very powerful spell on meals like this.
The rest of Shizuko begins at the top, though not her halo. Expanding on the way her hair indirectly guides the viewer, the tea set she holds, slightly unbalanced because she has stopped to visit, demonstrates everything Shizuko’s known for on stage, but following her hair and headband to the end leads to Sakura Bonbon, subtly indicating a very passionate student when she’s not using her charm, having a subtle sweetness to those who can see that side of her. However, it’s under lock-and-key through the uncharacteristic straps that clash with her outfit, showing that she’s not afraid to defend what she holds dear if it’s necessary. This allows us to bring her maid kimono into the picture.
Starting at the top is a strange black strap that holds two stars. It’s a curious part of her outfit, as it likely has multiple meanings, the most obvious one being that the stars help to make her appear extra magical so she can cast a better spell on food! That’s also why it’s close to her heart, though two stars close to her heart feels like it might be a subtle message. The last meaning blends with the previous as a pink and black ribbon on her apron has a star binding it together, with two hearts near it, adding a lot of love! It’s a very clever way to round out the outfit by adding secret symmetry to the asymmetrically designed Shizuko. Her maid kimono is decently frilly, appearing like a kimono at the upper half highlighting the traditional Hyakkiyako appearance, and the bottom having an elegant yet striking, eye-catching black with a gold stripe near the bottom’s frills. Before wandering further south, the floral pattern on Shizuko’s kimono is cute and heartfelt with the cherry blossom pink, subtle white, and secret blue, with a few sprinkles of a bold red thrown in for good measure. And at the end, black corners giving her kimono skirt having some company, while also having ribbons to help pronounce these a bit.
Finally, there are her legs. Her thighs just barely puff out of her thighhighs, providing a cuteness, but also a slight allure, to Shizuko. On the top of her frilly thighhighs are two bells on the outside, making every step she takes a jingling one which is sure to provide a lot of attention, both of which having simple black ribbons on them. Finally there’s her feet, which her right ankle has a cute pink ribbon tied to it, though Shizuko’s outfit is good enough at attracting attention that this does a good job at subtly notifying the viewer to look back up at the rest of Shizuko. Her geta are not symmetrical, seeing how the right one has just a small gold flower on it, but the left one has a bigger, hollow flower on it. I think they were originally symmetrical, though, and through her walking around a lot, one day it just disappeared. It’s not like anyone would really notice, plus it provides some character to her geta, while finally potentially being a mark of pride that she was able to do so much.
As aforementioned, Shizuko is a very asymmetrical design, very heavily leaning to the left to the point her tray is threatening to fall if she doesn’t regain balance. Her left side has a lot of the accessories, as well as her foot being raised, but that doesn’t mean she’s entirely one-sided, as her right ankle has the ribbon, and the tray helps her balance somewhat. It shows who Shizuko is and what she values.
Her sports outfit doesn’t have much different, but her hair has very subtle differences in a loose end not appearing on her right side. Outside of that, it’s the same lovable Kawawa Shizuko, who makes the sports outfit look really good on her.
Finally, there is Shizuko’s Swimsuit outfit, and the reason why this is formatted differently than normal. To put it simply, Shizuko’s idol charm seems to have been replaced with a different, more womanly charm, and it is dangerously effective. I will do my best to not be too distracted by her, because these designs are the most important to detail correctly to truly admire every bit that goes into it!
First is Shizuko’s hair, which has now been tied into twintails, likely to make her appearance fresh, but also plausibly done so her hair wouldn’t stick to her skin as she’s sweating in the sun. While it’s styled differently, the lovable, slightly klutzy hairstyle still exists in there, going by how it’s somewhat free, and the edges being like her normal hairstyle. Speaking of her normal hairstyle, the two fluffy ponytails are still here, likely done to provide some level of familiarity to Shizuko, striking a blend between innovation and maintaining the status-quo. A surprisingly smart choice that reflects well on how businesses need to innovate, but also can’t lose their core audiences by embracing change too much. Her hair catches in the sun and appears like a seductive chocolate as opposed to the cute chestnut that it normally is.
Shizuko’s hair accessories begin with what appears to be cat ears. The interesting thing about these is that the hairband has been hidden under her hair, adding to the immersion of her accessory. The maid headband likely does a good job at hiding said hairband as well. Speaking of, her hairband is now frillier and pinker, with her smiling blue piece now a smiling pink piece on the right side of her, likely done so the flowers she wears don’t hide it. Before that, though, her twintails are tied with small pink ribbons, though they are a bit darker than the one she uses to tie her right ankle. Finally, the floral accessory. It’s a bold pick and definitely highlights the charm of summer while giving her summer charm, but also incorporates her kimono’s colors into it. The red is now more pronounced and up top, indicating that Shizuko is a lot bulder than normal, but the pink just below states she’ll stick to her values. The small blue flowers are hard to tell what they could represent, but the berries might be a cheesy indication of her wanting the fruits of her labor to bloom. Interestingly, there’s still a ribbon here, but it’s a light pink that gets more saturated until it becomes a cherry blossom pink at the ends, and her bell-like accessories on her ribbon have now grown into a truly impressive piece, with at least four pairs as opposed to three sequentially.