Category Archives: Growing Pains

Of Being Compared To Pop Stars, And Of Finding Plus-Size Goth Fashion

Posted on September, 2012 by Lady of the Manners

Hello oh patient Snarklings! Yes, it’s time for another Gothic Charm School post with reader questions! This time there are two fashion-related questions: where to find plus-sized Goth clothes, and what to do when well-meaning family members have no real frame of reference for your personal style.
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Of Goth Styles And Labels

Posted on January, 2012 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings, and welcome to 2012! There are all sorts of plots being polished and things in the works here at Gothic Charm School, including clothing reviews, more vampire book discussion in the Nocturnal House, and events to attend! But never fear, the Lady of the Manners is still reading and answering the letters that come in to Gothic Charm School. Continue reading →

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Of Defining Yourself By Other People

Posted on November, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! The Lady of the Manners is finally rousing herself from some much-needed napping, only to realize that the holiday season is upon us! With that in mind, the Lady of the Manners is working on a simply enormous holiday gift guide type of post, full of suggestions and clicky-links to Goth and Goth-friendly artists and retailers. However, that doesn’t mean that the Lady of the Manners is not going to look at reader questions, and this installment of Gothic Charm School looks at two different sides of the issue: allowing other people to define who you are.
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Of Gothy Age Limits (There Aren’t Any), And Of A Bad Idea In The Name Of “Fashion”

Posted on November, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! Guess what? This installment of Gothic Charm School is going to, ::gasp:: answer some letters from readers! A flock of them, some of which are from the younger readers. (The Lady of the Manners loves getting mail from readers, but letters from the younger babybats do make her go “Awww!” in fond affection.)
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An Assortment Of Questions, Including Babybats And Working With Children

Posted on September, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! The Lady of the Manners has taken a break from being furniture for the new kittens of the Gothic Charm School household so she can answer some reader letters. This installment is going to be filled with letters from the younger readers of Gothic Charm School; as you may have guessed, many of the letters from younger readers ask to talk to their parents about being Goth. Now, the Lady of the Manners has talked about this before: Continue reading →

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Of New School Worries

Posted on August, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! August is, as many of you know, Back To School time. (The Lady of the Manners apologizes to her readers in the Eastern Hemisphere for her Western Hemisphere bias. It’s just one of those things.) This time of year fills the Lady of the Manners with a nostalgic urge to shop for school supplies; yes, she really does want a new big box of crayons. Oooh, and new blank journals, and fountain pens, and ink …

But Back To School time also means the mailbox at Gothic Charm School sees swarms of letters asking about school related topics. What to do about dress codes, of course, which the Lady of the Manners has talked about before:

Of Dealing With Vague And Repressive Dress Codes

Of Parental Nicknames, Of Wrongly Being Called Emo, And Of Dress Codes

Of Goths and School Dress Codes – Gothic Charm School

There are the questions from Snarklings worried about bullies, which is perfectly understandable! The Lady of the Manners has talked about that topic, too, and hopes that all of you will read (and re-read) that post:

Of Dealing With Bullies

But amongst all of those Back To School -related questions, one from a gothling named Carley caught the Lady of the Manners’ eye: Continue reading →

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Of Dealing With Vague and Repressive Dress Codes

Posted on July, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! This time around at Gothic Charm School, the Lady of the Manners is going to address a subject she’s talked about before, but one that is a never-ending concern: school dress codes.

The Lady of the Manners often thanks her lucky (dark) stars that the trend for all-encompassing, yet vague, school dress codes hadn’t taken root during her scholastic career. (The Lady of the Manners also thanks her lucky dark stars that things like Facebook, Twitter, and LiveJournal were not around during her semi-over-emotional teens and early twenties, but that’s a different post entirely.) The Lady of the Manners understands, to a degree, what school boards are trying to achieve with the dress codes; if students all have a similar appearance, then in theory there might be fewer disruptions and bullying because of a student’s clothing. (The Lady of the Manners has been told there are studies showing that school uniforms, not vague dress codes, have indeed helped cut down on bullying.) However, the Lady of the Manners also knows that it doesn’t matter if there is a dress code, the students will still find things to harass and haze each other about, and feels that the time spent drafting school dress codes would be better spent on finding strategies to deal with bullying. Maybe someday these things will happen. Say, when we live in a perfect world, or when the Lady of the Manners finally achieves her girlhood dream of becoming the gothy vampire queen of the universe. Continue reading →

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An Assortment Of Questions And Answers

Posted on May, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! It dawned on the Lady of the Manners that maybe she should try to quickly write a post while also carefully creating the post about the Vampire Masquerade Ball and the reviews of Heavy Red and Spin Doctor. So! A mixed assortment of questions from readers, with (the Lady of the Manners hopes!) helpful answers. Continue reading →

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Of Goths And Prom

Posted on May, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! Gracious, the Gothic Charm School mailbox has been jam-packed with questions asking for gothy outfit suggestions for Prom. For the non-US Snarklings, Prom is a formal school dance, and dressing up in fancy clothes is a big part of it. (Sometimes making poor choices and Drama-with-a-capital-D are also part of Prom, but the Lady of the Manners isn’t going to be talking about those aspects of it, and instead will fervently hope that all of the Prom-attending Gothic Charm School readers are able to avoid those sorts of problems.) Continue reading →

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Of Letters From Other Countries.

Posted on April, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Yes, Snarklings: the Lady of the Manners is trying to get back into the habit of this updating regularly lark. So! This time at Gothic Charm School, letters from readers who live in very different parts of the world! Continue reading →

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