Black Tragic: Dark Side of the June

Tank: Eyeshadow, JCPenney
Purple top: Pink Republic, Kohl's
Skirt: Xhilaration, Target
Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily
Bag: Betsey Johnson, Modcloth
Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon
Blue bangle: Burlington Coat Factory
Yellow bangle: Later Operator, Etsy
Mint bangle: Decree, JCPenney
Pink and purple bangles: Target

 Striped Orca Bow Barrette

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's
Skirt: Necessary Objects, Annie Sez
Shoes: Journeys
Bag: Glamour Damaged, Etsy
Dark pink belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon
Neon pink belt: Izod, Marshalls
Watch: Cloud Nine
Jelly bracelets: So, Kohl's
Flower bracelet: Etsy
Barrettes: Tote Tote Trove

 Lovely Lolita Charm Necklace

Top: Wild Fable, Target
Skirt: Tinseltown, Kohl's
Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney
Bag: Sugar Thrillz, Dolls Kill
Yellow bangles: B Fabulous
Purple bangle: Don't Ask, Zulily
Mint bangle: Decree, JCPenney
Coral bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City

 Unicorn Sparkly Circle Earrings

 Kawaii Key Charm Necklace

Black and white, yin and yang, two sides of the same colorless coin.  It's a compelling thing to think about.  Partly because it seems fantastical.  Partly because it isn't, but part of our everyday world.  Which is all well and good.  Or bad, depending on your perspective.  

If you're wondering what's got my head stuck in the storm clouds, it's Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic.  Published in 1995, it reigns, ahem, dead center in the dark majesty of murk that is the grunge- and goth-spiked 1990s.  

Still, I didn't even know that it was a book until I saw it on someone's blog post about a jack-o-lantern handbag.  But I'd seen the movie and was curious.  Like a squirrel collecting nuts (or a raven collecting -- whatever it is that ravens collect), I can't rest knowing that there's some related pop-culture thing out there that I haven't somehow claimed, if only with the stamp of my own opinion.  Anyway, I wasn't sure if I'd like this book, and in some ways I was right.  It's creepy, after all, what with being about witchcraft and having blood and some stuff about worms.  Also, exquisite and fragrant lilacs that draw crowds and harbor deep secrets.  But despite all of this, I came to appreciate Hoffman's dark and light imagery, the contrast of the beautiful intertwined with the deadly.  Also, I got to confirm once and for all what most readers already know about film adaptations -- that the movie is a mere ghost of the novel.

At the heart of the story are the Owens sisters, Sally and Gillian.  For all of their mystical powers, they might as well be people you know.  Sally is the goody-two shoes, doing everything by the book, and Gillian is the wild child who never opens the book in the first place.  Sally has two teenage daughters, Antonia and Kylie, who are also opposites with supernatural abilities.  For me, the sister thing is a good hook.  Has it been overdone in other books and movies?  For sure.  But like all clichés, it's a cliché for a reason, and that reason is that it's true.  Sally and Gillian are somewhat estranged, mostly because Gillian keeps marrying and divorcing men all over the country, and Sally is disgusted by it.  But then one night Gillian shows up on Sally's doorstep in desperate need of her big sister's help.  She has a dead dude in her car, and there's a chance that she might have killed him.  I'm not going to say too much more about this.  Just that the next time I think I'm having a bad day, I'm going to remember that at least there isn't an (un)dead guy in my backyard. 

As crazy as this story sometimes gets, it's really just about people confronting their (earthly) demons to get through the day.  And as you (okay, I) read, you can't help but ask yourself, "Am I a Sally or a Gillian?  How would I have handled that situation?  Can I too pull off black lace in August?"  And handling situations, it turns out, includes the great big one of falling in love.  Both the "true" kind and the spell-conjured kind and the kind where you can't tell the difference. Hoffman is really good at illustrating this.  Every relationship that blossoms is rooted in the people's personalities and pasts, as opposed to being some easy here-are-two singletons-let's-throw-them-into-dinner-and-a movie-and-call-it-meant-to-be.  This is Hoffman's genius in creating otherworldly yet recognizable characters who can think for themselves, right or wrong, despite what the plot wants from them and what the stars say.

I guess that's the practical part.  You need to mix in common sense with your sorcery.  Which is a lesson that Gillian, in a rad role reversal, ends up teaching Sally.  Everyone knows that bad girls have more fun.  But it's nice to know that sometimes they have more wisdom, too.  Because it's proof that the best -- and most practical -- advice of all is not to worry.   

That said, this week, I made some stuff that would go with slightly darker outfits.  You know.  Just enough edge to bring a glint of pastel goth glam without attracting Marilyn Manson.  Because it may be June, season of sweetness and light and white weddings.  But sometimes there's still a breeze in the air, an unexpected wind that whips up before a storm.  And that means that there's room for shadows to cast lacy patterns on the garden party.  As one who always falls prey to the potent potion of playing dress-up, I couldn't help but be enthralled by the idea of cauldron cute clothes.

Even if for me that means no skulls and one still-sweet black tutu.