I haven't done a digital magazine flipthrough in a few weeks, I know no one's really looking for them but they're very fun for me to do! Since the cold season started I've finally braved trying some Mori Girl fashions, so I want to have a look at some more from one of my favourite mags, Mori Girl Lesson. I'm skipping issue 2 for now for issue 3 because it's a winter and autumn issue. Without further ado!
As usual, you can flip through the mag yourself here.
The autumn-winter issue 3 of Mori Girl Lesson from 2010. We'll do the summer and spring issue some time next year, I hope.
Such a nice look, my favourite parts are the tights and leg warmers but the deep green shawl is no less beautiful.
Same look from the front, the dress is also nice, I love the colour but the cut is not my favourite.
Perfect scene. The jeans with the dress and the fluffy socks are perfect.
Would be very cool to know how to read Japanese to understand more about this page but because I don't I had to rely on a little Google translate, please correct me if anything I write is inaccurate.
This issue features a profile on designer, writer, and model Keito Sakai who is a big-time Mori Girl. How big? I cannot attest to that but I'm guessing pretty big in the Mori Girl scene! The article tells us what the three steps are to 'becoming' Keito:
Step 1. The five rules:
1. Grow plants
2. Always make time for tea
3. Travel with a camera
4. Surround yourself with cute things
5. Write a letter once a month
I pretty much like all these "rules", but I'm not a green thumb so I may skip the plant step.
I am a big time trinkets and ephemera fan, but only if you collect it over a long time and even better if you find it for free or at a thrift store. That is to say that everything on this page really intrigues me, especially the notebooks (top middle) and all the post cards and paper tidbits (bottom middle). Keito's hairstyle is also very beautiful but I don't think I have hair long enough to replicate it.
Step 2. Is not really a step but the article authors looking into Keito's Mori Girl looks, here she assembled some of her best outfits with items she owns and some from the brand Colkinikha. Here is a hippie-style coord:
I love the subtle floral print on the dress.
I love the bottom look: the chunky and furry shoe, the skirt, and the sweater are perfect.
Step 3. Learn about Keito's roots. Keito's style is really influenced by her mum who was interviewed here. I too am actually very influenced by mum's style too so this is a pretty sweet part in the article.
There's a neat little timeline of Keito's fashion journey at the bottom. Cute!
Here's some more celeb Mori Girl looks: they talk about new finds, beauty products, and fave items. First, musician Meg:
Beauty items: a nice soap and two perfumes she mixed together. Favourites: digital cameras, a stuffed cat toy, biscuits, and cool display accesory. New: a photo frame, curtain tassels, indoor shoes, and a sheepskin jacket. I kind of like everything but especially the sheepskin jacket.
Next, Yuki Hanai who is a violinist. She likes items that have an impact and mixing beige and navy. I love the look, the boots are amazing and the layers are great too. Beauty: there is a few different beauty products but I think the lip balm in the vintage box is the cutest. Favourite: A violin-patterned letter set that was a gift from a friend, a diamond necklace, and a vintage style camera key chain. New: her favourite art book by Akira Uno and a poncho with a print she fell in love with.
Third, Yukie Kawashima, a flower shop manager. So everyone has very nice and fulfilling jobs here, then? I love the top, the shorts, and the poncho but I'm not sure about the open-toed sandals. She has a variety of beauty items, the pink set is very pleasing to look at. Favourites: fur collars, an interior design book, and vintage hair accessories because she's growing her hair out. New: a retro perfume bottle and some very cute kitchen items. She also attends a candle-making class monthly and often gets together with friends. Oh to be a 2010s Mori Girl...
Fourth, Ryoko Moriyama, another designer from Colkinikha. Amazing look, I love the dress so much. One day I would love to have something similar. I don't love the tights on their own but they totally fit this ensemble. Beauty: a body mist and perfume. Favourite: a pouch she made herself, a design book, and a handmade mini-bag. New: lots of stuff with bunnies because she loves a rabbit motif, some handmade watches, and a collection of berets. She says she loves all things fairytale.
Fifth, Yuko Nonoguchi, a staff member at KOKORO. Totally beautiful a-line dress with a charming shawl and cute boots, all in surprising dark tones. Beauty: she prefers organic goods. Favourite: a pouch from her favourite store, rabbit figurines, and a bag with a cool fringe. New: furry clog-heels, eye-catching headbands, and a some candles.
And sixth are Cheru and Non of PoPoyans! Kathryn has a great post about them for people just getting into Mori Girl music. I did not know they were sisters.
.jpg)
Beauty: lip balm and some aromatherapy goods. Favourite: a 8mm film camera, Vashti Bunyan's Lookaftering (wow, an amazing album!), handmade and gifted accessories that are like good luck charms, and an artificial candle. New: a knitted head band, leather-bound planners, and some funky animal-shaped bags.
If you had to pick a girl who most closely resembles your style, who would you pick? I'd probably say Ryoko Moriyama resonated with me most. I'd love to be a fashion designer in another life too.
