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! 

100 Posts, A Style Retrospective

Hello, gentle readers! Do you guys realize we've been doing this crazy dance for 100 posts now? I can't believe we've made it this far; I don't know if I've ever had the attention span to commit to 100 of ANYTHING before now. My last blog went kaput after 32 posts, I have fifteen (conservatively) novels with just the first two chapters done, and more sewing projects than I care to admit sit lonely and forlorn in my attic sewing room with pins still in them-but here we are, 100 posts later, and I'm still blogging, baby!

I thought that as a treat (or not, depending on how many of you read because you think I'm an awesome and interesting person and how many just think I have pretty clothes and wish I would ramble less and show more of my closet), I would post a few photos of myself throughout the years, growing into my Goth-i-ness. From the time I was little, I've always had an odd dress sense-I think I may have mentioned the velvet catsuit and leopard-print outfits (of which, thankfully, no pictorial evidence exists) in previous posts, but I didn't really identify (or dress in a style identifiable) as Goth until the past couple of years. I don't know if I was ever really a baby-bat, but I was certainly a baby-SOMETHING! Without further ado, here's the first picture:

Sorry for the low quality, but this is from 2003, when I was in 6th grade, and my family had just gotten our first digital camera. Yes, I am holding my clarinet-it was a band concert! This dress was pretty fabulous-it was a hand-me-down from a friend, and was white with pink and blue flowers. I thought the ruffled off-the-shoulder neckline was the prettiest/most awesome thing EVER. Yeah...

This was also around sixth grade-amazingly enough, I totally still have this blouse. It's a peasant blouse with long, dagged sleeves and when I bought it at the age of 12, I wanted it because it made me feel pretty and princessy. 8 years (and thankfully considerable growth in the bust) later, it still does!

2004, the first day of 7th grade, with my older brother. This outfit was actually pretty punky/Goth-y in retrospect-I was wearing a black t-shirt with a glitter cat under the poncho (note the black and white stripes!) and the most fabulous shoes ever. They were high-heeled sneakers, and unfortunately I outgrew them the next year. But while I had them, I wore them to death. And, sorry for the poncho-but it was 2004, and they were EVERYWHERE.

Still in 7th grade, with one of my best friends. I LOVED this dress-it was brown jersey with silver glitter flowers, and super-comfortable. Alas, I lent it to a different friend who never returned it. But it was a good dress-and I used to wear a lot of brown, probably because Seventeen Magazine said "sandy blondes" should wear brown. 

Special dress-up clothes for a Battle of the Books in 8th grade. This dress was a lovely crinkled fabric, and I felt so mature and sophisticated in it! I actually had the cream-colored bejeweled shrug until about a year ago, when it finally fell apart. And I still like to wear cream and black together. 

The first day of school in 9th grade-you can definitely start to see the Goth-y influences here, with the black and pink shirt (which I still have as well!) and the black skirt! I used any special occasion as an excuse to wear a skirt, since for some reason a lot of the people at my high school disdained skirt-wearing, and I got made fun of enough that I didn't want to invite more criticism by deviating from the be-pants-ed norm without an excuse.

Me in my Star Trek dress, getting ready to wow my 10th grade speech class with my speech on the History of Science Fiction. This dress just had its final outing at StarFest last year, when the $3-a-yard shiny Wal-Mart fabric decided to disintegrate. I wore it with a corset, though:

Amazing what a difference 3 years makes!

Me on Clash Day for Spirit Week in 9th grade. Yes, I actually owned all these items of clothing. Heaven knows why. The weird blue shoes cost $2 at Ross, and I bought them precisely because they were intolerably ugly yet charming. I also really liked those pants, because they were quite whimsical, but they didn't get worn much because they were really hard to match. I loved Spirit Week, because it gave me an excuse to dress crazily and still blend in. Now I just dress crazily, no excuse needed!

Me with friends at my writing club party, the end of 9th grade. This is a good example of the kinds of outfits I typically wore my first two years in HS-jeans that would allow me to blend in with pretty or unusual tops that allowed me to make a (quiet) style statement. I kind of wish I still had that tank top-it had black tulips screen-printed on it and was quite pretty!

