Thursday, December 28, 2017

2018 Trend Predictions

It's up for debate whether or not "dark fashion" is a "youth culture" thing, but I do know that every four years or so people come and go into the scene and the styles change. We've reached the end of another cycle, in my opinion. Nugoth is in its dying years and something's going to replace it.

My guess? I'm going with one of Vulcan Butterfly's recent trends in her Fall report: Maximalism


Thursday, December 21, 2017

2017 Trend Recap

It's that time of year again, where I recap the 2017 trends. Are you gluing things to your forehead? Check out the 2016 Recap. Wondering where the septum jewelry and braids are? Why, they are in the 2015 Recap!

Accessories Trend of the Year: Ethnic Jewelry
Details, coins, bellydance, bollywood--if it jangles and weighs a ton, it's good.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Budget Gift Ideas

The holidays are around the corner and maybe things are tight this year or you've got a lot of people to buy for. Here are a few ideas for budget-friendly gifts that I have given that are thoughtful and have been enjoyed:

1. Magazine subscriptions: I always get this for my in-laws, who seem to have a new hobby or adventure each year. Mom knits? Vogue Knitting ($20). Brother-in-law's a dapper gentleman? Esquire ($15). Best friend's working on a novel? Poets&Writers ($16). It's thoughtful, and every month when they get a magazine in the mail, they'll think of you. The only downside is that it takes FOREVER to get that first issue. I think if you sign up now, you'll probably get the first issue in 6 weeks or more--so this is good for your family that lives in another state, or get a card letting them know to expect their first issue in January or February.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

How I Wear Capes

"Hey! You dressed up for Halloween?" Sigh, it was actually halloween weekend when I took this shot. Worst time to dress goth.

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Trend: Curated Ear


"Curated" ear, "constellation" piercings, or whatever buzzword they are going by these days is the trend of getting a bunch of piercings throughout the ear. It's different from the "ear projects" of old because it's more mainstream. "Ear projects" often had custom jewelry and industrials and stretched lobes/cartilage, whatever. It was meant to be extreme:

Thursday, October 26, 2017

How long do New Rock boots last and other questions

So, about two years ago, I did a post on what Google searches led people to my site. It was supposed to be a monthly post, but I never followed through! So here are searches the people searched that led them to my site!

rivet head and rivethead memes: lol I have no memes for you. Memes didn't exist back then. This used to be the term that industrial fans called themselves when we didn't want to be known as "goths". Old-school cyberpunk, separate from cybergoth, more military-inspired. As far as I know, no one calls themselves that anymore (let me know if I'm wrong in the comments!)  (posts mentioning rivetheads are here)

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Why isn't wavy hair goth?

Continuing the theme of last week's post, where I wondered why gold isn't goth, I turn to hair. So, I've always hated my hair. It's very thick, curly/wavy. I've always wanted straight hair, which was "traditional" goth style. I used to straight-iron my hair to get looks not unlike these instagram users:

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Why isn't gold goth?

For me, personally, this has been the year where I rethink all the conventional dark fashion "rules." And there are rules--there's a difference between someone who is just wearing black and someone who is counter-culture. But for people in high school and college who were dressing this way to be "unique" or "rebellious," I'm sure they were eventually disappointed:
"[I found a place] where I can be appreciated for my originality" 
For some reason, gold was never goth. I have theories: 1: the good stuff was too expensive for youth culture. 2) it traditionally doesn't go with cool-toned pale makeup and blue-black hair. 3) it was popular with parents and old people.

Maybe. I'd argue that it doesn't have to be expensive...you don't need to get solid gold. Brass would work too:

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Personal Style: what's in/out for fall

I'm packing away my spring/summer clothes right now and am kind of overwhelmed with how much stuff I have--it seems like my apartment shrinks more and more. I'm recycling a bunch of stuff with H&M's recycling program (you get a 15% off coupon!) and selling a few things on Poshmark, including this Victorian cybergoth dress I hate so much:




Thursday, September 28, 2017

Sephora Subscription Box

I'm not really a big makeup person, and most of what I have is old and stale and should be thrown out. I very rarely wear it. But I heard about Sephora's $10/mo sample subscription box and thought that that was the right size and the right price (and the right quality) for my barely-there beauty needs. So, this is September's box. These are all sample sizes:

Thursday, September 21, 2017

New York Fashion Week Ready-to-Wear Highlights

NY fashion week for spring/summer 18 has come and gone. Here are a few notables that I'd like to discuss.

