Stripetember Participation Day Post!

WOW! Can I just say, I am simply OVERWHELMED by the response I had to my very first participation day? THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU GUYS, YOU ARE MAKING ME TYPE IN ALL CAPS. THAT IS HOW AMAZING YOU ARE! Here's to all the lovely ladies who showed me their stripes:
1. VictorianKitty of SophistiqueNoir
2. Lesthi of Lesthi's Blog
3. Lynoire of Milking The Rolling Cow
4. Captain Cadaver of Bats and Cats
5. Katherine of In Pandaemonium
Thanks so much, ladies-you all rocked the stripes! :D
Here was my outfit for today: I went daring, and mixed my stripes up a little!

Black ruffled blouse-Forever21

Red and white striped vest-Made by me

Black and white striped skirt-Arc

Black leggings-Ross

Black faux Doc Martens-Wal-Mart

I like the look of this skirt, but unfortunately it wrinkle's like nobody's business. I might end up repurposing the fabric into something like a vest or a corset that won't wrinkle-we'll see! There is just not enough black and white striped stuff in this world, if you ask me. Thank you all again for participating, and keep your eyes peeled for next month's theme and theme day. After blogging for about 16 months, I finally feel like I'm really stretching my legs and coming further into the blog-o-sphere and I couldn't do that without all of you. :) 

Stripetember Participation Day!

Hello, darlings! Today's the Big Day-are you as excited for it as I am? :) If you're wearing your stripes today as part of my Monthly Theme Participation day, please leave a comment on this post with a link to your stripey goodness and I will collect them all into one big post of striped awesome tonight. Have a graphic to put at the top of your post (or the bottom; I won't tell you how to live your life!) and I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Stripetember: Color Edition, And An Exciting Announcement!

Moving away from the B&W posts for a bit, I'd like to present COLOR! Yay! Shiny happy rainbowy gooey globs of colored stripey goodness ahoy:

Rainbow Dress-Made by me

Black blazer-Goodwill

Fishnets-Wal-Mart

Black satin heels-Recycle Boutique

I love this dress, but it is a bit bright, even for me! I also made it a couple years ago when I was not as accomplished a seamstress, so it's a little wonky in the bodice/sleeves. Solution? A simple black blazer on top of it! 

And now for today's outfit:

Black peasant blouse-Family Dollar

Black and purple stripe corset-Punk69

Black lace skirt-Goodwill

Black and purple stripe tights-TJ Maxx

Black wedges-Wal-Mart

At first I was worried that the horizontal and vertical purple stripes together might be Too Much Of A Good Thing, but I think there's enough solid black to break them up and let them compliment each other instead of clashing. Plus, IMO, you can never have too much black and purple!
And now, an exciting announcement: Back at the beginning of the month, I said I hoped to have a participation day where everyone would wear their finest stripes around the 20th. Well, the 20th came and went and I didn't have a chance to do it, so I thought: Why not the 26th? Two thirteens are twice as lucky after all! So here's the deal: On September 26th, I will post early in the morning, and I will leave comments open all day for people to link to their posts. At the end of the day, I'll collect everyone's posts and make a big post for all the blogs that participate! It will be very similar to (aka, I stole the idea from) the lovely SophistiqueNoir's Monthly Theme Days, something I have participated in in the past. I can't wait to see all your stripes in a couple day's time! Here's the image for your blog; if you do it, please use the image and link back to me. I can't wait! 

Simple Stripes

I'm going to keep it simple today, in both my outfit and my blogging, because I have a bad cold and it's really been dragging me down. 

Sorry for the blurry photo. I was LazyBlogger and didn't feel like retaking it a zillion times. BUT:

Black webbed top-Goodwill

Black and white striped pencil skirt-Salvation Army

Black tights-Wal-Mart

Black patent Mary Janes-Ross

Not much to say about this, except that the top is a lot cooler than pictured. It's sort of "torn up" in strips over a lace panel, and I like that it's very elegant/punk rock. If you'd like a better picture of the skirt, I also wore it here. Sorry for the blah post, I hope that the mucous monsters living in my head will let me do better tomorrow! 

Black And White Stripegavanza!

Hello, lovelies! Sorry I've been absent for a while but schoolwork and costume-making have combined to kick my ass pretty thoroughly for the past week. Never fear, though-I've got ALL THE BLACK AND WHITE STIPES for you! 

Pearl necklace-NZ Artist's market

Black and white striped shirt-Repeat Boutique

Black crinkly skirt-Arc

Black flats-Target

Today's fare-simple enough. A comfy black and white striped shirt that I just love, and my favorite three-fabric black crinkled Gypsy skirt. 

Striped blazer-Forever21

Black t-shirt-Forever21

White satin skirt with fishnet overlay-Paper Bag Princess

Black flowered flats-Recycle Boutique

I liked this combo. I initially wasn't sure how the stripes would work with the fishnet, but I ended up really liking the effect!

Black Lip Service dress-Buffalo Exchange

Black and white striped leggings-Recycle Boutique

Black flower slides-Recycle Boutique

I really like this dress, but it doesn't get worn much because it's shorter than I'm really comfortable with. Solution? These lovely leggings! Aren't they just the bee's knees? 

And finally-this probably looks a little costume-y, even for me. Probably because it's a costume!

White shirt-DAV thrift

Black and white striped vest-made by me

Black leggings-Wal-Mart

Black pirate boots-DAV thrift

Aren't the boots adorable? They inspired me to make a steampunk pirate costume for Nan Desu Kan. Sadly, they were also not that comfortable and I ended up swapping them out for my Doc-alikes from Wal-Mart before I left for the con proper. But they were fun to wear and I'm determined to build up my tolerance for 'em. Also sadly, the fact that the b/w striped fabric the vest is made of was 67 cents a yard on clearance at Wal-Mart definitely showed-it split along one of the seams just from raveling. But that's ok-the vest was fun while it lasted, and I finally found a b/w stripe cotton on EBay that I'm going to use to make another version of the same vest. It made a great "wearable muslin"-that is, cheap fabric you use to test a pattern and fit it, before you use good or expensive fabric! It'll be nice to have one that isn't so shiny. :) 

Changing My Stripes

As Stripe-Tember progresses, I want to move on to some of the Goth-iest of all stripes: black and white. This is a simple, elegant, and striking combo, and hard to find, especially in vertical or wider combinations. I like the latter because they're so pretty and elegant; they're also a recurring motif in the films of one of my favorite directors, Tim Burton. His costume designer, Colleen Atwood, who has designed every single one of his films, is a master of utilizing them in a way that is truly elegant and memorable.

This iconic dress from Sleepy Hollow actually only appears very briefly at the end of the film, but it is so gorgeous and striking that you can buy replicas of it and anyone who has seen the movie tends to associate the dress (and pattern!) with it. My first day of b/w stripes is not so dramatic; think of it as a small transition from the subtle stripes to the bold.

Black and white striped blouse-Arc

Back net skirt-Salvation Army

Red tights-Target

Black Mary Janes-Wal-Mart

I love the b-w-r combo, and I bought this top in no small part because of how much I loved the contrast of the red trim and buttons against the black and white stripes. I felt very girly and swirly today, and I loved it! The skirt has little gems on the netting, and they catch the light just enough to add some great sparkle to what's otherwise a pretty simple little skirt. Altogether just fun!

Striptember: Subtle Stripes Twofer, And World Hijab Day

Hi, all! So, a couple days ago I said I would be doing something a little different for the 5th. It turned out the 4th of September was actually World Hijab Day, but because I am a bit of a dodo, I thought it was yesterday. Oops! But even after realizing my mistake, I figured I would wear a headscarf to show my support nonetheless. World Hijab Day is important because it shows solidarity for Muslim women in places like France who must fight against laws that seek to bar them from wearing hijab as an expression of their faith. As someone who is very much in favor of people being able to wear what they want, and observe their religions (or lack thereof) how they choose to with no governmental interference, I'm very much in support of this.
World Hijab Day also gives women who have never worn hijab the chance to share the experience of Muslim women in wearing the hijab every day. From pins to slippage to funny looks and comments, it is a choice of attire that sets you apart from the mainstream-and I think that we in subcultures that express ourselves through clothing choice can certainly relate to all the attendant costs and benefits that come with it!
Because I am not Muslim myself I didn't feel comfortable donning full hijab (as it is a personal choice strongly linked with expression of Muslim faith) but I thought that a headscarf similar to those that more conservative Orthodox Christians wear would be an acceptable substitute. And of course, being the anal-retentive color matching person that I am, I had to coordinate it to my outfit!

Green dragon print scarf-Arc

Black cami-Ross

Black lace blouse-Arc

Multi-colored gypsy wrap skirt-Hippie store
Black cloth Mary Janes-Ross

See! The skirt has stripes in it. I AM SO CLEVER. I wish I could remember the store where I got it, but honestly all I remember was that they had bongs in the front for sale, and because I was in 10th grade and very naive, I thought they were just pretty blown glass and asked my mom if she could get me one. She almost died laughing.
And on-topic, wearing the scarf definitely gave me just a tiny bit of perspective into the difficulties of wearing hijab. It was very heavy and kept sliding off my hair, despite being put in place with hairpins. I was fiddling with and resetting it all day! I am in awe of the many women I see on my campus every day wearing hijab who look flawless and completely put together. If anyone's interested in reading more about hijab, my friend Larissa has an amazing blog called The Adventures of A Hijabi Waitress where she discusses it in a far more eloquent and informed manner than I could. And on a shallow note, her hijab coordinates are amazing. :) 

 And now for today's outfit, which was just subtle and stripey and not really religious or political at all. BUT FUN, I hope!

