Growing Up Gawthic

Fallen a bit behind on the blogging lately, but not for lack of things to talk about!

First and foremost... Stripped, Scared and Sacred is back. Love That Lovecraft! (Part One.) The sound quality of the podcast is much improved, as we went and got a decent microphone. Part Two of the Lovecraft extravaganza will be up soon, and features Andrew Harron and David Quast, both of who were in the recent production of An Evening With Professor Byron Price.

Also soon to be featured on the podcast... Tristan Risk! We talk a little about her role in American Mary but mostly we discuss growing up spooky. Keep an eye out for those upcoming guests!




Speaking of spooky... today at work, via gchat, I had a lengthy discussion with a good friend about the challenge of dressing like the dark soul you are... without looking like you're in costume.

Now, some people can rock the 24/7 uber gawth. Good on 'em. I know some women who are flawlessly out-there in their fashion, and I applaud them. But personally? I turn thirty-two this year, and I just cannot justify going to work in a miniskirt and fishnets.

I believe that everyone's style changes over time. When I was younger I was very into the goth look - Siouxsie Sioux hair, black eyes, crimson lips, vinyl, velvet, four-inch-platform boots with buckles. And that was for going to the store. I got older, I got heavier, and sort of softened into that kind of rocker-y Kat-Von-D-ish look. Getting into burlesque brought about a natural shift to a more rockabilly sensibility, and a style heavily inspired by the 40s.

A word on that - I'm not sure why I thought all burlesque gals had to have pincurls. There is certainly a retro aesthetic in burlesque, but I knew enough girls in the scene to know that you don't HAVE to rock that specific look. (Hello - Spooksy DeLune?) I think that I was pleased to have found a fashion era that flattered my figure, and for whatever reason I got a bit locked into it. The hair especially began to dictate a lot of my outfits, and I realised one day I had 'straight-hair' clothes and 'curled hair' clothes. ...and that I was wearing my hair straight more, and so missing out on half my wardrobe.

So. Dyed my hair darker, and then lopped it off. All of a sudden, it felt like I had more style options. Which brings me back to the challenge of being a spooky person who doesn't want to do corsets and vinyl every day.

I think the secret to being able to create a wardrobe to match your funky style (whatever that may be) without going balls-to-the-wall with it is to nail the basics first. My friend balked at that word - she had visions of standard office wear. But your basics can be all black. And you don't have to wear all basics together - your pair them with your funky pieces, or accessories.

At one time, my ideal was this.

Still love it. Just not on me.

I'd prefer this.

There's a lot of options out there that allow you to be edgy as hell but still polished. Give me a plain black dress that fits well - I can make that baby darkly elegant with shoes, jewellery and a jacket. It's a great time to be a grown-up gothling, since you can pick up skull rings and cross necklaces all over the damn place. Leather? Never out of style. Shoes? Oh, honey, you can even get spikes on them.

So I'm going to leave you with a few links, in case you like to virtual window shop as much as I do.

Grown-Up Goth

urbanGOTHIK

Haute Macabre

Courtesan Macabre

Awz yeah.