April Flowers!

Hi, all! Sorry for being largely absent since my 100th post, but I've had a class project that is now thankfully done. I simply couldn't miss Sophistique Noir's Monthly Theme Day, though. When I first saw the theme, I wasn't sure how I'd incorporate it-but then I had a "duh" moment and realized that though I don't exactly have a lot of "floral" stuff in the Laura Ashley sense, I'm certainly not lacking in flower-y things!

Black dotted lace shirt-Savers

Black ruffle-collared vest-Recycle Boutique

Black velvet skirt-Savers

Black patterned tights-TJ Maxx

Black slip-on wedges-Recycle Boutique

Here's a close-up of all my lovely flower pins-I brought so many pins with me to NZ, and I keep forgetting to wear them! So I decided to go a little hog-wild with their flowery awesomeness.

 The purple and silver rose pins were gifts from my best friend. The silver and green flower was inherited from my grandma. The gold and pink roses were both thrifted. The red rose was stolen off a doll-it matched my outfits more than it matched hers, after all!

I also had flowers on my shoes and in my tights:

Sorry the tights picture is hard to see, but these tights are really fantastic-they have a lovely combination floral-paisely print that is subtle but cool all the same. 

And, as long as we're on flowers, I must admit to being a huge lover of real-life ones. My personal favorites are lillies and roses; stereotypical, I know, but there ya go! Here are some lovely fall flowers I've found around Wellington:

I don't know what kind of flowers any of these are; they're all pretty and all smell good, though, so that's enough for me! Next weekend, if the weather is good, I want to take a trip to Wellington Botanic Gardens, which isn't that far from my university, and get some more pretty flower pics. Brightest spring blessings to any of you whose seasons are turning for the warmer, and to anyone else in the southern hemisphere, stay warm and enjoy the lovely weather we have left! 

Feelin' Kinda Grey

It's that time again-for Sophistique Noir's Monthly Theme Post! When I saw the theme was grey, I was quite pleased-I love grey, and I wear a lot about it. Plus, grey suited the rainy weather here in Wellington, so I was able to put two outfits together that matched the theme well. Here's the first:

Black lace blouse-DAV thrift

Grey jersey vest-Valu Mart

Butterfly pin-Goodwill

Black glass beaded bracelet-Fijian store

Grey print chiffon skirt-Goodwill

Fleur-di-lis tights-TJ Maxx

Silver buckle boots-Ross

I love this skirt-it's so flowy, flirty, and flittery, and feels so sophisticated and elegant. I liked the contrast of the silk chiffon with the jersey of the vest. (Which, BTW, was missing a button when I bought it-whaddya expect for $3?-so I stuck the butterfly pin on and no one was the wiser.)

Here's a close-up of the print on the skirt-it's actually a jewelry theme, with pearls, rings, and chains. It just adds to the elegant uniqueness of the skirt, and I love it!

Here's the second outfit:

Owl necklace-Inherited

Black sheer blouse-Paper Bag Princess

Black cami (under blouse)-Goodwill

Silver corset-Punk69

Silver and black crinkle skirt-Eva's Closet

Pointy-toed boots-Target

The first is a little more modern, the second more Victorian-but I like 'em both! I may also be cheating a bit with the latter, because it's more silver than grey, but oh well. The skirt in the latter is a lot of fun too-both it and the blouse were purchased in Wellington, so I'm starting to build a NZ wardrobe! Since most of the clothes I brought with me are black, white, red, or grey, this theme fit perfectly with my wardrobe. Grey is one of my favorite colors, and I love how it works nearly as well as black as a neutral without being, well, black! I love black, but sometimes you need a little change-and grey is always my go-to when I do. 

Monthly Theme Post: Rings

It's that time again! This month's theme moves me to make a confession; I don't think I have ever actually bought  a ring for myself. The closest I've ever come is these slave bracelets with ring attachments I got off e-Bay a couple months back:

Not very impressive, right? I need to hit it (and its blue and green siblings) with the pliers and pull out some of the excess links, because they're way too big. Ah well, whaddya expect at $8 for 3?

I may never buy rings, but that doesn't mean I don't have any. In fact, I have all of these:

 Now, if I don't buy rings, how do I have so many? Well, that's because they're all inherited.