The Mori Girl in-item of the 2010 autumn was the fur vest. Cool, I personally don't really like vests that much, I'm for sure more of a bolero/cardigan type of gal but these are pretty cute so long as the fur is faux fur.
Item 2 of the season: embroidered dresses. I love a dress with a unique texture and pattern. Had to pass a very cute creamy embroidered slip dress in the thrift store recently because it wasn't the exact embroidery I liked but I would love to own more items with high-quality embroidery one day. Here I really love the dress 1, 3, and 5. 2 is also very cute but I don't really love 4 because I don't really like dresses that are sort of shirt-skirt combos as much.
Item 3: soft lace dresses. I have come to love lace recently too but I'm pretty specific about lace I prefer. I don't like too much frill and I prefer a grainy cotton textile/thread. I think the models dress is gorgeous especially with the knit sweater and drape-y top.
Item 4: floral skirts. You guys may know that I am skirt crazy. I don't own many floral prints because most popular prints are usually a little too out of my style preference. I love small and vintage floral prints or sparse prints. I kinda love all the skirts on this page but my faves, in order, are: skirt 1, 2, 5, 4, 6, 3.
Item 5: winter knit outerwear. I don't have that many knit tops but I would love to just have one staple and high quality sweater for easy comfort. I think all the pieces here are cute but I'd probably not buy any of them. I love the dress though...
Item 6: ponchos! I know that the fashion girls are always saying that ponchos are in again or out again or something but here's some more proof that almost everything is timeless and will be back before you know it. If you love ponchos or ribbons or UGGs or whatever just wear them every winter, the 'it' items and trends are meaningless. I actually bought a poncho this summer Camieu and you guys know I never shut up about how much I love their old items. I really love ponchos number 6, 4, 3, and 1.
Item 7: camel outerwear. Camel is not really my colour but I like it for shoes and some outerwear. Paired with white fur lining it's perfect. Alice recently purchased such a cute coat that is almost camel and has a perfect trim, I think it would fit in with the other's on this page but it's even cuter! Good hunting, Alice, ahah!
The following pages tell us about some more Mori Girl tips, such as layering. I love the small dot dress but look at that basket handbag, it looks crazy but so cute.
Here's four ways that the mag lets us in on. 1, denim + dress. 2, skirt + petticoat. 3, dress + long cardigan + vest. 4, dress + shirt + knit. They are all very cute but I'm leaning towards option 3 for myself.
Accessories are pretty awesome for an even more layered look. Since it's winter time, scarves and furry collars are a neat choice. I personally love scarves so I would go for item 1 and 3.
I'm not a well-practiced hat wearer and none of these hats really called to me. The headbands however, would be very neat to have: I liked item 1, 3, and 5.
Literally all these shoes are perfect! I still have yet to find any good ballet flats so this page really scratches an itch. Wouldn't it be nice? I love: shoes from row 1 item 3, all of row 2, and row 3 item 3.
The shirt on the model on the left is gorgeous and I pretty much like both outfits from top to bottom.
Mori Girl Lesson is awesome because it also has a sometimes segment about interior style. Here's some cute Mori Girl bedrooms:
They are both so cozy, I think I'd like the airiness and light of the 2nd room more for day to day life but the decoration of the first room is so fun and nostalgic.
I see Soviet cartoon characters included in Mori Girl pictures often and it makes sense, they are very cute and closer to their real life counterparts than some western cartoons like Mickey or Minnie Mouse. I do love Cheburashka, he's a cutie. My fave is probably the Hedgehog from Hedgehog in the Fog or the Soviet version of Winnie the Pooh. From the world of Czech animation, Krtek is also super cute.
Of course the Moomintrolls are the OG Mori Girls.
Now we'll be learnign about some Mori Girl brands. My guess is most of these do not exist anymore so there will be no shopping. However, it's fun to know more about the style's history. The seven brands included are: Cuccia, SM2, Lepsim Lowrys Farm, Fur Fur, Marble SUD, Muchacha, and HANA TO Guitar.
I want to play a game... no, not SAW style! If you're bored pick an only one item from each brand that you like best and leave it in a comment or just have fun making up a small Mori Girl closet.
I would pick item 5, the really beautiful teal jacket.
This one is hard... I'm struggling between the red dress, boots, and the wine red coat. I'd have to pick the red dress though.
My pick would be the wooly sweater jacket, item number 2.
Definitely the boho slip dress at number 6.
The little bag (number 3).
Very difficult choices... the striped poncho! It's so special. And from HANA TO Guitar...the spotted parka. I've really been gravitating to outerwear these days.
Next, we have some info about hair and make up styles for Mori Girls. As you guys know I'm a make up amateur so most of this will probably fly over my head.
