On Sunday we attended the 7th annual Goth Day at the Beach. Our friend Jenny has been putting this fun beach visit for years and though we haven't been to one since 2012, we were very happy to have been able to make it this year.
Steve dugging the beach 'grave' complete with tombstone. Hehehe!
Jen being brave and getting 'buried'. By the way, there was a Jenny, Jenn and Jen in attendance. *Wink*
There was a dark cloud hovering right over us, we didn't mind!
Happy Goth Beach Day!!!
I'm such a 'ass'. LOL!
Just wanted to share a little bit of the fun and I wanted to thank Jenn Sojka for the group photos.
I can't take credit the 'perspire in the shire' part of the blog title, that was Derek's funny comment as we were getting ready to head out to the renn faire. We made the 2.5 hour drive in 90 degree heat to frolick in Sterling, NY at the Sterling Renaissance Festival.
I didn't take a ton of photos since I was too busy eating, drinking mead and enjoying the Highlander themed weekend. I did grab a photo of Derek getting his hair braided, which was cute seeing as there were many little girls getting their hair done and my Viking husband getting his top knot braided. I realized I do not know how to start a French braid at the top of the head, so Derek was in much better hands. Hahaha!!!
We went to the faire with our wonderful friend Mike who is wearing a kilt and sporran. Many, many sporran jokes were made....many. Hahaha! I also couldn't stop laughing at his giant drinking horn and when Derek had to help pull Mike's wallet out of his kilt. Heat+mead=lots of giggling and immaturity. It was great!
Showing off my tiny horn, which just blends into my dress. Hehe!
Unfortunately I didn't a detailed photo of my outfit, but I am wearing a beautiful chainmaille necklace from Purgatory Plaything. Chemise and overdress were purchased on eBay and though I loved the chemise, yet the overdress was much to be desired in terms of quality. Even though I bought from a store that was been selling Renaissance garb since the 90s, it was 'eh'. I made it work and since it's only a once a year event, I didn't want to make too much of a fuss. I do think I am going to sew an Irish overdress for next year after admiring other ladies outfits and browsing the vendors stalls.
And I managed to snap a photo of my practice hair from the night before, complete with little floral hair combs I made. I really liked my hair like this, it made me feel very ethereal and keep me nice and cool!
Renn Faire spoils! I got a beautiful hand stamped leather o-ring belt and some yummy smelling soaps. Not shown is all the; delicious food, nuts, laughter and memories we made.
So romantic. LOL!!!
We survived the heat and had a great time!!! Huzzah!
These photos were from last month's swing dance and I realized that it's been a month, because the July's swing dance is tomorrow! Time is flying, argh!!! Derek and I will not be attending this month since we'll be at the Renn Faire, but I'm already planning out my outfit since it's a Great Gatsby theme. I really had to brainstorm an outfit since most 1920s silhouette's look ghastly on me and as much as I like fringe and the flapper look, there is much more to that era of dress. Much more....
Franny (The Curious Professor Z) will agree with me that watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is a wonderful source of 1920s inspiration and oh-so-drool worthy. I can't get enough of the costuming on the TV series and would love a dress like Phryne Fisher for the dance, but in reality I just can't justify spending a lot of money on one evening.
Stunning!
So I've opted to dig into my closet and (as Tim Gunn would say), "make it work!" Luckily some of my drapey and lacey pieces will do the trick and by adding some long layered necklaces, it will hint at the 20s. I truly believe when you're going to a themed event, you don't have to look like you are wearing a costume nor spend a lot of money. *Wink*
Some of my inspiration:
My dress is a similar silhouette to the gal's (all the way to left) dress.
I love the turban, layered necklaces and the floral details on the shoulder. If I don't wear my kimono over the dress, I may make a floral shoulder piece to wear.
The gal on the left's dress is amazing and the silhouette works for me, the other two are darling, but the shape is wrong for me.
Siouxsie Sioux's amazing long beaded overdress is a perfect pairing of 1980s goth and 1920s glamour. You see Siouxsie wearing a lot of beautiful vintage pieces throughout her career.
Before I get too excited for the dance, I will stop here. Thank you for letting me brainstorm!
A few friend's surprised Melanie with a party to wish her well with her new job and move to New Jersey. It's bittersweet for Melanie as she really didn't want to have to move, yet it's a great opportunity for her. My friend that I have know for 17 years, we've been through a lot together and may not always see eye-to-eye, yet always have a lot of love for each other. I will miss her, yet I'm looking forward to some Skye antics that will hopefully not make her so homesick.
We had the party at Victory Studios, where our friend Luke has his photography studio. Luke and his wife Erin put together the surprise and they did a great job on a last minute shindig. Luke thoughyfully set up a photo booth and snapped some photos for Melanie to have, unfortunately a few a of the friend's had to leave before the photos happened.
There was this amazing throne prop that I had to take a photo sitting on it. I felt like a queen!
I wore a basic knit dress that has made it's first appearance on this blogand has become a wardrobe staple. I was basically running from work to the party, so I picked something that would be truly comfortable all day and it was a great choice!
I tend to forget to include my handbags in my outfit posts as I am a 'one bag' sorta gal. I just switched out my crossbody bag and am using a fun Halloween print bag that is made by Dungaree Dolly. I love the green!!!
Melanie, you will be missed, but I'm happy for you to start this new chapter in your life.
Birthday gal in a skirt made by our friend Judy. It has kitties and teacups, it's purrrrfect!!!
This past Sunday Julie Ann had a tea party in celebration of her upcoming birthday! It was a beautiful day, but it was hot. 94 degrees hot. Though hot tea was on the menu, Julie Ann had an amazing assortment of tea related drinks as well as little sandwiches, scones and cookies. Everything was so delicious, I had to stop myself from eating it all!
Since I knew it was going to be so hot (we did have a very nice breeze), I thought it would be fun and silly to make fans with Julie Ann's pictures on them. I said to the gals, "You can cool yourself with a hot lady". Hahaha! Julie Ann is stunner even in the goofy photos I choose to use.
Jodee, myself, Julie Ann and Andrea. All the ladies in black hats!
Since it was so hot, I decided to wear a little lacey babydoll with sandals and a big hat. I forgot how much I love this dress and now can wear it with more confidence since I picked up a lace bralette from Forever 21 to bridge the large boob gap in the dress.
A shout out to Sylvie from Little Corp Goth and her compliments and inquires about my tattoo's from my last blog post. I honestly don't even see them any more and sorta forget I'm a moderately 'tattooed female'. I know it sounds strange, I'm a strange gal. *Wink*
Wearing; lace dress (thrifted), lace bralette (Forever 21), hat (old, Forever 21), necklace (gift from friend), sandals (Hot Topic), sunglasses (via Cats Like Us)
Special thanks to Andrew for letting me use his photos and to Julie Ann for having a great ladies tea party and inviting me!
Well, more like pumpkin carvers. Hehehe! You may remember this motley crew from my renaissance festival blog and we're together again for some Halloween fun!
It was nice to hang out, drink cider and pull out some pumpkin guts. Brutal.
I help with purchasing at work, so we sometimes get in beauties like the Agnes Doll dress by Hell Bunny that makes my little goth heart sing! It's so lightweight and airy, perfect for the summer. Unfortunately, it's a little too short for my comfort, especially when I'm working, so wearing leggings was a necessity.
The doll-like Peter Pan style collar gets me every time along with darling little flutter sleeves.
I also re-discovered some old jewelry inside my jewelry box. The necklace I'm wearing is over ten years old and has seen many goth events. I paired the necklace with the Sourpuss Clothing dangle coffin earrings which have become a staple in my wardrobe. I do love coffins!
Jen, myself, Jenny, Erin (photo by Jen Clark)
After work I joined in the fun of celebrating Erin's (far right) un-bachelorette party. No penis straws or sashes or veils, just a nice evening celebrating Erin's upcoming nuptials. In fact our friend Jenny (purple hair beauty) is getting married the same month! August is chalking up to be an exciting month for our gang. :)
My friend Danielle and I threw an 80s dance party on Saturday the 18th in lieu of our regularly monthly 'dark dance' night (On the Wire) in order to have an excuse to turn the 80s-ness up to ELEVEN!
Myself, Marie, Christian and Derek
The crowd was amazing, our dj friends did a fantastic job and it was a great time all around! People really love the 80s! The dance floor was packed all night and there were even a few sing-a-longs. Haha! We're not going to switch our regular monthly to just primarily 80s, but perhaps we'll throw 'Revenge of the 80s II' in the summer, you never know. *Wink*
I surprise dance-attacked Luke!
Myself, Emilie and Danielle
Dress is 80s vintage thrifted a while ago for $5, stole Derek's Cure pin (80s!) for a 'pop' of color.
I own some nice Sugarpill shadows that I never wear, so this was a good opportunity to put them to use! I just sort of put it on and hoped for the best, turned out pretty good for not really having a plan.
Thank you to Danielle for taking the reigns with my camera and snapping all these photos. You can check out On the WireFacebook by clicking on the link. Yay!
Thank you reading, I will leave you with one of my favorite songs that was played that night.
Ok, it's not the end of the week yet, but for me it's over, phew! Derek and I joined our friend's for Buffalo's longest running ebm/goth night, Radiation. I was looking forward to seeing everyone and enjoying a few cocktails to wind down and chit chat about what everyone has been doing.
This skirt is so much fun to dance in!
Since all my shoes and jewelry are over at the new place, I was running back and forth trying to figure out what to wear. I settled on this skirt that was given to me by my friend Melanie, a top from Charlotte Russe (it's so old!) paired with some belts and my pointy witchy boots that I resurrected. How were they resurrected? Well, the boot leather was so creased in the toes that they were uncomfortable to wear, so I literally ironed the creases out! I have to admit I Goggled the 'how-to' and I can't give you the exact link to the directions, but it involved a damp cloth, a clothing iron and being very careful.
When in doubt, I accessorize....a lot.
Cheers! The beautiful Miss Melanie and I.
Do you have tips on how you take care of your old leather boots?
