Very exciting news today! I have the honor of hosting a contest sponsored by Decadent Designs!! You have a chance to win a shockingly gorgeous black taffeta neck corset with lace trim. Reinforced with spiral steel boning, it laces in the front through a set of silver grommets and extends high up the back of the neck.

I am lucky enough to own one of Decadent Designs’ other neck corsets (the Victorian Lace version) and I can speak to the amazing quality and comfort of these pieces.

Do you want to make this stunning statement piece your own?

To enter, you must do BOTH of the following:

• Like the Decadent Designs page on Facebook

 
AND

• Leave a comment below describing where you would wear this lovely piece.

Winner will be chosen at random and announced a week from today.

You know you want it.

Enter now by leaving a comment below AND “liking” Decadent Designs on Facebook!

All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

I think in April I set a record for the fewest outfit posts ever on this blog in one month. Two. I’ve faced some challenges this spring but things are settling back down to a comfortable routine. Just in time for me to focus on preparation for Red and Black Week! I already have all of my outfits planned – now I need to get busy wearing and photographing them. CAN’T WAIT.

In the meantime, here’s an outfit. I have a bazillion things to do tonight to prepare for the workweek, so I’ll leave you with more photos than words:

Swiss dot pantyhose are from Spanx. The lace skirt if from Newport News. Satin blazer was from Forever 21 years ago. Rose bracelet is from Charming Charlie.

All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

I thought I would have to miss This is CorpGoth’s Monthly Status Report this time around, until I realized that it’s not just Hidden Bat Day but an entire Hidden Bat Week! I’m not a fan of wearing Halloween imagery in most cases, but I do have a soft spot for bats. In addition to being cute, fuzzy little mammals, they have an incredibly interesting form that I enjoy looking at. Still, I only have two batty pieces in my wardrobe, and one is most definitely NOT so hidden. So I’m participating only one day this week with my Alchemy Gothic bat barrette.

This was the first Alchemy piece I ever purchased, at least 15 years ago. I didn’t even know the brand at the time! But this guy looked so serene in the jewelry case at a local Goth shop, and he seemed well-made, so I made him mine.

I have not been exhibiting much of my Goth side at my current job, because it’s a much more professional environment than my former office. I wear colors much more now and go for more classic, vintage-inspired looks. I try to wear black tights slightly less often in the heat of summer, and usually keep the edgier pieces at home. But I still opt for monochromatic outfits fairly regularly (combinations of black, white and grey seem to elicit far fewer comments than solid black) so I thought this would be a perfect outfit to complement Mr. Bat without drawing too much attention to myself on the job.

Today’s grey wool skirt is one of my current favorites. It appears to be from the 40s. A friend of mine who loves vintage shopping and who fortunately couldn’t fit in this skirt passed it on to me. Very lucky for me!! I found the satin blouse on eBay while searching for pussy-bow blouses to go with a vintage look.

The shoes are Aerosoles. I recently bought a couple of pairs because I had a brief foot issue a few months back and didn’t have any practical work-appropriate shoes (I find heels very comfortable under average conditions but not so much when injured!). I’ve been wearing these Aerosoles all week because our trainer had us doing some crazy high-impact, high-intensity cardio at the gym Monday and my almost-40-year-old feet and ankles didn’t appreciate such activity. I don’t feel like myself in such low heels and without even a tiny a platform.

It’s not too late to get in on the final days of This is CorpGoth’s Hidden Bat Week. Go check it out!

All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

Red & Black Week Coming June 2-8, 2013!

I wanted to throw out a quick reminder because I realized today that we are only a month and a half away from Sophistique Noir’s THIRD Annual Red & Black Week. I’m SO excited to share a few new things and enjoy all of the participants for year three of this fun event. For those who weren’t reading my blog back in June 2013 (what took you so long? *wink*), Red & Black Week is pretty much like my Monthly Themes but instead of lasting just one day, it runs for a full week starting the first Sunday in June, with a new Linky each day.

Check out last year’s Red & Black Week!

This year, I want to make it a little bit different by having a couple of sub-themes during the week, which I will be sure to announce well in advance so everyone can plan for it. We might even put it up for a vote, because you guys are the ones who make this event memorable, so you should get some input!

Now, go scour your closet for bits of RED to go with all of your black, or get out there and do some shopping. Plenty of time to prepare!! Don’t want to blog about outfits? No problem – ANY topic that relates to Red & Black is very welcome. Want more details on how this event works? Check out last year’s FAQs.

