I Have No Theme, Or Finals Week Day 1

So, this week there is no particular organized theme-seeing as it's finals week, I'm moving out on Thursday, and I literally have four days worth of clothes with me...but I still want to look spiffy! I've got no specific color/idea this week 'cept looking pretty, so here's how I went about it today:

Black lace shrug-LoveCulture

Maroon velvet top-Goodwill

Silver corset-Punk69

Black lace fingerless gloves-Forever 21

Black velvet crinkle skirt-Arc

Black tights-Wal-Mart

Black Mary Jane heels-Wal-Mart

It was cute and comfortable for the two finals that I had today. Tonight I had a Christmas party with my dear friends, and received several lovely and Goth-y presents, which I hope to wear in the next couple of days. I love my friends dearly, and they know me too well. Are any of you in college or high school and dealing with finals? And if you aren't, can you tell me how you got through 'em? 

Christmas-Goth, Day 1...4...Heck, Who Knows?

Hi, gentle readers! Deepest apologies for my absence from the blog-o-sphere for the past week, I've been prepping for finals and things have gotten pretty crazy. I have been faithfully recording my outfits, though-I've gone red and green this week, to celebrate the coming Christmas (for me, at least) holidays. I'll just go ahead and post today's outfit for today, and keep the rest in reserve for when I'm at home (in less than a week, yay!) and generally wearing nothing more fascinating than leggings and big t-shirts. :) 

Heart necklace-Arc 

Pinstriped blazer-Plato's Closet

Green peacock feather corset-Punk69

Black and red brocade skirt-Savers

Black suede pirate boots-Shoe Carnival

I love this skirt-it's so elegant and classic, it makes me feel like a princess! And no one could tell I was wearing fleece-lined leggings underneath to protect my legs from the cold, so score one for deceptively comfy elegance. I was quite happy with this outfit, actually-I think it really managed to be festive without being too "Christmas-y" and I just felt super-classy all day long. It was the combination of the pretty corset (this is one of my favorites), the "professional" blazer, and the wonderful, wonderful skirt. I'm actually fairly certain, given the fact that the hem of this skirt was obviously put in by hand and the fabric is an extremely high quality silk brocade, that this skirt was once the bottom half of someone's prom dress. I'm very glad they decided to pass it on so I could throw a little princess into my everyday look! 

Monthly Theme Post: Outerwear AND Character Week, Day 4

Well, it was rather fortuitous indeed that today's Monthly Theme Post was outerwear-we just got a cold front here in CO, and I need to wear my nice heavy coat for the first time in about a week!

Here's my outfit with coat:

Like VictorianKitty's coat, mine was a very, very expensive coat that I got for a great deal. It's an Oleg Cassini coat, and the normal price on it was $300. For some reason, though, the Alco in my hometown got a massive shipment of them right as the store was closing, and reduced them to $30 to move them out. My mom and I each got one, and we've had them for...7 years now? It's a really lovely coat, wool with plaid trim, and deliciously warm-it keeps me toasty even in the coldest CO weather, like today. I also like that the cut is vaguely Victorian-I got it long before my Goth days, but it's eternally stylish!

And now for the straight-up outfit portion of the post:

Gold-and-pearl necklace-Inherited

Cream-colored empire-waist dress-Arc thrift

Black Doc Marten-alikes (hidden by the dress): Wal-Mart

As you've probably guessed by seeing the dress, I was going for a Jane Austen-inspired look today. Specifically, Northanger Abbey, which I feel is a severely underrated Gothic novel! Catherine Moreland is funny, snarky, and generally awesome, and I love the whole atmosphere of the book. I wanted to try for a Regency-inspired hairstyle to go with the dress, and this is what I came up with:

Apologies for the not-so-great pic, it's rather difficult to take pictures of the back of your own head. :) Considering how different the era looks from the rest of my clothing, I'm rather proud of this outfit:

Also, due to my wide hips, empire-waist dresses tend to make me look vaguely pregnant, so I was very glad to find that this one didn't. At last, I can swish around feeling very like Catherine (or Fanny Price, or Emma, or Elizabeth Bennett) without someone asking when I'm expecting-always a good thing. :D

Down The Rabbit Hole, Or Character Week Day 3

I'm sorry to do it to you all, lovely readers, but I'm going to momentarily drop into the well of the cliche Goth again today, dressing as that Goth/Lolita/all-alternative-persons beloved wandering child, Miss Alice, of Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass fame. I will admit to simultaneously being an Alice fangirl and a bit of an Alice snob; I love the original books unconditionally, and I decently *like* many of the gajillions of adaptations of them, but the only two that I really LOVE are SyFy's Alice and (of course) Tim Burton's in-spirit 2010 sequel. Again, the incomparable Colleen Atwood's designs make me drool desperately and start eyeing my sewing patterns to see if I have anything that could make a decent facsimile. Alas, I haven't my sewing machine with me, so this was the Alice I pulled from my wardrobe:

