TPC Calender Photo-shoot in Oxford

Back in October the Oxfordshire Lolitas did a mini photo-shoot for the Tea Party Club calender. The idea was that 12 lolita communities around the UK would contribute to the calender to help raise funds for future TPC meets. Considering how amazing Frock On! and the Juliette et Justine events were, I think it was well worth taking part. Kyra is an incredible events organiser and if this extra bit of money helps to make a future event even better, then that would be great!

I was in two minds about whether I should post any photos or not, but because some of the others have been posting photos I decided a few shots of my individual outfit wouldn't hurt. However, if you want to see the final group photo then you will have to buy the calender!

These are my own photos, not the photographer's ones.

My outfit was royalty themed so I wore Meta's Nostalgic Chess and teamed it with my Innocent World crown bag, my AP replica crown shoes and a crown on my head as well. I used rich colours like wine and gold. This photo is not that good because we took them at the end of the day, but as I mentioned I am a bit apprehensive about posting the actual photographer's photos! 

For my hair accessories I went for a crown (a random ebay find). It came with this white elastic strap on it which didn't look so attractive, so in the end I managed to pin it down and then disguised the elastic with fake wine roses from Hobbycraft and a Foxcherry black veil. I was amazed at how well the crown stayed in place all day! This photo was from when I was planning my outfit, so the positioning was a little different on the actual day.

So I am really looking forward to seeing the final calender. I am curious to see what the other 11 communities did for their photo! Doing the shoot was a lot of fun. I am very grateful the photographer took the time to photograph us. 

Crowns by Suppurate System- Want!

It took me 3 attempts to spell Suppurate correctly for the post title...

Have you ever seen a brand name thrown about but not really bothered to have a good thorough look? For me, Suppurate System is one of those brands. I rarely wear gothic (and even then it is probably not standard gothic lolita) so I have always overlooked this shop, thinking that I probably wouldn't find anything...

How wrong I was! I saw this crown being sold on the EGL comm and I decided to have a nose on the Suppurate System website for the very first time. I was greeted by loads of not just gothic items, but decadent gothic items! And as the word decadent suggests, the prices are a bit steep too. However, I can't help but love the crowns. The one pictured above is one of their decadent crowns. I guess the reason it appeals is because it has a very rustic look. The crowns I normally see are more polished but these crowns have a distressed and dark look to them. I like the idea of a "battered princess" or a more disturbed take on the princess style. Ever since I went on the Suppurate System website, I have been daydreaming about being a gothic princess. I am never going to overlook a shop ever again! I wonder what other delights I have been missing?

It is unlikely I will buy a Suppurate System crown because I cannot justify the price. However, looking at the designs, it makes me wonder if I would be able to make one myself. Because most of the crowns look a bit rustic, it wouldn't matter if it wasn't 100% perfect, as that would probably add to the design. I have spent a bit of time staring at these crown pictures wondering how it is done. I think I have figured out how to do the barbed wire and making the leather look distressed would be easy. So maybe I will give it a go.

Here are some other items I liked-

I know this is meant to be an eye patch but I would definitely use it as a hair accessory too!

Crosses tend to be a bit overdone with gothic style, but this wooden cross necklace appealed to me.

I love the idea of the rose being caged in this necklace. It conjures up a lot of images for me.

More crowns! This time the crown is on a ring. It has lots of detailing to it.

So I had a lot of interesting gothic ideas after visiting the Suppurate System website. If you would like to see more Suppurate System products, their shop is here- http://ssnet.ocnk.net/home