Whoa, What Happened There?

Sorry for dropping off the face of the blogosphere, folks! No ulterior motive or explanation other than Frock Flicks has eaten my free time, and I like it. If you're going to have a second, unpaid job, you could do worse than be editor-in-chief of a pop culture mega-site co-run with your two best friends. Maybe someday, we'll earn enough to pay off our massive webhosting fees and earn back what we've sunk in podcasting equipment and promo gear! A girl can dream.

I'm still working in a coal mine corporate-style office and wearing appropriately CorpGoth outfits. But I only have a few photos to share. Not sure that I'll be able to get back into that daily routine of outfit-blogging. Keeping it up for nearly 5 years has been amazing, and while I don't know that I'll go back to it, I certainly won't ditch it. For now, here's some links that might be of interest...

Still Weird Zine featured me in November 2015 as one of 10 fabulous fashion bloggers who are keeping it weird (after 40), along with the truly fab Meagan of Coffin Kitsch.

My husband found this article from the Miami New Times that properly credits me with creating the term TropiGoth, which has since entered Urban Dictionary. However, the newspaper's photos are a far cry from my original style.

The Black Rose UK sent this lovely list of the 'ultimate guide' to gothic fashion icons -- worth a look to see how you'd rank your faves and if there's any they missed!

And on my own Frock Flicks, during our recent Snark Week, I took a cheeky look at gothic historical fashion in film. Check it out and let me know what you think.



What I'm wearing: Black T-shirt, Target | Black & white knit double-breasted jacket, Marshalls | Pink skirt, NY & Company | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Black flats, Zappos | Skull necklace & skull earrings, random accessory store | Pink & black bag, gift from my mom

I'm Melllllllllting

It's officially summer, & I'm officially hot. This is impacting my ability to get stuff done outside of work (aka, blogging) because when I get home, I just want to flop about. We don't have AC at home, and usually don't need it, except recently we've had a run of 80 to 90 degree days. Blerg.

Add on top of this the annual CoCo Panic, meaning, this is the month before Costume College. I'm frantically trying to finish costumes (primarily my gown for the Saturday night dinner-dance known as the Gala, the one big, pull-out-all-the-stops dress-up event of the conference) and work on the three classes I'm teaching. Oh, and Frock Flicks is doing a special event, which I need to write stuff for and promote in advance.

Yeah, if I'm not melting from the heat, I'm freaking out over these projects. Plus my new job, which is great, is also keeping me super busy and doesn't have much downtime during the day. Eeek!

How's your summer going?

Playing Catch Up

Yikes, three weeks since posting here! Sorry about that. Since returning from my husband's and my anniversary trip last month, it's been nonstop busy, and while I've been online, this blog has been last priority. Of course, the trip was fantastic -- our fourth time to Jamaica, at the same resort where we honeymooned. Perfectly relaxing! TropiGoth FTW!

My blogging activity these days has been at Frock Flicks, where we're totally wrapped up in the PBS Masterpiece / BBC series "Wolf Hall," a new take on Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell. It is FANTASTIC! We've podcasted about it and have a series of articles (with more coming). I'm also watching a ton of newer series to blog about, including some gothic horror shows in Victorian settings, such as "Penny Dreadful" and "The Lizzie Borden Chronicles." Watch for reviews coming soon.

My free time has also been filled by performing with Bella Donna Historical Performers. We participated at the San Jose Fantasy Faire as pretty pretty princesses -- where I ran into the 10th Doctor and Chewbacca, which was a hoot.

This weekend, we're on stage at a brand-new event, Carnevale Fantastico, and I'm on stage as an evil queen (typecasting the goth? hah!). I have a great time with these folks, and I'm very excited about this Italian Renaissance-themed event.

I do have some CorpGoth outfits waiting to be blogged, so I'll try to get back on track. And hopefully next month, I'll have a CorpGoth Status Report theme too, if anyone's still hanging around with me!

When to Shop, When to Purge

I cross-post my daily outfit blogs to Facebook, where my circle of friends and acquaintances sometimes comment there. A while ago, someone asked, "How often do you shop and how often do you purge the closet?" I gave a quick answer there, but I figured that since that's a very appropriate question for CorpGoth, why not move it over here.

