chateau bizarre: hardcore glamour & curious finds, reviewed daily » victorian, steampunk & pirates

Mad Girl Clothing

lilah wild — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:01:05 +0000

A substore of Pendragon Clothing that specializes in steampunk fashion. Men’s doublets, vests, and jackets decorated with distressed straps, tooling, and zippers, outfitting highwaymen and pirates and anybody thrilled by the prospect of concho snaps. The Women’s page is a bodice-fest of earth tones and industrial clasps and includes a bustled coat that pairs well with the corsetry. Accessories look to be on the way. Thanks, Miko!

Romantic Threads

lilah wild — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:38:45 +0000

Gowns, gowns, gowns, wild custom fantasy confections for throwing teaparties, getting married, smacking courtiers, wandering enchanted woods, or other moments that demand voluminous skirts – they also stock Nataya for more subdued special occasions. Also plus sizes, men’s fancy dress, and ornate ren-faire/bridal-party things for kids. A good place to find medieval circlet-necklace-belt sets to drape the body in chains of pearls.

Widow’s Weeds

lilah wild — Mon, 10 May 2010 21:09:06 +0000

Meticulous Victorian reproductions specializing in mourning wear. No shiny beads or sequins here, it’s clothing that strives for period correctness in lots of jacket-and-bustle ensembles that garnish lace overlay with ruffled necklines and fabric-covered buttons. There’s also brighter dress for when you’re ready to cast off the black in favor of peacock festivity. No set catalog – “email me about a gown” appears at the bottom of each page, and custom is very welcome.

Bibian Blue

lilah wild — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:19:44 +0000

Super-duper extravagant corsetry and fancy dress from Barcelona. The elegantly nipped waists are presented in Victorian buckles, circus stripes, tailored tartan, can-can lace, steampunk leatherette, gothic batty bustlines, industrial latches, and many other sumptuous permutations, often with skirts, pasties, jackets, and millinery to match. Bridalwear, too. Thanks, Sara!

Voodoo Dolly

lilah wild — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:27:44 +0000

A large catalog of alt brands, the usual suspects of Lip Service, Shrine and Stop Staring are here with Baby Tears, Evil Kitty, Honeydew Intimates and Limb. The styles are all over the map, swooping through goth, fetish, retro, and steampunk, with shoes and accessories to match.

English Relics

lilah wild — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:38:47 +0000

Modern jewelry and accessories festooned with genuine dated bits of bronze antiquity: necklaces made from Roman casket lock covers, cinch belts garnished with medieval girdle rings, thick Tudor-buckled warrior cuffs, musket balls popping up as a common motif. It’s the kind of stuff that lends just a touch of ancient history to a contemporary outfit as opposed to the whole ren-faire kaboodle, although it also blends seamlessly into the current vogue of rugged Victoriana.

Garden Party Teas

lilah wild — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:13:29 +0000

This site provides everything needed for a proper teaparty, in porcelain drinkware and all the staple Victorian accessories to set the right atmosphere: fans, floppy hats, gloves, and flowered parasols, much of it sized for little ones. There’s also obvious relish in setting the perfect table through the extensive selection of teapots, cozies, dessert plates, and other rose-festooned bits of shabby chic, making sure you have all the proper ritual elements right down to the gold-plated sugar tongs.

Sofi’s Stitches

lilah wild — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:04:51 +0000

A historical dress catalog that gives equal time to long regal gowns and wench wear, presenting pieces inspired by what German noblewomen wore in 1525, or casualwear from the Rhine-Danube Valley – and all the underthings to further shape the silhouette. There are doublets, vests, breeches, and flowing shirts for the dudes, belts, sashes, and arm garters for further accessorization, cloaks and dashing hats, slippers and pirate boots, and pouches for toting around all the ren-faire necessities.

Sat’n Spurs

lilah wild — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:44:22 +0000

Western-style wedding wear, where cowboy hats and denim bridal gowns are sprinkled with bits of frontier Victoriana. Gingham garters, brocade vests for the groom, veil-trimmed hats, and they have quite the selection of prim little lace boots to go with the voluminous skirts of the era. The dresses are all over the map, from snow-white fairy bodices to sleeves edged in saloon-girl fringe, flowing “blue jean” trains to the embroidered silk of the “Lassoed By Love” number. And of course they have all the ring pillows and toasting sets and other ceremonial necessities, including cake toppers if the happy couple wants to include their horses in the big day.

Davyne Dial Modiste

lilah wild — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:13:50 +0000

Hats from the late 19th and early 20th centuries for Victorian teaparties and Edwardian day ensembles and flappers on the go, just demanding to be introduced to an elegant pair of gloves and a smart little purse. Cloches, wide-brimmed straw designs, velvet floppies, garnished with flowers or tied with sashes or draped in silk veiling. There’s a section just for bridal headwear, and the silk roses can be bought a la carte.

Very Merry Seamstress

lilah wild — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:07:08 +0000

A gigantic catalog of handmade historical clothing and beyond for men and women, from Marie Antoinette ensembles to anime costumes. Full of gowns browsable by era, kids’ outfits, and things for pirates and brides, as well as harder-to-find key dressup bits: Elizabethan partlets, maternity bodices, a page of “underskirt devices,” elaborate neck ruffs, bodice jewels, wedding circlets, all the period-appropriate hats, velvet jester hose that offer the option of coordinating codpieces if that’s the kind of guy you are. Custom is extremely welcome.

Sara’s Parasols

lilah wild — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:39:40 +0000

Decorative little umbrellas, of fringed nylon, sheer lace, Battenburg edging, and sun-blocking “Solarweave” fabric. The catalog photos are mostly black and white, but scrolling down reveals some more color options, and designs can be customized with ruffles, ribbons, flowers, tasseled handles, and for that truly upper-crust look, monograms.

Sarah Juniper Historical Shoes

lilah wild — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:27:28 +0000

A cobbler specializing in reproductions of Roman, Tudor, Civil War, and a little contemporary footwear, “no cemented soles, no nails, no short cuts made to look like they were made by hand, just the real thing.” 18th century riding boots, mid-1700’s brocade slippers with timber heels, jester curled toes, sandals copied from German excavations. Refashioning a particular epoch’s pain-causing peccadillos into a more comfortable shape is very possible, and custom is extremely welcome – if you have a painting or print that happens to depict the shoes of your dreams, this is the place to send it.