As I explained in a previous post, Book of Deer’s Spring/Summer collection for 2012 was inspired by the Mori Girls of Tokyo.

✿ A girl with soft air about her ✿ Similar to Natural-kei fashion but with a little quirk

Some are quite specific...

✿ Loves pocket watches ✿ Prefers gold accessories to silver ones ✿ Likes to put round make-up on cheeks. ✿ If wearing sneakers, they must be slip-ons that are loose fitting and cute. ✿ Prefers cloth buttons to ordinary buttons ✿Wants to travel to northern Europe someday

While I wouldn’t say wannabe Mori Girls need strictly adhere to the checklist (some points are a bit ridiculous) it is an interesting reference for understanding the aesthetic of this subculture. Given the quite expanisive requirements of true Mori Girlism It probably won’t surprise you that there is a  style bible for the trend written by original Mori Girl and Mixi Group founder, Choco.

The book features pages of Mori styled fashion shoots depicting the ideal Mori girl activities.

There is a styled outfit for every season...This is the Spring look. You will notice a key element of the Mori Girl look is an excessive use of layering.

The book covers all aspects of Mori Girl life, from what socks are truly Mori...

To how to make your own Mori style necklace out of mini crochet doilies!

The book is an essential for all aspiring Mori Girls. However, as with all fashion subcultures the Mori girl look is constantly evolving so to stay truly on top of it you can follow tumblr pages such as popular Mori Girl tumblr: Oh Yeah Mori Girl or check out my own Mori Girl inspiration board on the Book of Deer Pinterest, I promise it's not all frills and beige smocks!

Here's a sneaky peak of how the Foxglove shirt collar is cut. In order to make sure the birds (and impostor birds) are placed exactly on the fastened collar, each piece has to be cut one by one. x

 

The 4 digital prints of this collection were inspired by the Mori Girl pastiche of European forest life. Each print tells a different story and needs to be looked at close-up to see all the little details. They are all hand drawn using a mixed media of ball-point pen, pencil and watercolour.

Pansy Print

Pansies are my favourite flowers, they're small, delicate and come in an array of colours and bicolours. You won’t find them in fancy bouquets but they remind my of my Nanny’s garden. My pansies are a little psychedlic and my favourite shade of purple!

Bird disguise

If only having tea with the birds was as easy as slipping on a costume, unfortunately birds are not so easily fooled! This print depicts what I wish I could do sometimes when I want to get away from boring conversation with humans.

Birds on a Branch

These pleasantly plump birds may not look so elegant but they sit quite pretty on their perch. I like their indifferent little faces, giving a bit of attitude to an otherwise very feminine print.

Flora and Fauna

This formation of this print took inspiration from the structure of damask wallpaper patterns. It depicts a scene of forest life… a seamless web of interaction between the birds, bees, butterflies and flowers.

Which one is your favourite? x

I have been asked a few times how I came to call my brand baby Book of Deer. Other than the fact I thought it had a poetic ring to it, I felt it would be nice to name the label in honour of an important symbol of Scottish heritage. The Book of Deer is said to be Scotland’s oldest surviving manuscript. A small gospel book written in the 10^th Century, measuring just 154mm x 107mm. It is written on vellum in brown ink in a form of Latin known as the Vulgate, amid the Latin and Celtic illuminations there can also be found the oldest pieces of medieval Gaelic writing we have today.

Medieval doodles in the Book of Deer:

Before c. 1100 it was in the possession of the early Pictish monastery at Old Deer in north-east Aberdeenshire. Old Deer is situated on a bend of the river Ugie and close to Aden Country Park. The Monastery where the book was written has all but gone without a trace.

King George 1 presented the manuscript to Cambridge University Library in 1715. It is not known how the book was moved from Aberdeenshire to England, it is thought to have been looted during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1295-1320).

The book is rounded off with a colophon in Old Irish—

Which roughly translates to:

“Be it on the conscience of anyone who reads this splendid little book that they say a prayer for the soul of the wretch who wrote it.”

While I can't say the written content of Book of Deer has been a source of inspiration for my designs, in my mind its title evokes the sort of woodland fairytale imagery that I want my brand to encapsulate. And if one day the name on the label in my dress prompts someone to do a little history research then I'll feel I've done my bit for the preservation of Scottish heritage! For more info on the original Book of Deer and Scottish History click here http://bookofdeer.co.uk/ See digital pictures of the book here: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/book_of_deer/ x

Click here or on the Bloglovin icon to your left to start following the Book of Deer blog! x