Again, me with my older brother on the first day of school sophomore year of high school. You can definitely see the Goth-y influence here-purple top, black skirt. I also still have this skirt, though I haven't worn it in ages. Must remedy that when I get home. However, excepting special occasions like this, I would just wear outfits like the one in the party pic. After I started going to school online and realized that what idiots said about my style didn't matter, I definitely had a change of style!

Junior year of HS at my cousin's wedding. This dress was SO fabulous, and I loved it. Unfortunately, I outgrew it-but I gave it to a good friend who gave it a good home. Black and red, satin and lace-yup, definitely seeing the Goth here! But I wasn't quite all the way there...

 Senior year of HS with my Knowledge Bowl team in New Orleans-I was more steampunk than Goth at the time, and you can see it in the outfit, with the brown shoes and newsboy cap. But I still have the vest (now dyed to navy blue from regular denim) and the fabulous feathered cami. 

Also senior year of HS, at a Christmas party my older brother had. I made this red and white striped dress because, well-stripes! I still have it, I just need to do some repairs because I made it very early in my sewing career, before I really knew how to sew to last. 

When I got up to college and started a job, and at last had money to buy things like corsets, my style took a definite turn for the Goth. Stage blacks for working a production were easy for me; I started phasing out the browns and pastels and bringing in more jewel tones. Finally, I ended up with what I have today: a predominately elegant/Victorian Goth look with a lot of whimsy and playfulness and a dash of punk thrown in for good measure. If you went back to that girl in the pictures above, and told her that one day this corset-clad, flowing-skirted young woman:

 And this intrepidly exploring, lace-dress/skull-hoodie-wearing lady:

Would be her...I don't know if she'd believe you. She was an insecure little girl, and then an awkward teenager, who secretly and desperately longed to wear pretty clothes, defied her peers to wear them on occasion, but still hid her light under the proverbial bushel-though the bushel in this case was pairs of jeans and t-shirts. Heck, even this girl, from my senior pictures:

Feels like an entirely different person than this one, in a set of photos my older brother took over Thanksgiving break 2011:

As I have grown, changed, and evolved as a person, so has my style. I think that in the pull of a corset string, the swoosh of a frilled skirt, the poetry of an elegant top, I have found myself and my self-confidence. I'm sure there have been missteps along the way, but I am so glad and grateful to have shared a small part of my fashion (and personal) journey with all of you. I have fifty-five followers, which is amazing, and I value each one. I have been inducted into a society of amazing women who blog about their fashion and style, and I feel blessed to be part of such a tight-knit and supportive Goth blogging community.

I want to offer special thanks to VictorianKitty of Sophistique Noir, who is always one of the first ones on any new blog, offering advice and encouragement (and mine was no exception); and whose monthly theme days, along with Le Profeseur Gothique's Monthly Homework Assignments, have done SO MUCH to bring the Goth blogging community together and introduce us all to each other's fabulous blogs. I can't express how much it means to me to have so many amazing people to share my love of darkly whimsical clothes, elaborate and elegant outfits, and all things Goth and glorious with. The little girl in the puffy-shouldered hand-me-down '80s dress above says thanks from the bottom of her weird-clothing-loving little heart, and would kill to have people to share her passions with. The young woman in the corsets and lacy dresses feels so lucky that she does. Thank you all for your friendship, support, and comments; and here's to 100 (or 500, or 1000) more posts together.

...Oh, and today's outfit:

Black long-sleeved blouse-NZ Clothing Co.

Red underbust corset-Canal Boat trading

Black chiffon layered skirt-Paper Bag Princess

Black flats-Ross

I like to think of this as the more refined version of the black velvet catsuit with a crimson scarf around the waist my fourth-grade self wore with such cheerful obliviousness to how truly awful it was. Except, you know, nicer looking. See you all tomorrow, and if you've stuck with me to the end of this epically long, fairly self-centered post, than I love you forever. *hugs*

Monthly Homework Assignment: "I Forgot I Own This!"

