Electric Alice

Two styles that have emerged almost simultaneously are Mori Girl and Dolly Kei. We talked about Mori Girl last a little while ago in this post, but a few commenters rightfully pointed out that some of the outfits we posted could be considered Dolly Kei. Which begs the question: What exactly makes a Dolly Kei outfit? The name doesn’t exactly give us any hints. The word “kei” (系) in Dolly Kei, just means “group” or “style” – and the English word “dolly” could be applied to a large range of styles. So let’s look at some pictures! Click on any to enlarge…

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The thing that strikes me the most is the colour pallete. Unlike Mori Girl’s staple creams and faded browns, Dolly Kei uses a lot of sumptuous jewel tones like ruby red, brilliant gold, deep violet and malachite green. This lends an almost regal air of decadence not seen in Mori Girl, which favours a natural feeling with no emphasis on luxury. The fabrics and materials are themselves more luxurious, with lots of rich velvet, raw silk and delicate embroidery with golden thread. Fabrics that I’ve only ever seen on heavy curtains in English castles are suddenly transformed into beautiful dresses, belted with enormous gold tassles and finished with the tail of a fox!

The look appears almost 100% thrifted, primarily from vintage stores like The Virgin Mary, Tarock, Rosy Baroque, Nude Trump – and of course, the famously gorgeous Grimoire, pictured above. What a treasure trove! (Click here for a great article on Grimoire.)

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Photo on the left © Valerie Fujita.

Another importance element of difference is the strong Northern and Eastern European influence – to me it’s equal parts Romanian gypsy, Russian matryoshka doll and Norwegian bunad. What’s interesting about this is that the wearers are referencing typically working class clothing, but remixing it with such sumptuous gold jewelry and beautifully curled hair that it suddenly looks rich and luxurious.

Makeup, by contrast, is kept simple with a blushed cheek, natural eyes and maybe a slick of red lipstick.

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So what’s your opinion of Dolly Kei? Have you tried it? Would you wear it? Or do you define it differently? Let us know in the comments! <3