 

Clock pendant-Thrifted

Black cardigan-Goodwill

Blue camisole-Ross

Blue taffeta underbust corset-Punk69

Black lace skirt-Arc

Blue and black striped socks-Buffalo Exchange

Black boots-Target

I thought I did a decent job combining the feel of this (whimsical, Victorian, and blue):

With this (modern and easy-to-wear):

I think it turned out pretty neat, having an "Alice-y" feel without being too costume-y. Although, costume-y be damned-if I could get ahold of/make this dress, I would wear it at least once a week. 

A girl at Starfest last year had made a pretty close replica, and I was so jealous of her. Not only did she have mad skills, she had a boyfriend who was willing to dress up as the Mad Hatter with her. They were both incredibly awesome, and I loved getting to hang out with them. 

Also, I don't doubt that most of you have seen Tim Burton's version, but if you haven't seen the SyFy one with Caterina Scorsone, please get ahold of a copy. It's well written and interesting, and it has a really fantastic cast. (No, seriously-Kathy Bates, Colm Meany, Caterina Scorsone...it's awesome.) 

And now for a bit of literary nerd-anger, if you'll allow me: My only big issue with both it, and Tim Burton's, is that they combine the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts into one person. THEY ARE TWO COMPLETELY SEPARATE CHARACTERS! No, really. Other than Alice, there is no crossover in the books as to characters. The wold of the Looking Glass is separate from Wonderland, and though I'm ok with them being combined for storytelling purposes (neither book is really long enough to turn into a movie on its own), it really irks me when people act like the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts are interchangeable. This is the Queen of Hearts:

"

This is the Red Queen:

YOU SEE? TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PEOPLE! Not to mention, the Queen of Hearts is evil, crazy, and generally prone to decapitations, while the Red Queen is kind in a loopy sort of way and welcomes Alice to be a queen when she finally makes her way across the chessboard. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the book is the absolutely insane conversation Alice has with the Red Queen and the White Queen when she finally arrives at the end of the chessboard. One of my favorite bits:

Here the Red Queen began again. 'Can you answer useful questions?' she said. 'How is bread made?'

'I know THAT!' Alice cried eagerly. 'You take some flour—'

'Where do you pick the flower?' the White Queen asked. 'In a garden, or in the hedges?'

'Well, it isn't PICKED at all,' Alice explained: 'it's GROUND—'

'How many acres of ground?' said the White Queen. 'You mustn't leave out so many things.'

'Fan her head!' the Red Queen anxiously interrupted. 'She'll be feverish after so much thinking.' So they set to work and fanned her with bunches of leaves, till she had to beg them to leave off, it blew her hair about so.

Now, I'd say fanning someone's head with leaves is rather the opposite of ordering it lopped off, wouldn't you? :)

For more literary nerdery + outfit awesomeness, come back tomorrow to see me venture back about forty years before Alice and company to the time (and books) of one of my absolute favorite authors.

Character Week Day 2: She Really Is A Funny Girl!

If you just finished that song lyric, congratulations. We'd get on spectacularly. Today, I took a little style inspiration from my fave Disney princess: Belle! I was super-obsessed with Sleeping Beauty when I was little, but when I got older, I realized that Belle is totally my favorite Disney princess. As a bookworm girl growing up in a small town, I felt we had a lot in common-and I loved that she stood up to Gaston, something that I wasn't always able to do with the bullies in my school. Plus, how fantastic is the ball gown she wears?

Not that her blue dress from earlier in the movie, or her pink dress she wears in the snow aren't fab, but...A BALL GOWN! Of course I had to take that as my outfit inspiration!

Yellow jersey knit blouse-Repeat Boutique

Black underbust corset-Punk69

Yellow silk skirt-Arc

Black heart tights-Forever21

High-heeled Mary Janes-Ross

So obviously I wasn't going to wear a ballgown to school, but I thought I did a pretty good job of replicating the feel of her outfit in an everyday look, from the fullness of the skirt to the poufy sleeves on the top. And when I went to dinner, my best friend's boyfriend was like "Hey. You look like that one chick..." Smiling widely and feeling my mission was accomplished, I waited for him to say "Belle." Instead, he said "That girl from Watchmen!" Well. Silk Spectre wasn't what I was AIMING for, exactly, but I don't think he was wrong:

Obviously mine is a lot more covering, but darn if he wasn't right; the silhouette and the color were very similar indeed, once you counted my corset and black tights. I ended up with an unintentional twofer today, so...yay? I think it's doubly funny, though, because...can you  think of two movies more diametrically opposed in tone? Ha! Tune in tomorrow for something very rabbit-hole-y-I promise you won't be disappointed!

