style whimsical

This outfit I think is one of my favorites (but my shrunken tee certainly!); a combination of a midi skirt paired with a blouse/shirt/tee, and then piled up with a dress as an outer. This pile of thick tights, a-bit-stiff skirt, and a flowy asymmetrical dress suddenly made me feel that I'm adding a Japanese mori vibe into my look.

'Mori' means forest in Japanese. The mori girls (森ガール) belong to a Japanese subculture, and mori girls look like fairytale forest wanderers. They are often seen in loose dresses or smocks, vintage blouses, puffed sleeves, A-line skirts, tights and leggings and many-layered ensembles. They delight in beautiful fabrics and textures, preferring natural to synthetic materials, and are impartial to autumnal shades reminiscent of forest glades such as deep reds, greens, blues and browns. They keep warm with knits and furs in winter, and ponchos and leather boleros in the fall.

They shun stiletto heels for flat shoes.. Mori girls are also drawn to animal, candy, checked, floral, vintage or polka-dotted prints. However, they avoid looking overly cute. Vintage items such as pocket watches, small gold pendants and analogue cameras captivate mori girls.

The mori girls often look whimsical or quirky. They also choose to live their lives on their own terms, stopping to appreciate the little things that others overlook amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life.

(read the whole article here: http://morigirl.blogspot.com/2009/10/who-are-mori-girls.html )

Reading that article... I can't believe that I could be a mori girl.

What I noticed about the mori style is that it has a specific characteristic i.e. pile of layers (even though not all mori girls include layering in their outfit. There are also mori girls who wear a simple A-line dress), generally modest, feminine without overly cute, and usually wearing flat shoes.

In fact I love vintage/retro fashion; the Victorian style, European vintage of 50s and 60s style. Yet, as a Muslim woman who concern about 'modesty' in my look, I try my best to keep modest. So, in the midst of putting on the clothes, I found that some clothes (especially the 50s inspired clothes) are too fitted in some parts (usually at the waist), or they emphasize my figure too much, or their hemlines aren't long enough. So I trick this by adding layers, for example: to cover a 'too tight at the bosom' top, to cover the 'too much figure emphasizing' outfit, to add the length of the hemline. These can be achieved by, for example, adding one more dress over an 'already done' outfit, adding a sweater on, adding neck-scarf to cover the bosom, adding a crochet/lace/embroidered cotton skirt underneath a skirt to add the length of the hemline, etc. And these layering stuffs sometimes give you a 'mori style' look...

Also, Mori style often put in a vintage element in its look, like those cotton crochet dresses, peter pan collar, vintage blouse, or oxford shoes. This style is not being affected and tempted by certain fashion trends. And mori girls often sporting smock dresses, puffed sleeves, A-line skirt and tights. These are things that I love in wardrobe styling. So this style is more likely fit my aesthetic. Eventhough perhaps not a hundred percent, as I found that sometimes mori style has a bit vibe of boho (the vintage 70s boho chic/bohemian style) which I'm not so much into. Yet anyway, I love the combination between the vintage 50s and 60s style with mori style.

Perhaps I could be just wear a simple, practical, one layer long-sleeved maxi dress, but I prefer to layer it with a vest, an outer, or even an apron-dress. Just for my delight.. Because basically I love layered-ensembles (that's why fall fashion always be my favorite! and I always dreaming about autumn and winter, especially since I live in a country which summer --and its variation-- is the only season all year long).

Other thought about layering is that somehow these layering stuffs add 'chic-ness' to your look --Look at those stylish people on the streets of Fashion Week, and the fashion bloggers! They often using layers to create a chic look or a more sophisticated look.

So... are you into layering? Or, are you a mori girl? Share with us here...

A little fun fact about me: As for my love for apron dresses, it definitely comes from my love for the 'Sound of Music' movie I frequently watched when I was young.