image source heavyred.com

Halloween is fast approaching, so we’ll be sure to find you some of the great costume ideas out there. This year Heavy Red’s Alice in Wonderland costume, Alice en Splendeur Dément, is definitely catching our fancy. All dark and dreary, wonderfully tormented, and painstakingly detailed. Heavy Red is no stranger to Alice, releasing an Alice in Wonderland Halloween costume every year, but this year they take the story even further with this new version of the classic tale. The basic package comes with three key items. First the statement blue dress, in a blue that is dark and deep with sadness. Then there is the charming corset; gold and black brocade with a broken heart. Finally the straight jacket; in a creamy white. It can be worn with the straps or without; you are either down the rabbit hole or still just thinking about it. But if you put this on and wrap its soft comforting straps around you, you’ll be inviting the peace of a lost mind. Heavy Red has even done the extra work for you with an accessory package that includes stockings, gloves, a necklace, and that oh so dreamy blood-red tea hat. If you are into the demented and horrifying tale of a girl who’s gone down into the depths of insanity and back again, this outfit is must. Mind you I’d get it for the straight jacket alone. That’s hot.

The Alice en Splendeur Dément Cosutme package is available online for $195 and the costume plus accessory package are available online for $345, both at www.heavyred.com.

- Tasha Farrington

image source motheroflondon.com

Just recently Mother of London launched their online store to much excitement and buzz about the internet. Mildred von Hildegard, designing as Mother of London has been a beloved fashion designer for many years but has always been elusive. In addition to the lust worthy leather she is well known for, the online store also features some beautiful knitwear. The Koloth gown can be highly accessorized for nights out or it can be simple for summer days.

The Koloth Gown is available online for $90 at www.motheroflondon.com.

- Jennifer

At NY fashion week, with so many casual ready-to-wear collections this season I feel as though it was tough for many designers to really shine through, I saw a lot of repeats in trends and mediocre collections. I understand that this is not couture week, but Marchesa’s fall 2011 collection certainly is and far outshines most of what I saw on the runways. The perfect embroidery paired with meticulous draping has always been their signature and was no less in this collection, but what was more was a new perspective on Victorian. Marchesa is very good at showing modern elegance but to blend modern with the kind of nostalgic beauty of the 19^th century is a new endeavor well achieved.

The helpless romantic in me always tends towards nostalgia; Marchesa’s new couture dress collection epitomizes romanticism through what they call “Decaying Opulence”.  The design duo displayed an intuition into how women want to see themselves as beautiful. It takes a certain kind of confidence and personal identity to wear a Marchesa dress, and this collection embodies an alter ego that many women feel akin to but it is at risk to portray.

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Tripp NYC’s Natural Cheetah Jungle Dress

image source toofastonline.com

Tripp NYC has really impressed me with this hot little Natural Cheetah Jungle Dress. The strapless sweetheart design will hug your curves in all the right places, and it has boning in the bust to keep those puppies locked and loaded! The cheetah fabric has a nice sateen finish that will look killer with a pair of black patent leather heels. If you’re feeling extra saucy, wear some nude back seamed stockings, and red lipstick for a modern retro appeal.

The Natural Cheetah Jungle Dress is available online at www.toofastonline.com.

- Meagan