"I feel bizzare" is what I said to Derek, in regards to wearing red and wearing red bandana print to boot. I love western style anything, so it's not a surprise that I was drawn to this Hell Bunny top at work.
I did hesitate on buying the top because of the white buttons, they made me cringe, so after swapping them for a set of black buttons I was happy. Small changes can make a big difference, just have to use your imagination.
I styled the top with a high waisted 80s skirt that I got for $3.50 while thrifting. The skirt is perfect for swing dancing and wearing crop shirt styles with added bonus of pockets! I added my cross belt, coffin watch and my beat up buckle boots to complete the look.
I'm also rockin' a Cramps pin to keep it spooky.
Hehehe!
Have you ever swapped buttons or clasps on a clothing item that made a huge difference?
The title is not so clever, eh? Yet, I am wearing one my my favorite skirts paired with my cowboy boots! This outfit was put together while rummaging through the closet and making a giant mess as a result-I usually plan my outfits out the night before to avoid chaos. Planning fail, so I had I yell at myself to pick up after I got home from work *Wink*
I have been missing my bangs, so to appease myself I decided on a big rolled 'bang' for the day. I teased the rest of my hair and slapped on a yellow cheetah print bandana that Derek gave me...okay, I sort of declared it was mine when I find it in a pile of his stuff.
In other non-so-related news, it's nice in Buffalo and I feel like dancing!
My friend Julie Ann (and boss lady) gave me this pink polka dot dress by Living Dead Souls (pictured above), but I wasn't too crazy about the halter straps. So, I decided to make a change and cut off off the straps and reattach as regular straight straps. I didn't want to bore everyone with another tutorial, but a few snips and voila!, it looks like an 80s rockabilly dress. Can I please be in a Stray Cats video?!
I'm not really a pink girl, but this dress makes me smile! I even made a matching hair scarf with the remaining material from the halter straps.
Straight straps are more my style, more comfortable and I can wear a regular bra!
Weeeeeee!
Since I'm wearing so much pink, I decided to put on my Pink Flamingo lipstick by Too Faced. I made this dress a little more 'me' by pairing it with some spider web earrings, bat necklace and wedge booties.
It's the little changes here and there that can really make a difference in terms of a garment. You can say I've been on a DIY rampage! *Wink*
'Gothabilly'-inspired Polyvore set I made a few years
Now that I'm working at Cats Us Like (I have been blogging for them all along), I wanted to share some of my retro inspirations! I can't remember exactly when I got 'into' liking retro and retro-inspired items or the imagery or fashion, but I know I fell in love with Bettie Page -which I first saw her on the cover of My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult's "Sexplosion" album- and her blunt cut bangs, when I was in high school. She inspired me to cut my bangs.....badly. I also love old Hollywood starlet's like; Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. For my prom and my date dances (which I never had a date), I always wanted to look 'glamorous', though my attempts were primitive at times.
Photos on film?! Yes, before digital!
left: date dance. right: my senior prom-my hair was so bad
For my senior prom my mom asked if I could go back to blonde (I had red hair at the time) and seeing as my mom was always cool with whatever-I-did-to-myself, I complied. Yeah, my hair is orange. Back in high school I used to do my own hair and well, yeah. It's terrible and orange, did I mention it's orange? Ugh. Word to the wise, hair stylist's are there for a reason, use them. *Wink*
Meagan, what is your point? I'm getting there I SWEAR!!!!
I'm trying to segue smoothly into my interest into GOTHABILLY and possibly failing. So, my interest in goth and retro=my love for gothabilly, yes it does exist!
I wrote an article for Auxiliary Magazine about the subject, check it out HERE. It's sort of crazy, because I wanted to write an article about gothabilly as there wasn't too much information on the web about the music, fashion and culture, now I'm quoted in other people's blogs and on Wikipedia! So weird! I also wrote a blog for Cats Like Us, unfortunately the fashions are no longer available.
