Geeky Goth Girl says "Bula!" from Fiji!

Hello, my loves-sorry for the unplanned hiatus, but I've spent the last 13 days flying halfway around the world, getting the worst sunburn of my life, eating massive quantities of Fijian food, and getting settled into my flat in Wellington! I have a couple pictures of your friendly local (only not-so-local any more) Geeky Goth Girl gadding about the lovely isle of Fiji, where I spent ten glorious days:

Here I am, sailing to the beautiful Beachcomber Island in my pretty, sparkly black dress-beach and Goth collide! It was actually the first time I've ever been on a beach, and it was so amazing. Gorgeous weather, warm water, drinks that are much stronger than you expect...but that's another story. :)

Me, holding a baby sea turtle. They were so cute! It took all my self-restraint to not stick him in my pocket and run away with him.

When snorkeling, be very careful of coral. Fun, beautiful...but sharp and pointy! O' course, it probably didn't help that I couldn't wear my glasses and was blundering about underwater blind as a bat.

Why we of the pale persuasion fear the fierce rays of the Daystar. My sunscreen took one look at the Fijian sun, said "screw this, I'm outta here", and fled, leaving me to the sun's mercy, despite copious reapplications. I have never had a sunburn with blisters before...

The day after Beachcomber, thoroughly shielded from the sun's rays, on top of an amazing ancient Fijian hillfort. Note my dedication to Gothy-ness-I still wore black in the tropical heat...I feel like I should submit this to Goths in Hot Weather, even thought it was actually a very cool outfit since the shirt and skirt are both quite lightweight!

Me: 5'4"

Ancient Fijian trees on the campus of the Universtity of the South Pacific: Too, too tall!

Both the cherry print underblouse and the lace overblouse were from the Fijian flea markets...I promised myself I wouldn't buy too many clothes on this trip, but couldn't resist beautiful clothes for insanely great prices, considering the current Fijian/USD exchange rate!

A Goth spin on traditional Fijian dress: I made my own sulu, or sarong, to wear when we visited the village of Waikete, which means water-stomach. The villagers were incredibly warm and friendly, and had the good grace to applaud rather than laughing when I attempted traditional Fijian dance!

Finally, my last night in Fiji-we had a lovely going-away dinner, followed by a viewing of an excellent show called Vaka: Birth of a Seer. This is me with my amazing host mom, Frances, and my lovely roommate Hilary, chilling after a great Fijian meal. I miss the food there-and the people, who were all insanely sociable and affectionate and generally lovely.
Alas, I managed to break my camera between Fiji and Wellington, and only today acquired a replacement, so no pics from Wellington yet. But that'll all change tomorrow! Stay tuned for more pictures, outfits, and stories from Geeky Goth Girl: New Zealand edition. And as the Fijians say, Au Salako!

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. :)

Sew Very Goth: Tim Burton-Esque Edition

When I was home over Thanksgiving break, I happened to wander by the smallish fabric section of our local Wal-Mart, and what did I see? Only the best thing a Goth can hope for: Black and white striped fabric! I immediately planned to buy all that was left on the bolt, only to get a second, even better surprise: It was $.87 a yard, and there were 8 and 1/2 yards. I knew IMMEDIATELY what I wanted to do with it! I'd had this Simplicity pattern laying around for a while:

And I'd been coveting this one for quite a while, so I took the excuse to buy it off eBay:

I put the two of 'em together, and came out with this ensemble:

Apologies for my wonk-face in this picture, I have no idea why I look like that. 

Black collared blouse-Wal-Mart

Black and white striped coat-vest-Made by me

Black underbust corset-Fusion Federation

Black and white striped ruffled skirt-Made by me

Skull socks-TJ Maxx

White Mary Jane heels-Hot Topic

The skirt is actually fully reversible; the other side is white satin with a black and red pinstripe. I am so proud of this outfit, I can't even tell you. If the vest looks a little unfinished, that's because it was-I was too excited to wear it to worry about topstitching and putting the last hook in place, hence the pearl pin in the middle. Tune in soon for the other two pieces I'm making out of this fabric, because they are also awesome. :)

Shades of Grey

Who says that grey has to be dreary and dull? Certainly not me! This outfit is, granted, a bit understated by my standards, but it was fun to wear, so I may have to try this "Dressing Like A Grown-Up (Ish)" thing more often. You will still have to pry my neon-colored striped socks from my cold, dead fingers, but today I learned that simple heather-grey tights can work too.

