Yearly Archives: 2012

Of Someone Not Sure About This Whole Goth Thing

Hello Snarklings! In this installment of Gothic Charm School, the Lady of the Manners is going to revisit a question that turns up somewhat frequently in the Gothic Charm School mailbox; this time, however, there’s a bit of a twist to it.

Stranded Fashionista wrote with what they call a bit of an existential crisis:

question: How do you know if you’re Goth or not? I’ve never considered myself anywhere close to Goth- but my friends who are more versed in the culture have pointed out that a lot of the things I like are “Goth.” It’s odd to think that I may be part of a sub-culture that I’ve sub-consciously judged for a lot of my life. I’m not exactly sure what help you can give- but, this is causing me a bit of existential crisis.

Continue reading

Posted in Being Fashionable, Being Mannerly, General | Leave a comment

Show And Tell: Spin Doctor Clothing!

Guess what, Snarklings? It’s time for the long-promised review of Spin Doctor Clothing! Yes, really; the Lady of the Manners has been meaning to write up this review for over a year now, but agents of chaos kept thwarting that plan. Anyway! I first discovered Spin Doctor around a year and a half ago, when I was indulging in one of my periodic insomnia-fueled searches of “Gothic Victorian” on eBay. I kept finding items that were utterly charming, with the sort of dark Victorian-but-not-entirely-historically-accurate flair that I prefer in clothing; skirts, waistcoats, jackets, and blouses all made by a company I’d not yet run across. A few days later, after I’d caught up on my sleep, I decided to look at those items again and see if I still was charmed by them, or if it was another case of magpie-brain caused by sleep deprivation.

No, it wasn’t. The items from Spin Doctor were just as enticing as I had remembered. So enticing, in fact, I gave in to temptation and bought myself the “Harriet” waistcoat. Continue reading

Posted in Being Fashionable, review: clothing, Reviews, Show And Tell | Leave a comment

An Assortment Of Questions

Hello Snarklings! It’s time to return to a potpourri of reader questions here at Gothic Charm School, including, oh yes, another question about Goth fashion. Which prompts the Lady of the Manners to say that she is working on a huge upcoming post about Where To Find Goth Clothes and How To Put Together Your Gothy Style, however, when the Lady of the Manners says it’s a huge post, she’s not kidding. So it may take a little while to finally coalesce and appear here on Gothic Charm School. (Yes, Gothic Charm School sees a lot of questions about finding gothy clothes. That, and many, many questions about family disapproval. Which tells the Lady of the Manners that she needs to do big blanket posts on both topics.)

But! Those are projects for the future, and the Lady of the Manners should really concentrate on the questions she’s going to talk about this time around, which are ”¦ hmmm, a question about fashion, a query about explaining one’s gothy self to one’s mom, and ”¦ oh! About Halloween! Continue reading

Posted in Being Fashionable, General, Holidays & Special Occasions | 28 Comments

The Gothic Charm School Interview with Emilie Autumn!

Snarklings, the Lady of the Manners has an exciting treat for you this time at Gothic Charm School! As the Lady of the Manners has mentioned before, she’s a big fan of Emilie Autumn. While the Enchant album was lovely, it was with the release of Opheliac that Emilie Autumn really grabbed people’s attention. How could the Lady of the Manners resist someone who played the violin, wrote slyly smart and biting songs about emotional struggles, and looked like a bedraggled and possibly dangerous Victorian doll? The Lady of the Manners couldn’t, obviously, and has been following the antics (musical and otherwise) of Ms. Autumn ever since. Continue reading

Posted in Clubbing & Concerts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Amusements: Other Gothy Blogs To Read

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! Continue reading

Posted in Amusements, Clicky-links | Leave a comment

Of Goth Styles And Labels

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

Posted in General, Growing Pains, Serious Matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment