Mori is not defined as Lolita fashion. Mori Kei fills its own fashion niche, more closely related to looks like Natural kei, Dolly Kei (a darker take on the look), and Cult Party Kei. While the comparison between Mori and Natural are the most obvious, you’ll see that the looks all share the “layered” look, and they all lean toward a shapeless silhouette, with Mori Kei usually having the softest silhouette.
Talking in terms of silhouette is important in the visual kei fashions! So much so that if I were going for a specific look, I may base the entire outfit around the silhouette!
The silhouette is a huge part of any Lolita coord (coordinate, or, full outfit you build), which is why so much emphasis is put on the importance of base layers like the petticoat! The largely recognized subgroups of Lolita fashion are Gothic, Classic, and Sweet. Then you can get into thinks like OOT (ove- the-top), which is especially popular with Sweet coords.
It would be possible for me to make a Mori-inspired Lolita coord, but I’m not sure I could make a coord that fits both the visual expectations & definitions of Mori kei AND Lolita so that it could be called both. But I could always try!
That all said,
When I first got into Lolita fashion at 12, I really looked up to a specific blogger, and people asked her all the time how to wear Lolita fashion out when the minute people judge them, they regret leaving the house, and she always said “then don’t wear it.”
At first it seemed really harsh to me, but over time I got what she meant.
There’s no sugar-coating it. When you wear something as loud as Lolita fashion out of the house, people are going to notice. Some people are going to compliment you. Some people are going to stare. Some may just take a photo without even asking, and some people (although rarely for me), will just be downright rude right to your face.
And if you’re not prepared to stand by your decision despite that, then I wouldn’t recommend wearing it.
I’m not saying you can’t FEEL embarrassed and get hot in the face when someone doesn’t know how to act. We’re all self conscious when we first explore fashion. That’s normal. But you can’t let that rule you. You can’t let it change your mind about your outfit. You can’t think “oh, maybe this is ugly now that I think of it.”
You have to be able to decide “I like this, and people who don’t just don’t get what I’m doing, and that’s fine.” And it IS fine!!! Not everyone is going to get you or like you, and that’s life. You have to do what you love regardless.
It comes down to the saying “being brave doesn’t mean having no fear. it means being scared, but doing it anyway.”
alder-knight 