Thursday, December 31, 2009

Featured Brand: Bulle de Savon

Bulle de Savon is a Japanese brand usually associated with natural kei. Its catalogue has a gentle, sunny feel that translates well to mori girl style. The French phrase 'bulle de savon' means 'soap bubble' in English, and I think the name encapsulates the playful yet laidback nature of mori girls. As with many of the brands featured on this site, loose A-line silhouettes are a dominating feature.


These pictures were taken from the Bulle de Savon catalogue. Such dreamy dresses and settings!


The first picture shows a simple way to layer a dress to achieve a softly textured look. The second picture features a cute toggle coat and the most adorable boots!


The first picture presents a silhouette that more mori girls may start to adopt in warmer weather. It's a way nice to achieve a loose silhouette and layered appearance without actually having to pile on that many layers, and also allows you to leave your legs bare if you have to.

I hope everyone is enjoying the festive season and is anticipating the New Year!

Image source: Bulle de Savon

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Monday, December 28, 2009

Featured Brand: Hana To Guitar

One of the recently published mori girl emooks featured clothing from the brand Hana To Guitar. The whimsical prints and innocent silhouettes make it a great place to get (or be inspired by) statement pieces to accompany basics and quieter layers.


The first dress is my favourite piece of the lot. The Scandinavian influence is strong here in the folkloric-looking prints and also appeals to mori girls' love of animal prints. The cartoon-printed dress in the second picture is just pure whimsy.


The layered dress is very sweet and something I imagine most mori girls would be able to wear with ease. As for the dungarees, they are absolutely adorable for those girls who tend towards a more childlike look.


Simpler and slightly more grown up pieces.

Image source: Hana To Guitar

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Featured Brand: Super Hakka

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Featured Brand: toitoitoi!

Comfy, loose layers and whimsical prints charactertise toitoitoi!, a Japanese brand that has been featured in Spoon. While cute, the clothes have a laid back and unpretentious vibe that helps them avoid the descent into cutesiness.

Light dresses and tops in loose yet clean cuts.



Dresses with no waist are fast becoming the rule rather than the exception amongst mori girls.

 

The requisite mori-inspired photoshoot.



Layering helps these pastel shades to avoid looking too dainty.

Image source: toitoitoi!

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Cocue shoes

Japanese brand Cocue is a favourite of mori girls. Their candy-coloured shoes and fur-lined boots add a dash of colour to winter whites and greys.


 

These shoes would go great with patterned tights and textured stockings in winter.



The bejewelled shoes are really festive while my obsession with t-bar shoes continues.


 

Mori girls love their boots. The red pair manages to look rustic, practical and cheery all at the same time, while the brown pair is a good basic.


 

I just love the candy-cane cords tied around the first pair, while the second pair reminds me a bit of Princess Mononoke.

Happy holidays everyone!

Image source: Cocue

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Featured Brand: Colkinikha

I discovered Colkinikha while looking through one of the mori girl mooks. It appears to be yet another Japanese brand with a vaguely European-sounding name. Although it's winter now, it was Colkinikha's Spring/Summer collection that caught my eye.


The collection features light fabrics and floaty, dreamy silhouettes. Will this create a less heavy mori girl aesthetic next year when the temperature rises?


By now, it is clear that booties, often anchoring light and unstructured dresses, are the mori girl's footwear of choice. I love the idea of using a cord as a belt as well. It treads the thin line between shapelessness and structure.


The model's hairstyle and earrings help to soften these outfits.

Image source: Colkinikha

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Featured Brand: Iedit

Monday, December 7, 2009

Featured Mori Girl: Shizuru Shitonaka in Heavenly Forest

I just watched Heavenly Forest (ただ、君を愛してる ), a film that has received attention from the mori girl community for its protagonist, Shizuru Shitonaka. Aoi Miyazaki (宮崎あおい), who portrays Shizuru in the film, was also voted second on a poll identifying celebrity mori girls.

Heavenly Forest is very much a character-driven film. Its plot, like many films falling under the "pure love" sub-genre, is fairly formulaic. However, it has been well-received by critics and viewers alike thanks to its quirky and well-played lead characters. Aoi Miyazaki carries the movie, makes the eccentric character Shizuru her own and turns Heavenly Forest into a memorable, moving and quite special little film. The film also contains many gorgeous forest scenes that will surely inspire many a mori girl.

Shizuru is an eccentric university student from the French department whose life remains a mystery for much of the film. She is usually seen wearing long-sleeved, patterned tops under loose dresses and tops, matched with pants and booties. Her fringed bob is also a typical mori girl hairstyle.




A large part of the film's charm comes from Shizuru's quirks and the surprising things she says.

 

Shizuru is aware that others may consider her weird, and this resonates with the individualistic values of many mori girls.


Photography is a central motif in the film as it is what strengthens the bond between Shizuru and Makoto Segawa, played by a sweetly awkward Hiroshi Tamaki (玉木宏). The Canon analogue SLRs used by both characters will strike a chord with many mori girls.


One reason this film is so enjoyable is that Aoi Miyazaki is so darn cute.


I didn't have high expectations of the film but ended up finding it quite enchanting in its own way. A great way to spend a quiet night in. If you want to watch Heavenly Forest too, you may want to get it from my affiliate link.


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Saturday, November 28, 2009

SM2 Winter 2009

I posted about SM2 in autumn, and now they've come up with a brand new collection for winter.


This collection retains the brand's signature relaxed silhouettes and neutral tones while piling on heavier layers for the winter.


The earmuffs look so cosy, while the draping in the second picture is lovely and relaxed.


I especially love toggle coats like that in the first picture (in fact one of the coats that I wear most in winter is a long cream toggle coat). Because they're rather unisex and very functional, they're great for afternoon rambles and exploring.


Patterned tights like these are making a huge appearance this winter.

 

Once again, SM2 presents its designs in a rustic setting that is close to the hearts of all mori girls.

This label is so dreamy!

Image source: SM2

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SM2 Winter 2010
SM2 Summer 2010
SM2 Spring 2010
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Featured Brand: SM2