Gothic clothing - Gaia Noir
Every now and then we like to review DIY alternative clothing shops online. As well as custom gothic / victorian clothing, Gaia Noir has DIY accessories under £10 - cheap but made with love, our favourite combination. Bustles for £15, Lolita bloomers and more. Bravo, chaps!
There are a million DIY online alt. clothing stores out there, and it's nice to be in a position where you can collate a few of the really nice ones and present them to people. Gaia Noir bills itself as 'alternative and historically inspired eco fashion'. The clue's in the name! 'Noir' has always been the favourite colour (or should one say tone) of the gothic contingency, and Gaia is, as we all know, the Greek goddess of the entire Earth. Gothic and eco leanings all in one place. And Gaia Noir refers to its visitors as 'chaps'. Adorable. The world needs more of that.
Gaia Noir's gothic / victoriandustrial fashion
Eco-friendly (and long) hair extensions
Well, Gaia Noir offer custom-made dreadlocks extensions, including what seem to be the longest extensions available anywhere in the world. If your neck can support them, you finally have the opportunity to wear them. To their credit, Gaia Noir are also looking into creating extensions with vegan plant fibre as we speak. We wish them well on their hirsute mission.
Steampunk / Lolita / Victoriandustrial clothing
Onto the clothes... Gaia Noir specialise in customised upcycled Steampunk and Lolita accessories, from lolita bloomers and gorgeous frocks (short and ankle length) to charming little felt hats made from 100% post consumer water bottles. Our particular favourite, the one that touched our blackened pirate hearts, was the mini tricorn hat for £25. Bravissimo! The clothes aren't sweatshop-cheap (a skirt is around £36) but they're custom-made by people who wear this stuff themselves, not just create it for the masses to make a bob or two. That counts for much goodness in Mookychick's books.
Cheap gothic accessories
Not everyone is as rich as Midas. Sometimes, £10 seems like a very big deal indeed. To this end, Gaia Noir stock really lovely accessories at around and under the £10 mark. We were particularly enamoured of their purple/black striped armwarmers (for £9 - but they're in a sale, so we don't know how long they'll last). We were also rather fond of their rather unique chokers (particularly the dark tartan one for £7, pictured. It made us think of windswept Scottish moors).
And, for the very brave, you can get a bustle pad for £15 to stick under your own skirts and dresses for extra sweep and flounce. Good heavens!
Bear in mind that all these prices are correct at time of writing, and - especially with small stores doing it for themselves - stock can change.
Still - we liked what we found at Gaia Noir. Encore, chaps! Do keep on doing that thing you do!
