Wack-tober:Steampunk Pants Fun!

These are not cosplays, but they both count as Wack-tober for me because they involve an element none-too-frequently seen in my outfits: Pants! Well, bloomers. And knickers. Still, bifurcated bottom garments-not something I do that often! But it is Wack-tober, after all-and for me, pants are definitely out of the ordinary. Here's the first:

Goggles-Goodwill
Black and navy blouse-Arc

Black velvet underbust-Buffalo Exchange

Black pantalets-Buffalo Exchange

Rainbow socks-British shop
Black round-toed Mary Janes-Ross
I wore this last Sunday to go to the doll show with my mom. I got the pins on the corset there-I really like them, and think they add a lot of pop to the outfit! I'm now rather enamoured of the idea of wearing brooches and pins on my corsets for decoration. 

And here was last night's outfit, for a Rasputina concert!

Black lace bolero-Love Culture

Cream blouse-Fiji flea market

Black and cream underbust-Punk69
Bloomers-Made by me
Black flowered tights-Target

Black and white striped stocking-Hot Topic
Mary Jane heels-Goodwill

Sorry for the slightly blurry picture-it was rather late last night when I got home from the concert, so I didn't notice the picture was blurry when I took it. I'm rather proud of these bloomers-they were actually a very small pair of children's bloomers I got from Goodwill, then split open and put large panels of cream-colored satin (scavenged from another skirt) on the side. It was a pretty simple endeavor, but I really like the results. They are super comfortable and easy to wear, and the perfect thing to wear to see one of my favorite bands. :)

Insert Lame News/Print Pun Here

Yep, it's time for that awesomest of garments again...the newsprint corset! Since VictorianKitty made a special point of mentioning it in the comments on my last post, I decided to wear it today! I didn't actually have class today on account of it being ANZAC day (New Zealand's memorial day equivalent), but I figure, as long as I'm meeting friends to work on a group project and studying in the library for a paper due Friday, I might as well look fabulous doing it.

Black t-shirt-The Warehouse

Black halter vest-Fusion Federation

Newsprint Corset-Punk69

Black cotton gypsy skirt-Salvation Army

Patterned fishnets-Target

Black flats-Ross

I love this skirt a lot-it's super-full (probably 4 or 5 yards at the hem) and swishes around in a most appealing way when I walk. I wasn't sure about this outfit when I put it on, but seeing it in full, I like it-the corset and funky tights break up all the black and keep it from being too oppressive-looking! I get compliments on this corset every time I wear it; definitely one of my best and favorite purchases of forever. I miss the rest of my corsets (sitting back home some 8,000 miles away), but this one is far and away my favorite, desert-island-keeper of a corset, and I'm glad I brought it with me! 

A Bit O' Boyish Style...

With little prelude, I present this outfit, because I know you'll be very surprised by it:

Grey hat-Scarf Co. 

Sword necklace-Asian Gifts

Black lace blouse-Arc

Grey tweed vest-Arc

Grey tweed pants-Salvation Army

Black trouser socks-TJ Maxx

Black ankle boots-The Warehouse

Yes, I actually wore pants today. I know, I know-I'll give you all a few moments to recover from your shock. I actually now own three pairs of pants-the ones in this pic, a similar pair of grey knickers, and one pair of black jeans. I haven't made any blog-worthy outfits with the others, but I really liked this outfit. I actually only bought these because they matched the vest so well-the fabrics are almost exact matches! I actually really like the vaguely "Newsies" vibe of this outfit-I'm normally the girliest of girly girls, but if I'm gonna do tomboy, dammit, I'm gonna do sassy, Victorian-urchin tomboy! I also like these pants because they're wide-legged and therefore much more comfortable than normal pants-I will never for the life of me understand the insistence that jeans are the most comfy things ever, because with all the thick seams, buttons, zippers, and snaps, I've never found them comfortable at all! Give me a good flowy silk peasant skirt any day-or in lieu of that, some sweet wool tweed trouser-style pants. :)

Also, I bought this hat on my trip because we were only showering about every other day, and I have the kind of scalp oil production that could resolve the Mid-East Crisis and I needed something to cover my Professor Snape-esque locks, but wearing it has made me realize how much I miss hats. There's a couple shops in Wellington that sell cheapie costume-style hats, and I might have to buy a few just to tide me over until I get back home! It's crazy to think that it's only a little over two months now...but I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. :)

Slightly Dirty Victorian

Well, typical of my usual New Year's Resolutions, I seem to have promised to become a better, more frequent blogger only to promptly disappear from the Internet for a week due to a soul-sucking flu/cold combination. But never fear, lovely readers-I'm back with a vengance today. I was inspired by Kitty Lovett's Year of the Filthy Victorians but didn't entirely meet her requirements, and thus don't really feel I've earned full Filthy Victorian status. Instead, here's my idea of a slightly dirty Victorian:

Black and silver striped button-down-Goodwill

Butterfly pin-Arc

Grey wool vest-Arc

Black-black striped underbust corset-The Crypt

Black silky skirt with ruffle-Arc

Black laced-up handwarmers-Claire's

Zippered boots-Ross

Because the pin is so lovely, I had to do a close-up of it:

Apologies for the low-ish quality of the picture; I was trying out the cameras on my new tablet, and I'm still getting used to them! Overall, I was quite pleased with the outfit; I liked how the swirliness of the skirt contrasted with the more menswear-inspired button-down and vest, and I felt rather rakish with just the bottom buckle on my corset poking out from underneath my vest. I haven't really done much with wearing corsets under, rather than over, other clothing-I know, I know, they were actually underwear and such, but I just love the look of them so much that I try not to hide them away! Now that I've done it, though, I'm actually rather enamored of the notion of a corset under a vest, so keep your eyes peeled in the future for more such outfits. 

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!

Extra, Extra, Read All About It: International Steampunk Day Is Here!

Yes, yes, it's Flag Day, blah blah blah. Pish, tosh, and likewise pooh, says I-who cares about flags when you can have STEAMPUNK?! Considering it was my "gateway drug" to Goth, and I still love it to pieces (just Goth is easier for everyday), I of course simply HAD to celebrate by giving my outfit today that extra-Victorian tinge:

 Hat-Buffalo Exchange
"Pearl" necklace-???
Black pintuck blouse-Goodwill
Newsprint corset-Punk69
Black and white striped handwarmers-Claire's
Ruffly black skirt-ARC
White mary-jane heels-Hot Topic

 You can see our cool genuine Victorian lamp in this picture, and also the top half of my kitty, Padme. I thought the lamp was thematically appropriate, and cats are always cool, hence the inclusion of this picture.

I LOOOVVE this corset. I originally saw it on GoodGoth, and wanted it so badly-but they charge $119.95 for it, which is too rich for my blood. I would visit the website and look at it longingly, then sigh and go away without ordering-so imagine my delight when I found it on Punk69, where the corsets range from $28 to $40! That, I can do-so I finally got my long-awaited newsprint corset, and figured it was ideal for a steamy outfit. Prepare to see this corset a lot, because I can already tell that it's gonna be one of my all-time favorites. Did any of you have a longed-for but too-expensive item that you were able to get for a better price elsewhere?