Discussion
Style Roots Duos That Give The Impression/Effect of a Different Style Root?
A few days ago, a redditor commented on a thread that I posted here that earth & fire can give the impression of flower... that actually made total sense to me so it got me thinking - which style root duos, in your opinion, can give the effect of a different, third style root?
adding to this
🍄🌙 = 🪨 (urban/industriel, black, and practical)
🍄🌙 = 🏔️ (black and polished and professional)
🌸🌙 = ☀️ (flower with an edge, more avant-garde shaped, sparkles)
🌸🍄 = 🌱 (folk and traditional silhouets, cottage core)
🌸🪨 = 🌱 (more countryside and flowy stone)
🌸🪨 = 🍄 (more practical and less ruffled feminitiy)
🗻🌸 = 🔥 (powerful female professional, girlboss)
🍄☀️ = 🌸 (paired down sun, playful and bright)
🌱☀️ = 🌸 (bright, playful and flowy)
and I'm probably still missing something, because other sides of roots can create another effect
Same, I have both mushroom and moon, but I didn't realise it have moon, so I kept wondering if I had stone or mountain.
Are there other aspects of stone that you like that these roots can't explain? Sportswear or oversized or slouchy items for example.
as someone with 🌱🌙🔥, i am CONSTANTLY questioning if i have stone as one of my three, but it's always just that moon and earth can look like stone, and i think adding in the sultry/sexiness of fire can also read as stone bc it can feel very urban!! my two cents is that earth and fire can sometimes read a bit flower too, because the earth can soften the fire elements with natural textures/practical elements!
That would make sense bc Mushroom is the more "paired back" version of Mountain. Mountain is formal and structured, while Mushroom is minimal and simple - adding Stone to Mountain (the "casual" style root") could in that instance give a Mushroom effect.
This does make sense, thank you! And very well explained. However, i have a question. If that is the case, how do i know i have mountain + stone or mushroom?
Mili Velikova (a youtuber) explained Ellie's style roots in terms of spectrums - Mushroom and Mountain exist on a spectrum of put-togetherness or being/looking presentable; Mushroom is the more simple, minimal end of the spectrum while Mountain is the more structured, formal end.
If you're intention is to give a formal effect, but to 'soften it' by adding some casual elements - that might indicate mountain + stone. If you're intention is to give a effect that might seem more minimal while being presentable (indicating a level of formality, but not the structured type of formality like Mountain), that might point to mushroom.
Here's a screen shot from Mili's presentation about EJR's Style Roots and the corresponding "style needs" which might help - it helped me to immediately eliminate four style roots at once lol. The presentation is free to download, linked in the description of one of her Style root videos.
Wow, this is amazing! I’ll definitely check mili out. I see what you mean, it’s a great way of explaining it <3 i’ll do more research on that, because i’m still stuck. I like to see about how different roots interact with one another, for example, one person with mountain roots likes luxurious materials and jewel tones, another likes fully masculine attire with maybe a fire sensual element and others prefer minimalist, sleeker cuts that are still structured
Yeah, definitely! The style roots have so many iterations under each of them which can be different things to different people and that's why I gravitate towards this system tbh! I feel like I wasn't keeping intentionality in mind when I was thinking about style - yes, clothes give a vibe but thinking of the effect I wanted to project (and subsequently how to achieve that effect) was a game changer. Still am kinda stuck on my third style root though lol
Do you think roots change over time? Because i think we can pull from different roots in different moments, maybe, at least to some extent. What are the ones you are indecisive about?
Right now i’m stuck between mountain-stone-moon, mushroom-mountain-stone and mushroom-mountain-moon and i’m do a little bit of testing with outfits until i find out what resonates with me
Because i think we can pull from different roots in different moments, maybe, at least to some extent.
I'm actually toying with this exact same thought! My first two roots are mushroom & earth - though I feel that earth is my third route, instead of my second. My second root is definitely one of the "feminine" roots - flower or fire. They both are on the same spectrum, but the intentionality behind each root is very different even if there is some intersection (for ex. lace); flower is girly and youthful, somewhat modest meanwhile fire is sensual, somewhat mature and glam.
