Colourful Cthulhu

This is what I wore last Saturday to go out and listen to the Coffinshakers! My other half was so nice, he drove all the way to Helsinki and back, as I'm still taking lessons to get my license. Things seem so much easier with a car, can't wait to be able to drive it myself ;D

Dress - Black Milk Cthulhu vs Haunted House Inside Out Dress

Necklace - Rogue and the Wolf

Ring - Bloodmilk Jewellery

Nothing too fancy, just straightened hair and a super comfy dress to get through the two hours drive each way. I hunted high and low for this dress, but finally found one on eBay. It's basically to dresses in one, as you can turn it inside out for a different print. The perfect item to pack when traveling light!

The gig was great! I listened to Coffinshakers alot when I was younger and didn't even know they were still together, but luckily spotted the concert and got us tickets early. The place was sold out and a bit crowded, but since we were there only to listen to the gig and then head back home, it wasn't a problem. Horro country music makes everything good!

Killstar Conjuring Hood Dress from Deadfine.fi

More pics of the Killstar Conjuring Hood Dress I got from Deadfine.fi! I love dresses with a lot of decorations, but these very plain types are great to combine with accessories without looking too busy. The fabric is stretchy but thick, very comfortable to wear. I added a corset on top, but I think this cut would look gorgeous with a corset under it, too. I'm wearing a Rogue + The Wolf necklace on my forehead and the corset is by Artifice Clothing.

Black on black on black + pink hair. Just my kind of thing!

Wearing White

Thanks to all well-wishers, you are so kind!

I wanted to get something white for the registry office, even when it wouldn't be anything too fancy, as I had to open doors and help my other half with the crutches. So no long gowns and no corsets! I had bought this Lipsy dress from eBay for the original date we were supposed to get married, but it was perfect now with the little hindrances. The hair clip is old, I made it for the engagement photoshoot, but it went perfectly with the dress.

Christmas Dress

I've got a new dress I want to show you! It isn't technically a Christmas present, but I kinda. My other half and I were visiting his mother during the Christmas holidays, and among other topics, we discussed sewing and I mentioned I've been planning to make a historical dress now that I've stocked up on fabrics. My other half's mom said she had once sewed an Edwardian dress as a part of her studies, and that she might still have it. After some rummaging in the closet she pulled out a wondrous dress made of black and purple striped fabric. She told me she had no use for it any more, and I could have the dress if I wanted to. Naturally I did, it's gorgeous! And it fits me perfectly, lucky me!

I had some trouble with the lights, so these are not the best possible pictures of the dress. I'm planning to do a photoshoot with it outdoors when I find the time. I know just the place with a neo-Gothic mansion that's the perfect backdrop for this dress. Thank you so much, Marja!

The dress a a turtle neck, large pleats on the top and medium leg-o-mutton sleeves with beautiful black rose buttons on the cuffs. The hem has corded appliqué work, but the picture doesn't show it well, and I guess the dress needs a little bit more ironing. There's also a separate collar, which I didn't remember to take photos of, and a belt.

I don't have proper underwear fit for Edwardian styles, so a petticoat in the right shape might make the dress even more awesome. Or a corset, but then again the Edwardian silhouette looks like it might not benefit much from a corset. The big sleeves make posing a bit of a challenge, but I'm sure I'll find poses that work. The sleeves have a lovely shape, they just tend to look like one big lump with the bodice, so I need to find ways of keeping my arms quite far from my body.

Here's the belt too. It has a bow in the back and is made of black satin.

And the cats always want to participate ;D This is Tirri!

Moth Dress

I did the neutral look for this quick photoshoot, as I needed a less formal picture for an interview and felt like I didn't have good ones in store. I bought the dress some time ago, it's a Dark Moth vs. Play With Me inside out dress from Black Milk. On the other side there's a creepy doll print, so it's basically two dresses in one, and that saves money, right? ;D I can't wait for summer, as the dress is pretty and very nice to wear, but too thin for winter time.

My tattoo moth and the dress match!

And the realities of taking pictures in an apartment that has cats. Here you can see a gorgeous shot of Nana's impressive tail, with some blurry mess in the background.

Black and White

Back home for a little while! I'm going on a business trip on Sunday, so just a short stay at home so I can change all the pvc clothes in my suitcase to jeans and game t-shirts for the upcoming game convention ;D I did a little shopping on my two extra days at Cologne (aside from seeing all the museums I had wanted to see for ages).

These cute little socks were one of the things I got for myself at Primark. Viivi Vanessa at Black Saliva has the cutest socks and sandals look and I wanted something similar, and my sandals are still so new and stiff that they chafe me. And the fact that it's been the coldest summer in Finland in 50 years, so the only way to get to wear sandals is with socks.

Sandals - Depeche from Nilson Shoes

Socks - Primark

Now wish me luck in trying to overcome a cold in just two days! I caught a cold at Cologne and it's poop because this is my last week of vacation. And I have to give a speech next week and be ready to show off the game and all. Right now I'm mainly interested in sleeping and hot beverages, but I'm hoping this will pass very soon.

