Spice up Casual Goth

 I recently did a post about the necessity of sometimes toning down your look for the sake of your sanity and sleep, but what about those of us who have the opposite problem? Or even just those days when you want to be casual, but still interesting? We can't dress like a Shiny Black Sheep every day, (Lovely metaphor courtesy of Lucretia's Reflection. It's my favorite phrase as of right now.) but there are some minor things you can do when you want to dress down, but still add a little interest to your casual wear.

• Accessorize! Accessories can make or break an outfit as we all know. If you're going out in a T-shirt and jeans you can add a little interest with a few well placed bracelets/necklaces. I love wearing simple chokers with my t-shirts and my ankh is normally a staple.

• Shoes! There's no rule that says thou-must-wear-boring-shoes-when dressing-down. When I have t-shirt days I tend to throw on a pair of my more interesting sandals to balance it out. Or how about creepers? They've got that unusual flair that separates them from the converse clad crowd around you. I'm sad to say I don't own a pair because I think they'd be perfect for a go-to casual outfit. Even slipping on a pair of combat boots let's me feel a little more in my element, and it provides the additional element of letting me stomp around when I'm in a foul mood.

• T-shirts that say things about your interests are much more fun than a plain black shirt. If you're going to wear a t-shirt, make it say something about you. You can show off the things you like, and maybe even find someone who shares your interests. Band shirts are obviously a popular choice, and my Bauhaus shirt has actually helped start conversations with two old school Goths. (One of them was working in a bakery and made sure I got the largest lemon square. It was fantastic) Of course, who says the shirts have to be Goth or band related? The most worn T-shirts in my closet are my Riddler and Dark Souls shirts. Comics and video games for the win ;) 

 

Not particularly Goth, but my love of Batman is easily worked in ;)

I'm eying this too.
The sad thing is I hardly have money to spare for T-shirts XD

• Hats and scarves automatically bring an outfit to the next level. It looks like you spent a lot more time choosing your clothes when in reality it took you 30 seconds to wrap a piece of fabric around your neck or pop on a hat. I've got this semi-boring black shirt and skirt combo that looks completely different once I don my leopard or skull scarf. And hats are fantastic creations. If you're having a bad hair day on top of your casual day you can just stick a fedora or bowler on your head and you're good to go.

• How about changing your makeup or hair? If you've got the same everyday makeup routine try changing it up a bit. I normally match my eyeshadow to any colors that appear in my shirt. Since I normally only go out in eyeliner, the eyeshadow helps me feel a like I put a little effort into my outfit even if I've just thrown on the typical shirt and jeans combo. Hair, on the other hand, can be easily changed as well. You could quickly tease it a bit before you go out. A spritz of hair-spray and you're half-channeling the trad Goths with minimal effort. We're not talking a whole bottle of Aquanet here. (Unless you'd like to. Then by all means go ahead! I highly approve.) If you've got the time, straighten or curl your hair. If you just want to put it up, try something different like braiding it back.

Just changing your eyeliner can make a look completely different.

Well that's that. In other news, we recently had one of our lovely summer storms down here, which resulted in me going without power for about 24 hours, an extremely flooded yard, and a large 70 foot tree barricading my driveway. I've had to climb over it a few times to get to the bus. So yeah, fun times. I never realize how crucial electricity is to my existence until I lose it. I actually got so bored/fed up with not being able to even do homework online, or most of my chores, that I ended up polishing my boots. I really ought to do it more often considering scuff marks magically appear on them no matter how hard I try to avoid it. I think I hit my feet on the stairs at school...I'm really a klutz.

 Finally, anyone watching Hannibal on NBC? That show is making me ridiculously happy at the moment. It's got so much more interest than most typical crime shows, the cinematography is really beautiful, and the characters are flawlessly done. Mads Mikkelsen is my absolute favorite Hannibal to date and you can just feel the instability seeping off of Will in the way he stands and talks. And of course I get a kick out of watching Hannibal play his mind games with everyone as they scramble left and right to do his bidding. I mean, he's only trying to help. No manipulation here. Just your friendly neighborhood cannibalistic psychiatrist.

I see what you did there~

I'm sort of worried that it's going to be cancelled, and that would be a tragic waste of potential. Of course it's got a few faults, (which I'm not going to get into because I'd rather this didn't turn into a rant) but the show has got so many redeeming qualities that more than make up for the shortcomings.  The reviews are great, but the views for whatever the coveted audience demographic is have dropped, and NBC is pretty fickle. So everyone should go watch it ;)

Swedish Picspam!

Well I did it! (I'm only a few weeks late after all...) It took me an hour or so to sort through ALL THE PICTURES, but here are the ones that made it through inspection and to this blog. It was extremely difficult to find non-derpy ones only featuring me and the countryside/city (Depending on where we were.) I don't believe my family wants their pictures up here for all to see so don't think I'm a camera hog. I'm not, I swear ^^

Our trip pretty much went like this.

1) Stockholm
2) Goteborg and surrounding area
3) Summer house at Oland
4) Back to Stockholm

I would give you a map but the massive amount of pictures coming your way is going to clog up enough space on this post. So without further ado...

A ferry off of Stockholm.

I love graffiti when it's tastefully done. It's art, despite what other people think.

We got to go sailing!

An old castle.

The view over Marstrand.

An old fort.

Casual me doesn't like shoes.

Pretending to angst over something that looks suspiciously like a gravestone.

Sailboat races!

We found time to mini-golf ^^

Getting off the Subway.

Can I just reiterate how much I love cities. There are so many different kinds of people everywhere and so many places to shop. (And no money to spend...*cough*) Not to mention, I got to break out some uber-goth outfits every time we went in to Stockholm or Goteborg. (With some exasperated looks from my parents) Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of any of them.  Pretty much all the outfits in this photo set were my casual I'm-on-vacation-and-just-don't-care outfits. Of course. *Smacks self*

The last day we went shopping I picked up a few more things. I got a new leather jacket and an unopened, remastered copy of Pornography by The Cure! *Squeels* It's my favorite album and I couldn't be happier. Of course, I'll be in debt to my parents for at least a year, but we'll ignore that until I see something lovely online and realize how screwed I am.

I've also realized my makeup supplies are running a bit low. Recently, I've been eyeing a few shadows over at moiminerals.  I especially like these three.

Makeup and Animal Testing

I want to draw attention to a serious issue that a lot of people don't think about. It's more commonly known nowadays that animals bred for food are treated inhumanely. (Hence, while I could not become a vegetarian we only buy organic meat with the assurance that the animals lived free range and were well treated.) However, what about makeup?

Every year millions of animals are killed while testing cosmetic products. Companies use painful tests to determine the irritation level of the products on skin and the tissue of the eye. Commonly used are rabbits, who are caused so much pain you can actually hear them scream. Animals are forcibly made to inhale or ingest the product to determine toxicity levels. The creatures are poisoned, blinded, burned, and killed without regard.

Animal testing is not required of cosmetic companies. So why do they continue this atrocity? Simply reluctance to change the way they've done things. It's ridiculous considering the more accurate and cheaper tests that can be done using skin cultures.

How can you make a difference? Don't use their products. There are plenty of brands that don't animal test. Refuse to use the products of the companies that still continue this barbaric act. And please tell the people you know. Oftentimes people don't change because they don't know the reality of the issue. If people have knowledge they're more likely to act against it.

If you use products that animal test try your best to switch. I know those little $3 Maybelline eyeshadow compacts are convenient and right there, but really the quality is no good anyway. I'm not trying guilt trip anyone, (well, maybe a little) but I wouldn't want to put on my makeup every morning and wonder how many bunnies died so I could look pretty.

For more info click here. There's a list of all the companies that animal test and the ones that don't on the website.