5 FAV ALTERNATIVE BLOGGERS

This post is just as the title suggests; a list of my favourite alternative bloggers. Whether that be because they have a style I love or they they write amazing editorials, they are the alternative bloggers I tend to flock to when I’m looking for inspiration for my own outfits. I admire them and I hope you feel the same way!

Luna – Knotted – Swish

FAIIINT

When I stumbled onto FAIIINT’s site I was stuck on there for hours. That might be telling you about my own internet addition, as well as the addictiveness of Stephanie’s style. She has amazing taste; it’s high quality, textured and black, black, black. FAIIINT has rekindled my love for black on black, and gives a lot of inspiration on how to do it in an interesting way.

COFFIN KITSCH

When she’s not dressing for a head-to-toe Tiki blowout, she’s posting about cool etsy stores and posting pictures of amazing outfits that just scream traditional Post-Punk and dark-styled vintage. If you’re a fan of bat prints, Robert Smith and retro-sensibilities, Meagan might be your quick fix (but trust me, when you’re on her blog, you”ll never want to leave).

Casual & Cozy – Sunny Days – The Primark Duster

THE VELVET BLACK

I’ve never loved someone’s outfit layouts so much! They have the best mix of grunge and wearable.If you’re looking for a grungy style blogger who wears products that aren’t ridiculously expensive definitely check The Velvet Black out.

THE EVERYDAY GOTH

Even though I’ve been branching out as of late the Goth style will always have a place in my heart. The Everyday Goth is great because she an incredible talent of finding the darker side or everything and talking about it in an informative and interesting way. I mean come on, who else could talk about Goth kitchen accessories and Uber Goth pet names yet still absorb so much of my attention!

STYLE BIZZARE

Style Bizzare is an incredible alternative fashion blog that really inspired me to push my Goth limit and try other alternative styles. I recommend you check it out if you’re a fan of alternative fashion of all kinds. Elisa does a tonne of interviews and posts on vegan friendly and ethical material fashion. But even if you’re not into that kind of thing she has a lot of style posts!

 Who are your favourite bloggers? Drop their link below so that I can check them out!

Wishlist | Accessories that Make the Nu-Goth

Now, I’m not one to talk about accessories much. I’m much more of a big picture – shoes or coat – kind of person. But there’s no doubt in my mind that accessories are what turn a few pieces of clothing into an outfit. They’re especially important for styles like Nu-Goth styles, that prefer a combining lots of elements for an overload-of-aesthetics kind of vibe. (Am I making any sense?)

Achille Hat | Salem Velvetine | Crossed up Ring | Pentagram Earrings

Achille Hat

What would a Nu-Goth be without their trademark headwear? Whether that be a pentagram encrusted beanie or a hat positioned just so on the back out their head. (I always wonder if people can actually wear hats on the back of their heads all day.) Here I’ve opted for a conch banded slightly floppy hat, because I’m kind of obsessed with conch details and I hope no one will mistake it for a fedora.

Lime Crime Velvetine in Salem

A lot of people are don’t like Lime Crime due to their history. But my personal opinion is only that the products I’ve tried I have liked. Anyway, the darker shades look like they would (and do, in a lot of Nu-Goth blogs) make a great Nu-Goth lip colour that dry matte so that it’ll last all day and wouldn’t get stuck in your totally hardcore hair, right?

I’m in love with the colour Salem because I think it’d be a nice change to my usual red tinted lip with still ticking my warm toned check-box. I will be trying this in the future, so stay tuned for that!

Crossed up Ring

Could a Nu-Goth really have too many crosses? Or too many rings? This ring is a perfect fit for a stacked-up look. It’d fit perfectly with my Metalhead Jewellery rings, and even my more delicate Bones N Birds Mus Hip Knuckle Ring would create a nice balance between the heavy crosses. While I prefer a load of metal on my fingers, for a super Nu-look throw it on with as many crystals, runes and moons you can find. The more rings, the more bad-ass.

Pentagram Earrings

What can I say? These earrings are not for the faint of heart. As an atheist (formerly Catholic) I’m all for wearing religious insignia – which is what I consider the pentagram to be – but be warned that it’s probably a good idea to understand what you’re representing.

Well, there you have it. A comprehensive list of the things I’m dying to try out. What kind of accessories do you think of when you think of Nu-Goth?

