Category Archives: Growing Pains

Of Dealing With Bullies

Posted on January, 2011 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! The first lesson at Gothic Charm School for 2011 is going to be about a very serious topic, one, sadly, that the Lady of the Manners has been receiving a distressing number of letters about: bullying. Here, read a small sample of the letters arriving seemingly daily in the Gothic Charm School mailbox: Continue reading →

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Of Goths On Makeover Shows, And Of Parental Concern About Provocative Clothing

Posted on December, 2010 by Lady of the Manners

Reader letters, Snarklings! The Lady of the Manners, after her diversions of blood-spattered manicures and Sepiachord music, is getting back to answering letters from you darling creatures. However, before the Lady of the Manners addresses the handful of letters that have been selected for this lesson, a (brief, the Lady of the Manners swears) tangent about finding Gothic clothing:

The Gothic Charm School mailbox receives many letters from Snarklings asking where to find Gothy clothing; many of these letters also add the caveat that the writers are not able to do their shopping with online retailers that specialize in darkly elegant clothing. Continue reading →

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Of Parental Differences Of Opinion, And Of Satanism.

Posted on July, 2010 by Lady of the Manners

Hello Snarklings! Remember how at the end of the previous Gothic Charm School, the Lady of the Manners said she was going to talk about how a reader had gently taken her to task about the subtext she was implying when she talked about Satanists? Well yes, the Lady of the Manners is indeed going to talk about that. But first, she’s going to look at an issue that affects the parents of some of the babybats out there. Continue reading →

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Of Hair Color, Of Decorating One’s Room, And Of Skin Lightening (Oh Dear).

Posted on July, 2010 by Lady of the Manners

Finally, Snarklings, the Lady of the Manners has been able to leave her Couch Of Plague and get back to being productive. And goodness, the letters you Snarklings have been sending in! Questions about hair color, home decor, and skin care, oh my! Continue reading →

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Of “Age-Appropriate” Books, Of Bullies, And Of Cloaks

Posted on May, 2010 by Lady of the Manners

Goodness, Snarklings, the Lady of the Manners seems to be getting lax with time management again, what with the length of time between the Faith and the Muse review and this particular installment of Gothic Charm School. But the Lady of the Manners did spend the time productively, and now has a clean and almost-organized storage room. (The floor may be sprinkled with sequins, bat confetti, and fragments of dried rose petals, but the Lady of the Manners considers that to be atmospheric.

But! Enough with tangents, and on to the lesson! Wherein the Lady of the Manners is going to address the some of the oodles of letters coming in from her younger readers. (The Lady of the Manners really does try not to exclaim “Oh! Wee babybat Snarkling!” when mail from younger readers appears in the Gothic Charm School inbox, but the temptation is always there.) Continue reading →

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Of Confiscated Clothing, Dangerous Classmates, And Disapproving Fiancés

Posted on January, 2010 by Lady of the Manners

Questions, Snarklings! So many questions! In fact, the Lady of the Manners isn’t going to spend any more time writing an introductory paragraph or two, but is going to jump straight to answering letters from readers. Such as this one, from Wayward Victorian: Continue reading →

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Of Parents Disapproving Of Your Evolving Style, With A Short Tangent About Emilie Autumn

Posted on October, 2009 by Lady of the Manners

Goodness, Snarklings! The Lady of the Manners is sure that all of you have seen the photos all around the Web of President Obama and his family with the Spanish Prime Minister and his family, including his two gothling teen daughters. The Lady of the Manners thinks the photo is adorable, and fervently hopes that the Spanish Prime Minister has been keeping his daughters out of the media spotlight because he wants them to have some privacy, not because he is possibly embarrassed by the girls’ Goth appearance. Because (by the Lady of the Manners’ logic), if the Spanish Prime Minister was apprehensive about his daughters’ gothy tendencies, he would have done what parents of Goths have done for ages, and informed his daughters that the were not going to attend the event dressed like that. But obviously he didn’t, and the whole photo just makes the Lady of the Manners beam fondly.

Speaking of possible parental disapproval, Continue reading →

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Of Interviews, Of Upcoming Events, And Of Tightening Parental Restrictions

Posted on August, 2009 by Lady of the Manners

Snarklings! There are so many exciting things still going on at Gothic Charm School! Such as the lovely new merchandise that the Lady of the Manners wrote about last week: the Gothic Charm School Batty Heart necklace from Rocklove Jewelry, and the Gothic Charm School Body Butter from Starborn Alchemy! Go forth and investigate those clicky-links for more information and to purchase the items. Continue reading →

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Of San Diego Comic-Con, Portland, And A Reader Suffering School Torments.

Posted on July, 2009 by Lady of the Manners

The NYC stop of the Gothic Charm School tour was oodles of fun, Snarklings! (If a bit humid.) The reading at The Mysterious Bookshop was lovely, and the Lady of the Manners was delighted to meet all of you who turned up there. The picnic at the Green-Wood Cemetery was everything the Lady of the Manners had hoped for and more! Goregously-dressed creatures, a historic cemetery, and weather that turned out to be pleasant instead of sweltering and sticky like the day before. Pictures from the events can be found over at the Gothic Charm School Flickr Group! Continue reading →

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More Advice For Aging Goths. And Clicky-links Of Coveting.

Posted on April, 2009 by Lady of the Manners

Snarklings, the Lady of the Manners has been quite touched by the flood of complimentary mail about the previous column on Aging Goths. Mail from fellow ElderGoths, and from younger Goths who are glad for the reassurance that Goth doesn’t have an age limit. Because the Lady of the Manners does tend to get letters like the following one from a young lady named Carrie: Continue reading →

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