Gris Gris

Gris - is the word for Grey in Spanish.

Gris Gris - is the name of a voodoo talisman which brings black magic on its 'victim'. They are adaptation of an earlier African Islamic tradition of amulets to ward off evil spirits. In Haiti and some African countries such as Senegal, gris gris still refers to a good talisman.

This post contains things related to both of those definitions.

Do you remember that in this post, I mentioned I was going clubbing in Leeds? Well I didn't get to wear that outfit because it wasn't an ordinary club night at all. It was a Zombie Prom!

I didn't have much time to plan a costume at all, so I simply shredded some old lining fabric I had lying around and make an overskirt for my skeleton cameo dress. I also added a piece of it to the streamer on my top hat and made a tiny axe out of cardboard and paint.

It was such a fun night! The make-up looks very washed out with flash, but everything was darker in real life; especially the blood! I used make-up rather than face-paint (like my friends) because I'm allergic to a lot of stuff and I didn't want to risk a reaction, and made my own fake blood from flour, water and food colouring (red with a few drops of blue and black gives a good colour) so that I could have it around my mouth without worrying about ingesting it when I ate or drank. It goes delightfully scabby looking too! Be warned though it will stain your skin, so I had to wear foundation and red eyeliner underneath it. This photo sort of terrifies me because it looks like I managed to roll my eyes completely back into my head! I might have to get some white eye contacts if I dress up as a zombie again because I think it works well!

By complete coincidence I also got asked to make a prop for a play. It's for my friends production of Witches of Eastwick. I love that she needed someone to make a voodoo doll and thought of me! I thought white would show up best on stage, so he's just made from a pair of socks! I resisted the temptation to make it neat and even too as I think it looks more creepy like this.

I got sent a lovely new jumper by my mum, who wanted me to have a really cosy jumper for my cold office (isn't she the best mum in the world?).

It's so soft and snuggly! I think I'm a tiny bit in love.

What I'm wearing:
Jumper: Dorothy Perkins
Pinafore: Miss Selfridge
White Underskirt: Vintage, my friend Gabby gave it to me because she thought I'd wear it more often than her =]
Tights: Pamela Mann, her tights are so expensive that I never buy them for myself. These were a christmas present from my auntie in 2007. Which just shows that the quality is worth the price really!
Boots: New Look.

I was inspired by the colour scheme of that outfit to make this choker for my Etsy shop. When it was finished, I really wanted to keep it, but I can always make myself something similar =]

Winter Blossom Choker, available here in my Etsy shop.

I've been making a few more things and using the equipment at work to take better quality photos so expect new listings and photo updates soon!

I've also started using Tumblr at last! I've been updating it with my new posts and I'm going to start putting up some old photos too (as well as re-blogging pretty things). I'm always looking for cool new blogs to follow so please send me a links. You can find mine here.

Of new boots, wonderful gifts and clubbing apparel

What is this you say? Another post from Cemetery Dreams, in the same week?! I'm surprising even myself!

The main reason I'm making this post is to say a massive and slightly overdue thank you to Victorian Kitty of Sophistique Noir for sending me 2 lovely blouses =]. I received them a couple of weeks ago but didn't immediately have a chance to wear either (it's back to woolly jumpers at work already). I put together this outfit using one of them today though. I really love this blouse but it's a little tight in the bust for me (shock horror) so I have to leave the top button undone. I started to think of ways of wearing it with something underneath and immediately thought of this dress:

Sorry for the poor lighting, this was taken in my old room at dad's and it gets a very bright at sunset! It makes my black tights look a slightly odd colour too for some reason. Also forgive me for not drying my hair before I took the picture.

What I'm wearing:
Blouse: Living Dead Souls, gift from Victorian Kitty
Dress: New Look, I got it earlier this year and I can't remember how much ti was
Boots: New Look. These are new. £29.99
Velvet Choker: Handmade by me.

I've just brought these great boots as a replacement for the shoes I repaired in this post which finally gave up the ghost. The soles split right across the toes on both feet so there was no way to save them =[. I couldn't afford to spend enough to get real leather, but at least these are cheaper than those shoes were! Also they are really soft and comfy with grippy soles perfect for the autumn weather.

