Hibernation

Wanted to share these photos from the heart of winter before the season drips slowly away.

I can't believe winter is withering away so soon, there weren't even remotely enough freezing days for my taste. This winter was far from easy and I was mentally hibernating for the greater part, but in the spring I get ridiculously nostalgic about winter. Clinging to the memory of glittering fields, silent woods and all the dear dead flowers. The animal prints in the virgin snow and the distant winter sun, and even the cold that sucks all warmth from your bones.

dress / vintage from Budapest  rings / Blood Milk

   Looking at these photos I'm reminded of one thing: you know your sister must love you when there's almost -20 degrees outside and she still agrees to follow you on a snowy field to capture a few frames.

Valentine's

Happy belated Valentine's Day! 

I spent the Valentine's evening travelling to watch my dear friend and other dazzling ladies perform on burlesque stage. Drinks, glitter clouds and a freezing night walk in fishnet stockings, the usual pattern. Melting at my brother's place, watching movies while waiting for the Sunday bus home.

dress / DAY Birger Et Mikkelsen (second hand) shoes / Minna Parikka (from a friend)  

ring / Blood Milk  heart pendant / Moon Raven Designs

This outfit is from Friday, when we celebrated Valentine's at home. I went over the top romantigoth with black lace, heart pumps and pink hued eyeshadows, the occasion must have made me soft as pink is usually something that triggers my gag reflex. Dressing up to a theme is always fun, but I still felt slightly alienated in this look, as I nowadays tend to incline more and more to minimalistic forms.

The vintage sofa is all but minimalistic though, and I love it! It's one of the best second hand finds in ages, I can't even recall how long I've wanted a couch like this to modify as I please! I plan to rip it open at some point, repair the springs, change the fabric and paint the woodwork, but only after I've finished some more pressing projects.

Hairesis maxima est opera maleficarum non credere

Post Halloween Greetings from Salem! Or any other place where the sickly puritanian hysteria took root, cutting away the lives of innocents.

First I was going with a more complex costume, but then I found this vintage piece hanging in my closet and went with it. (The noose however wasn't hanging in my closet, I'm not that desperate.) It's not historically accurate nor does it deviate much from my usual look, but I liked it anyway. I'm itching to try the same costume idea again, but as a "burned at the stake" edition. Anyway, I had a great night and my guests were sublime as ever! I forgot to take any pictures with all the fun I was having, but we had a visit for example from the Queen of Hearts, Wicked Witch of the West and even a Soul. 

I wish the Halloween season could have gone on for longer, but I'm sure the horror dose will fuel me for some time. Did you have a nice Samhain? Any parties or costumes you'd like to share? :)

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Happy Halloween night to all ghouls and witches who roam the night tonight!

I know I've been absent, but let's just say that some wicked things have been eager to come my way and life always comes first. I've had inspiration but not the time, and would rather not feel guilty about it now. It is, after all, the best time of the year! 

Here's an outfit from a warmer, early October day when I thought it would be a foolish idea to wear those heels for a daywalk, and did it anyway. (Looking back, it seems that I also might have watched too many AHS Coven episodes in a row.) In case someone is curious; the hat is vintage from Budapest, bag is also vintage, shoes are a gift from a friend, dress is H&M+DIY, and the cardigan is an ancient piece from my teen years.

 
I'm holding a small Halloween party tomorrow, and there's still so much to do! Midnight is closing in and I had to make coffee to stay awake, I'll likely be burning the midnight oil for many hours to come. My costume isn't nearly finished and neither is the tidiness of our nest, but dust and cobwebs go beautifully with Halloween, right? Now I really must continue with the chores, maybe later tonight I'll watch Hocus Pocus while sewing, to get in the right mood. I hope the result will be even remotely what I planned, we'll see!

Virgin Snow

Yesterday there was a plan of going for a walk and taking some outfit pics in the early autumn glow, but this happened instead. 
Oh, Finland. I was preparing myself for some Jack-O-Lantern season goodness, not Jack Frost!

Afterwards my boots were soaked with freezing slush and then the city's electrical grid crashed, typical Tuesday madness. It's amazing (and a little funny, I must admit) how lost people look when the modern commodities crash for even an hour or so. We're so surrounded by gadgets, as if the world around us didn't exist without the deities of smart phones and TV and the rest of their addictive pantheon. The joke is equally on me too, my daily film fix is close to being what insulin is to a diabetic and that's pretty alarming.

Otherwise the week has been extra busy, I've been happily working on a few clothing print designs. Which has sneakily led me to sketching just for myself too, drawing feels so good again after a pause. The last time I painted was for a group show in June, so my nerves are itching for a new project! Maybe I'll get something started this week, I can almost hear those empty canvases rustling in the attic, waiting to be tainted like virgin snow.

Jackie's Strength

A slightly worried friend asked me if I'm still in the books of the living, not having updated my blog in weeks. I had no idea it's been so long! Summer has got its warm fingers clutched on my throat, travelling also mixes up my perception of the flow of time. I just spent over a month living from my suitcase, moving from unfamiliar places to familiar sofas and back home again, experiencing thrilling moments and hectic days.

Life starts to remind a surrealist dream when there's no rhythm nor obligation to hold on to, scary and beautiful at the same time. Do you ever get that feeling? Looking back, all those memories might as well happened in a distant dream, or to someone else. I'm glad I've got folders filled with photos to relive what happened, and share some of that with you later.

But here I am, packing my suitcase again, filling it with hopes and travel gear. I hope you've all been well for the past month! 

(This outfit reminded me of Jackie Kennedy and I've been listening to beloved Tori Amos a lot, hence the title. The dress and hat are vintage from the 60's, the shoes are thrifted Minna Parikka and eyeglasses are my friend's. Loving vintage looks and 60's vibe right now!)

Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it

Today is a rare event, both Friday the 13th and full moon. Hope you've all had a good day without any severe misfortunes! Mine has felt exceptionally lucky, something that's also been rare these days. But it feels like the winds are starting to blow in more positive directions, shedding negativity away like snakeskin and letting new things in.

Maxi dress eBay / buckle shoes local flea-market / bracelet antique market in Budapest / necklace  Alchemy gothic Eve Crystal Pendant (a sponsored gift from David at bodyjewelleryshop.com, thank you so much!)

One of my many goals for this summer season is to adapt to the heat rather than complaining about it, because that obviously gets you nowhere. This mindset has actually worked like a charm, I'm happy with the heat as long as I have my SPF50 and can escape direct sunlight to the shadows. Transparent maxi dresses have felt like the best thing to put on when the quicksilver speaks with tropical numbers. (They also neatly cover up all summer scars, derby battle bruises and mosquito bites!) 

I've went with more casual looks like this one lately, adding large jewelry pieces to minimalistic outfits. Do you have any summer style favourites?

Salvio Hexia

An outfit from the other day, before travelling to my family home for the resurrection holidays. 

Here my days have been filled mostly with woodland walks, lazying around, absorbing the scent of freshly cut flowers and watching Potter films with the ladies of my family. A hint of spring perfection in an eggshell.

These pointy boots are one of the best thrifting finds of late, scored them for just a couple of coins and have worn them ever since! Most of the outfit is fished from different second hand ponds as well, the only kind of fishing I could ever do. I thought the outfit had a little witchy school mistress vibe going on, but nothing wrong with that. Most of my outifts do.

This photo is the essence of how I feel now with my life, aimless weird floating and enjoying it! Thehee.

She saw the stars on gravestones, and sung the sky in blood

An outfit from a few days ago, on a spring walk before entering the red seats of the cinema. I'm heavily addicted to ranger looks again, big hoods, boots and simple black forms have covered most of my days. The cloak has been almost glued to my shoulders, it's the perfect shield for prawling the woods or running busy errands! 

Spring is definitely my least-favourite season, but I can't help but loving nature just before it starts to bloom. It's so stagnant, with all the shades of grey and brown mixed up in a wonderfully bleak palette.

Ovate cloak / bag & shoes flea market / leggings from my sister 

And about the cinema. We went to see Only Lovers Left Alive, and both liked it very much! A rare treat for any artsy or vampire film lover. The film was beautifully shot, with a dreamy slow pace that's best for the days when you need some slow drama in your life. It's worth watching for the performances of Hiddleston and Swinton alone, I find it rare to see believable romance on the silver screen and both were so compelling in their roles. And beyond beautiful!

Extra points for the mentions of Kit Marlowe and Nikola Tesla! (I always get childishly excited when someone mentions Tesla!) Also one of the best things about the film was that it didn't underestimate the intelligence of its viewers, which usually is a common flaw in the modern vampire film pool. Only Lovers Left Alive was slow, clever and shamelessly stylish, and I think the drowsy scenes fit the immortal life perfectly. Not my favourite vampire film, but still a very good one.

The film really made me want to listen to melancholic Arabic-influenced music and travel to see the decay of Detroit. Some films just cling to the back of your head for days after you've seen them, like a tangible dream. Do you ever get the same feeling, thinking about a film for days, different twists and camera angles, and all that could have been? 

Darling, the only ghoul in the house is you

dress WIDOW Funeral Society dress / pumps from a friend / tights Pamela Mann / 

bracelet a gift from Dahlia Deranged / heart necklace MoonRavenDesigns

For days now I've dipped myself soul-deep in Sylvia Plath and tried to chase away the all too familiar spring gloom. On the vanity side I've twisted my hair in a vintage flair, worn light dresses that are too cold for the season and sharpened my nails. Both literally and figuratively.

If I could have three (practical) little wishes for today, I'd wish that my computer would stop dying so I could finish some projects, the ability to spin more threads into the web of time and my future plans to clear up a little more. It's exhilarating and frustrating at the same time, to have your life board upside down and all the pieces scattered around, without any certainty of how exactly the pieces will regroup. I don't know what tomorrow brings or what will happen next month, but things have a tendency of turning out like they should! Luckily so. I just need to be very patient this spring. Not my redeeming quality, but I'll do my best!

Helbf14 outfit

Hello there, I've been lost in time and space for a while. Here's a look from last weekend's Helsinki burlesque festival, brought to you by my camera phone, so the quality is what it is. The theme for this year's festivities was Tropical Tornado, not the easiest theme when you glance at my wardrobe's oh-so colorful view, so imagination had to try some little magic tricks here and there! But venomous insects and black velvet nights are very tropical, right? 

(the spider in the hat is a gift from Bodyjewelleryshop, other things are old second hand purchases and DIY.)

I didn't have a photo pass for the festival and there's only so much a phone can do, so instead of photographing I concentrated wholeheartedly on enjoying the brilliant shows and working. We had a part in taking care of VIP lounges with my friend, felt so nice to help even a little. I wish I could come up with something else than simple words like "amazing" or "awesome" to portray the stage numbers, but you'd have to see them for yourselves to catch the magic. Loads of respect for the performers, so much love and creativity had been poured into those acts and it showed.

Each year the festival gets bigger, but still somehow succeeds in maintaining a warm atmosphere. Madly imaginative costumes and beautiful, beautiful people. I can't even begin to think how many exotic hair flowers were on the venue this year, but I sure thought about counting them at one point! So glad for meeting some of my readers there, I hope to see you there next year as well! ♥