My shopping goes in fits and spurts. I'll buy a ton of stuff for a few months and then buy nothing for a while. I tend to buy new clothes and shoes when something changes and makes me need new things or notice holes in my wardrobe. For example, when my commute changed and I needed more flat shoes for a longer walk from public transportation, I started hunting for appropriate shoes. If I realize I haven't worn button-down shirts but I'm always wearing cardigans, I stop buying button-down shirts and buy a bunch of cardigans. When I have time on my hands, I'll spend more time thrift-shopping, and you never quite know what you'll find there.

As for when I purge, that's a little more predictable. About once a year but on no particular schedule, I spontaneously feel a compulsion to clean out my closet and dressers. I can be fairly ruthless -- anything I haven't worn in a year (other than special-occasion items) is subject to serious review. I try stuff on, I check for needed repairs, I consider if it goes with other stuff in my wardrobe. If I can't justify keeping it, the item goes into the donation pile.

This annual purge may inspire a shopping trip if I throw out things I like because they don't fit or uncover things I haven't worn and love but don't have many of. Not totally likely but it has happened,

How about you -- how often do you shop for clothes and purge your wardrobe?

What I'm wearing: Black and grey stripe sweater, Target | Black skirt, NY & Co. | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Black boots, Clark's | Silver skull necklace, random accessory store

We Now Interrupt This Blog...

I'm switching webhosts for my trystancraft.com site, which you wouldn't think effects CorpGoth (being a Blogger site), except that I host all my photos on my own server (more storage, more control). So there may be some interruption of service and broken images over the next few days. I won't post anything new this week until I'm positive everything's up and running as it should be.

But if you see photos broken or otherwise not loading, it's not you, it's me. Sorry! But this should improve speed all around when it's done (and make my other site a whole lot better in every way).

50% Less Makeup, 70% More Tweets

I've gotten really lazy about wearing makeup recently. Not that I ever wore a ton of makeup to work. My standard office-face routine used to be just eyes and lips. I'd wear black eyeliner, a touch of eyeshadow, and dark lipstick. Maybe once every couple of weeks I'd wear a light bit of foundation and powder, usually to cover up especially dark under-eye circles or an annoying blemish.

Well, since starting this job with the longer commute, I've been skipping the eye makeup more and more often. I probably wear eyeliner once a week, and eye shadow is just a shadow of a memory. That said, I'm loving the heck out of the Benefit They're Real Push-Up Eyeliner I bought a few months ago. It's cat-eye liner for dummies. It's all about the tip. The 'push-up' thing is actually a bit annoying because it doesn't always push up enough or a consistent amount of liner, but once you get it going (usually on a finger or a tissue), wow, it's great. That shaped tip draws perfect cat-eyes every time, as long, thick, and catty as you want. The stuff also has major lasting power. So much so that I had to buy Benefit's accompanying They're Real Remover to get the stuff off (my usual makeup remover required too much elbow grease, and rubbing one's eyes ain't nice).

Of course, I'm mostly wearing this on the weekends because I can't be arsed to tart up my eyes at the crack of dawn before going to work. Ah well.

What I apparently can be arsed to do is jump on Twitter. I'm slow to the bandwagon by a half-decade, I know. But it's not like I wasn't busy with every other thing online already. Are any of you on Twitter? Please follow me at ThisIsCorpGoth and chat me up! I'll still be blogging, but since December is super-freaky-busy for me, I may tweet more than blog because 140 characters is easier to fit in between stuff.

Also, due to my crazy month, there won't be another Mid-Month Status Report until January. Hey, you've all got holidays or maybe just weather to slog through too, right?

What I'm wearing: Grey sheath dress, Target | Black ruffled bolero sweater, Kohl's | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Silver grey wedge heels, Anne Klein | Black bat necklace, Walgreens | Silver & onyx earrings, bought in India

Spiderwebs and a Survey

Just a quick drive-by post for a particularly gothy outfit and a request. I received an email from Kaeli Smith, a fashion sociology student at the University of Delaware. She asked if I would fill out a survey on gothic fashion and its connection to upbringing, which she and her group will use for a case study. She also asked if I would post the survey to my blog.

