Welcoming Autumn Into Your Goth Wardrobe

Is it too early to talk about autumn yet? I hope not, because I've been pining for my beloved apple cider, crunchy leaves, and pumpkin spice scents since December! Today I'm on the eight hour journey North to my college in Massachusetts where the autumn leaves are out-of-this-world beautiful, which has gotten me thinking about how I'd like to incorporate the autumn season into my wardrobe.

Autumnal Color

Add some autumn colors to your wardrobe with muted, dusty versions of old favorites. Yes, red is a very autumn color, but bright crayola red can't even compare to its darker cousins like ox blood, maroon, and crimson. If you want to wear orange but don't want to look like a Halloween decoration, look for muted, dusty tones like pumpkin and cinnamon rather than neon orange. (I don't know a single Goth who wears yellow, but presumably there's a way to work it into your wardrobe with marigold and mustard shades.) 

Boots 

Over the summer (p)leather boots can seem especially uncomfortable, but when the temperature starts to drop and the crunchy leaves become ever more enticing, it's time to slap them back on! There are boots for every style, from Trad Goth to Gothic Lolita, and they make for a great addition to your outfits. If you're looking to Goth them up a bit more, treat them like an extension of your favorite leather DIY jacket and paint, pin, or otherwise decorate them to suit your needs.

Jackets

Speaking of jackets, why not go out and find one that you adore? It doesn't have to be leather, it can be any style. Of course, they do tend to be a bit expensive around this time of the year, but checking thrift stores and sales racks will generally give you a ton of options. I haven't been paying attention to this years trends but I think military was on the list 1-3 years ago so you'll be able to find that for discounted prices, probably.

Bookish

Maybe it's just the fact that I'm going back to school but I warm up to accessories that include books and other reading materials. So, when looking for accessories, try checking out necklaces that look like books, bubble jewelry that includes novel pages, a clutch or purse made out of an old hard-back book, or maybe hair accessories (like roses made out of book pages.) 

Are you guys excited for autumn? How will you be adjusting your closets for the season, if at all? 

Around Here (And Around the Net)

As you may have noticed, things have been slow around here post wise. The end of summer is swiftly approaching and with that came my birthday (on the 16th) and the start of back-to-school prep mayhem. Soon I'll be posting with my Goth Dorm 3.0 pictures, but for now it's going to be a bit slow. If you have a post idea you absolutely must have written (or are just mildly interested in), please send it to me on my Contact page. (Please.)

My cat Hermione. 

But, until then, here are some tidbits about what's going on around here, and around some of my favorite websites:

• New theme! I got a new theme going because the gray was getting a bit old. If you find things that aren't working, please send me a note! (Should I write a post about how I design my themes? Would anyone care?)
• A reader, first name Lauren, wanted to ask me some questions but didn't leave an e-mail for me to contact. If you are that Lauren, leave me a note with your e-mail address and I can answer your questions. 
• Evil Supply Co. has begun pre-ordering for some great t-shirt designs. I ordered the Halloween one and can't wait for it. 
• My local grocery store has Halloween stuff out, so the season is coming!
• My little sister got Monster High dolls for her birthday. It's been very exciting:

Draculara holding one of my necklaces.

• I've been listening to Welcome to Night Vale, which is a great free radio broadcast if you're into some supernatural and pretty creepy stuff.
• My Pinterest board Goth Travel, which is filled with wicked cool places for Goths to visit, has started off with a bang and 170 followers. Come check it out?
• GIY is offline! Noo! But this sneak peak of her latest project has really got me curious. What do you all think it is?
• Lately I've been getting back into the Goth music groove, mostly listening to The Cure and Depeche Mode. Very relaxing.
• My mom found a bunny skull while she was out and about and gave it to me. It's a real cutie, but is very brittle and needs a bit of TLC

My bunny skull. 

If I asked nicely would one of you get me this necklace? ;)

I think I'm going to write a post about home decor trends I'm sick of, because if I see more things painted with chalkboard paint I'm going to close the tab and sip at my tea in an irritable fashion

But you know what I'm not sick of? Pencil skirts. I'm still obsessed with pencil skirts. 

I love Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, but her blog is really where it's at. I need to build up an emergency kit like this one, I think.

I'm slowly practicing calligraphy, but unfortunately my handwriting is just too loopy for cool Gothic-y fonts. What's a girl to do?

On GoodReads I'm five books ahead of schedule on my yearly book challenge. Do you have any recommendations for me?

I'm currently in Richmond, VA visiting family, so if you respond to this post it might take me a while to answer. What have you all been up to lately? 

9 Pinterest Boards I'm Loving Lately

For the uninitiated, Pinterest is an online community of image-sharing and collecting that has been consuming my life lately. Like Tumblr, I use it for inspiration, but unlike Tumblr, Pinterest is super easy to organize your interests. While parts of Pinterest are mainly monopolized by the young-mother and hipster DIY demographic, that's no reason for Goths to stay away from it all together. I started using it as an excuse to plan my future house, so I have boards dedicated to my future Elegant Gothic Dining Room and Curious Pseudo-Steampunk study among other rooms, but I've branched out and now have boards dedicated to everything from My Goth Fashion Inspiration and Gothable DIY crafts to Pictures of Goths and Food & Recipes. But where do I get my pins from? Here are some Pinterest boards for Goths that I've been loving lately.