Goth-Haul | Robert Smith, Eighties Films & Beat Poet Inspired

Be warned, I was so close to calling this post a “Wal-haul”, get-it? It’s a combination of “walrus” and “haul” because I’m oh-so creative. Let’s just say that I should probably be paying someone to write my titles for me. Anyway, I thought I’d make a little list of the pieces I actually buy, since I’ve been seeking a lot of retail-therapy lately in order to make it through my final week of Uni (two more days!) I’ve been trying to experiment a lot with interesting cuts in basic colours, stocking up on basics for summer and throwing all my sensible thoughts out of the window.

 PVC Skirt | Plaid Blouse (sold out) | White Blouse (Sold out)
Black Boxy Crop | Crushed-Velvet Shorts | Black Boat-neck Crop

The PVC skirt is the star of this haul. It’s something I’ve been obsessing over ever since Good Morning Angel posted an amazing outfit in the pink version back a whole ago. Sure the PVC trend was huge and now it’s over, but I still want to challenge myself to experiment out of my comfort zone. Which is exactly what this skirt entails.

I’ve been wanting a pair of eighties style sunglasses (The ones I bought are here, they’re not shown above and apparently are sold out. I must have snagged the last pair.) for a while, in the hopes they’ll magically transform me into Robert Smith or some other eighties bad-ass. At the same time I loose them all the time so I didn’t want anything super expensive, summer is already ruining my life, I wanted something UV protected and I needed to get above thirty dollars for free shipping on ASOS.

 Sunglasses a la  The Blues Brothers (I’ve seen this film a hundred times), everyone in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and that kid from The Breakfast Club (which I’ve also seen a million times).

The mass amount of blouses are due to summer’s impending doom where I worry that I’ll have nothing to wear when it’s too hot for cardigans. Hence why each of them have sleeves. The black ASOS crop tops I picked up in their seventy percent off sale. They’re perfect basics. The plaid shirt will be great for winter and I can roll the sleeves up on cooler summer days and wear it as a jacket-thing. The white billowy blouse reminded me of beat poets so I had to have it. I’ll be removing the random collar accents and probably rocking it with the kick-ass black crushed-velvet (Yes, I know everyone hates crushed velvet) knicker shorts.

I suppose this post turned less into a Goth-in-a-Box kit than a in depth guide to how I attempt to prepare for summer heat with the occasional testament to my love of eighties films and beat poets/poet-blouses. What do you think? Are you preparing for the harsh reality of winter up there in that northern part of the world? Or more importantly what’s inspiring you?

Goth-spiration/Goth Confession: Taylor Momsen

Taylor Momsen is to a lot of Goths purely a representation of what Goth is not. And while I agree her music is not inherently Goth, I’m absolutely in love with her style. She uses longer t-shirts as dresses with thigh highs, garters, and almost always wearing boots.

Her style conjures up images of the hard hitting female rock bands that by their success were able to change the way women were viewed. Cherie Currie from The Runaways donned her signature corset that signified her sexuality at a time when it was hard for women to be taken seriously as Rock musicians. One of my favourite genres, Riot-grrl, albeit a lot later than traditional hard-rock paved the same way for females into the punk scene where women were only taken to sets as coat-hangers.

None of these images are mine! They all belong to their respective owners.

I’m sure that her style isn’t to everyone’s taste. What do you think? But whether it’s band shirts, garters, thigh highs, lace stockings, corsets, she does wear a lot of the typical elements of alternative wear. Pulled together into something that is to me pristine rocker style and symbolises so much history that means a lot to me.

How I Style LEATHER PANTS in my Dreams (For summmer)

This “In my Dreams” post is about the Plain PU Look Jean‘s that I’m already pretty sure were never meant to be. But against my better judgement I decided I needed them and spent the resulting few days wishing they would just come already! In lieu of their arrival, I’ll dream about what I hope they will be – rather than what will be my demise: the fact that they’re actually navy blue. I hate navy blue.

Boots | Shirt | Kimono

Pants | Bustier | Shoes

Top | Shoes | Kimono

These looks are very summery (in my books) since summer suddenly exploded in my part of Australia. Wearing leather pants in summer is a good excuse to throw on tiny crop tops and bustiers, since you’re already covered up. Not to mention a great reason to collect all of the fringe-y kimonos you (meaning I) can find. In my opinion (let me know if you agree) just the fact that something is leather makes it a neutral in so many colours. And so, throughout I was trying to play up prints and textures – tartan, velvet, fringe, sequins.

