casual gothic

Dear readers, winter is really a dreadful time for a fashion blogger. And my house is dark and full of things and my tripod is long broken, so there isn't much hope for indoor photographs on cold days. And, worst of all, I was sick or recovering from being sick or busy or busy and sick for most of December, woe -- so my poor blog got rather static. But 'tis the season for resolution, and I resolve to be back here, chronicling my eternal struggle to find pretty things to wear when I am freezing nigh unto death. 

It is very difficult, you see, for me to put on things in winter that consist of more than jeans and a sweater and maybe another sweater and six pairs of socks. And then a blanket. And then I don't feel like myself and am even more out of sorts all season. But here I am, trying my best! Only the next series of photos is half a cheat because 2011 started out rather startlingly warm.

 

Yes: 1 January was warm and rainy, and I welcomed the new year as myself-ly as I could: in an outfit that was equal parts rustic and gothic. My favourite dress, a lovely lace blouse that was a Christmas present from my friend Sarah, the boots I haven't managed to stop wearing every other day even yet, a belt and gloves (why did I not get close-ups?! self, you are ridiculous -- oh well I was about to go on an errand) from Kyra's Christmas package, my bat necklace and oldworld headwrap. 

P.S. This is my new haircut before I dyed it: hence, it actually resembles my new haircut a little more closely. The first few days post-dyeing my hair falls rather less loosely.

The key was on the tag of an M Is For Mad Alice in Wonderland shirt Anna sent me (I ended up wearing it Christmas with a black tulle skirt and of course got no pictures siiiigh), and at the moment I quite like it dangling from the crook of my arm.

A kiss for you! in the hopes that you will forgive me for abandoning you for so long. Or perhaps to show off my headband. WE MAY NEVER KNOW. 

Then I bicycled to buy hair dye and speakers and came home soaking wet and muddy, so that was the end of that, alas. 

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Sunday I was sick in bed much of the morning (I read lots of Madeleine L'Engle, so it wasn't all bad), and didn't get dressed till noon, and really didn't want to bother with anything -- but I had this pretty new t-shirt I'd got at Goodwill on the 30th -- all of the girls in the family went to Another Town to get our hair cut and visited a Goodwill we don't usually get to -- and that made my well-worn black jeans a little less boring. The necklace sort of found its way around my neck on its own somehow. I only threw the shoes on for the picture, though, really, and had to go with boots to conceal my clashing argyle socks.

Do I appear to be freezing in this picture? BECAUSE I AM FREEZING IN THIS PICTURE.

Ohhh, I have had my eye on this magnificent vampire necklace since long, long ago -- early October, I think Claire's got it in, but it was about twenty dollars which is absurd for something I Do Not Actually Need. But the drops, and the faceted red heart all covered in chains, and the little bit that has vampire scribbled on it, because clearly this necklace is meant to portray someone who is researching vampires because their beloved has either become one or has been kidnapped by some and basically it is is ostentatious and delightful and everything that I love, and I thought I had lost it, as it disappeared without going down in price some time ago, but One Last Necklace showed up on Claire's bargain racks for four dollars: why yes, yes, I will take it, thank you! So now I have a werewolf necklace and a vampire necklace and I could not be pleaseder. (Have I even shown you lot my werewolf necklace? I AM ASHAMED. I also received a similarly thematic necklace which you lot shall see soon.)

But also and more importantly: my hair has been properly cut by a real live hairdresser for the first time in two years, and I am delighted. I promptly dyed it very, very red because winter, o readers, grim grey winter is exactly the time for ridiculous hair.

 

It is very layery and much more tameable and looks very sweet and almost bobbed when I pull it back: an excellent combination of punky modern and classically pretty. And no I do not foresee the blue going anywhere in the near future. (And check out my darling cluster of bows from Hot Topic, c/o Kyra!)

what i wore this week, part one

Soooo... whoops. I seem to have a backlog of Things To Post at the moment. My brain's been a bit of an unpleasant (and messy, very in need to airing) place for a while, and I keep taking pictures and forgetting to edit and post them. Here are a few selections from the last week or so.

This lovely grey number is quite possibly my favourite dress -- I snagged it for five dollars at Ross Dress For Less last winter, and it is not only lovely, simple, and flattering, but extremely soft and comfortable. It tends to be a go-to dress for sick days or sad days or travelling on account of its cosiness -- and, another benefit: it is extremely versatile. It's a short-sleeved, lightly shaped handkerchief-hem dress that pulls over the head -- I've worn it with jackets (like this striped bolero), camisoles, floral thermals or lace blouses underneath; with boots and flats and various belts and petticoats. Also: it is fantastic for dancing.

Beloved Turkish pashmina scarf and skeleton key from the house -- I've always wanted to wear these keys but they never seemed to suit the ribbons I usually string things on. This little cord is perfect.

What I wore to go traipsing about town on Tuesday. I'll admit the weather was a little warmer than the sweater suggests, but, uh. I am stubborn? It varied, anyway -- I was bicycling and got chilly sometimes. The skirt is from the Goodwill warehouse sale earlier in the summer; it's so old-fashioned and storybook, I can't help but adore it. (It's also quite good for layering under solid-coloured dresses or skirts that are a bit too short or sheer.) 

BOOTS. Okay, I am beyond thrilled with these boots and wore them almost every day for a week. They are flat, and really comfortable and just the sort of old-fashioned lost-in-the-woods boot I have been wanting for years -- and probably the closest I will get to my long-dreamed-of knee-high brown Legolas boots for a long while yet. They look perfect with dresses and did I mention comfortable?

Claire's gloves (finally wearing them lots -- bought them with birthday money in the summertime as there was only one pair left), pretty kitschy little ring I snatched up for a quarter at a yard sale.

First pair of actual proper shorts I have owned since, um. I do not remember. Early adolescence? I was convinced for years that I had dreadful legs (which I probably did, then -- it was only after I started exercising regularly that my legs acquired muscle tone and an actual consistent shape), and then I don't like most shorts anyway. I still want a high-waisted pair with lots of buttons, but these were three dollars, and they fit, are comfortable, are not too tight in the thighs, and lace up the front (over a zipper for convenience), which gives them the dash of unconventionality that I crave.

The t-shirt. It is my very favourite t-shirt of all the t-shirts that ever were. Um. Probably. I've racked up a decent collection of quirky and pretty t-shirts, but this one -- my love for it knows no bounds. It is Threadless' Vampires Beware shirt -- various folkloric methods of revealing and killing vampires. As my novel-in-progress is a vampire historical fantasy and I've researched this stuff inside-out (...sometimes for fun. folklore is my thing), this is extra awesome.

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More tomorrow! Let this be a reminder to me: NEVER GET BACKED UP.