The Worst Pies in London, or (unofficial) Movie Monday

Hello, and sorry that last week kind of fizzled-but I'm hoping that this week will make up for it! Today, I decided to participate in Sal Kaye's Movie Monday for the first time-and to kick it off, I wanted to use one of my absolute favorite movies, Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. And then I realized it wasn't official Movie Monday, but I decided to do it anyway and carry on the tradition. I know it's a total cliche, but I love that movie so much-the music is gorgeous, it's beautifully shot and acted, and holy crap, does it look good. All the costumes are flawless, thanks to the amazing Colleen Atwood, who is kind of my role model as a costumer. I would seriously wear them every day if I had the money; I mean look at this:

And this:

Holy crap, I want that swimsuit so friggin' bad.

Alas, I haven't the resources of a large movie budget, so here's my humble attempt to replicate the awesomeness of the movie's costumes from my wardrobe:

Necklace-Inherited

Black lace blouse-DAV thrift

Black cami-Arc

Black and white pinstripe underbust corset-Punk69

Green, red, and blue plaid skirt-Arc

Black lacy skirt-re-made by me from thrifted prom dress

Aaand, because you just can't have a Tim Burton movie without stripey tights, I wore mine today. No one could see them, but I knew they were there, and that's what counts, right? :)

Black and white striped tights-Target

Black Doc Marten-alikes-Wal-Mart

I really enjoyed wearing this outfit-it was like having my own little secret identity, a joke that no one was in on but me. I spent the day humming The Worst Pies In London and Nothing's Gonna Harm you under my breath. I love the character of Mrs. Lovett so much; she is a total bad girl, and I love her shamelessly disgusting practicality and the way she takes advantage of every situation. Plus, I might be a little biased because, as an alto, she's one of the few female leads I can actually sing! She's not an admirable character, but she is intriguing, and I love the way HBC played her. No one can ever replace the inimitable Angela Lansbury, but I think HBC made a great Mrs. Lovett.

By the way, I liked the idea of dressing like a character from a movie or book so much that I decided to do it this week as my weekly theme. Tune in tomorrow to see my spin on my favorite Disney princess!

Catching Up To Do Or, Leftovers Week, Day 1

Hello, readers! Since I'm on Thanksgiving break and not wearing anything more impressive than sweats and old T-shirts, I thought I would use this week to catch up on outfits that I wore but didn't have a chance to blog. I wanted to go ahead and finish off my Goth (Stereo)Types from last week today, followed by the undone outfits from my Black and Green Week tomorrow and a couple of other assorted randoms for the rest of the week. So you'll have the great privilege of two (or more) outfits per post for the next few days, you lucky dogs! I really do promise to try and be more regular about updating-it's just my teachers seem to looove to give more homework on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and as much as I love blogging and all of you, my schoolwork does take slight precedence. But seeing as I don't have any this week, I've got no excuses, so here are the outfits! This was Wednesday's; I was going to a Cherie Priest  booksigning, so it seemed only appropriate I should wear Steampunk Goth.

Image copyright Megan Balanck

I do love her outfit-it is quite nice. But I not having my browns at school with me, this was my take on Steampunk Goth:

Pearl choker-Inherited

Cream-colored mini top hat-eBay

Black lacy blouse-Goodwill

Cream t-shirt (underneath)-Goodwill

Black and cream ruffled underbust corset-Punk69

Layered black knee-length skirt-Arc

Cream-colored petticoat-Buffalo Exchange

Lace leggings-Claires

Combat boots-Ross

I had bustled both sides of the black skirt initially, but lost one of the pins holding it up before I took the picture and didn't realize. I got a lot of nice comments on this outfit-one of my friends at work said I looked like a little Victorian china doll, a classmate told me it was "so far beyond adorable", and my boss said she never tires of seeing my inventive new combinations of clothes. I like to think the boots kept it from being too precious or girly, but even if it was, who says being girly is a bad thing? I thought about doing Victorian Goth, but that requires a modicum of historical accuracy, which requires wearing your corset UNDER your clothes, and I just can't do that-my corsets are so pretty, they deserve to be shown off! Fortunately, steampunk, bless its anachronistic little heart, has no such compunctions.  

I did change a little bit before going to the book signing, swapping out the skirt for a long one (because it was COLD!) and wearing the cream-colored blouse with a black lace shrug instead. Here's me with the amazing Ms. Priest at the signing-she was so nice and fun to listen to!

