I made my annual spring pilgrimage to see the cherry blossoms in Wooster Square a little late this year, almost a week after the actual festival. I think I've been visiting the park on or around the time of the festival for at least 4 years. I always meet up with my friend Sarah, who knows the lay of the land and we always have a walk and talk as well as both dressing up to take photos of one another with the blossoms. I had actually attended the Cherry Blossom Festival in 2024 with an outfit inspired by what I imagined a dryad living in a cherry blossom tree to look like, followed by my 2025 Cherry Blossom outfit which was a delightfully sweet style baby pink dress with sax (light blue) accessories and accents. This year I wanted to keep on theme with blossoms and flowers, but style myself a little Old School. 

This dress is from Japanese brand Bodyline and is one of my oldest pieces. My acquisition of it even predates the navy printed rabbit dress (in the last blog post), and it's actual production date was probably in 2018 or something like that. It is considered a sweet style dress, but I always style it more classically with Chinese and other local indie brand accessories. I am wearing a long sleeve translucent ivory colored blouse from Miss Point, a darker ivory and white trim headdress from Junyvette, an ivory choker from YingLuoFu, a pink with red jewel bow pin from Alice Girl, long ivory colored bloomers that stop just at the upper calf (I have them peeking out on purpose), white and ivory under the knee socks with ivory bows sewn on, wine red tea parties from Sheep Puff, an ivory and brown cross body purse of a very small cello, and an ivory parasol.  I was also wearing earrings as well as several rings on my fingers. I also did a little makeup and was feeling 90's romantic style, so I made the emphasis on my custom darker lip color (two different colors mixed together), and blush. A bold lip and neutral eyes looks very sophisticated, Parisian almost. 

While I'm still dressing like a slightly older Victorian child, Sarah moves us forward at least an entire century to the 1950's. Believe it or not, we did not talk about what we were going to wear or colors or anything before we met up, but there are similarities. She is wearing a white peter pan collared blouse with strawberry buttons and a cherry neck pin over a pink skirt with strawberries printed all over it. Peeking from the strawberry skirt is a beautiful white cotton underskirt. She then adds black tights with red hearts on them, and cleverly adds this vintage looking chunky heeled Fluevogs that are pink, white, and silver. To repeat the red, black, and white again seen on the bottom of her coordinate, she ties in a bright red cardigan with knit in black stems with white cherries. Red sunglasses again repeat the black and red. She is also holding a raspberry to her lips in one hand, and wearing a pink and strawberry crocheted scrunchie on the other. Honestly, this does look like some Old School street snaps of early EGL fashion from the late 90's/early 2000's, especially with just taking things your already own and layering them together excellently to balance out color. The only difference is that the shape of the skirt, even in Old School EGL would be slightly different, and the blouse would have probably have been tucked into the skirt. 

Now to be perfectly honest, I had missed the cherry blossoms in Wooster Square proper, but there were still some blooming across the street. So we went across the street for most of our photos for this blog post. But do you notice anything different about my look?

If you guessed that the pink bow with the red jewel was gone, you'd be correct. Somewhere between bending down and admiring some tulips and taking photos of Sarah, my pin had popped off my dress due to the cross strap interference of my tiny cello bag. It was a whole Thing of messaging Sarah and her husband the next day to recreate the photo evidence of when and where it was possibly lost and them visiting the location and successfully finding it hidden out of plain site in a bush.  So if you are taking photos just for fun, they can be used to find lost objects as well!

No Hanami meeting is complete without a little food. It was getting a bit chilly, so I went back to my car to grab my outer wear so we could go to The Loop by Hachiroku and its adjoining Japanese grocery store, as well as Elena's on Orange, a soft serve ice cream shop exclusively offering green tea flavor that week. 

I would definitely go back to both the Japanese grocery store and Elena's on Orange to try  different flavors of their soft serve ice cream. The restaurant The Loop by Hachiroku is a trendy and modern fusion of Japanese food and other cuisines paired with different adult beverages. The location we went to (and there are like 4 different ones around New Haven), was known for their wine selection. I didn't indulge in the wine, and while I found my entree to be an interesting fusion and flavor, I did not think for a moment that it would fill me up like the way a 500 yen (~$4.50) bowl of katsudon and raw egg over a bed of rice with some fresh veggies did way back when I was attending Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan over 20 years ago.  Next time I'm in downtown New Haven, I'll be sure to get a restock on the vegetable dashi, soba noodles, onigiri, and black sesame crackers. 

All in all it was a fun and memorable time, from taking such lovely pictures to losing and finding my ribbon again, and of course discovering fresh and lovely imported foods and treats from Japan locally accessible and available. 

March and April seem like the time of year for Alice in Wonderland themed tea parties. In the past I have attended two at the Old Lyme Inn, one of which I hosted last year. This year I wanted to do it differently. What if instead of spending time in one thoughtfully decorated room and having a creatively curated on theme menu for a few hours, we had an entire property with a pot luck based menu and a few rousing games of croquet?

The location of the venue was obvious. My partner has been collecting Alice themed tea cups  since moving into his home and has decorated his entire kitchen with characters from  Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I would be the communications lead and defacto party planner and his house would be the destination.  Color me shocked when we had 16 people RSVP to the tea party. (This is more than we can usually fit inside the room the Old Lyme Inn reserves for our group). I was initially worried about parking in the driveway, but then I learned that my partner intended for folks to park on the lawn as well so we could probably have had twice as many. 

I told folks to wear something inspired by a character from the books/movies, or just to have motifs that work like sweets, rabbits, time pieces, etc. Pahl of course is always the Mad Hatter, and I seem to vacillate between being Alice or the White Rabbit. Looking back at the group photo, I see a number of other Mad Hatter interpretations, as well as Rabbit themes. Perhaps they are the most popular to try. I also enjoyed Ren's version of the Red Queen on the lower right. I hope to one day be able to pull something like that off myself! 

Pahl's Mad Hatter outfit seems to keep getting more and more refined with each iteration. He pairs a cream colored collared shirt with an Alice in Wonderland themed light green bow tie, an earthy colored paisley waistcoat, matching striped pants, a long wine colored tail coat, brown oxfords, and a slightly off center black top hat with an emerald green hat tie on it. His posture and the expression on his face is utterly deranged.  But don't worry, this is about the extent of the madness he exhibited during the event. He is good at getting all those little details down like acquiring themed paper plates, putting finishing touches on the decor well into the night before,  and making sure guests have so much to eat that there are leftovers the next day.

I decided to be Alice while wearing a navy blue and white printed dress with rabbits in a dream state on the skirt. This is actually one of the first dresses I ever purchased, along with the blouse I am wearing. I've worn this dress for several group meetings at this point, so to make the coordinate a little different, I wore it with a long sleeved blouse (instead of short sleeve like in the past), as well as a half apron. This year I am also becoming more comfortable with wearing bows on my head, and I had this one for about three years before finally putting it together with an outfit. It is navy with gold trims and gold and pearl beading. To repeat the gold, I also added gold based jewelry as well as gold tea party style shoes. I am wearing printed navy tights as well. I wouldn't have normally had navy on navy, but the white apron visually broke up the navy more than if I had worn it without. For bags I had two--a functional pearly gold bow fanny pack, and a white rabbit stuffy backpack. I put the ruffled rectangle headpiece that came with my dress on my white rabbit bag--another thing I did not think to do in the past. It is one thing to dress one's self, but another to also dress up your bag!

Sarah M. pulled together a very nice white and black themed coordinate for her White Rabbit interpretation. Details like a floral dress with a white apron and a large black cape, black and white striped floral under the knee socks, and white boots with black accents soles and lacing tie it altogether. She craftily made the ears to her straw hat, and I was surprised when she told me her white rabbit head cross body bag was actually a gift card holder she found on clearance! You never know where you'll find accessories for an outfit!

The attendees brought so many delicious treats to the event!!  We requested that folks bring items that were either gluten free or vegan friendly. We've been to so many teas where food sensitivities or diets were not really available and we wanted to change that. Pahl made cucumber sandwiches (both vegan and vegetarian friendly varieties) while I made deviled eggs as well as spicy chickpea curry sandwiches (vegan friendly). Colleen made the pink vegan cake, Cole made salad and cookies, Jax made bagels, Van made protein muffins and brought purple peeps, Gary brought a no bake peanut butter chocolate pie, Sarah M brought the blue and purple macarons and spicy deviled eggs, Sarah F brought vegan spring rolls, and Aly brought a variety of cream puffs. Ren made a gluten free shepard's pie, but applied the mashed potatoes like icing on a cake (center). What I've learned thus far is that not only does this group know how to dress on theme, but also that they are quite skilled at speciality food production!

After a few hours of sitting and socializing, my body always yearns for movement, and I am glad that Jax volunteered to bring their partner's croquet set for the tea party. Outside of the table top Pall Mall game I played at the Masks & Mischief Bridgerton Masquerade Ball, I think this is the first time I've played actual croquet. Luckily Aly had played before and knew roughly about where we should be putting the wickets (or metal arches that the balls go through) on the lawn.

I definitely had a huge learning curve in Round 1 of croquet. It took me a few turns to figure out how hard to hit the ball with the mallet and get it to go anywhere in particular on the grass. Aly, Jax, Ren and I were the players in the first round. We only played a half game, so we zig zagged through the middle and right wickets to the other side and back. We were very cordial to one another, but what I learned is that every time you hit someone else's ball and/or go through a wicket, you get additional turns to hit your ball.  And that can be great and necessary with more competitive players. 

Round 2 of croquet brought much more competitive players.  These folks frequently took advantage of the wicket and ball touching and ruthlessly hit other players balls to knock them off course and gain additional turns. 

Playing croquet with this group I must admit I was more focused on watching other people's turns than my own. It was fascinating to see how the players positioned their balls to stay on course and knock others off while gaining so many additional turns in the process. Sarah M was way behind and the last to go in this round, but going last definitely is an advantage in this game. You can see the other players balls and plan accordingly your rise to the top. We thought the boys might be the ones duking it out, but Cole and Sarah M were very close at the end, with Sarah M becoming the winner!

After the second round of croquet and the group photo, most of the attendees left around the same time, but a few stuck around for some posed porch photos. 

We realized afterwards that we underutilized the porch as a place for guests to hang out. It is a fairly large porch and we probably could have fit everyone on it at once rather than socializing in two separate rooms inside. 

It was a pleasure to co-host the Alice Tea! I keep hearing about how much fun people had at it (and it's the end of June as I am recounting this wonderful event).  We are already planning to host it again next Spring, but to invite more people, including some of the neighbors! 

One of the groups I started last year was a sewing group comprised of three people. Two very eager to learn novices with one enthusiastic and experienced teacher. Even though I am a teacher of many things, this time I am the student. My friend Nina has over twenty years of sewing and drafting patterns experience, and she enthusiastically volunteered to teach me sewing. I have made things in the past with my mother's help, but for some reason, I have some kind of residual negative or fearful feeling around those times when she taught me.  My friend Barbara has a similar experience attempting to learn sewing in her youth from family members, and we both just wanted to get past those feelings and get into the good part of altering and making pieces that work with our wardrobes. 

At about the same time, I had joined a sewing discord specifically for EGL fashion. The intention of the group is to learn sewing skills with project "steps" to teach you how to work with and alter patterns to create accessories and eventually actual dresses and blouses for your wardrobe. There are always teaching assistants around online to help with sewing questions and many of the more experienced members are also into cosplay or historical fashion, so they are used to working with a variety of types of fabrics, trims, and machinery. 

So between the online group and the real-life friend group, I had essentially two accountability teams and I knew where I wanted to go with the sewing projects. The first time we met up as a group, it was more of a repair/alteration meeting where I needed to reattach a bustle in a pair of trousers and Barbara needed to hem some pants. 

Step 1 according to the sewing discord is to create an accessory for your wardrobe that is non-fitted commercial pattern with grain lines and notches. They even offered this free head bow pattern to get you started. I printed out this pattern and I was so eager to learn, Nina came over with some scrap materials she acquired and she showed me all the basic steps from laying out the pattern correctly, how to pin it, how to cut it, and how to follow the instructions. We each made a bow with scrap material in the course of an afternoon. 

If you look carefully, you can see there are two A pieces, one is just slightly less wide than the other. The initial pattern has you basically end up cutting out two A pieces, but you only need one. I made a creative choice to use both of them, but to make the second less wide. This probably would have been more obvious with a contrasting navy blue fabric, but remember, I had nothing at this point as far as notions, fabric, or trims, so this is the best I could do.

This bow is a bit floppy because it lacks interfacing, and really needs to have piece A and A.5 sewn to piece B, so that the A's don't slip out upon wearing. It's also not very big. It's probably the width of one's hand. Very subtle, demure. 

Months later after I had ordered the material, trims and notions I needed to actually do Step 1 following all the directions for the pattern, I made this entire headpiece all on my own one afternoon. See my intention was to make a red tartan and black head bow and matching ruffle heart tote bag because I have a lot of red tartan main pieces in my alt wardrobe, but nothing other than black to put on my head or for a bag.  Nina and I had started on the bag together, and it took us about three full sessions to make the bag, and then after all the learning from that project, I felt confident enough to revisit the head bow on my own.  I got the interfacing behind pieces A and B, and I even got black cluny lace trims, which I learned how to sew inwards on the edges so that when it was pulled inside out, it would appear as an unbroken trim all along piece B. I even attempted to cut scrap material on a bias and wrap and glue it around a metal headband. It was going so well. 

But as you can see, these bows do not look the same even though they are from the same pattern. It's because I accidentally swapped pieces A and B for every direction. This bow takes up most of your head. I'd say that's a perfect punk interpretation for the pattern. It actually looks really cool, and even the person who designed the pattern said they liked this mistake. 

These types of ruffle heart bags are very popular in EGL fashion, but I rarely see ones that are red and black tartan, so I decided to make my own. I purchased a pattern off of Etsy for this project, materials from Michaels's online, thread and other notions from Amazon like the interfacing, wadding, and pins.

While the head bow by itself would have qualified for a completed Step 1 project, the Ruffle Heart Tote bag taught me everything else I needed to know about how to make ruffles, pinning, and ironing seams. I learned so many things during the course of it, I felt a huge range of emotions from delight to various levels of frustration, even with Nina's guidance. New neural connections were happening in my brain as I learned to sew things backwards and inside out to reveal a complete product at the very end. Nina tried to reassure me saying that this project was a bit of a stretch for a beginner, but believed in me the whole time!

This is the initial idea of the front of the bag. The pattern doesn't tell you about adding a patch or adding lace trims on top. In fact, this little venture was an additional couple of hours of my time, trying to get that lace trim to stay down as I carefully sewed it down after already having fused the interfacing to the back. I also learned that the pins are not facing the correct way, they should be pinned inwards to the center of the heart so that when you are sewing you can pull the pins out before they destroy the needle of your sewing machine. 

I learned all about basting stitches from making the ruffles for the front and back of the bag. Another time consuming venture by the way. I throughly regretted choosing cotton twill and cotton thread during this step for my project. Basically you're taking a semi-stiff material that does not ruffle easily and putting in a few rows of loose stitches near the edge to pull and then pull down on the fabric, similarly to the way you would pull out a missing drawstring cord in a hoodie or sweatpants. I can't honestly tell you how many times the threads broke or how frequently I lost the basting stitch. The pattern's directions were not very specific either, just saying to try to make the ruffle even looking and to keep doing it until it fits around the heart shaped pieces. I think I did the front one in approximately 50 minutes, and the second one I lost track, as I had to take a few days breaks between the breaking and losing of the stitch.

After I got the ruffles down, it was time to add the handles in. I purposely chose contrasting red thread for this. It's not the most even sewing, but I did it. And again, it's a punk style bag---it's okay if things are a little off!

After that I had to make the grand sandwich. This photo shows me about to sew the wadding (structural lining) to the inside of both sides of the bag. I never took a photo of the actual black lining step, but that's basically sewn separately and then attached all around the bottom and sides of the wadding pieces with a tiny hole in it at the top. At this point you've got a giant thick heart shaped sandwich that a regular sewing needle may or may not be prepared for. If it doesn't break and you get to the end, you get to pull everything out of the little hole in the lining. It's like a magic trick and to be honest I still have trouble wrapping my head around that part. 

I imagine there's easy tote bag sewing projects, and then there's this tote bag sewing project. I finished both Step 1 projects in December 2025, and was ready to start using them in my wardrobe in 2026. I was also ready to start sourcing materials for the Step 2 project, which is to take a pajama pants pattern and alter it into bloomers of a style of your choice. I thought it would be a perfect time to get the group together, give everyone a copy of the Step 2 pattern to assemble on their own time, and go out on an adventure, starting at Cate's Sew Modern, a local sewing shop, a Goodwill to check out the textiles for sale (good for bloomers or mock up patterns), and a little social time at Bones & Botanicals, a witchy themed speakeasy in the heart of an otherwise unassuming strip mall. 

Nina wanted to know what we should wear to the speakeasy, and I initially I said black, but then I thought it was the perfect opportunity to test drive all my hard work on my Step 1 projects. 

My main piece for my look is a red tartan punk style bondage mini skirt from Tripp NYC. Even though this a printed tartan, it's very sturdy and has 4 deep functional pockets despite the level of purely aesthetic straps, zippers and d rings. I guess I took the bones theme to heart, and added an open shouldered t-shirt with a day of the dead face from the brand Sullen that I've had for years (seriously since probably 2012). To repeat the bones theme, I have medium gray tights with black skulls and crossbones on them. To add a little more black to balance out the tartan, I added a cropped length showman style black jacket from Killstar (which also includes unnecessary straps and d rings, and platform black patent mary janes that have metal rivets and additional metal dangling bits. I found a studded black choker in a drawer as well and you can see in other photos that I was wearing medium length black fingerless gloves. I was going for a vibe that combined feminine elements with an overall edgy execution. 

All in all it was a wonderful day. Barbara and I picked up some very interesting printed quilting cotton and notions at Cate's Sew Modern. We each got something at Goodwill- Barbara found a perfect King Size white sheet for her bloomers project, along with an entire new spring wardrobe. Nina found a beautiful pink with gold stars dress and I found her a matching gold clutch. Nina and Barbara found a black lace 3/4 sleeve crop top that they wanted me to try on, and it fit well so I purchased it.  At Bones and Botanicals, we were able to purchase snacks as well as cocktails, mocktails, and freshly brewed hot tea from their own house made blends. We spent a few hours there utilizing the various decks on the book shelf next to where we sat and talking about life and I suppose death in my case.

I was really happy to be wearing my Step 1 projects and have seamlessly fused them into other outfits since that point, so I am really glad I finally started learning to sew!  I know what the gaps are in my wardrobe and knowing now that I can alter or make something that truly fits me with support both in person and online makes a huge difference. This year I will be working on the Step 2 bloomers project, but next year I will be making my own dress! Hopefully once I get the basics of EGL patterning and assembling down, I can move into designing my own pieces that are historically inspired!

At the end of March 2026, my partner and I attended the Masks & Mischief Bridgerton Ball,  in Hamden, CT.  This Masks and Mischief Ball was similar to the first one we attended in October, where the dances were from the actual Netflix show from Seasons 1-3 of Bridgerton as well as Queen Charlotte, with the addition of at least three new dances from Season 4.  Another difference was that instead of a professional photographer offering couples and group portraits during the event, there was a separate games room with five different games to play including a table top Pall Mall (a pre-cursor to croquet)!  And there was a scavenger hunt that I did not participate in because I was committed to wearing my mask all evening and therefore detailed distance vision evaded me, for the most part. 

It was about a month and a half from our return from Venice, so we wanted to showcase our less historically accurate 18th-century costumes and pretend to be part of Queen Charlotte's court which focuses more on Rococo style rather than Regency styles. 

Pahl had purchased this burgundy 18th century outfit complete with blouse, arm cuffs, jabot, and matching tailcoat and trousers before we knew we were going to Venice. We initially thought it would be fine, except that later we learned that it wasn't historically accurate enough for the events we would be attending in Venice during Carnivale. The person who made it used plastic sequins and an embroidery machine to create the beautiful decorative edging design on the coat. We did not want to commit a faux-pas in Italy, but with Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte, the one thing that is always true is that both of these shows are historically-inspired and often mix fashion from different time periods together in the same outfit. And they are not that committed to historical fabrics or finishing techniques either. Bridgerton is definitely glamorous and fantastical, so if you are going to any Bridgerton ball, keep that in mind when dressing yourself.  

To this extent, Pahl actually mixed a gold/ivory Regency style waistcoat and black under the knee riding boots into his outfit. He also made this owl-like gold mask out of paper mache, clay, and gold leaf. 

My outfit is a combination of an OP from Chinese indie brand Miss Point, and accessories that Pahl bought me in Venice at La Bauta. The Lilyka Garden Classic OP from Miss Point features a striking contrast design with bow decorations on the chest, delicate pin tucks, elegant half sleeves, princess sleeves with ruffle cuffs, pockets on both sides, detachable waist ties, and a cotton lace ruffle hem.  I got the Green Wall Flower full set, which also included a giant back bow that pinned on the back of the dress in 6 places, a medium size wired bow on the waist, a bow neck brooch, a bonnet, and gloves. I also purchased the Forest Waltz 4-tiered Multi-Layer embroidered skirt in ivory thinking I could use it to extend the dress length to the floor, but when I put it on altogether along with the Nolaria High Volume White Puffy Petticoat, it was too heavy for me to dance in.

See, again, I got this dress way before I knew we were going to Venice, and I was under the impression that with the floor length skirt it would have been close enough to 18th-Century style because of the princess sleeves and the tiered shape of the skirt along with the ruched swirling ruffles at the hem, but it's not the right shape, at all. The skirt would need to be much wider to hold proper panniers, floor length as well, and the yoke of the dress while absolutely astounding with the delicate chiffon pintucks is unfortunately not at all like a decorative stomacher in a historically accurate 18th-century dress. 

But as I've said before, this works for a Bridgerton ball, especially if you're moonlighting as a lady of Queen Charlotte's court, because while it has elements of 18th-century fashion, it is tying in some 19th century choices in the patterning and construction. The rest of my accessories are hands down more 18th-century leaning from the under the knee socks with the ivory bows and the ivory and gold bow low-heeled fabric shoes. The mask and the cape are actually historically accurate pieces from Atelier La Bauta in matching velvet turquoise. The mask is a type of Columbina party mask, made with paper mache and covered in velvet, lace trim, and rhinestones, while the Velvet Cape has a hood and tie at the neck, and is lined with satin.  The fur stole is actually two stoles cleverly combined with a satin lining and tie that we purchased from a friend. It was particularly cold the evening of the ball, and I decided that the fur stole was necessary and not in fact, over the top.  I usually have a rough time wearing masks comfortably, but I have to say that this was the most comfortable mask I've worn in my life, so kudos to La Bauta for making a beautiful decorative and wearable mask!

​The dances at this ball are certainly more focused on "sweet little choreographies for couples", as well as some unchoreographed waltzing and mixer dances like dance from Season 2's "Harmony" episode and the lively Scottish-style dance from Season 4's episode, "The Beyond".  But don't assume you have to attend with a partner, dance with same person the whole time, or that your partner has to be the opposite gender. It's a free for all really--if you want to dance and find someone who will take the opposite role, all is fair!  I usually prefer to take a follow role, because I get confused easily when changing directions, but there are plenty of people who dance both roles! Everyone is very kind and it is okay to ask someone to "be on your dance card"; do not assume you have to wait for anyone to ask you first, especially if you are not a lead. I danced with just about as many women as men, and skipped a few dances to play a competitive game of Pall Mall with Pahl. I was way behind at first, but I came through as winner at the end! 

You might have noticed that I changed my shoes from my initial photo and that's because I'm so committed to dancing, that I'm wearing actual jazz shoes. If my dress was floor length, you might not have seen them at all. The waist bow is looking a bit skewed, but that's to be expected after dancing on the balls of your feet for some thirty minutes or more. Luckily the wired bow is very adjustable. 

It seems as if the folks that chose to wear spring colors are all centrally located, while the darker colors frame the sides and back of the group.  For more photos from this ball and the October one, go here. 

We had a wonderful time dancing and socializing with friends old and new. To be on the lookout for more events from the same dance instructor, Susan de Guardiola for Bridgerton, Regency, and other historical balls and events, please visit the Masks & Mischief page for upcoming events!

Before I left for Italy, I planned a fashion meeting around visiting The Institute Library in New Haven, CT to experience the library itself as well as the Forecast divination themed art show in The Gallery Upstairs that I was an artist in. The Institute Library is Connecticut's oldest independent circulating library, and one of the last remaining membership libraries in North America. It was founded in 1826, and its mission is to fulfill its historical purpose of "mutual assistance in the attainment of useful knowledge" for its Members and the New Haven community at large through literature, civil discourse, and the arts. It's free to visit it during open hours and they have a big bowl of candy. The library offers several free talks as well as low cost concerts in the evenings sometimes. If you become a member, you can take out the books as well as participate in their weekly programs like Low Key Bridge and Friday Night Jazz in the vinyl listening library. 

Having already visited the library twice before this meeting, I knew that my main fashion prompt for the group was  going to be to dress in dark academia style. Dark Academia is a literary internet aesthetic and subculture concerned with higher education, the arts, literature, or an idealized version thereof. The aesthetic is focused on boarding school uniforms, interior design, activities such as writing, poetry, ancient art, classic literature, well as classical Greek and Collegiate Gothic architecture. The fashion of the 1930's and 1940's such as cardigans, blazers, dress shirts, plaid skirts, oxford shoes and clothing made of houndstooth and tweed with a color palette consisting mainly of black, white, beige, browns, dark green and navy blue. The subculture draws on idealized aesthetics of higher education and academia, with books and libraries featuring prominently. The subculture tends to romanticize the finding of beauty and poetry in dark themes. Classic works of literature that inspire the aesthetic include The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and poetry from Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. 

The secondary fashion prompt was to wear an outfit that included border prints or accessories that fit with the Divination exhibition theme. The color palette still leaned in the darker/autumnal direction like dark academia, but members were encouraged to explore outfits with prints and accessories that depict divination tools like tarot cards, palmistry, astrology, or gothic undertones like skull faced cameos and ornate rings. 

Now believe it or not, this was one of the first times that I made a meeting and I had absolutely not a clue as to what I was going to wear. I knew that my wardrobe had the colors required to pull off dark academia, but how was I going to put it together? I always try to challenge myself to make something unique and not repeat a coordinate and I'm proud of myself for this one. 

The base layer is a JSK from Chinese indie brand YingLuoFu. The dress has a print of a study for a classical oil painting probably made around the Baroque era of an earlier time period's victory military parade. If you look closer at the plaque in the middle, it says Fortuna in Latin. The Wheel of Fortune is one of the Major Arcana in the tarot divination system, and classical art is part of the dark academia aesthetic. So I effectively met both fashion prompts, but the majority of my coordinate is still dark academia as I am still reading as a student rather than a romanticized divination reader.  Other ways I tied in the student aesthetic include the ivory bishop sleeved blouse with the neck tie and brooch under a fitted brown double breasted vest. I am wearing dark brown suede oxfords and a matching wool beret. For accessories I am wearing a long bronze necklace with a clock dial and a dark brown satchel style purse with the cogs and dials of clock that can be turned. My outerwear is hooded mid length dark green double breasted wool cloak, which is similar looking to what nurses wore in the 1940's.  It kept me warm on a very windy day!

Where I looked like a student of a boarding school, Barbara looked like one of the professors. She is wearing a long black skirt with a cream colored button down blouse with an amazing tweed blazer over it all. She has subtle pins attached to her blazer, and a pearl necklace with a large hanging pendant balancing nicely with the other colors and textures. The round metal glasses and the light brown felted hat speak of someone who has traveled the world (whether literally or through acquired knowledge) and you won't even know class is over because you will be so engaged in the story of her experience. 

I love to see a good Ouji (prince style) coordinate and Johanna really pulls it off quite well. They are wearing a long sleeved white ruffle stand collar blouse with black ruffle bloomers. Over both the blouse and the bloomers is a long black vest that cinches at the waist. A stellar red lace jabot with a large skeleton cameo and ties hangs at the neck. There are also other cameo pins on the lapels of their vest. They have black lace wrist cuffs and a black wool hat with accessories that match the red accents in their coordinate.  Professor or student, I'm not sure. They could easily be both!

Cole looks like she stepped out of the set of the Netflix show Wednesday. Her coordinate is more modern looking, but follows the Dark Academia aesthetic of the plaid skirt with a dark colored top and a long black brocade military style coat. Accessories include high black boots with ruffled knee socks, a black choker, and a Book of Spells crossbody purse.  

Jenna's coordinate definitely towed the line between student of magic and divination and librarian with a mysterious past. The dress she is wearing is Magical Artefact Ribbon JSK by Japanese brand Metamorphose. This was a very popular dress at this meeting---3 people were wearing it and one had the matching purple color way! The printed design on this dress includes books, cats, candles, stars, and writing with a witches/magic theme. Jenna repeated the stars in her hair accessories as well as in her over the knee socks. She also incorporates a gothic leaning theme with a bird skull framed necklace and a skeleton hand with black rose corsage attached to her black wool beret. 

Jax similarly pairs the Magical Artefact JSK with a black long sleeved blouse and black shoes. They are also wearing glasses with a decorative eyeglass chain. They are carrying a satchel with a luna moth theme on it. 

Colleen has purple hair like Jenna, but is wearing the green version of Magical Artefact. She has large round metal framed glasses, a black and a gold grimoire style book cross body bag. She has kept the rest of her accessories black with subtle silver accents so the focus is truly on the print of the dress.

I was surprised at the number of people who showed up for the meeting. After we took a series of candids and individual photos with Athina, we perused the gallery space and then the volunteer that day gave us a tour of the library which included how it is organized, how to use the card catalog, the kinds of collections in each part of the library, and the really special bathroom with the hand carved wooden toilet seat. Some of us took on a side quest to Strange Ways afterwards for unique patches, pins, and gifts and then ended our day at Claire's Corner-Copia, a well known casual vegetarian restaurant with a flair for meeting a variety of dietary needs.  It was such a wonderful day and I definitely introduced several people to the library who had apparently walked by it for years and/or never knew it existed!

From February 7, 2026-March 29th, 2026, I had the pleasure of having my most recent works of art in Forecast: Reading the Signs Art Exhibition at The Gallery Upstairs in The Institute Library in New Haven, CT. The show was curated by Martha Willette Lewis and it was my very first in person group show featuring some of the tarot prints, Other World prints, and my Norse Rune Zine. This particular show was about artworks invoking divination, and all of my most recent work IS related to divination. The timing, location, and type of work requested felt heaven sent. One of my personal goals in the past four years has been to move from the craft show/vending circuit to having my work in a gallery, so this was an important first step to getting into more galleries. 

Martha selected artists from all levels whether it be emerging artists or established artists for the show. Thirty artists were in the show total, and I wasn't sure what to submit or if there was a limit, but Martha encouraged me to submit as much as I wanted. I selected Equinox II, Mother, and Dragon Moon from my Other World's Series, The World and The Devil from my Major Arcana Series, and The Norse Rune Zine, which I allowed visitors to pick up and touch. 

The opening of the exhibition was one of the coldest days of 2026 that I can remember. It was about -10 degrees Fahrenheit with the windchill that evening, and while we had periods of snow melt, there was still plenty of ice and snow piled around parking spaces in downtown New Haven. I wanted to dress up for the occasion, but what to wear on such a bitterly cold evening?

I layered a stand collar black victorian style long sleeve blouse under a blue velvet ruffle dress with black fleece lined tights and dark brown fur lined boots. I put my hair into two side front hanging braids, and wrapped ivory colored ribbons around them to protect them from the wind. I wore my Mystic Eye necklace, faux fur hat (ivory with black highlights), a cool blue makeup look, and my trusty black crown and studded satchel. Of course I wore a long black wool coat over everything as well as cashmere lined leather gloves while outside. I never actually took my hat off the entire time. It was I suppose an essential part of the look, and the gallery upstairs wasn't that warm, especially at night, so it all worked out. 

Martha asked each of the artists to bring a food item to share for the opening ceremony and also requested it to be on theme with the exhibition. I made gluten-free Gingerbread cookies. Just the sort of thing that will warm you up on a frigidly cold winter night. I pride myself on my unique cookie cutter collection, and used my crystal balls, book of spells, and gingerdead men for the occasion. 

The artwork in the exhibition was so unique. During the Opening, I was able to talk to many of the artists in the show and ask others about their interpretations of the cards or prints in my work.

One of my favorite pieces was a needle point by artist Marsha Borden. It was a play on palmistry and what different lines and fingers mean in a modern context. I thought it was very clever.

Artist Nadine Nelson was doing divination readings with her Adrinka Divination deck, and one of the cards from this deck was also on the wall between the windows. She had such an inviting presence. 

Several artists submitted various card decks or examples of some of the cards that they had designed. 

There were also other collages as well as a few three-dimensional art pieces, one of which was a converted monopoly board into a spontaneously intuitive comment to the player to your immediate left. The artist showed me how to play the game, which was a somewhat complicated compendium of different divination tools and techniques. It involved selecting a spiritual looking marker like a laughing Buddha, using a skull pendulum to determine what direction to start, using a planchette to decide on which square to start on, rolling the dice to indicate how many spaces to move, selecting an action card if prompted, holding the card on your forehead facing the other players in the game, and telling the player to your left the first thing that pops up in your head. I was admittedly still trying to wrap my head around the order of the directions, so I told the person to my left something I was thinking of earlier that evening. 

Martha had also already planned a Closing Ceremony at the end of March, and had asked artists if they wanted to contribute to activities for attendees during the event such as offering readings, reciting poetry, or giving a presentation. I volunteered to do Rune stone readings with my illustrated Elder Futhark Zine.  The end of March was still cold, but not bitterly so, and I was able to wear the dress I initially envisioned for the opening to it. 

I paired a navy blue dress with gold flocked starts and moons from Chinese indie brand Souffle Song, with a cool gray princess sleeve blouse with a ruffle collar, very light blue diamond tights, a black hat with black and blue roses and silver hardware, black and silver accent boots, and a variety of jewelry including a gold necklace with divination symbols (like the crystal ball, tarot card, a hand), an evil eye bracelet, silver ornate earrings with a blue stone, a smoky quartz ring, lapis lazuli, labradorite, and azurite beaded bracelets, and a decorative gothic black and gold bracelet with ring extension. I felt a little bit like I was channeling Stevie Nicks between having long blond hair, the dramatic sleeves of my blouse, and the shorter black top hat. I am wearing the bounded hem Nolaria petticoat with this dress, and it is the first time that the bottom ruffles and bustle details really stand out in comparison to other times I have worn it.  

During the Closing Ceremony, Donald Brown recited poems that went along with each of his tarot cards above. He said that the poems were written in the 90's, and later he did the paintings that were inspired by the poems. I later gave him a Rune stone reading and he purchased one of my zines to to familiarize himself (again) with the stones. 

I originally illustrated all of the Elder Futhark in order to learn the meanings of the stones in about a week. The imagery I selected is a combination of simple recognizable symbols, Norse mythology, and Tarot inspired imagery based on the meanings of the divinatory system. I  used to think that it was somewhat random and might be hard for people to use or understand, but seeing all the different work in the show helped me realize that a lot of the artists and guests were already familiar with tarot and it was a good jumping point to learn more.  

Most of the other artists in the show volunteered to do tarot or oracle card readings, but I was the only person offering Rune stones. Most of the people I did readings for, it was their first time using Rune stones. I did about 6 or 7 one stone readings in the 90 minutes allotted for this activity, and then Martha transitioned the remaining guests to Kate Laity's presentation on tarot imagery and its origins. Before Tarot became a system for divination, it was a nobleman's game coming from Persia through northern Italy, into many of the symbols and inspired illustrations we recognize today. There was apparently a huge tarot exhibition going on at that time in Venice, Italy (just missed it while we were attending Carnivale), but the exhibit is coming to NYC this summer through part of October and it is my plan to see it! 

I was so honored to be part of the Forecast exhibition along so many talented artists in the local community. I also fell in love with The Institute Library itself so much so that I ended up hosting a meeting for my fashion group to the library while the exhibition was still up. Stay tuned for that in the next blog post!

The Caravaggio was incredible to see up close and from above in a small prayer chapel. They also had a cast of the main subjects and motifs in the painting that you could touch. I saw details in the cast that I had not perceived in the painting alone nor the very small photograph of it in my college art history textbook.

We managed to get to the train station before the sky opened up. We had difficulty with the ticket machines, so we used the ticket counter and help desk inside Napoli Centrale to buy our tickets for the local Regionale train.  It wasn't too far from Napoli Centrale, but it definitely went a lot slower than the Frecciarossa train and there were a lot of short local stops. Eventually we emerged out of a train station in a quiet suburban area with very little parking spaces for vehicles and no additional public transportation listed anywhere.  We had to wait a little bit, but Maria Pia picked us up. Her dad was with her in the car, and we got to meet him a little informally. She was dropping him off somewhere as well, but he wanted to meet us on the way. Then we went straight to Zane Abbigliamento, her mother's boutique. 

Inside, we were immediately greeted by their three maltese dogs. They immediately took to Pahl, who gave them tremendous levels of attention. 

While this was going on, they also had customers coming in (as they were open a little later for Carnival), and another cousin stopped by just to say hello randomly. He had a dog with him too and immediately all the little dogs were very excited and would not stop barking until he left. We had also been using Google translate to help talk to each other. Meanwhile, I had mentioned that I was looking for a coat, because the winter coat I brought with me was 18 years old, and I wanted to update it. I tried on a couple of coats, and then they straight out gifted me this gorgeous tweed coat. Mind you, it was the only coat that would fit me in the store (see Venice blog post for why I'm large/XL in Italian sizing).

A few hours later, Maria Pia and her mother gave us a driving tour of their hometown, Aversa. It has 29 Catholic churches, and we had another cousin who was a priest at one of those churches. He had just passed last year in his mid 90's.  Maria Pia was the only bilingual one in this adventure, so she was doing a lot of translating back and forth from Italian to English. Eventually we ended the evening with amazing pizza at a restaurant in Aversa. I don't think anyone in that restaurant spoke English, so we would have been entirely lost without Maria Pia. 

Going to Naples and meeting my Italy family for the first time was exciting and new but also not that surprising. A lot of the mannerisms and way people communicate with each other outside of the language barrier are exactly the same as with my mom's side of the family in the USA. The random family visits with no prior notification, the passionate talk of politics and history and culture and the five things going on at once at any given time were all very familiar situations for me.

It made me really want to go back and study Italian in more depth, so that I could communicate better with everyone, whether it be other 18th-century fashion enthusiasts in Venice or my family in Naples.  Next time I go to Italy, I will have waterproof shoes, a custom sized 18th-century dress, and a better command of the spoken language. 

After a three-year hiatus from international travel, in February 2026, Pahl and I embarked on a new fashion journey across the Atlantic Ocean to Venice, Italy to wear historical 18th-century fashions during one of the biggest cultural events in the world. Carnevale di Venezia, is famous for its elaborate costumes and masks. The event lasts roughly two weeks and concludes on Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday (the day before the Catholic season of Lent starts). The Carnival traces its origins to the Middle Ages, existing for several centuries until it was abolished in 1797. The tradition was revived in 1979, and the modern event now attracts approximately 3 million visitors annually. 

It has always been Pahl's dream to wear 18th century historical fashion in such a big way, and luckily last year he reconnected with his college friend Helen, who is heavily involved in the 18th century historical fashion scene within Europe. She is very dedicated to this fashion and has commissioned several outfits and accessories to wear at various events. She met small groups of people organically by attending prior years of Carnivale and hanging out in full costume in St. Mark's Square. As long as you are wearing a full costume, you are considered a "mask", someone who has dressed up for the festival. All sorts of people, from other tourists to professional photographers will ask for your photograph. And it's a great way to meet other people from all over the world just as passionate about the fashion. 

Helen was able to connect us with Flavia, a wonderful woman fluent in many languages who happened to be hosting a series of private themed parties requiring 18th century historical fashion nearly every day of Carnevale. We managed to get into one of her events, the Ciocco Barocco, and was waitlisted for a second. Helen also took us as her guests to a private welcome event at Ca'Sagredo, which we also wore our costumes for. 

You might be wondering where and or how we acquired our costumes and if we rented them or not. Pahl purchased his custom tailored fit on Etsy from TheClassicNine, which is a shop in Florida, USA (so he didn't have to worry about import tariffs and fees). His pants, waistcoat, and tailcoat were all made of silk with embroidered floral designs. The seller included the neck jabot. He is wearing a wig that was custom styled by Tamara A.M. In this photo, the black shoes with the heavy gold buckles he sourced from The Historical Emporium. His cane, silver mask, and tricorn hat were all purchased from La Bauta that day. 

Atelier La Bauta is the quintessential location for all of your 18th century and beyond needs. They have costumes you can rent or purchase, all kinds of accessories, as well as a separate mask shop. Everything is hand made and all masks come with a certificate of production. Atelier La Bauta is also widely known as a Historical Costume Maker and has had their designs featured in Netflix, Red Notice, and House of Gucci. We wanted to do the best job we could with historical accuracy, so most of my costume is from La Bauta.

It is a handmade reproduction of an 18th-century historical costume made of damask fabric. It includes a decorated skirt, a dress with a fully lined cotton bodice reinforced with stiffened stays, a pannier with stiffened stays to hold the dress, a choker, and a handbag. It laces up the back. The total cost of this gown was about $2500.00. We had purchased the gown in December from them, as we did not know what events at that point we would be able to get tickets for and could not figure out how many days we would need to rent it for at the time. (If you rent it for 3 days, it nearly pays for the entire cost of the gown). Plus time was running out at that point to book a high quality rental in my size. (I suppose my size needs are somewhat medium in America, but I'm basically a Large/XL in Italy sizing, and there were only 2 dresses left to rent in my size at the time).

My cape was also purchased from La Bauta. It is a turquoise blue velvet cape that has a hood and ties around the neck.  I am also wearing historical embroidered pockets just above the pannier under the skirt. They are somewhat accessible in slits behind the velour green section of the front of the skirt. My wig was also designed and styled by Tamara A.M, who also made the green chandelier earrings. I had brought off white cloth embroidered shoes with me for the trip, but it rained so much everyday and the streets were flooded to the point that I was actually wearing beige leather oxfords under everything. (How scandalous!). You can't see them anyway, and they soaked completely through so I have an interesting design on my silk stockings now as well as a permanent darkened patina on my oxfords.

We know that Tamara did our wigs, but who did the makeup? I did! I had purchased the second from the lightest matte foundation from Revolution Cosmetics as my base. I studied portraits of Marie Antoinette to see which colors to apply for the eye makeup. My friend Barbara let me borrow a very pigmented coral blush from Nude Stix. The lipstick is a combination of a coral lipstick from Urban Decay and a pink lipstick from M.A.C., both discontinued colors. I darkened my eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil and drew a beauty mark on my upper left cheek with a eye pencil first, and then one of those liquid eye liners that has a brush type head. 

