Victorian Era Lover/ Inspirations/Tips

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Another post without pictures of myself. Thanks to the winter, and bunch of snow outside. Yesterday, I went outside, and took a look at some shops, and I bought 2 breathtaking dresses, floral shirt, bag, blazer and elegant trousers, and unfortunately, it will take maybe even a month to show it via pictures where I'm wearing it. I also bought 2 dresses in January, and beautiful vintage costume in december, and a lot of accessories which I'm going to wear when sun comes out, so, all of that will wait. I tend to buy dresses all the time, you got it, I'm pretty sure. And I always want more, and sometimes even don't have enough time to wear them at least once. That's pity, but what can I do.
So, all of the mentioned things will have to wait to be posted here. I decided to do some kind of continued post related to the previous inspiration one. As there are quite a lot of the things inspiring me. And I decided to do Victorian Era separately, in one post, because it deserves more space than any inspiration does. I think that there's no such a person who is keen on to it as much as I am.
Funny little fact, I actually don't want to go back in time, and live in Victorian era. As I've studied a lot of the things at my faculty, and learned a lot of the things myself, I'm pretty horrified by the way they lived, and by the way the women were treated, the hygiene, and a lot of other issues. A lot of people live in illusion that Victorian era, or other periods in starting from the Middle Ages onwards, was perfect for living, that princesses lived in their castles, wore their gowns, read books and enjoyed tea. That's how it was presented in some of the movies, but, actually, none of their gowns was as clean as it looked in the movies, and none of the princesses looked the way they looked in the movies. They rarely took a bath, and some of them took a shower even only once in a year. And it was the case of royal ones, what actually happened among the peasants and servants is the story for its own. But what I really love about it, is the way people shared their opinions and the awareness of women sensibility. They all were musically educated, it was their duty to play at  least one instrument. The sense of perfections in details, like the very little details in houses, even the dishes was perfectly ornamented, the lamps, the doors, cloths, hats, etc.
It is my favourite era in history, and many of you have noticed the spirit of Victorian in my clothing and style. That spirit reflects through my everyday style and I mix it with modern age, as I'm a lover of modern things as well. What I'd like to emphasize is the fact that I love vintage and retro but I almost never visit second hand shops(I've got a couple of things that I redesigned and washed a thousand times as I'm very very hygiene lover person). I always visit the modern brand shops and find suitable clothes for me with that sense of romantic ages. I could find Mango dress which looks totally modern and make it look more romantic with a lot of pearly, lacy details that make it look romantic and vintage. My wardrobe is perfectly designed, every shelf has its divided space for each of the color and piece of clothes. Everything has to be in perfect condition, perfectly polished, without any spots. That's why I don't like second hand shops. I simply wear modern clothes, but the fact that I've got romantic Victorian spirit makes it look old, retro and vintage. Another funny little fact. I never, ever, actually considered myself a vintage lover. I shopped in popular brand shops, being told that I've got vintage style, ad after a while, I realised that the only explanation why people connect my modern style to the vintage one, is that I'm Romantic Victorian inside, that my soul and inner being reflects it.
So, I'd just like to point out a few other tips for being perfectly polished and chic all the time, before I start posting the pictures. And,uhm, I again made longer post than I thought it would actually be. That happens to me all the time, when writing about something so close to my heart.
p.s.- I've noticed a lot of bloggers writing about something they like using Wikipedia or some other source, just copying the text and making the post. I really don't like it, because, personally, I love reading blogs which contain the stories written from their own experiences and hearts. That your inner being is writing. Everyone could be a good writer copying the text from different sources to their own blogs. That was just a little piece of advice how to achieve people's sympathy. And it is, create your own style, never lose your heart, write using your inner being and be yourself, as everyone else is being taken.

I will now post a few little tips to stay chic and classy, with that Romantic spirit I tend to carry. Watching all those Middle Age movies, and reading ancient books led me to the fact that women lost some of its feminine characteristics, as the time passed by.

1.But what will help you keep it is the fact that you should find the clothes that fits you the best.In my case, I didn't find any specific style that fits me more beautifully than the other one, I love a loooot of the things, and combine different styles, and find it looking nice on me, but if you have problem in transforming find the clothes that fits you the best and stay true to it.

2.Also, if you buy something that is not perfect for you, and has something you really like, reshape it. 60% of my clothes is being redesigned by me. Very often I replace buttons on the coats, shirts and make it look a lot more interesting and beautiful. I buy artistic buttons all the time and replace the old ones on my clothes. As I wear xs sized clothes, and love long modern looking dresses with floral prints, I cut the sleeves, or cut the long skirt and make it look chic and sexy at the same time.

