Mori girl 30 day meme - Day 1

Day 1 – 10 things about your mori bubble.

(I'd like to start by asking what a bubble is?? ('～`；) )

1. I first learned about mori girl style through the LJ fruits community. There was a girl on there who always posted these really lovely, natural outfits and one day I followed her cross-post and found the LJ mori girl community. Shortly following that I went to Japan (end of 2009/ beginning of 2010) and saw lots of mentions to mori girls and magazines/mooks in the bookstores. I felt it was all rather serendipitous, and started to pay attention to the style much more towards the end of my stay and onward.

2. I don't know any other mori girls in real life. I have a few friends in the states who occassionally put together mori inspired coordinates, but I don't think any of them identify as a mori girl.

3. I'm a thrifter at heart. I love finding that perfect piece out of many, and the uniqueness of thrifted clothes. Even though I'm in Tokyo and could buy the brands I like directly, I still prefer to hunt second-hand shops like KINJI for what I'm looking for than to buy full price.

4. Some of my favorite mori girl motifs are: birds and rabbits, lace, polka dots, acorns, and cameras.

5. I first started my tumblr, littleforestgirls, because I was tired of dolly-kei popping up so often in other mori girl tumblrs. ( ^^;;) I understand that dolly-kei is a great inspiration for many mori girls, but it wasn't particularly interesting for me. So I decided to start my own and keep it more along an exclusively mori girl line. Not that I haven't deviated from that from time to time, of course... But I've been really happy to see it's success.♥

6. My favorite thing about nature is the wind. I also like the forest after rainstorms and the sound of the ocean.

7. I own a few "brand" mori pieces, but I think the items I wear the most aren't from any particular brand.

8. I love the look of really short cut blunt bangs and long, long hair like [this], [this] or [this].  ...But not on myself (>3<;;)

9. Mori girl was what first introduced me to the moomin series, and now I'm hooked! I think it also reinspired my love of Winnie the Pooh and The Little Prince, as well as other fairy tale stories.

10. I would love to live in one of those hobbit-like underground houses, with big, bright windows and a cute, rustic decor. I think to live like that would be so charming. ♥

森ガール Inspiration Monday

Hair styles that have really caught my eye lately have been ones with braids or buns. A short- and fine-haired girl like me can't really pull off the bun look without assistance from hairpieces, but I think braids are a lovely way to add interest to a hairstyle. Here are some hair ideas for mori girls of all hair lenghts! ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)

That being said, I also really love the short, toussled and androgenous hairstyles that sometimes pop up on mori girl models. As much as I love those styles though, I know I could never pull it off myself.  ┐('～`；)┌

It's coming time for me to get my hair-cut again. I wonder what I'll get?? Hmmm....

xoxo,
Brie

Mori girl 30 day meme

This floated around the mori girl blogsphere for a while, and since I'm trying to get active again I thought I'd do it. It will keep me going for a little while, at least! ;)

30 Day Mori Girl Meme

Day 1 – 10 things about your mori bubble.

Day 2 – 10 things you love in mori.

Day 3 – 10 things you hate in mori.

Day 4 – 10 different kinds of food you like.

Day 5 – 10 items from your wish list.

Day 6 – 10 things you can’t live without in mori.

Day 7 – 10 people who inspire your mori style.

Day 8 – 10 songs that inspire you for mori.

Day 9 – 10 things you will never do in mori.

Day 10 – What’s in your bag?

Day 11 – One day in your mori life in pictures.

Day 12 – A picture of yourself before mori came in to your life.

Day 13 – A picture of your favorite nature item.

Day 14 – A picture of your dream item.

Day 15 – A picture of your last mori purchase.

Day 16 – Your outfit for the day.

Day 17 – What do you want more then anything right now?

Day 18 – A picture of your favorite mori style.

Day 19 – What’s in your make-up bag?

Day 20 – A picture of a mori friend.

Day 21 – Your favorite fictional mori girl.

Day 22 – A picture of your room.

Day 23 – A picture of your handwriting.

Day 24 – A picture of you from a meet.

Day 25 – Your favorite mori themed artwork.

Day 26 – Your Facebook profile picture.

Day 27 – One song that fits your favorite mori style.

Day 28 – A picture of the perfect mori location.

Day 29 – A picture of a mori you would love to meet for real.

Day 30 – A photo of yourself taken today and 3 good things that’s happened over the last 30 days.

I'm going to (try to) post these regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays~ (^ ^)

森ガール Inspiration Monday

It has been soooo cold in Tokyo recently. So, for this week's inspiration, here are some winter coordinate ideas:

Winter-y outerwear that I've recently seen trending on naturally dressed girls are camel coats with toggle closures in wood or plastic, ugg boots or boots with lace or fur detailing, fur collars, scarves (usually heavy knit ones looped many times around the neck), ponchos, and shawls (both knit ones like in the first picture, and pashmina or otherwise large scarfs worn over the shoulders). (^ ^)

xoxo,
Bee

Pictures from tumblr, mostly magazines.

Outfits

I've been super happy with my outfits these past few days off, so I wanted to share them! :')

The majority of these clothes were gifted or thrifted. My personal favorite is the one in the middle. The vest is SM2, but I found it at KINJI for only ￥1260!! I also found a Cuccia dress there the same day I bought this. I love KINJI so much hahaha ('ω‘-)

I also bought a couple of Uniqlo's heat-tech shirts in lighter colors recently (striped white and tan, and grey-brown with polka dots)! They were just what I needed to pull my more natural outfits together! Before my undershirts had been too dark for natural coordinates (with a few exceptions). (^^ ;;)

If anyone gets cold easily or is looking for light-weight but warm shirts to layer with and have a Uniqlo in their area, I highly recommend them!

