The most wonderful time of the year...

Ahhh, Halloween, the most magical holiday of all! The weather is finally cool and department stores carry awesome tights, accessories, and decorations. For some, it's an excuse to wear lolita, but for those like myself, there's a bit of a crisis- How do you dress to be different when what you wear everyday is "different"? At the moment, I'm considering two options- Wear something fancy that I'd save for a meetup or wear something colorful, out of my usual sombre color scheme.

Anyway, my boyfriend and I kicked things off last night with carving pumpkins! Even my kitten, Byron, helped out.




Friday, we're going to my local gothclub, maybe Saturday night too. Sunday, Halloween, I'm hosting a tea party for my local group, so expect plenty photos of spooky goodness!
What are your plans?

In other news, recently, I got a new coat from Chicstar.
I'd recommend it for the price, $79. That might seem steep, but honestly, coats are always expensive. Even Bodyline's winter coats are pricey. Anyway, It fits very well over poofy skirts, has a cute round collar and puff sleeves, and lovely black lace trim on the bottom hem and pockets. My one complaint is that the velvet is on the cheaper side. There's a good amount of spandex in it and thusly it is stretchy, but the silk lining it not stretchy. That doesn't really affect the fit, it's just a little odd.
Expect other clothing reviews soonish, today I just recieved a beautiful burgundy velvet JSK from F+F (haven't had a chance to coordinate it yet), and finally made an order with Gloomth (a JSK and a skirt).
I love velvet, oh yes I do.

To Brand or Not to Brand

A perfect Moitie coord makes my heart skip a beat. Elegant ladies looking like perfect dark princesses in AATP, BPN, and h.Naoto fill my inspiration folder. I even oogle sweet brand coords. I often enjoy to wasting a few hours with my laptop, looking up prints, coords, new releases...but the only brand piece I own is a Black Peace Now bolero.
The fact is, I'm a US size 12, and if I managed to squash myself into Vampire Requiem, I'd look more like a toad than a princess.
I own several corsets and could probably use them to squeeze myself small enough, but I don't see myself going there, it feels too much like lying (I wear mine decoratively). Now and then I happen upon a piece that I fall into the max measurements of, or see a girl my size or larger in brand...but why would I pay $300 for a dress that isn't meant to fit me? I instead take that money to F+F or Bodyline and buy multiple, albeit simpler, dresses that I know will fit, and I won't feel guilty about modifying if the mood strikes me.
If I knew that a brand item without a doubt would fit, I'd give it serious consideration. In fact, I was very on the fence about Meta's Moonlight Night skirt in black (but ultimately didn't like the clouds at the top, too much like camo). But would I want a closet entirely of brand? Not really. Clothes get dirty. They get deodorant marks and random stains, they get wet, they get food on them. It happens, not matter how perfectly careful you are. I wear my gothloli clothes everyday, and I don't want to freak out when road salt touches my skirt as I'm walking to college.
For now, I'm content to live with discount ruffles. I'm not taking sides in the brand vs offbrand war. I love to see ladies of both persuasions on d_l and egl. Where your clothes come from won't make or break a coord, that's up to the abilities of the person dressing themselves.

Paint It Black

Want to know how to make cheap, darkly elegant decorations for your frilly abode in two easy steps?
1. Go to a thrift store or dig through your storage and find something with potential to be awesome, even if it is a tacky color.
2. Apply black lacquer spray paint.
and Voila!

Here I have an old candelabra. $4 at Goodwill. The middle candle holder was broken, but I fixed it with some glue. Remember, it doesn't matter if the glue doesn't match, it will be all one color eventually! Goodwill is my preferred thrift store, for some reason they always seem to have better stuff. If you live in the middle of nowhere, don't be discouraged, sometimes out of the way places have the best junk! I once spent $50 in an Indiana Goodwill.



So, remember color doesn't count. A lot of items that look cheesy originally turn out very sophisticated once in a flat color. Intricate details and texture look very cool when blackened. If you're artistically inclined, you can "draw" with hot glue to create texture and patterns before applying the spraypaint.
The result:



Other things I've spraypainted:


With the additional help of this easy makeover, an awesome interior is not as difficult or expensive as you might think.
Here's my living room.




Velvet couch- Free, it was curbed near my boyfriend's place.
Black velvet couch- $100 Ikea
Red brocade chsir- Hand-me-down I had reupholstered.
Shelves- $50 Ikea
Ornate frame- $30 Ikea. Inside is wrapping paper.
Coffee table- $30 Salvation army.
Carpet- $20 Ollie's Discount Outlet.
Globe- $4 Goodwill.
Fan- $30 Costco

The other odds and ends you see are from discount stores like TJ Maxx, more thrift stores, and the basements and attics of family members.
I also like to decorate with my own artwork, like the painting behind the couch. Apply spraypaint to cheap but well decorated frames, stick in a picture from a magazine, or one of your own drawings and it's ready to go!

Mini-Post: Polyvore!

Everyone love Polyvore! Or, at least, I do.

Vino Veritas by OpiateVampire featuring pleaser boots

A simple Gothic winter coordinate (yesterday I joined the Bordello boot party, it's exciting).
Recently, I looked into my closet and saw only a black abyss. It was then I realized that perhaps I doneed a little more color in my wardrobe. I love jewel tones and rich colors with black- burgundy, royal blue, dark purple, emerald green. Dark purple is actually my favorite color, but it's very hard to find in lolita! Lavender is common enough in Sweet, but lately the only Gothic with purple I've seen is by Rose Melody.
Anyhow, I'm not allowing myself to by anything all black until Christmas (I swear).

An introduction...

 

The Dark Victorian...yet another Lolita blog.

Yes, yes, everybody's doing it. Unfortunately, I feel that that the Dark Side has not been fairly represented in this trend. Sure, sure, there are a few Gothic Lolita blogs here and there but it seems to me even my old favorites have gone into the light!
So, my intention in creating this blog, whether anyone reads it or not, is to post what I want to see out there in the blogosphere.
I am a lifestyle Gothic Lolita, I wear sombre tones and victorian inspired coords nearly everyday, and decorate my life in a similar fashion. So, in addition to ramblings about fashion, you'll be seeing tutorials on spooky home decor and how to have a victorian parlor on a budget.

SO, about me. Personally, I love to see the blogger. I don't mean spamming every single post with photos of themselves, or hearing about their romantic troubles instead of Moitie's recent releases, but I do enjoy seeing peeks of who's behind the blog now and then.
Thusly, I will include a few photos with my written introduction.

If it wasn't already clear enough, I'm a gothloli through and through. I got into lolita fashion through being a romantigoth (a subset of western goth). While I enjoy admiring other Lolita styles, you're only going to catch me in a red dress at the cheeriest. I get all melty inside at anything dark and victorian (hence the titles of the blog). I am inspired by the Rococo, Renaissance, and Elizabethan eras.

A little about my life outside lolita:

I am an illustration major at an art college in Baltimore. I live in an apartment in a lovely historic district with 3 cats, 2 rats, 1 hedgehog, and my cyber/industrial goth roommate. Emily Post used to live in this building too, actually (I'm afraid I'll upset her ghost if I slam a door or talk with with my mouth full). I collect horror movies and vampire novels (I have 158 of the latter). My passions outside fashion are art, literature, history, and mythology/folklore. I'm Finnish American and am a natural redhead. Want to know anything else? Just ask!