Witch from the Woods: Dark Mori Style

Collage from Tumblr. Photo sources: Strega's Forest, Feather & Moss Curiosities, and Necrosarium

Within the last year or so, a buzz has been growing around the idea of a darker version, or sub-style, of the mori-kei style. For those of you not in the know, mori kei, or mori girl, is a street fashion look originating in Japan that embraces the aesthetics of a rural, woodsy lifestyle. Mori kei fashion is heavily layered, and often incorporates heavy knits and lace to evoke a charming, hand-made feeling. While many dark romantic types identify with the solitary, girl-living-in-the-woods ideals of mori-kei, we often associate ourselves with the darker aspects of the woodland fairy-tale: the woods witch, the wandering sage, the Miss Havisham, the village priestess, the Gretel.

Dark mori, sometimes referred to as Strega style (as proposed by Hydrangea Velours, curator of the tumblr blog Strega's Forest), or Black Forest Mori (as proposed by Shady Oaks at her tumblr), is the incarnation of this fashion that revels in the melancholy of the forest. Dark mori uses variations of blacks and greys where traditional mori kei uses whites and cremes. Raw edges and tattered lace are used to give dark mori garments a worn look. Accessories can feature dried flowers, branches, bones, horns, and raw stones, and makeup can vary between completely natural to elaborate and tribal.

Dark mori girls and boys can draw inspiration from nature, from the Northern Rennaissance and Pre-Raphaelite art movements, Gothic literature, bronze-age and pre-Christian civilizations, folklore, fairytales.... Since dark mori is a fairly new idea, there are a limited amount of definitive resources floating around the net. Although this is true, there are quite a few good tumblr blogs with a dark mori theme. Here are a few:

Strega's Forest - stregaforest.tumblr.com

Shady Oaks - shadyoaks.tumblr.com

Dark Starts - darkstarts.tumblr.com

A Dark Forest Girl (Lots of good all-white and "old-school" mori kei as well)

- dark-forest-girl.tumblr.com

The Reliquatory (lots of dolly-kei too) - reliquatory.tumblr.com

and mine! ladysaltina.tumblr.com

I'm really enthused about this style and have been trying to dress within this vein. I hope I can make this blog a good resource for dark mori fashion!

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell: a book review

Today I finished Susanna Clarke's debut novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I can say with no hesitation that I thought it was a masterpiece! Written in exquisite Regency-style prose, the novel spins an alternate history of England in the first decades of the 19th century, crippled by war with Napoleon. Magic is regarded as all but extinct, and even the study and belief in England's magical history wanes under the influence of the Age of Reason. Amid these currents emerge two practicing magicians, Mr. Norrell and Mr. Strange, built on restoring English magic to the the country's formative glory. Within the pages of the novel, Clarke weaves impeccable historical detail with traditional and invented fairy-lore to create a truly believable and enchanting alternative history.

Clarke's attention to detail and vivid portrayal of period accuracies is what really stole my heart in this book. Her writing style, despite being that of a contemporary author, fits seamlessly along side writers such as Emily Bronte and Jane Austin. Her descriptions of magic, both ritually and it's results, are convincing enough to make readers almost believe they could do the same (provided they could have a peak at some of Mr. Norrell's books!). The way she paints the realms and inhabitants of Faerie is refreshing and deliciously horrific, her version of the creatures falling somewhere between quaint traditional folklore and something out of a Del Toro film. Moody scenes atop Yorkshire moors and among the naked grey branches of winter English woods leave the book with a distinct flavor of the Romantic Gothic novel, finely tuned for a modern audience.

Being aimed at modern readers with similar persuasions, I think readers of this blog will delight in this book as much as I did! I highly recommend it!

Did I mention it has awesome illustrations?