Thursday seemed almost kind of anti-climactic after the fun of Wednesday's book signing, but I decided to take a little risk and do a SFS (safe for school!) version of Fetish Goth.

Now, that probably sounds fairly contradictory, but I like to think I accomplished it! Apologies for the slightly blurry pic, my mom took it when we were in somewhat of a hurry:

Black sweater-Goodwill

Red PVC corset-The Crypt

Red lace skirt-Arc

Bow-patterned fishnets-TJ Maxx

Demonia heels-The Crypt

The heels were my 20th birthday present to myself-they were $44, which is A LOT (like, anywhere from 4-10 times as much) more than I usually spend on one pair of shoes, but they were so pretty, I couldn't resist. I wore the sweater because the corset is EXTREMELY fetish-y, with the side buckles, front lacing, and PVC materials, and gives pretty deep cleavage, considering my rather modest bust. For someone who is basically pretty shy when it comes to matters of sex (I have a close girlfriend who likes to tease me by going into stories of her sexual exploits, just so I'll turn bright red and mutter about smelling dinner burning before running off), I do often find myself strangely drawn to the fetish-y side of Goth. I love the look and feel of PVC and latex, and find a lot of the shapes/structures associated with fetishwear aesthetically pleasing. I guess my corsets make me more dominatrix-y than I knew-when I dressed as a hippie for a walk-on role in a classmate's movie, another classmate on the shoot commented "Wow, you look really un-dominatrix-y today!" It must be the corsets. Oh well-it adds to a sense of mystery, I guess, and lord knows I could always use more of that!

Cry, Cry Baby Or Goth (Stereo)Types Day 2, Gothabilly

For Day 2 of Goth (Stereo)Types week, there was really no question of what I wanted to do: Gothabilly (as she calls it), or rockabilly, as I call it. I do have a certain affinity for 1950s style clothes-it's probably my second favorite clothing era after Victorian, and the shillouettes are fun, sexy, and suit my figure quite well. In fact, before I officially started calling myself a Goth, I used to tell people I dressed like the lovechild of Tim Burton and June Cleaver on her way to the Ren Faire. This outfit is a lot closer to the example pic than the one yesterday!

Image copyright Megan Balanck

And here's my version of a Gothabilly outfit:

Pearl necklace-Inherited

Polka dot blouse-Goodwill

Polka dot skirt-Goodwill

Wine colored underbust corset-Canal Boat Trading

Fleur-de-lis tights-TJ Maxx

High heeled Mary Janes-Hot Topic

I actually wasn't planning on wearing a corset today, but when I put the blouse and skirt on, it fairly screamed POLKA DOTS-which, while not a BAD thing, per se, also wasn't what I was going for. So I tossed on the corset to break up the pattern and add a pop of color, and presto! I like the touch of red, and I think the dark wine color is a little more unusual paired with black/white than a bright scarlet. Watch me branching out my color combos like a boss. :P And I am truly sorry you can't see the pattern on the tights better, and I couldn't get a picture of them to turn out, because they. are. Fabulous. Covered in fleur-de-lis and subtly sexy, they make me so happy! And what is the point of living if your legwear doesn't make you happy? Not much, says I!

Goth (Stereo)Types Week Day 1-Perky Goth

Hello! Last week was nice and all (and I promise I will post the two missing outfits next week, when I'm on Thanksgiving break and won't be wearing anything more impressive than a Star Trek t shirt and Mickey Mouse fuzzy pajama pants), but I almost find the color weeks...boring after all the fun I had doing various themes in October. So, I wanted to go back to unique, wacky themes-but where to start? Fortunately, as I was surveying my closet, the thought "I can wear so many different styles of Goth!" popped into my head, and I immediately flashed on Black Waterfall's great Goth (Stereo)Types artwork, and went "Ah-HA! I've got it!" So, each day this week, I'm going to dress in my own version of one of the looks. Today, I was feeling very PerkyGoth (which is what I normally am, but...you know, this was stylewise rather than personality-wise!). 

Image copyright Megan Balnack

I'm not going to lie, I showed this picture to one of my friends and she was like "It's YOU! Did the artist draw that off of YOU?" So, I wanted to do my own spin on the PerkyGoth bright-colored look:

Sorry for the blurry pic-my camera was not focusing for some reason today!

