Mori Girl is an infant next to other Japanese fashion subcultures like Elegant Gothic Lolita, Visual Kei, Ganguro, Gyaru, etc., which have flourished during the late 80's. These senior subcultures continue to evolve and give birth to new sub-categories and this makes Japanese fashion and lifestyle scene a lot more interesting.
Mori Girl is no stranger to this culture of fast-paced evolution. When I first heard of Mori Girl in late 2009, it only meant 'a girl who look like she belongs in the forest'. NHK even sort-of-covered Mori, though they got it confused it with a sub-category of EGL, Dolly-kei (when they featured the fashion brand, Grimoire).
Just as EGL has its darker side in punk loli, ero loli, and guro loli; a new mori movement called 魔法ガール or Mahou Gaaru emerged in 2010 as mori girl's magic-loving, tarot-reading, style sister. Not much information is available about this fledgling coven of forest dwellers, so I could only cite two sources: 'The Newest Mori Girl Faction-Witch Girls?' by Donna from the LJ mori girl community and 'Will a Coven of Witch Girls Grow in Japan?' by Daniel Morales.
Western mori girls sometimes refer to the subculture as 'dark mori'. Aside from the noticeably occult side of the subculture, mahou gaaru incorporates darker, jewel-toned colors like purple, burgundy, and emerald that is similar to dolly-kei save for the pentagrams, astrological signs, deer skulls, and tarot cards. Where mori girls look like cute girls lost in the woods or woodland nymphs, mahou girls look like they are woodland ghosts and cottage dwellers deep in the forest.
I brought this up because of the trinkets I am presenting to you today.
Before I discovered the mori subculture, I have commissioned an Alice in Wonderland-themed bar pin from Obscure Prototype Lab. I let them go wild with ideas on the pins and I never really expected them to produce a 6-item album from a single commission! I found this experience as something that made me one of their loyal customers.
Half Faced White Gray
Alice Bunny
From a former loli's perspective, Alice in Wonderland had been a classic inspiration for brands like Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Innocent World. Alice had been totally kawaii-fied that people tend to forget that it is a disturbing and eccentric work of a man with strong pedophilic tendencies.
When I saw their finished products, my heart leaped. It's great to know that we think the same way: twisted Alice theme is best. The reinterpretation of the White Rabbit as a Frankenstein monster or zombie is quite unnerving, creepy, but fascinating.
Evil Alice Bunny
In addition, I think bunny pin number two fits well into the mahou gaaru category not only for its color, but for its charms and possible uses. Browsing through Poupée Girl, I found that with a pin that big, it could hold a shawl together, or liven up a plain-looking eco bag.
Speaking of holding fabrics together.... Nobody told me about it, but with big pointy thingies come big holes in your fabrics. While OPL bar pins sure are mighty sturdy and trusty, be prepared for having sort-of-conspicuous holes where you stuck your bar pins in. If you plan on using it to permanently hold your shawl together or make the pin your lazy DIY answer to a broken bag strap, then be my guest. I am guilty of said things, so I don't really have a problem with the big holes on my bag or shawl (unless I took it from my mother's closet).
Quirky pins are great additions to your growing mori or mahou closet, if you're considering of being one. And if you're thinking of having everything customized and you live in my country, you could consider having them made at Obscure Prototype Lab /shameless plugger wink/
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