Hello Snarklings! Yes, here it is, the enormous Gothic Charm School holiday gift guide! Full of clicky-links to gothy artisans and small businesses that have simply oodles and oodles of interesting things for sale. The Lady of the Manners is very aware that just about everyone is dealing with tightened budgets right now, but wants to encourage all of you who are doing holiday gift shopping to show your support for independent sellers and stores.
Firstly, shop local! See what your local shops have on offer. (In Seattle, the Lady of the Manners shops at Gargoyle Statuary and Bedlam Bedlam, and when visiting Portland makes sure to visit Sock Dreams and Paxton Gate.) Take a look at event listings and calendars for your area, because there are more and more subculture-friendly holiday markets happening all the time. In the Seattle area, there are events such as Mourning Market (the next one is on December 11th), the Punk Rock Flea Market (December 10th), and I Heart Rummage (also on December 10th). These sorts of events feature independent artists and crafters, and are always fun to attend. In fact, the Lady of the Manners tends to view these sorts of markets as social events where she can catch up and chat with all sorts of people, but that also happen to have shopping opportunities. Why, the Lady of the Manners even did a video about them:
Of course, the San Francisco people have Dickens Fair, those lucky things. Holiday shopping and activities with a Victorian flavor? Oh, the Lady of the Manners is just a smidge envious of the people who get to go. Of course, the Seattle area has the Victorian Country Christmas Festival, but the Lady of the Manners hasn’t managed to visit it yet. Perhaps this year?
For the crafty, there’s always the choice of homemade goodies! Yummy treats such as gingerbread (bats, of course), Cocoa Nib and Pink Pepper Caramel Corn, or marshmallows (the Lady of the Manners flavors the ones she makes with a dash of rose or violet syrup) all make good presents, especially if you seal them up in a decorative jar or bag and add a hand-written note.
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Now, onto the huge list of clicky-links! The Lady of the Manners has tried to enforce a vague sense of organization and categories upon this list, but trusts that you Snarklings will understand if there is a certain amount of “ooh, shiny things!” randomness to the whole thing. But first things first: allow the Lady of the Manners to remind you about the Gothic Charm School CafePress store! Surely there is someone on your list that needs a Gothic Charm School shirt? Remember, there are fourteen different designs to choose from!
An important thing to remember when ordering from small businesses and Etsy shops: It is vital to place your order early enough to allow for postage and travel time! If you do wait until the last minute to order something, don’t be surprised (or upset!) by rush shipping charges.
Clothing and Accessories
Kambriel’s One of a Kind offerings and her Etsy shop! Looking for a special something that is darkly elegant, with a dash of whimsy? Cravats, ascots, lace cuffs, bat pillows, sweeping gowns, shirts for dandies, gorgeous vintage jewelry that she’s found ”¦ the items Kambriel has on offer are always swoon-worthy.
Blasphemina’s Closet on Etsy. Neo-Victorian elegance with a punk Lolita twist, and gorgeous hair ornaments and brooches. (The Lady of the Manners is particularly fond of the Gothic Slytherin Fascinator, but freely admits she’s a huge Harry Potter fan.)
Gypsy Lady Hats on Etsy. Gorgeous hats for ladies and gentlemen. The Lady of the Manners is very fond of her own black-on-black striped top hat from them, and covets the black and white striped version of it rather fiercely.
The Scented Hatter and her Etsy shop, Noxenlux Chapeaux. Wonderful hats of the tiny and full-sized varieties! As well as delicious perfume oils!
Tormented Artifacts, with amazing leather masks, cuffs, utility belts, and even a very nifty “Communication Bracer” to keep your smartphone on your wrist.
Retroscope Fashions, one of the Lady of the Manners’ favorite clothing stores! They have a very good selection of clothing for ladies and gentlemen, in a better-than-average range of sizes. (If you purchase something from Retroscope, please tell them the Lady of the Manners sent you!)
Jewelry
Rocklove Designs Jewelry! Beautiful jewelry in a variety of styles, including the Gothic Charm School batty heart necklace!
Moon Raven Designs on Etsy. Bird skulls, bat skulls, skeletal chameleon rings, vertebra necklaces ”¦ all sorts of gorgeous jewelry, cast in a variety of different metals and finishes.
