Madame Noire has had me in awe over the past month with her amazing makeup ideas and skills.  My favorite look of hers so far is Lace Eyes.  Incredible!!

Stripey Tights and Dark Delights provides a list of inspiring style resources for grown-up Goths, including a couple of selections featuring Goth guys.  Nice change of pace! 

Juliet’s Lace gives us some thoughtful insight on why we might occasionally find that we are no longer in love with our wardrobe.  Yes, I’ve been there several times over the years!

Style Crone showcases an outfit for her 69th birthday that I would absolutely wear myself.  I just found her blog, and have had a difficult time tearing myself away from it.  While not all of her looks are dark, they are all flawless, elegant and loaded with vintage touches.  In addition to being amazingly fashionable, she is a fascinating writer and has a strength and spirit we should all strive for.  I really, really want to be Judith when I grow up! 

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Since I didn’t do a round-up last month, I’ve included some posts from December here.  Enjoy a few of my favorite recent posts!

• Lady Bethezda of Bethezda’s Preoccupations shared a fabulous purple make-up look: my favorite color!!  Her looks are always inspiring, with a ton of variety.
• Hexotica totally wowed me with an extremely timely (for me) and profound article on living your life on your terms.
• Arisa Gossamer of Kuro Jinsei put a new spin on outfit posts by sketching her OOTD.
• Linnea-maria shared her recipe for homemade face cream.  Next time I get around to placing an order with New Directions Aromatics, I’m going to give this a shot!
• Katysioux of Dreams of Black Lace reposted an article defending fake beauty.  It addresses an issue that I’ve always pondered myself – since wearing make-up is inherently fake, who’s to say that “natural” make-up is more acceptable than dramatic make-up??
• Katelynn of Life of a Baby Bat posted this video of, appropriately, a baby bat. While I’m the type to reject a lot of the Goth Lifestyle stereotypes, I have to admit that bats are a favorite!

Honorable Outfit Mention for January: Ellone of Pretty Lies put together a sleek, classy outfit that perfectly juxtaposes menswear-inspired pieces with ultra-feminine details.

• Would you like to hear of the terrible night…

And my personal favorite of my own outfits for January was:

• Ice, Frost and Snow

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I’m pleased to announce the winner of my Veil Giveaway: Smashed Doll! I’ll be sending you an e-mail so we can work out the shipping. Congratulations!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered. I truly enjoyed reading everyone’s different ideas on how to style a black veil. We had suggestions across the board from a full Victorian outfit, to Gothic Lolita, to a corset and Halloweeny t-shirt, to striped tights, and more. I love that this group is so diverse even while all falling under the “Goth” label. I hope we’ll be seeing some of you attempting this veil project in the future and sharing your take on it!

Blog Posts of the Month

Now, on to my picks for best posts for November!  There were several this month that I just had to include.

• Traicetrak of The Airstepper’s Adventures wrote a wonderfully thought-provoking piece on the inevitable urge to try fitting in while trying to stand out.  I think we’ve all felt this way at some point!
• AngelShinigami of Sweet and Simple presented a simply logical answer to the age old question of “Why do you dress like that?“
  
• The Irish Phantom Cat of The Phantom Cat’s Otherworld showed us her Budget Beauty Tips.  Personally, I am loving the egg yolk moisturizing mask!  Mr. Kitty and I only eat the whites anyway, so this is a great way to avoid wasting those cholesterol-laden yolks.
  
• Trystan of This Is CorpGoth gave some great tips on how to prepare a functional and fashionable travel wardrobe.
  
• Sabayon of Ruffles Not Diets demonstrated some elegant but simple updos for work.
  
• Captain Morgan of Mental Pirate introduced us to a talented new old-school Goth/post-punk style band called The Rope.  You have to check these guys out!
  
• Amy of The Ultimate Goth Guide proved that the Goth subculture has no racial boundaries, complete with photos of gorgeous black Goths!

This month I am introducing a new way to show my appreciation for other Goth fashion bloggers by picking an Honorable Mention of sorts.  So, out of all the lovely outfits you ladies wore this month, one of my favorites was by Sary of The Walrus Room:

• Outfit: Flail (for lack of a better name)

And my personal favorite of my own outfits for November was:

• Black and White Party

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There were so many great posts throughout October, I could hardly keep track of them all! Here are a few of my favorites:

• Juliet’s Lace gives us some good reminders about cemetery photography etiquette in response to the banning of photography in nearby cemeteries at Whitby Gothic Weekend (as reported on The Ultimate Goth Guide). There is a fine line between tasteful, respectful appreciation of the dark beauty of cemeteries, and selfish attention-getting attempts to adhere to cliches.  Juliet’s Lace helps us stay on the dignified side of that line!
• The Dark Victorian wrote a comprehensive overview of historical fashion spanning the 1700s and1800s, complete with many gorgeous sample images to drool over and be inspired by!
• Jean of All Trades sums up my feelings on aging, body perception and fashion “rules” beautifully in the post she wrote for “Love Your Body” day.  Jean encourages us to wear what makes us feel good regardless of age, and forget the silly rules about what is “acceptable” just because of the number of years we’ve been alive.
• The Ultimate Goth Guide reviewed an article on the sociology of adults who never “grew out of” being Goth.  I love that this article casts such a (well-deserved) positive light on our subculture.  And it’s written by a grown-up Goth – a very successful one, no less!
• My Spot in the Spectrum expressed some thoughts worth contemplating regarding what truly defines the heart and soul of the Goth subculture.  I love her take on the matter, and must say I echo her sentiments in many ways!

