queen of the rats

new home and old home

2014-01-17T14:39:00.003-08:00

hello loves!

i've been so, so conspicuously absent lately and i just wanted to let you guys know about a new project i've started. it's not so much about fashion blogging (i'll still come here for outfit posts, when i post them) and much more about crafting and DIY projects that i undertake and teach myself.

you can find it here:

a coven of stitches

hope to see you there!

xoxo

you are bewitched

2013-09-14T19:27:00.002-07:00

so i recently got an iphone and with it instagram--here are some of the pictures i've taken! i'd love to follow you guys, if you have instagram let me know your username in the comments and i'll follow you.

i've been pretty busy lately, i'm starting my last (hopefully, if i don't fuck anything up) year of college and i've been making more things. i'm trying to revitalize my etsy once again but there don't really seem to be enough hours in the day.

i hope you guys are doing well! every so often i get the urge to make a reappearance here. i'd love to blog as regularly as i used to but i just don't seem to have the time!

xoxo

mouse

today was a good day

2013-06-05T16:30:00.001-07:00

so i was in pennsylvania for the past few weeks and it seems like every time i'm there there's some weird drama with friends or whatever that i get stuck in the middle of, which sucks. so that happened. but then i came home.

and my friend who was babysitting my fish had cleaned my apartment (she is amazing).

and i got a card from ally which made me incredibly happy, because she, too, is amazing.

and i posted a picture of my new tattoo on tumblr:

it's the seven sigils of the endless from neil gaiman's sandman comic books, which were the first comic books i read at the ripe old age of 12 and they sent me headlong into a lifetime of nerdery.

and neil gaiman liked the post.

i know this is pretty minor for probably all of you but i'm SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED. i saw the notification and burst into tears. i know he runs his own blog which means he saw it and appreciated it and i'm so incredibly happy.

and i love the tattoo, it's my favourite (right now, but of course i got it yesterday, so that could change but i'm not sure it's going to). it was designed by a really good friend and the work is amazing (some parts in the picture look a bit lumpy, but it's still swollen and healing, so that will get better).

and... yeah. today was a good day.

xoxo

mouse

you'll minimize some stranger's sadness with a piece of wood and plastic--holy fuck, it's so fantastic!

2013-05-20T09:39:00.003-07:00

i got this amazing betsey johnson dress at beacon's closet (the girl there said that someone who used to work for betsey comes in all the time to donate clothes, so they often have a good stock). it fits like a glove and reminds me of a cross between a ballerina dress and a costume from deadwood.

it's really short though! i know i have some tall girls following me who know the pains of a perfect dress that shows just a little too much leg. and normally, in my book, there's really no such thing as too much leg, but i'm in danger of flashing my butt in this thing if the wind picks up even a little!

of course, i got it anyway. guess i'll just wear it with tights ;)

xoxo

don't break my heart, and i won't break your heart shaped glasses

2013-05-10T10:02:00.002-07:00

i took a break from making stencil stuff for other people to make myself a shirt. i just... really like bats

i have to go to the salvation army to pick up some more stencil design shirts, but i'm hopefully going to be able to start putting them up for sale on etsy or something soon. they're really fun to make and it's a good way to let off some steam from finals (which aren't over for another week... ugh).

xoxo

friendly faces everywhere, humble folks without temptation

2013-05-04T19:26:00.002-07:00

if you know me, you know i love south park. i'll argue south park is better than any animated show (besides maybe venture bros) until i'm blue in the face.

so i decided to make this shirt decoration thing (i call him boob stan). stan is one of my favourite characters (i also like kyle, we have more in common because he's jewish) and i was inspired by this amazing shirt that paloma faith wore on never mind the buzzcocks:

...which i've been coveting since i saw the episode, so i decided to make my own version. he's not as cross eyed as he looks! he's just a little folded over.

i'm not entirely sold on how well it turned out, and i think next time i'd sew his face on a little bit higher to get the "sleeve" effect like on paloma's blouse. i couldn't do that to this one, though, because the straps are so thin--and it's no biggie, really, since it's only a 99 cent salvation army tank top+some scrap fabric. i might try to repeat this project now that i know a bit more what i want to be doing.

anyway this is what i'm doing because my iron has broken in the middle of making a big batch of stencil shirts, which fucking sucks, so instead of working on my finals (which would, of course, be a more productive use of my time) this is what i've been doing instead.

xoxo

wouldn't you like to see something strange?

