A Victorianesque Hallowe'en: All Hallow's Tree

Considering we are going for Victorian-"esque" rather than straight historically Victorian themes for our Hallowe'en, we are most assuredly allowed a wide swath of artistic license. In this case, we will borrow from one of the most well-known images of the Holiday Season, the Christmas Tree. However, we are going to borrow the usual corner of the Christmas-celebrant's house for this less-fluffy, and in my opinion, more striking, aesthetically pleasing reminder of those sentinels of the end of Autumn, the barren tree.

A Victorianesque Hallowe'en: Fabrics

Now we get into a topic that really does have infinite possibilities and does not
have to break the bank. One of the most iconic symbols of Victorian decor is its
fabrics and their patterns. As wallpaper, room dividers, window treatments, draft
excluding bed decor and table coverings, fabrics in rich colours, detailed
ornamentation and flowing textures define much of what is seen as Victorian.
Plainer fabrics such as muslins and linens also play a huge part in depicting the
crisp, white, immaculate standards of "better" Victorian households. They also play a
huge role in defining our somewhat-romanticized, yet wonderfully decayed
Victorianesque Haunted Home.

A Season for Compassion, Not Drama

The inspiration for this topic is incredibly well-timed. We are now through the door

into the Holiday Season. This is the time of year when emotions run higher than most

other times of the year, when self-imposed expectations become unreasonably and

impossibly high and when the line between drama and someone truly needing a moment of compassion from friends and relatives becomes annoyingly obscured.

A Victorianesque Hallowe'en: Old Silver and Candlesticks

Part of the charm of a Victorianesque Hallowe'en is collecting all the little
trinkets that will help set the mood. Before the use of spider webs and eerie
lighting, it is necessary to have the objects to wrap them around or upon which to
cast them.

A Victorianesque Hallowe'en: An Introduction

Happy October 1st!

I figured that as we get started on designing a Victorianesque Hallowe'en, it would

be helpful to outline a few things. Hopefully, that will make it easier for anyone

embarking on this lovely, spooky adventure to achieve the dark Victorian affect in

their own unique way, rather than being frustrated by not "matching the photo".

Etsy Treasuries - Another of Raven's New Addictions

As a follow up to today's fun time on BlogTalkRadio with Oly and Brenna discussing Victorianesque Hallowe'en, I thought I'd attempt to post a quick link to three treasures I've created featuring just SOME of the talented individuals to be found on the craft sales site, Etsy.com.  No promises here, but the link below "should" take you to a listing of all three and allow you to check out just some of the fun things I've found (so far) that go perfectly with the idea of a Victorianesque Hallowe'en, or for some of us of the Victorian Gothic persuasion, year-round decor.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/search/?search_query=stoneangelsgaze&search_submit=&search_type=treasury

This will be one of, I hope, many posts to the EVGA blog featuring Victorianesque Hallowe'en and Autumn decorating, entertaining and costuming ideas, in addition to my usual articles on the foundations of the refined Dark Victorian's etiquette and carriage, as well as the individual artist reviews I so thoroughly enjoy doing. 
And finally, to everyone who listened in both live and via recorded podcast, thank you SO much.

Ever,
Raven

A Big Thanks to The Weird Contessa

So.. as I am learning more about this thing called blogging, I added one more "A Ha" moment to my repetoire.. finding out how others found me. Yes, I am without a doubt the world's worst cyber-stalker.
Imagine my surprise and delight to find that Etiquette and the Victorian Aesthetic is among the blogs enjoyed by Gina Draker, the brilliant talent behind Weird Contessa Studios. The moment I found her blog, I was entranced by the first images to appear: miniature marionettes. The detail and care that goes into her pieces is quite obvious, and I must say, her taste in music featured on the pages of Weird Contessa Studio Creations is impeccable. I loved it.
That said, I wish to extend a huge Thank You to the Weird Contessa (Who doesn't adore weird contessas? The world needs more of them.) for the mention on your site, and I extend an invitation to all reading this, to please go visit her blog and indulge yourself in her delightful creations and let the music take you away as it has done with me this evening.

She can be found at: http://weirdcontessastudiocreations.blogspot.com/

I know I will be going back to visit as well.
Blessings and Welcome to another brilliantly decadent Hallowe'en Season =)
Ever,
Raven

Fun News and the Beginning of a Victorian Hallowe'en Season

I have had the pleasure of being invited back to BlogTalkRadio as a guest on "Coffee With Oly and Brenna Mar" Sunday, September 25th. My last visit with Oly was last December when we had a wonderful chat about the Goth and Vampire communities. For all the years I have known her, Oly has been a voice of reason, a teacher, and a leader in the pagan and metaphysical communities with first hand knowledge of our fabulously dark, colourful, artistic world and its amazing people.
This time we are going to have fun discussing a Victorianesque Hallowe'en. I will be sharing a bit of history, plus decorating and costuming ideas as well as shortcuts for those of us on a budget (and who isn't these days?). With any luck, I will be able to start posting some of those suggestions and site links to the blog before the show on 9/25 with additional goodies to come afterward.
I am including a link to the show's announcement via BTR, and do hope you can join us, and for those whose schedules do not permit, BTR does archive shows to be listened to later. Please also take a moment to check out Oly's website just below.

Show link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/olympias/2011/09/25/coffee-with-oly-brenna-mar

For more information on my esteemed hostess, please take a moment to visit her site:
http://www.tarotbyolympias.com/

So now to start the TO DO list, the How To list and find the Already Have list to add to. Stay tuned...

Ever,
Raven =)

Well-Mannered Bad Boys

As much of an oxymoron as the title may seem, bad boys with impeccable manners tend to be some of the defining personalities of the Victorian Gothic genre. And with very good reason. Allow me to explain.