This outfit is one I'd like to wear when I go to Leeds to visit some old friends at the end of the month, the goth scene is much bigger there than it is here and I've been promised a weekend of club nights! I'm very excited! This was just a trial run, I may decide that this outfit isn't OTT enough and add some more accessories though. What do you guys think? I wish I could order one of these ribcage belts to go with it but they are sold out at the moment.

I'd forgotten about this choker because it was hiding at the back of my jewellery box but I think I'll have to wear it more often again! I'm also going to try to get some nice soft narrow lace trim and make some more for my Etsy shop =]

Goth blog challenge: Corsets or no?

I'm answering another Goth blog challenge because I've started late and this is already the 3rd week of January.

Once again I used a random number generator to decide what to answer next:

28. Corsets or no?

Hell Yeah! 

I love corsets. 

I think they are beautiful and I love how they give me extra back support when I'm dancing the night away!

Here's a silly picture of me in my black and white pleather under-bust corset. The hat belongs to a guy I know called Rory, his name is Chester the Trilby lol!

These pictures were taken on my friend Beth's birthday a couple of years ago, I picked them because they show how much I like dancing in a corset!

Yup I was quite tipsy. You can tell by the colour of my face - I only go pink when I drink =P

I dance in the exact same way sober though, because if I close my eyes I don't have to see people stare at my idiocy!

Thanks to Meera for the pictures =]

Do you like corsets? If not, why not?

Clubbing, Camden, Corsets and Clothing

So as promised here are some pictures from my weekend, although not as many as I had hoped because I was too busy going 'oohhh look at all the cool stuff' to take pictures of the cool stuff!

The hotel we were staying in was very central, just off the Euston Road, called the Grange Fitzrovia, it was super posh! I didn't get a picture of our room but it was a lot like the 'Double Superior' in their pictures.

The location was really handy; 15 mins from Euston and 5 mins from 3 different tube lines. This is the Euston Road on the Saturday morning, such an interesting church:

On the Friday night we went out in Camden, starting at Ultimate Power, the club night my cousin is one of the organisers of. It's a really popular night and everyone looked like they were having a lot of fun, but I was tired from travelling so my tolerance for a) crowds and b) power ballads was a lot lower than I expected!

I've never seen a club so busy! I've been to sold out gigs where there was more space to dance:

We left early and did a quick tour of Camden pubs including The Dev and The World's End before getting the tube back to the hotel. The tube was still running at 1.15am (thank you Paralympics!).

On the Saturday we returned to Camden for SHOPPING, we went through all of the markets, and even stopped in Cyberdog, which I always visit, because it looks amazing even though I don't wear cybergoth style myself (I love it on others, but it's not something I can pull off).

I took a couple of snaps in cyberdog, although having to use flash kind of ruined the pictures because it's actually dark and atmospheric with UV, neon and coloured lights:

I didn't actually buy very much whilst I was at the markets. I tried on a couple of pieces by Spin Doctor, that I'm still considering; this skirt and this blouse which I really liked, but they were expensive and once again I had some concerns about quality (small things, like buttons being loose even though they had probably only been tried on a few times etc) so I'm still trying to decide. The level of detail makes them tempting items though; I wouldn't be able to DIY a version!

I did get a corset though =]
I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of it yet because I don't have anyone to help lace me into it! I was re-assured by the lady at the stall that I should still be getting 22" corsets, not 24" because the 22" closes completely except where my ribs get too wide! I was worried because I've put on a LOT of weight since the last time I brought a corset (when I was 17) and although that is a good thing (I have to accept that my 'perfect body' belonged to a girl, not a woman =P), I still get a little touchy when clothes stop fitting me! This is the corset I got, but it was on sale, so I got it for 40 =]
Hopefully I'll have pictures of the corset on me next week!

In the meantime here is an outfit I wore out for dinner on the Saturday night, when we went to Ask Italian, taken in the bathroom of our hotel room:

We were going to go to Slimelight afterwards but were so tired after shopping and food that we fell asleep instead oopsies!

We went home on the Sunday but it wasn't a smooth journey, I managed to leave my top hat in the pub at Euston station when we stopped in for some breakfast (they have really nice toast and jam) =[

I hoping I'll get my hat back but so far I can't get through to the pub on the phone; so I'll have to go in when I'm in London next week and hope they still have it.

