Everyday Outfit: Sister of the Moon

Today was a super full moon in Pisces. Since Pisces rules the emotions we are supposed to be able to work on and release any unwanted emotional baggage or unwanted habits during this full moon in order to move on to a better place in our lives. There are lots of things I need to work on in my life but the main objective for this full moon is to let go of procrastination in my creativity. Sometimes it's just a matter of making a To-Do list and sticking to it! I really need to get more organized and say good bye to stress sewing. Ha! So my new mantra is Just Do It! 

Every month on the full moon I can't help thinking of this classic Fleetwood Mac song "sisters of the moon" check out the video here. http://youtu.be/MylEvSwDVSk

What I wore today: 

Beaded sheer top: Mexx

Purple Cami: Smart Set

Beaded gypsy skirt: thrifted

Fringed Shawl: thrifted

Purple Rosary: The Gift Crypt

Everyday Outfit: Spellbound

The weather was just cool enough today that I could wear a long skirt again! I took a break from all the sewing and spent a nice day with the Hubby. We went for lunch and then visited a sick friend in the hospital. Hopefully he gets better soon. 

I seem to be channeling Rowena from Supernatural lately. She often rocks a long dress or skirt just like the one I'm wearing today. If you are not a fan of Supernatural yet be sure to check it out soon! However, you will have to wait until Season 10 for Rowena to show up.

What I'm wearing: 

Shrug: made by me

Skirt: made by me

Tank: Mexx

Ballet Flats: Ardenes 

Oregonite Necklace: Cat Book and Candle

Everyday Outfit: Shabby Witchy Dress

It's always a treat to take the time to do my nails in a nice shiny colour! I picked up this Gosh nail polish in Nero and Lambada at my local drug store. Last night I spent the evening watching one of my favourite TV shows Supernatural and painting my nails. Woo-Hoo! I love theses colours together. 

And here is what I wore today: 

Dress: Black Orchid Designs

Cardigan: thrifted

Sandals: Towne Shoes

Distressed Parasol: borrowed from a friend. 

And here is what I made today! 

Old school gothic top and flirty red dress. Both have corsetting on the front

and are available at Black Orchid Designs. 

Everyday Outfit: Skully Dress

I hopefully have a lot of exciting new opportunities coming down the pipeline soon. I really can't say too much about some things because I don't really know if they will come to fruition yet or not. And I really don't want to jinx things by discussing them on my blog either. So please keep your fingers crossed for me that it all works out and goes smoothly! 

In the meanwhile I have been busy sewing up some old school gothic velvet tops! These seem to be very popular for me because the young girls think it's something new and the ladies my age love the nostalgic look. These tops are the same designs that I used to make in the late 90s and early 2000s. They are very flattering and just feel nice on. Too bad none of them are my size or I would be taking them home! 

What I'm wearing: 

Dress: made by me

Strappy sandals: thrifted

Cardigan: Thrifted

Choker: Spencer's 

From Laura Ashley to Gothic Princess Dress

Have you ever found one of those gorgeous 80s velvet dresses at the thrift store but pass it by because it's too small (or large) and looks a little too old fashioned? Well I found a classic velvet Laura Ashley dress a few weeks ago and I thought with a little bit of hard work it could turn into something really special! 

Here is what the dress looked like before I started. If you are one of those people that like vintage dresses to stay original than look away now! Lol. 

I have a special event coming up in a few weeks and this dress will be perfect for it. However the dress was at least two sizes too small and would need a complete gothic overhaul. I always like to sketch out my design before I start working. Please excuse my terrible drawings! 

The first step was to rip out the zipper and cut out the lining. I also chopped the sleeves to elbow length and lowered the neckline to a more flattering line. 

 

I then added a panel of stretch lace and stretch velvet on the back to widen the dress to my size. I'm impressed that I had a velvet in the stash that actually matches pretty well too. Since I used stretch fabrics I can just pull the dress on over my head now. No zipper required. 

Next up I added lace trim around the neck and "corset trim" (bridal button loop) down the back. I also added the lace and trim to the sleeves as well creating a really cute finished look. 

Finally I added large bell sleeves and more lace trim to all the hems. 

The pictures don't really do the dress justice. It turned out really stunning and cost only $40 total including all the lace, velvet, and the original dress. Plus it has major twirl factor. I promise I will take better pictures when I wear it. :)

Edit- I took some better photos outside so the details are a little more visible. 

Everyday Gothic Wardrobe Essentials

*image from pinterest*

So now that my wardrobe is considerably more streamline, I have started to think about what is missing from my closet and what I wear on a regular basis. In other words what do I really wear every day? Or more specifically what do I WANT to wear every day. Which led me to making a list of things I like to wear. 

Keep in mind that this is not a general gothic wardrobe list but what I personally like to wear on an every day basis. My taste is decidedly RomantiGoth so this list is trailered specifically towards that style.  Also, I have a job that I can wear whatever I like within reason and good taste so I don't have to tone things down. I tend to dress a little old fashioned most of the time and compared to some of my friends wardrobes I'm probably a little boring. Keep in mind I am quite a bit older than they are too so I dress like an Eldergoth. For special occasions I love to wear Victorian Goth dresses and up the wow factor a little bit. Occasionally I also wear Rockabilly dresses, especially in the heat of the summer. 