In the interest of furthering study into the topic, here is the URL. The study is anonymous. I hope Kaeli will share a summary of her report with us later!

What I'm wearing: Black Victorian-style blouse, made by Donna | Black skirt, MetroStyle | Black gear-print tie, CyberOptix | Dangle faux-jet earrings, random accessory store | Black spiderweb tights, unknown brand | Black buckle-top pumps, Kenneth Cole

Wow, Reports, Whoa, So Busy

This is just a quick note to thank all of you who participated in this month's status report! I was genuinely surprised and pleased by seeing so many different posts. I was a little worried that the topic of commuting would be boring or not goth-fashion enough for many of you to want to participate. But I enjoyed reading all of your stories, from short drives to complicated multi-step public transit routes! We really have a ways to go to work, don't we?

And I apologize for not commenting on each of your posts, as I prefer to do. But I'm currently up to my eyeballs in work at the office and sewing at home. I'm helping out on some outfits for a Society for Creative Anachronism investiture this weekend, and I've taken a few commissions due at 12th Night at the end of December. Add in the homemade Christmas gifts my family usually does, and, um, where'd my free time go? Eeek!

So I have a few posts auto-scheduled for the next weeks, but I may be a little quiet around here. However, I am writing about costumes and movies at Frock Flicks, and we have podcasts planned for the next month. Feel free to read our blog, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We're planning a big event for January too.

25 Things About ... This Is CorpGoth

It's my fourth blogoversary! How time flies. In honor of this milestone, I'm indulging in a little look back and some useless trivia...

1. While I had a couple posts earlier, I consider November 3, 2010, the real start of the blog because that's when I did my first "what I'm wearing today" post. Before that, I was just testing the waters.

2. I still have and wear everything in that first outfit!

3. At this point, I can't quite remember what inspired me to start the blog. It may have had something to do with a couple outfits I wore to work, looking in the office's restroom mirror, and thinking "THIS is CorpGoth, somebody should take a picture, people need to know how it's done." Yeah, that has my egotism written all over it ;-)

4. This blog has become the only regularly updated, wholly public place anyone can find me online anymore. My costume website is fully public, but I only update when I have a new costume. And Frock Flicks is public, but it's not just me posting. But every week, I have some work outfits that are decent enough to photograph. And while I'm constantly checking in on Facebook and LiveJournal, those are strictly friends-only.

5. This blog has lasted through three cameras and two tripods. What up with that?

6. I read a ton of blogs, for both entrainment and inspiration for this blog. My RSS feed is filled with gothic, costuming, fashion, and quirky lifestyle blogs that I check in with throughout the week.

7. I remember when I got my first comment from Sal of Already Pretty -- I felt like I'd hit the big time! Wow, a popular mainstream blogger said something nice on my blog, yay!

8. Aside from just web searches, a TON of this blog's traffic comes from Already Pretty's blogroll.

9. The other BIG referrer is Gothic Charm School, run by a good friend from way back in my Usenet days (back when she was the Gothic Miss Manners and I was the Gothic Martha Stewart; she decided to have a go with her moniker and thus had to make it more copyright-friendly).

10. Btw, my Gothic Martha Stewart site is still around, and I occasionally cannibalize content from it here. I just don't update it over there.

11. Of course, I wear mostly black. But I like color too (have you read my Gothic Color Theory?). I've worn accents of purple 68 times, hot pink 66 times, grey 63 times, red 57 times, burgundy 52 times, and blue just 11 times.

12. I don't own a ton of shoes (just 64 at last count), and I don't buy fancy brands beloved by goths such as Fleuvogs. Yet I've still considered my shoes interesting enough to include them in an outfit post 132 times.

13. I often joke that the ability to accessorize is what separates us from the lower primates. So it's appropriate that I've shown accessories in my blog posts 185 times -- usually as jewelry close-ups.

