let's just take a moment here...

recently i was having a conversation with a friend about an article of clothing i had but no longer wore.

"that's more you in your 'bright color fashion stage' juuuust about to transition into your current 'neo gothic fashion stage'"

this was a true assessment. sure, i still like the dress, but it doesn't really go with the aesthetics i'm really feeling right now. what am i feeling right now? architectural shapes, structured silhouettes, sharp shoulders, clean lines, chunky shoes, and... no colors. as in, well, basically all black. is this neo gothic? i mean, looking back on my few recent posts i can see how that would fit. of course, the black themed one from a few days ago i did on purpose. but still.

i hadn't really thought about it in terms of that term before the conversation with my friend (hi christine!). what is neo gothic anyways? this brought me to google, which directed me to the lolita fashion entry on wikipedia. oh, gothic lolitas. i admire your use of black petticoats and ruffles, but i don't think that's exactly "it".

so what is this new theme as i'm calling it? what "stage" am i going through? i described it to another friend (hi dan!) as "nails stix n spit" but maybe mixed with a kitten. okay, fine... a black kitten.

this picture from a recent post kind of explains it all in my mind:

studded collar on an adorable black kitten poised to attack and bat at you with little harmless de-clawed padded paws until it gets bored and nods off to sleep? exactly who i am on the inside. how do i translate that into me on the outside? an ethereal rodarte-esque sweater with interesting dolman sleeves and patent leather platforms that could kick your ass in two seconds flat. in my perfect world, of course, the shoes would be wedges. i guess that's maybe the de-clawed part of me. this image, in my mind, isn't quite neo-goth. or... is it? is this the "neo" in "neo goth"? the fluffy kitten?

in my mind it's more of a clean high fashion look that's a little rough around the edges. when i see this woman i don't think "neo-goth" i think "badass" and wish i could take her clothes but know that she totally has the balls to fight me for them if i tried.

then again, i don't have the same long shampoo model hair or mile long legs as this lovely lady. instead i sport a dyed red bob and reach a good 5 foot 3 if i'm standing up realllly straight which i (of course) never do. so really, i could completely understand how the same outfit on me could translate to looking like a high schooler who raided her local hot topic. i mean, let's face it-- i was that girl not all that long ago. okay, maybe not quite that girl. but close.

of course i'm not exactly worried about this label, even if it does make me think of stars and skulls purchased from a chain store selling individualism like hot topic. i mean... aren't all fashion choices attempts at individualism purchased on the mass market? and even if i wound up looking that way who really cares? because even if the rest of the world doesn't see my true ultimate fantastic and glorious vision i know for certain that these outfits are the complete embodiment of badass tough and high fashion.

and really-- is there anything better than that?

i'll answer that one for you:

nope.