It's been a long time since I've written a style introduction post, but I thought now would be the perfect time to write one as I'm really getting into a new style this season. This time I'll be taking you out of the high fashion world and deep down into the woods.
The Beginning of Mori
Before I can give you a proper introduction to Mori, I need to take you back to the roots which actually started in another fashion style called Lolita. Lolita (as most of you probably know) is a fashion subculture in Japan based on British Victorian era style clothing. Over the years the style has evolved more and more and there are many different styles of Lolita:
- Classic Lolita
- Dark/Gothic Lolita
- Angel Lolita
- Sweet Lolita
- Hime Lolita (aka Hime-kei - Princess Style)
and many others. Amongst these many styles there is also Mori Lolita which focuses on wearing Lolita style clothing but in earthy tonnes and colours.
Modern Day Mori
As the style evolved and grew more popular, it started to move away from its Lolita roots, focusing less on the cupcake-style skirts and Victorian aura and focusing more on a more elegant and gentle aura, almost like trying to represent Mother Nature herself and living a simplistic lifestyle. The clothing because less fitted and more free and 'natural', some popular characteristics involve:
- Loose-fit and flowy clothing
- Lots of layers usually comprised of lace and cotton
- Earthly colours like browns, greens, beige, pinks and whites
- Rumpled or un-ironed 'raw' clothing and materials
- Thick, bulky sweaters and scarves
- Flower crowns, prints or accessories
- Using accessories make of beads, thread, twine, cotton, lace and leather ('raw' natural materials)
The wearers of this style were referred to as 'Mori Gyaru' (森ギャル - Mori Girls) rather than as a type of Lolita as the style very soon changed so much that it lacked the basic necessities of what 'Lolita' required.
The name 'Mori' (森) comes from the Japanese word for 'forest' as they looked like fairies and other forest dwellers. Mori was originally started by girls, however, it didn't take long for the male wearers (森ボーイ - Mori-boys) to start wearing it too. It's not uncommon to see Mori boy unshaven with their hair long and grown out.
Sub-types of Mori-kei
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| :: An example of a Classic Mori style store :: |
Now that Mori is recognized as its own style doesn't mean that it has stopped progressing, like most over Japanese fashion subcultures, there are now different types of Mori-kei too. The three main types of Mori are differentiated by the colours used when wearing them:
- Classic Mori
Classic Mori is the style as having been described so far, using lots of brown and beige early tonnes, sometimes with the odd dash of colour, but natural colours as opposed to artificial ones. For girls, they tend to use a lot of lace trim on loose fit dresses and cardigans and for boys, you'll often see them wearing corduroy trousers.
- Ya-mori
'Ya' meaning 'night', this sub-style focuses on wearing mostly black and grey clothing, representing the forest at night or in darkness. Its very common for these wears to wear all black or midnight blue as there is no artificial light at night in the woods. They differentiate themselves from goth wearers with their use of layers and thick, bulky knit items like beanies and sweaters, and rougher materials like cargo pants.
- Shiro-mori
Shiro-mori is essentially the polar opposite of Ya-mori, 'Shiro' meaning 'white', the wearers use a lot of white and off-white clothing in their coordis instead. Anything they have on that's not white tends to be in the lightest shade they can find, and they more often than not wear lots of droopy and over-sized tops.
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| :: A Shiro-mori boy and an Ya-mori boy in their natural environment :: |
These are the main three types of Mori, but there are many more sub-types, Mori girls can be 'categorized' by whether they use loose fit over-sized dresses or long flowy skirts, lots of layers, or as few layers as possible. Likewise, Mori boys can be divided in the same way. You can also tell a clear difference between Mori wearers who are closer to their 'royal' roots, those who are closer to casual wear and those who are more 'free' in there style.
My Style:: Ya-mori X MODE-kei
For those of you who know me, you know that one of the reasons I love MODE-kei so much is because it allows me to mix it freely with other styles, and for this autumn I've been interested in replicating the elegant and layered look of Mori-kei.
I've fallen in love with how effortless and natural Mori looks, and as the seasons are getting colder, I've taken more interest in the way Mori wearers make layers work together, especially when working with different lengths and fits. I'd like to replicate that in the way I dress this autumn and winter.
That said, MODE-kei is a style that focuses on look very clean cut and calculated whereas Mori-kei is about being free and natural so I feel like it'd be a bit of a challenge mixing these two styles together, but it's a challenge I welcome with open arms.
Nonetheless, this has been my introduction to Mori-kei, I hope I've been able to teach you something new and maybe even introduced you to a style you'll soon fall in love with.
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