Ruffles Not Diets

I just discovered the blog Sophistique Noir and am completely in love with it for verily is it full of elegant, tasteful goth-y outfits.  VictorianKitty's work-wear is an inspiration to all of us who like to dress weird, but not nearly so much as we like to keep out jobs and not lose career opportunities.

The result of all this blog-love is that I decided to participate in Red and Black week, click the icon to the left to find more.  Since red is not a color I have much of in my personal wardrobe I made some polyvore coordinates instead of an outfit post.  Since this is for a goth blog-around I am amping up the gothiness beyond what I am calling blogular average, thus will you see a top hat (actually, I need that top hat), stripy tights, and an honest to god Victorian mourning parasol. I am thinking of doing a red and black makeup tutorial (classic '50's red lips with black eyeliner) as this is something I do all the time and I haven't done a makeup tutorial in forever.  I'll see if I have time.


For this first outfit I went with an elegant, opulent mood and a slightly more Victorian feel, thus does it have a bustle skirt and frilly blouse.  This also highlights what thinking outside the lolita box can do for a plus-sized lolita wardrobe.  The blouse is from Clockwork Couture, a steampunk shop with a lot of lolita potential, especially in the blouse and accessory departments.  Many goth and steampunk labels have stuff that makes nice additions to a lolita wardrobe and they tend to be a lot more size friendly.  Anyway, end of lecture.  I want that corset with a fierceness.


For the second outfit I wanted to contrast with a more casual, even punk-y feel.  I also wanted to demonstrate using a brand accessory with an exclusive print in a coordinated outfit that does not otherwise include the print, as exclusive-print-lust has been known to drive even the most sanguine plus-sized lolita mad with frothy rage (or worse, despair) at brands that only produce dresses in one size.  Also how could I resist incorporating A+P's Vampire Graveyard for this particular event.  I just couldn't.

PS: If you saw this post before there was text, sorry about that.  I really must straighten out the difference between "save draft" and "publish post"