Bi-Monthly Mori Box

My dear fellow forest dwellers,

I wanted to see what you think about a concept I'm working on. Have you ever seen monthly subscription boxes? If not, they're basically packages you can subscribe to be shipped to you on a monthly/bimonthly basis. There are snack boxes, baby boxes, beauty boxes...but how about... a bi-monthly mori box!

If this sounds interesting to you, could you please take a moment to fill out this survey? There's a better description in the survey about what would come in this box. I've set it so none of the questions are required. Just pick whatever you'd like to answer to! You can also go back and change your answers if needed. Thank you so much, I really appreciate your feedback! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me about it in the comments here. 

Thank you ♡
Miss Kellie

Mori Girl Lifestyle Vlog 1: Farmer's Market & Tea

Hello again!

Today I spent some time at a small local farmer's market. I explored the grounds, made a purchase, and walked nearby for tea. You can watch my little adventure in my first video blog below!


Because the lighting was quite dim inside, I wasn't able to publish the video I took of the market. I also took photos, but they turned out poorly as well ;; Lately I've been trying to understand the custom settings on my camera, so some days my pictures might not be very good.. Please accept a photo of my tea and scone from Zhi tea and outfit snaps to compensate!

I'd love to hear what you think of my first video! I really enjoyed making it, so I will definitely do more in the future. 

Yours truly,

Miss Kellie

Harajuku Shop: Mori picks for Autumn

Hello everyone ♡

I have another exciting announcement.. I have my first sponsor!

Harajuku Fashion & Fashion Store

I will be doing a small feature on some mori picks I found from my sponsor's storenvy site to get you excited for the upcoming fall season! The best part is... if you use my code, misskellie, you get 10% off storewide! Wow!

 It's not quite autumn yet in Texas, since it's still usually pretty hot, sadly.. ;; Is it autumn where you live yet?

Tops

Finally, we mori girls get to layer again! Summer is quite a killer for forest girls, since layering is one of the main aesthetics of mori kei. I really recommend getting a long-sleeve peter pan collared blouse, because the lace collar design will peep through whatever you put on top of it. This piece will also carry you into the winter! Also, feel free to continue wearing short-sleeved shirts. Just put a long-sleeve underneath it and keep layering over it. 

I'm actually quite proud of myself, because I've lately been trying out natural kei, and not just lacey mori. These navy and red shirts will do perfectly ^^ !

Peter Pan lace collar blouse

Sailor (hama girl) blouse

Cat suspenders shirt

Sweaters

Wether it's plain with patches or cutely embroidered, sweaters and cardigans are the way to go! The great thing about these two is that they're lovely for layering and perfectly applicable to non-mori or non-natural kei. You can wear them with you.. *whispers*... normal clothes.

(Shorter) knit sweater

Patched knit sweater

Autumn knit sweater

Jackets

It's a good idea to have a lighter jacket (like the cape below) and something a bit warmer. Autumn can be unpredictable (especially in texas), since it's transitioning between hot and cold days. The cape here would be a great mori piece, while the other two are closer suited to natural kei, but that doesn't mean you can't crossover!

Cat(fish) lace hooded jacket

Lace hooded embroidery cape

Fishy hooded jacket

Accessories

Boots are a must for fall, for really any style! They're especially useful to mori girls who like to trek in the fallen leaf-covered forest. Tights are also a great way to keep warm during the cooler seasons. These are actually replicas from Grimoire, a popular Japanese dolly kei brand! 

(Also this owl is just the cutest thing, for really any season)

Knit design boots

Owl purse 

Grimoire replica tights

I hope you enjoyed the items I have to share! This shop also sells fairy kei and harajuku style items, so please take a look at what else they have to offer. I really appreciate the support!

Talk to you soon ^^
Miss Kellie

DoMoCu launch

Hello followers!

I have something exciting to announce.. My own small accessories shop has launched!

