Design: Alien Facehugger Corset

As you can probably tell, I have a lot of love for geeky things. Though I love my sci fi, super heroes and science, I don't tend to adorn myself or my surroundings with them - partially because they often look rather incongruous when combined with my regular style, and also because they often look so... tacky. Memorabilia is often plastic and cheap looking, and are just replications of the motifs or characters designed to shout 'look at me and my pop culture tastes!'. I tend to like less obvious indicators of interests, such as the whisky glasses from Blade Runner, or items from a universe which is very design led (also pretty applicable to Blade Runner) as opposed to the standard merchandise.

Source.

When the symbols are used by someone who really appreciates design, however, that's another thing entirely. Well made, subtle (or, indeed, not so subtle) nods to our favourite cinema and books in luxurious materials and interpreted through the lens of a style or aesthetic.

Source.

So for that reason I decided to post the Alien Facehugger corset (made by Rage Custom Creations) so we could all sigh over it once again, and long for the perfect marriage of sexualised fashion and sexualised deadly xenomorphs.





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Wardrobe Feature: Leather satchel

I don't usually follow most fashion 'rules' - they tend to apply to a more conservative style than my own, and I'm mystified by the reasoning behind most. Why do I need a certain list of wardrobe essentials? Why should I listen to a rule as subjective as 'don't wear hosiery with heels'?

The one rule I have always stood by is mixing brown and black leather. Yet, paradoxically, it's also the rule which I break on a daily basis. What gives?

I was saddened on my last trip back to Glasgow to see that Bag & Baggage, a family run business selling quality leather goods, luggage and footwear, had retired after over forty years in business. Normally such a shop would be out of my price range, but to congratulate me on getting into university my godmother had promised to get me a quality bag to last me my five year degree.

Two years later and despite near constant use, the bag I got then barely displays its age, and has more than proven worth the investment. I don't want to preach that people should always pay more for quality, as although it's worth it in the long run many people can't afford to do so (as stated in 'Vime's Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness' by Terry Pratchett), and price doesn't always equal quality (Topshop springs to mind).

I was featured in the Dundee Courier's street style section last month (I was misquoted and compared to one of the Olsen twins, so not too well inclined to them), and one of the aspects of the encounter was what got me thinking about this. I'd always been worried since getting my satchel about how the brown bag looks next to my very black outfits and shoes, and motioned to move it out of sight when the photographer was going to take the photo. She stopped me, however. "Leave it in." she said, "it looks good."

And on reflection, it does. Another example of arbitrary rules being pointless in real life.





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Adding to the Wardrobe

 

It surprises most people who know me, but I actually have a relatively compact wardrobe. Particularly my parents, who are well aware that my wardrobe at home contains all the clothes I own which don't reside in my Dundee wardrobe. I wouldn't call it a small or capsule collection, with some pieces included that need specific styling, but it's certainly not at the proportions of other fashion bloggers, goths or even friends.

I'm quite proud of this; a lifelong hoarder, over the past five or so years I've made a conscious effort to cut down on the amount of items I have - both pruning excess items I no longer wear and cutting down on buying. The result is the wardrobe I have today. This works out nicely for me, as I don't usually have problems getting dressed (well, I do - but that's not my wardrobe's fault) and what I have works well together. I don't feel like there's items that aren't worn, and I don't get Nothing To Wear Syndrome all that regularly, because there's very little excess fat.

Recently, however, something has been up; I've been spending increasingly long in front of the mirror, already late for my class but completely unable to pick. I feel like all my outfits are tired and look the same. The majority of my clothes need repaired. I've not been inspired by my usual sources. Insidiously, angst has crept into my feelings about what I wear. I have Nothing To Wear Syndrome.

Blogging: Self-promotion, Commenting and its Effectiveness

 

For those of you who have been reading for a while, you may be aware of my deep love for the podcast show Welcome to Night Vale, which is a bimonthly spoof radio broadcast of a town where all conspiracy theories are true. I tend to listen to it on iTunes or Soundcloud, but it was when I was on the latter that I saw something that ticked me off; Soundcloud allows the listener to add comments at specific portions in a audio file for everyone to see, which tend to along the lines of 'this tune' or 'I love X!' - however, there was one advertising the commenter's own electronic music album, and it made me irrationally annoyed. It was only when I was discussing the difference between blogging niches with the gamer that I considered the wider examples of this within blogging as a whole (particularly fashion blogging).

