Lace and Jersey Knit

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Today’s top is a repeat, but the rayon-spandex jersey knit skirt from Spiegel you haven’t seen before. I have two of their jersey skirts, and I love them for their classy comfort. However, allow me to tell you the two things I do not like about these skirts. First, they are cat hair magnets! Somehow they are even worse than regular cotton jersey. I remove all the cat hair before I leave the house then remove it again when I get to work, yet every hour I still find this fabric covered in cat hair even though there are no cats in my office!!

The second issue with these skirts is that, despite only containing 5% spandex, this fabric stretches a lot on any pressure points throughout the day. By lunchtime, the rear end is totally sagging and there are stretched spots over my knees. Not a very flattering silhouette.

This top is one of the few that I really like for either work or the weekend. I’ve worn this one before in my first car show post. For work, I just add a shrug to cover the sheer cap sleeves.

Do my readers have any tips on how to prevent clothes from stretching out of shape throughout a long day?

The Other Giant Cat

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I wasn’t thrilled with this outfit, but I thought I should share my fashion failures just the same to keep it interesting. :) I love this strapless top. It’s cotton with a thick lace overlay and a lace tie in the back. However, this skirt never fails to disappoint me. It’s just too fluffy around the middle, and it really needs to be a couple of inches shorter. I wore it once before and it worked slightly better, but I think I had it hiked up that time… I think this skirt will become a “strictly around the house on chores day” skirt. Although I’ve been known to wear much cuter things even under those conditions… Maybe it’ll be a sick day skirt. :) Cat hair doesn't stick to it, which is a good thing when you don't feel well and just want to snuggle with the furry ones all day!

Don’t ask me what’s up with the half-on-half-off shrug. I have no idea what my reasoning was there, except it was still quite warm out (yay for California!) and I was only wearing it to keep the sun off during errands. I guess for the photos I couldn’t decide what to do with it. Lol!

Perseus really has the sweetest face ever, but he’s quite angry here…

Without further ado, I present to you Perseus, the other half of our Maine Coon set. You recently saw a post showcasing the great Prometheus is all his gigantic splendor. Perseus weighs a full four pounds LESS than Prometheus, but at 18 pounds he’s still *well* above average house cat size.

Despite being twin brothers, these boys couldn’t be more different in terms of personality. While Prometheus is all about love, Perseus is the adventurous one (really living up to his name!). He’s very loving as well, but with a shorter attention span. The best adjective for him is “spirited.” That’s the nice way to say he gets in trouble all the time. :) It really tried my patience at first, but as he’s matured and we’ve fully bonded I’ve learned to love him for his “yeah, I broke that, but aren’t I adorable” attitude. And now everything in our house is glued down with earthquake putty. EVERYTHING.

Perseus is also the charismatic one, greeting everyone at the door and tripping them with ankle rubs. Prometheus, on the other hand, has to get to know you a bit before he smothers you with affection.

Here’s another great necklace that was a gift from Mr. Kitty, and a choker made from a scrap of fancy trim from the fabric store. I’m also wearing a Morgana Cryptoria lip balm in Diabolical Druscilla. Out of the five colors I discussed for my review, this one is my favorite. It also wears the longest and fades the most evenly.

OUTTAKE: This is what happens when a Maine Coon gets mad and doesn’t want his photo taken!

So who's your favorite?  Perseus or Prometheus?

November 1 Theme: Gloves/Armwarmers

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Mr. Kitty and I tend to hang out at the local Barnes and Noble occasionally due to a complete lack of anything else interesting to do in our immediate area. While he pours through car magazines, I flip through craft magazines. Usually paper craft magazines, but one evening a crochet issue caught my eye. While perusing it and vaguely wishing I possessed that particular skill, I saw an ad for the pattern for these gorgeous opera-length armwarmers. So naturally I called my beautiful sister, who is a mom and therefore required to know how to crochet, and somehow talked her into creating these for me.

With an immense degree of patience on her side, and after several adjustments due to my short, tiny arms (fittings were especially difficult since we live many, many miles apart), she completed this amazing masterpiece. In exchange, I made a beaded chain to hold her glasses. I definitely got the better end of that deal!

Although they are covered in holes, these armwarmers are extremely warm. I could only wear them in the evenings over the past weekend because we’re still enjoying a lovely, 85-degree Southern California fall. To those of you shoveling snow right now, I apologize. ;)

I wore these armwarmers in a very early post on this blog, but I didn’t really pair them with much of an outfit. Hopefully most of my followers haven’t seen that previous post so these can get the grand debut they deserve.