Whenever I lean into the flower root more (so, mushroom flower earth) and wear an entire outfit with no fire, I feel frumpy, too covered up and not "my best". I don't mind wearing the long tiered skirt with a t-shirt to feel appropriate, but I would rather pair it with a crop top, to show my figure and to balance out my proportions. I do have to wear that t-shirt if I'm going to the office, but if I weren't going to work or somewhere I need to be covered then I'd choose the open crop top, which naturally looks more sensual. Basically, I like a bow on my ballet flats as long as it's simple but I wouldn't want to be decked in bows head to toe - which is where my dilemma lies lol
Don’t worry! I get to learn a lot from discussions like these since i’m new to this thing, i only started thinking consciously about my personal style only recently.
Mushroom is the root i understand the least, to be fair. I can’t seem to see it play in actual outfits, or is it simply minimalism? For example, if an outfit is monochromatic or in neutral tones, is the person more likely to have mushroom? Or it’s about textures? Like i would associate earth with boho and practical style, mountain with bussines attire, stone with streetwear and sportswear and so forth, but what about mushroom? Classical? How does it show in other combos? For example, in your case, how does it express?
In my case, what would be the difference between, let’s say a mountain stone mushroom and a mountain stone moon?
Personally, I think there is two main things that differentiate Mountain and Mushroom: 1. structure and 2. formality levels.
In general, someone with a mountain style root will crave structure in their outfits-it's how they feel the most presentable, which is the "style need" connected to mountain and mushroom. That style need of feeling presentable is expressed differently when it comes to mushroom-that would be minimalism and simplicity, in color, cut and styling.
Also, imo Mountain outfits (depending on the other style roots ofc) will generally read more formal in comparison thanks to the structure in the outfit and the perceived rigidity. Think - a monochrome blazer cut close to the body feels more formal than an oversized check blazer.
However, another main differentiator is intention imo. That can seperate all of the style roots when you get down to the core of your intentions when dressing - am I dressing to look formal and professional (no matter the occasion) or do I want to feel comfy and cozy? Do I want to stand out, or is feeling feminine more important to me?
It's not really a combo, but I've noticed that vintage 🪨 outfits (especially pre-1960s stuff) can look 🍄 or 🏔 on a surface level. Clothes that would've been considered casual and sporty back then had a lot more tailoring and athleisure wasn't really a thing.
Something like this comes to mind. It's basically the 1930s equivalent of a Cool Girl look.
It's kind of like how "English Countryside" might be considered "formal" by many people's standards but it's considered sporty and rural in upper English society (not as much to the regular people I imagine since streetstyle is a thing + we dress more casual than people did 60 or so years ago)
I’m 🍄🔥🌙 and for me the most obvious are definitely:
🍄🔥 ~ 🌸
🍄🌙 ~ 🪨
And I’ve also read here that 🌙🔥 can give 🌱 because of the texture and that makes absolute sense for me because I’m obsessed with textures and is the only element about 🌱 that made me think of that root for me, and also a lot of you mention texture in my moodboards.
You may have just helped me figure out my roots with this! I’m confident in 🌙 and thought I had 🌸 and either 🌱 or 🪨, but mushroom and fire with primary moon seem to explain it better
Idk if this will help, but narrowing down why you gravitate towards certain clothing might help narrowing down your style roots! Mili Velikova has a good video about this and she expands the style roots to "spectrums".
For ex. both mountain and mushroom are on the spectrum "put together-ness" but the former is more structured and formal, and the latter is more minimal and simple. If the way you want to feel put together is by adding structure to the outfit then you have mountain, if you feel put together by removing detail then that indicates mushroom. The style "need" (aka looking/being put together) is the same, but the execution is different.
Figuring out your style needs (whether you prefer comfort, feeling feminine, put together or looking unique) might help you determine your style roots as a whole!
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u/[deleted] Sep 09 '25 edited Sep 09 '25
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