Black and silver pinstripe blouse-Arc

Yellow tank top-Forever 21

Black underbust corsetlet-Fusion Federation

Black and yellow Tripp skirt-Buffalo Exchange

Black tights-TJ Maxx

Black and yellow bee socks-Flossie MacGrue's

Platform Mary Janes-Goodwill

I could have done the pink, but I was feeling more yellow today. As the website's lovely description informs us, Perky Goth is not so much a style as it is an attitude-and one I feel I tend to radiate. Who says death, bats, skulls, and other assorted dark whimsies must be gloomy? Pish tosh, says I. I can wear black, skulls, and bats to my heart's content-and still radiate giant rays of sunshiney happiness. Because I'm awesome like that. :)

Monthly Homework Assignment: Naked Faces

To be honest, Professor, I wasn't too enthused about this homework assignment-but I decided to do it anyway, because I'm a good student like that! Here's the thing-you will almost NEVER see me in real life without makeup. Now, the casual viewer might find this puzzling, as I don lipstick perhaps two or three times a month (if I remember), am a disaster with eyeshadow, and I can't even really do eyeliner. However, I am an A-1 level expert in foundation and powder. I do concealer and coverup like nobody's business. And I still feel like people are secretly grossed out by me. Why? Well, here's my naked face:

This is me, right out of the shower. The picture doesn't show it near as much as it does in real life, but I have pretty awful skin. Just my luck-the one time I want to actually show what my skin looks like, and the light/camera Photoshops me without my consent. My pores are huge, I constantly have zits, and even on the very rare occasions when I don't have two or more actively growing pimples, it's guaranteed that I will have scabs healing over from the last ones. I have moderate scarring one my cheeks and chin, and just generally feel awful about how my skin looks when I don't have the friendly help of NYC and Neutrogena. I've had acne literally for as long as I can remember-my mom says I first started getting pimples when I was five or six, and I've never stopped.

I've had many wars with myself over my skin, especially as I've gotten older. As I have become more fervently feminist, I've tried to talk myself out of wearing makeup all the time; after all, very few women actually have perfect skin, and it's just another in a vast, overwhelming set of  impossible patriarchal beauty standards. I've told friends who also have acne that they are beautiful, and meant it entirely. After all, why should a measly thing like a couple of zits stop someone from being pretty? But saying it to others and believing it about myself are two entirely different things.

It's kind of sad, actually how much my skin dominates my thoughts and my life. I know that I feel truly comfortable with someone when I can be around them not wearing makeup and not feel self-conscious. When I'm all dressed up in a pretty dress and corset, with my hair done nice and full-blown lipstick and eyeshadow (with the eye makeup preferably done by someone else!), I will look in the mirror and think: Wow, I could almost look pretty-if it wasn't for my skin. I kinda want to punch commercials that say things like "Love the skin you're in" and then use models with flawless (or flawlessly airbrushed) skin-of COURSE it's easy to love your skin when it's perfect! I carry a powder compact with me everywhere and ruthlessly blot at any sign of shininess or oiliness-in addition to my acne, I of course have a daily oil production that rivals the output of the entire Middle East.

Sometimes it seems as though I've always been at war with my own skin-a neverending battle in which it trounces my self-esteem, my confidence, and my faith in myself. There's a little, niggling voice in the back of my head that always whispers at me because of my skin-it says things like "See that guy over there? He might talk to you, if you weren't covered in zits." Or "Are you just wearing those outrageous outfits so no one notices the person underneath the clothes?" I know this voice is silly, that it's stupid and wrong and that no one else actually thinks that way; that doesn't make it affect me any less. However, every exercise like this; every time I see other beautiful, brilliant bloggers who aren't Photoshop perfect but are nonetheless lovely; every time I go out in public without makeup, as I did today, and no one screams or snickers or flees in terror, I feel like I gain a little bit of ground. And maybe those little bits will add up into a lot, and I will feel comfortable in my own skin. Until then, I'll keep trying; I'll put on my primer, my foundation, and my powder, and I'll pretend that makes me feel pretty and perfectly confident. Maybe, if I keep pretending hard enough, someday it'll stop being pretending and start being real.

Green and Black Day 2

Hello! Sorry to have missed yesterday, but I have an outfit picture to share! I am prepping to shoot my film for Production, so I will still try to post, but they might be on the brief-ish side-not as much unrelated rambling...er, witty discourse as usual. Also, I wanted to make this a double post, but internet failure is not letting me upload the second picture, so I will do the double post tomorrow instead. So without further ado, here is yesterday's outfit:

Black lace blouse-Arc

Green cami-Arc

Buckled underbust corset-The Crypt

Black pleated skirt-Goodwill

Green tights-Target

Black Mary Janes-Ross

It's simple, but I like to think it worked! Hmm, not much else to say about this outfit, except that I always feel rather Peter Pan when wearing green tights. And that's fun! These are more teal then true green, TBH, but when you haunt the discount bins at Target to feed your tights addiction, you take what you can get. :)

Back to Black (And Green)...

