OOTD: the Evil Peasant Look

On rare occasions I splurge and order custom-tailored clothes from eShakti.* Custom tailoring from that distance is not the most precise thing ever, but over time I’ve gotten better and better fit. I don’t know if I’m measuring better or they’re becoming more precise in their tailoring or what (maybe both?) but this latest order came out pretty perfectly.

I’m not feeling up to a full Show and Tell post, and I feel awkwardly materialistic showing off a bunch of stuff at once anyway, so I’ll just slowly unveil my sweet new stuff as I get around to actually wearing it. Today is a bit chilly so I went with this witchy half-sleeved dress. The embroidery reminds me just a bit of Romanian peasant blouses, which reminds me of Dracula. This dress makes me want to put on some Dark Ambient music and mix magic potions. Or maybe dance in the woods in the pale moonlight. Or possibly grab a pitchfork and storm a castle. Whatever. I can do all those things now that I have the right outfit. 

The “tree of life” necklace is from Etsy, but it’s old so I can’t remember the exact shop. Sorry.

*Sadly, I’m not famous in the slightest, so eShakti doesn’t sponsor me in any way. I had to pay money like a chump. 

Lit Class with Spooky Schoolmarm, plus Fashion Challenge Day 10

Day 10 is a special item of clothing. I don’t get all that attached to my clothes. This Nightmare Before Christmas scarf is the most special thing I could think of–I like the movie fine, but more than that I love Disney Halloween Time. I’ve only been twice–once for Mr. Robot’s and my anniversary and once last year with the kids, which is when I bought this scarf.

And now for something completely different:

Since finishing Frankenstein I’ve been thinking about all the lit classes I’ve taken, all the dark genres out there to explore, all the great stories and authors I read only because some teacher made me. I don’t have time to reread them all, but I thought I’d take time to reminisce. Here are a few unexpected treasures from my school days.

1. Shirley Jackson–she’s popular already with goths for The Haunting of Hill House, which has been made and remade, so I would have heard of her eventually. But my first taste of Jackson was The Lottery. My teacher made me read it, and I was too young to really understand it at the time, but that story’s the reason I went back to Jackson later. The Haunting is good, but I prefer We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
2. Dorris Lessing–Lessing isn’t a gothic or darkly romantic writer at all. I had to read her in high school but I didn’t remember much but her name and her nice writing style when I picked up The Fifth Child looking for summer reading. I was not expecting subtle horror and fairy tale elements or the heartwrenching portrayal of mental health issues, but that’s what the book delivered. It only resonates more as I get older.
3. Nathaniel Hawthorne–I’m haunted by an internet argument I once had about Hawthorne’s deep, dark genius. I was and still am of the opinion that some of his genius was totally unintended. Hawthorne wrote some great stuff–The Scarlet Letter and the House of Seven Gables were quite good, and Rappaccini’s Daughter is exactly as amazing as my internet opponent thought it was. But people tend not to read the complete works of Nathaniel Hawthorne because some of his works were really not good. He wrote an entire book of badly Christianized Greek myths for pete’s sake. His major theme was the evil within us that must be overcome, and sometimes that made for deep explorations of the human soul, but sometimes that made for boring morality tales. Still, when Hawthorne’s good, he’s really good.

I have no idea whether that was fun for you, but it was fun for me. Did you read and like any of these? Got any other dark-but-not-goth favorites I should add to my long, long list? Things you had to read for school that you didn’t appreciate until later?

 

Fashion Challenge: Days 5-8

Day 5: My Favorite Legware

I got these ponte pants from Dress Barn online, on sale for $13. They’re comfortable and go with everything, but the textured Victorian wallpaper pattern (hope you can see it well enough in the close-up) is my favorite thing about them. Also, my kid took the full body photo, which is why the weird angle (and the weird face?).

Day 6: My Comfiest Outfit

This is what I wear to work around the house (this weekend we finally took our Christmas lights down) or lounge around on weekends. The shirt is Rainbeau Curves and the pants are Duluth Trading drawstring armachillos. I’m pretty sure the shoes are old Skechers.

Day 7: My Cutest Outfit

I rarely go all out with the fuss and frills, but when I do I look like a jolly witch. My only regret is that those shoes are navy blue, not black.

Day 8: Most Expensive Clothing

Pretty much all my clothes hover around the same price range, so I’m not really sure on this one. I think it’s this dress, but probably not by much. I wore this out for my anniversary once but I can’t for the life of me find a picture so let’s just pretend I looked like this model. Only fatter. And with black hair (I’m so goth my hair is naturally black). And no arm tattoos. But otherwise, exactly like this model.

Black and Burgundy

I wear colors besides black. There, I said it. I wear gray, I wear red, I wear orange or purple once in a while. But it doesn’t stop there. Sometimes I wear royal blue or forest green or even, dare I say, brown. But not pastels. I draw the line at pastels.

Fact is, wearing all black doesn’t make you goth any more than staying up all night makes you a vampire. I’ve seen countless chic New York wannabes, tough biker chicks, beatnik musicians, and stylish soccer moms wear head-to-toe black and not look the slightest bit goth. We’ve all known goths or other unique types of people, though, who somehow capture the look no matter what they’re wearing.

When you know who you are it shows through and people can’t help but see it. Fashion is just a tool. Clothing, hair, makeup, jewelry, they help project who you are but if you have a strong personality people will see it anyway. Even if you’re wearing pastels.

I have the jeans and both the tops. I love all three, especially the casual top, which I probably wear once a week. I also have the Victorian boots. Everything else is just examples, things I want or that are similar to what I wear.