So, in January I missed Le Professor Gothique's Monthly Homework Assignment, but this month I actually remembered to check, and I'm glad I did! The challenge was to wear something you haven't worn in quite a while, and I knew I had just the thing:

Cream-colored lace overblouse-Inherited

Black taffeta vintage dress-Buffalo Exchange

Black lace armwarmers-Icing

Black tights-Wal-Mart

Black stompy boots-DAV Thrift

With this dress, it's not so much "I forgot I have this" as it is "I love this, but I haven't worn it in forever because it's vintage and sort of falling apart and I haven't had a chance to do repairs. You can actually see the spot in the dress where the center front seam is coming out and a little bit of my bellybutton is showing through-hence the "I haven't worn this in ages!" that qualified this dress for my homework this month!

Fally-apart or not, though-I do love this dress. First, I have a wide ribcage and big hips, so it's really rare for me to find vintage that fits. Second, it has a bustle detail in the back, done with lace. I love it so much, I actually squeed when I lifted it up in the store and saw the sweep of the bustle. The lace is a bit full of holes, too-but I just pretend it's intentional so I can achieve an air of decadent decay, and no one has questioned it yet! This dress is going back in the closet for a while, until I get back from New Zealand and have time to do proper repairs, but I was glad to be able to give it one last outing before I left, thanks to this fun homework assignment. :)

Stripes, Parts Deux and Trois

Yes, more stripes from me. Are you surprised? I told you I was addicted! First up, this was my Chorale outfit two weeks ago, in which the correct answer to the old riddle "What's black and white and red all over?" is Jamie:

Black lace shrug-Love Culture

Skeleton hands necklace-Forever 21

Red tank top-Savers

Black and white striped corsetlet-Fusion Federation

Black and white striped arm warmers-Artsmyths

Black ruffled skirt-Goodwill

Red tights-Target

Ruby slippers-Hot Topic

I forgot to take a picture of the back of the shoes, but they actually have a black and white striped heel and are too adorable for words, even though they make my feet hurt. I felt very Tim Burton-esque in this outfit, which of course made me happy!

The next outfit was from last week, when I was in a purple sort of mood:

Black dragon necklace-Asian Gifts

Pinstripe blazer-Plato's Closet

Pink cami-Forever 21

Black/purple striped handwarmers-Claire's

Black overbust corset-Punk69

Black asymmetrical ruffle skirt-Goodwill

Purple striped tights-TJ Maxx

Vampire shoes-Hot Topic

Annoying Siamese who is affronted I interrupted her leisurely drink at the water bowl-Denver Dumb Friends League

Once again, cute shoes that make my brain and style sense happy and my feet sad. Are there any other kind? Actually, both these pairs of shoes were Hot Topic clearance-which is good, because $12 for the red ones and $15 for the vampire ones is a lot more acceptable to my excessively thrifty brain than $45-60 a pair regular price! I think I've become addicted to fingerless gloves/handwarmers/whatever-you-care-to-call-'ems-I've actually had a lot of mine for quite some time, but I've been making a concerted effort to actually wear them more. Since I'm going to New Zealand in less than 3 weeks (eek!), and I'm taking one large and one carry-on bag worth of clothes for five months (double eek!), so I've been practicing accessorizing with small, light things like jewelry and handwarmers. That way, when I have less clothes, I can still do a variety of fun outfits by changing up the details! Have any of you ever had to travel with a limited wardrobe? How did you work it out? 

Stripes Ahoy!

I may be slightly addicted to striped things. Striped tights, pinstripe corsets, striped skirts...I think it's all Tim Burton's fault. If he didn't constantly put great looking stripey costumes into his films, I wouldn't want to wear stripes all the time. But he does, and I do, and the result is outfits like this:

Fake "pearl" necklace-Arc

Demon necklace-Repeat Boutique

Black lace shrug-Savers

Buckled pinstriped corset-The Crypt

Purple-and-black-stripe handwarmers-Claire's

Purple-and-black striped skirt-Buffalo Exchange

Black leggings-Wal-mart

Black boots-Buffalo Exchange

I think when I first saw this skirt at Buffalo Exchange (in the Halloween section, natch), my reaction was something like OMGMINEMINEMINEMINEMINE!!! Fortunately, most sane people don't want a bright purple and black striped skirt, so I was able to snatch it up and abscond happily to the checkouts with it-I think it only cost $6 or $8, and it makes me so happy. Stripes! What else can I say? I'm a walking Goth cliche when it comes to 'em. Speaking of stripes, I will very soon have the mother of all Sew Very Goth posts coming up, so keep your eyes peeled. I just have to do about 18,000 feet of gathering first. What's your favorite cliche Goth style? 