Wow, after October's patterns and the craziness of the first week of November, it seems almost...pedestrian to go back to my color-themed weeks-when I have the time between class, work, and everything else to breathe, I might have to come up with some different unique/interesting themes! But for now, I'll just settle for a slightly less than typical Goth color combo, though one of my personal favorites: black and green:

Black lace shrug-Love Music

Green cami-Forever 21

Black underbust corset-Punk69

Black plaid taffeta skirt-Arc

Black tights-Wal-Mart

Black Mary Janes-Arc

Words cannot express how happy this skirt makes me. Full, ruffled, wonderfully rustle-y taffeta, in a unique, pretty plaid-and it spins like nobody's business when I twirl in it. (Any fool knows this is the number one measure of awesomeness in skirts!) My roommate said I looked very Scottish today, and I took it for the compliment it was. Stay tuned for more green, and brace yourself for a series of really bad puns in my post titles for the rest of the week. :P

Feliz Cumpleanos y Dia De Las Muertas

Goodness, but won't tomorrow be a letdown after three special themed posts in a row! Monday was Halloween, yesterday was the Monthly Theme Post, and today was a twofer: my 20th birthday and Dia De Las Muertas! I wanted to celebrate by wearing one of my favorite color combos, wine and black. I normally would have gone with something a little slinkier/sexier (I always like to feel a year prettier!), but it was freezing and blizzarding today, so I compromised with a worm but elegant outfit:

Square-necked black peasant blouse-Goodwill
Maroon underbust corset-Canal Boat Trading
Double layered black chiffon/wine satin skirt-Goodwill
Black broom skirt (underneath)-Arc
Fake Doc Martens-Wal-Mart

I bustled the chiffon portion of the skirt with pretty pins, then wore this lovely heavy black microfiber broom skirt I scored for $3.50 at Arc underneath it for warmth. I was wearing two pears of sweater tights, too, so I was nice and toasty even in the blizzard weather!

I originally wanted to do a Goth retrospective on my style evolution today, but I need to get some pictures from other sources I don't have with me in order to do that, so instead I'll leave that for later and talk about my fantastic birthday instead. One of my classes got out early today, so I went to the Dia De Las Muertas celebration they had on my college campus today with one of my best friends. She bought me a cute skull necklace (which I'll post pics of tomorrow), and painted my face:

Afterwards, I went out to dinner at Noodles and Company with my other two best friends, still wearing the makeup. It was fun! I've always said that being born on All Soul's Day meant I was fated to be a Goth, so I loved being able to properly celebrate what I think is a beautiful holiday. A celebration of the souls of those passed on, with cheeky nods at death and the inevitability of our own mortality? Sounds pretty Gothic to me! I had a lovely birthday, and I hope that next year's 21 will be as nice!  

My First Award!

Wow, I don't usually do two posts in one day, but I was very pleasantly surprised, when checking my blogroll, to discover the amazing Irish Phantom Cat had awarded me the Gothic Blogger Award!

Isn't it just too pretty? I feel so honored-I didn't know my little outfits/ramblings were good enough for any kind of award! Thanks, Rebecca-I really appreciate it! Now, the instructions say to pass it on to three of my favorite bloggers, and I've seen a lot of my lovely amazing compatriots with this (VictorianKitty, Sabayon, and  Amy among them), so I would like to second the nominations of all the ladies above, and add:
Darker Fashions-I always love this fashion/review blog-it's really fun to see the newer Goth styles and clothing items-and read the fabulously snarky commentary. I don't always agree with Khar (I happen to love sweetheart necklines!), but the blog is always entertaining and a good read-and it's cool to see how many different styles there are.
Bloggery Of A Gothcat-Kitty Lovett always looks cute. And she loves cats. And writes entertainingly. What more can one ask for?
The Walrus Room-Sary has a great variety of posts about all kinds of things. Her photos are lovely, her outfits are always cute, and I might be a tad bit jealous of how effortlessly pretty she always looks. Love her!
Le Professeur Gothique-I wish I had her as a professor-I feel like we would get along very well! Smart, funny, and insightful, she is always a joy to read and her outfits are amazing. I know she's always teaching me a thing or two! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)
I love how supportive/amazing the Goth blogger community is. It's so great to connect with people who share my love of all things dark and wonderfully whimsical, and seeing all the pretty outfits and fun ideas (along with thought-provoking and gorgeously written posts on more serious subjects like what Goth is, what it means to be an individual, and body image and appearances) just warms my heart every day. Love you all!

Monthly Theme Post-Gloves!

Wow, I can't believe it's already time for another Monthly Theme Post!

This month's theme was Gloves/Armwarmers, and I was more than happy to oblige!