Also wanted to share a recent favorite song! "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie.

It's a gooooorgeous song, and the music video is very creative too!

It might just be me, but I also get a bit of a mori girl vibe from the lyrics!

Please check it out~

xoxo,
Bee

森ガール Lesson 5

This was originally posted to the livejournal mori girls community [here], but I was so proud of my effort I wanted to post it on my blog as well.

I'm not sure about you folks, but I've felt recently that it had been a while since the last mook and it was due time for a new one. So, imagine my pleasure when I walked into the local convenience store on the corner today, and found the newest Mori Girl Lesson mook on the shelf! Since I know it usually takes a little time before the scans come out, I thought I'd give you a sneak peek into Lesson 5, which highlights trends and styles for Autumn & Winter 2011.


Styles for the autumn and winter seem to be a continuation on recent magazine and street trends. Flower, whimsical, and polka-dot printed one pieces, skirts and blouses, brooches, collars, neutral colored boots and patterned, loose knitted sweaters are named as classic waredrobe pieces.

Overalls and jumperskirts, peterpan collared blouses, airy skirts, "girly" down jackets, flower printed shoes, and unique/whimsical pocketbooks are suggested items to add to your waredrobe this season. There is a lot of name dropping in this edition in the "must have" section too, and I'm not sure if that's new or if it's always been there and I haven't noticed it before, but they also recommend pieces from several brands directly.

There is also a section in this Lesson highlighting 10 rules for making cordinates "slightly natural." Since my Japanese is shoddy at best I can't say exactly what that details (where's the boyfriend when you need him?! haha), but the points they cover are as follows:
1) beige gradation 2) long cardigans 3) loose silhouettes 4) wavy hair 5) a-line one-pieces 6)flats or heeled shoes 7) round collars 8) big stoles 9) rounded (blush on the) cheeks and 10) leg warmers.
In my opinion there definitely seems to be a movement away from early mori girl fashion (which was very layered and "street fashion" feeling) to a more mainstream friendly style. Don't let this scare you away though! I think that the fashions in this particular mook still capture that je ne sais quoi that makes mori so whimsical, but with coordinates that have fewer layers and more color.

Other sections of the mook include one week coordinate picture sets for real (as opposed to model) "fashionable mori girls", a section on earth music & ecology's new Natural Label, several pages on brands, a section on hair and makeup styling, suggested outer wear accessories (i.e. hats, ear muffs, stoles, bags, shoes and socks), books, home decoration, other new items of interest and recent fashion collection books that have been released (also showing the complimentary bag that comes with it).






Speaking of complimentary bags, the one with this edition is from the new earth music & ecology Natural label. It's very small, but wicked cute!!




Hope that you've enjoyed reading about what's to come! Please make sure to support the makers of the mori girl Lesson emooks and purchase a copy if it's an option for you, so that they continue to put out these lovelies!
xoxo,
Bee

森ガール Color Coordinates

One thing that I always notice is a critique of the mori girl fashion is that there is very little use of color in anything! Of course, this is true to some extent. I think that the neutral colors that many people associate with mori girl (white & off-white, cream, browns, soft pinks, etc.) are indeed the most popular way to wear it. I guess it's because it's easiest to mix with that kind of color pallet, and not have to worry about clashing colors or loosing the ethereal atmosphere because of colors that are too-bright. Of course, there is the very similar dolly-kei branch of fashion, but I hope that people who prefer the silhouettes and fabric use of mori girl don't just go somewhere else because there's "no color"! In fact, today I want to share some of my favorite color coordinations, to prove that yes- you can be a colorful mori girl too!!!

My inspiration today comes from Choco's 森ガールFashion and Style Book. Choco is credited by many to be one of the initial forces behind the mori girl fashion, and I think with good reason! To her, "forest wear" isn't just the pale colors of winter, but all the different colors of the seasons!!

While a lot of these are more muted (please buy the book to see the other fuller colored coordinates! It's worth the money!), they reflect in a lovely way the changing of seasonal colors. Spring and summer have the more full-bodied shades of things like flowers and the blue sky, but keep the mori atmosphere with the use of draping natural fabrics (spring), knits and the popular boater hat (summer). While autumn and winter are certainly more muted than the other seasons, she still uses greens, yellows, rich browns, and blues to create seasonal color. Her layering and use of knit outerwear, uneven hemlines, and scarves create a relaxed atmosphere, but still have that bit of quirk that the original mori girl provisions suggested.

What's important to remember about mori girl fashion, is that it's as much about the atmosphere as it is about the colors or fabrics that are used. Mori girl isn't necessarily about wearing neutral shades as it is about being dreamy and a little unusual or eclectic. It's completely possible to be a mori girl with color! When looking through mori girl magazines there is a whole range of shades in the outfits, and they very rarely detract from the overall look. So don't be afraid to play with color in your coordinates (as much as you're comfortable with, of course)!

Rock on, little mori girls!
xoxo, Bee

森ガール Inspiration 1

I love this coordinate!! This is an add for the COCUE brand from the SPOON December 2009 森ガール insert. I think it's nice because often mori girls complain about there being a lack of color in the style, but this shows really nicely how rich shades can be coordinated, and still feel a little whimsical. For those who are more fond of the lighter creams and browns, this could also be coordinated very easily. I personally would add another skirt or stole, but it's still cute like this! ♥