The Mori Girl community is no secret anymore. It was launched in August 2006 on Mixi, Japan’s largest social network, by a girl calling herself choco and now has 38,219 members.

To be allowed in and earn the label Mori Girl, one needs to follow some rules. I said some? A lot of rules actually… Let’s have a closer look at the Mori Girl rules:

Mori-Girl Rules as of August 1, 2009

1. You like loose fitting dresses
2. You always wear dresses and skirts
3. You prefer slightly quirky clothes over simple ones
   (but you don’t like loud and flashy clothes)
4. You look natural, but with your own style
5. You are particular about fabrics
6. You like ethnic clothes, too
7. You wear A-line clothes
8. You like wearing dresses that little girls would wear, too
9. You like smock-like dresses and blouses
10. You don’t like super sweet fashion
11. You like deep colors like Burgundy, Fukamidori (dark green, #00552e), Koniro (navy blue, #223a70) and Chairo (dark brown, #965042)
12. Warm colors look good on you
13. Short nails feel more comfortable
14. You like fluffy hats made of knitwear or fur
15. You like ear muffs
16. You like ponchos and boleros
17. You want to have leather bags
18. You use pochettes for everything
19. You prefer gold accessories over silver
20. You feel attracted to old things
21. You like pocket watches
22. You like necklaces with magnifying glasses or large designs
23. You like designs featuring animals
24. You like designs featuring sweets
25. You like plaid and polka dots
26. You like old-fashioned flower patterns
27. You like lace
28. You like tights and leggings
29. Your shoes are basic and flat soled
30. You like round toe shoes
31. If you wear sneakers you wear them like loosely fitting cute slip-ons
32. Instead of regular buttons you like hand-made buttons
33. You want to wrap your stole or muffler around yourself
34. In winter, a turtleneck design is your basis
35. You like layering garments
36. Puff sleeves make you feel emotional
37. You love fairy tales
38. Fair-skinned
39. Your hair is loosely permed
40. Bob cut x straight bangs
41. Straight bangs x long loose perm
42. Girly
43. You like FELISSIMO
44. Of FELISSIMO, you especially like the brands Syrup and &sloe
45. You like the feel of Q-pot “sweets”
46. You enjoy chilling out at cafés
47. You like walking with a camera in your hand
48. You unconsciously end up at variety stores
49. You can’t help starting collections of things you like, you are a collector
50. Finding cute books at the book store makes you happy
51. You get excited when you visit a furniture store
52. You like making things by hand
53. Autumn and winter are your favorite seasons
54. You’d like to visit Scandinavia one day
55. You like to have round cheeks
56. If you use perfume, you prefer faint flower scents best
57. (You long to be) a girl that exudes a soft mood
58. (You long to be) an uncomplicated girl
59. You have been told you come across as laid-back
60. You consider Hagumi Hanamoto of Honey and Clover to be a Mori Girl
61. Shizuru Satonaka from Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru is also a Mori Girl
62. You have been told by a friend that it looks like you are in a forest

If all this applies to you, you might be able to enter the Mori Girl Community on Mixi…

Kind of scary, all those rules, don’t you think? That’s what got me thinking.

If you look at Mori Girl Community moderator choco’s purpose for building this community, it becomes clear that being a Mori Girl is not about trends or fashion. It is about lifestyle.

I am strongly attracted to the Mori Girl concept because Mori Girl interests cleanly overlap with my own interests. For example, an interest in strange cute things and antiques. It was my dad’s passion to buy antiques, and I have clearly inherited this interest.

I also like the concept of looking like a girl in a forest. Especially because of the strange atmosphere that comes with forests.

I absolutely love spending time reading books at cafés, visiting furniture shops, and adore the smell of lavender. As a French girl raised by my grand-mother, I was surrounded by the scent of lavender. It was used to make the bad smells disappear in the kitchen, in the cologne used to warm me up during the cold winter when I was a little girl, and in scent sachets hung in wardrobes.

I am also partial to patterns using animals. I still wear and adore a loose t-shirt with the design of a cat that I bought eight years ago.

Finally, I share the Mori Girls’ interests in certain magazines. My favorite magazine of all is Fudge and I am sure it will stay that way.

But all these rules seem a bit excessive. I don’t think you should be intimidated by them. They are rules made for a Japanese audience. A friend of mine from Mexico actually got scared when she learned about the now legendary 60 rules. I would like to encourage her and others interested in the Mori Girl concept to feel free to love this style. Find clothes that will fit the Mori Girl mood and make it your own

If you don’t live in Japan, you will find it hard to buy magazines like Fudge, Spoon or So-En every month anyway.

It is also extremely difficult to buy shoes made by Cocue, Long Johns by Fur Fur, long knitwear by Frapbois, or loose dresses by Par Avion or Bulle de Savon. These labels are only for sale in Japan.

But, be free to learn and love the intelligent and wonderful rules about loving antiques, being careful with your clothes, spending your time reading at a café, taking a walk with a camera.

Because in a society that goes too fast, we need to go back to a slower way of living. We need to learn how to be sweeter. We need to learn from the old ways of living, from our grand-parents.

I think that Japanese girls are looking for something that they never knew. Tokyo is a megalopolis where life moves too fast. It tells us about a possible future that turns some people crazy. Perhaps the city’s inhabitants are looking for something different by looking back in time and cherishing the old things they have.

Being a Mori Girl is about lessons we need to learn. So, feel free to look into your own country’s past, collect old things, and cherish your grand-mother’s accessories. I guess there are different ways to be a Mori Girl. You have to find your own.

Mori Girl Inspired Style on JAPANESE STREETS:

Chizuru
Sayaka
Supi
Supi
Hanako
Haruka
Marino-shi
Shizuka

Edited by Kjeld Duits from an original article by an author who would like to remain anonymous. In this version, the rules have been completely re-translated from the latest original version and many links have been added to add context.

All photos by anonymous.