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Meta
Category Archives: Being Fashionable
Of Questions Concerning One’s Wardrobe
Snarklings, remember how at the end of the last lesson, the Lady of the Manners said she was going to write about something less fraught? Perhaps something like fashion advice? Goodness, flocks* of you took that to heart; all sorts of letters with wardrobe questions arrived in the Gothic Charm School mailbox.
Ӭ
(*There never has been any sort of agreement on what is the proper collective noun for a collection of Goths, has there? The Lady of the Manners is fond of gloom, as in “a gloom of Goths”, but has also seen bleakness, brood, clot, shroud, and sulk all used.)
Ӭ
However, enough chatter about etymology and the naming of things! Onwards to Snarklings’ questions about fashion! Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable
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Of Gothic Lolita Fashion and Lifestyle
The Lady of the Manners didn’t mean to misplace all of February, truly she didn’t. The Lady of the Manners was just so engrossed in reading all of your letters, Snarklings, that she was, er, too distracted to reply to them. The Lady of the Manners has resolved to start March out properly, so on to answering questions!
Dear Lady of Manners,I’m writing because I have a question that arose out of curiosity. I’m not quite sure if you’re aware of the Lolita style of clothing. If not, please allow me to educate you: Lolita is both a lifestyle and fashion statement. It’s about being ladylike and refined, and dressing modestly and sweetly, with ribbons and lace and bows. Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, General
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Of Goths Suffering Harassment, of Vampires, and of Skull Accessories
Oh dear, Goths are in the news again. A Goth couple in England was banned from the bus because the driver objected to their appearance, which included the young lady being led on a leash by her fiancee. Several of you Snarklings sent the link to the the Lady of the Manners with letters much like the following one, sent by Mordicus: Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, Being Mannerly, General
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Of Treating People Civilly, of Labels, and of White Foundation
Oh Snarklings, the Lady of the Manners didn’t mean to take such a long break. Alas, these things do happen. But the Lady of the Manners is not going to dwell upon that, and instead dive right into answering two different letters from readers. One letter with two separate questions, even!
The first letter, from a Miss Lolita, is about labeling oneself, and whether or not one should be polite to people who’ve done nothing to deserve such treatment: Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, Being Mannerly
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Of Elegant Gothic Lolita, Deathrock, and Victorian Fashion
Apparently some of you Snarklings have figured out that the Lady of the Manners loves loves loves to blither on about clothes and the aesthetics of Goth fashion. Why does the Lady of the Manners say this? Because several of you have sent fashion-related questions to Gothic Charm School. And not just those of the ”Am I still a Goth if I don’t wear all black?!” type questions either, thank goodness.
(The Lady of the Manners would like to reassure the readers who aren’t terribly fascinated with clothing that no, Gothic Charm School isn’t going to turn into an all-fashion all-the-time site. Really. The Lady of the Manners solemnly promises this.) Continue reading
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Of Reader Mail Concerning Religion, the Sun, Scars, and Fashion
Hello Snarklings! Things have been very exciting around Gothic Charm School of late, what with the Yahoo Picks Profile and the floods of email that it generated. The Lady of the Manners had several different topics she was all set to hold forth upon, but decided that an assortment of answers to reader mail would be much more entertaining. Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, Being Social, Stuff & Oddments
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On Goths Dealing with a Winter Wonderland
There are times, Snarklings, that the Lady of the Manners suspects that the universe runs on serendipity overdrive. Okay, maybe not all of it, but some parts of it. Why? Because the Lady of the Manners had recently been pondering, during her cold and dark commute home from work every evening, what the next lesson should be about. Because while Lady of the Manners does indeed read all of the messages that people send her, Lady of the Manners was having a difficult time deciding which particular message struck her fancy. But then a charming young lady by the name of Elsa wrote to the Lady of the Manners with … a question about clothing! Now, as the Constant Reader may have noticed, the Lady of the Manners is very fond of burbling about clothing. In fact, the Lady of the Manners considers customizing and playing with her wardrobe to be her number one hobby. So when a letter arrives asking for clothing advice, how could the Lady of the Manners let it go unanswered? Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, General, Stuff & Oddments
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Parental Expectations, Family Photos, and More About When Black is This Year’s Black
Goodness, Snarklings, do you realize what October means? Besides Halloween and proper weather for velvet, that is? It means that Gothic Charm School is one year old! (In this incarnation, of course. Being the clever Snarklings that you are, you are well-aware that Gothic Charm School previously existed under another name, and has been around since 1998 or so …)
This month, not only is the Lady of the Manners going to try and help a young lady who has a question about parental expectations and family portraits, but the Lady of the Manners is also going to take another look at last October’s topic, because the Lady of the Manners has a few more things to say about the mainstream fashion industry deeming all things “darkly romantic” to be In while simultaneously sneering at the Gothic subculture. In other words, the Lady of the Manners is probably going to rant. You Have Been Warned, Snarklings. Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, General, Growing Pains
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“Black is this Year’s Black …”
The Lady of the Manners was trying to decide what to address as the first lesson here at the lovely new website when she started noticing a recurring theme in the fall window displays and fashion magazines. A recurring theme that looked awfully familiar. So, just what *should* you do when your subculture becomes the current flavor of the month for fashion? Continue reading
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The Summer of Goth
This time around, Gothic Charm School isn’t going to be about etiquette questions. No, this month the Lady of the Manner is going to talk about a seasonal sort of topic: how to survive the summer as a Goth. Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, General, Stuff & Oddments
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