The new boots are Demonias. But since this is Gloves/Armwarmers day and not Boots day, we’ll talk about these another time. :)

The November theme was suggested by Celeste of Fade to Black. Be sure to stop by Celeste's blog and say Thank You for this idea!

Want to participate in this month's theme?

Now it's your turn! You know what to do (or if you don't, check out 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):
   
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3. Visit all of the other participants who have entered, and show them you appreciate their theme posts!

NO ADULT CONTENT will be allowed.

Blog Round-Up for October

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. ;)

Don't Forget: November One-Day Theme Tomorrow!

Just a reminder that the November 1 Gloves/Armwarmers theme day is tomorrow, November 1, beginning at midnight Pacific Time. For those of you in other time zones, check the left-hand column of my blog to see the time I am going by.  Also the Linky box at the bottom of my post will tell you how many hours you have left until it closes.

I know things might be busy right before Nov. 1 with Halloween festivities, so I will leave the Linky open for an extra day this time. Mr. Linky will close at 11:59 PM PST on November 3. However, remember that the earlier you link up, the more people will see your post! :)

Get the complete details and rules.

Work Week is Over; Time to Get Cute!

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I posted my “work” version of this look yesterday, then came home and re-styled the outfit for a fun evening with Mr. Kitty to celebrate the start of the weekend. I’ve done some other Day to Evening transition posts, but with this one I decided to be a bit more drastic.

Fall weather is finally starting to approach Southern California, which means it’s time to break out the shorts with tights! Any time I see a fashion blogger sporting this look, I can’t help but comment that when I was a teenage Goth (late 1980s) we were all doing the cut-off denim shorts with black tights (or fishnets) and the mainstream world said it was a huge fashion no-no. 20 years later, it’s EVERYWHERE, and oh-so-chic.  I don't mind, because Goth girls will always do it better.  :)  Actually, it’s even more adorable with today’s sophisticated options in shorts.

I kept the blazer and cami from my work outfit, but got brave and donned this pair of shorts over white lace tights. Mr. Kitty was a fan, and our usual waitress at the sushi place we go most every Thursday announced that I was “not allowed to look that cute.” Thanks for the massive ego boost, Favorite Sushi Waitress! :)

I’m sporting the Morgana Cryptoria Lip Balm in Hathor. As I mentioned in my review of these lip balms, this one is probably my favorite color of the whole line but it requires more maintenance than the other colors. Maybe the tube I received was older and starting to dry out, or maybe it has something to do with the dark color and intense amount of pigment. Either way, a coat of Burt’s Bees underneath helps, and it’s worth the trouble!

I also did a quick-change on my hair by clipping in a couple of artificial pigtails over my bun. The choker is a DIY project: just a scrap of white lace trim with beads and a butterfly cameo sewed onto it. The cameo is from Jo Ann’s Fabrics, found in the section with the buttons and such. This was probably a $2 project. I made wristbands from the same lace later in the evening, but not until after I had already photographed the outfit. :( Can't wait to show them to you later on!

When Exactly is it That You Aren’t Supposed to Wear White?

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Today’s blazer from Wet Seal has an abundance of adorable details. Tiny pockets with ruffled tops, slight gathering on the shoulders, and little (false) button tabs on the cap sleeves. I also love that the neckline on this one is a bit more narrow than the typical blazer cut, creating a more vertical opening that is an interesting change of pace. There’s also a tiny v-shaped notch out of the back of the collar that I failed to photograph. The fabric is very soft, in a weave similar to denim but much finer and just a teeny tiny bit fuzzy.

This was actually the perfect fit for me with no alteration, which is always a delight!

The only down side of really long skirts is it’s harder to create a variety of looks when both shoes and hosiery are effectively hidden. I’ve worn this white skirt once before, ages ago. It’s so drastically different from anything else in my wardrobe, making it an extreme challenge for me. I couldn’t think of any other way to style this piece, until I thought to try it with a blazer. The white lace cami from Newport News tied it together nicely (this is the cami I have in five colors; you’ve also seen it in mauve and black so far).

I have one more idea for how to style this skirt, and then I will be tapped out. For now. :) I might need you guys to come to the rescue with another fashion brainstorming session soon!

It's been a while since I've done a Day-to-Evening series.  Check back tomorrow to see how I will re-style this outfit for a quick dinnertime transformation!