Novelty Purses: A Gothic Celebration of Whimsy
From spooky clutches to crystal confections, celebrate National Handbag Day with fashion’s most playful rebellion
October 10 marks National Handbag Day, and what better way to celebrate than with the pure joy of novelty purses? These small-scale works of art remind us that fashion is not only about function — it’s about play and imagination. A coffin-shaped clutch, a book turned into a bag, or a crystal-encrusted martini glass: novelty purses prove that style can have both substance and sparkle.
Cathedral-Core: Gothic Fashion’s Ode to Architecture
How gothic cathedrals inspire the runway, the wardrobe and the home
World Architecture Day (October 6) is a celebration of the structures that shape our lives and our imaginations — and in the world of fashion, few inspirations loom larger than the gothic cathedral.
Rising in popularity this season under the banner of cathedral-core, we see runway looks evoking stained glass hues as well as patterns inspired by soaring spires and ribbed ceilings.
From couture gowns traced with echoes of ornamental stone work to ready-to-wear silhouettes modelled after vaulted arches, the fashion world is turning to stone (literally) for inspiration.
Twilight Pirouette: A Balletcore Style Guide for the Romantic Goth
Glide from pale morning poses to midnight reveries in an aesthetic tribute that is poetry in motion
Graceful and hauntingly intentional, Balletcore doesn’t only belong to exclusive stages or mirror studios – it can thread seamlessly into daily life. The Romantic Goth archetype carries her dark-hearted elegance into errands, coffee dates and quiet workdays without losing an ounce of poetry.
The attire of working ballerinas, both on and off stage, is architecture for movement. From 19th century tutus with layers of gauzy tulle designed to catch candlelight to the silhouette-hugging bodices and wrap sweaters that showcase the dancers' form we know today, ballet fashion has balanced discipline with ethereality. Pointe shoes, satin ribbons and flowing skirts have become symbols of grace, fragility and rigour all at once; uniforms that demand precision and creativity.
In curating this guide, we pay homage to those historic shapes: the clinging wrap, the sculpted torso, the diaphanous skirt, the pointe shoes–all reimagined for everyday wear, where echoes of the stage linger on city streets.
Venus Said Yes: A Libra Season Style Edit
Harmonizing elegance with edge for the zodiac’s reigning aesthetes
Happy Birthday, Libra!
It’s Libra season, and we’re raising a glass (crystal, of course) to the sign of balance, beauty and exceptional taste. Each month we curate a style edit for the astrological muse of the moment, and this one belongs to Libra—the eternal romantic, the style icon, the social butterfly cloaked in grace.
Noir Now: Your Shoppable Guide to FW25 Gothic Fashion
When the runway lights dim, the hunt begins. FW25 left us longing for structured suits, sumptuous fabrics and dark romantic details—but you don’t need a couture budget to indulge.
This shoppable edit curates the best ready-to-wear pieces that encapsulate the season’s goth-coded mood without breaking the bank.
Here, you’ll find accessible leather (and vegan leather) jackets, impeccably tailored blazers, romantic lace dresses, gauzy ruffles; each curated both aligned with the season’s trends and to become staple pieces in your wardrobe going forward.
Inherit the Night: Discover Your Gothic Archetype
What does “gothic style” mean? If you ask the average person, they’ll likely describe the trad goths (or mall goths) of our youth – head-to-toe black, piercings, heavy makeup, perceived love of horror movies and heavy metal.
While that archetype does hold space, it’s only one shade in a much richer palette of gothic expression. Some of us are perpetually pensive, some are mischievous, some find joy in seduction, some haunt the board room while others convene with nature and the constellations – and we all have different aesthetics.
We invite you to explore the many facets of dark femininity through archetypal discovery, uncovering which persona resonates with your inner darkness. None of us are only one thing, but each has a dominant current (or two) running through her marrow.
Otherworldly Scents: A Gothic Guide to Perfumes That Cling to Shadows
A perfume guide for the romantically defiant
A spritz of perfume is the final touch, the last defiance before stepping out into the world - a sensory cue announcing your arrival to the next room you enter. Applied delicately at the wrist or whispered at the throat, we offer our signature scent like a secret to those close enough to pick up the notes.
When a perfume entwines with your chemistry, it becomes singular, unforgettable, distinctly yours. Choose wisely and it can follow you through decades, as recognizable as your laughter or handwriting.
Perfume has an ancient lineage: once pressed from resins, oils and rare flowers for monarchs and places of worship, later distilled for courts and lovers. They’ve always existed in the space between adornment and power, commanding the attention of the senses.
What follows is a guide to fragrance by The Lace Ledge archetypes, each one matched to a scent that carries her presence into every room and leaves the air changed after she’s gone.
6 Haute Couture Houses With Deep Goth Energy
Where velvet bleeds, silhouettes whisper and darkness dazzles.
Couture is art that the fortunate few get to live inside – but its stories belong to all of us.
Each collection is a narrative stitched in silk and shadow, and we love when those stories lean hauntingly beautiful and unapologetically macabre.
With baited breath, we await collections with mourning veils delicately draped, corsets sculpting silhouettes into regal statues, 90s grunge colliding with Victorian vampires and runways drowning in tulle, velvet and lace.
We’ve curated a shortlist of six goth-coded couture houses that consistently stir our imaginations.
The Lace Ledger’s Gothic Jewellery Directory
Jewellery is memory made wearable. A ring can whisper revenge. A choker can signify surrender. A brooch can become a family sigil. Here are six brands that understand that adornment is ritual.
6 Canadian Designers That Understand the Allure of Shadows
Collections steeped in structure, sensuality and shadows to keep you warm on a snowy night.
These Canadian designers don’t just design clothing; they conjure uniforms for the moody, the magnetic, the melancholically divine.
From structured silhouettes to gothic glamour with a modern edge, here are six Canadian designers who understand that darkness isn’t dull—it’s desire, distilled.