2 New Blogs are Good Cop, Bad Cop of Alt Fashion
Clockwise: fantastic finds via Haute Macabre, via Haute Macabre, via Stylecunt, via Stylecunt
Finally – a classy gothic fashion blog! Via Gala Darling comes news of Haute Macabre, a vibrant, well-designed blog devoted to all things stylishly darque. “As you can guess from the title,” writes Gala, “it’s about high-end gawthick living. It’s for those of us who never really outgrew our goth sensibilities — the ones who idolised Wednesday Addams as an adolescent heroine, the ones who like things dark but don’t take it too seriously, the ones who can’t resist when fetishy fashion comes sashaying down the catwalk in Paris.” The blog’s primary authors are Samantha (whose site appears to be down) and Nixon Sixx, and other contributors so far include Gala herself, Courtney Riot (in a design capacity) and last but not least, our very own Zo!
The site is still “in beta,” but there are already six pages of eye candy to feast on. From luscious scans of thousand-dollar gothic-themed magazine shoots to practical lists of gothy items under $10, there’s something in store for fashionistas of all stripes.
Image from Elle Italia shoot, spotted by Haute Macabre. More here.
While we’re on the subject of alternative fashion blogs, it’s also worth mentioning Stylecunt. While that name makes me cringe, I’ll say this: the blog’s anonymous author has a keen eye for fashion and doesn’t shy away from cold-eyed, Gawker-style snark. The tone is apparent from Post Number One, where the author explains the blog’s raison d’être:
Remember when alt fashion was… fashionable? At least we thought it was. Alt fashion exploded in the nineties, fulfilling those of us that were not content with shopping at Old Navy. Time has passed, fashion is evolving, but are we? Years later and here we are, covered in the same black vinyl and cheap fishnet. One day, I had enough.
The writing on Stylecunt is hard to follow at times due to the careless grammar, and seems to be most lucid when we find the author chastising clothing labels for perceived bad choices. “Why are you still doing this to those poor goth kids who don’t know any better?” laments the author at this Lip Service catalogue photo. And it’s great to finally see someone tell Junker Designs, “it’s lovely that Alice Cooper is wearing your overly detailed and distressed leather pants, but it might be nice to actually see what they look like.”
Refreshingly, both blogs pay attention to men’s fashion, an oft-neglected topic in the alt fashion press (sorry, this doesn’t count). At Stylecunt there’s a nice post about Plazmalab, and over at Haute Macabre there’s even a well-populated category titled “For the Gents.”
Here’s hoping that 2009 will bring tons of new fashion to keep both these blogs busy. Enjoy!
December 19th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I love- no, LOVE- those false eyelashes, the whole series of them. Have been coveting them for a few months now, and am really, really, really hoping they’re wrapped up under the tree for me right now.
If not, they’re mine after the New Year.
December 19th, 2008 at 9:08 am
The first one is like something shiny and I’m intrigued. I’ll be bookmarking that seeing as I’m a grown up goth who enjoys her gothic sensibilities way too much.
December 19th, 2008 at 9:22 am
I spilled a little coffee at your “sorry, this doesn’t count”. And now I’m curious about the author [authors?] of Stylecunt! Hmm!
December 19th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Great. Just great. Now I’ll be doing absolutely NOTHING today but reading fashion blogs. Oh…wait…that’s really no different than any other day, except that now the fashion blogs I’m reading are actually worth my time! Thanks, Coilhouse! *thumbs up*
December 19th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Love it, I hadn’t heard of Stylecunt yet but I will definitely check it out.
December 19th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Ok, ok, I know that all us folks at Gothic Beauty (AHEM!) need to cover more REAL men’s fashion, but we try when we can and we also have to be mindful of the demographic (which is relatively young — a.k.a. poor, and doesn’t seem to like to look TOO extreme, unfortunately).
For my stories, I try to slip it in when I can. Hence my coverage of Cyberotix’s fabulous ties. But I agree, there needs to be a LOT more variety out there. I’ll be keeping an eye on these blogs.
December 19th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Io: Pay no mind to my jab at GB. I was just teasing about the cover photograph, that’s all! I didn’t mean to belittle any contributions you’ve made inside the magazine, which I’m sure are amazing. They are really, really, REALLY lucky to have you as a contributor over there. Just to clarify, the only person I have beef with at GB is the publisher. Plenty of wonderfully talented people have come through and tried to make that magazine good over the years, but with someone at the top who can’t tell the difference between good and bad, there’s only so much you can do.
Zo: I think it’s definitely a girl from the Bay Area.
January: Me too! And I love this set in particular.
December 19th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Thank you SO much for the write up! Haute Macabre loves Coilhouse!
December 19th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
$50 for a piece of lace? are you kidding me?
and not even a neatly edged piece at that.
i don’t get it. i mean, i understand the appeal and direction of the trend, but do people get so wrapped up into it that they don’t stop to consider that, OMG, IT’S A PIECE OF LACE CUT OUT WITH SCISSORS … AND DOESN’T EVEN COME WITH ADHESIVE. [the others, however, are neato].
December 19th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
That Lip Service vest that Stylecunt is making fun of — it took me FOREVER to visualize it without picturing the dude having slipped some square object down the front of his shirt. Seriously — it looks like he used the nipple-zippers as pockets,and he’s keeping a datebook in there! (I realize it’s a trick of the light/etc., but I CAN’T STOP SEEING IT.)
Love love love the blogs, and have passed the men’s link on to a certain well-dressed gentleman of my fond acquaintance ^_^
December 19th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Maybe me fix grammar and talk pretty one day.
Thanks for the write up! I know that my grammar is atrocious, I’m just extremely scatterbrained when writing.
Sadly, I do not reside in the Bay Area. I wish i did!
December 19th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Oh Nadya! I was just poking at you, I took no offense. Alas, that doesn’t come across so well on the net. I nitpick GB all the time.
December 20th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Haute Macabre= YUMMY!
December 25th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
just what I needed, right now, since I have finally time to actually read blogs instead of just skimming!
Oh men’s fashion, not easy thing to work with, let me tell ya…most folks rather do simple…we always struggle with that one…
January 8th, 2009 at 4:16 am
Love! I love, love, LOVE this! Thanks so much for sharing!