I have to admit I got a lot of shit from "friends" who made statements like, "She never used to dress that way", when I started wearing more Victory Rolls, pencil skirts, etc. to the goth clubs. I never thought that taking retro elements and infusing them into them into my outfits was that far off from goth fashions. (Then again I never thought anyone was judging me that much or even was paying attention!) Once again I went back to Bettie Page and her dark allure as a reference in my mind and my Hollywood Starlet's as inspiration. We're allowed to infuse whatever we want, play with fashion and break the fashion rules!
I thought I looked cute *shrugs*
You'd be really surprised to know that a lot of older rockabilly's were goth's. They still love the music, have an affinity for black, but dress more vintage and retro. Even fashion labels like; Hell Bunny, Sourpuss Clothing and Living Dead Souls (their other label Voodoo Dolly), infuse the retro styling with a gothic flare. I think it's pretty rad!
And of course there is the music! You may have seen the patch on the back of my vest for Cult of the Psychic Fetus, they are a gothabilly band I'm pretty fanatical about.
I also enjoy:
The Coffin Shakers
Ghoultown
Deadbolt
The Cramps (who are a genre all their own, in my opinion)
Dave Vanian and the Phantom Cords
Well, this is a long one, so thanks for reading!
XOXO-Meagan Kyla
***I do want to make it very clear, I don't think that we need to segregate any lifestyle into these tiny little boxes with rules, labels like; goth, gothabilly, rockabilly, punk, etc. are descriptive words. Not that labels are bad, I just dislike how much we can cram people into little boxes! It doesn't offend me, but I don't want to encourage any sort of ignorance with my blog writings. *Wink*
I went to a spooktacular cocktail party at friend's and decided to make 'bloody bat and tombstone sandwiches' aka peanut butter and blackberry jam sandwiches. I have to admit I love eating bat shaped food items, haha!
I decided since it was a cocktail party that I would wear a pillbox hat that I made and have never worn. I used to make pillbox hats and sell them in my shop before discovering my love for upcycling clothing was shared by others. This particular hat is black vinyl with a skeleton hand detail and black feathers, I even made a black vinyl bow. Making hats are time consuming, especially when you are making the hat bases from scratch, but I do enjoy wearing them!
I'm wearing a halter style polka dot dress made by the lovely and talented Miss Dolly of Dungaree Dolly, she made this as a special gift from Derek. She doesn't make dresses for the public, so I cherish this special garment.
The dress has a full circle skirt and though I would wear a crinoline underneath for swing dances, I decided to spare the party guests from being entrapped in my massive dress. Fashion can be dangerous! Though this silhouette is flattering, I have realized that I've been more drawn to 60's shift dresses and babydolls, but I will always love mixing 50s styles with my creepy kitschy touches.
Thanks for reading! I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful month of October.
You may hear me talking and lamenting over the usual warm weather for a while and thus talking about what to wear to stay cool and still feel fashionable. This is the year where I take my own fashion advice and *gasp* shop for summer clothing. My head has been swirling with ideas and I've come to the conclusion that I need to take a tip from my teenage self and go back to flowy cotton skirts, China Doll flats, and embellished tank tops. I do own a few summer dresses, but sometimes it's annoying to have to wear a strapless and/or special style bra with some of my dresses....and I'm too small in the boob department to go bra-less. Bra-less=flatsville, baby. *Wink*. So, the Sassie-11 Mary Jane Flat by Demonia is a cute idea to pair with a few things I already have in my closet or with what I may possibly purchase in the not-so-distant future.
Here is a dress that I think the Sassie-11's would look darling with......
My pomped hair doesn't translate well in photos Oh well ;)
I purchased this dress as it's the right mix of 50s housewife meets....well, spiders and a spiderweb. I bought this dress last year and the jury is still out on how it looks on me mostly due to the waist seam hitting me at a weird spot for my figure, and the seam doesn't meet up properly and looks messy. I tried wearing an elastic waist belt to trick the eye and hide the messy seam, but it looks bulky and ackward as well, perhaps I'll try tying a bow around my waist with a fabric belt. Fashion-it's all trial and error!
