Heavy Red, Snarklings! You do know of what the Lady of the Manners speaks, don’t you? Heavy Red, purveyors of all sorts of enticing darkware for elegantly spooky and fetchingly tattered gothlings of all genders.
Heavy Red has been around for ages and ages, so when they contacted the Lady of the Manners to ask if she’d be interested in reviewing their merchandise, she clapped her hands in glee and said “Yes, Thank You Very Much!” A short while later, a box arrived at the Gothic Charm School P.O. box, filled with lovely items carefully wrapped in crimson tissue.
The Lady of the Manners has been known to, erm, rather forcefully express her views about hoodies. She will wear them around the house when the weather turns chilly, but couldn’t quite bring herself to accept the notion of a hoodie as a truly interesting piece of Goth fashion. The Illusions of Immortality hoodie, however, made her re-think those views. The keyhole neckline, flanked by the striped panels, would be perfect to frame a stunning necklace or tattoo, the pre-made thumb holes in the sleeves were a brilliant idea, and the the fabric was silky and seemed like it would be very comfortable. Seemed, because the Lady of the Manners discovered that her rather buxom figure was not a good match for the cut of this particular garment. But she handed it to a friend of slightly less busty proportions, who adored it. Yes, very comfortable, very sleek, and striking on its own, or layered with a waistcoat or jacket.
Under another rustling layer of deep red tissue was the Mistress Black Riding Waist Cincher, much to the Lady of the Manners’ delight. She feels that a good black waist cincher is an essential item for Goth ladies (and for many Goth gentlemen), and finding one with the vital combination of good quality and reasonable price is an ongoing quest for many in our dark-clad subculture. The Mistress Black Riding Cincher meets both of those requirements, with steel bones, a front busk, and a modesty panel in the back (something often missing from other off-the-rack corsets), and a not-frighteningly-expensive price tag of $85.
The Lady of the Manners is very pleased to report that the Mistress Black Riding Cincher held up beautifully to a night of dancing. It gave her the smooth hourglass silhouette the Lady of the Manners prefers to combine with her layers of swirling petticoats and cropped Victorian-esque jackets, and didn’t bind or poke as the night progressed. In fact, the Lady of the Manners was so impressed with the Mistress Black Riding Cincher that she’s contemplating purchasing the Fatal Affection Waist Cincher. Black and white stripes, plus a big red heart? Of course the Lady of the Manners keeps going back and staring at it.
The final item, nestled deep within the box, was a lovely silver-tone heart locket. One side was solid, with a pattern of embossed diamonds, while the other side was an open lattice-work of a matching diamond pattern. When the Lady of the Manners isn’t wearing it as a perfume locket (the lattice-work panel makes it perfect for holding a tiny velvet ribbon rose daubed with perfume), it hangs off one of the shoulder straps on her leather jacket.
(The Lady of the Manners has searched through the Jewelry section of the Heavy Red site, but does not see the heart locket she has. The Holy Heart necklace is very similar, but not quite it.)
Would the Lady of the Manners recommend Heavy Red as a good place to spend your hard-earned money? Oh good heavens, yes. The Lady of the Manners is compiling her own wish list for a future spending spree, and is coveting items such as the previously-mentioned Fatal Affection Waist Cincher, the Deviant Studded Buckle Belt (a wide studded belt on an elastic backing? Brilliant!), the Arsenic And Lace Dress Shirt, the Love’s Restraint French Buckle Coat (mmm, sleeves with many, many buckles), and the Narrow Escape Shredded Leggings. (Yes, the Lady of the Manners is having something of a Deathrock Victorian moment. Those leggings and buckle coat would look smashing with layers of petticoats and a high-collared ruffled blouse.)
Some basic information: Heavy Red carries women’s sizes up to a 3XL (which translates to a size 16/18 with a bust measurement of 43 – 44″ in their world). The Lady of the Manners was not able to find a size chart for the menfolk, and also noticed that the available sizes of the four offerings in the “Men’s Goth Clothing” section were a bit ”¦ random. Gentlemen, you may want to email the lovely folks at Heavy Red and ask them if they plan on offering more items for you.
So go! Browse Heavy Red, and if you give into temptation, tell them the Lady of the Manners sent you.