After checking off and sometimes also commenting the original Mixi List I felt like I needed to have a look at this one, too, as I feel drawn to Strega and general Mori Kei alike. Again inspired by Laura of Roses and Vellum, again commented (sometimes). The list originated here.
Ticked-off items are dark red, the list itself is black, and the comments are the usual dark grey.
Style:
- Wants to look like a witch or a dark fairy from the woods. Somewhere between a witch, a fairy (maybe a tinker fairy?) and a general wild child.
- Likes to wear Dark, dusty colours, but also jewel and earthy tones. I always feel like the whole “there are other colours than grey and beige” thing is being neglected in recent descriptions of mori. I already mentioned this in the last list, but maybe I should discuss this in a post of its own.
- All white outfits can be pretty for a ghostly look. More like off-whites and beiges, and then that’s “normal” Mori Kei again.
- Vintage clothes are a must. Or DIY. Or what ever strikes your fancy and looks good with the rest. I’m always a bit particular about the word “must”.
- Antique, used or ragged laces and silks.
- Flowers, Leaves, feathers, or antlers make pretty headpieces. I still need an antler headpiece.
- Natural stones, bones, taxidermy and silver jewelry is best. I like brass jewelery, too, though.
- Leather accessories (belts, pouches, cuffs, corsets…). Thrifted, of course, or at least from an environmentally conscious manufacturer/vendor.
- Anything Furry could work. Oh, the fur debate. Complicated. I wrote about it here already.
- Knitted items, handmade is best. I wish I was better at knitting, herringbone stitch items are so pretty.
- Layering is the key.
- Medieval, Victorian, Folklore and 1920’s inpirations. Especially the 20s recently.
- Ethnic Clothes. As long as it doesn’t delve into the realms of cultural appropriation. Which is complicated, sure, but I try to avoid it.
- Hats. Big, quirky and always decorated. I love hats, but most of mine don’t fit over my hair anymore, sadly. I’d love a velveteen witch hat, though, and I think that would be a nice DIY project for autumn.
- Floral patterns and animal prints. Again, I’m all for it. Morris-inspired florals would be a nice contrast to “normal” Mori’s lighter Little House on the Prairie prints.
- Might have some Lolita or Steampunk inspiration.
- Helena Bonham Carter is a great style icon. Her style is nice, all right, but I’m not much of a person to have style icons (Adam Ant, maybe, but that’s about it).
- Dramatic silent movie make up, tribal paints or very natural look works fine. “Tribal paints” are, like “ethnic clothing”, a bit complicated. Just stay with the inspiration, don’t copy it. Dramatic 20s diva make-up is reserved for nights out, at least in my case.
- Legwear is fun to experiment with. Wearing stripey socks can add to the traditional witchy look.
- Can look flirtatious, seductive at times. Corsets are welcome for this look. Corsets and woodland living – witch or fairy – don’t go too well together (bodices might work, though). I’m also not a very flirtatious, seductive person when I’m pretending to be a forest creature, it doesn’t even enter my mind. But that’s probably just me.
- Crushed velvet. Uuuh, tacky. Slightly. I’m really not sure about this, on one hand it’s wonderfully old-school gothy, on the other, well, it’s tacky. I’d probably keep it out of my Mori/Strega, it’s made of polyester most of the time, anyways, so in my opinion it doesn’t belong to the forest at all.
- Prefers Dresses and Skirts, longer the better. I like my pants.
- Shawls, ponchos and hoods. Hoods, yes, shawls, when they’re actually worn around my neck, and ponchos are a bit too impractical for everything but curling up at home.
- Laced up boots, pointy shoes, Victorian heels and clogs. I used to have clogs for the garden when I was little, but they are rather impractical to me (maybe for inside the house, that’d be okay), and I want space for my toes, so pointy shoes are something I leave to storybook witches.
- Braided hair, messy curls, or dreads are good hairstyles.
Lifestyle:
- Likes anything spooky or creepy. I have to cover my eyes through the rougher parts of Supernatural episodes. ‘Nuff said. I like more old-fashioned ghosts that rattle their chains and bones and float about, though.
- Collects oddities.
- Might be attracted by witchcraft and esotericism.
- Might tend to have a «natural» lifestyle. I’m not sure why this is in quotation marks.
- Believes in Fairies and Spirits. Because, hell, why not.
- Crafty Girl.
- Has a familiar/pet, and most likely a cat or rats. No, but I’d love a rat, mouse or ferret. I’m not a cat person, though.
- Rather solitary girl, kind of an introvert. Now, this is where it gets complicated again. Though I’m a solitary, introvert person I don’t think that anyone should be able to say that [insert name here] “can’t be a proper Mori Kei/Strega person because they’re too chipper and extrovert”. It’s plain mean, and it fits a bit too well with the trend I’ve been noticing lately with alternative/subculture people of putting introverts on a pedestal while dismissing extroverts as generally dumb, loud idiots. It’s just not fair.
- Might prefer dark music scenes, from traditional goth, ambient to Black Metal. I’m a big fan of Southern Gothic (the slightly darker cousin of Americana) lately, and I’ve been rotating the Sisters Of Mercy and The Cure discographies during the last months, too, to be more specific than “I like darker music”.
- Likes Tribal Fusion Dancing.
- Strangeness over Prettiness. This would make a nice motto. I don’t oppose being pretty in general, I just think character comes first.
- Loves books. Old Bookstores are a favourite place.
- Somewhat rebellious, strong-willed and free-spirited, but still ladylike.
- Romantic, melancholic. Sometimes, at least.
- Might have little quirks, superstitions. I used to build fairy dens and leave out little bites of my food when I was a child, and most people would describe me as quirky, too.
- Loves tea. Yes, and herbal, fruit and spice infusions (in German, “Tee” is the umbrella term for all hot beverages that aren’t coffee, cocoa or laced with alcohol, and it took me a while to get that “tea” actually meant only beverages made from the leaves of camellia sinensis).
- Folklore, Fairytales, Legends and Myths from the North are favourites, but might like Oriental cultures as well. I’m not specifically a fan of Northern mythology, I tend more to the Celtic stories, but I love tales in general.
- Loves antiques.
- Thrifting is a favourite activity.
- Always thinks «warm and cosy». No, in the summertime I mostly think “cold and splashy”.
- Might be a bit messy, but always with style. Or at least I try.
- Might drink alcohol on occasions. Mead and spicy wines drunk in a horn, or strong alcohol in a pretty flask. I’m mostly a fan of cider/cidre, but mulled wine is great, especially the hot variant, in winter.
- Collects bottles and vials. I used to, but in the end I had no use for them.
- Likes to take walks in the forest, after the rain, at dusk or even at night.
- Pre-Raphaelites, Arthur Rackham, William Bouguereau or Brian Froud are favourite artists. Yes, and William Morris, and Mucha, and Steinlen, and David Petersen.
I think the Strega list is a bit more loose than the Mixi List. It also has near-to-none items about how to behave or generally be, which is nice. I always wonder if there’s supposed to be something between “normal” light Mori and Black Forest Mori Kei, because if there is, it never gets mentioned. Maybe there would be colours. I think I might explore this no man’s land further in the future, I always liked neglected, forgotten places.
Hedgefairy Tales 
There’s definitely a stealthy not-mentioned substyle between normal mori and dark mori! Something thats not all skulls and pentagrams and black, but neither is it overloaded with white lace and frills. Like the style of Ewa I Walla. Medium dark forest colours, sturdy fabrics but with the occasional lace detail, practical footwear and bags, etc. But then this too has substyles.. like the bohemian quirky one, the simple and comfy yoga’ish one, the festival “tribal” one, the folk inspired one.. I do sometimes envy how the Japanese culture seem to organize stuff into categories. Nice and tidy. :b Someone needs to make a mori girl book and give all these styles a proper name! ^^
Oh, right, I think I have seen similar things in Japanese pictures. In western Mori things are more dichotomous, I fear, but thank for the inspiration, I didn’t know Ewa I Walla before.
I can imagine a colourful mori girl dressing a lot like in the Gudrun Sjöden catalogue, have a look: http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=gudrun%20Sj%C3%B6d%C3%A9n very pretty!
Oh, yes. I like Gudrun Sjöden designs a lot, my mother has their catalogue from time to time so I can marvel at the clothes when I visit her. :)
okay, I know this is an old post, but I got here wandering around the interwebs trying to find something that was colorful Mori… because I adore the natural woodland vibe, but I can’t live without color! So if you start this style I want to join your club =)
Faerie Magazine had an article on Mori girls a few years back. Thanks for your comments on some of the checklists’ items. Some of the guidelines seem a little too stringent. (A little tarnished or pewter-y silver works for me over gold). I’d love to see this look interpreted for women in their 40’s, like myself.
I’m absolutely with you about the metal colour, I like tarnished silver, too.
I’d love to see that, too! Mori has the distinct advantage to work for people of all ages, though.