14. The most popular post on CorpGoth these days is "How to Dress Your Gothic Self in a Casual Workplace." I feel like that's kind of a distillation of the entire blog.

15. For a long time, the most popular post was "Size Is Just a Number (Swimsuit Edition)." Pleasantly surprised that this post received positive feedback, as I was a little nervous putting my stats and swimsuit pix up.

16. You may have noticed that, this year, I've been using a lot of memes and writing prompts to add text content to the blog. Well, I got tired of and bored with writing about the actual outfit. There's only so much I can say about this dress and that sweater! I don't want the blog to become about my daily life (because that would be boring), and the prompts are a way to make it personal without being "what I had for lunch today" (which, again, is super-boring because I just eat Lean Cuisine at my desk while surfing the net).

17. The longer I've been at this blog, the more I write and schedule posts in advance. It's the only way I can keep up anymore! I create posts at night, on weekends, during work breaks, and even on my train commute. I try to get two weeks done at a time, if not more.

18. I love participating in other blogger's theme days. Whenever I have the time and have something that fits the theme, I try to join in Sophistique Noir's monthly themes and The Professor's Homework Assignments. I also love Sophistique Noir's Red & Black Week.

19. And then I started my own monthly theme day -- we've had 13 CorpGoth Mid-Month Status Reports so far! I'm so happy that you've taken to this feature, it's a lot of fun for me thinking up the theme and then seeing how everyone interprets it.

20. The most popular Status Report was February 2013's "Love What You Do." We had 15 reports, showing a love of everything from Finnish literature at university to loving being a biologist working on human genetics. You're an amazing bunch of CorpGoths :)

21. July 2014's Status Report on "Summer in the Office" featured my first (and so-far only) free schwag from this blogging gig, a dress courtesy of eShakti. The company didn't require anything of me, the dress turned out lovely, and I wore it all summer.

22. eShakti must have known I love dresses -- I've worn them 170 times on this blog. Here's my dirty little secret about why I wear dresses so often.

23. I also wear a heck of a lot of sweaters. 147 times or so. Because it's overly air-conditioned in my office, plus I like the look of a good cardigan.

24. For a classic CorpGoth touch, skulls have shown up in my outfits (typically in scarves and jewelry) pretty often at 63 times, while bats have appeared (usually as jewelry) 41 times.

25. I've shown 404 outfits on this blog. Heh, 404. Well, I hope you don't feel like this is a 'file not found' page! That tally includes a lot of repeated outfits, a few evening outfits and costumed events, an occasional weekend casual outfit, but mostly just what I've worn to work for the past four years. About 100 outfits per year, so I guess I blog a third of the work week on average, which sounds about right.

Thanks for hanging in here with me! I really do appreciate every comment, I read them all, even if I don't get a chance to reply. I love hearing from you. I'll keep doing this as long as I have the time and it seems like you don't mind having me around :)

What I'm wearing: Black silk dress, Target | Black & pink stripe sweater, Macy's | Black stripe net tights, unknown brand | Black ribbon-tie pumps, Clark's | Black & silver skull-bead necklace, DisneyLand | Faux-jet dangly earrings, random accessory store

Wandering Around the Web

• If you're in the New York area, mark this on your calender: Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire, October 21, 2014–February 1, 2015, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. On October 31st, check out "Death Becomes You," a special program as part of this exhibit, featuring dramatic readings of Edgar Allen Poe, an illusionist, costumed performers, and more.
• Offbeat Home has a much-needed open letter to the fashion industry, re: plus-size representation. The comments section well worth reading too.
• I found The Everyday Goth's review of the Restyle bag she bought very helpful. I've looked at their bags and purses longingly but really wondered about the quality. I love it when people give careful, detailed product reviews like this!
• FastCompany reported on the exact amount of time you should work each day. It's not 8 hours straight -- Quick, someone tell our bosses! I will say that this article reminds me why I'm more productive when I can work from home & take more breaks away from the computer (which I can't now, foo).
• My sewing machine can do embroidery & I've used it for costume projects, but I still haven't done any everyday clothing embellishment. Well, seeing Madame Mari Mortem's first shot at using Urban Threads embroidery patterns with her machine has totally convinced me! Fabulous work.
• This NPR analysis is a brilliant read about a story written in 1957 about 1912, describing how to build cultural panic. Perfectly suitable to yesterday, today, or tomorrow, showing how nothing changes.
• Finally, do keep checking in on my Halloween for Sale 2014 Pinterest board -- I've been adding more goodies as I find them, plus stuff keeps going on sale as Halloween gets closer.

