What happens when your long black dress gets caught and ripped on the wheels of the grocery store shopping cart? Yes, that actually happened to me!
Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz fixes a damaged dress and repairs more unsightly alterations with black on black lace appliques for sustainable, affordable, gothic sophistication anyone can do!
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Let’s travel back in time! What happens when you have a surplus of red curtains, red fabrics, and a plague-delayed holiday? Why one makes a festive ye olde skirt of course! This impromptu project only took about four days, coming together smoothly with a fun silhouette that fits a variety of seasons and stylings. Please enjoy this completely backward construction video of a December holiday made in January, edited in February, and now seeing the light of day in March. And no, I haven’t finished the matching vest – Yet! – but the skirt’s actually reversible in a pleasant two-for-one surprise!
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It’s your put earrings in your ears reminder! Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz is breaking out the tacky and gaudy orange bling for a little chat about jewelry making basics, where to get affordable beading supplies, cheats for those of us with dexterity issues, and the endless possibilities of making your own earrings, necklaces, or bracelets to coordinate with your style. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to add personality to your wardrobe – even if that’s just orange and black beads to go with Halloween pajamas in December! Terrible camera angles and talking Italian hands that spill the bead tray are included free of charge.
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‘Tis the Autumn Season! Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz shares a recent Halloween Thrift Haul aka a “Haulloween” because that’s what I get for filming on October 1 Harvest Moon 2020 at 2 a.m. when the pumpkin brain turns to mush. This show and tell includes Halloween clothing, pajama bargains, and affordable name brand baby costumes that can be re-purposed when the child grows as well as supplemental gothic shoes and accessories.
Fashionable gloves don’t have to be expensive, and fun items like tiaras and veils add to the craft stash mayhem! Second Hand shopping is an affordable necessity for alternative year round finds to be altered or to suit retro, vintage, or sophisticated needs. It takes a little luck and getting to know your local shops, but the second half of this video features bargain corset analysis, weighing the pros and cons of cheap costume quality, taking in larger lingerie styles, problematic zippers versus proper closures, and taking apart $5 corsets for the learning what not to do examination guilt free. The cat gets involved in the shenanigans, too.
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Are you understandably unmotivated with your hobbies and style these days?
Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz discusses the pros and cons of commercial and altered patterns in tackling this purple Regency meets seventies styled empire dress in progress alongside sewing for yourself versus sewing for others, sewing properly instead of just winging it, adding choice color to a black wardrobe, the lack of motivation to complete seasonal goals during the pandemic, unfinished projects placed on the back burner, and future ideas for accessories to match.
For those looking to build a vintage wardrobe or add sophisticated pieces to your closet, second-hand shopping such as Goodwill or thrift stores is a great way to find unique styles at affordable prices. Occasionally, however, a great outfit may have one or two problems – a missing button, hemming, or other size adjustments. Even if you are new to sewing or fearful of minor tailoring, this kind of customized alteration can really make a thrift find zing.
In this video, Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz shows you easy fixes, quick stitches and taking in tricks as well as what to look for such as detailed handwork or designer extras. For a few dollars and some sewing practice, altering thrift finds can lead to unique trendsetting and fashion that makes you feel good.
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An amuse-bouche[aˌmyzˈbuʃ] (plural amuse-bouches) is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre.Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but are served gratis and according to the chef’s selection alone. These, often accompanied by a complementing wine, are served both to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef’s approach to the art of cuisine.
The ‘definition’ has escaped and has been expanded to refer to everything from a little bit of morning sex (see Urban Dictionary) to a lipstick line from Bite Beauty. Basically a small amount of something that is not enough to satisfy but intended to tease your interest before the main event. I’m going to use it to introduce (but not wax rhapsodic) about some diverse subjects from my hobbies and personal experiences here in my column so I hope you will enjoy it! I am always happy to provide further information so please feel free to ask for further details in a letter to HorrorAddicts@gmail.com. The staff always loves to hear from podcast listeners and all our readers out there.
As always, controversy and ‘ruffle kerfluffle’ has erupted in the Lolita Community over the generalizing in the shortened version of this video posted very recently by Refinery 29 on Facebook but for me, aside from a few points, this sums it up quite well in general terms for people who are not already involved in the fashions. Devotees love to debate the finer points such as “There is a definite section of males who wear Lolita as well”, “It is inspired by the Rococo period of history just as much if not more than by the Victorian period” and also “It is not a costume” are a few comments I have seen as I glanced through.