Even if these pants turn out to be the pristine piece of my life, they’re probably going to sit around in my closet until winter rolls around again. But a girl can dream, right?

Review | Birds N Bones Mus Hip Knuckle Ring

The lovely people (actually, I think it’s person) over at Birds N Bones Jewelry noticed my Heavy Metal Ring Wishlist and decided to send me the Mus Hip Knuckle ring I mentioned. Obviously, on that note, all of this is purely my honest opinion and comes from a person who is at best a “ring beginner.”

How amazing is this packaging?

The title suggest it’s a knuckle ring so I was drawn to it because I have tiny fingers. Originally I was a bit nervous (I have horrible luck with rings) but it fits nicely. It fits pretty well as a normal ring for me but at the same time it’s slightly adjustable. I wouldn’t go push it to it’s limits though, because eventually the metal will break – something that has happened to me before.

The design is far more delicate than I had imagined. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t intricate. There are tiny little details cast into the metal, all over it. Originally I considered try it out as a septum ring (Is that strange? I mean come on, a mice hip bone septum ring!) but I would not suggest putting this through your piercings due to the many sharp bumps that have been cast into it.

Can I just come right out and say the packaging was amazing? This is by far the best packaging I have ever received for a product.A feather for birds and a bone for, well, bones were tied to the ring-box. I’m probably a little too happy for packaging but these little pieces came perfectly just in time for halloween. If you have any ideas of what I can do with them let me know?

While this product was free, I would happily pay for another. I already have a few new pieces from their website on my ‘to buy’ list. What do you think? Do you have any favourites from their website? Oh and be warned, there are more rings on the way!

Three Unique Ways to Style a Kimono

When I first bought this kimono I wasn’t really sure if I’d wear it. But in the end I wore it over and over. They’re so much more versatile than I think a lot of people realise, great for throwing on at the last minute to automatically upgrade an outfit into that certain realm of awesome and come in so many shapes and sizes that I’m sure anyone could find one that they like!

But there are more ways to wear a kimono than throwing it on over what you’re wearing. Which is where this list comes in:

Outfit post will be up soon!

 

As a Blouse

I have to admit that in summer I use my kimono as a light-weight dressing gown, which is where this idea originated from. Just pin it into a style you like, choose a singlet to throw under it and bam, you have yourself an oversize chiffon blouse!

From this outfit.

Knotted

Too hot for a cardigan but shawls annoy you or just aren’t your thing? A knotted kimono is here to save your day. In comparison with the “knotted button-down” it has the same versatility to look either elegant or totally rock ‘n’ roll while at the same time not resembling any annoying school-girl costumes.

From this outfit.

Belted

My favourite way to style a kimono is with a belt because it really brings out the blousey, luxurious feel that a lot of the materials that are associated with them hold. Plus, belting them means you can create some really awesome layers with fringe or lace over interesting textures or patterns.

So, that’s how I style my kimono. How do you?

How I Style Lip Service’s "School Girl" Bralette in my Dreams

This “In my Dreams” post couldn’t be more of a dream-worthy cause because I have always had terrible luck with bustiers. This may be too much information but breasts were not designed to fit into too tennis-ball shaped circles! They do in fact reach all the way back towards the armpit and up too (or past?) the collar bone.

But I digress.

The real interesting introduction is that I found this Lip Service bustier in the Nasty Gal Labor Day sale. While I don’t quite know what Labor Day is and if it applies to us Australian’s I will take full advantage of the fact that I bought it for twelve dollars. Twelve dollars.

So, while this beautiful little tartan beauty has a rather big chance of not fitting I can at least revel in the fact that I am a super awesome discount shopper, and my excitement for future outfits will be immortalised in this post. Am I getting too dramatic?

Skirt | Necklace | Boots | Coat

This outfit makes me think “eighties” because of the oversize blazer/coat with shoulders but a bit bohemian because of the necklace (I really want a big coin necklace!) and the midi skirt. The leather keeps the punky attitude of the tartan bustier but is at the same time pretty modest. Oh, and of course boots are a must!

Leather Shorts (either side) | Kimono | Boot | Socks

 When I started with this outfit I was playing up the “school girl” title. But the tailored shorts turned into leather shorts, and I had to throw a kimono as anice little cover up for sunny days. Finally, some nineties boots purely because I’ve been craving nineties boots lately.