I had also brought with me a linen shift, early 18th century stays, and a cotton petticoat to wear with this gown, but I could only get the linen shift on under it, and nothing else would fit. The dress has some boning in it, but it did not lift me like my stays would have. I love all the details of this gown, but it did not fit me comfortably as a result. It kind of pushed hard on my hips and tummy and the full weight of the fit was around 14.5 pounds (6.5 kilos). I am still figuring out how to modify it. It could use a good hemming so it doesn't drag on the ground (you can see the subtle waterline from the streets at the bottom), and at the very least a longer and stronger cord up the back to make room for my other undergarments.  I honestly think that the main problem is that it is not a Custom fit gown, and was made to be a general M/L. Whoever they modeled it after was likely a little taller and a lot less busty. 

The first event we attended in costume was held at Ca'Sagredo, a five star luxury hotel  located between Ca'D'Oro and the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal. This location was just a few stops away from where our hotel was on the Rialto side of the vaporetto line (water bus), so it was an easy ride and walk in costume to the venue. As I understand it, just a decade ago Ca'Sagredo was a crumbling 15-Century palace, and then some developers came in and fixed it up, a lot. The welcome event was held by a cultural group in the region and the only way you could attend was to have a sponsor and cash at the door. 

I really enjoyed this welcome event. Helen introduced us to some of her friends and then let us enjoy the party at our own pace. I didn't know what to expect except for the special hot chocolate, so we ate before hand, but they had lots of food as well as prosecco available as part of our ticket. Seats were few and far between, so I mostly stood around and complimented others on their costumes. Sometimes it would lead to a conversation and other times that would be it, as there did seem to be a certain level of language barrier. I realized that people from all over the world came to Venice to celebrate Carnevale, and English was no longer the default common language. I studied French in high school, but I believe Italian would be the best language of choice, in this circumstance. 

A few days later after the welcome event, we donned our costumes again for a dance focused event held at Hotel Monaco on the Grand Canal. Hotel Monaco is also a palace that was originally owned by the Dandolo family and was the location of the first public 'Ridotto' established in 1638. A Ridotto is a place where nobles along with adventurers, swindlers, travelers, etc gathered to gamble, enjoy the company of courtesans and develop their social and political contacts. Casanova himself considered it the ideal place for his conquests. Nowadays they've updated the place to show a nod to the its origins along with a stark minimalism, especially on the first floor.

Luckily, they did not update the second floor, which led to an elaborate and beautiful ballroom with side rooms and furniture. 

I was having a hard time at this event, not because of the event itself, but a series of circumstances that led up to it. I was nursing an intense lower lid eye infection in one eye, and we decided to walk to the hotel rather than taking the vaporetto.  We got a lost a bunch of times and the bottom of my gown and shoes and socks got soaked through again because of that.

At the event we presented ourselves to the hostess and host as a couple in a court would, and then we were instructed in a series of court dances from the 18th-Century. The dance mistress had initially addressed everyone in about 5 different languages, but again, the primary default was Italian. Eventually all the instruction was in Italian only, and I was having a hard time keeping up trying to understand the directions and learn the moves, despite them being tremendously easier than anything from the Regency era or our Dances of Bridgerton class.

During a few of the earlier dances, I somehow ended up without a partner at all to dance with right away. I don't know if it was my fault or if some folks had just bailed unevenly on the dance, but I was very sad to be left out. I stood out and watched the dancing for awhile and tried one more time to join a dance that involved two stationary partners and one traveling partner. I did okay, but it was more vigorous and I felt that my wig was going to fall off at almost any moment.  We ended up calling it quits early, and I felt bad about leaving, but I also just needed to rest to help heal my eyelid infection. 

The whole experience for me was a bit like being a sparkle pony at a burning man event. I had my costume in order for the most part, but I didn't know anything about the location and was definitely not prepared for the local weather. I'd been to Rome and Florence before, but Venice is a completely different way of life. There are no cars and even though it's a little pricy, you should just use the vaporetto (water bus) to get anywhere because if you think you can walk somewhere, it's probably not as direct as you or Google maps thinks it is. There is the main canal but also a bunch of other smaller canals that connect to it, so where logically you would expect a road, there's a canal and a staircase bridge that leads you to the other side of something, not necessarily connected to the immediate area you were trying to get to. Even native Italians get lost in Venice, it's just something that happens. But it was very frustrating as a first timer getting soaked in costume trying to get to an event on time. 

In fact, the waterproof boots I had brought with me to wear on the trip outside of my costume, the heel had self-destructed upon arrival and we spent half a day finding new boots for me as well as new luggage for Pahl. Not to say that I'm complaining about fine Italian leather goods because they truly have some of the best craftsmanship in the world, but it was not something that I had initially budgeted for in my trip. I also knew wearing 18th-century fashion for women was going to be a lot of cloth, accessories, and investment, but I didn't know how much. 

I would like to do Carnevale again, but differently. I now have waterproof boots to wear and a lot of wonderful accessories, but I either need to get the dress I have modified or a gown that is a custom fit so that I am not in pain to wear it. Also, I'll definitely refrain from bringing any eye palette that might be nearing its expiration. And maybe it would help if we stayed in an Air BnB or a larger hotel room.  Our hotel bathroom was thankfully huge, but that was the extent and I had to walk sideways in my costume to get anywhere else in our room.

This however is not the final story of our Italy trip. Stay tuned for Part 2: Fashion and Family in Napoli!!!

The last fashion meeting that I attended in 2025 was for Winter "International Lolita Day". ILD day happens twice a year, every first Saturday of June and December, and it is an event that is done worldwide in every community so that people who wear the fashion can showcase their summer and winter looks. I had taken a big pause from planning meetings for the group to prepare for my next big international trip that involved even more elaborate historical fashion than last time, so Jax came up with a wonderful plan to go as a group to the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, CT wearing either Holiday or Steampunk inspired outfits. Of course I managed to pull off both Steampunk and Holiday at the same time, if you count the Winter Solstice as a holiday.  

I had been building this white and gold coordinate for several years. About three years ago, I ordered the "Wishing Stars" JSK Style 1  (see a Witch's Tea) from Chinese Indie brand Soufflesong through 42lolita.com in the navy color way and I fell in love with the design so much I went back and ordered it in the white and gold color version. What arrived at my door step was a completely different design using the same materials. I was sent "Wishing Stars" JSK Style 2. When I reached out to 42lolita.com, they basically said it was an accident, and that it was actually nearly twice as expensive as the other one and I should just keep it and enjoy it. I'm never one to turn away a more expensive gift, but it did take time for me to build a new coordinate with this more elaborate styling. 

To keep in the theme of more elaborate styling, I had purchased the mini tricorn hat from the Chinese indie brand Fox Cherry. It is white with white ribbon and feathers and gold trims. About two years later, I ordered an elaborately pleated white and gold button down blouse with bishop sleeves from Chinese indie brand Miss Point. The tights are wonderfully opaque with a gold stamping design (similarly to the dress) gothic style design from Chinese indie brand Wulala Mew, and the shoes are a pair of Gothic style white velvet boots from Chinese indie brand Sosic called "Meteorite's Wound", which I had originally purchased for my white rabbit ouji coordinate. As far as jewelry I turned to USA based indie designers TxarraOtsoaOriginals for their Ivory Fairy Circle Crystal Heart Necklace in White, and to Dearest Victoria for their Filigree Heart earrings and ring set. For my bag, I added the Alice Clock Crossbody Purse by Chinese indie brand Kira in white and gold, in honor of the clock museum, steampunk fit in general, and that the time of daylight while brief, was going to get better from the solstice on out. For the finishing touches, I took a gold belt chain from a completely different coordinate and attached it to the front panels on both sides of the dress. It draped in such a way to promote additional gold and mystical symbols to commemorate the return of the light in the world around the time of the Winter Solstice. 

Even with my makeup, I used a warm gold eyeshadow on my top eyelids to indicate light and a silvery white eyeshadow on the bottom lid to indicate frost. I made my cheeks extra rosy, to show that it was cold, and as practice for my next fashion adventure in historical 18th-century costuming. The hardest part was getting the tricorn hat to stay on my head. It has two alligator clips on the bottom sides, and basically I weaved my hair into two sections secured by copious amounts of bobby pins and hairspray to attach it to. Much to my dismay, of course I could not drive with this hat attached to my head, so I had to carefully remove it and secure it once again when I arrived at the clock and watch museum. 

Clock and watch museums are inherently great places for Steampunk style meetings, because they indicate themes of industry, ingenuity, time and time-traveling. You could say that my Steampunk contribution outside of my clock bag was an outfit comprised of styling from different centuries.

​The other reason that Jax said that we could wear Holiday styling was because the museum itself was having a charity contest within for best decorated fireplace from local organizations. You could buy tickets to vote at the front desk, and the organization with the most votes would receive half of the funds raised while the museum would receive the other half. I was totally surprised and excited that I matched this particular fireplace design. 

Jax's coordinate matched this fireplace design really well. I recognized the organization who designed it as one I know and love, so I put nearly all my votes into their basket, even though I liked the other fireplace that matched my outfit just as much. Jax made their Grinch dress last year for their Mystic Aquarium meeting, and it was so cold, I think I saw their coat more than their dress, so it was nice to be able to see it and admire all the nice trim placement and styling. 

Another cute winter holiday look I enjoyed was Morgan's black confectionary and rocking horse design skirt paired with a more elegant bishop sleeve blouse and black opaque tights iwth gold stamping. The gingerbread man purse balances the sweet styling of the skirt and the bow headdress compared with the elegant blouse, tights, and shoes. I wish we got a photo side by side, because we could have been an nice juxtaposition between dark and light. 

Aly went for a candy cane holiday look and crafted this outfit herself. She is also part of the local steampunk community, and is able to modify clothing she has used for other events again in a new way. She was wearing a cross body purse that looked like one of those round red and white striped peppermint candies. 

Pahl was also both decidedly Steampunk and Holiday. He wore a dark green wool tweed suit with a red linen waist coat, a white blouse with I think a banker's collar, a green bow tie that he tied himself, black circular rimmed glasses, a black bowler hat, and shiny black oxfords. He also had two different pocket watches attached to his waist coat, and a slightly different wine colored pocket square to complete his look. I gasped when we turned the corner from the ticket office and found the gentleman clock. Pahl was dismayed that he did not bring one of his top hats or his great coat to match the clock man better. 

The museum itself has two floors and the big clock room is a phenomenal sacred experience every hour, on the hour when all of the big grandfather clocks and all the other clocks in that room begin to chime. They are all on a little bit of a delay so after one starts, another joins in and they are different tones and timbers. The whole experience is like a sound bath of bells and deep toned chimes and goes on for roughly two and a half minutes. When the chiming started, everyone was in quiet wonder and looking all around to see which clock may have made the sound. It was a magical experience, and I daresay it might have cleansed my aura. 

Cleansed by both the white and gold of my outfit and the chiming of the sacred bells of clocks marking the passing of time, I was ready to enter and embrace winter and prepare for my next time traveling adventure in 2026!

October 2025 was really tough for Halloween events. Somehow almost every single event planner decided that they would have their Halloween events on Saturday October 25, because the next Saturday was November 1 and therefore NOT HALLOWEEN anymore. However, Jax and I worked together to convince the Old Lyme Inn to extend their Spooky Tea service to November 1, 2025. The inn gave our group the Peterson room (which fits up to 15 people) and left all the Spooky decor up just for us. Since it was actually held on November 1, I decided to go all out with the Day of the Dead theme. I used to teach a unit on Day of the Dead to upper elementary school students with picture books, music, snacks, of course art making and a slideshow. The holiday may have the word "DEAD" in it, but it's a celebration  and remembrance of one's ancestors. And supposedly at that time of year, the veil is "thin" and its easier to connect with one's ancestors during that time. 
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I decided that the best way to celebrate Spooky Tea and Day of the Dead was to dress up like someone celebrating their ancestors in a Day of the Dead parade. 

The main dress is from the Chinese indie brand AmaStacia. The name of this dress is "A Song Without Words". I had been looking for an all black long gothic dress for awhile and I found this one through Lolita Collective (a USA based store in Minnesota). It was the perfect dress to to layer a long sleeve high neck black mesh blouse under, but it was a little short for the effect that I was going for. I pulled out one of those long gauzy cotton hippie indie skirts that was really popular in the late 90's early 2000's out of my drawer to give it a little more length. To minimize the amount of mesh at the neck, I put on the Satin Ruffle Collar from Silversark. This is an exquisite statement piece and very comfortable to wear. On top of it I attached a silver spider brooch that has a pearl on its back. I wore drop pearl earrings and a long silver necklace with a large stained glass red coffin with a white rose pressed at the center. I wanted to fully cover my body, so I also wore black mesh gloves and a black veil over my hair with a red rose flower crown. I wore my Strangecvlt Coven boots with black tights under it all. 

And of course I did my makeup to look like a calavera (sugar skull). This is probably the third time in my life I have done calavera makeup, and I managed to do this in less than 30 minutes. I think I learned everything I needed to know about how to apply this kind of makeup to my skin at age 40 during the Clown Around City Point adventure and had acquired the right tools for the job thanks to Gothic Beauty Magazine Subscription Boxes with their Doom Dust Ultra Black Eye and Neck Powder and their Stark White Foundation along with a lovely group of black eye and lip pencils. The dark red eye pencil I found from a limited edition "Stranger Things" collection from Cover Girl. I didn't line around my lids or in my waterline because my eyelids are extremely sensitive and I avoid that area if I can. 

Pahl and I arrived separately to the event and when he got there he did not recognize me in plain sight. He said that I "looked like I had just come out of the grave, covered in rags, but then upon closer inspection the outfit was quite elegant." That's pretty much the vibe I was going for, so I'm glad I nailed it. 

The table and room was beautifully decorated in tones of white, black and autumn and each place setting listed a small menu that included the tea sandwiches, sweets, scones, teas and any extras you may wish to order such as cider or an adult beverage. They let you take these menus home, so it's nice for a scrapbook or memory page. The tea trays are stacked high with shareable delights. I do enjoy the Old Lyme Inn's seasonally appropriate menu and confections made by their in house chefs. It is a wonderful experience and when we dress up the staff makes a big fuss over us in a good way and helps us take group photos. 

If you thought any photo with me in it was going to be light hearted and fun like the others above, you'd be wrong. 

After the tea, I led a small group of folks across the street to the Florence Griswold Museum. The annual fairy exhibit was still up, but instead of going to see it, I just wanted to walk along the riverfront and take aesthetic photos. No one told us we had to buy tickets for the museum, and everyone along the way said that our outfits looked really great. 

The photographer in me knows there's something wrong with this next image as far as the light and the color balance, but it's really cinematic in relation to the theme of representing an ancestor who only had a few days to visit the earth before going back to the otherworld. 

It was such a gorgeous day and I'm glad I still got to get spooky with my outfit and makeup, even if it wasn't  October anymore. It was so fun to hang out with a large group and then a smaller group after the main event as well.