Roll call – who’s planning to participate this year?

All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

I’ve pretty much always had a love for fashions from the 1940s. Back in high school I came across a photo portrait of my paternal grandmother as a very young woman. Her soft, glamorous hair style, feminine and well-tailored clothing, and demure beauty struck me deeply and really formed the basis for what I consider the ideal of female aesthetics. Since then, I’ve been absolutely obsessed with movies filmed in that era. Mr. Kitty and I love to sit down and enjoy the fashion, cars and even the simple, no-frills plots and film style of these movies. I’ve always tried to reflect a bit of classic Hollywood glamour in my style, but for the past couple of years have gradually gravitated more toward incorporating actual vintage (or vintage reproduction) elements into my wardrobe.

I’ve featured this Stop Staring! dress previously on the blog, but for this look I wanted to push the vintage touches a bit farther. I assembled this outfit for a matinee performance of Wicked that we attended down in Orange County with another couple. I was so delighted with the end result, and even more so with the wonderful feedback I received from other random women at the show.

I’ve also been practicing 40s-inspired hair styles. With my limited styling skills (and patience!) plus my baby-fine, super-long hair, I have some unique challenges in this area. But with the use of just a few quick pin curls and some homemade rats (I use bits of black fishnet rolled up to the ideal size) I’m pretty thrilled with what I’ve been able to create. I’ve even been wearing this hair style to work, as it’s fairly quick to do in the mornings now that I’ve had some practice.

What I love most about this look is, while I think it captures that demure, elegant class of a bygone era, it still retains enough touches of dark aesthetic to make me still feel like “me.”

This outfit was the debut of my first pair of stockings from What Katie Did. I love these because they are the ONLY stockings I’ve found where the back seam matches the color of the hosiery. Modern back-seam stockings invariably have a black seam even on flesh-tone hosiery. While I do love that look, it really doesn’t reflect a 1940s style accurately. A black seam was absolutely unheard of back then, and I’m fairly certain would have been viewed as downright scandalous! I love the subtlety of this pair.

The sequin cocktail hat and embroidered gloves for today’s look are true vintage. I found them both on eBay – I scored a lot of three 1940s hats for $15. This one was the only one that was in a ready-to-wear condition; I am currently restoring the other two. The gloves came in a lot of 11 pairs for $20!! Everything else in this look is vintage reproduction.

What is your favorite era in terms of fashion, and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below or by including your own Vintage post in this month’s Linky!

Want to participate in this month’s theme?

Get the full details.

1. Add the Monthly Theme icon to your blog post (copy the code below and paste into your post using the Edit HTML feature):
   <a href="http://www.sophistiquenoir.com/category/monthly-themes"><img src="http://www.victoriankitty.com/blogPhotos/monthly-theme-icon.jpg" border="0"></a>
2. Paste the URL to your post using the Mister Linky box below.
   Please use a direct link to your relevant post, NOT a link to your blog’s home page.
3. Visit all of the other participants who have entered, and show them you appreciate their theme posts!

All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

Mr. Linky will close at 11:59 PM PST on April 3. However, remember that the earlier you link up, the more people will see your post! Also the Linky box at the bottom of my post will tell you how many hours you have left until it closes.

Get the complete details and rules.

Since we were talking recently about remixing wardrobe pieces, I thought it would be fun to put together an outfit made up entirely of things you’ve already seen on this blog, with links back to some of the other uses of those pieces. Here’s a recap of some of the past posts for each of these items. It’s fun to look back and see how different a piece can look when paired with different things!

Click each link to see my former use of that piece:

• The striped shirt.
• The skirt.
• The grey tights.
• The boots.

And let’s give the accessories their due recognition, as well!

• The belt.
• The necklace.
• Couldn’t find an old post with this exact hair flower. But this flower is similar.

Looking back at all these old posts, I’m pretty delighted about the drastic variety of looks I can achieve by looking at each piece in my wardrobe different ways.

All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

Let’s celebrate the beauty of history! From the beginnings of this blog I’ve occasionally paid tribute to the 1940s, my absolute all-time favorite era in fashion. For the April theme, I have a very special vintage-inspired outfit post planned. Join in by featuring anything old that you love: family heirlooms, things from your childhood (for those of us who are older) antique store/estate sale finds, etc. It doesn’t have to be clothing-related, just so long as it’s OLD! I won’t put a date on what is considered “vintage” but as a guideline I’d say anything before 1980. Vintage reproduction is acceptable, as well.

