Pastel goth love from Brighton – join the Plastic & Bows family

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows

 

Creepycute cat ears. Fun PVC harnesses. Space-ace unicorn snoods and more… Plastic and Bows sprinkles pastel goth colour over Brighton and beyond.

Many of us who have Worn The Black have found pleasure in exploring the gothic aesthetic over time, imbuing it with our own unique preferences. Trad goth isn’t some dead fly cast in amber, of course – it’s alive and kicking and revered by all (well, all the good ones, anyway). But you can’t stop evolution, and colour is an extra strand to modern goth‘s DNA…

Super-lovely style imagineer Sarah Bunny stirs the waters like a stick of candy rock swished through a cauldron with her Brighton-based Plastic and Bows pastel goth online boutique. Her customers feel confident and magical wearing her unicorn legwarmers, creepycute cat ears and fun PVC harnesses. Browse amazing photos of members of the Plastic and Bows family revelling in their sweet sibling glory, and read on!

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows cat ears

Sarah, your models and photoshoots look amazing. Do they get reactions from the public when they’re happening?

Oh absolutely!! For the photoshoot we did for BCM magazine, we had to get ready in a coffee shop beforehand in London. I’m not sure who was more in awe, the customers or the staff!

In the midst of getting ready we had people taking photos on phones and asking to get in photos with everyone.

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows unicorn snood

When we’re out in public, because everyone is so colourful and over the top you definitely get a lot of attention. I love it! And the public seem to too! Even if some are a little startled at first!

What’s the cute factor in your fashion items… and what’s the creepy factor?

I would say the cute factor is a combination of the pastel and cute colours combined with the cute prints that I use, whereas the creepy factor is my use of the pastel mixed with dark colours.

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows cat ears

How do you want people to feel when they wear your clothes? What kind of feedback do you get from people who wear your stuff?

The most common and best feedback I get from my customers is that my brand makes them feel confident and magical. That’s exactly how I want them to feel, my clothing is designed to make you feel fun, creative and confident – whether this be from a totally adorable look or a more seductive creepy cute, pastel goth vixen.

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows cat ears

Sometimes both, as I like to collaborate all the styles together. Who said you can’t be a pastel vixen? or a gothic cutie?

Do you get customers of any particular style tribes would you say?

I get a really mixed bunch of people which I completely love. I get a lot of super cuties who love the more lolita, fairy kei, gyaru styles and then I get a lot of gorgeous goth girlies. I love the variety of customers and I love seeing how they style their items.

Which items at Plastic and Bows are especially popular and why?

Definitely the cat ears! The cat ears have flown out and I can’t make enough of them! But then who can blame them? Who doesn’t want to be a cat? 😀

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows cat ears

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows cat ears

Most of the items in my shop are just accessories at the moment. However I have much bigger items coming later in the summer.

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows giant buttons

I get a lot of custom orders which I absolutely love – these tend to be for bigger items 🙂 I made a hand dyed pastel pink snood and matching skirt, and I make a lot of PVC skirts, in both dark and pastel colours – these will be making a debut at Hyper Japan this summer.

Oh, Hyper Japan. Tell us more. Tell us everything

Ahhhh! I’m so excited about hyper Japan. I’ve been going to these events now for a couple of years, both the Christmas and summer events. I always feel so incredibly inspired when I go, not only by the stalls but the people I’ve met there. Everyone is so creative and wonderful and I’ve met some truly amazing people.

My wonderful friend Roxie who owns Roxie Sweetheart (check out her stuff it’s incredible!) offered me some space to exhibit and I definitely couldn’t refuse! This will be my first event I’m selling at – and I couldn’t think of a better place to start than here!

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows unicorn snood

I’m going to be working all hours round the clock to make sure I make enough stock for the stall. I’m going to use it as a launch for some new items including my PVC skirts, which as of yet haven’t been put into my shop, alongside some cute aprons which are more for fashion than function, some hand dyed faux fur cuffs and collars and loads of other new bits. You can find myself, Roxie Sweetheart and Druxurious at the same booth at hyper Japan!

You’re based in Brighton, a creative playground. Does that help your own creativity?

I wouldn’t say Brighton has influenced my fashion ideas, however being in such a creative and wonderful city where I’ve met lots of other creative people is what inspired me to start up my own company. I’ve definitely felt a lot more at home being here and being able to get my ideas out, although this is just the beginning and I have big plans for the future!

Your favourite things to….?

Listen to: this depends completely on my mood. I have a huge taste in music, hehe! I can go from super cute soft music, 80s, 90s, early 2000’s, k-pop/j-pop to industrial or metal, to anything in-between! I guess this reflects in my clothing brand too – sometimes I just want to put on a load of black and prance around like I own the place and sometimes I just want to look cute as a button and be surrounded by candy floss and rainbows and unicorns!

Wear: again, it completely depends on my mood, but I’d say my style is more cyber-kei and pastel goth. My favourite clothing items at the moment though have to be cropped tops, with shorts, harnesses whereever possible and lots of cute bows in either pastel or black 🙂

pastel goth clothing plastic and bows unicorn snood

Do: my favourite thing after sewing is to cook and bake. I’m currently in the process of creating a website full of recipes of delicious vegan, gluten free and sugar free yummies, promoting being healthy but not boring with food. It’s become a huge part of my life, as I’ve had lots of problems with health and I realized there wasn’t really anywhere I could go to for help. I’m going to be doing themed parties in a blog and the one I’m most excited for is the J-fashion tea party! I can’t wait to see all of the cuties dressed up! My Instagram for this is myfreefromfamily and the website will be live in a couple of weeks! I’m so excited! 😀

How has your personal style evolved over the years?

Oh I actually love this question! Haha! when I think back to when I first started getting into any alternative fashion I was 13/14. I was a very generic “alt girl”. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, so I just chucked a load of black on and hoped for the best. I never wore makeup either, I was actually a really late bloomer with regards to makeup. I didn’t start wearing any of it until I was 16 and even then it was kohl eyeliner, nothing else. I think I started wearing eyeshadows when I was about 18 and foundation when I was 24!

My clothing sense went from generic alt girl to trad goth lots of lacy black skirts and purple crushed velvet, cobwebs on everything, and hugely dramatic black wedding veils, tonnes of black PVC and big New Rock boots. I moved through this phase and tried on the cybergoth look – I would wear black and then whatever my hair colour was at the time I would wear that colour with my outfit.

I then progressed into a more colourful version of myself and would grab anything cute and refused to wear black. I then realized you could have both…and so we have my style now! I still get some days where I can’t face wearing colour or I can’t face black and I just go with it. I think that’s why I love pastel goth so much – it combines my most favourite things.

I had a lovely lady ask me once what inspired me and my style, and I replied with “life’s too short to be like everyone else. Sprinkle a bit of colour and difference into the world and it’ll make people smile.”

Your motto for life?

I actually have a couple:

Treat others the way that you’d like to be treated yourself. Act the way you’d like others to act. Lead by example and practise what you preach. (I think these generally go together, hand in hand.)

Join the Plastic and Bows family

Visit Plastic and Bows on Etsy and Facebook. See you there, you beauties…

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