In our Fashion Nation series, we talk to women about their sense of style. Audrey Mabry, Makeup and Special Effects Artist, Brooklyn, New York Tell us about this look.The leather jacket I got from Buffalo Exchange, it’s motorcycle brand FMC. The studded sleeve cuff and the Comes (a hardcore Japanese punk band from the ’80s) T-shirt are from Addicted to Chaos on Etsy. The bondage choker is from another Etsy shop I love, Mourn the Living. The rosary is from the Brooklyn store Schafmayer & Company, where I...

    Gold bracelets and bangles were popular throughout the Victorian era. They came in a variety of styles, including thin bracelets, heavy bracelets, and bracelets adorned with jewels. Most were fairly commonplace in appearance; however, in the late nineteenth century, a new style emerged on the scene in the form of gold bracelets made to look—and sometimes function—like handcuffs. As the 1879 edition of Godey’s Lady’s Book reports: A gold handcuff, presented by a gentleman, and locked on the wrist of the fair recipient, is a curious...

Wear your love for cats on your...ears...with these adorable DIY cat face hoop earrings. Follow the instructions below from Crafting For Cat Ladies: 35 Purr-fect Feline Projects by Kat Roberts to make them yourself. Hoop Earrings Give a simple pair of hoop earrings a major style upgrade by adding your favorite decorative paper and some cat embellishments. What You Need:PencilRulerScrap paper, slightly larger than the hoop earringsHoop earrings, 11⁄2 inches (4 cm) in diameterScissorsDecorative paper, 5 x 6 inches (12.5 x 15 cm)Glue stickAcrylic paint, markers, or gel pens...

  Premme Power The superstar plus-size line we’ve been waiting for GabiFresh (aka Gabi Gregg) and Nicolette Mason have been crushing the plus-size style scene since the early days of blogging, and now they’ve joined forces to launch Premme (premme.us), the most bangin’ bigger-girl line around. With sizes ranging from 12 to 30, with a price range of $30-$119, the crop tops, mini skirts, bodycon dresses, and “Feminist AF” jackets of their summer collection sold out almost immediately. We can’t wait to see the pieces their queer, woc,...

  Ever wanted to make your own makeup? It's easier than you might think! Check out this excerpt from Make Your Own Pure Mineral Makeup: 79 Easy Hypoallergenic Recipes For Radiant Beauty, by Heather Anderson   How To Make Briar Eyeshadow     I don’t usually read fiction, but when I do, I love classic fairy tales that are made modern. Sleeping Beauty and Briar Rose are among my favorites. I love Briar’s kind, loving heart; she is incredibly sweet and makes friends with everyone — even woodland creatures! She is...

I sit cross-legged on my daughter’s bed, breathing in the scent of her. The palm trees rustle gently in the wind while the warm sun shines through the single pane window in our Manila home. I close my eyes and I’m transported to the outdoor staircase in Tokyo where, ten years ago, I would perch myself in the morning sun and struggle to find some semblance of self-worth. I return to the present moment, feeling reassured by the very essence of my daughter, which proves...

    Unlike popular autumnal shades, such as golds, browns, and burnished reds, the Victorians generally regarded the color orange with disfavor. Fashion magazines of the day advised against wearing orange dresses, calling the color ugly and claiming that it was unflattering to every complexion. Even worse, as fashion historian C. Willett Cunnington reports, some believed that the color orange implied “a degree of animal passion which the pure ought not to possess.” However, fall is the perfect time to showcase a selection of this much maligned—but...

We love the idea of making wearable sculptures and giving people the vehicle to wear their obsessions. - Rebecca and Cameron Stern Fox Diorama Necklace by Stern Design Works Stern Design Works proves that not all statement pieces need to be over-powering; they truly embody an intersection between S.T.E.M. and fashion. Resembling tiny statues, these works of art are one-of-a-kind designs. The Fox Diorama Necklace featured above takes inspiration from exhibits from the American Museum of Natural History in NYC and the Field Museum in Chicago. They have many more...

    Gabi Gregg, aka Gabi Fresh, has been revolutionizing plus-size fashion for a decade, with her blog, her social media, her swimwear collections with Swimsutisforall, and her new fashion line Premme with Nicolette Mason. I own *quite a few* things from these lines, and I love them all. So I am very ready to put her new lingerie collection on my bod. Gabi teamed up with UK-based brand Playful Promises (also available in the US, don’t worry) to launch a line of sexy and supportive lingerie for...

For balls and other formal events, fashionable women of the early 1860s often arranged their hair in elaborate styles with artificial tufts, pads, and false plaits. On a day-to-day basis, however, Victorian women of more moderate means stuck to more practical styles. These styles included firmly pinned plaits, simple chignons, and rolls bound up in a hair net or secured with a ribbon. In today’s post, we take a brief look at some of these styles, specifically those which feature in my new Victorian romance...