So here is a list of my go to wardrobe basics:

- basic tank tops or shells for layering

- black lace tees in long and short sleeve

- shrugs in soft knit, velvet, or lace. 

- shawls in lace or sweater weight knits

- black novelty tees 

- black leggings

- black jeans for casual days

- tights in fishnet, lace, stripes, brocades, and of course basic black

- short flared skirts (circle skirts are the most flattering)

- Hi/Low skirts to show off the boots

- bell sleeved tops

- long Morticia skirts

- high heeled laced up boots (victorian granny boots)

- black low boots (I prefer Doc Martens)

- Winter Velvet Coat

- large bag for make up and other essentials 

- Large hat and black parasol for summer

- black strappy low sandals for the summer

- fit and flared dresses in various lengths and fabrics

- belts or corsets to accent the waist

- fingerless arm warmers for winter (cut the fingers off vintage gloves for summer)

So that is my basic capsule wardrobe. On top of that I add special pieces like formal dresses or novelty dresses. I also have a huge thing for accessories. I collect hats, jewelry, belts, vintage gloves, scarves, and shoes. A shoe post is definitely on my list to do at some point in the future! 

Autumn and Halloween are right around the corner and all this wardrobe planning has me looking forward to my favourite season. Cruising in the Camaro to view all the leaves changing and pumpkin spice lattes and warm apple pie. Yum! I can't wait! 

*image from pinterest*

Closet Cull: Or attempting to organize the Black Closet of Doom.

I've been in the mood to clean and organize lately. Which for me, is a very strange thing indeed! It all started yesterday with laundry and is still not complete yet. I haven't done a complete closet cull in years. I sometimes go through and pull obvious items to go to the Goodwill, but this time was a more involved purge.

*image from Pinterest*

I started with making a few piles. One pile was alter/remake, another was donate, and the third was a trash bag for lost causes. I pulled everything out of the closet and sorted each item into either a pile or back into the closet. This way I actually pulled out everything to reevaluate it before it went back in. 

The alteration/remake pile:

- I actually have major plans for the Christopher Lee shirt pictured but that's another post. Hehe

The donate pile: 

And all the empty hangers I cleared! 

There are a few things I've learned about myself so far. First thing is that I have a thing for novelty tees. I have a million printed black tees with images of bands or horror movie characters. I think I need a novelty tee intervention! They are all fantastic and I didn't get rid of any. But I do plan on repurposing a few of them. The second thing I learned about myself is that I have virtually no colour in my wardrobe. It's very gothic but it's also very drab. I need to add more colour back in. Some purple, red, or burgundy would be nice. And the last thing I learned is that I really, really like velvet. In fact I think I like velvet a little too much. I have velvet tees, tanks, dresses, and even jeans. I love the look and feel of velvet but a little lace, chiffon, or knits would be good too. 

So as you can see I made some good progress but I still have a long way to go because I actually have two closets full of clothes! And I've just fininished the first one. Yikes. 

Goth Day at the Beach!

How do Goths arrive at the beach in style? Why of course they drive custom hearses! We pulled up to the sunny beach in in Wasaga, Ontario in vintage hearses. These beautiful old hearses do seem to get quite a bit of attention! A few onlookers stopped to ask us if we were filming a movie. Nope, it's just the local Ontario hearse club called Black Widow Hearse Club!

We found a spot on the beach and set up quickly. It was pretty easy to spot our group in a crowd with all the black parasols. We managed to create some nice shade for ourselves. 

In case you were wondering what Goths wear to the beach. The answer is black, black, and more black! We also added some fabulous custom sunglasses from Black Orchid Designs and topped it off with black lipstick of course. 

I seem to be the only one breaking the colour code with my black and red 50s style playsuit and huge red sun hat. I made it custom for beach day because I've always wanted to make one. So I took advantage of goth beach day and created exactly what I wanted. I used a cotton Halloween spider print and accented with red. know I'll wear it again soon though. 

Most of the time we enjoyed the local scenery and hid from the burning day star under our parasols. We piled on the 100 SPF sun block to avoid the dreaded tan or worse the lobster red burn. Large sun hats also helped. 

Here is Scary Kerri under her vintage parasol that is customized with bats. She is so very pretty dressed all in black lace and a sheer cover up. 

We did venture out for a swim also. Here is the beautiful Miss E in a black vintage 40s swimsuit and matching swim cap heading out to the water. She looks like a famous silver screen actress in that suit! 

But then the clouds started rolling in. We all seemed to enjoy the beach more once the sun wasn't so brite. Ha! However, there was a huge storm brewing over the water and it was headed straight for us. We packed up and had just enough time to finish a very impressive sand sculpture featuring the Hearse Club logo. 

It seems that when the Goths show up at the beach, we bring the apocalypse with us! A Tornado touched down in a nearby town soon after this photo was taken. It was a long wet drive back home but it was so worth the fun! Thanks so much to Nicole from New Girl in Toronto for all the wonderful photos.