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

Spooktober Week 2: Spiders!

Continuing my month of spooky and Goth-y patterns, we're moving from skulls to spiders this week. Day 1 brings us the unlikely combination of spiderwebs in technicolor, rainbow, what-have-you. Aren't you interested to see now what I'm blathering on about?

 

Lace dress-Savers

Black jersey dress (underneath)-Arc

Spiderweb Corsetlet-eBay

Leggings-Forever 21

Striped Socks-Street market in London

Doc-Marten-Alikes-Wal-Mart 

Here's a close-up of the corsetlet print-isn't it fab? This isn't an actual steel-boned corset, just plastic boned (sure sign of a lingerie corset rather than a real one-it's sold by small, medium, large rather than waist size), but it's so pretty and fun I don't even mind. I think it might be a bit weird even by Goth standards that I have enough spider-web print clothing for a week, but I fully intend to make the most of it! Stay tuned for various spider-things throughout the week.  

Skull Week Days 3 and 4: Teeny Weeny Skulls and Skeletons and Musical Instruments

Hi! Sorry for missing yesterday, but never fear-I have outfit pics, so you get to see me work skulls subtly and...not-so-subtly, all in one post! Aren't you all so lucky? :) Here's yesterday's outfit, my own personal Goth-y version of the requisite college student t-shirt/sweatpants outfit-just as comfy, nowhere near as boring-looking!

 

Black lace overblouse-Goodwill

Skull-print cami-Plato's Closet

 Ruffled black calf-length skirt-Arc

Black kneesocks-Target

Black heeled Mary Janes-Hot Topic

  It's really hard to tell from a distance, but this print is  super-adorable. Here's a close-up: 

I think this is skulls and Goth-y prints at their subtlest; just a tiny hint of the macabre and unusual, offered only to those who get close enough to look. And though I usually love my outlandish, eyeball-grabbing style, sometimes it's nice to be just a little mysterious. I didn't continue the subtlety today, though, that's for sure!

 

Pearl choker-Inherited

Green skeleton-print dress-Made by me

Black taffeta underbust corset-Punk69

Black tights-Wal-Mart

  Black chunky sneakers-Arc 

The picture really doesn't do justice to the awesomeness of this fabric. I made this dress for a Halloween costume 2 years ago (June Cleaver by Tim Burton, if you're curious), and haven't worn it much since, just because it was one of my first sewing projects and thus has no darts, buttons, or zipper, giving it all the attractive shape of a feed sack. That's easily remedied with a corset, though, so now I have no excuse not to wear it! The fabric has skeletons. Playing musical instruments. It makes me so happy! Here, have a close-up so you can be happy too!

 They even gave them little hats! And you can't read the drum, but it says "Rolling Bones." Isn't it too fabulous for words? I also love the lime green-one of my friends walked into class this morning, stopped, and said "Whoa. You're actually wearing a lot of color. I'm surprised!" It was too funny, and very true. Tune in tomorrow for the last day of skulls and such, which will be...highly accessorial, to say the least! Aren't you excited? I know I am!

