Outfits from the archive - 2015

I have been away from the blogosphere for quite a while, but I have still taken quite a lot of outfit pictures. So here are some from the archive from last year. I was experimenting quite a lot with color, texture, more romantic items, with contrasts.... Hope you enjoy!

An early summer outfit. Pretty basic, but I really like that blouse (H&M)! Such a great pop of color, and can be either festive or casual... Here I went for casual. 

Another basic one where I really like the blouse/top/thingie. This one is so whispy and romantic! The necklace is a raw smoky quartz point.

Unusually colorful for me this dress... Doesn't show very well in the picture because of a lack of natural light, but it is a rather bright yellow with a floral pattern in red, white and green. Kind of a bit too happy for my tastes, but with a leather skirt underneath, a leather belt and a bird skull necklace it feels more me.

Here is one of my favorite blouses! A silky mustard colored one with a paisley pattern. Big sleeves, accentuated shoulders, crimped waist and mandarin collar, what's not to like! Here with leather belt and  skinny fit pants with a geometrical pattern. I really liked the contrast between the paisley and the geometrical patterns, and because the patterns are so subtle it didn't feel like too much pattern going on.

A classic outfit that I usually end up wearing sometime around the holidays. There is just something about the skirt and the flower brooch that feels very festive! :)

And lastly, here is what I wore for Halloween! It's not often I get to go all out these days, especially not at work, but the library where I work hosted a Halloween At the Library-type event so we in the staff got to dress up. The library was lit only by candle light and I got to walk around with a lantern and scare little kids! So much fun!!

Most of this outfit has been seen before on the blog, it is rather a classic, but I still wanted to share!

I seldom wear these striped socks anymore, but they felt quite witchy and I think I was going for steampunkish-witchy-ghost librarian or something...

Yum, those sleeves!!! And the waistcoat too!

Note the neat collar on the shirt, love that detail! The bronze bird skull necklace is a classic that I can never grow tired of.  I also wore my bird claw ring, but I don't have a picture of that. And I finally have a proper chain for my pocket watch!

And here is the outfit with more Halloween details added. You obviously can't see a lot because we got makeup and final prep done at work and it was night by the time I got home. Anyway, messy bun, pale powdered face, foundation on lips to make them pale too... and then some spider web on the hat. :)

Looks rather spooky doesn't it?

How was your style year? What styles did you dig? What didn't you wear? What inspired you? What did you wear for Halloween (yeah, I know I'm late...)?

Outfit - Semi-Steampunk for the Dancefloor!

Was out clubbing last night with my friend Blomma. There are a lot of student nations (just google it) here and they offer a wide variety of clubs and other student events available only if you pay a small sum each term. If you choose to do so you get a student ID that grant you access to 11 pubs and/or nightclubs with cheap alcohol and some good music. Once a month there is a club called Klubb Katushka that I frequent. They play kletzmer/balkan/russian/eastern beats kind of music and there is always one live band. I love dancing to this kind of music, the beats are just so exciting! The only music I like dancing to more is the soundtrack to the Bollywood film Devdas (that really gets me into a trance)! 

Yesterday was a Klubb Katushka night!

This was the outfit of the evening. It´s pretty much the same every time I go out clubbing, because I just don´t have many really good outfits for the dancefloor. The vest works well though, never gets too hot while still being very much my style! A pocket watch is good to have on a dancefloor too, so you know when to order that last drink or when to leave to get out to the wardrobe before the rush sets in. I also like to wear something shiny when I´m dancing, like this shiny gold skirt. The perfume of choice this time was Miskatonic University!

Image by Kalmar Nation.

My top hat ensures that I get photographed a lot at these events, and some of these pics are actually very nice! My face generally doesn´t photograph very well as it is quite asymmetrical but certain angles are flattering. The image above is from yesterday and the image below is from Klubb Katushka in November. 

Image by Sputnik Kollektiv. 

Do you go out clubbing? What do you wear? What perfume? What kind of music to you love dancing to?

Outfit - New leather skirt!