Blogger Meetup: CorpGoth & Victorian Kitty

It's not often I have the chance to meet fellow bloggers, but last month, I was traveling to Costume College, which I guessed was vaguely within reach of Victorian Kitty of the wonderful blog, Sophistique Noir. So I contacted her to ask if she was indeed in the area and had a little time (& inclination!) to meet. Luckily, she did!

We had cocktails at the hotel bar for an hour or so and chatted about blogging, fashion, and cats -- so much talk of fantastic felines (I swear, it's natural, you get two female goths together, and we're going to talk about our cats; same for costumers, actually). It was really nice, and I'm glad for the opportunity.

As you can see from the photo, Ms. Kitty was quite elegantly attired, having come from the office. On the other hand, I'd just spent six hours riding in a van with four other costumers, driving across the state, so I wasn't looking as fancy, heh.

If any fellow bloggers or readers happen to be passing through Silicon Valley, do let me know in advance, and maybe we can meet up too!

Insert Catchy Title Here

I'm starting to realize that if I blog literally every single office workday outfit, I'm not going to have much of interest to *write* about each day. For one, I meant for this blog to primarily be about my clothes, not my personal life. It's intended as a primer on how goths & subcultural types can dress for "normal" office jobs, a show & tell session with occasional articles about this topic.

But now that I'm going into the office 5 days a week & have a plethora of outfit photos to choose from, what should I write to go along with them? Sure, there will be days when I don't feel like blogging at all -- an outfit feels dull or I don't have time to take a picture in the morning or I don't have time to create the post in the evening. But when I do blog, what should I put with the photo?

At least, when the outfit doesn't spark something specific, which frankly, a lot of them don't. If I have a new item to show off or am testing out a weird combo, yeah, I'll mention that. And some days, I might actually have something on my mind, heh.

But I'm throwing this out to you. What, if anything, are you interested in reading here? Personal stuff (obviously, only as personal as I'm willing to share, but hey, I told y'all about cancer!), like how my day was, yada yada yada. Articles of interest that I've found? Memes? Song lyrics? No text at all? Does it matter? I'm all ears!

What I'm wearing:
Burgundy peplum sweater, Anthropologie | Black knit top with ruched flowers, NY & Company | Black & brown Ikat stripe skirt, Kohl's | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Burgundy suede cutout pumps, Soffit | Black & gold medallion earrings, random accessory store

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.

Broken Camera

Well now I'm screwed -- I dropped my camera & completely broke it. All I have is my iPhone for photos, & I can't put that on the tripod for decent full-outfit shots. Mirror photos are complicated by all the junk in my sewing room that blocks easy access to the mirror. *sigh*

So here are the lame pix I got of today's outfit, cobbled together from my phone & PhotoShop. Don't know when I can afford a new camera, so proper photos for blogging are on hold for a while...

What I'm wearing:
Grey sheath dress, Target | Purple & black striped cardigan, Old Navy | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Purple crossed-strap pumps, Aldo | Silver & hematite fish necklace, Ann D'Aboise | Pewter key earrings, made by me

 

And There It Goes

In my last post, I said my hair was going. Well, I didn't lie. That short cut was merely a stop-gap measure, a way to preserve the long ponytails for later, at best. Hair was falling out like crazy, shedding like a long-haired dog in summer, making a mess & just generally being annoying.

So I had to shave it off. Or, to be more accurate, I asked my dear husband to shave it off, since I couldn't reach everywhere, plus I'd have had to do it without my glasses on & that way lies madness. He was very brave & did an excellent job. Now my head is all velvety stubble, which the cat enjoys rubbing his little face against.