Necklace-Inherited from my grandma

Black t-Wal-Mart

Red bubble corsetlet-E-bay

Long black satiny opera gloves-Gifted from a friend

Vintage circus-print skirt-Arc

Red tights (underneath)-Target

Floral fishnets-TJ Maxx

Victorian boots-Ross

Bit bigger picture than usual because there was so much fun detail in this outfit! I know, I know, the theme is gloves (and don't you see my simple-yet-fab ones?), but I just couldn't resist a couple of detail shots of the amazing print on this vintage skirt I got for $4(!!) at Arc the other day:

Isn't that print just too much fun for words? When I saw it, I was immediately like "YES!" I thought it would be perfect paired with the elegant long black satin gloves, which, in my mind, have a bit of a circus-performer vibe to them. I have to take them off to use the computer, but when I have them on, they look super-fantastic! I usually wear handwarmers or fingerless gloves (I could do about 18 posts on the subject), but I feel like these definitely have that certain elegance that makes me feel as though a butler named Wadsworth will appear to offer me tea and crumpets at any moment. Happy all soul's day! (Also, tune in tomorrow for my birthday post-in which I will reflect on my personal evolution into Goth! /blatant self promotion.)

Happy Halloween!

Hello, all! Of COURSE I wore my costume to class today, and of COURSE I had a fabulous time doing it; would you expect any less of me?

Heart eye patch:: Buffalo Exchange
Purple gingham dress: Arc
Apron: Made by me from thrifted dress
White tights with hearts: Hot Topic
Pink Mary Janes: Goodwill
This is basically my Zombie Crawl costume, with slightly different makeup-I was, after all, a dead ragdoll rather than an undead human, and it's a very important distinction, you know!

I had a lot of fun and got my picture taken three times! Here's a close-up of the makeup-I'm really rather proud of it. The Glasgow Smile stitches were my own little Batman joke! After class and dinner, I went out with a bunch of friends and we got frozen yogurt, and I'm currently wrapping up the day watching Young Frankenstein. Best way to spend Halloween if you're too old to trick-or-treat and too young to drink (legally :P)! How did you all spend your Halloweens? 

By the Pricking of my Thumbs...Or Halloween Week, Day 3

I went witchy today, and no, that's not a nice way of saying I acted like a bitch:

Mirror necklace-Local arts faire

Black velvet Lip Service dress-Buffalo Exchange

Combat boots-DAV thrift

Pardon the crappy photoshopping in the bottom left corner, but I didn't realize my trash basket was in the picture until I'd already changed out of the outfit. That said, how fabulous is this dress? I bought it late last spring and never got the opportunity to wear it because it's very warm-but today it was about 28 degrees Farenheit and snowing, so no worries about overheating! And yes, I know we are all supposed to sniff haughtily at crushed velvet panne solids, but for this dress, I feel like it works and doesn't look cheap or tacky like it can, because the cut is so regal and elegany. I got it for $14 from Buffalo Exchange, and considering it's Lip Service it was probably about $150 originally, so I'm rather proud of the bargain! It is definitely fun to wear, and I felt quite witchy indeed-though it was a struggle not to drag my sleeves in the gravy at dinner! This is another fun piece that I might not wear every day, but it was certainly fun (and kept me nice and snuggly warm) for today-I kept threatening to curse people if they made me mad! :) 

Pretty Pretty Princess, or Halloween Week, Day 2

Hello, my dearest darlingest readers! Today, I made an endeavor to put my regular clothes together in a pseudo-costume, just to have a little fun pre-Halloween. Not that I don't sometimes skirt the edges of costume in my everyday clothing anyway, but this time it's deliberate. :) So, today I wanted to be a princess-because outside of the forced marriages, the constant maintenance of a perfect public facade, and the endless state dinners with endlessly boring people, what's not to love? I kid, I kid-mostly. The two teenage daughters of the Prime Minister of Spain, who are pseudo-princesses, are both rad and Goth-y, and Duchess Middleton seems quite a lovely lady. And we all know how bad-ass Elizabeth I was! I, of course, wanted to be an elegant, sweeping-skirted, pseudo Gothy princess-if they made a Disney princess of me, I would sing Emilie Autumn-esque songs and bats, rats, and black cats would come out to help me make my fabulous corsetted ballgown.

Silver chain necklace-Inherited

Black lace blouse-DA thrift

Black tank-Goodwill

Silver and black underbust corset-Punk69

Silver silk dupioni skirt-Arc

Black heeled boots-Ross

Here's a closeup of the lovely silver pin-I didn't realize until I was looking at the pictures that it and my corset were off-center to each other, but oh well!