There's a couple of things that I dislike straight away: white translucent skin and doll eyes. Obviously, having pale skin is totally unnecessary to be in any style, especially one that is earthy and natural like Mori Girl but even back then both in Japan and else where in the world white beauty standards propagated such racist expectations. Doll eyes I have less of a gripe with because I think anyone can achieve that look with make up, I just think if your eye shape is not this sort of round and popping in appearance that does not take away from your Mori Girl vibe. I also just don't care for strict rules of any kind for clothes or make up, i.e. wearing certain patterns according to your body type, doing only certain kinds of make up according to your eye shape etc. Also, I know that the lifestyle of Mori Girls and their fashion do not always go totally hand in hand but using fake lashes for an otherwise natural style makes me a little confused but to each their own!
I do like the blushing pink cheeks and the themed nail art. That's super cute and works for everyone!
This seems like a pretty nice and basic method to lighten usually dark spots on the face. However, I just really dislike foundation so I can't see myself doing that much of it on my face. UV protection is not just a Mori Girl staple, it's important for everyone to keep their skin healthy, especially for anemic, 'translucent' people like me.
I have pretty long eyelashes myself so I do understand that if someone has shorter lashes that they can imitate that look with some attachable lashes. I just don't think it's a necessity. Short or no lashes also look really pretty. And so do huge fake lashes.
I really like the rosy, almost wind-bitten blush look. I don't own any blush but I sometimes use eye shadow. Is that a criminal offense?
I'm honestly so bitter that current make up rarely comes in cute containers. What happened to a sense of style? Just look at literally all those cute blush containers!
I usually prefer a single-colour nail. Sometimes I like some larger pictures but I'm not really big on a lot of deco or small and intricate details. However, these all look super cute! Maybe I would try the one with the lace detail.
Some more cosmetics in very cute packaging. Every time, through a massive, massive grapevine, that I hear about some new product that is really popular now, like Drunk Elephant or whatever, I am so disappointed with how ugly and boring the packaging for everything is. Whimsy is dead. Look, I know buying stuff for how nicely packed it is versus for how good the product is is dumb but honestly none of these products are essentials. I at least want the fun ones back, even if just to look at at the store.
This hair is really pretty but I do not possess the power to have a fringe/bangs.
I've always wanted straight hair, or make it look as straight and tamed and not poofy as possible. But I may finally let it go full fluff once in a while. It's finally long enough to have some good volume so we'll see how it goes...
I think I will try to embrace some specific hair accessories this winter: headbands, scrunchies, statement clips, pins, and ribbons.
I think I'll keep scarves and bandanas for the spring and summer.
Sadly it's not cold enough where I am now for either winter hats or ear muffs. Maybe one day...
The Mori Girl brand encyclopedia continues with a part 2 and five more brands: Carolina Glaser, Theatre Products, Pollin, Bulle de Savon, and Earth Music & Ecology.
From the Caroline Glaser products I would have to pick the knit hoodie (item 3).
From Theatre Products, the powder blue peasant top (item 2).
From Pollin, the cute cropped jacket (item 6).
From Bulle de Savon, the colourful poncho shawl (item 3) and from Earth Music & Ecology, the plaid dress (item 3) because I am a whore for plaid always. If you played this dumb little game with me, let me know in the comments as to which items you would chose.
Turn the page and meet Chiaki Sato who usually dresses more casually but will be trying out the Mori Girl style today. They make some really cute selections that you can see at the bottom of the page. I really like the slip dress, jacket, and the shoes.
Here she is with the picked out clothes on. I think the neck is a little busy but it's still a very cute look and Chiaki Sato is happy with it herself which is what matters most.
Many Mori Girls love photography and the next part of the mag is all about that. I used to take a lot of pictures with a film camera in uni and it was a lot of fun. I was really bad at it though. At the moment I prefer digital but I'll always have an appreciation for the analog.
The mag profiles two friends and photographers Lillian and Mariko. We see a bunch of their work and their equipment. Funnily enough, Lillian mentions that she loves an iPhone app that lets you take retro-looking pictures. I remember those, they were so fun.
We also meet Chelsea Maika who is both a photographer and a model.
They have a cute page with some photos and the cameras that took them. That's pretty nice for people looking to get a camera and see what they like. They'd need a guide for sure to know how to get some of those shots, such as the double exposure pic.
At the end, there's a list of shops and brands featured in the mag as well as a spot about Carolina Glaser doing some giveaway items. One can dream!
There's also an ad for a site, my-fashion.jp that I checked out on the Internet Archive. It's pretty cool, check it out.
Many Japanese mags often have a picture of a product, like a bag or pouch, on the cover. These are supplement items though I'm not sure if they come as a gift with the magazine or somethign else but if they did, wow! This bag looks so cute and I won't lie my weak will would fold and I would buy the mag.
So that's the end of issue 3, hope this was as fun for you as it was for me. I just really love magazines and when I can't flip through them physically I like to pretend that that's what I'm doing with these digital copies. I actually have some none fashion mags from China that I'll definitely do a flip through/scan sometime too.
Here's a summary of all the stuff I personally liked, it's like my little style guide for when I go thrifting.
Goodbye for now and happy cold seasons!
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment