I love to make meetings for my EGL fashion community, and secretly, my favorite meetings to make are ones with a gothic theme. There is nothing like spending an hour putting on dramatic eye makeup and dressing in prints, colorways and cuts of fabric that evoke a gothic style.  Wearing gothic fashion by yourself may be more difficult, as the general public can be a little alarmed by it all; but wearing gothic fashion with a group is empowering and fun. 

The Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury had a photography exhibit called Riverside Reflections in February. It was actually a photo contest between the local Riverside Cemetery (which is also a National Historic Site) and the Mattatuck Museum in which locals of all ages and experiences were encouraged to submit photographs of the cemetery in all seasons of the year. Some photographs focused on wildlife at the cemetery, while others focused on an interactive aspect with the architecture and grounds.  I really loved the triptych by Lulu Roche, specifically the angel holding the babies, which is behind us in the photo of Barbara, Pahl, and I, above. To view the exhibition in better detail, see the online version here. 

Gothic themed meetings need not be only reserved for Halloween. I put out a call to anyone in my community who was interested in closing out the Riverside Reflections Exhibition (on the last day of viewing). In my statement, I implored them to dress as if they were in mourning (because the exhibit was closing), and to wear prints or colors that evoked symbols seen in a cemetery. 

Now was the time to unveil my recently acquired piece, Transilvania Moonlight by Krad Lanrete. (Please note, the link refers to JSK style 1 and my piece is JSK style 2). Who is Krad Lanrete? It's actually Eternal Dark spelled backwards, and is a Chinese Indie brand focusing on Classic style. The concept of the brand is the coexistence of light and darkness in the form of reincarnation, and a longing for time. Absolute perfection paired with the theme of this exhibit. 

I wore the black Long Sleeve Halter Neckline Chiffon Blouse with a black half bonnet (which I added black bows and black roses to), black over the knee socks with silver print, black tea parties (mary janes), a black choker that looks like fake rosary beads, several silver rings (a bat, a cat, a rat, and a dark blue jewel), and my Book of Spells and charms cross body purse. I have two wonderful gothic backpacks that would have worked, but most museums will not allow them in the galleries. Cross body bags are just better suited for the location.  

The actual Riverside Reflections exhibit didn't take too long to peruse, as only just so many framed photographs could fit in the gallery.  Several of the ones you can view in the online exhibition remained in a virtual only format.  So we took ourselves out of the gallery and into...an 80th birthday party?! Yes, across the hallway from the exhibit, a friend of Barbara's was hosting an 80th birthday party for her mother in a former small Masonic temple now owned by the museum and used for events. The birthday girl was delighted to take a group photo with us despite our morbid choices of dress and makeup. 

After that little side quest, we went into the permanent collections on the second and first floor. There we were able to take some fun photographs with the paintings and sculptures housed within. 

Honestly we had such a fun time with this meeting. Pixie took so many amazing photos, and we all had fun posing and pretending with guidance from her photographic eye. Truly, I love finding art exhibits that speak to my EGL fashion choices. It's where art meets life, or death, you know?

One of the wonderful events we had the pleasure of attending together in February was the Gothic Romance Masquerade with Edgar Allan Poe put on by Grymm Studios.  It was a very unique event in that it had a small cast of immersive actors who were in character for the entire evening. There was a butler, a headmistress type character, Prince Prospero (who had supposedly invited everyone who purchased a ticket), and Edgar Allan Poe. This event had everything I ever wanted at a Masquerade--interactive theater, delicious bites to eat, fun goth steampunk style dance music, costumes, and recitation of famous Edgar Allan Poe pieces by ThePoeActor .

The event was held at The Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, CT (which is a large venue often used for weddings or other special events). ​As soon as you walked in the door, you could borrow a mask if you didn't have one- as it was integral to the Masquerade theme. Two large side rooms for eating or drinking flanked a large dancing area where a portable stage was erected at the center. Guests were allowed to freely mingle about each area, but a gong would ring when an important event was about to happen to bring people around the stage. Often Prince Prospero would be announcing something or introducing Edgar Allen Poe to recite from his assorted works. 

I don't think I had ever had the pleasure of listening to another person recite Poe's work live, nor one so fine as someone who had actually deeply studied the poems and had practiced telling them. It was like music to my ears and I finally understood some of the humor in them, despite the obviously gothic themes. 

While the stage acting was going on, members of the catering team (who also were wearing Masquerade masks) dispersed into the crowd to offer delicious appetizers. These DID NOT last long, and even though I ate dinner prior to the event, I felt it was my due diligence to try every piece of food offered, so sadly I was often taken away by the quest for food over the recitation of other works by Poe. In between the quest for food and the stage acting, there also was fun music to dance to on the dance floor and interaction with the actors off stage.

We actually didn't know anyone else who bought a ticket to this event, so we were also on a mission to make new friends! The stunning photograph above was taken by Kit Catlett. She is a photographer and artist who makes cool steampunk accessories. Mission accomplished! 

We also met some folks from another steampunk organization called Steamposh. We haven't had a chance to attend any of their events yet as they have always conflicted with something else we already had tickets for, but they are basically another fashion group that likes to get dressed up and be photographed in historical places in different types of Steampunk outfits (which is a fashion style I'm still learning about). 

Here's how I styled myself for the event. First, I selected my Gothic Lolita OP that comes with the matching waist belt as my main piece. Because I knew it was black and red with some silver mixed in with the black, I used these colors again in my accessories. I had been dying to wear this duel horned rose headdress that I purchased at the Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Festival last year with this dress, and it finally had its moment! I also paired it with dark key earrings (part of the Sailor Moon collection a few years ago from Hot Topic), and a bird skull choker I had purchased on Amazon. The mask is a fabric mask that I also purchased from Amazon, that amazingly enough fit right over my glasses. I had solved the vision vs fashion problem without having to learn how to put in contact lenses or be indeterminately blind for four hours! I wore simple black sweater tights and my Strangecvlt Coven boots on the bottom. I still put dark grey makeup on my eyelids and dark red/black lipstick on my lips to heighten the gothic theme just in case my mask or glasses didn't work out.

Pahl kept colors even more simple with his outfit, where he was wearing almost all black. (Black pants, boots, tailcoat with silver buttons, waistcoat, and cravat), except for a white shirt and a very curious theatrical mask that he made when he was in graduate school. It definitely changed the shape of his face so much that he was nearly unrecognizable with it on!  In fact, one of the actors I found out later was someone I actually knew...but they didn't recognize me with my mask and headdress on either!

Overall we had a lot of fun and enjoyed everything going on. I especially loved the comedic retelling of the Red Death at the end...very clever!  It was so fun to finally wear this outfit I had been dreaming about and being in the company of so many other people who took their costuming seriously!!