This lovely lady is my Grandma Elsie. Doesn't her outfit kick some serious ass? She passed away on February 7th, 1997, from complications due to hepatitis C and liver failure. I was only four years old when she died, but I still have a lot of good memories of her. One of my primary ones is sitting with my two cousins playing dress-up with her ample amounts of jewelry-we could be pirates or princesses or anything in between, and she would play right along with us. When she died, my mom and aunt divided up her jewelry, and since my mom doesn't really wear jewelry, I inherited many beautiful pieces from her. Some of them I can't wear, since her fingers were a lot smaller than mine, but I keep them all the same, because she loved her jewelry so much and it was a huge piece of who she was. When I do wear rings, these are some of my favorites:

I love all of these rings; they are unique and special and gorgeous. Most of my grandma's jewelry wasn't expensive; a lot of it is from Avon or similar sources, but I don't care. The key ring on my thumb is absolutely one of my favorites, and my mom tells me that it was one of Grandma's favorites too. I like to think she was steampunk before steampunk was a thing. My grandma loved clothes, and she was always wearing beautiful, wild outfits with everything from leopard print to stripes to velvet. I haven't bought other rings, even though I've bought other bracelets, necklaces, etc., because I associate rings so strongly with my Grandma Elsie. Every time I don one of these with a corset and some striped socks or a skull-print dress, I smile, because I know that Grandma would have approved, and it makes me feel wonderful to know I am carrying a little piece of her around with me, whenever I wear a ring. 

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

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.)

Monthly Theme Day-Lace!

Hello, all! I'm going to celebrate my triumphant return to blogging with a two-outfit post on one of VictorianKitty's theme days-this time, lace. Here's the outfit I wore to last night's premier of my university's production of Almost, Maine, which I designed a scene for:

 

Black raschel lace blouse- Arc

Green and black lace corset-Fusion Federation

Black lace skirt-Forever 21

Black lace armwarmers-Claire's

Patent-toe Mary Jane heels-Ross 

 And here's today's outfit, the official October 1st Lace Outfit!

 

Black lace shrug-LoveCulture

Black and nude lace camisole-Arc

Lavender net and lace skirt-Repeat Boutique

Black chunky Mary Janes-Arc

So I basically have enough lace stuff in my wardrobe that I could probably do an entire month's worth of outfits, just made out of various lace items. These are just a few of my favorites. Even though the corset in the first one is a fashion corset rather than a real one, it's just so pretty that I forgive it its plastic boning and cheap busk-I love that particular shade of green, and black lace is my third biggest weakness, right after corsets and striped socks. Or, really, any color of lace. I have an especial love of lined stretch lace tops-in addition to this cami, I have an olive green one, two black ones (one of which is kind of falling apart because it's been worn so much...sadface), a purple one and a red one. They are so fun, subtly sexy, and easy to wear! I definitely like stretch lace better in tops, though-the skirt I'm wearing in the first outfit is cheap stretch lace, and it's definitely showing, with all the lovely plastic-y threads hanging out and fraying around the edges. Despite my current almost-moratorium on buying new stuff, I would definitely spring for a long non-stretch black lace skirt!

Red and Black Stripes and Boots!

For the last day of my Red and Black outfits, I wanted to go all out-and it just so happened to coincide with VictorianKitty's monthly theme day on boots, so I took the opportunity to look as Gothy as possible, stompy boots and all!

 

Bat necklace: Twin Dragon Asian Gifts

Black and red stripe shirt-Wal-Mart

Black lace skirt-Savers

Black and red striped handwarmers-Claire's

Black and red tights-Wal-mart

Chunky black boots-DAV thrift 

Here's a close-up of the necklace-I just thought it was so lovely, and I had to get it! Bats? Yes please! :)

 And, for the theme, a close-up of the boots-you can see where they're a bit scuffed, because I love them so much that I'm starting to wear them out. I probably have seven or eight pairs of boots, but these are my favorites-chunky enough to add height, but comfortable enough to wear all day when I have to do a lot of walking. And, of course, the perfect height to wear with cool skirts and funky tights! What more could a little Goth girl's heart desire? 

Corsets, Beads, and Valiant Deeds

No, I have not actually done any particular valiant deeds lately-I just liked the rhyme. I almost didn't do the lovely SophistiqueNoir's bead theme post, because I didn't think I had any beaded stuff-but I forgot about this top, which I love, love LOVE! 

Black empire-waist jersey dress-Repeat Boutique
Beaded shrug-tank thingie-Repeat Boutique
Silver jacquard corset-Punk69

Here's a close-up of the shrug-thing. I've actually had this for over four years-I bought it my freshman year of high school, and I don't wear it that often because I'm kind of afraid of it falling apart. I got it for around $6, which I'm pretty sure was an insane deal because I've seen similar pieces online and at the Ren Faire for $75 and up. I just love it-it feels armor-ish and fierce at the same time that it's feminine and slinkily seductive. I always feel like a character out of a Tamora Pierce book when I wear it-awesome, bold, and ready to kick some major ass. Not too bad an accomplishment for what I'm fairly certain is a bellydance top! If I ever realize my ambition to be a real bellydancer instead of playing one at Ren Faire, I'm quite certain this top will feature prominently in my ensembles.