The internet offers endless opportunities for connecting with potential fans of your brand and getting word out about it. But as a result of the relatively new nature of the web and the delicate definition of online etiquette, problems can arise. And somehow, many bloggers can't tell the difference between useful online advertising and advertising which harms you.

Modelling: Rainy Day Steampunk

Featuring the mandatory lace parasol, owned by goths everywhere.



Last semester I had my first official modelling gig, which I had forgotten to post about until now; I'm not seriously planning on going into modelling as career, but it's a skill I'd like to learn (plus it would be fun to be able to take on the odd interesting project). It was an enjoyable experience, though the miserable weather meant everyone's fingers went blue and lighting was a challenge.

The shoot was organised by a local photography student (I found out about it via advertisement in my student paper) andstaged at Camperdown House on a steampunk theme; I wore my go to outfit for steam related events (seen on the blog before here). I should state that all images have been heavily edited post-production. Editing is something I do myself for my own photography, but I have no idea if he's altered my appearance or not, which I don't do on the blog.

Looking at the photos afterwards, I am most definitely not a natural model, and I need to look at make up which performs better on camera. Nonetheless, I've got a better idea of posing, and even if I don't become the next Kate Moss or Naomi Campbell (god forbid), it will help my own photography for the blog.



Have you ever had experience modelling before? Are you a fan of steampunk? Let me know in the comments!






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Event: The Goblin King's Masquerade Ball

 

Property of Bonnie Makes Pictures.

The Date: Friday, 2nd May.

The Location: Bunker 51, London.

I've never been a fan of the Victorian tradition of the fairy; I was raised on old Scottish folk tales, where faeries might be strange and beautiful, but they would also steal children and if you spent too long in their hollows a hundred years might go by in the outside world. For that reason I'm more drawn to darker and less glittery adaptations of the little people, such as Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black's The Spiderwick Chronicles or the 1980s film Labyrinth - and it is the latter which The Goblin King's Masquerade Ball is based upon.



Martin Soulstealer.

The Goblin King's Masquerade Ball is an annual event which has been running since 2010, where the beautiful and the grotesque come together for one night of masked debauchery. Naturally, the dress code leans towards the fey, and the guests truly do go all out, with prostheses, elaborate elven armour and artisan costuming all featuring.



Red Square Photography.

Previously held in the atmospheric Old Vic Tunnels, evening entertainments include immersive theatre, "promenade theatre, music, interactive creatures, puppetry, art installations, goblin markets and many other surprises", though nothing for this year has yet been announced. Previous features have included screenings of the cult film Troll Hunter, circus acts, cabaret and live music from Lovecraftian folk vaudeville bands (yes, that is correct). Tickets are on sale from the website, and the organisers have arranged for free transport from North Greenwich Station.



Martin Soulstealer.

Whilst I love living in Scotland and wouldn't trade it for the world, whenever I see events like this I feel a twinge of regret that I don't live closer to the UK's capital.





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Craft: Dried Roses

 

Flowers are a very decadent item; they only last a short time, but for their brief life they bring so much colour and scent into a room. It's always so sad to see flowers wilting; if I can't have their fresh beauty for longer, then I will make sure it lives on indefinitely.

 







 

To celebrate both the first day of spring and an anniversary, I decided last month to dry a bouquet of roses I was recently given by the gamer. I love the art of preserving flowers; I pressed them as a child in books, and now hang them up to dry on a line in my tiny room in Dundee. I'm a sentimentalist at heart, really.

 

For those wanting to dry their own flowers, I would recommend waiting until your blooms have opened up properly to make sure that they don't get blighted by mildew when drying (these ones were a challenge, and I had to pry them open a bit more with a pair of tweezers). Hang them upside down on a clothing line for a week or until dry (or when you get tired of constantly bumping into them when you try to go to your desk), then take down and arrange them into a bouquet or otherwise.

 

 

 

Have you ever preserved flowers? Did you do anything for the start of spring? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

 

 

 

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P.S. Did you know that I have a facebook page now? You can get all my blog posts on there, as well as lots of other things I don't feature on here. It would mean lots if you were to like it!