Black lace shrug-Love Culture
Black cami-Wal-Mart

Black pinstriped underbust corset-Punk69

Red miniskirt-Arc

Black leggings-Cosmic

Black ballet flats-Recycle Boutique

This was a fun outfit. The skirt actually has stripes too, though you can't see them in the picture that well because they're tone-on-tone. It's a cute skirt but I don't wear it that often on account of EXTREME SHORTNESS. But the leggings solved that problem-yay for butt coverage! One more day of subtle stripes, then it's on to...well, not necessarily BETTER, but definitely BRIGHTER things. ARE YOU EXCITED OR WHAT? 

Stripetember Day Two: Subtle Stripes, Part Deux

So since I inadvertantly started a subtle stripes theme yesterday, I decided to run with it for the rest of the week. Simple but fun!

Black cropped tank-H&M

Black and grey striped button vest-Salvation Army

Black full skirt-Goodwill

Beige fishnets-Target

Black wedges-Recycle Boutique

Yes, the vest really is striped. Detail pics to prove:

Actually, this is a nice pic because it also shows off one of the rows of buttons on either side of this vest, which I just think are tremendously fun. The fest actually closes with hook-and-eyes, so they're completely decorative, but sometimes you just need things that are only there to be pretty! I love the rounded collar on this vest-I strongly prefer either a rounded collar or no collar on my vests. Both have such a Victorian elegance about them, which is great when your style is as heavily Victorian/steampunk influenced as mine is. This outfit is plain and very subtle by my standards, so watch for me to jazz it up a little (but still with subtle stripes!) tomorrow. I'm also hoping to make tomorrow's post informative/educational, so keep your eyes peeled! 

Stripe-tember: A Subtle Beginning

So, I mentioned this briefly and rather opaquely a few posts back, but over the next three months, I'm going to be doing something a little different with my blog and outfits. If you're a longtime reader, you may have noticed that last year, I would do theme weeks around a specific color or idea. This time, I'm going a little more ambitious: I'm doing theme months. I'm starting today with Stripe-tember, which is based around the premise that every outfit that I wear this month is going to incorporate some kind of stripe. Sounds simple, right? Stripes are a staple of the Goth wardrobe, especially notable in the the design of Tim Burton movies and not a few of Edward Gorey's drawings. From subtle pinstripes to bold inch-wide black-and-whites to a rainbow of striped socks, I have TONS of stripes in my wardrobe-but how to incorporate them into different kinds of outfits? How to wear them day after day without getting repetitive in my looks? Therein lies the challenge!

If anyone's interested in joining me (for a day, though you can try for the whole month if you're ambitious!) I'm going to have a multi-blog event in the line of Sophistique Noir's Monthly Theme Day, or The Dancing Maenad's Monthly Homework Assignment, on the 20th of the month. Bring out your stripiest finery and show me what you've got! More details forthcoming as I make them up...er, as the event comes closer. And now for today's outfit:

Black and silver pinstriped blouse-Arc

Black ruffled vest-Recycle Boutique

Black lacy skirt-Goodwill

Black tights-God knows where

Black heels-Wal-Mart

This is indeed a very subtle beginning; but I promise, there are silver pinstripes on the blouse. Look, here:

I had a good reason for keeping it more subtle today, as I was attending the memorial service of a close friend of the family. He was 89 years old and a dear, fantastic man who brought light to everyone around him. He played five instruments and offered me support and guidance when I was just a scared, lonely, weird teenager. He always gave me compliments on my outfits; once, when I was wearing my Iron Fist vampire heels he told me "Those are the neatest shoes I've ever seen-if they came in my size, I'd like a pair." I dressed it down and demure for his funeral because I am a firm believer in old-fashioned ettiquette and dressing appropriately for the occasion, but secretly, I think, if I'd have worn something very bright and fabulous, he would have enjoyed it. My outfits have often drawn scorn from some older people in my hometown's community, so it was unspeakably wonderful to have someone who appreciated them-and me-exactly as I am. R.I.P., Homer. Me and my shoes will  miss you, your brilliant sense of humor, and your wonderful and heartfelt compliments and support.