This look, through a male eye, tells a somewhat similar but different story:
My fiance liked the second video and said it was pretty accurate. He wears formal modern clothing to accompany me to Lolita events, meets and teas locally in our private group of friends, at conventions and mostly to meet up with the Kansas City Lolita community, which we are both a happy part of . He was admiring the ensemble the host chose so it is fun to show another view of the fashion too. It’s also nice to clearly show that men have several options and most communities are welcoming if you choose to attend events and seek advice on what to wear (and how to behave) beforehand.
So there are two little tastes of Lolita Fashion for you. What is YOUR first impression when seeing Lolita Fashion? I’d love to hear your thoughts and descriptions, so please leave me a comment if you want to have a little chat! I’ll brew up a pot of tea and set the table…
Hello Addicts! Here is a topic your fashionably frightful fellow Addict, Mimielle has been mulling over:
When you go out dressed unusually, do you get comments about it? I’d love to hear your experiences with this because when discussing fashion, it’s often one of the more common reasons people give me for being a little hesitant to fully realize their fashion sense, the reactions or fear of the reactions making them uncomfortable. And not just teens or twenty-somethings. It’s unfortunately a fact that many people of every age feel unable to wear the fashions they’d like to in public for fear of reactions.
Since obviously, I roam the streets dressed like this…
I currently live in a smaller metropolitan area in a southern state so in hopes of encouraging you to be brave and deal gracefully on your own terms with people who are rude enough to publicly and sometimes even confrontationally question your fashion, I’ll share the 2 most common reactions I get wearing Gothic Lolita fairly regularly and my thoughts about them. I leave kid’s reactions out because mostly they are great, either asking me something completely outlandish like “Are you Lady Gaga?” or whispering to their parent “Wow look, a princess!” Plus you can’t actually punch a kid, not that I’m suggesting it or anything – where is your sense of the ridiculous?
People wanting to take my picture. Oddly, this doesn’t bother me if they just stealthily take a snap or 3 but when they come up to me, it makes me self-conscious at times. Like when I am in Walmart on a Tuesday morning, holding a package of bacon. True story, Morning Glory. I totally expect to end up on People of Walmart one of these days but I’m still not sure if I’d leave the photo up or ask them to remove it. There are a couple of people already posted on there that have Lolita-related outfits, dating back 4 years or so but they aren’t very good representations of the fashion. There is one nicely dressed Texas Lolita posted there with a Little Miss Muffet caption, she actually got several nice comments though and left her photo up so obviously opinions vary!
People wanting to have my fashion ‘explained’ to them. I can usually spot these people before they come up to me and they are the worst. Let me preface this by saying that even in the Lolita community, I am not the person who loves to explain or define anything and will most often defer to the nearest other handy Lolita or online, point people to the nearest decent resource. There are so many people who DO enjoy teaching about and talking about the fashion and do a really good job of it that aside from here with you darling ghoulies and goblins on Horror Addicts, I don’t really talk much about my fashion – much less divulge any secrets! That’s how you know I love you!! So anyway, these women who come up to me (and 99% are women, very few men will talk to me at all)…Most often, they are women over 25 or so, and I can often tell that they already do not LIKE what I am wearing, and can also divine by their scowl or stinkface that this is the most ‘polite’ way they can justify sort of demanding an accounting for why a grown woman is wearing dark frilly dresses with Gothic jewelry and such ‘interesting’ shoes in the daylight on Tuesday at THEIR Hobby Lobby. It would be comical (and often is afterwards) if they weren’t so serious about it. Or if they actually listened to my reply instead of having their word filter on High trying to pick out something deviant or weird in my explanation to justify their pre-judgement of disapproval. If they are with their daughter, it is also a little embarrassing to watch HER embarrassment as her mother is rude and judgmental to another woman who just smiles in return.
Yes, both situations make me uncomfortable, obviously the latter more than the former since it gets me so wound up! I can carry a phone and pretend to talk on it because people will grudgingly walk past, still staring, but refrain from actually disturbing me and I also usually have the advantage of a very grouchy looking fiancé nearby to run interference if I give him ‘the look’ (which often looks like ‘deer caught in the headlights’).
I got curious and searched ‘Goth’ on People of Walmart and turned up 14 results. Frankly, I expected more but you’ll have to go and see for yourself what I found because descriptive words escape me to define just what I saw. After that, I was afraid to search “fashion”.
If you were photographed and posted on People of Walmart or on a similar site, would you leave the photo up or ask them to remove it? We want to know! Please vote in the poll and don’t be shy to elaborate in the comments if you have some thoughts on this, I’d really love to read them.
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