Dark Goth Girls by Jet

Jet, creator and owner of Vampire Freaks, runs a board called Dark Goth Girls which has over 1,000 pictures of Goth girls. Dressed up and dressed down, this is a great board to follow if you want to see some great outfit, make up, hair, and attitude inspiration from some gorgeous Goth girls.

Everyday is Halloween

Kristin Magnuson, owner and artist of Blood Flowers Jewelry, runs Everyday is Halloween, a board of Goth Home Inspiration. Many of her pins are images of Halloween products that could be used year-round, and they range from just inspiration to DIY tutorials and even some Halloween-inspired eats.

Music For the Soul(less)

Celeste Smith, blogger at Halloween Culture, runs a board called Music for the Soulless which has tons of pictures of Goth music idols, from Patricia Morrison to Nick Cave and more. Great if you're the type of person that laments that the Goth tag on Tumblr has approximately zero posts about actual Goth bands in it.

Little Cabinet of Oddities

This board, curated by Bloody Emeralds, is a collection of all things weird. From natural oddities to weird odd pieces and pieces of creepy (and beautiful) history, this board has a bit of everything. Fair warning: some of this stuff is not for the faint of heart!

The Curious World of Tim Burton

Vasia runs this board which is a tribute to Tim Burton, with dashes of Helena Bonham Carter an Johnny Depp thrown in for good measure. Not only are there pictures of the man himself, but also pictures of his works new and old and pictures of projects that have been inspired from him (oh, the Nightmare Before Christmas wedding cakes. Be still my heart.)

Cemetery

Cemetery is a board run my Donna which posts pictures related to cemeteries. Not only are there the usual pictures of headstones, however, there are also pictures of embalming equipment, mourning jewelry, and other aspects of mourning culture.

Bats

Bats is a board by Laurie which is dedicated to every goth's favorite flying mammal. This board is heavy on bats as decorative and aesthetic elements, but there are some pictures of live-action cuties scattered throughout.

Victorian Mourning 

Victoriana Lady, author of International Steampunk Fashions, curates this board which showcases a lot of Victorian mourning customs. This board goes beyond just the dresses (though the dresses are great) to cover letters, gravestones, and other aspects of mourning custom.

Corsets

Ugh, who doesn't love a good corset? This board by Cora Harrington, founder and lead editor of The Lingerie Addict, covers corsets in all their forms. From pin-up and cosplay to Goth and wedding, there are tons of beautiful pictures and links for perusal.

Are you guys on Pinterest? What have you been pinning lately?

My Spooky Mug Collection (and some dream acquisitions)

Readers, have you ever accidentally started to developed a collection? I don't know anyone else who has but I can't be the only one. And what am I collecting, you may ask? Mugs! Yes, I really do love mugs. I use them all the time so they're a great way to get a pretty and practical collection going (and they're usually available anywhere you go tourist-ing, so I have options.) Anyway, here are my mugs:

First is this Sally mug given to me by my high-school mentee, who was a real sweetie.

This mug came from Barnes & Noble around Halloween time. I believe there was a werewolf man as well? Although I might me mistaken.

When filled with hot liquid, the cameo changes into a skeleton:

This Jack Skellington one was a goodbye gift from my friend Andy when I left Scotland after having studied abroad there. 

I was so scared that the handle would get broken in my suitcase. Isn't it cute?

I'm not sure where I got this one, maybe Pushin' Daisies? It's really cool looking but the inside is a bitch to clean so it's been relegated to mostly decorative duty, which is a shame because it's my largest mug.

And the handle is cool.

This is a not-so-interesting shaped mug but it has a cool skull & crossbones on the side that I'm fond of. 

While five mugs doesn't seem like a lot, I'm still dreaming. Here are some mugs I've been wanting for a while:

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This mug, originally from Williams and Sonoma, is a cute cauldron that I love the unique shape of. Unfortunately, they originally came in packs of four, which I don't need, so I'm hopeful that individual ones will pop up on eBay someday.

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I found this pumpkin Halloween mug on Pinterest and, while I don't know where it came from originally, I love the shape. Mugs that are actually shaped and not just printed on are some of my favorites.

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But how about a mug that I won't have to hike all over eBay and beyond to get? This Jack Skellington mug chages color from a black background to one patterned with Jack's very expressive face. Love.

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These "primitive" Halloween mugs are sold by Terry's Village and, while I'm not crazy about the ghost, I'm going batty for that bat. Anyone want to split them? :P

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But, back to sad eBay-ville, these four mugs are no longer available, which is a damn shape.I just love the handles and the spider print. 

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And what about some horror movie love? I adore these Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein mugs on Etsy, even if they are a bit pricey for me.

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Lastly, this 2010 Mug by Boston Warehouse. They did a whole big Halloween collection that I love, and what better way to show that than by adding to my collection?

What do you all collect?