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I wasn’t thrilled with this outfit, but I thought I should share my fashion failures just the same to keep it interesting. I love this strapless top. It’s cotton with a thick lace overlay and a lace tie in the back. However, this skirt never fails to disappoint me. It’s just too fluffy around the middle, and it really needs to be a couple of inches shorter. I wore it once before and it worked slightly better, but I think I had it hiked up that time… I think this skirt will become a “strictly around the house on chores day” skirt. Although I’ve been known to wear much cuter things even under those conditions… Maybe it’ll be a sick day skirt. Cat hair doesn’t stick to it, which is a good thing when you don’t feel well and just want to snuggle with the furry ones all day!

Don’t ask me what’s up with the half-on-half-off shrug. I have no idea what my reasoning was there, except it was still quite warm out (yay for California!) and I was only wearing it to keep the sun off during errands. I guess for the photos I couldn’t decide what to do with it. Lol!

Perseus really has the sweetest face ever, but he’s quite angry here…

Without further ado, I present to you Perseus, the other half of our Maine Coon set. You recently saw a post showcasing the great Prometheus is all his gigantic splendor. Perseus weighs a full four pounds LESS than Prometheus, but at 18 pounds he’s still *well* above average house cat size.

Despite being twin brothers, these boys couldn’t be more different in terms of personality. While Prometheus is all about love, Perseus is the adventurous one (really living up to his name!). He’s very loving as well, but with a shorter attention span. The best adjective for him is “spirited.” That’s the nice way to say he gets in trouble all the time. It really tried my patience at first, but as he’s matured and we’ve fully bonded I’ve learned to love him for his “yeah, I broke that, but aren’t I adorable” attitude. And now everything in our house is glued down with earthquake putty. EVERYTHING.

Perseus is also the charismatic one, greeting everyone at the door and tripping them with ankle rubs. Prometheus, on the other hand, has to get to know you a bit before he smothers you with affection.

Here’s another great necklace that was a gift from Mr. Kitty, and a choker made from a scrap of fancy trim from the fabric store. I’m also wearing a Morgana Cryptoria lip balm in Diabolical Druscilla. Out of the five colors I discussed for my review, this one is my favorite. It also wears the longest and fades the most evenly.

OUTTAKE: This is what happens when a Maine Coon gets mad and doesn’t want his photo taken!

So who’s your favorite?  Perseus or Prometheus?

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The old trunk, which I bought at an antique store ages ago, is currently stuck in the loft that houses my photo studio. We just got a new bedroom set, and the old trunk just doesn’t fit (physically or stylistically) any more. Seeing as how it has been displaced into the loft until we determine its fate, I figured I’d use it as a prop. Prometheus really liked that idea, as you will soon see!

I didn’t really plan on taking so many photos of this outfit, but when you have a gorgeous AND cooperative kitty in the scene, it’s hard not to take full advantage of the opportunity. So this post is more about a woman’s love for her Maine Coon than her love of fashion!

The hook-and-eye top came from Body Central (or Venus… I get them confused sometimes!). It required some alteration, as it was generally too large for me. I took the easy way out and just brought the sides in. Sleeves/shoulders are a mystery to me so I wasn’t about to touch them. I don’t mind some extra room in the sleeves, anyway.

I don’t go for these plain stretch pants often any more. They just don’t seem mature enough for someone my age… But this outfit was for a day of projects around the house, so the high comfort factor was just what I needed.

I actually got about 20 cute photos posing with this giant sweetheart. Consider yourselves lucky I didn’t spam you by posting all of them! ;-D

Summer Shoes!

Seems like most Goths are cat people. Which are you? Cat, Dog, or Neither?

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Car show season is still in full swing! We spent a day last weekend hanging out with a batch of car guys we recently met who are rapidly becoming good friends. Having a prime selection of classic, custom cars as a backdrop was just a nice bonus.

For some strange reason, I continually think it’s cute to wear my hair down or in pigtails to outdoor car shows. Usually, it’s the wind that makes me regret doing so… This time, it was a surprise visit from Mr. Humidity. In the desert. Oh, AND the wind. Lesson learned. Expect to see me in chignons for all subsequent car show posts!!

Hmm…  Why does my backdrop keep moving?  Ohhhhh, it’s Perseus!