2013-05-03T14:27:00.005-07:00

so i got these ridiculous cat ear sunglasses (and i'm wearing them with my best valley girl face)

and i made this pair with amazing tiny tiny bat and jack o lantern and moon vintage rhinestones that are just so cute i can't even stand it

are you guys doing anything to customize your summer necessities?

xoxo

where are you hiding, dolores haze?

2013-05-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

here are a few of the things i've been doing/making/wearing in the past few months.

i got a sewing machine and with some inspiration/advice from the lovely meg have been sewing some of my own clothes--more recently, i have gotten into stenciling, in order to personalize things further.

i've been debating for a while whether or not to come back here. i've always sort of felt unable to take my blog as seriously as i'd like, mostly because i can't take great pictures like so many of you guys do! but as the school year is ending, i'm missing more and more some of the lovely people that i've been fortunate enough to meet on here. so i've come back, and i'll stay back, at least sometimes. i might not post as often as i used to, but i'll try to do so more regularly, and figure out some way to take better pictures!

i'm likely to post more frequently on my tumblr (link) but not always about personal/fashion stuff.

i hope you all are doing well. let me know how you're doing!

xoxo

the paper bag princess

2013-02-24T10:44:00.002-08:00

i found this badass tim-burton-at-the-ren-faire dress at beacon's closet a few months ago and ho lee shit does it fit me like a glove.

being a bigger girl (i'm not calling myself fat! but i'm 6' and have a big ribcage and huge hips) means that it's really difficult to find vintage clothing in my size. it seems like before the 1990s, most women were really petite. even now it's a little difficult to find clothing, but as the american public grows outwards it's easier to find things in a range of sizes and styles.

anyway, i love this dress.

happy purim! i posted some pictures of my purim costume on my tumblr which is where i'm posting much more frequently now that i'm not on here as much.

xoxo

mouse

the sky is falling in on me

2013-02-13T16:50:00.002-08:00

i know it's been forever since i posted.

one of my best friends had his first solo photography exhibition today and i decided to dress up a little bit!

hope you are all doing well!

xoxo

mouse

over the misty mountains cold

2013-01-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

hey guys! i still exist :)

i start classes today and i wanted to show off my new favourite dress. it's by teenage runaway and i'm really excited about it because it's business in the front, skeleton party in the back!

hope you're all doing well!

xoxo

mouse

if you miss me

2013-01-11T17:31:00.002-08:00

i know i haven't been updating here nearly as much as i should be, and i'm sorry.

if you'd still like to know what's going on in my life, i post (pretty sporadically, but more frequently) on tumblr here:

http://robertmapplethorpes.tumblr.com/

i'll hopefully be back sometime soon but i'm taking a minor break from this blog. i'm in california visiting my dad right now (which is really fun!) and posting here just isn't at the top of my list of priorities. i do miss it though and i'm still keeping up on everyone's post through my reader, so don't worry!

i hope you guys are doing well!

xoxo

mouse

nerd girls are easy

2013-01-06T03:55:00.002-08:00

i was inspired to write this post both because i haven't written anything on here in too long and because of this post on buzzfeed shift about the 'fake geek girl' meme.

first of all, let me just get this out of the way: being a woman is a disadvantage in this world. but it's not the greatest disadvantage. there are a million factors that could make someone worse off even just in this city. i am upper-middle-class, i am white, i am relatively thin, i am relatively healthy. i have it really good. i know that.

but being a girl, or someone who is perceived as a girl, and trying to join the 'boys club' that is geekery--it's difficult. men have had this whole disenfranchised thing down for years. if you're a guy and you'd rather play dungeons and dragons than go to a party, you might get made fun of, but that's an acceptable choice. if you're a girl and would rather play dungeons and dragons than go to a party, what the fuck is wrong with you?

