A Curious Exhibit at the Old State House (Hartford)I felt it was my solemn duty to plan the World Goth Day Meetup for 2023, as I have identified as a goth for the last 20 years or so and I can't disappoint my community with all this first hand knowledge. There's so many options for gothic themed activities in New England, much less Connecticut. Where would we go this year?! Turns out, we were going back to Hartford, Connecticut, (which by the way is one of America's oldest cities as it was founded in 1635) this time for a historical tour of Connecticut's Old State House. The Old State House was one of Connecticut's state capitals from 1796-1878 (the other one being in New Haven). It housed all 3 branches of government and all of the historical chambers have been beautifully and authentically restored to what they would have looked like in 1818. It is truly a fun place to explore and be inside, but the best part is on the third floor. Across from a beautiful golden statue of Lady Justice lies the Joseph Steward Collection of Curiosities. This room was once a painting studio to the artist Joseph Steward (1797-1808), who identified as a portrait painter. His collection included wax works, portraits, and natural curiosities such as heron, a hummingbird, crystals, sea shells, a dwarf cow, a two-headed calf as well as some made-made curiosities like an organ. The room has lovingly been recreated with fossils and taxidermy birds, reptile skins and shells, antlers, and of course a two-headed calf. I'm very thankful that I had the foresight to make an indoor meetup, because it was raining pretty hard THE ENTIRE DAY. It did give me a chance though to use my matching Tim Burton-esque umbrella. So let's talk about my coordinate. The dress is an OP (one piece) and it includes the waist belt with removable chain. This a Chinese Indie Brand called Xiong Dou Jiang, which totes itself as an affordable lolita brand. I bought it on Devil Inspired because I was blown away by all the product photos (I ordered the Red & Black Long Version), but you can also get it on 42 lolita for less. I am also wearing a large full black bonnet, a black choker (which I yet again discovered is virtually unnoticeable with a bonnet on), a gothic bracelet/ring combo, black tights, and Strangecvlt coven boots with a coffin ita backpack. The look that I went for with my makeup was super dramatic with red/pink around my eyes and a super dark red lipstick that was almost black. I think the petticoat that I selected really shows the volume of this dress. I am wearing the Aurora Ariel Ultimate Violence Super Puffy 45 cm petticoat. This petticoat practically needs its own zip code. When you take it out of the bag, it's like a large size dog with a 28 cm radius. I love how it looks under these large dresses, but it actually hurts my hips to wear it for several hours. I really feel the burn the next day, like I worked out using muscles I didn't know I had. Well, here I am with the two-headed calf. I wanted to especially share this photo as you can see a detailed closeup of my eye-makeup. I created it using a palette I received in Gothic Beauty Box #53, which is a special box of gothic lifestyle and beauty items that also include a printed edition of Gothic Beauty Magazine. I reached out to Gothic Beauty Magazine's Instagram page to thank them for including the palette as it helped me achieve my look, and they went ahead and asked to share photos from the meetup on their social media pages (with permission of course). Now we are all officially GOTHIC BEAUTIES!!!!
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Two Fashion Meetups in One WeekendThe day after our epic trip to Roseland Cottage up in Woodstock, Connecticut (the northeast corner of the state), Pahl and I were at another fashion related meeting, this time for my elegant lolita fashion club. The meeting was set up by my lovely friend Almira at Tea With Tracy in Oxford, CT. Tea With Tracy in Oxford is located in the "valley", south west part of New Haven County. It is both a breakfast/lunch/dinner restaurant and tea place where you can order an "afternoon tea" which includes a scone of the day, a choice of tea sandwiches, a dessert, and a 2 cup pot of tea of your choice. Two or more food orders on the same ticket will be served on a tiered platter with different colored tea pots. If you are going there for the first time ever, you should order the afternoon tea, especially if you haven't had an afternoon tea experience before. (As I understand it, it doesn't compare to actual afternoon teas served in England, but it's a good introductory experience for the uninitiated). This was a great meeting because I got to catch up a little with Colleen, Almira, and Marisa, and I also got to meet a handful of new people who are interesting and fun. Almira did not give a coordinate suggestion for this meetup, so there was a nice mixture of sweet, elegant, and gothic lolita styles representing. I chose to wear a gothic style that matched Pahl's outfit. It was only fair after he had done all the work to match my navy and silver dress from Roseland Cottage (purchasing a matching waist coat and cravat) that I should select an outfit that matched what he wanted to wear that day. (He's apparently had those red and gray striped pants in his wardrobe for years and it was the first time he got to wear them!). I'm pretty sure he built his outfit around those pants. So here's the coordinate I put together to match Pahl's red/white/gray and black theme. The dress is a jsk from Chinese Indie brand Nya Nya/Cha Cha Lolita and the name of the print is Love and Death High Waist JSK in Wine. It is the first second hand dress I purchased off of LaceMarket, which is medium level difficult to shop from. First you have to make an account and have it verified from the moderators through FB messenger and then you go about and bid on items (like on Ebay). You have to make sure you check the country of origin because there are a lot more sellers outside of the USA than in it selling pre-owned dresses and accessories. Then (like Ebay), seller and buyer feedback is very important for continued use of the site. If you get more than one bad review, it might be over for you. Also, if you don't really have a buying or selling history, some sellers may not want to sell to you at all, especially for more expensive japanese brand pieces. The previous owner of this dress said they wore it twice and that there was some nearly completely unnoticeable snag in the back somewhere and was selling it discounted as a result. I was the third person to bid on this dress and won the auction. What a relief! The print itself has white and red roses with crow skulls and skeletons and bandaged skulls that are dripping blood on a wine red background. There are also little banners that say "love and death" along the bottom of the print. The bodice is a high waist but it is not TOO HIGH for me. (Luckily having a narrow waist and a short torso works for me in these instances if there is enough room in the bust). The shirt I am wearing is a gray long sleeve shirt with something like princess sleeves. It comes from a company that sells the same shirt in many different colors. It works perfectly with the cool gray on this print (but trust me I didn't plan that when I bought it. I only noticed it after I had both items in my house at the same time after 6 months went by). I'm wearing the exact same black half bonnet that I wore the day before at Roseland Cottage, this time with some white roses stuffed in the top, to match the roses on the print. Black (under the knee?) socks with a silver chandelier print mirror the black and silver ribbon in the bodice. Sweet patent black shoes with modest heels and little black bows complete my look. So how did I do? I already know that Pahl's grays are warm toned, while mine are cool toned. It's not perfect, but it works pretty well. You can tell we're together.
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DanielleI love EGL and alternative fashion and modeling. I am taking two of my favorite hobbies and making them into a story for you to read about. Archives
November 2024
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