3.Always practice when wearing high heels. I'm lucky to tell that I never fall or have a pain in the legs of wearing high heels, and most of the time I actually wear 12 cm heeled shoes. The higher the heel, the better. So, if you want your clothes appear more elegant and classy, learn how to walk well in the heels.
The most important thing, in my opinion, is the foundation. As it's the primer in the make up, foundation of lingerie is sometimes more important than the dress you are wearing. I went shopping with a couple of girls, that called me to be designer of their prom combination, I firstly checked their lingerie, and made them spend more money on lingerie than on the dress.
Find a right size of your bra and if you are not fit always wear underskirt that will shape your body. Never feel sorry for spending money on good quality. I tend to buy very expensive bras and I love quality of lingerie. Remember, the foundation is more important than the most expensive dress in the world.

4.Never, ever try to change the natural lines of your face. Never draw a line outside the corners of your natural line of lips for example, or put a darker shade of foundation all over your face. That's tasteless and not elegant. Keep looking natural as possible. And never put a foundation all over your face. Concealing is the best thing in putting make-up on.(Very very soon, I'll post some of my make-up products and how I apply and use them).

5. Ladylike must have look are PERFECTLY polished nails.(All of the things I've mentioned are the things from my experience and my opinions). When I look at a well dressed women and see ugly polished nails and shape the fact that I thought she's well dressed lose its meaning. It's hard to maintain the perfectly polished color, but do your best. I wash corsets, hats, gloves, silk dresses with my hands. And never use gloves while washing it, because I do not have the feeling when it is completely washed, without any washing gel in it.
My recommendation when using nail polishes, is, always use hand and nail cream so that the skin around the nails feels soft and pretty. Always do a manicure(I always do it myself) Put a nail base(you can find it in any cosmetic store), it will make your nail look healthier and shinier. When putting the nail polish, put a topcoat over it, it will help the nail polish stay longer and look shinier.

6. Nothing could help your face look younger, fresher and more beautiful, than the perfectly shaped eyebrows. I don't like overdrawing. Anyone can make different shapes drawing the lines with make up, but what I suggest(I have black and strong hair, therefore my eyebrows are quite dark and strong, I just fill in the small little gaps with eyebrow pencil, and it takes me a few seconds, the result is great)is that you find the right color of eyebrow pencil, and if needed just fill in the gaps, just a small little ones, no overdrawing or making them thicker. It will make your face look much younger and fresher. Never pluck them over the eyebrow line, just pluck a couple of them under the eyebrow line. That's what I've been doing for years.

7.If you want to look ladylike and natural, never ever use suntanned creams and darken your skin. The porcelain skin is what makes you ladylike. I'm naturally pale tanned, so I'm just keeping it, taking care while I'm out in the sun, using SPF factors foundations, always wear wide hats(not because I want to protect from the sun that badly and stay pale) but because I'm crazy about hats, and plus, it helps me to keep my skin not burned in the sun. I usually have wonderful parasols with me.

8. I take care of my clothes as if I would take care of the babies. Checking out if some spot appears, and immediately remove it, or if the button is falling out, putting it in the right place, polish the clothes till it's perfect, use clothing roller for removing the dust, from time to time, always drying clean hats and coats.
Never, ever wash the different colors together,and use separate gel, actually color washing gels for multi colored clothes, black and different gels for wool and silk.

Let me go back to the Victorian Era and post some of the pictures. What I like the most about the Vcitorian Era fashion are gloves, corsets, hats and gowns.
Corsets are my passion. But what was said back then, is the fact the women were victims of corset fashion and had even classes how to tighten the corsets and make their waists look bizarrely tight.

During the Victorian Period, corsets became an indispensable part of a woman’s wardrobe. All efforts and styles– huge skirts, heavy decorated bosoms, wide belts– were made to emphasize the waist, whittling it down visually. For most ladies, a 26-24 inch waist was normal, but for some, the only limit was, seemingly, the width of their spine! Scarlett O’Hara in the book Gone with the Wind famously boasts about her tiny, 17 inch waist and Caroline Ingalls from the Little House on the Prairie series recalls how her husband used to be able to put his hands all the way around her waist.
Here are some of the pictures showing the bizarre corset tightening:

Bluish Green Swimsuit/Top

Thursday, February 9, 2012



A bit O' This and That

Friday, February 3, 2012

I think this is going to be pretty huge post, but I'll try to cut the story short.
I'll start with music, as music is my greatest inspiration of all time, (This is the hardest part, as I have at least 30 musicians I'm addicted to listening to).


Sarah Brightman (Opera singer, dancer, actress)

DESIGNED BY ECLAIR DESIGNS