it's bad in the gaming world--this blog , entitled fat, ugly, or slutty, illustrates that well. if you're a girl that plays games, it's because you're fat or ugly--meaning men want nothing to do with you, so you have nothing better to do with your time--or you're slutty, meaning you're only playing these games to get attention from men. why?

john green, who i don't know a ton about but who seems like a really great guy, has said “…because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.”

this is one of my favourite quotes about anything, because it's correct. it's so true. i get so excited about things like supernatural and lord of the rings and the general awesomeness of stuff and that's what makes me happy. i love watchmen, i love sherlock holmes, i love neil gaiman. and yet when i post my watchmen tattoo on reddit, i get accused of being an attention whore. men who post similar tattoos? none of that. when i talk about how really really cute kili is in the hobbit

(and he is really really cute)

it's assumed that that's why i liked the movie, because wow there's a hot guy in it stop the presses

when i know things about things, people are shocked. maybe it's my hair, maybe it's my voice (being raised by a californian has left me with a bit of a valley girl accent sometimes), but for the most part i'm fairly sure it's because i'm a girl. i can't enjoy these things, i can't understand them to the fullest extent, because of my genitalia.

I'M SORRY BATMAN I CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU OVER THE SOUND OF MY BOOBS

anyway, it's like seven in the morning and i've been up for two hours because i'm anxious so i thought i'd just spit this out and it probably doesn't make sense and i might edit it heavily later but yeah i hope you guys are all doing well and had a great new year!!

xoxo

mouse

oh mistletoe

2012-12-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

merry merry merry christmas!

i hope you're having a good holiday!

i'm getting to spend it with my friends and my mom and sister and the cat in pennsylvania and it's lovely and snowy and we've just driven 20 miles just to rent love actually

we decorated me a bit along with the tree

xoxo

mouse

i'm not dead, i only dress that way

2012-12-20T07:28:00.002-08:00

i really like how my hair turned out! it's true red leaning more towards orange than pink.

i'm set to take the megabus to visit my mom & sister & all my lovely friends in pennsylvania and i have such a tendency to overpack that i subscribe to the 'wear as much as possible while traveling' school of thought so i don't have to put as much in my suitcase. i'm actually wearing a second skirt under this dress, but you can't really tell. you can, however, tell that i've overloaded a little bit on the jewelry!

i'm on a bit of a my chemical romance kick lately, thanks to meg from meg's ragged edge (that's a link--go visit her!) who told me about their new songs--i think boy division might be my favourite.

xoxo

mouse

special effects vs manic panic

2012-12-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

after my first-ever dye job, using manic panic in pillarbox red

special effects in nuclear red

special effects in devilish. i really wish my hair was still this long!

ive been dyeing my hair red (with small intervals of other colours) for more than two years now, and i've learned some things about the process. i get a lot of questions--more frequently in real life than on here--about what i do to it/what kind of dye i use and why so i thought i'd just make a big post rather than pack for winter break.

i've used three colours consistently throughout my hair dyeing career: special effects in nuclear red and devilish, and manic panic in pillarbox red.

pillarbox red was the first colour i ever used in my hair (besides that time in 8th grade when i dyed some purple over my natural brown but you couldn't really tell anything was different) and i started off with it because manic panic is sort of the most well-known brand of fantasy colour hair dye out there. i really liked the result, obviously, because here i am years later still dyeing my hair bright red! there are pros and cons to each of the brands and colours:

manic panic-pillarbox red

pros:

a very true, bright, orange-based red
comes in that tub thing which is really easy to use
fades to an orangey colour that i actually quite like
doesn't leave much of a mess; comes off of most surfaces quite easily (including skin)

cons:

fades quite quickly, after only a few washes
although it is bright, it's not all that...vibrant, if that makes sense

special effects-devilish

pros:

looks amazing directly after dyeing, probably my favourite immediate colour payoff
lasts quite a long time

cons:

