If you haven’t seen this already, a rambly Ted Talks from Isaac Mizrahi.
Culture
While researching for the previous post on Gothic Lolita, I stumbled upon the fashion of h.NAOTO. I love the destroyed post-apocalyptic style of the clothes, and will definitely be taking inspiration from this to add to my own personal style. Enjoy!
Here’s a tidbit for those unfamiliar with the Gothic Lolita fashion style. In the following you’ll find makeup techniques, fashion shows, and more.
Got a new haircut. Couldn’t get a decent shot of my whole head, so I got about a quarter of it for you:
And a more fashionable shot of me ready to go out and see extraordinary industrial performers Velvet Acid Christ:
While perusing my local mall this week, I noticed that grunge is making its cyclical comeback. I remember grunge back in 1991, my freshman year of college, Smells Like Teen Spirit was #1 on the Billboard charts and my token outfit was cutoffs, fishnet tights, a lace cami, my dad’s old flannel and a pair of work boots with writing all over them. It was cheap and completely DIY.
I think that’s what’s bothering me about whole “neo-grunge” thing. I’m seeing spiked jackets, flannel shirts and pre-worn cutoffs going for a mint at the mall, and it really seems the antithesis of everything there was about the original grunge. It was totally DIY back then. Same with punks, goths and rivets. There were so few clothing outlets available for niche subcultures, so we all dove into whatever Goodwill had to offer.
To this day, I rarely buy anything at the mall that isn’t already marked down on clearance or deeply discounted. I love outlet shopping and thrifting (as can be shown by my many haul pictures). I buy used clothes and make my own patches. I love to spend time looking for outfits online, and deconstructing them in my head so that I can build what I love once I have my sewing machine.
What happened to the uniqueness of grunge, goth and punk? Where is the “I made it mahself!” attitude? When did it become ok to simply flash plastic at the local mall to make an outfit look like you bought it at Goodwill? It makes no sense to me!
I’d love to know, how many of you are DIYers? Are you more likely to buy something off the rack? Clearance or full price? What about thrift stores? What happened to the joy of having that one item or outfit that you know nobody else is ever going to have? Do you really want to pay top dollar to for clothes that look like they were dragged out of a dumpster?
I don’t know. Sometimes I think the creativity has been squeezed out of the fashion world like an overripe orange. You decide. Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Ta!
I’m attending a Velvet Acid Christ show next month, and I’ve been researching different makeup techniques to try. Youtube has a plethora of videos available full of makeup ideas. Here’s a few that stood out to me, that not only are good for your local gothic industrial night, but might give you a few ideas for Halloween makeup too! Enjoy!
Love the feathery eyes on this tutorial…
Awesome lips on this one!!!
Marilyn Manson makeup in two parts – including a tutorial on how to hide your brows!
An eye look I’ll probably emulate for the show, but with a pale lip instead of red.
Another gothic look (speedtorial) – more glued down brows and tape to get your eyeliner straight!
Hope that keeps you all entertained for a while! Ta!
I need to get around to doing an actual official how-to on this, but for now, I’ll just post pics of the finished products.
Recently I’ve been eyeballing those really cool “punk” style patches on Etsy, where it’s white ink screenprinted on black fabric. I love the way they look, and they’re super easy to safety pin or sew onto your jackets or clothes. However, some people are charging $5 plus shipping (or more!) for these patches, which considering the cost of materials, is a bit steep for my delicate budget.
So I went to Joann Fabrics and bought a half a yard of black cotton duck for about $5, and went to Michael’s Crafts and bought a white fabric paint marker for $3.99 (I think?). I know how to screenprint, and I’ve done it years in the past, but I just don’t have the time or room in my apartment to start setting up that kind of endeavor. I decided I’d be better off just hand drawing the images onto the fabric. Here’s some of what I’ve come up with:
:WUMPSCUT: – that’s a band, in case you didn’t know.
Zombie Hello Kitty
by request, a “personal pronounse” patch
Skinny Puppy band logo
If you have any kind of creative talent (thank you, four years of art school), this is a super easy project to play with. If you don’t think you’re all that creative, do what I did, and buy a $1.99 plastic stencil at the craft store, and use it to outline your letters and then just colour them in! The “Wumpscut” and “Personal Pronoun” patches were made with the same stencil.
Give it a try, and link me what you’ve made, I’d love to see your handiwork, and maybe do a future post featuring your creations! Get crafty!
I have been a member of the goth/punk/rivet community since 1991, and while I might not “dress the part” so much now, my heart is still with them. In honour of Halloween, I’d like to share some goth related videos, and other goth related articles and outfits throughout the month of October.
Your Age and Being Goth – KazLovesBats
Where I Buy My Clothes: Shirts/Tops – SebastianColumbine
Skinny Puppy – Assimiliate
Velvet Acid Christ – Lysergia
:WUMPSCUT: – Krieg
Cyber, Dark & Industrial Dance
Lots of leather, very eighties, with some twenties fringe thrown in for good measure. Quite the dynamic show!
Amphetamine Crash 