I've also been wearing my wig out & about. It feels fine, as comfortable as wearing a wig over hair (tho' different, kind of prickly at first, then it's pleasantly cooler than wigs used to feel). However, I should remember to do my brows because the wig's black hair is even darker than my natural black hair. That is, while I still have brows!

Since I'm not working & am on disability, I've revived my virtual garage sale & added some things I made & others made specifically to sell, plus I tried to get better pictures of some older items. Just doing this in the few days I had when I felt OK, & I'll only be able to ship once a week. But please take a look & I hope you'll find something you like! Or you can always donate a little something via the button on the left sidebar. I really appreciate your support :)

The Post I Didn't Want to Have to Write

Last week's wishing for good luck didn't work. My medical tests delivered bad news: I've been diagnosed with breast cancer. I don't have a lot more specifics, other than I will need surgery & possibly chemotherapy &/or radiation after that, all of which will start this month.

My work schedule, my blogging, my every schedule will change dramatically. I'm not exactly putting this blog on hiatus -- if I have a good outfit or even a positive update (& the time/energy), I'll update. I want to, it makes me happy & this is something I enjoy. What I love most is your comments & feedback, you're a great bunch of people, & I really love hearing from each of you. So please keep it up!

Because of the upcoming treatment & related expenses (sadly, no subsidized healthcare here in the U.S.), I've setup a donations & resources page, plus I'm running a virtual garage sale. Please take a look at each page, & feel free to share with anyone who might be interested.

These Boots Are Made for Walking

It may not be apparent from the photo, but these boots have a 2" heel, a rather narrow one too. Yet it was no problem to walk the four or five blocks to and from lunch today with coworkers. My feet didn't suffer, I felt no pain, I'm not crippled.

Also, I wore shoes with a high heel because I like them, I find the look attractive on me and to me and not because I'm seeking approval from men or society. Wearing a high heel, loving it, and encouraging others to do so doesn't make me or any other woman less of a feminist. Obviously, shoe choice is a personal choice, but like most people, I tend to recommend what I personally enjoy. Just like I recommend wearing velvet and lace or suggest that you can turn a summer dress into winter-appropriate clothing. Shock & horror -- I blog about fashion & have opinions about what people wear! *eyeroll*


I feel like pointing this out because I've gotten nasty comments recently related to posts where I apparently 'tell people what to wear,' & I'm thus part of some cabal trying to quash people's liberties. Um, wow. Sorry, no, this is not fashion policing. It's called 'one person having an opinion on the Interwebs.' Hello, that's what a blog is for. Anyone can do it, they're free.

For that matter, anyone who confuses This Is CorpGoth with the glossy fashion mags at the supermarket checkout stand must have reading comprehension problems, imnsho. Notice the lack of latest trends sported by identically sized models & actresses under age 25, for starters. The rather monotonous background of every photo might also clue those complainers in, if the preponderance of bats, skulls, dark lipstick, & dyed-black hair wasn't a giveaway that this isn't exactly a flag bearer for the fashion mainstream.

But some people prefer to complain. Whatever. I'm gonna keep strutting my stuff in whatever damn shoes I want to.

What I'm wearing:
Burgundy peplum sweater, Anthropolgie via Sarah
Black knit top, NY & Company
Black & white stripe skirt, White House Black Market
Burgundy faux suede heeled boots, DSW
Silver pendant necklace with pearl drop, vintage
Silver hoop earrings, random accessory store

Placeholder Post

I've had a horrible headcold for the past week (totally congested, coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose, ick), so I didn't go into the office & just attempted to work from home (even that was hard because I couldn't concentrate & I was so tired). Thus, no office outfits to post.

Also, I've been feeling a little off my game with this blog since I started the new job. I mostly telecommute now & only dress up to go into work twice a week. I *have* been working on a big post about what to wear when working from home, but that's just one. I've tried to take photos of what I wear at home, but it's pretty boring -- some of the clothes are nice, but I don't tend to do my hair or makeup so the look isn't very polished (and I admit, I'm a smidge too vain to post *those* pix online!).

