Dress Macabre: Fashion Inspiration from Edward Gorey and Shirley Jackson

Today I finished reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It was very weird and very awesome. I originally picked it up because the cover illustration reminded me of Edward Gorey (although it's actually by Thomas Ott). Don't you love it when judging books by their covers works out?

It's not quite a horror story, but in Shirley Jackson fashion it's more about the cruelty that ordinary people are capable of. Even though there's no real relationship between this book and Edward Gorey, it has got me in a Gorey kind of mood. Edward Gorey illustrated some of my favourite childhood books by John Bellairs, but he also wrote and illustrated some fantastically macabre books. He's best known for The Gashlycrumb Tinies and the iconic intro to PBS's Mystery!.

Apparently I'm not the only one who'd like to bring Edward Gorey fashion into everyday life. I found this dress inspiration on Briar Rose blog:

The blouse and cross pattern are a bit too gothic-Lolita for my taste, but the pinafore style dress is cute and would be easy to make. This pattern by Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity (C dress) is pretty much perfect, although you'd have to adapt the neckline to a square shape to be more accurate.

You could embroider or stencil a damask pattern onto the skirt for a Gorey neo-Victorian feel. I've got too many projects on the go to make this now, but I'd love to get around to it some day. You can also check out this post on Deviant Fashion for other ideas on how to add a Gorey flair to your wardrobe.