Being Goth after the Holidays~~~

Well my little Darklings, I know I haven’t been blogging but work, blasted work makes demands upon me.

The Christmas holidays were just so upbeat, but for me who loves to indulge in the meanderings and gloomiest of Charles Dickens, I chose to indulge in the Annual San Francisco Dickens Fair, and for any Goth or steam punk enthusiast I certainly recommend it to help you get through the Holiday cheerfulness.

The Dickens Fair offers the perfect accessories and clothing for all but the Mod/Grunge or Baby Goth, Dark Garden offers corsets that are perfect for those who love to torture themselves into tiny waists. And with how they do their layouts of pretend Dickens London, one can get ideas how to create a wonderful Gothic Victorian setting.

Scanning through the stores and through magazines I discovered some wonderful Vampy Goth styles.

Merle Norman cosmetics has a lovely little clutch to hold your makeup or just for fun, in black velvet with a bejeweled lipstick and lips design on it and it offers their new Hussy red shade for lips and nails as well as a new fragrance Hussy Eau de Parfum. Just check it out to see if it’s still offered at merlenorman.com.

If you want to sleep during the day my vampire beauties, Prada offers a black satin eye mask for only $195 at prada.com. all soft Black Satin with a little satin ruffle around the edges. Frankly for the money if you have the talent to sew your own I would recommend that.

With the cold, cold weather for those of you who love being frozen like the dead this weather would be perfect for you, but for many pajamas are coming back in style both for sleeping and lounging in. Can you picture yourself my Darklings, in a pair of black satin pajamas with gold piping and a matching robe? Toss in a pair of black satin mules with gold, black or red marabou toppings for extravagant decadence.

And the hell with all those rules about smoking in one’s home, if you are going to do it do it with style with a long, elegant cigarette holder right out the 1920’s.

I had to have a pair of DKNY suede and leather booties in black suede and gold leather with impossibly high heels, not spiky but thick enough to support you heel and high enough to torture your calves.

In jewelry both real and costume for the holidays it was gold, Gold, GOLD! Metal bracelets, actually cuffs, are the in style, Ben-Amun, Delfina Deletriz and Fallon offered very edgy designs as well as Giamattista Valli’s gunmetal cuff.

Can you picture yourself Darklings in a long black skirt, or skin tight black pants with a long sleeve mock turtle sweater in black, all tight fitting and wearing only as an accent a gold metal cuff? What a statement. It would show-off your self assurance, that you totally take charge. What a way to indicate your dominance.

And for perfume or cologne my Darklings, indulge yourself with either J’adore and strut like Charlez Theron or go with Guilian’s Insolence.

There is one other thing that I indulged in my Darklings, although many of you would say wrong, wrong, wrong, but you have to remember I am my Own woman, and I do not take criticism from anyone----so what did I indulge in? A black mink coat…PERFECT for such cold, cold evening weather, mink is not an endangered species, as a matter of fact they prey upon the fishing industry and are considered a nuance, but with raised mink on “ranches” they are not endangered.

But not to worry….the coat was made in the 1970’s and in perfect vintage condition, Yes Darklings, a vintage mink coat, done in a long sleeve swing style, plus a vintage black fox fur jacket that comes to the top of my hips. I scored wonderfully there. But I would only use them in the evenings when it is extremely cold and even a wool coat can not keep out the chill, and especially where we had near freezing conditions where I live. I am not about to catch a cold! But if you are going to use a wool coat then top it with a black mink scarf for your throat, and if possible top it with a blank mink beret, can you picture that and wearing your eye mascara in a cat’s eye line with red, red lips and red, red nails? I certainly can.

Even Francisco Costa the designer for the Calvin Klein Collection believes in a fur coat and in the last issue of Allure magazine (Dec 2011) said that a knee length shearing coat is superpractical, and extends your wardrobe. But again make sure it comes from a non-endangered species.

Going back to nails--- (I can’t seem to get away from manicures and nails) If you love to do designs but don’t have the time for it, there are these “skins” that you can apply to your nail and then just file, I believe Sally Hanson makes them, I’ve seen some styles that are just edgy enough for a business Goth and they last for up to 10 days, not a bad investment especially if you have a serious shortage of time. Also for more dazzling glitz, a brand of nail skins called “Kiss” which you can find in, of all places, Walgreens, can be perfect when you want to club hop.

If there is one thing this Gothic Rose loves it’s Art Deco Antique Shows, and the Art Deco Society of San Francisco’s Deco the Halls was not at all bad, a bit smaller than previous years, (we can only blame the economy) but it was a wonderful experience for me, so that I can indulge in my art deco Gothness, get information on materials to update my home. Yes, Darklings, if I’m going to be Goth then Art Deco/Art Modern is the style for me.

Why do you think I’ve chosen the photo of Gloria Holden as Dracula’s Daughter, to represent me? She is perfect, her and the Tamara DeLapinka painting of the girl with the green racing car, I managed to get a quality poster of that painting and had it beautifully framed. The DeLapinka poster is in the room that I have my collection of books, DVD’s and Cd’s in that I call my “Bat-cave”.

Which will bring me to another subject in another post, I’ve had some people ask me how have I styled my home, well I got very, very lucky in the house that I have, and not to many of them in the Art Modern style were built where I live but it is very perfect for me, I had been saving up for a long time to put a very hefty down payment, but a “spinster” aunt of mine (great-aunt really) had died, I didn’t know how much she really liked me, I mean I was the only one of the extended family who would check in with her, take her shopping, she just adored my 1940’s Black Ford sedan, even take her to her doctor and dental appointments.

She was very sharp but I had noticed she was getting a bit more tired, so I got her one of those medic alert buttons, praying that she’d never have to use it but that day Darklings did come and I got the call, we rushed her to the hospital, a broken hip, one of the worst things that could happen to an elderly Goth---yes Darklings, she was in her own way Goth. Perhaps that is why we got along so well.

I visited her every day in the hospital and then in the convalescent home, we were planning on ways she could be independent, I was even thinking of moving in with her and subletting my apartment to one of my Goth friends on a month to month.

But Prince Serki, aka the Grim Reaper took her away from being old and in pain, I will have to tell you about her funeral another day Darklings.

I was fortunate to have her papers outlining her funeral arrangements and I also got in touch with her lawyer. How surprised I was to discover I was receiving the “bulk of her estate” which included her wonderful home, plus all it’s furnishings as well as a serious monetary income from investments. Oh, she left bequests to other family members but since I wasn’t on great speaking terms with them, their opinions didn’t matter to me.

Her 1925 Gothic revival home is more than large enough for me to put my things into rooms that were not being used, so I have expanded my style which comfortably blends my Art Modern things with hers. So I am using the money to restore the house bit by bit, updating wiring, plumbing, etc., and when the weather is nice getting it painted.

I also found out how quirky she was, her house is on the 600 block of my lovely community, but she specifically got the City planning department to change the house number to 666, it was 664 and then the one after it was 668, but she enjoyed being different, one thing I’m going to have done is have her portrait cleaned up, it is fantastic of her in her total glory, with her dark raven black hair and pale skin and sharply blue eyes. She was the beauty of her generation and I’d have to say of the family.

My Mother always admired her aunt, but she wasn’t ready to rebel like she did.

My family, mostly my Uncles (except Uncle Mannie)and my other great-aunts, always considered her to be the “black sheep” they were so traditional, but my Grandmother always loved her sister my 'great-aunt' and she always came to the rescue giving of herself, her money and her time without reservation, I have her diaries and she was a woman after my own heart.

She outlived my Grandmother and my Mother and Dad, she was very old when she died, but she LIVED!!

Until later Darklings.