Far from being a cheesy but lovable monster-of-the-week format, Salem is based on the 17th century witch trials and how the witches remain hidden in their small puritan town. I am not going to lie- there are things about Salem which definitely could have been done better and there are times when the script makes me cringe a bit. But after watching the first few episodes, I found enough that I liked about Salem to keep me going. The plot is a lot darker and the scenery is very atmospheric.
Although the characters are not always that likable, I loved how the series has a lot of strong female characters. In a time when a man's word holds far more power than a female's word ever could, the witches are ruthless and able to get their own way far more than you would expect. Initially the character of Mary Sibley seems weak, and she ends up marrying the head councilor of the selectmen board, after her true love John fails to return when promised. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Mary is well and truly calling the shots, and without giving away any spoilers she soon finds herself in a position of power within the town.
But another thing I love about Salem is the costumes. As Mary takes on the role of head councilor's wife, she is dressed in a way you would not expect somebody from a puritan town to dress. To reflect her new wealth and power, her clothing becomes more extravagant. We start to see her in more luxurious fabrics, such as furs. Although Mary favours dark colours, as do most of the residents, there is a lot of gold and jewels. As a lover of all 3 of the main lolita sub-styles, the gothic and dark classic lolita in me can't help but admire Mary's beautiful outfits. In fact, a lot of the wealthier characters in the show have very inspirational wardrobes. I do know that the costume department for Salem has been receiving a great deal of praise. There are so many ornate and delicate little details.
With this is mind, and with Halloween fast approaching, I decided to come up with a Salem and Mary inspired lolita mood board. I think Mary would be very enamored with the indie brand VooDoooDolly and would also be a fan of a lot of the darker Alice and the Pirates pieces. Making this collage threw up a lot of interesting thoughts about 'witch lolita' and how they almost always feature a pointy witch hat. But what if you are unable to reveal your witch identity? So I wanted my mood board to focus on a more 'luxurious' dark lolita look rather than a specific witch lolita look. I made sure to include gold details, as well as some fur trim and a hat similar to the one in the screen shot Mary is wearing above. I also wanted to include a corset (as they feature heavily in the show) but unfortunately I could not find one which didn't look cheap or fitted the image I was going for. I settled on a corset style choker instead.
Series 3 of Salem starts early November and I am hoping I will be able to find a way to watch it. I am a bit lover of all these witchy dramas and movies. I love Hocus Pocus and The Craft. It always feels like this is a good time of the year to curl up on the sofa and enjoy these classics and I hope I am able to do so over the Halloween weekend. Do you know of any good witch themed or gothic style shows and movies? Feel free to comment with your favourites. And I hope you all have a Happy Halloween!
