Spotlight on Small Business: Inside My Wicked Wardrobe

I spent the day in Stratford, Ontario with a group of inspiring and very talented ladies. Tracy from Inside my Wicked Wardrobe organized a photo shoot to showcase her line of custom jewelry and fascinators.

Not only is Tracy an incredibly talented designer but she also has a great eye for artistic fashion photography. 

Here are a few photos of the fascinators you can find available at Inside My Wicked Wardrobe. All these photos are from the facebook page of IMWW. That bat fascinator will be mine soon! Oh yes! 

I was at the photoshoot today to act as a make up assistant (and chauffeur) for Kerri Mercer of Black Orchid Designs. It was fun to watch the behind the scenes staging for the photo shoot. Here are a few candid shots I took of the models while they were waiting for their turns with Tracy. They were all having fun with their characters! Don't worry no real harm came to these gorgeous ladies! 

I couldn't resist a photo with the chainsaw. Ash would be proud! 

Kerri even found the time to do my make up for me. I love the bat wing! 

You can find inside My Wicked Wardrobe on Facebook or visit these locations:

The Magic Box 28 Ontario st. Stratford Ont
Covet the Community Closet Downie St. Stratford Ont.
Treasures 151 Ontario st. Stratford Ont. 

Black Orchid Designs Queen St. Hespeler, Ont.

Spotlight on Small Business: Black Orchid Designs

The holiday season is the perfect time to shop local independent small businesses. Why fight through the crowds at the mall when you can shop smaller stores that appreciate and value their customers? I have been a customer at Black Orchid Designs for a few years now. The owner, Kerri, is a very talented  and creative designer. Her specialities are pretty one of a kind patchy dresses that remind me of something Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas would wear. She also does custom corsets, leggings, and beautiful cowls.

Last week Black Orchid Designs held a party to celebrate all things Romanti-Goth. On display were gorgeous velvet and brocade dresses along with new patchy dresses. It was a nice evening out filled with good conversation, snacks, and wine. And it's always nice to talk to like minded people and catch up with friends. I wore my best romantic dress and a custom corset by Black Orchid Designs for the occasion. 

So if you find yourself in Hespeler, Ontario be sure to stop in Black Orchid Designs for some pretty dresses. You can also find Kerri on facebook and on her website.  

Is Nu Goth dead already?

Every Wednesday night I take my son to his guitar lessons.  Lucky for me there is a thrift store right next to the music store. So I get a little thrift shopping in exchange for shuttling him around for lessons. This last visit the racks were full of lovely black gothic clothes. More than I normally find. 

So it made me wonder does this mean that the nu goth fashion trend is over aleady? Over before it even really started? You see I live in an university town where the young girls just follow the latest fashion trend whatever it may be. I don't think they even cared or realized that they were copying goth fashion recently. It was just another look at the mall for them.  Now that's it's over they will move on to the next trend that the magazines and mall stores are pushing. And like most fashion trends recently, it was here and gone in a single season. This is good news for those of us that wear black all the time and don't follow fashion. It means there good bargains to be found! I'm sure we made a few new converts in the process though. And to those girls that stayed goth after the fashion trend is long dead I say welcome to the darkside ladies! 

But anyways back to the thrift shopping... The stores are full of goodies right now! Get out there and shop to your hearts content in velvet, lace, and skulls at bargain basement prices. Or at least until your wallet can't take anymore. For the next few months you will find me at the local Goodwill and Value Village perusing the racks!

Fabric Shopping on Queen St. W.

I spent most of the day wandering through the fashion district in Toronto. It is such a treat every time I go. There is everything you ever wanted for sewing and more on Queen St. The stores carry beautiful high end fabrics and notions of all kinds. There are also stores like Sussman's that carry Millinery Supplies and accessories that would make beautiful hats for any occasion. In addition to all the fabric stores there are jewelry making supplies as well. 

My only advice when visiting Queen St. in Toronto is to wear a good comfy pair of shoes and have lots of time to check out all the stores. And don't forget a good lunch to keep up your energy. 

Here are a few pictures highlighting a little of what I saw today...

Superhero prints that would be perfect for summer dresses. Only $12 a yard.

A whole store of just buttons! 

High end Laces, Velvets, and Silks for pretty dresses. 

And tons of Millinery Flowers and a rainbow of Tulle to match. 

Corset Pattern Shopping in Hamilton

In Hamilton, Ontario we have a small fashion district with Fabric stores and Notion stores lining Ottawa St.  I can spend a whole day wandering through the stores and I find something new every time I go. The real treat in Hamilton is the Bra Makers Supply store. Inside you will find everything you need to make bras, panties, and corsets. 

They sell kits already made up with everything you need to make a bra...

A whole wall full of patterns to choose from...

And they even offer courses on how to make corsets and bras. 

I picked up the Freedom Corset Pattern and some steele boning for a new corset.