Stripey Socks and Skulls-Skull Week, Day 2

So, my outfit ended up taking a bit of an unexpected twist today; I was originally wearing plain black tights, but they imploded into a mass of strings around the thigh area two hours into my day. Fortunately, I was on 16th Street Mall and could buy some new ones, but given the choice between a $10 pair of plain black tights and a $4 pair of stripey tights, I of course had to go with the stripes. I don't usually mix patterns, but I kinda like this:

 

Black jersey shrug-Rainbow

Skull-print chiffon dress-Hot Topic

Skull bangle-GoodGoth 

Purple and black stripe tights-TJ Maxx

Victorian-style boots-Ross

 I do love this dress-considering how pricey (relatively-remember, I'm on a college student budget!) most stuff at Hot Topic is, I've almost never bought anything there at full price, but when I saw this I had to have it, regardless of the $60 price tag. It is such a fun, flirty, and versatile dress-after I bought it I worried that such a distinctive piece might not get a lot of wear, but it's surprisingly easy to style into a lot of different outfits. I especially like it with the stripes, which is something I don't think I would have done on purpose for fear of clashing patterns/prints-I'm a wee bit anal retentive and like everything to match, so sometimes I will be a bit hesitant about putting more than one bold pattern into an outfit-but after how this turned out, I might have to try more! How do you all feel about mixing prints?

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!

Black And Silver Day 2: A Little Bit Ren Faire

So, as you might guess from the title, this outfit is just a tad Ren Faire. Not that I mind that in the least-in fact, it makes me happy, as I get to walk around all day feeling like an elegant lady from another time. (Not that I don't do that 90% of the time anyway...) But I digress. Here's the outfit:

 

Black peasant blouse-Forever 21

Silver underbust corset-Punk69

Bustled cotton skirt-Arc

Buckled combat boots-Ross

 I got this skirt thrifting on Sunday. It was actually the bottom part of a Halloween costume, the top part of which was awful-a "pirate" blouse with itchy, shapeless lace on the top and a plastic-boned lycra bottom. So I was a bad girl, and just bought the skirt, even though they were hung together. I love to go to Arc around Halloween, because a lot of the stuff they put in the Halloween section suits me perfectly for everyday wardrobe. Ah, the benefits of being a Goth. This is one of those long skirts with the ribbons inside you can tie up to give a lovely pouf effect, and I really like the overall look. On to more black and silver tomorrow! 

Black and Silver Day 1: Zippers and Schoolgirl Skrits

Trying a little less conventional color combo this week-black and silver! This was heavily inspired by the kick-ass new skirt I got two days ago while thrifting. I paid $4.50 for it, and it still had the original price tags on it:$69! Go me! It was from Bebe, a brand that I've liked, but only thrifted from because it's so expensive. Here's the outfit I put together around it:

 Heart/arrow necklace-Arc

Black lace blouse-Fusion Federation

Black cami (under blouse)-Wal-Mart

Silver pleated Bebe skirt-Arc 

Black opaque tights-Wal-Mart

You can't see my shoes, but they're my standard black Mary Janes with zippers, so you aren't missing anything! 

Here's my mani for the week-I alternated silver with black crackle polish and a light coating of silver sparkle over black. It came out very pretty, and I am rather proud of it! It might be black and gray rather than black and silver a couple of days, but same diff, right? Stay tuned, this week's outfits are gonna be fun!

She Wore Purple Velvet...Stripes

Ignore my lame song pun title-heaven forbid I ever actually get something that is made of blue velvet! For day 2 of black and purple week, I donned one of my favorite corsets-it has black and purple, stripes, velvet, and ruffles. What more could a girl ask for? It does tend a little toward the costume-y if I wear it with a lot of other really Victorian stuff, though-and some days I feel very steampunk-y, and that's fine, but today I wanted a little more modern vibe.

 

Black jersey dress-Ross

Purple velvet corset-Punk69

Purple tights-TJ Maxx

Black combat boots-DAV thrift

 I tried to "dress it down" a little by pairing it with casual items-well, casual for me, at least! I'm sure most people would call this dress at least somewhat dressy, but a black jersey dress is my equivalent of jeans-which probably explains why I have three of them. The purple tights were definitely a lucky find at TJ Maxx for $3-I think I'm getting close to having a solid-color pair in every color! It definitely helps with my ever-so-slightly anal-retentive need for color coordination, not to mention that they're fun, funky, and easy to wear. Love!

Black and Purple, and Better Pictures

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus last week, but I hadn't a camera with which to take pictures! Fortunately, that problem was remedied as of Friday, so now I will be back to daily (or twofer-every-other-day) posting-aaannnd my new camera has a front LCD, so I will actually be able to see what it's doing! Yay! This week, I'm doing black and purple, one of my favorite color combos-cliche, I know, but it's soooooo pretty. And here is Day One!