So what's happening with my blog then? Is CorpGoth still "Corp" enough? I don't know. Which is why Alison's post on Blogger Burnout: How to Get Re-inspired for the New Year is quite timely. A lot of her tips are essentially "write for yourself, write about what's going on in your life." Now, I get this, but it also goes against part of my goal with this blog. I wanted to really focus on one thing here -- what goths could wear to the office -- & not go into my personal life. I have other places for that. But I could do more of what I call 'thinky' posts about the intersection of fashion & work & suchlike.  And really, I should just post. Outfit or no. Just post, get back in the habit. So consider this a public reminder to myself!

In Praise of the New Tripod

I've often admitted that my photos for this blog are kind of crappy. It's just me & a tripod with five minutes in the morning before I head out to work.

I don't have a fancy studio with lights & a backdrop, & I don't have anyone else to take photos for me & say "honey, remember to stick your neck out so you don't get a double-chin" or to wait until the wind doesn't mess up my hair or scarf. I take pictures outside because the lighting is marginally better there than in the bat-cave of my house. I use the 10-second timer on my camera & hope for the best. I'd been using a cheap old tripod that wasn't exactly steady & was very crooked -- things I'd have to fix in PhotoShop every night.

Well finally, I bought a new tripod, & wow, that sure helped! I still have weak lighting, the timer, solo photoshoots, & minimal time in the morning, but at least the camera is held up sturdy & level. Every little bit helps.

What I'm wearing:
Black & white stripe sweater, Chadwicks
Black long-sleeve knit top, Old Navy
Black skirt, NY & Company
Black tights, Calvin Klein
Burgundy faux-suede boots, DSW
Black skull-print scarf, gift from my husband
Pewter square earrings, local artist

How do you take photos for your blog? What equipment do you use? Does anyone help you out?

New Job & Blogoversary in One

This week marks the second year anniversary of me starting This Is CorpGoth, & I also started a new job today. Quite a momentous occasion! My first outfit on the blog was November 3, 2010, & I celebrated my first blogoversary on November 7, 2011.

The past two years have seen the peak and fall of my satisfaction at my previous job, & sometimes it felt like this blog was the only thing that kept me getting up & going to the office in the mornings. When I was dragging & feeling totally uninspired by what my career offered, I knew I could at least put on a snazzy outfit, post it, & maybe someone would comment. *You* really helped me get through the tough times, all of you, each & every one of your comments. I may not always have the time to reply, & I wish I could go comment on all of your blogs (I do read them, oh yes, I do, religiously!). But knowing you're out there in BlogLand really means a lot to me.

I'd like to thank a couple people specifically:

Shelia of Ephemera -- Your blog is a delight to behold! Every outfit is something creative & unusual, even if it's not something I might wear. I admire your style so much. And I enjoy the appearances of your kitty & sidelines into the beautiful Canadian landscape. Thank you for your comments on my blog, & thank you for being such a great inspiration to keep it colorful & rockin'!

Franny of The Professor's Various Blogspots -- Hee, I can't help it, I make fun because I love! Your transformation over this past year has been awe-inspiring & lovely to behold. I adore your posts about gardening & cooking & camping, even tho' I only comment on fashion. I want to read your dissertation as soon as it's done! I wish we weren't on opposite sides of the country because I'd love to sit over coffee & talk literature & old-school goth music with you for hours.

And also my champion regular commenters, particularly from Lennea pa Landet & Cuz I Said Sew -- showing up with a kind word or clever insight, time & again! And with fantastic blogs of their own -- go read them :-)

Oh yeah, what did I wear for my first day at a new job, the first new job I've had in 11 years? Something gothy but with color so as not to freak the mundanes too much. Gotta ease my way in, y'know.

What I'm wearing:
Burgundy boyfriend cardigan, Chadwicks
Black knit top with floral ruching, NY & Company
Grey striped skirt, Nordstroms
Black tights, Calvin Klein
Black pointy kitten-heel pumps, Aldo
Silver filigree earrings, Target
Silver & garnet ring, bought in India
"Raisin Rage" lipstick by Revlon