One thing I prefer about the custom scene over more traditional classic car groups (such as hot rodders) is the selection of vendors available at the shows. Yes ladies, this means shopping! At a car show!! Custom shows attract a huge rockabilly crowd, and while that’s not my thing per se, one thing we do have in common is a love of hair bobbles. I scored two sets of bows and a magnificent flower, all in magenta. You’ll be seeing those soon!

Rockin’ the shades, briefly, until I realized they conflict with false lashes!

This skirt is from Ross, of all places!  Yes, I know I went on about how I refuse to ever set foot in a Ross again, but a co-worker convinced me to give their home section a shot and in doing so I did encounter a couple of nice pieces in the clothing section.  The strapless top is from Wet Seal, I believe.  Parasol was eBay and hair bows are made by me.  Cool sunglasses: Hollywood Boulevard kiosk!

 

Our current car isn’t heavily customized, and probably never will be, as this car has special meaning to us (read about why in my first car show post). However, I know Mr. Kitty has a zillion brilliant ideas in his head ready to be executed whenever we start to grow our car-child family. Hopefully that will be soon, if Perseus continues his new trend of staying healthy and not slamming us with legendary vet bills.

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Yes, you can see from the photos that I took these before I went for a fill, as I have no polish on. This skirt was originally a maxi, but I didn’t think it hung very nicely with that thick, stiff ruffle near the bottom. When I feel discontent with a skirt, out come the safety pins and I mock up some modifications until I find one I like. In this case, it was gathering up the front of the skirt and stitching it in place. About five minutes later, I had a fun skirt that bounces around playfully when I walk and hugs my hips, rather than a shapeless tube that looked far too heavy around the calves.

The cool legs you see here are a combination of black tights and these awesome stockings that are like giant fishnets. I don’t remember where they came from, as I’ve had them for at least a decade. I don’t care much for the giant mesh stockings on their own, as the contrast is too much, but with the opaque layer underneath I think it’s a lovely, subtle effect. Next time, I’d like to try them with gray tights underneath.

The lovely medallion pendant thingie is from Dillard’s. I added the braided trim that it’s hanging from, and I made the choker from some fancier trim. I also made the shrug from heavy swimsuit fabric, using an old sweater shrug as a pattern. Funny how the thumb holes came about… Originally they did not exist, but I sewed the bottom several inches of the extra-long sleeves a bit too tight and when I was pulling them on and off the first few times. I popped the seams! The holes landed in just the right place, so I just adjusted them a bit, reinforced around them and pretended it was all intentional.

Yep, quite a lot of DIY in this outfit!! Oh, and a cat! Prometheus missed you all, so he popped in to the studio to say hello.  Actually, he was there first and I popped into the studio and was about to kick him out; hence the irritable look on his face. 

LOL, Prometheus!  Couldn’t you at least TRY to look happy?  ;-D

Per Mary’s request, here are links to more about this hair style and a rear view (sorta). Also a link to where I purchase some of my hairpieces can be found in my Magic Hair Tutorial.

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With summer comes car shows. Southern California is loaded with them, and we travel all over the place to attend. I was somewhat thankful for the unusually cool June this year (although the heat is in full force now), as the heat and harsh sun are pretty rough on me. Not just because I’m trying to be oh-so-Goth; I really do have some sun/heat sensitivity. But enough about that.

I had to dress a little bit conservative for this show, because rumor had it that some people from my workplace might be going. I still wanted to be myself, but not to an extent that would lead to unwanted curiosity the following Monday. Naturally, since I had planned for it, no one from work was there. But I felt good about myself all day, so no regrets on the outfit I chose.

Today’s parasol is from somewhere on the Interwebs, although I can’t remember where. However, Amazon has a seller who offers them in a huge variety of colors! We failed to get a good photo of me outdoors with the parasol in use. Battenburg lace has a nasty habit of allowing sunlight to hit one’s face in bizarre patches, which make for interesting but unattractive photos. I have a solution in mind for next time, though.

Dress was on sale at Macy’s for half price. I scored it the night before the show. I will be wearing this to work a lot, but with more conservative accessories, shoes and make-up. I had a corset on under the dress to nip in my waist a bit, but not too tight as I knew I would be stuck wearing it for nearly 10 hours.

Prometheus really didn’t want us to leave for the day. He’s almost big enough to stop me, but I managed to escape. I just made sure to give him extra love when we got home. He may be a giant on the outside, but he is just a delicate flower on the inside.

One of My Favorites of the Day

PS: Don’t forget that this coming Friday, July 1 is Beads Theme Day, the first of my monthly themes!