CONSUMERISM: Pin Me Up

Inner Decay: Ecstasy of St Teresa pin - [link]  Punky Pins: Black Moon pin - [link]
Little Whip: Trois pins - [link] Wasted Effort: Mystical Pyramid pin - [link]

God knows I've been sticking patches on my jackets since I first knew what punk was, but pins? I could make my own badges. Why on earth would I go buy pins?

Turns out lots of reasons. It feels almost silly to do a shopping feature on such a tiny accessory, but they have a very charming retro vibe, and I've been noticing a lot more cute and covetable pins popping up on my radar of late. And where there's cute there's weird, and where there's weird there's all black versions for the chromatically challenged. A lot of these shops also have other great accessories, and honorable mentions go out to Inner Decay's Medusa and Wormhole patches, as well as Little Whip's very NSFW Try Me Shirt and Punky Pin's Death's Head Moth pin,which I sadly didn't have space for up there.


Are there any pins you want out there? Any other unusual accessories you like? Let me know below!





Fiona C.

DIY: Heart Pasties

You need -

• Paper
• Scissors 
• Craft Foam
• Crystals
• Super glue
• Paper clip/hair clips

Step 1 

Make yourself a template for the pastie from the paper; I drew around the top of a beer glass and shaped it into a heart from there, but the size will be individual to you. Make you cut a slit up to the centre, and check how well it fits in the mirror.

Step 2

Trace the outline of the template onto your foam sheet, and cut around it. 

Step 3

Fold one side over the other, and glue it in place; hold in place with a pin or paper clip. 

Step 4

Bedazzle. 

Lining the inside can be an additional step, which is best if you're performing with them (i.e. you're sticking them on with glue), but you won't need to if using double sided tape. Happy Valentine's Day. ❤






Fiona C.

Art: Soren Häxan

Top to bottom: 'Monstrum', 'Dead Hands', and 'The Spiritualist'.

Until I either hang/frame/do something with the pieces I already have or move into my new flat, I've had to enforce an art ban on myself; no buying any new prints, which I have responded to by... looking at lots of art. I guess the heart wants what the heart wants. 

The most recent of my guilty late night binges is the work of Soren Häxan, Washington-based artist and writer. Häxan's oil paintings and ink illustrations blend illness, the abhuman and the occult, and homoeroticism to create unique works on faith and sexuality.

As well as prints and original artworks, you can also find hand bound books and patches in Häxan's etsy store, The Hands of the Corpse (warning: some art NSFW). Additionally, keep an eye out for his soon-to-be-published book, Our Queen Milk.

All images by Soren Häxan. Soren is also on twitter (where he's a joy to follow), as am I! Has anyone else found any new art recently? Let me know below!




Fiona C.

Articles I love: January

• Katie Halper - For black americans, US is about as dangerous as Rwanda
• Sean Faye - Fashion Victims: In the fitting rooms with trans femmes
• Tayo Gesinde and Rita Okonoboh - What's in a lady's bag? The contents, the contentions
• Jo-Ann Furniss - Domesticity Deranged: The Interior World of Rick Owens

I've been reading some really good articles recently, interspersed with slaving over ethics applications and reminding myself how great Sandman is. Since coming home from the blessed tv and newspaper-free environment of my flat, conventional news platforms have been somewhat... jarring to return to, so I've been mostly looking off-grid for new perspectives as opposed to current events. Anyone who's been keeping track of my style and queer-culture interests know that I'm fascinated by femme identity, and it's probably even less surprising that I've been reading about Rick Owens like he's my teenage heartthrob. There's also some sobering statistics there too, so stay #woke.

Thus far the new year has started as a productive success, even with dissertation wobblers and the gradual realization that a month of merriment hasn't been quite so kind to my fitness levels. After some outside advice I've realized that, though not entirely my own fault, I need to be more aware of my own limitations as a researcher, and also get a move on. Deadlines wait for no one, bitch.

Has anyone else been reading anything interesting lately? How have your new years been going? Let me know below!



Fiona C.

2015: A Retrospective

Failte readers, and happy holidays! I hope you've been spoiled, and that you've been doing some spoiling of your own in return.

I was already feeling the Hogmanay vibes earlier on in December to coincide with the solstice, and the urge for a seasonally appropriate purge is become stronger with each day. Part of these rituals is saying goodbye to the old year, and good grief it's been a wild ride. For anyone who's been wondering about the reason for the lack of updates on here - hold onto your hats.

The year started off tumultuously, but even through the difficult times I was grateful for the good it brought. I furthered my interest in the occult, leveled up my make up game, and rediscovered a lot of old passions I'd been neglecting. I watched the eclipse with an (I think, anyway) ingenious combination of a pin hole and a sheet of paper, and fed my excitement for the approaching new series of Twin Peaks with a 25th anniversary party. 