What I wore:
Dress: Steady, purchased from ebay brand new $20
Lace trim leggings: cheap-o clothing store $5
anne klein leather flats: gifted to me by my friend Julie Ann of Cats Like Us
Hair flower: Claire's, forever a day ago
Do you have something in your closet that you like, but just don't love it on you?
I have a love affair with the creeper style of shoes, and I am realizing that I've featured this style the most for my Shoes! OMG! Thursday. If you're not familiar with the history of the creeper or brothel creeper, check out the wiki link for a brief summary of my favorite style of shoes. The triple sole Burgundy Suede Leopard Print Creepers by Underground made my heart skip a beat, as not only are they slightly ugly, they are mostly awesome. Hehe.
Skeletons and Flamingos!? Are they reading my mind!? I'm a huge fan of wedges as an alternative to a stiletto heel as you still get the long leg line look of a heel with a little more stability (I'm always falling anyways), so I'm in love with the Super High Flamingo Wedge by Too Fast Clothing. Spring is in the air and I'm thinking about cotton dresses, little high waisted shorts and more leg tattoos......well, I'm being honest. *Wink*
I would love to pair Flamingo wedges with the Spare Me Ruffle Dress by Steady, making the shoes be the focus of the ensemble.
Thanks for reading! Join me on Facebook as I like to talk about the deals I find!
What a great way to spend a Saturday night, hanging out at a cool place with cool cats and sippin' on some retro cocktails!? Well, the hubby and I stepped out with our dancing shoes on to enjoy some; swing, jump blues, rhythm & blues, and rockabilly, at event held by our dearest friends who always know how to throw a party! We did do any dancing as we gabbed our heads off, but that's okay as there will be more special events to kick up our heels.
The hubby was taking forever to get ready (it's a price to pay for having a dapper gent on MY arm, teehee), so no pictures of his ensemble. I kept things simple, classic and most importantly, comfortable!
Pinstripe and leopard looks awesome together as they can both be considered
neutrals.
Hair was styled up and back into a
pompadour-esque style
What I wore:
Sweater: from Kohl's
Ruffled front button up top: Urban Behavior (mall store)
Red pinstriped skirt: Living Dead Souls
Western ribbon tie: purchased at cowboy store in Florida
Elastic waist belt: ???
Wedge Mary Janes: Enzo Angiolini $150 shoes I got for $20 at DSW!!!!
Leopard hand bag: Dungaree Dolly
Hair flower and earrings: Claire's stores
Thanks for reading! Come say hi on my Facebook page!
I had mixed feelings when I saw the Bettie Page Oxford Creeper Wedges by Ellie Shoes, mostly due to the fact that these shoes are both amazing and pretty damn tacky. Oh! did I mention I love tacky? *Wink* I could see this shoe style paired with a nice pencil skirt and top, a cute (but creepy) babydoll dress or with a pair of jeans for everyday. I love creepers, so I think I may need to add these beauties to my shoe collection.
This week is dedicated to music! Wooooo! I can't get enough, I can't live without it, and I certainly consider myself a music lover! Some of my favorite styles of music are; goth, industrial, post-punk, punk, deathrock, gothabilly, psychobilly, swing, surf, 90s dance music and a whole mess of other cheesy goodness. I am linking you to some bands that I have been enjoying as of late.
+If you love dark post-punk, check out The Rope.
+The Acid Bats are a deathrock band from Mexico who are worth a listen too.
+Often compared to The Cure and also covering their song, 'Upstairs Room', Veil Veil Vanish is an amazing band from San Francisco
+Hailing from the eerie shores of Ohio's great lake, Cult of the Psychic Fetus is not only one of my most favorite bands, they helped to define the gothabilly genre.
+Another deathrock band I enjoy Eyaculacion Post Mortem, has a hard name to say with a really nice sound.
+Check out Selebrities, I'm sure they will get your feet moving.