BloodMilk on Etsy. “Statement” jewelry featuring designs based off of animal and bird talons, Ouija board planchettes, and Victorian funerary pieces. (Why yes, the Lady of the Manners covets both the Our Darling ring and the Planchette Oracle ring, no surprise there.)
Bella Lili on Etsy. Beautiful, elegant jewelry with a Victorian Gothic flair.
Fable and Fury. Silhouette jewelry handmade in stainless steel. The Lady of the Manners is particularly fond of the Portraits of Icons line, because who doesn’t want a pendant featuring Edgar Allan Poe or Vincent Price?
Totus Mel Tats on Etsy. Delicate, elegant hand-tatted lace jewelry.
Dolls and Fuzzy Creatures
Vamplets! Adorable fuzzy baby vampire dolls! The Lady of the Manners beloved fanged companion, Clovis Devilbunny, is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the baby vampire that will soon be joining the Gothic Charm School family of fuzzy monsters. (Clovis has plans of training it to be a top-notch minion of fuzzy and cute evil.)
Devout Dolls on Etsy. Plush monsters! Snuggly scarves with fuzzy toy critters! Doll dresses! Gothic Charm School is home to a number of creatures from Devout Dolls, and they are all adorable and very snuggly.
Girlgoth’s Monster Nursery on Etsy. Adorable monsterhead pillows and monster holiday stockings! The Lady of the Manners has given Monsterhead pillows as presents, and they’ve always been gleefully received.
October Effigies by KerryKate on Etsy. Ghost dolls, opium dolls, dolls of circus oddities and skeletons; KerryKate’s creations look wonderful sitting amongst your books or tea cups.
ShariDepp Designs on Etsy, who offers all sorts of cute play sets for Monster High dolls. (The Lady of the Manners is in love with the Deluxe Eye Scream Parlour.)
Home Decor
Sin In Linen! Sheet sets, duvet covers, blankets, towels, shower curtains, pyjama pants, and more, all in prints that will appeal to those with darker tastes. The Lady of the Manners is especially fond of the Voodoo Bones and Big Top Stripes sheets.
Dark Candles! Candles, room scents, and body care products, all with delicious scents inspired by the dark. You almost certainly know someone who needs candles scented with Dark Carnival, Dracula, or Haunted House, don’t you?
Killhouettes. Wonderfully morbid Victorian-style silhouette art! Oh goodness, now with a necklace and a tarot deck, which the Lady of the Manners had not known about.
Makeup, Perfume, and Body Care
Aromaleigh. Yes, one of the Lady of the Manners’ favorite cosmetic companies has returned, and are currently offering three new collections of eye shadows, plus sales on some of the previous stock. And they say that new foundations, primers, and more are coming soon.
Morgana Cryptoria. Beautiful cosmetics, featuring vegan lipsticks and glosses in very Goth-friendly colors!
Villainess. Soaps, scrubs, perfume oils, lotions, and other goodies, all in scrumptious scents. How can you resist scents like Bloodsugar, Dulces en Fuego, Ennui, or Exsanguination?
Possets, home to such wonderful scents such as Id, Ego, Super Ego, Brownian Motion, and Quinacridone Scarlet. The Lady of the Manners has lost hours to browsing the Possets catalog.
Stores Full of Shiny, Wonderful Things!
Queenie’s Pocket Full of Posiez on Etsy. Dolls, jewelry, purses, art prints, vinyl wall art, pins, and holiday ornaments, all with Queenie’s “deadly cute” art. Everything in Queenie’s shop is simply adorable.
Gorey Details. Pretty much your one-stop shop for spooky gifts, including notecards, books, rubber stamps, toys, jewelry, t-shirts, stickers, stuffed toys, and collectibles. With goodies from the lines of Edward Gorey, Tim Burton, Alchemy Gothic, and Furry Bones, and store sections such as Dracula’s Bat Cave, Zombies and Classic Monsters, and Halloweentown, a Goth-inclined shopper could spend hours browsing this store’s site.
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You see, Snarklings? The Lady of the Manners really wasn’t joking when she said the Holiday Gift Guide was an enormous list of clicky-links! She hopes that you find it helpful, and that all of you have a happy and wonderful winter. But now, she’s going to go brew some more tea, maybe pop some popcorn, and curl up to watch one of her favorite holiday movies. (The Nightmare Before Christmas, of course!) And as always, do feel free to write!