D o M o C u

Dolly kei : Mori kei : Cult Party kei

DoMoCu Cult Fairy Sequined Ribbon

DoMoCu Mori Treasures Ribbon

DoMoCu Jumbo Jelly Necklace

Aside from my own handmade accessories, DoMoCu will also be a zakka-style shop as stock comes in, including items from taobao.

What is zakka? 

Zakka comes from the Japanese term meaning "many things." Zakka refers to everything and anything that improves your home, life and appearance. 

Currently, I have some "coming soon" zakka items displayed on my shop, but there will definitely be more in the future, all J-Fashion related. Additionally, I will be offering two custom item slots per month!

My small shop has a small beginning, but I'm very happy to provide these accessories I've made myself, as well as offer lovely things for you to enhance your mori and J-Fashion lifestyle!

If you like my creations, please watch DoMoCu's storenvy and like the facebook page! 

Thank you so much for your support ♡

Yours truly,

Miss Kellie

My first attempt at Cult Party Kei

Let me start with assuring you that Cult Party Kei is not a cult! It's a sister style of mori, one that I'd like to do a post on soon. Have you heard of it before? :) 

Cult Party, when you search it on google, pretty much looks like the pastel version of mori, with a splash of lolita. Of course, as there are many interpretations of each style and genres within themselves, so that's not always what it looks like. I recently went to a meet-up with my university's J-Fashion group to a cream puff pastry cafe and tried out cult party for the first time! The interpretation I took on is closer to the designer Etsuna Otskua's style. I thought I'd share with you my outfit and give a rundown ^^

Blouse: Thrifted

Jacket: Myeongdong in Seoul

Skirt: Axes femme

Overskirt: Etsuna Otsuka

Socks: Ebay and Target

Shoes: Angelic Imprint

Purse: Little thing

Unfortunately, the shoes were a size too big. It's strange because I ordered a lace-up pair of platform shoes from Angelic Imprint in size 37, but they felt just a size too big, so this time I ordered my platform sandals in 36 (I'm usually US size 6). I'm sure it's because they're sandals, so they fit differently. However, the strap broke three times the first day I bought it! The strap was only secured by a snap... Considering these were very cheap shoes, I'm not upset, but I think I'll be taking them to our local shoe doctor to get the strap more securely fastened. I would still buy from Angelic Imprint, just probably not sandals.

This outfit made me really happy to wear, because I felt so comfortable in it! I do love mori, but it is while it is very comfortable and laid-back, my own personal style preference tends to be a little more.. high fashion? I don't quite know how to express it! 

I'm hoping to buy more cult party pieces and try it out again. ^^ Do you think you'd want to try out cult party? Or have you already?

Yours truly,

Miss Kellie

A letter to my followers:

Dear darling followers,

Thank you to everyone who's still stayed with me, even though I haven't been posting... You've touched my heart, so thank you greatly! ♡

I want to preface my letter by explaining why I'm writing a letter. Lately I've been writing to my sweet penpals, so I thought it'd be fun to treat you all like a penpal for this post! You could even write back in the comments in letter-style, if you like, hehe. Most of what my letter to you will be about are ideas I have for future posts and what you'd like to see. Feedback is especially appreciated, so I can get an idea of what to focus on in my future posts.

I actually have an excuse this time for not posting.. I've been in South Korea! Well, I stayed in Seoul for a month, and then came back to start the new school semester; I've been pretty busy, you see. A lot has happened since my last post, and I'm kind of overwhelmed with things to write about, now that I've decided to dedicate time in my schedule to faithfully post.

One big change is that I'm now the vice president of a new club at my university.. the Japanese Street Fashion Club! I'm so blessed to have this opportunity, and even more blessed that our club has shown a lot of success so far in terms of member participation and turn out. We've also been featured in our university's newspaper and currently have several other organizations wanting to do interviews with us! In the future, you may see many posts related to what shenanigans we're up to. Also feel free to like us on facebook!