Be sure to come back on April 1-3 and submit your post.

How It Works

On the first day of each month, I will post my theme post with the Mr. Linky sign-up form at the bottom. You can link to any post you’ve done that day or previously, as long as it matches the theme. Be sure to add the icon to your post, and link your post to mine using the Mr. Linky box at the bottom.

You can post your theme post earlier than the first of the month, or link to an old post, but you must add it to Mr. Linky on my first post of the month. I will leave the Linky open until 11:59 PM PST on April 3, so everyone has three full days to post.

You don’t have to participate every single month. Feel free to join in whenever you wish. Just be sure you get your post linked before the third day of the month!

You don’t have to do outfit posts. Post on whatever type of subject matter you like, as long as it is related to the theme.

Also, let’s keep the posts appropriate for all ages, in terms of both language and imagery. Thanks!!

Posts that are linked up without including the icon will be removed from Mr. Linky.

HTML for the icon: (The icon and the HTML will remain the same each month)

<a href="http://www.sophistiquenoir.com/category/monthly-themes"><img src="http://www.victoriankitty.com/blogPhotos/monthly-theme-icon.jpg" border="0"></a>

Be sure to paste the code in while in HTML mode.

Please pass this invitation on to any bloggers you know who might be interested, and feel free to share the announcement on your blogs. Of course, it’s a good idea to follow my blog to be sure you don’t miss any of the themes.

Questions? E-mail me!

Want to Suggest a Theme?

Leave a comment on any post at any time, or e-mail me. If I use your suggestion, I will credit you on my theme post for that month and in the theme announcement the week before. No promises that I will use every suggestion, because the themes have to be things that I would be able to do a post about.

Want to participate in the Monthly Theme?

Here’s how:

1. Add the Monthly Theme icon to your blog post (copy the code below and paste into your post using the Edit HTML feature):
   <a href="http://www.sophistiquenoir.com/category/monthly-themes"><img src="http://www.victoriankitty.com/blogPhotos/monthly-theme-icon.jpg" border="0"></a>
   
2. Paste the URL to your post using the Mister Linky box at the bottom of my April 1 post.
   Please use a direct link to your relevant post, NOT a link to your blog’s home page.
3. Visit all of the other participants who have entered, and show them you appreciate their theme posts!

Front view: fairly nice.

Front view: yes, still fairly nice.

Rear view: wow! So many surprises! I thought it would be fun to combine this crisscross-back sweater from Bebe with a fun ruched skirt from Frederick’s, and finish the whole thing off with fun fishnets and crazy-tall stilletos. I was not disappointed!

I actually bought these fishnets with fancy back seam detail along with my last shoe order just to get the total price of my order high enough to qualify for free shipping. I knew that being Leg Avenue, they would look fairly cheap, and they sure do (check out those streaks around the ankle in the second photo above)… But they were only $4, and that detail in the back is gorgeous. Naturally, I snagged them on my purse within an hour, but not a huge loss considering the price and the shoddy, uneven weave of their fishnets.

Next time, I’ll just pair this outfit with my AMAZING Spanx fishnets. If I snag those, I will cry. Suffice to say they did NOT cost $4…

All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

As a little thank-you to all of my readers, who make my blog such a rewarding endeavor for me, I have decided to offer a giveaway! I know this is a fashion blog and not a beauty blog, but I wanted to share a sampling of some of my favorite makeup products with one lucky winner, including:

• Red Cherry Eyelashes, Style #47
• Sample size Ardell Eyelash Adhesive
• Ben Nye Pressed Eyeshadow in Graphite
• Lancome Le Stylo Eyeliner in Noir
• Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Hermetic
• Sample size Bare Vitamins Prime Time Eyelid Primer

All products are brand new and were purchased by me – this contest is NOT sponsored by any of the brands included.

How to Enter

To enter the contest, I’m going to do it a little bit different this time. Entries will all be based on my Facebook page.

For one entry:

• You must “Like” the Sophistique Noir Facebook Page.

AND

• You must comment on my giveaway post on Facebook telling me your favorite makeup brand.

For a SECOND entry:

• You can also share my giveaway post on Facebook. Shares must be public (not “Friends Only”), otherwise I won’t be able to see your share so I can’t count it.

Maximum two entries per person. I will select a winner randomly on Friday, March 29, 2013. Both ladies and gentlemen are welcome to enter, and I will ship the items anywhere.

Questions? Feel free to ask in the comment section below so I can post an answer for everyone.

All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.