Cemetery Tea Party

Last Sunday my friends and I celebrated a birthday party in style at one of the oldest cemeteries in the area.  My friend Miss E is incredible at party planning. Everything is always perfect down to the smallest detail! The theme this year was an Occult Tea Party. So we donned our best graveyard outfits and had a great day celebrating with friends. 

It was a little chilly and overcast that day and yet I still managed to get a little bit of a sunburn. Curse you evil daystar! The cups were all hand painted with occult symbols and gothic bats. The tea bags were painstakingly hand made by the birthday girl herself in little coffin shapes and the tea was wonderful and hot thanks to the industrial hot water servers! 

Since the theme was Occult, I figured this was my chance to make an antler headdress! I've always wanted to make one with real antlers and my friend had a set of sun bleached antlers that were perfect for a headdress. The sun bleached ones are a little lighter so they are perfectly suited for a headdress.  I attached the antlers to a headband and then filled in with silk roses and lace. They were actually very comfortable to wear too!

 I also promised some better pictures of my altered Laura Ashley dress. Here it is! I wore a longer petticoat under it as well to fill out the hem. A feathered shoulder wrap made by a friend and silk purse finished off the outfit perfectly. We had a great time and I did Tarot readings for about 6 friends that afternoon too! 

What is Dreadpunk?

I came across an interesting article recently on The Daily Dot by Aja Romano about a new horror genre called Dreadpunk. The term was coined by Derek Tatum from Dreadpunk.com. He describes the genre as "period piece gothic horror created by modern writers and film makers". He in no way claims inventing the genre, instead he just says that he and his friends are having fun with it. My first reaction was... Oh yes, sign me up! The genre is described as being all about gothic victorian based literature, classic gothic monsters from the victorian penny dreadfuls, and dark macabre subjects like ghost hunting and post mortem photography. Dreadpunk is claiming to "push horror and dark fantasy in a new direction." I like that sentiment, especially if it means there will be plenty of new gothic fiction, TV shows, and movies coming our way soon!

The article references RomantiGoth and Victorian Goth fashion style also. Now anyone who reads my blog knows I've been into that style for a long time now. It's nothing new to me. In fact it's very, very old. Most of the clothing I make and wear can be described that way. I started making these styles back in the late 80s/early 90s.  In fact, most of us old school goths know and love this style already. We have been wearing the clothes, reading the literature, and watching the movies since the beginning of time! So... What's new here? Frankly, I think the only new thing about this supposedly new horror genre is the name Dreadpunk. And it is indeed a catchy name. So like it or not, I think it's here to stay folks. 

Since this genre certainly isn't new to most of us, it made me think about the cycles of the gothic culture. It seems like gothic culture is on a 30 year cycle to me. Every 30 years it has a reemergence and gathers a mainstream following. Think about it. "Gothic" as we know it today started with the Victorians. They lived it every day. Everything from their clothing, literature, architecture, etc. was all about the dark and sometimes hidden side of life and they loved their Penny Dreadfuls about dark fantasy characters like Varney the Vampire. Almost all of the classic literature comes from this era also. The Victorians were quite obsessed with mourning. In fact, they had strict rules about what was proper to wear while in mourning. It was also a time of great technological advances. (which is where the whole steampunk genre comes from) I'm sure the gothic mindset is much older than the Victorians but when I think Gothic with a capital G, I tend to think of the late victorian period first. 

The next gothic cycle was in the 30s. This was the decade that all those wonderful gothic books like Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein were turned into movies by the Universal Studios. So gothic culture (or at least the movies based on the literature) became mainstream and created legendary movie stars in Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. 

Next up was the 60s. Yet again gothic movies were popular. Hammer Horror revived gothic horror by reinventing the classic monsters for a new generation. Roger Corman and Vincent Price were also churning out dark gothic movies like crazy based on Edgar Allan Poe stories. New legendary stars were created like Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee. With the new medium of TV this time around we also were spoiled with TV shows like Dark Shadows, The Munsters, and The Addams Family. 

By the 90s, gothic culture was turned up to 11. We had the 80s bat cavers and trad goths that had their own music genre and fashion style that eventually evolved into a more classic gothic style with lots of velvet and a hint of vampires. Anne Rice's vampire books were extremely popular in the 90s. We had the movies, the music, and the fashion in the 90s. We created a whole lifestyle. Some of us still live it everyday! Again the movies and TV shows reflected the classic gothic literature. Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview With a Vampire, and The Nightmare Before Christmas were all mainstream movies in the 90s.

That brings us to the 2020s next. Is Dreadpunk just the reemergence of my beloved gothic genre with a new name? It seems like everyday there is a new genre or trend created on the Internet. Is this one going to actually stick around or will it fade away by 2020? Is it just in it's infancy? Maybe it will turn into something mainstream very soon. This new gothic trend started up again with the 2012 movie, The Woman in Black. I remember writing a movie review back then and waxing on poetically about how I would love for this movie to start a whole new trend in gothic films! I think I got my wish. Ha! The Woman in Black (brought to us by Hammer Horror again) started the trend but now it's growing. We have the TV series Penny Dreadful and another incredibly gothic movie coming in October called Crimson Peak. Hot Topic has a new clothing line based on Penny Dreadful and the malls are full of mainstream gothic clothes. I don't think all of this is just a coincidence. Maybe 5 years down the road is when the trend will hit its stride and go mainstream? We shall see! Until then there is a rich history of films, TV series, and books to soak in. 

Here is a gothic beginners list to get you started:

Gothic Literature:

Bram Stoker's Dracula 

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 

The Castle of Otranto 

Carmilla 

Edgar Allan Poe

The Picture of Dorian Gray

H.P. Lovecraft

Varney the Vampire

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles 

The Graveyard Book

The Sandman Graphic Novel Series

Gothic Films:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 

Nosferatu 

Universal Studios Dracula and Frankenstein 

Hammer Horror and Amicus Films

Mario Bava's Black Sunday and Black Sabbath 

Roger Corman/Vincent Price Poe movies

Bram Stoker's Dracula 

Interview With the Vampire

The Crow

The Woman in Black (the original movie is just as good as the newer one)

Sweeney Todd

Sleepy Hollow

Nightmare Before Christmas 

Corpse Bride

Mary Reilly

From Hell

Coraline

Suspiria 

Pan's Labyrinth 

Gothic TV Series:

Penny Dreadful 

Sleepy Hollow

Dark Shadows

Forever Knight

American Horror Story (some seasons more than others)

Dracula (cancelled too soon)

Friday the 13th the series 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer/ Angel

Charmed

Kolchak the Night Stalker

*all images gathered from Pinterest and Google images. 

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*

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. 

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.