For Crown & Country

You should know by now that I'm a complete anglophile. My husband is too -- & he bought me these shoes for Christmas. I'm just sorry it's taken this long to get around to wearing & blogging them. They're surprisingly comfortable, especially considering they're faux leather & have a spindly little heel. Must wear these more often.

What I'm wearing:
Red shift dress, Target | Black cardigan, Chadwicks | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Union Jack shoes, Zappos | Sparkly crown brooch, random accessory store | Silver hoop earrings, random accessory store

The crown brooch has extra meaning. Not only does it fit with the Britannia theme, but recently at a Society for Creative Anachronism event, I was honored with the title of "Baroness." In the SCA, a court barony is a ceremonial title that carries a tiny modicum of prestige, no real responsibilities, & the opportunity to wear a coronet. I'm pretty pleased about that!

A Night Out

This is my new favorite cocktail dress, & I bought it for a steal on eBay. It's from my old favorite print/online catalog, Newport News, which is sadly now out of business (a tiny, sad, little remnant of it exists as a part of Spiegel). This night, I was going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant with my husband for his birthday. I've also worn this dress out to a local speakeasy & to dinner with friends to celebrate the end of my cancer treatments. It's a very celebratory outfit.

What I'm wearing:
Purple stretch velvet cocktail dress, Newport News via eBay | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Black bow-tied pumps, Clarks | Purple crystal necklace, gift from Lisa | Black & silver dangly earrings, random accessory store

Malice on Monday

I'm not big on logo clothing or wearing other people's faces on myself. But ... this scarf called to me when I was at DisneyLand a month ago. C'mon, Maleficent! The evil fairy of "Sleeping Beauty" fame -- she's awesome! She's totally goth! And the scarf's design is gorgeous. I had to have it.

Do you wear logos or characters ever? If so, which ones tempt you?

What I'm wearing:
Black knit top, NY & Company | Grey corduroy skirt, Newport News | Black leather belt, Express | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Black pointy kitten-heel shoes, Aldo | Maleficent scarf, DisneyLand | Silver & purple earrings, gift from Lisa | Silver Celtic knotwork ring, gift from Lisa

 

Spring Flowers

Just a tiny touch of flowers as we march towards spring (hah). I love the '80s vibe of this floral print -- back in the day, I had a lot of cabbage rose florals in my New Romantic wardrobe. And I don't mind revisiting my slightly misspent youth.

Are there trends you loved the first time around *and* the second time around?

What I'm wearing:
Black velveteen jacket, White House Black Market | Floral print knit top, H&M | Burgundy skirt, NY & Company | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Black flats, Aerosoles | Pewter "Success" key necklace, gift from my husband | Gunmetal hoop earrings, random accessory store | Chanel "Vamp" lipstick

10 & 6

Dainty Dramatist Heel by ModCloth

These two links are totally different, but I want to share them anyway.

First, the super cool U.K. gothic clothing shop & blog Gothic Angel had a roundup of the 10 best gothic websites, & they included me! And I'm in good company with Sophistique Noir, Gothic Charm School, & Dark Side of the Net. True confession: I'm old friends with the proprietors of the later two sites, we know each other from way back when on usenet on alt.gothic.fashion & hung out together at net.goth Convergence gatherings. They're awesome people & do fabulous work!

Changing tone, I ran across this link on Facebook: 6 things you must have to have a perfect body. Wait for it ... this isn't what you might think. This article is a pretty clever subversion of the usual "perfect body" BS. Love this one.

Weekend RuPaul

I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I love RuPaul & drag queens in general. It takes balls for a man to dress up in high heels, a wig, & makeup in public. And Ru is the most outspoken of them all, with sassy quips that are awesome words to live by. My favourite quote of his is "We're all born naked, the rest is drag" -- which I've turned into a slogan for my costume site as, "We're all born naked, everything else is a costume." Same concept, meaning that clothes are an act of making up who we are, pretending to be something, mask making, presenting a carefully constructed face to the world. I think goths understand this idea intrinsically.

While that's my favorite RuPaul quote, I do love this T-shirt my sweetie got me for Christmas. The gold foil makes it very glam, & who doesn't need that?

What I'm wearing:
"Shantay, You Stay / Sashay Away" RuPaul's Drag Race T-shirt, gift from my husband
Black linen skirt, H&M
Black elastic belt, NY & Company
Black leggings with lace side panel, Torrid
Black socks, unknown brand
Black flats with wings, Plasticland.com
Black & gold medallion earrings, random accessory store
Silver bangles, random accessory store
Brown skull bracelet, gift from my mom
Silver Celtic knotwork ring gift from Lisa

When pop culture memes collide! Jabba the Hut at a local Star Wars themed bar.

Grey Day

Rainy morning -- we need more of those here in drought-stricken California. Unfortunately, this is normally the end of the rainy season, & we haven't had much rain at all. I dread how hot & dry summer will be. Gotta wear sweaters now, any chance I can.

How has your winter been? Snow, rain, dry? How does this effect what you wear?

What I'm wearing:
Black & grey stripe sweater, Target | Black skirt with striped & lace trims, Gap, thrifted, modified by me | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Black & grey pumps, Target | Silver skull necklace, random accessory store | Silver hoop earrings, random accessory store

 

Recent Reads

In the dearth of outfit posts during my lack of a decent camera, I thought I'd share some cool things I've read around the blogosphere recently...

LoL!

Offbeat Bride regularly has shoe posts that are pretty fabulous. This one about black shoes with bows is especially awesome, & I would wear over half of the listed shoes! Coincidentally, I already had that first pair of shoes pinned on my This Is CorpGoth Pinterest board several times...

Already Pretty addresses a reader question about comfy bras & loungewear. This got me thinking -- see, my work-from-home clothes have gotten very loungey & down-right sloppy recently. It started during chemo because I wasn't working, but the habit has continued. I'm embarrassed to admit that I spend a lot of time in yoga pants & T-shirts (another reason for fewer posts, ugh). I kind of want to clean out my wardrobe in an effort to force myself to stop wearing boring crap.

Wardrobe Oxygen had a great guest post about drugstore makeup faves. I'll have to try some of these. Do you prefer drugstore or department store makeup in general, or do you mix it up & wear some of each?