Maxi-skirt | Moon Necklace | Rings | Fringe Bag | Bralette

Romantic, or witchy? I’m sure Stevie Nick’s would be proud. Soften up the hard plaid with this freakin’ amazing chiffon skirt. I was so close to buying it but I just couldn’t allow myself to press the confirm button! You will be mine.

What would you wear with a bustier? Or have you disowned them because of their incredulous ability to, uh, not fit? You and I may soon have that in common.

IFB Back to Reality Roundup

One of my post was chosen for IFB’s Weekly Roundup. Check it out below because it doesn’t matter who you are, alternative or not, there’s usually something to take your fancy.

Back to Reality

Back to school, back from vacation, back from that summer slow-down, September usually means back to business for everyone. Well, until Halloween, then we’re all back in slow-down mode. Anyway… one of the great things about September, Fashion Month, paired with Fall Fashion. Your excuse to get dressed up again. For a fashion lover, that’s even better than vacation.

Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup

• Adorned in Armor: Waving the White Flag
• An Old Story Blog: Read This Before Getting Dressed
• Attire Club: Men’s Style Icon: Matt Bomer
• CE Fashion Fit: How to Go Monochromatic for Fall
• Fashiony Fab: 5 Favorite Fall 2014 Trends
• Happy.Pretty.Sweet: How to Dress Like a Jane Austen Heroine
• Jolly Caucus Race: The Rose of Tralee 2014: A New Type of Rose
• Kelly’s Picks: What to Wear to Las Vegas
• L’Artiste: What I Wore to NYC
• Petite Fille Modele: I Tried: Korean Beauty Products
• State of Cate: 7 Ways to Improve Your Creativity
• The Darling Daily: How to Make Money in College
• The Lowe Factor: 7 Signs You’re a High-End Hypebeast
• The Luxe Report: One LBD, Five Ways
• The Rivaux: Bag it Up: Nature vs. Nurture
• The Walrus Room: Baring My Legs for the First Time in 7 Years
• TLV Birdie: Be a Better Instagrammer
• Trend Survivor: The Must-Have New Jeans
• We Are Ready Made: Sportlux
• What to Wear Where: The Little Black Rehearsal Dress

SPONSOR: East Dane H Brand, Toga Pulla, R&B Standard Issue, Melinda Gross, Native Youth, MCM Belts, White + Warren, Spiewak, ICB, Bionda Castana & Times Arrow

Want to be featured in Links à la Mode?

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How I Style my Summer Basics Wishlist in my Dreams (Summer to Winter)

Okay, so I understand that for some of you that summer is winding down and life is hitting that perfect Halloween temperature (anyone else ogling the Halloween previews already?). But when I buy an item with summer in mind I almost never pack it away during winter; jumpers can be layered, thigh-highs pulled taught and when wearing coats all day I can get away with layering a long sleeve under a chiffon blouse without anyone even noticing.

Link – Link – Link

“I don’t need no body”; I don’t know about you but I need this t-shirt. It looks super-super comfy (100% cotton) and it’s the kind of shirt that will be great all year round but still holds Halloween hints that I love. In summer I’d feminine it up with the suspender skirt and thigh-highs (maybe a kimono if the sun is feeling mame-y) or work it with some docs and a leather jacket in winter (probably with a long sleeve underneath or my favourite ripped knit jumper).

Link – Link – Link

The suspender skirt is something that I’ve been looking what seems like a life-time. Ever since Unif had their red tartan version that I fell for far-too-late (that skirt sold out fast!). For winter I’d layer a crop knit jumper with a long sleeve underneath, and a big coat over the top.

Link – Link – Link

Military button-down, after military button-down has found its way into my wishlists and then disappeared from the internet. But I don’t think this staple shirt from Glamour Kills is going anywhere (it been around for ages). Perfect with a cardigan and wet-look leggings or a leather jacket. Let’s just admit that leather jackets go with everything.

I suppose this list isn’t actually a “in my dreams” post. Since a lot of these items – bar the wishlist items- I already own. The cropped sweater is supposed to this ripped knit sweater – just roll the sleeves and cut the waist-band off and the resemblance is stunning. Bring this post back to the point, What are your thoughts on summer-wear being worn all year round? Do you have any tips?