deadly she-beast

First of all, I’m very proud to announce that “punk girl meth porn” and “grandma’s special old hats” were two of the search terms that led to My Kingdom for a Hat this week. Y’know, meth porn is a damn hard genre to break into. Finally some recognition!

This past Saturday, I represented Wings of Sin in Crosswalk: A Fashion Show Styled by Sound. All proceeds went to the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS), which was pretty cool. Wings of Sin specializes in “post-apocalyptic” fashion: organic, animalistic, and eerily utilitarian. In the great pantheon of goth subcultures, it’s definitely tribal goth. Its creator, Melaney, takes things a step further by actually being a belly dancer: she performs with her troupe, the Accaliae, at underground events around the state. I saw her at Spectacle of Sin well before I knew I’d end up modeling for her shop. She’s fantastic. I want to be her.

(Does anyone else think that the use of “sin” in pagan/goth/fetishy naming convention is getting a little old? Other words exist, darklings! I don’t hear “bacchanal” used nearly enough.)

This was my second-ever fashion show. I have, however, been in more plays and cabarets and choir concerts than I can count, and I’m no stranger to infectious backstage chaos. It’s a series of pleasant little disasters. (Maybe my walk down the runway really was post-apocalyptic.) It all makes me feel so alive.

Forgive me the poor quality of the backstage shots. The lighting wasn’t exactly prime for a shoot, but I wanted to capture some of the energy anyway. My mom snapped the runway ones.

About nine designers participated in the show, each with a distinct look. It was easy to tell which group each model belonged to. We Wings folk definitely got some side-eyes. Let’s put it this way: I had, by far, the FEWEST tattoos.

I wore a black infinity dress, which I hiked up to my neck and left plunging in back, and a chain-link necklace. All the accessories were mine, and I did my own makeup.

From Damaged Goods t-shirts. I loved this model.

From my favorite designer after Wings of Sin, Scandalous Fox Paws. I absolutely loved their medieval-inspired dresses, so much that I contacted them after the show asking if they needed models. Here’s hoping they get back to me!

I realize it’s blurry, but that’s meeeeee! The announcer introduced us Sinners as “deadly she-beasts”. I wish I could have someone follow me around and preemptively introduce me that way.

By pure coincidence, I was first down the runway. We shuffled ourselves at random, and I ended up in front. My friend Zoe tackled me afterward: “you opened the show!”

“It was arbitrary.”

“No one has to know that!”