Black cropped shrug-Rainbow

Purple ruffled blouse-Arc (?) 

Black lace skirt-By me

Black zippered Mary Janes (even though you can't see 'em)-Arc

I normally remember where I got almost everything in my wardrobe, but I've had this blouse for about six or seven years, so where exactly I bought it escapes me. I'm actually rather proud of this skirt-you can't see it very well in the picture, but it has two big rows of lace on the bottom and is quite full, giving it a wonderful Victorian feel. It was actually the underskirt in a slightly horrible silvery-purple taffeta '80s prom gown-I took the gown apart, re-gathered the quite pretty underskirt (really, the only salvageable part of the dress-it was quite a monstrosity, to be honest!), and attached it to an elastic waistband. Simple, elegant, and cheap-I think I gave $6 for the dress and used about 50 cents worth of elastic. Not bad for a very similar skirt to this one from GoodGoth, that runs $65-mine doesn't have the lacing, but next time I have my sewing machine and a good 20 minutes, that will be remedied. Have any of you ever made a cheap replica of a much more expensive piece of clothing?

Black and Red Week Day 2

Look! Look! I'm actually posting two days in a row, aren't you pleasantly surprised? Continuing the red and black, here's today's outfit:

 

Black stretchy peasant top: Ross

Red lace handkerchief-hemmed skirt: Arc

Black and silver tights-Forever 21

Black Mary Jane wedges-Repeat Boutique

I saw this skirt when buying part of my Halloween costume at Arc on Saturday and just had to have it, despite my resolution to not buy clothes as much this year. Red lace over black, an asymmetrical fairy hem, and pencil-style without being too fitted? Sign me up! There was some light damage on one side of the skirt (holes in the lace, like it had caught on something) that you can't see in the photo, but I liked it too much to care-and I can always repair later. The skirt I wore yesterday was another casualty of my weakness for lace skirt-my friend found it while we were shopping, and showed it to me, and I couldn't resist the combination of good, non-stretch black lace and just-below-the-knee length. It was so classic and perfect! If I keep it up at this rate, one of these days they're going to find my body covered in a huge heap of lace skirts that fell out of my closet. Ah, well, at least I'll die stylishly. 

Hot Pink, Red, and Black, Oh My!

I know you were all waiting in breathless suspense to see my last two outfits from Hot Pink and Black week, and I finally have time to post today, so I can give them to you, along with the first outfit from Red and Black Week! (I have so much red and black I don't think I'll end up replicating anything I wore for Sophistique Noir's Red and Black Week...I don't know if that's sad or awesome.) And my camera will hopefully be coming soon, so please bear with my crappy pictures until then!
First hot pink and black outfit:

 Black and hot pink mesh top: Thrifted ages ago, I don't know where
Black d-ring canvas skirt: Tripp via Buffalo Exchange
Wedge Mary Janes: Repeat Boutique

 I didn't get a really good picture of the top while I was wearing it, so here's a better image of it. Even though this top is a bit "mall-goth", I still can't help but love it-there is something about the little mesh sleeves that is irresistibly cheeky to me!

 Here's the second hot pink and black- I was rather pleased with how comfortably cool as well as thoroughly Goth-y looking this outfit came out!
Black jersey dress-Ross
Black and hot pink stripe stockings-Buffalo Exchange
Black zipper Mary Janes-Arc

And here's today!
Black and red Asian-style top-Plato's Closet
Black lace skirt-Goodwill
Black elastic strap Mary Jane heels-Target
Not that I have a marked preference in shoe styles or anything... :) I desperately want the weather to cool down so I can start wearing my corsets again! Being a hardy sort, I can generally wear them through heat in the 80s, but it has been over 90 degrees here for the past two weeks straight, and an extra three layers of fabric and steel boning doesn't exactly help one stay cool! Now that the craziness of the first week back has passed, I should be able to post daily instead of doing glut-posts like this-wish me luck! Until next time, gentle readers, adieu!