Style Icons: Misa Amane

Misa from Death Note is a style icon both within the show and in the real world. In the story she’s an actress, sex symbol, and icon, and consistently pulls elements from a variety of styles including punk, goth, lolita, and more.

Death Note was originally a Manga, serialized from December 2003 to May 2006, and was then turned into an Anime series from October 2006 to June 2007.

Misa’s Core Style Elements

Her everyday style gives very Hot Topic energy, with Y2k pop-punk vibes.

Stripes and Plaids
In both of these pictures we see her with black and white striped accessories (armwarmers and socks). You can find some similar arm warmers at Hot Topic (flared arm warmers, basic arm warmers) or Amazon, amongst plenty of other store, and here are some socks like hers.

Her skirt in the second picture is plaid, and is another style that can be found aplenty at Hot Topic.

Edgy Accessories
Accessories really make the outfit, and this is very true for Misa. She’s shown above with a studded belt, armwarmers, over the knee socks, chains, and a bat-wing bag. They all take what could otherwise be a basic outfit up to the style icon level. Accessories like these can be found at Hot Topic, Spencer’s, and other sites (that we don’t necessarily recommend shopping at) like Shein and Dolls Kill. Here’s an example of a bat-shaped purse sort of like hers, but I’d recommend looking up bat, coffin, skull, and other types of edgy symbol accessories to get accessories like hers.

She also wears a lot of silver jewelry and plain black chokers as shown below.

Fishnet and Lace
Fishnet and lace can be both sexy and punk/goth, and she wears them well. In the second picture above she’s wearing fishnet thigh highs like these, and more demos of her in lace will be shown in the more gothic dresses below.

Tank Tops and Oversized Tees
At home she wears punky oversized t-shirts, and when on the go she’s shown in simple tank tops like the top right picture. She’s also shown below in a fur rimmed hoodie, similar to the style that’s popular right now. When she’s a bit more dressed up, she’s often in lingerie-inspired tank tops or dresses, and in her most formal outfits she’s in traditional gothic or lolita inspired tops and dresses.

Goth Detailing
Her more formal outfits include gothic details, like lace, ruffles, and corset lacing.

Hair
Her classic hairstyle is an accessory in itself, since she wears it almost the same way constantly! Try a classic half up half down hairstyle to get her look. I like using little claw clips, but you can also use normal or mini hair ties!

Homewear
Her bedroom is also filled with accessories fitting her style including skulls, dolls, coffin-shaped accessories, creepy stuffed animals, and other gothy accessories. Thrift shops are great for this, especially for finding vintage mirrors, photo frames, and miscellaneous shelf decor.

Styles

Misa takes influence from the gothic, punk, rock, and gothic lolita styles. Her style often reminds me of the “mall goth” or Hot Topic aesthetic, combining elements from various alt styles.

Gothic

Misa has a strong Gothic influence to her style, which is easiest to see in stills from the manga. She wears a lot of black, lace, and crosses. Her ruffles and lace are most adjacent to the Romantic Goth substyle, while some of her sexier outfits are closer to fetish-goth or punk.

Punk

Her accessories are very pop-punk, including the striped accessories, studs, chains, and plaid.

Lolita

While some people describe her style as “gothic lolita”, her most notable outfits are much less conservative than the Lolita look, and she really only has one outfit that could strongly be considered to be gothic lolita.

I would say her style more generally falls into the punk/alternative/rock category, for example this Japanese “Goth Punk” style page, which describes the style as including Tripp pants, rips, stripes, and plaid. She wears lots of red, black, and white, and incorporates stripes and details like harness straps, studded belts, and collars into her outfits.

Stores to Check Out

Thrifting!
Thrifting is always my favorite first stop – it’s a great way to find unique pieces and much better for the environment (and the wallet) than shopping at most new retail stores! Check out the men’s t-shirt section for edgy oversized tees, the lingerie section can be a great place to find lacy tops and lingerie dresses that can be layered and accessorized, and can also be a great place to shop for skirts and tank tops. I also love finding bags at thrift stores and shoes if you’re lucky.

Amazon
For better or worse Amazon is a great easy place to shop for accessories, especially hosiery like tights, socks, and arm warmers, in addition to cheap edgy jewelry.

Hot Topic
I linked Hot Topic a few times already, but their stuff is very Misa!

Minga London
Their stuff is a bit less feminine than most of her clothes, but still a good place to scope out!

Spencer’s

Spencer’s is great for graphic tees and accessories. They also have a lingerie section with very Misa-esque options. Horror and band tees especially fit her vibe.

Search and Destroy

If you’re in New York, Search and Destroy is a great place to check out to get her style! It’s mostly a thrift store that also sells some new stuff – they have lots of horror and punk inspired styles.

Gothic Renaissance
If you’re inspired by her more traditional gothic outfits, Gothic Renaissance in NYC is a great place to check out. They have tons of options for traditional goth clothing, corsets, accessories, and more.

In pop culture

A lot of Misa’s clothes feel like things you would see sold by Tripp or Hot Topic, but they’ve also taken influence from Misa (and all of Death Note) with their Death Note collection:

In the live-action Scott Pilgrim Versus the World movie, Scott’s ex Envy Adams looks very similar to Misa, although apparently this wasn’t on purpose as Envy was originally red-headed and influenced by a different anime character, Asuka.

(Music video here)

McKenna Grace admits to channeling Envy Adams in her Buzzkill Baby music video, and thus also looks like Misa (although potentially also not intentionally.) Check out the music video below:

Any other Misa references or info you’d like to see? Comment below or shoot us a message!