Wintery Work Wear

This is the most Gothic I have so far been at work...

Ok, I don't really like doing outfit posts, but I'm too sick to do anything that requires much more thinking and effort. I'm not a fashion blogger, and I'd rather write about architecture, or music, or books than clothes, but this sort of post is fairly easy to put together, doesn't require research and fact-checking (I just don't have the concentration for that, today), and doesn't require me to stand outside in late November in Scotland taking pictures of buildings when I've got the 'flu. I am also bored out of my skull because most of the stuff I'd rather do right now is either impractical or in one way or another too strenuous. I'm supposed to be recuperating! I got into work yesterday, and was fine, tried to go back into work today, got about an hour into it, and got sent home sick again. I am not amused! I would much rather be at work. As you can see, I get really whiny when sick because I hate not doing anything!

Anyway, without too much further ado, an outfit post. This is what I wore into work this morning, well from the chest up (the rest of me is in bed; I took these on my laptop, hence the lack of quality.). As you can see, my outfits are getting a tad more alternative in terms of Gothic, anachronistic and Neo-Victorian influences. It is now common knowledge that I am Goth amongst the rest of the staff at work, and they don't seem particularly bothered. I actually have had some rather interesting conversations with one colleague about '80s Goth, Post-Punk, Darkwave, etc. because it turns out we share some tastes in music. I get light-hearted ribbing, but nothing malicious. 

Today's outfit, well at least the top section.

All that said, I don't want to dress Goth for work, and I still want to be work-appropriate in my outfit choices. I am also trying to think outside of only practicality in terms of my dress at work, because now it is cold I tend to be wearing black office trousers, lots of socks, blouses and vests hidden under thick jumpers, and as part of my job is outside, often hiking boots (mostly because of the grass, leaves, mud, etc. and slippery slopes) and then other shoes for indoors - this is warm and toasty and practical, but it is also a very bland look. My coworkers are turning up in skirts and dresses and I'm feeling a little left out, so I'm trialling wearing layers rather than thick jumpers, and skirts (with layers underneath) rather than always trousers. 

If I am going to wear skirts to work, I will need to buy a few more work-appropriate ones; I have a Marks & Spencer's velvet pencil skirt (bought cheap in a charity shop) that goes well with this jacket, and a relatively plain black A-line skirt with a gathered section at the bottom, but I think it might be a tad too fancy for work, and then the rest of my skirts are far too fancy for work. I felt the suit-type outfits I was wearing initially were more suited to an office than a school, and were overly formal, but I tend to err towards formality at the best of times. 

I'd like to smile, but my lips are too sore.

This outfit is all from mainstream stores (originally; I tend to shop in charity shops or from e-Bay). The blouse was bought for £1.99 in a charity shop (bargain!) and is actually quite detailed and frilly, almost to a Lolita-esque extent (I'm actually thinking of wearing it in some Aristo outfits), so I've hidden some of the fanciness under a tie-neck jumper with white scrolling, almost foliate embroidery, which  is originally from Marks & Spencer and which I bought on eBay at 99p! (Definite bargain!). The velvet jacket is Laura Ashley, and was gifted to me by Raven's mother (who is a very stylish lady indeed.) and I love the sleeves on it, and the gathers and puff at the shoulders. I have a lot of garments that have huge Gothic potential that were originally either Marks & Spencer or Laura Ashley, and I think from Autumn/Winter collections. I think I would buy a few new things from them if I had that sort of money, but for now I will glee over my second-hand bargains.

If I can't have a different expression, I'll at least have a different angle.

I'm not wearing any make-up in these pictures because a) I tend to wear very little makeup to work anyway; I feel too much makeup looks unprofessional and b) because of the skin infection, especially around my lips (I think even in these washed-out pictures some of the redness around my mouth is visible, and it is clear my lips are a bit swollen, and this is after considerable healing.) I'm quite glad that these pictures are grainy and washed-out because it hides the fact that I'm dead pale with a red nose, horrible skin, peeling on my lips and a runny nose. Hurrah for terrible onboard cameras! 

As you can see, I have dyed my hair black; this was a bad idea as I spent a week with a really itchy scalp, sore eyes, blisters on my ears and neck, and generally came to the conclusion that I am STILL allergic to black hair-dye, and that this is never going to change. I guess I will either have to suffer, or revert back to plum and burgundy, which don't seem to have much of an effect on me. That said, I still think I look best with black hair, and I do have some nice wigs. 

That's all from me being a prim and proper schoolmarm! Have a nice day, everyone, and I hope you are all feeling better than me.  