Pentagram Earrings by Killstar

I think I'm having a Killstar phase in my life ;D I have a few of their dresses, few pairs of leggings, a handbag and now I extended my collection to large pentagram earrings. I have to say that while these babies look gorgeous, they are quite heavy and cumbersome to wear. I solved the heaviness problem by ordering a packed of Lobe Wonder patches. They are small silicone patches with glue that you put on your lobes to cover the earring hole. You then thread the earring through the porous patch. The patch divides the weight of the earring on a much larger area than just the tiny hole, making them way more comfortable to wear. The patch itself you can't really feel, and it's clear so it doesn't grab attention.

Here's about a million pictures of me with the earrings because so many came out nice :> I really like how this look turned out! I'm wearing MAC Cyber lipstick and a simple neutral smoky eye.

If you look close, you can see the Lobe Wonder patches in these pics.
The patches can also be worn on the back of the ear lobe, but I felt they gave
more support on the front side.

Space Woman

I bought this second hand Artifice Clothing outfit off the lovely Venla, who always seems to be selling just the clothes I want ;D Silver is usually not my thing, but this was a whole outfit consisting of a top, skirt, corset and gloves, so I didn't really matter that I don't have anything that goes with silver. I'm a big fan of Artifice Clothing designs, and I've been meaning to get their Kinetic zippered corset in black, but a silver one is also nice! I like how the flaps at the bottom give a nice silhouette and some space-age feel to the whole outfit. I felt the petrol wig goes well with the outfit, it makes me miss my bangs. Maybe some day I'll cut them again! Also I was too lazy to do my own hair ;P

Outfit - Artifice clothing

Wig - Second hand

Necklace - Art with Latex

Dress by Rogue

I have a games gala coming up, and last year I was super late in getting a dress and ended up going in a two-euro flea market dress. Which was fine and looked good on me, but just didn't feel luxurious! So this year I'm getting everything done early and asked if Tiina from Rogue would have the time to sew me a dress. We sat down to discuss it and came up fast with a design that we both liked, so the project was on.

The finished dress is designed to be worn together with the Moth necklace, has pleated detail panel in the front, tiny sleeves, is fitted and made of plum purple cotton mix. It's just what I wanted and will definitely see a lot of formal events in the future! It does show off my tattoo (sorry Mom) but still leaves room for the necklace to shine and could be worn with other necklaces too, or large earrings. All sorts of heels work and lace pantyhose doesn't look too busy with it, because the pleated detail in only in the top part of the dress. Thank you Tiina for making my dream dress come true :)

The Corset

I fellow beauty blogger, Tiahaar, send me a message in December saying that she had seen I've been wanting a custom made corset. She is working a company specializing in wedding dresses and corsets, and told me she would be interested in making something for me just to get a break from all the white on white on white on white that making garments for weddings means. Who could refuse such an offer! I had secretly been admiring the pictures of her own corsets she has on her blog, we have pretty similar tastes when it comes to colours and decorations, so I immediately knew she would be the perfect person to make a corset for me.

We first agreed on a corset length and type and discussed the materials and decorations in general, then agreed on a price. Tiahaar then informed me of what measures were needed, I took the measurements and sent them to her. The next step was that she cut and sewed and mock version of the corset and sent it to me. I tried it on, took pictures from every angle and wrote down notes on the fit, then sent the mock version back. Along with the mock corset I sent some rhinestones and black lace appliques that we had discussed about, so they could be used for decorating the finished corset.

So Tiahaar set to work on sewing the final version, with alterations to the pattern based on the pictures and notes of the mock version. We chose a teal satin and lace appliques, rhinestones and external bone casings in black. A corset like this retails around 600 euros. If you are interested in something similar, contact Belle Modeste!

The fit is just perfect! The corset is very comfortable to wear compared to my off-the-rack corsets and gives a significant reduction, up to 15 cm. I love the dramatic curve, it looks so nice and is just in the right spot! There's a modesty panel in the back and as a neat little detail the busk is black. Three different kinds of lace and appliques were used in the decorations, and Tiahaar bought new rhinestones that match the colours better than the ones I had picked from my stash. We had first talked about putting the bone casings on top of the lace, but she tried it and told me they might look better the other way around. I think she was absolutely right, now there's more room for the lovely lace to show!

Necklace - Second hand

Top - Gina Tricot

Corset - Handmade by Tiahaar

Skirt - Queen of Darkness

Boots - Pleaser

Striped Stripey Stripes

I'm writing this post wrapped in my black and white striped blanket that my other half gave to me. He knows what I like! Black and white stripes are one of my favourite patterns: simple, elegant and stunning. I like Artifice Clothing a lot, and when they listed a black and white striped shrug on their Etsy shop, I just had to get it! It arrived early this month and I've been meaning to take pictures with it but always been too busy. But today my other half and I installed the grey Ikea curtain we got to work as a background for photos. I wanted to try it out and remembered the shrug, so here are some shots of it! I naturally paired it with a stripy corset ;P

Shrug - Artifice Clothing

Top - Lip Service

Corset - DeadlyGirlz

Necklace - H&M

Earrings - Second hand

Hair piece - Hair from Hell

I really love the effect the grey curtain gives! It works with both black and white outfits and the shadows blend out which looks kinda cool. It's now attached to hang on top of a doorway so the curtain can just be pulled down when needed and is neatly rolled on top of the doorway when not in use. I've been needing a neutral background on a spot I don't have to prepare to take pictures at. When I use the black wallpaper as background, I have to lift one of the big speakers we have to get it out of the way. It's not something I enjoy, especially if I'm an idiot and put a corset on before prepping the shooting area!