It's been a generally warm late summer in Chicagoland, but last weekend and into Monday were a crisp little preview of fall. Given that, on Monday morning I pulled out my tall Aldo pseudo-Victorian boots (very similar to these, but all shiny leather) because they're the out-of-season item that's been calling to me most lately.

So I went to work Monday in a grey men's dress shirt, black leather-textured-fabric zippered vest, black velveteen fit-and-flare skirt, grey herringbone tights, and the boots. Also of note is the fact that I pretty much never wear makeup for daytime, and this was no exception.

This morning, I had the following conversation in the break room with one of the collectors (whose wife is a jewelry artist who does the art/craft fair circuit):

C: [Wife] was here the other day and liked your outfit.
Me: Oh, tell her thanks. Which one?
C: Not sure. Day before yesterday, I think?
Me: :: was working at home Tuesday, racks precaffeinated brain to recall Monday ::
C: She asked me who the really tall blonde goth chick was.
Me: *blink* *blink* *blink*

I have decided that it totally has to have been the boots that tipped it over. Yay, boots!

Now, understand that, while I have an abiding love for much of the goth aesthetic, I'm (a) far too lazy to keep it up all the time even without the Corporate America factor, and (b) fond of and owner of entirely too much clothing, music, etc. with which nobody who actually identifies as goth would be caught dead, undead, or otherwise. I kinda blinked at havocthecat (who is, not incidentally, author of a fashion guide for the "Corporate Goth" -- hey, Havoc, is that still online anywhere? I tried Google, but the phrase has become considerably more widespread...) at a gaming night several weeks back when she mentioned something about how I'm a way perkier perkygoth than she is, just because I don't really think of myself as counting as one at all.

I have the pieces on hand to go full-out gloom cookie when the opportunity and mood arise (case in point: last night's attire for the Babes benefit, which involved my beloved goth Powerpuff Girls T-shirt, stripey stockings and purple hair extensions), but for the most part, I tend to think of myself as looking considerably more boring than I would prefer.

So I guess the point of all this is that it's nice to know that I'm not. Probably why I'm more amused by the whole thing than I should be. ;-)