The Marilyn Top

My latest fashion inspiration seems to be the 50s and 60s. I was very inspired watching the latest retro show called Mrs Maisel. Her character is always dressed very fashionably in the classic 50s style. from fit and flair dresses to swing coats.

I love wearing this style of fashion in the spring and summer but I seem to resort back to my old faithful of Goth Sacks when the snow starts to fly. This year I decided to make some basic retro pieces to last through out all the seasons.

I started with a classic style from that era. The tie front top or dress. Marilyn Monroe wore a hot pink dress in Niagara. It’s one of her most iconic dresses And it’s timeless! 

As much as I love the original on Marilyn, I wanted to make a more modern and wearable version. So I designed a tee shirt style top with a full back and tie front top. I wanted the back covered so it covered a bra strap. I can make them with 3 different sleeve options, but I think 3/4 sleeve is my favourite one. The top is slightly below the waist but not too long and the ties are a nice size as well.

I’ve perfected the pattern now and have several versions up for sale in the shop!

Witch Fashion

So this topic of Witch Fashion or the witchy aesthetic seems to be making the rounds yet again within the blogging and YT community. This time around it seems to be within the Pagan community more so than the Gothic community. Since I live in both worlds and they co-mingle for me, I find this topic interesting to say the least. I've been wearing what people are calling "witch fashion" basically my whole life. I even wrote another blog post about the style back in 2016 when it was called "Strega Fashion" Since then, the name has changed to "witch fashion". But, It's nothing new folks! It's Stevie Nicks style with a gothic slant to it. Granted the style has evolved over the years and become more of a genre of Goth recently, but it still retains the same basic style of a bohemian witchy vibe mixed with romantic gothic clothing.

Images from Pinterest

The only new twist I can see within the last few years is the rise in popularity of the fashion trend called "Nu Goth" due to TV shows like AHS Coven. Big name brands like Killstar, Rogue and Wolf, and Black Craft Cult keep churning out sweaters and Tees with occult symbols and sayings on them because they sell. This newer look is more what I would call "Nu Goth" than "Witch Fashion" but maybe I'm over thinking it? Other brands like Punk Rave are jumping on the witchy aesthetic bandwagon with their own lines. And it even seems to be spreading into Home Decor as Fashion and Home Decor play off each other in trends. Here are a few examples of the newer look making the rounds on Instagram...

Killstar

Rogue and Wolf

Black Craft Cult

Punk Rave

I have watched a few videos touching on the subject of Witch Fashion being not authentically Pagan or being too materialistic or costumey. There seem to be differing opinions but most people agree that you should be true to your own style and wear what is comfortable for you whether that be flowy dresses and shawls or just plain jeans and tees. The point is to be true to yourself and your own style. Here is some food for thought on this touchy topic... isn't every type of clothing a costume when you come right down to it? even if you dress in plain clothing every day that still says something about you. Its an image you present to the world. We like to pretend in Spiritual communities that material items like clothing aren't important but that's not really true is it? Not in this day and age. If it weren't important, than this whole discussion would be pointless. We ALL choose to clothe ourselves in costumes that portray a persona to the world. So you have to ask yourself what image do you wish to portray? A business person? a hipster? a goth? a stay at home mom? a metalhead? a hippie? a dark forest witch? Isn't that sounding a lot like labels again? Maybe you are a combination of several of those? The truth is YOU choose the persona you wish to present to the world by the clothing you wear.

Another point of contention among vloggers seems to be the use of the occult symbols on casual clothing. I address this topic in my previous article briefly but I don't think I mentioned that Gothic fashion has a long history using occult symbols. From Ankhs to Pentacles to triple moons, occult symbols have been used for shock value within the Goth or Heavy Metal communities since the 80s! Again, this is nothing new folks! In the 80s it was Ankhs (From the movie The Hunger with Peter Murphy and David Bowie), In the 90s it was inverted pentagrams (Marilyn Manson) and Rosaries with inverted crosses (The Craft and Madonna), and now we are wearing sweatshirts with all of the above! Ha! Even some good friends of mine wear custom leather jackets they made that say Satan's Seamstresses in big bold letters and a huge inverted pentagram on the back.

What I don't think everyone understands in all of this is that sometimes this is meant to be shocking and tongue in cheek at the same time. On purpose! How does that old saying go? "If you don't get the joke then you are the joke" That's Punk Rock! That's Fashion!  Do you think Vivienne Westwood or Alexander McQueen cared about offending people with fashion? I suggest watching some McQueen runway videos for inspiration. Modern fashion needs a good shock in my opinion. I'm really loving this new collection from an up and coming designer named Dilara Findikoglu for spring and summer. And I even did a few pagan fashion pieces myself recently as well as authentic ritual robes.

So I think you understand my viewpoint slightly better about the topic of Occult or Pagan symbols in modern fashion. Do whatever you want to do! Wear whatever you want to wear!

What's an Eldergoth to wear?

Anything she damn well wants to!