Ashish

 Ashish was really the only one who screamed "I'm goth" and, yes, it's likable and wearable. But it's basically the goth brands...except sequins.  You got the Wednesday Addams thing above and the nu-goth ironic sweater below. Yawn.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Corrective makeup: undereye bags

It was my birthday yesterday, and as my 30s continue to march on I'm starting to, um, look older. I'm still lucky to look great for my age, but it's kind of weird to be undergoing a second puberty (I'll spare you the details). But one thing I notice the most is the skin under my eyes getting darker and saggier. Regular foundation doesn't usually do the trick in hiding it:


Thursday, August 31, 2017

Shop with me: Disturbia

Disturbia clothing is a UK-based brand that has been sort of riding the nu-goth tends but kind of with a 90s "punk" or 00s "j-rock" twist. Pretty much all the clothing here breaks every one of my shopping rules. This is not a sponsored post; in fact I hate pretty much everything here. Shop with me as I take a look at the newest styles!

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Darkling Tag

Thanks to the always informative The Walrus Room, and to the authentically old-school queen of the night DeusEXMachina for tagging me. Original questions by Graveyard Kittens.

I tag my favorite artist, Lady Fair, and my favorite art critic, Daughter of a Jaded Era.
Simple Questions:
  • What is your favorite candle scent? Sandalwood or pipe tobacco. I love manly scents lol.
  • Do you have a favorite book? Currently I love the Expanse space opera series by James S. A. Corey. Nothing darker than deep space! The Dresden files is also awesome, if you like vampires and wizards and an urban setting.
  • Are you a tea or coffee person? Tea
  • What is your favorite brand and color of lipstick? I love my Burberry red lip liner in Union Red, which I pretty much use for everything. (review here)

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Trend: high-waisted fishnets



I'm seeing everyone on Instagram and on retailer's pages pull the waistlines of their fishnets over the waistbands of their pants. The wide band of the waistband gives it a strappy look that's been very popular the past few years, while the fishnets provide coverage and a pattern. So it's basically an evolution of the strappy nu-goth style into the more mall-goth looks of the 00s. It's a more post-apocalyptic/industrial look than the ultraclean lines of nu-goth, which didn't really use fishnets at all. (Sorry for the wordy paragraph.)

Btw what is that belt loop circle thing? It's kind of cool

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

My shopping rules/how I minimize my wardrobe

Since I live in NYC in a teeny apartment with another person, I have to take space into consideration. As a style blogger, I already know I'm not going to take the extreme route with a minimalist capsule wardrobe of only about 30 pieces. It seems like such a seductive idea--30 articles of clothing that always look great on you and match, so you no longer have to focus on what to wear. I was this close to doing it, but decided to be real with myself--I like wearing different styles way too much. Minimalism is a bit too extreme for me, though if you want to go down that path, The Walrus Room wrote a good primer on that topic.

But experimenting with styles could make your wardrobe grow rapidly, so these are the rules I've set up for myself before I decide whether or not I should get something.

1. No words. I won't buy a shirt with words on it. I work in a corporate setting, and you can't wear clothing with words on it in a corporate setting. Also, the font used could make the shirt out-of-date quickly. Also, you may think a phrase is cool now, but in a few years you may not or be indifferent to it. So any shirt with words will be in the heap of "weekend clothing," which I'm trying to eliminate. This is the easiest rule to follow.
No more band t-shirts for me

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

GIY: It Takes Two: metalsmithing jewelry

I finally got it twogether this month with a DIY with GIY. This month's theme was dual crafting, and I made two brass/copper rings and two brass/copper earring jackets (to match my brass necklace):

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Ways to boost the dark style blogging community

I kind of notice that bloggers come and go in cycles (and dark fashion too--people leave and come back. That's life.) and sometimes the scene could use some community-building. I have some ideas.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Terrible Customer Service: By Night Studios

This post is inspired by Bien Aimee's recent post about a customer service experience she had with a popular shoe brand. That got me thinking to my customer service horror story with By Night Studios, which many of you may know via Vampire: The Masquerade.



Thursday, July 13, 2017

Trend: Wide Belts

With all the stores getting rid of their summer stuff right now, I'm noticing a lot of wide belts coming in now. Maybe instinctually, everyone's getting tired of looking like a shapeless blob with all those easy-to-produce geometric patterns everyone's been making for the past decade.

