the best and the worst: week 06

and so, we sailed to the end of the sixth week of blogging (the first week of writing was purely experimental). for the entire week, my focus was on the history of fashion: looking at different periods, eras and movements. i have learnt of many of the periods in school from the angle of the literature that was written hence putting the various posts together was somewhat a stroll down memory lane. the struggle, though, was trying to find a balance between keeping the posts reader-friendly whilst being informative. putting a hundred years of fashion history into a few paragraphs was no easy feat but i'm pleased that (after much reading, cutting, copying and pasting) i did it anyway. thus i hope that you enjoyed this little learning journey that i 'forced' everyone to participate in.

without further ado, let's reveal the best of the week!

best: the ancients: china

yay for china! in researching for this post, i was taken aback to learn that the qipao or cheongsam was not the first outfit of the chinese. there was even an earlier post devoted to it. i have always been brought up thinking that the traditional outfit for the chinese was the slim fitting dress with the mandarin collar and the cloth buttons. whilst putting together this post, it was truly a lesson in my own culture and heritage. i haven't gotten round to asking my chinese friends but i am certain that many of them will be as surprised as me that the hanfu is the true traditional outfit. 

and the post that is the worst of the week...

worst: the goths

i think the goths took the bottom of the pile this week for a couple of reasons. firstly, it was the last article to be released in the week so there is always a huge risk that there is insufficient lapse in time for it to climb the charts. it is evident from the numbers this week that time was against the post. next, here in singapore, it's a public holiday (and thus a long weekend) which naturally translates into people not at work or at home. i can't expect everyone to stay home just to read my blog. i'm certain that the post will gain readership in the days to come but as of the weekly tally, it's the worst post of the week.

i don't think it's a bland post. it's just the bad timing.

before i wrap up this post, i would also like to make special mention of the post that is currently dominating the readership charts.

special mention: mary-kate, ashley...

this was a post i did a few weeks back on the olsen twins and this entire week, it shot up to number one and has been gaining very strong daily readership. if you are one of those who first visited my blog because of this post, i sincerely thank you for your support and i hope that you will visit this blog regularly as i bring you more diverse features. 

but if you have yet to read the post, do click on the link because i added a liner of update on the sisters. they have been awarded with something pretty special so do hop over to the post to find out what it is.

finally, it's been a good week here on The Online Edition in terms of the new knowledge that i gained and the boost in readership.

fash'on... BAM!

the goths

YES! it's finally here. the long-awaited post on gothic fashion. before i overwhelm you with images and a full fashion show, it's only fair that we learn of the origins of the gothic movement. 

the goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. it began in england during the early 1980s in the gothic rockscene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. the goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify. tts imagery and cultural proclivities indicate influences from the 19th century gothic literature along with horror films and to a lesser extent the bdsm culture.

Gothic makeup

typical gothic fashion includes a pale complexion with colored black hair, black lips and black clothes. both male and female goths wear darkeyeliner and dark fingernails. styles are often borrowed from the punks, victorians and elizabethans. bdsm imagery and paraphernalia are also common.

Karl Lagerfeld's invite

in 1977, karl lagerfeld hosted the soirée moratoire noire party, specifying "tragique exigée absolument noire" (totally black tragic dress required). the event included elements associated with leatherman style.

goth fashion has a reciprocal relationship with the fashion world. in the later part of the first decade of the 21st century, designers such as alexander mcqueen, rick owens, gareth pugh, ann demeulemeester, rodarte, hedi slimane, john richmond, john galliano, olivier theyskens and yohji yamamoto brought elements of goth to runways. 

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Kirsten Stewart in Alexander McQueen

this was described as 'haute goth' by cintra wilson in the new york times. thierry mugler, claude montana, jean-paul gaultier and christian lacroix have also been associated with a gothic style. in Spring 2004, riccardo tisci, jean-paul gaultier, marc jacobs and stefano pilati dressed their models as 'glamorous ghouls dressed in form-fitting suits and coal-tinted cocktail dresses'. swedish designer helena horstedt and jewelry artist hanna hedman also practice a goth aesthetic.

fash'on... BAM!