I have also been wanting to start making youtube videos to go along with my blog posts. Topics would be: makeup tutorials, hauls, beauty reviews, and other lifestyle videos. What do you think?

I'm so sorry I haven't had time to reply to this person's comment, but someone has requested a taobao tutorial! Would this be helpful to you? Would you like to see a tutorial? My most popular post is my mori 101 guide, which includes a list of places to buy mori, but I've been thinking of also making a separate post with this list. I also try to update my guide when I can, as I'm learning myself :)

In regards to my trip to Korea, I'd like to know what kinds of posts you might like to see from my trip. I went to SO many cafes, but I regret I did not take a lot of pictures in them. I'm thinking of making a big post with a list of most of the cafes I went to and would recommend, including the pictures I did take and stock photos if necessary. I think I'll also make another post listing the districts in Seoul I went to and and can recommend. I definitely will write about my time at the folk village, because I have a lot of pictures there. Some other things I went to were concerts, museums, the beach, a kindergarten, lots shopping.. Is there anything else you'd like to see? Do you have any questions for me? Maybe about traveling itself?

I recommend following me on instagram (@misskellietea), as I'm pretty active there! I post my outfits and lifestyle, predominantly mori but also other J-Fashion sub-styles. What other sub-styles are you into?

I will also continue from my last post soon, the follow-up to Tea Corners. Sister styles posts will come soon as well. :)

That's all I have for now! I'm really interested to hear your replies, especially if you have any particular requests for future posts. I'm all ears and eager to hear from you!

Yours truly,

Dear Miss Kellie ♡

Tea Corners PART 1: Necesssities

Since I blog mostly about mori kei and fashion, I think my love for tea hasn't really been made known. Guess what? I LOVE tea! I like the way it smells and tastes and looks and sounds in their tin and all the different types that suit different moods. I could go on, but then I'd never get to the purpose of today's post!

Tea corners! What's a tea corner? Just where you stash your tea and the things you need to make it. Here's mine. (Excuse the poor lighting, my room is not lit for photos)

1. Tea (duh)

Obviously tea will come in handy for your tea corner, but instead of just stocking it with your favorite generic tea bags, try branching out into loose leaf or order a sample pack from an esteemed tea company! 

Try a sampler from some of my favorite brands: 

Harney & Sons  

Adagio

Republic of Tea

 2. Tea tins

Ebay

Tea tins are those things Teavana pushes on you every time you buy tea there. "What size tin do you want?" when you don't want one at all.

Turns out, tins are important for keeping your tea fresh because it blocks out light and air. Also they don't have to be as expensive as the ones Teavana sells. Most loose-leaf teas will come with them, but if you purchase your loose-leaf in bulk, it's pretty likely you'll have to buy a tin separately. Try some from ebay, amazon, taobao, or your local craft store.  

Just make sure they block out light and are at least somewhat air-tight.

3. Storage for tea bags.  

Admittedly, I use more loose leaf than tea bags, but the bags to tend to accumulate. I use a small box meant for office supplies bought from Target. If you prefer to display your tea bags, you might want something a little more fancy. 

4. Tea pots

Have at least one every day pot (preferably one that comes with an infuser) and at least one fancy pot for company.  

I have an older version of the For Life Stump Teapot as my everyday pot and a Teavana glass pot for special occasions. 

Amazon

Teavana

My dream pot that I think can be used for both casual and formal settings is a Frieling Tea Maker. ♡ 

Amazon

5. Teacups

Again, it's best to have some for company and some for solo drinkings. I, however, don't follow this rule because 1) The fancy teacups I want are too expensive and 2) I'd probably use them for everyday anyways. Instead, I just collect whatever cups I like. My handle-less cups that are used for milk-less teas are also from For Life. Other than that, I tend to collect whatever cups I admire.

Amazon

In the next part of this series, I'll recommend more specific items to get for your tea corner that you might not think you'd need!

Until then,

Miss Kellie