Slimelight!

This weekend I went to London and finally got to experience Slimelight.

I know I promised you all lots of photos, but I underestimated how difficult it would be to take pictures in a dark club with a smoke machine in every room, except the one with a BBQ in it!

My friend Gabby had a little more photo luck than me, so I can show you the cool tube train style bar in the cafe area:

I was lucky to go there on a night when all 3 rooms + cafe were open, although it was apparently a quiet night (seemed quite full to me; I dread to think what a busy night is like!)

In the main room (where the cages were) the music was a mix of EBM and some industrial stuff; catchy and fun to dance too even if I only have limited knowledge of most of the music!

On the top floor there was a room playing rave and electronica, which amazed me by having a ball pool! The urge to jump in and start impersonating Sheldon from Big Bang Theory was nigh on overwhelming! BAZINGA! Only my fear of what horrors could be lurking beneath the balls in a dimly lit club prevented me from doing this =P

On the ground floor there is a trad goth room; my spiritual home! At 4am I was twirling around the dance floor to Temple of Love, loving every minute of it. Also a tiny cinema and a cafe with BBQ, including veggie options which impressed me; although I didn't eat there this time.

I wore the outfit I posted here with my top hat, velvet jacket and home-made choker. If I wear this combination again I'll upload pictures.

I had a fantastic night and I'll definitely be up for going again if I have the chance. In fact it was almost worth how ill I am today. Note to self, if on a Friday you are coughing up a lung, going to London on Saturday and staying out until 5am is not a good plan; I've completely lost my voice today!

Slimelight outfit?

I've gotten so wrapped up in work this week that I actually forgot to plan an outfit for this Saturday!

I'm actually going to be staying with a friend tomorrow night and going straight to London from there, and so I have to plan and pack right now!

This is what I have decided to wear; because it is simple, easy, won't get too hot and won't be ruined when I get a drink spilled on me:

What I'm wearing:
Strapless lace dress: got it at a clothes swap for FREE yay! I like the Asymmetric hemline.
Petticoat: Ebay. I have no idea how much I paid for it; whatever it was- it was worth it. Best petticoat ever. Never goes flat.
Lace cardigan: Forever 21, I've posted it before.

I'll probably take my top hat too =]

I doubt I'll be able to blog again before I go, but I promise to bring back many pictures of the weekend =]

Have a lovely few days my dears!

The Dark Knight Rises, exciting times ahead and clothing Dilemmas

I went to see The Dark Knight Rises yesterday, I really loved it and I heartily recommend you all go to see it! If you liked The Dark Knight, you love this too, even without Heath Ledger.

Onto the exciting times ahead:

I've been wanting to visit a club called Slimelight in London, since I first heard of it when I was a very little babybat; It's a goth club that has been running since 1987 and plays a mixture of Trad goth, EBM and other electronica over 3 rooms and has members worldwide. In the past I have never had the opportunity to go but I'm finally going next weekend =]

This is part of the clothing dilemma situation:
I'm currently in a tizz going 'OMG! What to wear? Everyone there will look so awesome! How am I going to live up to that???'

So watch this space for clubbing outfit ideas!

The other half of my clothing dilemma is something I really need opinions on:

I went shopping with my mum the other day and she took my into Topshop. I normally don't shop there unless I get given a gift token because it's expensive and a lot of the time I struggle to find anything I would wear.

But this time when I walked in, I saw this:

I got so distracted by the adorable collar and sleeves that I didn't notice the price, or the fact it wasn't actually a dress, but a playsuit until I got into the changing room!

I was pretty upset; I don't wear shorts. Ever. I would feel really self-concious showing that much leg! I did however try this on; I was already in the changing room so thought I might as well.

I like it, I think it's adorable, Wednesday Addams-esque and it did suit me; at least the top half did! I'm still unsure about the shorts! Maybe with very opaque black tights it would be OK?

So I need your opinions, before I spend a practically obscene amount of money!

How do you find the confidence to wear something you'd normally shy away from?

Is it worth the risk that I'll buy it and then never wear it?

Is it ever justifiable to spend this much on an item of clothing when your income is low?