Black 3/4 sleeve sweater: Arc

Underbust vest-style corset-Fusion Federation

Grey/pink tweed skirt-Repeat Boutique

Heather-grey tights-Wal-Mart

Two-strap Mary Janes-Hot Topic

I love this skirt and I think the only reason I don't wear it more often is it's hard to match because of the pink. But I love the asymmetrical cut and jagged hem-that with the pink gives the tweed fabric a punky aspect that's really fun to wear. Tweed is good, but can sometimes run a bit on the staid-ish side, and grey is similar-so I like this skirt because it gives an edge to both. Do any of the rest of you like to wear traditional fabrics in unusual cuts and colors? 

Sew Very Goth Tutorial: Fingerless Gloves

Hello, gentle readers! Warning for those on slow interwebs, like mine: Very pic-heavy post! But totally worth the bandwidth, in my humble opinion. Since you've all been kind enough to read and comment on my posts for the past 9-ish months, I thought I should like to repay the favor by posting a how-to for one of the most Goth-y of essentials, fingerless gloves.

I love fingerless gloves. I have bought many pairs from places like Hot Topic and Claire's, but every time I put them on, I would pause and say: Why did I pay $8.50 for these? I can sew, I'm sure I can make them for much less! But it remained nothing more than an idle thought until a few days ago, when I found an old knit top that needed a bit of revamping.

After snipping and snapping it down to size (pics of the re-cut top forthcoming on a day when my hair doesn't look terrible!), I had a fair amount of excess fabric, so on impulse I decided to try and make a pair. And they came out great!

Because I was making it up as I went on those, I didn't do a tutorial with them; but naturally, having made one pair so quicky and easily, I wanted to make another, and this time I did step-by-step, took pictures, and everything! So without further ado, here's the tutorial:
Materials needed: Stretch fabric (this is a great way to use up remnants and scraps!), sewing machine or serger, fabric-marking pencil, your arm
Step one: Lay out your fabric, making sure you have two layers and it's all nice and aligned. This was part of an old tank top that started to fall apart; these are an excellent project for upcycling.

Lay out your arm on your fabric and trace around it. Sewing tip: I use charcoal white pencils on dark fabric and heavy lead pencils on light, because I find them much more precise than tailor's chalk. I wanted these to be elbow-length, so I traced to just below the elbow.

Take away your arm and add about 1/4 inch to one side for seam allowance. Since these are made of stretch fabric, you don't want a lot of extra ease or they will hang oddly! Also, trace in an indentation for your thumb, about 1/2 inch down from the top of your glove.

Cut out your first glove, flip it over, and trace it to make a second. Cut them both out and place them right sides together.

Seam all the way down the straight side of the glove (the side without the thumb indentation). I used my serger for this, but if you don't have one, you can also use the zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine.

Carefully serge or zig-zag stich along each of the thumb-holes.

Fold down the top edge and stitch it under. Then, sew together your final seams above and below the thumbhole, turn them right side out, and enjoy your fab new fingerless gloves-for much less than $8.50.

Good luck! If anyone makes some fingerless gloves using this tutorial, send me pictures-I would love to see what all you gorgeous folks can 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. 

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? 

Running Away To Join The Circus

Ok, I didn't actually run away to join the circus. I just looked like I was going to. Outfit from community band last Tuesday, complete with elephants, dancing ladies, and a mini top-hat:

Red mini top hat-Gift from a friend

Bronze medallion necklace-Downtown Duds

Red flowered blazer-Goodwill

Black ruffled camisole-Goodwill

Circus-print vintage skirt-Arc

Black lace handwarmers-Claire's

Red and black vertical striped tights-Hot Topic

Victorian heeled ankle boots-Ross

When I bought this skirt, I was a little worried that it might be a bit of a one-trick pony, so to speak-the print is so wild and distinctive that I thought I wouldn't really be able to wear it in a lot of ways. $4 for a vintage (I'd guess 1950s-1960s) skirt in near-perfect condition that actually fit me was too good to pass up, but I didn't know how often I would be able to wear it. However, I think I managed to make an appreciably different outfit with it this time than I did the last time I wore it, here. I think it has depths of versatility yet to be explored-who knows, maybe I'll end up wearing it all the time and end up being the crazy girl with the circus skirt! I think the problem is, in my mind versatility has pretty much always equaled plain, unadorned black. It isn't until recently that I have been able to see something patterned, printed, striped, or colored and go "Hey! That'll make a great basic, versatile piece!" I've been fighting with my fashion preconceptions lately, and I'm proud to say I'm winning. 

30-Day Goth Challenge, Day 1

So, I just looked at the calendar and realized that, in one month, I leave for New Zealand. It's crazy to think about, and it is going to be even crazier getting ready for, but I am determined to do it-and to be a better blogger along the way! In order to motivate myself to blog more regularly (and I'm not even going to offer excuses for my pitiful posting so far this year; I've just been lazy, and that's all there is to it!) I am going to try the 30 Day Goth Challenge from the lovely Juliet's Lace. Today, Day 1 of the challenge, poses what would seem to be a simple question: How did you come across the subculture?