comes in those awful squeeze bottles that are a pain in the ass to use especially when you've got dye all over your hands
after the first wash, looks really more pink than red
stains skin pretty badly, and most surfaces as well
the water will run pink/red when showering for a few weeks which can stain (i've learned not to take a bath with special effects in my hair within at least a few weeks of dyeing it, because it will stain the tub--usually with a shower it's not much of a problem because the water goes down the drain too quickly for it to stain, but in the bath it can be a problem both with the water and if i lean my head against the side of the tub and it's really hard to get off)

special effects-nuclear red

pros:

a very bright red that doesn't look pink at all
lasts much longer than manic panic

cons:

most of the same cons as devilish, except the problem with fading (the squeeze bottle and the staining are problematic as is the shower thing)
a little bit darker than i'd really like--it's not quite bloodred but it leans a little more in that direction than do the other colours

basically, i still have no idea what i actually like the most. it's on my mind because i dyed my hair today--i used a combination of nuclear red and pillarbox red, which isn't something i've tried before.

so far it looks like this, which i actually quite like, but as you can tell my hair is still wet and i can never really gauge how nice a colour looks until it's dry. i used an entire tub of pillarbox red first and then combed in some of the nuclear red over it--i hope it turns out well, because then maybe i can stick to it!

do any of you dye your hair--fun colours or natural ones? what's your favourite brand?

xoxo

mouse

i've got a bulletproof heart; you've got a hollow point smile.

2012-12-18T12:50:00.002-08:00

hey guys!

i'm finally done with my semester which means i should hopefully be updating more frequently.

this is what i wore today to go christmas present shopping--tripp pants and a shirt that's actually a slip but i knotted it in the back so it'd just look like a tank top.

this necklace is a gift from one of my good friends.

if you know anything about me in real life, you know that i love the show supernatural. the necklace is in the shape of an anti-possession symbol used on the show. my friend doesn't watch the show but knows my love for it, and apparently spent a long time googling 'supernatural gifts' and 'pentagram thing supernatural' before finding this. i love it!

my hair is pretty faded--i'm going home to pennsylvania on thursday so i'll probably give it a dye job tomorrow.

ah, yes, my bed is a mess. my room is a mess! it's not nearly as bad as it has been known to be, though, so i'm okay with it for now. i plan to clean over break, but a lot of it's just clutter that's not going anywhere unless i throw out half of my junk.

xoxo

mouse

signature

2012-12-13T13:17:00.001-08:00

most of the time i have one piece of jewelry that i wear every day. sometimes it's something i genuinely leave on at all times--like the string bracelets i had tied around my wrist over the summer--and sometimes it's just something i'm extra-conscious to put on every morning and i have a little oh, shit moment every time i realize i've forgotten it.

it changes quite often, maybe even monthly--one day i just forget to wear the bracelet or the ring or the necklace, and then i keep forgetting to wear it, and pretty soon i've found something else i want to wear every day, and so i do.

right now it's this ankh ring, which is from egypt. it's very simple and pretty but i love it so much, it has a lot of meaning because not only does it mean life and resemble very much the female symbol, it's also the sigil of the character death from neil gaiman's sandman series, which has been so important to me over the years.

death wears the ankh around her neck, and it's one of the things i've been kicking around as a new tattoo idea. it's been a year since i got my last one and i've been itching for a new one. for now, i'll keep wearing my ring, though.

do you guys have one piece that you always wear?

i'm going off the rails on a crazy train!

2012-12-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

so my internet is back! i'm a little on edge about it though because time warner says there's still an outage so every time a website is slow to load i'm like 'ohgod it's gone again i'll never have internet again' but then it comes back which is a bit of a relief.

i have a lot to catch up on, internetwise, including commenting on all of your lovely blogses and stealing the ring back from those filthy hobbitses just kidding

but mostly i've been watching supernatural and american horror story and american psycho (i read the book while my internet was down--funny how much reading i got done actually--and really quite disliked it, even though i rather like the movie, so i'm watching the film again to compare)

sorry my makeup is smudgy, i was having an all-out cryfest with my girlfriend over the tragedy that is supernatural and fan-made music videos for harry potter earlier (the foundations of our relationship) so it's a little smudgy

yes i'm aware we're well into december

yes this is a halloween print dress

am i bovvered

xoxo

mouse

bat out of hell

2012-12-04T04:59:00.003-08:00

i'm sorry i've been so poor at updating. i still don't have internet. still! and time warner isn't giving me any answers.