I actually ventured outside of my home today, for the first time in mire than a week... I had a giftcard to a local bookshop to spend. This was the outfit... The accessories are the same as usual these days, raven skull necklace, vest, pocket watch and top hat. The dark red velveteen shirt is one of my absolute favorites out of all the stuff that is in my wardrobe! A machine washable, comfortable, every day kind of item while still looking absolutely decadent! I bought it a few years ago from a charity shop for next to nothing... The black leather skirt is a recent find. I bought it last week at another charity shop for 8 €. It is real leather, the perfect lenght and fits very comfortably! 

Price tag: about 60 € excluding the hat and shoes, lots of pricy accessories here...

Wish list: Real leather pants, because I´m getting really tired of my faux leather pants getting worn out all too soon... More velveteen shirts, I´d love one black, one dark green, one dark blue and one dark teal... Won´t happen, but one can dream I suppose...

P.S. For the perfumistas, I wore Falling Stars at Winter Solstice layered with a hint of Smoke and Mirrors (both Alkemia)... My mother said I should wear something that smelled like a sauna, so I combined evergreens, vanilla and smoke... Smelled a bit like a sauna to me, though I don´t really know what evergreens have with a sauna to do...

Outfit - Black Steampunk

This was the outfit of the day. This is full on steampunk for me! I don´t own a corset as of yet, and I don´t even know if I want one. A vest is more practical, suits everyday life much better and I can have a pocket watch if I wear a vest! Anyway this is a very basic steampunk outfit really. It consists of:

• A black shirt with wide sleeves that are fitted at the wrist. Bought this at a second hand shop for about 20 €. It doesn´t look very nice without the vest, a bit shapeless... But the sleeves are fantastic so with the vest it´s perfect!
• A basic fitted vest, from H&M I think, can´t quite remember... I think it was cheap, because I bought two, this black one and one checkerd grey. Finding a womens vest with the right fit and with pockets is not easy, I´ll tell you. I have five vests but only these two above fit well and have pockets large enough for a pocket watch!
• One awesome wide black skirt. I can´t really tell you where to find one like this. Mine is a hand-me-down from a friend... It was literally thrown at me and was the start for my interest in steampunk/victorian style really. Or, well, the hat was first, but the skirt made me curious to try the whole steampunk look. 
• Lace up ankle boots, the same as in the previous outfit.
• My beautiful pocket watch! This was one of my first Etsy finds, for about 20€, but from a shop that does not exist anymore. You can find others quite like it though if you search for "mechanical pocket watch". But be aware that this pocket watch is neither truly hand made nor vintage, so they do not fit with the Etsy policy and such shops are freaquently terminated. So Etsy is not the ideal place to find pocket watches like this one, it was just convenient for me as I already had an Etsy account. I have bought a vintage russion pocket watch from TimeMill on Etsy. They sell mostly watch parts, perfect for steampunk crafts, but also some working watches. No pocket watches in the shop right now, but keep an eye out and the perfect one might pop up there.. Another Etsy shop, Alfresco Unique Group, have no pocket watches, but really awesome mechanical steampunk wrist watches! If I wore wrist watches I would definitely order from there. 
• My black top hat. Good luck on finding an affordable one! Mine was the most expensive item I have ever bought, but then again, I´m a cheap bastard!
• The final piece of this outfit is the brooch below. I made this myself as one of my first ventures into the world of wire wrapping. I decided that the technique was not for me, I like to be more free and impulsive in my crafts. But this brooch turned out ok. I´ve had the rhinestone eye button for a long time, always thinking that I should make it into some kind of jewelry... I have no jewelry like this one in my shop, I don´t think I have the skill set required for wire wrapping, but I do make wire dragonflies.

Price tag: about 60 €, excluding the top hat.

Wish list: I have to add corset here, I´d love to have one for really showing off, and for more formal occasions. More pocket watches are always on the list, and I want a matching chain for my vintage watch, the one it came with was a bit too worn and a bit too thin and with the wrong clasp for my tastes, I want one with a T-bar or with a hook (like the featured in this outfit)... A brocade vest is also on the wish list, preferably any combination of red, black, gold and silver. This brocade vest is something I´m not really expecting to find, and if i find one it will definitely either be a mans size or way too expensive, but one can hope!