Academia always comes into play, but after a stressful month of revision and exams I grabbed my bags and high tailed it to the Amsterdam markets for my first holiday abroad in years. It's a fascinating city, and definitely one that benefits from some insider knowledge - another visit is definitely happening.

For my self selected projects, I did some art therapy experience and completed a crash course in BSL (life lesson: do not confuse the verb and noun forms of the word 'dog') - I didn't quite realize it at the time, but it kickstarted the direction my research and professional work has gone on to take. It wasn't all hard graft however, and on discovering I'd passed my exams (with a good grade!) I celebrated with a week long art and clubbing extravaganza, and found out that the djcad students had been working just as hard. 

The summer was a very Scottish one, but I was that busy fighting the system and moving into a flat I'm over the moon with (still no real photos of it on here, somehow) the awful weather didn't distract me too much. I fell in love with Barcelona and its relationship with art in my second holiday abroad of 2015, and started a commission piece of my own that I'm still working towards finishing. 

I kept dancing through the year, even teaching my first class in burlesque in the autumn (having only started about a month before - how did that happen?), and I discovered a real talent for solo blues. The new semester saw a fresh haircut and a new research degree, as well as my officially becoming an adult - I watched the pagan Samhuinn display, greeted the blood moon, and realized that if you take care of your skin it will look better. 

Whilst on An Honest Drug we missed most of this crazy productivity, after a spell away from blogging we got the camera working again and welcomed some firsts on the blog. We were featured in a magazine, and ran our first interview with the absolutely lovely Tyler Thrasher. I am sad that I didn't post as much over the past months, but it just makes me more determined to do so next year. 

It's been a far more colorful and varied year than I realized, and I'm glad I put so much effort into taking care of myself so that I could do it. 2015 definitely feels like a year where I got more comfortable settling into my skin, and seriously dedicated my time to shaping a life I love. 

Till 2016,





Fiona C. 

Obsession: Phryne Fisher

Happy belated winter solstice, everyone! Are we enjoying the marginally longer day today? I've definitely got the new year feeling strong, even if I'm several days early by Gregorian standards.

I've made good again this year on my belief that winter is for hibernating and productivity, and now that all my Christmas preparation is out the way I have time to binge on some pop culture and start Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. One season in and I'm furious that I was so slow to pick up on this gem, but I'd explode if I didn't share the feelings on here; there's a reason I've been raving about it to anyone who stops moving for long enough.

Set in 1920s Melbourne, the show is the latest in a grand tradition of period sleuths solving baffling murders, and whilst it can be a bit over the top it's very charming in doing so. Lord knows I love a lady detective, and Phryne Fisher is no exception - she's the image of a twenties transgressive flapper, who flies planes, wears trousers, and benignly schools all the men around her - all whilst holding a mother-of-pearl revolver and looking utterly flawless. Truly, an inspiration for us all.

And can we talk about her wardrobe? I know I'm keen for art deco, but I've been salivating over every single shot of her hair pieces - not to mention her coats. Having now looked into this, the costume team used a mix of reproduction wear, vintage, and specially made pieces to create about 120 costumes for the show, and a new goal for my own closet. It's sumptuously decadent to the point of being unreal, but it makes for great inspiration.

Given this is the last post before Christmas, I hope all my readers have a great time over the holidays, regardless of what your plans are - rest, recuperate, and I'll see you for An Honest Drug's retrospective just before the new year!

Do you have any on-screen idols who you'd love to have the wardrobe of? Any things you're keen to do over the holidays? Let me know in the comments below!





Fiona C.

Christmas Wishlist: Bare Essentials

Playful Promises Cage Bra - Sandman Omnibus II - Black Knit Legwarmers

Lavender Tea - Xenolux Hydrogen Flight Cap - Hopeless Lingerie Eva Harness

Although it's now December, between exams and dissertation work I haven't had the mental space to start feeling festive (or post on here, oops). Nonetheless, I've been listening to some appropriate music, stressing about present shopping, and searching for gift suggestions.

I feel like the older I get the less I actually want, but I always need some basics and investments. I've been interested in adding more foundation pieces to my wardrobe since finally getting Kiss Me Deadly's Van Doren Suspender Belt (which has exceeded all expectations as an everyday piece, and comes with the An Honest Drug recommendation for sure), though not all of them are 100% purely practical. And who doesn't ask for something woolly and cable knit at Christmas? Add a cup of tea and a good book, and I'm all set.

What's everyone else secretly looking at for themselves this holiday? Any festive music suggestions for the perpetually noel-phobic? Let me know below!




Fiona C.