Hello Snarklings! While the Lady of the Manners is poking at the Audacity program (and that should give you a hint as to upcoming projects, you clever things), she felt she should talk about the blogs that she likes to visit! Distractions, entertainment, nifty things!
There’s Sophistique Noir, which focuses on “Gothic Fashion for the Mature”. This is a fantastic blog for fashion fiends and people who want inspiration for dressing with a dark flair while polished, professional, and a grown up. VictorianKitty, the blog author, describes it thusly:
“Yes, dark fashion can be mature and sophisticated. Gothic fashion, including career-appropriate attire, club outfits and everyday Goth styles can look classy and dignified on people over 30.”
The Lady of the Manners adores this blog, because while her personal fashion aesthetic is heavy on antique whimsy (and frequently thanks her lucky stars that she has the freedom to dress that way in her tech industry career), she knows all too well that many Goths don’t want to commit to that level of flamboyance on a daily basis, or are in situations where such flamboyance isn’t practical or acceptable.
Another great thing about the Sophistique Noir blog is that the majority of the clothing featured comes from mainstream stores and websites, and so is a great resource for finding Goth-friendly attire without shopping at specialty retailers. The Lady of the Manners has been telling people for years and years that places like Newport News, Spiegel, Target, and Macy’s have all sorts of garments that can easily become part of a Goth wardrobe, so she’s particularly delighted to see other people posting about it.
But wait! There’s more CorpGoth fashion to be found at This Is CorpGoth, which is “The chronicles of an everyday Goth gal at the office”. Run by the brilliant and clever Trystan L. Bass (alt.gothic.fashion alumni represent!), the blog is a great example of how to have a quirky dark style and still look like someone who knows what they’re doing at the office. Or as Trystan herself says:
Yes indeed, goths can grow up and work in big corporations. If you’re a young person wondering how you can get a Real Job while not totally sacrificing your dark and morbid fashion sense, this is the place for you. Or if you’re simply wondering how gothic & other subcultural folks can look “professional” in an office setting, here I am.
Next up on the list of blogs the Lady of the Manners is fond of is The Ultimate Goth Guide.It is a meandering collection of answers to questions about Goth life, “day in the life” posts, and ramblings about fashion, music, makeup, and books. There are also a lot of posts about different types of Goth, which will be of interest to those of you who are looking for more information than the brief snippets the Lady of the Manners covered in an earlier post here at Gothic Charm School.
The Lady of the Manners thinks the whole thing is adorable, and would very much like to someday have a cup of tea with Miss Amy. The Lady of the Manners would also like to finish reading through all of the posts on this blog, but suspects that will take longer than the amount of free time she has. But so far, what she’s read has been lots of fun. However, don’t let the name fool you or raise a skeptical eyebrow, because Miss Amy is the first to admit that she’s not the “ultimate Goth”; in fact, here’s what she has to say about her blog:
“No, I do not really think I am the ‘ultimate Goth’. Neither is this ‘the best’ Goth site on the web. Also, whilst all work on this site is heavily researched, some of it is still personal opinion (e.g. just because I say that an album is ‘the best ever’, does not guarantee that you will feel the same) and some of it cannot be proven as fact.”
Another blogger the Lady of the Manners dearly would love to have a tea party with is Kitty Lovett of Bloggery of a Gothcat. It’s another “day in the life” sort of blog, but with lots of cats (which the Lady of the Manners approves of, especially considering she’s attempting to write this post around a kitten on her lap), and is the home of a rather enticing fashion challenge for 2012.
The Filthy Victorians 2012 Challenge: a year as a Victorian lady.
Yes, starting in February, Kitty is going to try to dress in a Victorian-inspired manner every day for a year. Meaning corsets as undergarments, bloomers, petticoats, the works. It should come as no surprise to any of you Snarklings that the Lady of the Manners is wildly in favor of such an experiment, especially since the only thing on that list that the Lady of the Manners doesn’t indulge in on a daily basis is corsetry. (And make no mistake, Snarklings, a well-fitted (usually meaning custom-fitted) corset is often more comfortable than a bra, especially if one is on the buxom side.)
Other people (such as Miss Amy of the Ultimate Goth Guide) are joining in on the Filthy Victorians 2012 Challenge, and the Lady of the Manners is certainly considering it. If you (yes, you!) are interested in taking part, you should read the Guidelines post, which is full of tips and tricks. The Lady of the Manners realizes there is no information for any gentlemen (or scoundrels) who may want to spend the year also dressing in a Victorian-ish manner. The simplest resource she’s found for that sort of thing is Dressing the Part:A Victorian Genteman’s Personal Guide over at Gentlemen’s Emporium. Which is also a site that sells men’s fashions, so all of the specific clicky-links in the guide go to the sale pages for the items mentioned. That doesn’t mean the guide isn’t full of useful information, though, and the merchandise from Gentlemen’s Emporium is very nice.
—
There you go, Snarklings! Other things to read in between Gothic Charm School updates! Future ones of which include clothing reviews, more nattering about vampire books, answering reader questions (and you all know where the Correspondence form is, yes?), tutorials, and perhaps, just perhaps, a bit more information about why the Lady of the Manners is fussing around with Audacity …