Red Blouse, Black Suit: A Work Outfit

✥ Spiders On My Jacket ✥

This week is Red and Black Week, a blogging event organised by the wonderful Victorian Kitty of ::Sophistique Noir::. I'm starting my posts on the theme with a work outfit. Looking darkly stylish in the work-place is Sophistique Noir's speciality, so I thought I would do a post on the subject as my first entry for this theme. This is pretty much my style for most days at work. It has rarely got warm enough for me to not wear a blazer of some sort. Sometimes I even wear a v-neck of some sort over my blouse for extra warmth! It is early june, and this is today's work outfit - a trouser suit, warm vest beneath, and a blouse.

See, I can be business-like and such - I'm not all frills!
Photograph by Raven

One side only replaced to show difference.
Blame me for the bad photo.

The trouser suit started off as a rather dull suit from Tesco. It had hideous buttons - cheap plastic copies of real regimental buttons. I felt that the cheap reproductions, and their place on a non-military, non-regimental jacket was disrespectful as well as unsightly, so I removed them and replaced them with some art-deco buttons that remind me of Spider Man's logo. The new buttons are spidery enough to appease my liking of creepy-crawlies as decorative motifs, but abstract (and with too many legs) so are not too obviously spiders, and not too Gothic for the work place. Since I have modified this blazer - and switching buttons is an easy and very minor modification - I have incorporated this jacket into several outfits, some of which were far removed from work-place style!

I am aware my pen is upside down.
Photograph by Raven

My new ring

As it is red and black week, I thought I incorporate a few more dashes of red. I am allowed coloured nail-polish at work, as long as it is not too outlandish (no neon green, black, electric blue, etc.) and as red is a fairly acceptable colour for nails, I decided to give them a good coat of a shade similar to my blouse. In the photographs they appear a lot warmer in tone than the blouse, but the difference in reds is far less noticeable in person. I do take some of my rings off at work, for practical reasons. I did not used to do this, but with the warmer weather making my fingers expand, and with having been at my new job longer, I have decided that it is just more comfortable (as well as more professional looking) to remove some of my rings. I have, however, for this photograph, retained the ring on my right little finger with the red stone. This is a new ring I bought myself as a congratulatory present when I received my first pay-cheque from my new job. It is too large and too easily caught to actually wear to work, though. 

Attempting to look like I am paying attention and taking notes.

Photograph by Raven.

The notebook is black and white flock in a damask pattern, bought from a mainstream retailer (WH Smith, I think). I like accessorising according to my aesthetics outside of clothes and jewellery, such as in my notebooks, laptop covers, etc. My next plan is to get the vine-patterned black metal cut-out design office equipment - e.g letter rack, stationary tidies, waste-paper basket, magazine files, etc. Currently my mug is black gloss with white matt vines. I feel that it is quite possible to make every aspect of work life stylish but still professional. A key element in being Goth at work is keeping things within mainstream boundaries and from mainstream sources, but to balance that with an aesthetic that is in keeping with your tastes. I think it is best to be more minimalistic and sleek than normal, and to cut down on the kitsch aspects (no plastic skulls, stick-on spiders or gaudy patterns for me) but that is just my opinion. 

Spectacles

The last full-length was quite 'heavy', so I thought I should follow it up with a lighter tone of blog entry, hence why I'm writing this short fashion post. 

My eyesight is such that I need glasses to read, use the computer, sew, etc. Prolonged activity of such nature without them results in me having a stonking headache and thus being an irritable mare. 

While I was at the Cafe with with my friend the other day, I took the opportunity to play around with the macro function on my little digital camera, and having what I think in camera jargon is called a limited depth of field - having only a small bit of the image sharp at any one time. I'm rather the newbie at this whole photography lark, so being educated on the matter is appreciated. 

For a long time I wore classic styles in silver frames, grumpy that my glasses never quite matched my tastes. Back in 2010 I came across these while my friend was going for an eye-test. I loved them so much that for my next eye appointment I changed opticians, and went to Specsavers, where I got two pairs of these. I see a couple of people out and about with the same glasses, as while distinctive, they are from a popular high-street opticians. As such, they're not really alternative, but I still love them. I think the style was called "Bumble" if anyone is interested. 

I do think that picking glasses that match the sort of clothes one wears daily is a neglected but important aspect of accessorising well. I see a lot of people who have picked their glasses for their work clothes but clashing with their personal wardrobes, or vice versa, which is something I wanted to avoid and I have the added issue of switching between Goth subtypes as well as the drastic difference between my work wardrobe and my personal wardrobe. I tried to pick glasses that were modern enough to go with my less Romantic goth styles, normal enough to match with my work outfits, and yet ornate enough to not be too out of place when I am all decked out in ruffles and frills. These seemed like an ideal solution.