So that's my first "costume"-Goth princess! I did get a couple more compliments than usual, and even some people who know me well (and thus know how "formally" I dress every day relative to most people my age) asked me what I was all dressed up for. I took great pleasure in telling them I was dressed up to celebrate the fantasticness of life! The ankle length light-colored silk formal skirt was a little tricky to work around, even for me, so I would only dress like this every day if I actually was a princess who lived in a palace with no dirty floors or staircases, and had servants who could give me large napkins to prevent food stains and follow me around with a steamer to get the wrinkles out. But it sure is fun for once-in-a-while! (BTW, the skirt is one of my favorite thrift finds-real silk and I got it for $2.50 on a 1/2 off Saturday sale at Arc!) If you were a princess, what wildly impractical item of clothing would you wear on an everyday basis?

Pretty Pretty Princess, or Halloween Week Day 2

Hello, my dearest darlingest readers! Today, I made an endeavor to put my regular clothes together in a pseudo-costume, just to have a little fun pre-Halloween. Not that I don't sometimes skirt the edges of costume in my everyday clothing anyway, but this time it's deliberate. :) So, today I wanted to be a princess-because outside of the forced marriages, the constant maintenance of a perfect public facade, and the endless state dinners with endlessly boring people, what's not to love? I kid, I kid-mostly. The two teenage daughters of the Prime Minister of Spain, who are pseudo-princesses, are both rad and Goth-y, and Duchess Middleton seems quite a lovely lady. And we all know how bad-ass Elizabeth I was! I, of course, wanted to be an elegant, sweeping-skirted, pseudo Gothy princess-if they made a Disney princess of me, I would sing Emilie Autumn-esque songs and bats, rats, and black cats would come out to help me make my fabulous corsetted ballgown.

Silver chain necklace-Inherited

Black lace blouse-DA thrift

Black tank-Goodwill

Silver and black underbust corset-Punk69

Silver silk dupioni skirt-Arc

Black heeled boots-Ross

Here's a closeup of the lovely silver pin-I didn't realize until I was looking at the pictures that it and my corset were off-center to each other, but oh well!

So that's my first "costume"-Goth princess! I did get a couple more compliments than usual, and even some people who know me well (and thus know how "formally" I dress every day relative to most people my age) asked me what I was all dressed up for. I took great pleasure in telling them I was dressed up to celebrate the fantasticness of life! The ankle length light-colored silk formal skirt was a little tricky to work around, even for me, so I would only dress like this every day if I actually was a princess who lived in a palace with no dirty floors or staircases, and had servants who could give me large napkins to prevent food stains and follow me around with a steamer to get the wrinkles out. But it sure is fun for once-in-a-while! (BTW, the skirt is one of my favorite thrift finds-real silk and I got it for $2.50 on a 1/2 off Saturday sale at Arc!) If you were a princess, what wildly impractical item of clothing would you wear on an everyday basis?

Black And Orange, or Halloween Week Day 1

Well, the title kinda says it all! I'm going to be doing faux-costumes for the res of the week, but I figured the inaugural day really ought to be those two gorgeous and highly under-utilized colors, black and orange!

Black lace front button-down-Goodwill

Orange cami-Fusion Federation

Black Tripp skirt-Buffalo Exchange

Orange striped tights-Wal-Mart

Chunky black sneakers-Arc

Though I do love this color combo, I recognize that it can be a bit overwhelming, especially in the florescent shade I wore today-hence the employment of the black button down to give just a hint of the orange cami underneath. I love, love love this button-down and have no idea why I don't wear it more often-maybe because it wrinkles and I am lazy and don't want to iron a lot of stuff! Until tomorrow (Day 2 of the week, Day 1 of my faux-costumes), darkly yours, Jamie!

Zombies Ahoy!

Hey-sorry for missing the promised vampire post yesterday, I'll do it tomorrow instead. Nope, today we're gonna talk zombies, because today was Zombie Crawl in Denver! I, of course, HAD to doll myself up to the nines:

Eyepatch-Buffalo Exchange

Dress-Arc

Apron-Remade by me from thrifted dress

Tights-Hot Topic

Shoes-Goodwill

Doll-Doll show, makeup by me

Here's a closeup of my makeup:

Here's me and two of my best friends, Kira and Rayna, zombie-ing it up at Johnny Rocket's. 

 Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had the idea to bring a creepy doll, though I was one of the only ones wh

Hmmm, zombie stuff-I'm actually not as big a zombie fan as I am of, say, ghosts or vampires. However, I do have a few recs:
*Resident Evil movies-stupid but highly entertaining
*Zombieland-I love this movie. It's hilarious, not very scary but very fun!
*The original Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Later-Both of these are legitimately great films, and absolutely terrifying. Do not watch alone at night!
*The only zombie book I've ever read that I LOVED is Jonathan Maybery's Rot and Ruin, and the sequel, Dust and Decay. READ THEM-they are exquisitely written!