Lately I keep seeing these articles circulating Facebook about what women over 30 should and shouldn't wear. It all started with a woman named  Kallie Provencher and one of her articles on Rantchic. Ms. Provencher seems to love writing about what women over 30 should and shouldn't do or wear. I am not even sure if she is over 30 herself since she never mentions her own age. The articles seem to be what I consider click bait. Click bait articles have catchy titles and usually consist of tons of photos with maybe one sentence explaining what you are looking at. They are usually snarky or condescending in some way too. Very little actual writing is involved. And most of the time the writer is well aware that these articles will be controversial. They don't care how many people are offended about the content because the real goal of the article is to get lots of traffic to their site. Remember that old Hollywood saying? Any publicity is good publicity. So it seems Rantchic has been successful in gathering lots of site traffic because those articles have gone viral. Now to be fair these types of lists are nothing new. In fact I remember seeing lists like this in fashion magazines at least 20 years ago. What makes this article especially nauseating is the snarky tone in which it was written. These articles are succesful not because they were good articles, but instead it's the reaction of disgust from women all over the Internet. Women over 30 are pissed off! 

The good news is that articles like these are simply not true. The idea that you have to be under 30 to be stylish or trendy is ridiculous. Blogs like Advanced Style prove what I'm saying is true. In fact, most of my favourite bloggers are over 30. I find they experiment more with mixing trends and they know how to accessorize an outfit better than their younger counterparts. They are truly inspirational in demonstrating that being stylish has nothing to do with age! 

Style is an evolution. It takes a lifetime to curate the perfect wardrobe. You can't just walk into a store at the mall and buy clothes straight off the rack and expect to be stylish. Or click purchase on websites in one night to do it either. It takes dedication in weekly visits to the thrift store for that perfect accessory and regular trips to the vintage boutiques for one of a kind pieces. Being original is what makes older woman look stylish. They have a collection of unique clothing and accessories that they have collected for years and years. 

Another reason I think woman over thirty are more stylish is self confidence. I find the older I get the more confidence I have to wear outfits that are not the norm. Who decided that mature equals boring anyway? You won't believe how many times I hear "I used to dress like that but then I had to grow up" or "I used to dress like that but then I had kids". Why do we put these limitations on ourselves? Why do we feel the need to conform and wear a basic uniform over the age of 30 in order to fit in? Unfortunately mainstream society expects us to tone down our style over a certain age. Some women do it in order to get a better job or to fit in with the soccer moms at their kid's school. I also toned down my outfits in my late 30s in order to fit in. Now, ten years later, I have the confidence to wear whatever I want to once again. 

Fashion is hardly new to ageism. The runway shows have models as young as 14 years old these days and magazines are full of wrinkle cream ads featuring models in their 20s. Even the larger designers rarely use older models. Think about it...the 90s Supermodels are in their 50s now and yet they are seldom used in fashion shows. Those same designer's core customers are probably in their 40s and up. I realize those shows are all about fantasy, but why not show diversity in the models? 

What I find most interesting about this latest round of ageist articles was the tremendous backlash that happened afterwards. I'm not the only blogger to post an article about it. So does this mean that fashion as a whole is evolving? Women seem to have more freedom to wear whatever they want to then any generation before them. Most of us no longer follow fashion trends blindly. That wasn't true even 10 years ago. We pick and choose which trends we want to borrow from or for that matter what decade we want to borrow from. The malls have more diversity than ever before and if we can't find it locally then we can just order it off a website. I predict that street fashion is going to change incredibly very soon. That alternative style will be the new norm. That more and more women over 30 will refuse to conform anymore. They will be free to wear whatever they like, dye their hair bright colours, and stop worrying about whether or not it is age appropriate. The concept of "dressing your age" is so old fashioned! It's time to embrace loving the way you look and feel today! 

Here is some fashion inspiration from some ladies that may or may not be over 30...

Fashion Inspiration: Penny Dreadful

Recently I came across an announcement from Hot Topic that they are doing a fashion collection based on the TV show Penny Dreadful. Considering how much I love this show and how I am inspired by Eva Green's wardrobe as Vanessa Ives I was curious to see what Hot Topic had come up with. Well... The dresses are pretty and I like the jacket but they are not exactly Victorian inspired and I'm pretty sure they are the usual Hot Topic quality. Ugh. Have a look for yourself! All images are from Pinterest and the Hot Topic website.

You can also watch the Hot Topic video here.

As you can see the designs are pretty normal. Nothing special really. I'm not saying I wouldn't wear them. In fact I might even buy a few when they come out but they are certainly not special. Maybe I should design a collection of my own that actually looks like something that Vanessa would wear! 

Here a few pics from the TV show that show the detail and quality of the costumes used on the show. I love her wardrobe! I really want to make that coat this year. All the images used were gathered from Pinterest. 

As for the show, it has moved up the ladder to become one of my favourite new shows. It's dark, gothic, and exactly what I love in a horror themed show. It has all the classic horror monsters like Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, vampires, a werewolf, and evil witches.  The sets and the costumes are top notch. The story lines are interesting, it is well written, and the actors are fantastic. What more do you want from a show? If you haven't checked it out yet, you should give it a go! Here is the teaser video for season 2.