Gothic Blog Award
A very special thank you goes out to Bane of GIY: Goth it Yourself and Mary of Le Professeur Gothic for passing on to me the Gothic Blog Award.  For my work to be recognized by two ladies who run blogs I enjoy much is an honor.  Thank you, Bane and Mary!!  I pass this award right back at you (do you get bonus points for receiving it more than once?). 

My Favorite Outfit for October
And now on to a new feature I’d like to add to my monthly round-ups: my personal favorite of my outfits for the month.  My favorite outfit out of everything I wore in October was:

• Lucky Find on Venus

I’d like to also start including my favorite of YOUR outfits each month, as soon as I can figure out a good way to keep track throughout the month.

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I present to you some of my favorite posts from September!

• Goth it Yourself has been keeping me constantly awed by her skills and ingenuity!  Check how she transformed an Ikea wardrobe into an elegant custom TV cabinet.
• Aristocratic Elegance got married!  You have to see the gorgeous Victorian-inspired gown she wore.  Proof that even the darkly-inclined can get married in white and look great doing so!
• Metamorphosis posted a Fall Book List with some very intriguing reading suggestions.
• Juliet’s Lace inspires us to use good judgement by toning down the Gothiness for special occasions without sacrificing our sense of dark style.
• Mental Pirate posted reviews of the two best albums (IMO) to be released in a very long time: VNV Nation’s Automatic and Peter Murphy’s Ninth. 

I also wanted to take a moment to express my sadness at unexpected passing of CookingChinchillas.  I didn’t know her personally, but she was an amazing, inspiring nail artist and a fun participant in our little community.  And her furry guys never failed to cheer me up on even the worst day.  Her chinchilla family must miss her terribly, as does the blog world!

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Continuing my monthly appreciation of my fellow bloggers, here are some of my favorite posts from August!

• CookingChinchillas, who happens to be an AMAZING nail artist, posted a brilliant tutorial on creating a gradient effect with nail polish. I can’t wait to try this one!
• The Ultimate Goth Guide shared fashion tips from some amazing vintage women in her post on 1940s Hollywood Fashion.  Fashion tips from none other than my all-time favorite, Gene Tierney?  No way!  Yes.  And her favorite colors were exactly the same as mine.  *swoon*
• Mental Pirate put many of my own thoughts regarding the power of music into words in his post, When Music Speaks, You Should Listen.
• Le Professor Gothique went above and beyond on my August Hat Theme, with a series of posts taking us on a tour of her extensive and stunning hat collection.  Browse her blog to see all three posts, and you will no doubt become a dedicated hat lover (if you aren’t already).
• The Walrus Room penned the coolest post ever.  This outfit post features her biggest fashion influence: her mom!
• Last but not least, Still Dark @ Heart created a new monthly themed event called Movie Monday.  Brilliant idea!  Be sure to check out the details on her blog, see the posts from August and get ready to join in the fun in September.

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Continuing my new monthly Blogger Appreciation posts, here are some of my favorites from July (in no particular order).

• Hexotica has been totally wowing us lately with her newest creations; especially her breathtaking Bridal Tiaras.  If you see Gothy wedding bells in your near future, you absolutely have to have one of these.  If not, how about her equally gorgeous Victorian Spats?
• Check out this incredibly cute DIY project by Gothically Yours: A Moss Terrarium
• Flummoxed shared an excerpt from this article regarding some interesting Myths About Introverts (originally by Carl King).  I am one, and I can attest that these myths are definitely just that, and the truths revealed in the article are pretty much spot-on!  I highly recommend the book that inspired this article: The Introvert Advantage.
• Siouxsie Law shared the Facebook page for The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. I second her sentiments; you simply must check out their page and “like” it to show support for this wonderful organization. She also provides a link for more information if you are not already familiar with Sophie’s story and the mission of the foundation. 
• Neverending Playlist of a Psycho composed a very well thought-out article on blog marketing, including some excellent tips on adding value to your comments. 
• Last but not least, Kitty Lovett of Bloggery of a Gothcat has announced her plan to dress in Victorian fashion every day throughout 2012!  While I wouldn’t be able to commit to join her in such an undertaking, I am hoping many of you will so I can watch from the sidelines.  I plan to do several Victorian themed posts in tribute to Kitty’s dedication through the year.

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There are so many amazing blogs out there, I thought I’d start sharing a handful of my favorite posts from each month.  These are all either Goth, or Fashion, or both. 

So here are some of my favorite posts from June, in no particular order.  Enjoy!

• Put the Edge Back in White: A Guide to Eerie Ice Gothic Fashion by Sincerely, Boots
• Dark Pin Up Looks by Madame Macabre
• Red & Black by Wheels are Everything
• Polka Dot Love by The Morbid Fashion
• Bento for Goths by The Ultimate Goth Guide

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