i want to switch providers but it's my whole building that's set up for time warner. boo.

anyway here is something i wore to run errands the other day. freshwater pearls, meat loaf shirt, silk skirt from reminiscence on 23rd street.

and lots of pictures because i'm really bored without my internet (i'm posting this from school, ehehehe)

xoxo

mouse

there'll be peace when you are done

2012-11-24T06:55:00.002-08:00

i'm still at my mom's for thanksgiving. i love being home. i'm not sure i ever want to leave!

my sweater is from urban outfitters and my skirt is the UNIF nevermind skirt, which i got on sale at dollskill.com (unfortunately, it appears they are out of stock now).

socks are the crazy long ones from american apparel

no make up on mah face

i've been watching supernatural for about two months now, averaging two and a half episodes a day (seriously...) and i'm almost done with the show. they're still making new episodes but i'm nearly finished with season 7 and then i'll watch what's out of season 8 and then i'll be forced to watch one episode a week like a normal human being. it's been a crazy ride.

hope you all had a great thanksgiving! i ate so much throughout the day that i ended up only having some asparagus and salad for dinner, haha!

xoxo

mouse

oh hello

2012-11-20T21:12:00.001-08:00

so.

so so so my little mice.

i've been gone again, i know, and i'm sorry for that.

see, i've got no internet at my apartment. i've had none for a while now. the only thing time warner will tell me is that it has something to do with the storm, which is ridiculous, because that was weeks ago and i've used the internet at my apartment since it happened.

still, nothing.

i'm considering switching my service. is that even possible? i don't know.

anyway, now i'm in pennsylvania visiting my mom for thanksgiving.

and my cat.

we are watching benny and joon, which is a wonderful film.

i'll try to get some outfit posts up while i'm here, and hopefully by the time i get back into the city my internet will be back up!

how have you all been?

xoxo

mouse

all the practice in the world won't get me good at loneliness-less-ness

2012-11-11T10:09:00.002-08:00

death meowtal shirt by unif from urban outfitters (on sale for like $15)

tripp pants which i rarely wear because i just don't wear pants

wow this is my first actual outfit post in like forever and its just something i threw on to go get some groceries, haha. i have a lot of homework to do and it's sunday so that's what i'll be spending my day doing :(

i need to dye my hair again but i'm having sort of a crisis about it. the manic panic that i've been using really doesn't last long at all, but when i use special effects the colour tends to be a lot more pink than i want it to be although it does last longer. so i'm not sure what to do!

i'm working on cleaning my apartment/closet/life and i have like three garbage bags full of clothes that i'm hoping to sell to beacon's closet... once i talk someone into helping me carry three garbage bags full of clothes to beacon's closet :)

THIS VIDEO IS NSFW, IT CONTAINS LADY NIPPLES. please don't watch it if you're in a place where that wouldn't be appropriate!

xoxo

mouse

if you're a legitimate bigot, america has a way of shutting that whole thing down.

2012-11-07T09:30:00.001-08:00

one step at a time, america.

this is my "waiting for the polls to close but already voted absentee a month ago" face.

i'm happy. i'm so, so happy that america seems to have gotten its shit together. we have made a decision NOT to vote for the men that define rape as "legitimate" and "not legitimate". we have made a decision NOT to vote for the men who call rape babies "blessings from god." we have said, loud and clear, that we will not elect rape apologists.

not in this country.

and we will elect a lesbian in wisconsin, we will elect a woman in many states, and we will vote to allow same-sex couples equal rights in maine, maryland, and washington. we will take that step forward. and we will keep taking steps forward.

xoxo

mouse

it's election day!

2012-11-06T12:33:00.002-08:00

guys!

it's election day!

i'm excited!

i hope you voted or have plans to vote!

xoxo

mouse