A Windswept Gothic Romance – October’s Style Not Age Challenge

It’s not often you’ll see me wear head to toe black. As a teenager it was pretty much the only (non) colour I wore, but I’ve grown increasingly confident with colours and bold patterns as I’ve got older. However, it was my turn to choose a theme for this month’s Style Not Age collaboration and I took a loose prompt from Halloween. Rather than make it explicitly about Halloween I settled on the theme of Gothic Romance, conjuring up images of black lace, velvet and ruffles.

It turned out to be a windswept gothic romance, but I think that just adds to the drama

I was racking my brains for a suitable location for these photos but couldn’t think of anywhere. Our local church is on a main road so we wouldn’t have been able to do them discreetly. But Pete came up with the brilliant idea of driving to Mow Cop to take the photos by the folly ruins. It was exactly what I’d envisaged so major brownie points for Pete! It turned out to be a windswept gothic romance, but I think that just adds to the drama.

The thing about taking photos in public is that there’s bound to be other people around. Although the folly is only small, it’s quite popular, especially on a Sunday afternoon! Nevertheless, I brazened it out. That wasn’t the only challenge I faced though, because that morning I woke up with terrible back pain. I could hardly walk for a couple of hours, but a strong painkiller did the trick! My dress is very long, so I tied it in a knot and wore a long coat over it until I’d climbed to the top of the stairs. I wore flat boots, with these chunky ones and my headband in a rucksack so I could do a quick change. The vest and thick tights under the dress kept me warm.

These pearl-embellished boots are my latest eBay find. It’s not easy to find this style in faux leather so I was delighted to snap them up. I’ve had the dress and headband since this time last year. In fact, I wore this dress last Halloween in Madeira but didn’t end up posting the photos. (I’ve included one further down.)

SHOP THE LOOK

Although the style of dress didn’t really require a necklace I couldn’t help but wear this cute bat one from Obscenerie. Bats have had bad press this year, I think they need a little love!

Second Female dress (similar) | Zara boots (from eBay) | Asos headband (old) | Yaa Yaa London ring | Obscenerie necklace

How I wore the same dress last Halloween

Sorry ladies, I know you didn’t enjoy this challenge…but you all did a fantastic job with it!

Jacqui has layered a chiffon dress over faux leather leggings, topped with a leather jacket for a very glamourous look that would be perfect for a night out. See all the details at Mummabstylish.

Gail has really got into the spirit (no pun intended!) of gothic romance with a black lace skirt, Victorian style blouse and a fun black wig! Visit Is This Mutton? to see more.

We all know how much Anna loves bright colours, so this was well out of her comfort zone. Despite that, Anna looks amazing in this dark green sheer dress with metallic sock boots. See more of her outfit over at Anna’s Island Style.

Hilda chose an outfit very similar to mine with a sheer black maxi dress and chunky boots. Very glam and mysterious! Visit Over the Hilda to read more!

So that’s our take on Gothic Romance…I’ll try to pick something more palatable next time!

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