Blackhorne belt

Friday, June 23, 2017

Wallets

I've had exactly one wallet I liked... The one I used for the last 10 years (I know). Before that I just had my cards and money loose in my bag/pocket. (I know)

My sister thought I was crazy at the time for spending $80 on this tiny piece of leather, but this was the first time I saw a super slim wallet that could actually fit in those dumb tiny women's pants pockets:
It is now hilariously out-of-date

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Trend: Cold Shoulder Tops

http://lookbook.nu/look/8325279-Asos-Off-The-Shoulder-Cami-Top-Stradivarius
I know what we'll all be thinking 5-10 years from now: Remember when we all wore those cold-shoulder (or off-the-shoulder) tops that one summer in the mid-to-late 2010s? The Lookbooker above has nailed down the look with every trend that's hot now: choker, tattoo jewelry, and a still-going-strong wide-brimmed hat.

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Mirror Nails


Woah... Where have I been?! Can't believe it's been a month. The weather's been nice!

Monday, May 8, 2017

How do you wear this?!

So a bad habit I have when I'm shopping is that I sometimes get something just because it's weird, even when I don't know what to do with it. I saw this collar in the sale section of a high-end department store and thought it looked bizarre... And I liked the blood splatter pattern. It was wierd and creepy... And I had no idea what to do with it but thought I'd figure something out.

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Trend: Choker Tops

Don't like wearing chokers but love the look? Do you like wearing turtlenecks? Hit the stores, because this is the trend for you.


Front/Back
Killstar

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Sale Season Haul

I'm giddy about this Free People necklace
Despite having a fashion blog, I don't actually go out and buy things too often. However, I do go out and check out the sales during sale season, when retailers are getting rid of their fall stuff.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

DIY Choker

Where the hell have I been?!? Well generally when I vanish, I'm freelancing (in addition to my 9 to 5 job).

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

WITCHes and Satanists against tyranny and sexism

Greetings from the resistance. Instead of going shopping at lunchtime, I'm out protesting with everyone. Here in secular, liberal NYC, we are losing our damn minds. From freedom of the press to women's rights to the environment to education, it seems we're losing. It's scary. 


Props to the Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (WITCH). While dressing up in costume is a good way to not be taken seriously, I do think this is more effective than other protesting groups. It's menacing-looking, not just because the people are anonymous like anarchists, but because it's a great way to troll the conservative Christians. Normally I'd say no one would actually be scared of witches, but they believe the world is a few thousand years old, so maybe they're scared of witch magic too.

Last I spoke to my occultist friends, a few people were gauging interest for a ritual protest. They scratched their heads trying to find a way to do this magic ethically. As the atheist in the room, I say if magic is real, now would be a good time to use it. One person was going to do their ritual the day of the women's protests, to tap in to the worldwide energy behind the resistance. I hope it went well.

As an atheist, my biggest fear is the Christian theocracy we are currently heading toward, especially once Trump gets rid of the separation of church and state, as he promised to do. With all the fundamentalist oppression in women's health, we are already going there. Unfortunately, atheism isn't a religion, so we don't have the same protections that other religions have...so while Catholic hospitals have the "right" not to provide medical help to a women who is miscarrying, an atheist doesn't have the right to be free of religious tyranny.

So hail Satan, the Church of Satan fights the atheist fight using the first amendment language lawmakers understand. The only reason we were being oppressed is because we didn't have any way to fight back. So while we oppose a Christian statue outside a courthouse, no one is going to listen until we say "by law, you have to have our Satanic statue, because freedom of religion." The statue was awesome. And they won the fight.


(Though, to be honest, I don't know if Trump realizes that if he gets rid of the separation of church and state, that means the Scientologists (legally a religion) get to participate in our government as well...and they have a lot more money and influence than a bunch of evangelical sects who all hate each other. At this point, I'll take the Scientologists.)

Too early to tell, but I do wonder how the turmoil is going to affect our "subculture." Current events do affect our "scene"--whether we all go DIY because we're all unemployed, we lose our trench coats because of Columbine. Before 9/11, a bunch of us wore bullet belts...lol wouldn't wear that now. To the young people "coming of age" now, I really wonder what direction they'll evolve our scene in.

Haha we'll return to trends and pretty pictures of clothing next time, assuming I won't be in political prison lol.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Post-season sale alert!

Just a heads-up that most clothing stores are having their post-season sales right now. It's the best time of the year for sales!
$45 at Free People... Originally who knows

Thursday, January 26, 2017

RIP American Apparel

So I always joked that American Apparel was the best goth store, since they have a whole lot of shiny black things for sale, but really they had the best basics around. But after declaring bankruptcy and ousting the CEO and drastic changes, they were finally bought by a Canadian brand and are now closing all their stores. Here's a look back at some of my favorite outfits (sorry you probably have seen most of these before!)

high-wasted shorts