Well, for me, that simple question...isn't so simple. Ok, it actually isn't so VERY complicated either, but I like to make myself sound more mysterious than I actually am. :) In retrospect, a lot of the traits that would grow up to be Goth in me manifested themselves very young. I watched The Addams Family movies quite a bit as a kid, and enjoyed old Munsters re-runs. I was obsessed with vampires and ghost stories, and I always loved Victorian children's literature. I also frequently displayed a strongly independent, if not entirely tasteful, fashion sense. I was obsessed with prairie dresses and penny loafers in second and third grade. I may be the only fourth grader in history to wear a black velvet catsuit with a long red scarf looped around the waist to school, followed the next year by an entirely leopard-print outfit (leopard-print pajama pants, matching old maternity top of my mom's-no, I'm not kidding about that-and hairbow in a completely different kind of leopard print). Thankfully, no pictures of these sartorial abominations exist to haunt me, but trust me, they were bad.

So what does all that have to do with Goth? Well, I'm getting there. In 7th and 8th grade, I went through what I like to refer to as my "conventional" phase; the bullying about my out-there outfits had finally gotten to be too much, and I wanted to fit in, so the farthest I would go was a wild top with a pair of jeans. I was 13, and when you're 13, you make such things way more important than they are. Instead of wearing the skirts and dresses I so desperately wanted to wear, I would read the Dress A Day  blog and fantasize about the day when I could wear a scrabble-print dress or alphabet-print skirt. One day, Erin posted about a Goth lady, Jillian Venters of the Gothic Charm School, who was seeking pink and black striped fabrics. Intrigued (one of my friends had recently started going the whole Hot Topic route), I clicked on the link-and found myself in an amazing, absolutely fascinating world. Here, finally, were people who looked at life in the same odd, quirky way I did! Here were people who loved beautiful clothes, and Tim Burton movies, and vampire books! I was hooked, but only in the mental sense. I had seen how my friend, and several other kids at school who identified themselves as variations of Goth and punk, were treated, and I just wasn't ready for that.

So for the next two years, through my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I bided my time. I rebelled against the jeans-and-t-shirt dresscode of my peers in small ways; I wore tailored black and grey pants with a cheerful Eyore t, or donned a black lace tank with jeans that laced up the sides. On days when the tennis team played, I joyfully wore my skirts and dresses, secure in the knowledge that no one could make snide comments about me being *shock, horror* "overdressed", when everyone knew we were required to dress nicely for matches! Finally, after I left school to go online for my last two years, I was able to get the requisite mental distance to realize that I shouldn't care what people at that school thought, and I should wear what makes me happy, snide and sniggering idiots be damned. I threw out all but one pair of jeans (a girl has to do things like hike and paint some times!), bought a bunch of stripey tights and lacy skirts, and I've never looked back. It's been a long, and sometimes bumpy road-but I can safely say that I am today an unashamed, unreserved, and exceptionally happy Goth. So, thank you to the random Google search that led me to Erin's amazing blog, which led me to Jillian's amazing blog, which led me into Goth and all the amazing people, places, and things I have discovered in this subculture. I love you guys! 

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. 

New Year, New Blogger

Hello, ladies and gents! Sorry for my extended absence from blogging, but between the craziness of finals, moving out of my dorm, and finalizing paperwork for my Study Abroad in New Zealand, I have been hugely busy. I'm not normally huge on New Year's Resolutions, but the one I want to make for this year is to be a more consistent blogger. I've also sadly neglected the geek portion of my blog, and I want to bring the "comics" part of my tagline "From Comics To Corsets" into truth with more book and movie reviews and looks at the intersections of goth and geek culture. There are a lot more than you would think!

As to the other stuff I like to post about: I have a fairly large backlog of outfits, and I've been sewing again, so keep your eyes peeled in the coming days for a plethora of outfit posts and the return of my SewVeryGoth feature. If you don't remember this, don't feel bad-I've only posted about three or four of my sewing projects since the blog started. I've done more, but I haven't posted about them! However, I'm participating in the Stitcher's Guild SWAP (Sewing With A Plan) contest this year, attempting to sew 11 items that will all co-ordinate with each other in a set wardrobe. I've added an extra element of challenge for myself-I'm trying to make versatile items that will travel well, be wearable in a number of situations, and still maintain my elegantly Goth-y style. I leave on February 16th, so even though the deadline of the contest is April 20th, I have about a month and a half to make 11 things. Considering I've used almost all the patterns before, and I almost finished one blouse from cutting out to partial construction today, that's not as difficult as it sounds (I hope). Have a bright and happy 2012, all my lovely readers and fellow bloggers; I hope that I will be seeing a lot more of all of you than I did in 2011! 

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!