Princesses are evil.

I did end up getting my femme relief last week, on Sunday night. This photo is pre-corset, as you can see from the background, but I added it after the shot (partly to complete the outfit, partly because the dress is falling apart so I don't want to strain it any further). One of my more expensive outfits even without the corset:

• black floral print viscose dress -- Retrostar $35
• black pleated skirt (worn under for bulk, not visible here) -- Lisa Ho via Savers, $5
• black knee socks -- probably bought from a supermarket for $5
• white lace cuffs -- made them myself
• black flower headband -- Diva, $8
• black lace-up shoes -- a Tasmanian op shop, $1
• black underbust corset -- Dolly Q, $200
• leather strap -- from Daddy
• resin heart with diamante and text "I slept with him anyway" -- Johnston St warehouse sale, $2

I wear corsets maybe half a dozen times a year, perhaps a little more often now. So the price-per-wear is pretty ridiculous. This one cost more than my glasses, which I wear everyday (I usually buy glasses while I'm in China, where they're heaps cheaper). But then a corset can make a kick-arse outfit out of a handful of petticoats and a plain shirt or t-shirt.

And they feel amazing -- on Sunday night I had a cold and while I was on the tram getting to the venue, it felt like the corset was literally the only thing holding me together.

I'm not sure how I got into egl -- probably via goth which was never (aesthetically or practically) a good fit. But it's strange because I hated being dressed up in fancy, fussy princess dresses when I was a little girl. I guess I got into the broken doll look when I was a teenager, though I find it a pretty problematic style as a feminist.

Are there any styles you love now, that you thought you'd never come around to?

The title of this post comes from this fabulous song by The Coup:

Snap.

Someone wolf-whistled at me last Friday when I was walking down St Kilda Road to meet Sonic in my short skirt and long jacket. It didn't really bother me but I just realised I've worn trousers and a hoodie almost every day this week. Funny how these things work: apparently unwanted attention from men provokes immediate reactionary dykeification*.

• red gingham snap-button shirt -- hand-me down from Sonic
• white long-sleeved t-shirt -- Target children's department, $10 for two (the other one is grey)
• black skinny jeans -- Camby markets, $3
• black Converse leather sneakers -- DJ's, $40
• black leather strap (covered by camera) -- present from Daddy

* By which I mean a particular, easily identifiable androdyke look. It's definitely not femme but it's not really butch either; it's kind of the same as what femmy hipster boys wear. About eighteen months ago I went to a lo-fi/DIY arts festival in Adelaide and I was amused to see that I'd happened upon the uniform -- in my skinny jeans, square glasses and checked shirt, I was dressed the same as several boys there; all I was missing was a skanky beard.

I was reading a story in Patrick Califia's Macho Sluts last night where the protagonist defensively lengthens her stride and takes care not to swing her hips as she walks, and I realised I do this too -- and when I get home I swap my heels for boots or kicks. It's strange -- it seems like most people get more shit for non-gender-normative appearances -- but I usually feel safer when I don't look so femme.

Read on!

• Max Attitude on politeness.
• 3p on chivalry.
• Gauche Sinister on femme.

Restyle.

My friend Riots bought these shoes for me second-hand in Cairns. They were $35 which is a lot more than I'd usually pay, and they're too high for me to wear often. But I figure (like a corset) though the cost per wear is a lot higher than usual, they make quite an impact and will take an outfit from stylish to spectacular. Plus I've been into spectators and wingtips for years now, so I know it's not a passing fancy, and I like the idea of being able to instantly kinkify an outfit with such killer heels.

Tonight I'm wearing them to a fetish club with my $1 dress which I've shortened for the occasion, and a patent belt I got from the Salvation Army store in North Melbourne. I don't have the sewing skills for something like the uniform project but I can bring the skank at relatively short notice. I think I prefer its usual length though, so I'll probably let it out again.

I had my hair cut recently and I haven't got the hang of styling it yet, but it's kind of mod-ish. I think I'll ask for it shorter next time.

Safari Dress & No New Year

Gosh, I haven't used this blog for over a year. Sorry, folks!

Here's a vintage safari dress I bought last week from Lost and Found Market for $5.

Generally I don't wear nothing-colours like beige, cream, camel or caramel -- and certainly not the colours often called nude -- but I'll make an exception here. I think the stone colour, stiff fabric, and the somewhat military shape come together to create a severity I really enjoy, especially when buttoned up to the neck. I love harsh, demanding femininity -- what corsetiere Andrea Johnson might call a specific, evil glamour.

I love the details around the shoulders, sleeves and waist, and the excessive number of buttons. And I think the narrow cuffs make my arms look bigger (all the better for caning my errant charges).

By the by, I've also begun blogging about my consumer practices at No New Year, along with my darling boy, Sister Felix Slowly.

Four months late.

[A Polyvore set I made at the start of winter.]

Hyggeligt. by quean

Everything you need for a Melbourne winter, apart from your train to run on time (and you know I can't do nothing about that): A mug of something steaming, layers on layers, and some gloves to keep your knuckles warm while you're skidding over sodden leaves on your bike, racing the wind down Victoria Street.

The outfit is a bit too similar to my Enid from Ghost World set, but this one's inspired by the conference I'm helping to organise, Students of Sustainability. (Our logo's an owl, and there'll be bicycles. That's close enough.)

http://studentsofsustainability.org

Summer wardrobe.

Summer wardrobe. by quean

Following a discussion on the Vogue forums, I got to thinking about what would make a good basic summer wardrobe for young Melbourne lass whose personal style is in transition, or unknown. I think this covers most social and climactic possibilities ... and it'd fit into even the tiniest suitcase.

Highway Blues (goin' the country).

Highway blues (goin' the country). by quean

Femme/butch, plaid/polka dots ... and a little bit of hanky code action ...

I've been getting into rockabilly style since starting to go to roller derby, but mostly on the drag side of things because the femme fashions are all about Bettie and Dita and I'm neither pale nor hourglassy and while my hair's black, it's also less than an inch long.

Nevertheless, I've been swooning over the dresses at http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com, though I tend towards the more demure secretary styles by Stop ... Staring than all the spots and stripes that look like they ought be swinging.

Supplier/set information: These jeans are called "Lia Midnight", which pleased me. I've used these boots in a previous set, I'm sure -- they're so great. The belt on the skirt is nicer than the one on the top but this layout worked better. If anyone knows the name of those triangle-reinforced pockets, like on the shirt here, let me know. And the illustration is a Gil Elvgren, of course.

Cool down.

Cool down. by quean

Winter street fashion, inspired by someone I spotted walking down my street changed my mind about skinny jeans tucked into knee-high boots. Her short tweed cape carried the look from trendy to timeless, and in all black and grey the overall effect was very chic. I've brought it back down to something more casual.

Little Birdy Blue.

Little birdy blue. by quean

Doubles done differently -- one outfit in an L shape across the bottom left, another in a self-contained square in the top right corner.

Inspired by sailors, deer, walking down Brunswick St today, the song "Baby Blue" by Little Birdy, and the challenge of wearing shorts with heels.

(A bit behind on posting from Polyvore to here!)

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

In the last year I've taken to wearing pants more often, and even bought my first pair of jeans in six years or so several months ago. Now I have three pairs: Grey Supre bootlegs, black Valleygirl skinny legs (emo jeans, I know! I was thinking of developing an emo boi drag character so I justified them on that account ... yeah) and these awesome wide-leg, dark wash Gwendolynne for Target ones. I've also been favouring my Gap navy striped trousers and Dangerfield black cotton drill pants. All second-hand, of course -- five pairs of jeans and pants for under $35 seems pretty good to me! I think part of the reason I'd been sticking to skirts was that it's much harder to find pants I like in my size in op shops -- a skirt that's a size too big will usually just sit a bit lower and be a little looser, but ill-fitting pants look really silly. Besides which there's generally a better selection of vintage skirts than pants.

I also finally got a pair of boots last summer, in a Chinese winter -- flat black lace-up ankle boots, in lovely soft leather, exactly as I wanted except that the lace holes didn't have rivets while the hooks for the upper laces were silver, which was an issue for me until my lover and mother and the sales assistant all convinced me I was being insane. Anyhow, people with size 35 feet can't be choosy. But then I managed to score a pair of black 25-up Docs at Camberwell markets for $10, was given a pair of maroon 10-up Docs from a friend who found them at the tip (!), got a pair of boxing boots at the RSPCA op shop for $1, and dark green knee-high stilettos at Camby markets for $4, so now suddenly I find myself with five pairs of boots and not one pair of the black ballet flats or mary janes that were my default for so many years. In fact, I have no black flats at all. Shock horror.

So mostly these changes in my style have been the result of thrifting accidents, but one thing that's been quite decisive is the hair. In three years I've gone from waist-length to shaved, with stops in between at so many variations of a flapperish bob (I'd visited that station during high school too) and several nameless, indescribable hairstyles thanks to a bunch of friends and acquaintances I've let near my hair with scissors, clippers and razors. From afar, it appears like the whole process (skirts to pants, mary janes to boots, long hair to short) could be described as one of my gradual but insistent "butching up". But then I'm wearing more make-up than ever (not difficult as ever was usually none), more fitted clothing, and definitely spending more time thinking about aesthetics. So butching up, maybe, but dandying up too.

The other thing is that I think I'm more aware of trends than I used to be (when I was so self-consciously counter-culture and alternative and whatever, and would never have subscribed to the Vogue forums) but tend to buy clothes that I could still see myself wearing in several years time. I'm trying to build up my wardrobe to have all the things I consider "basics" (eg white shirt, black blazer, LBD, cream trench, good underwear, bags and belts) and select a few different looks or moods to maintain instead of just buying random novelty items that I can't wear with anything I already have. I still almost never buy retail (except for underwear and hosiery) and I still flinch to think of spending more than $10 on anything.

How has your style changed?

And just so this isn't a text-only entry, here's a pic of me frocked up for a Vulgargrad gig at the Spiegeltent last year. And yes, I can ride my bike in corset, top hat and heels (though I had flats on for dancing that day).