“My Faer Lord”: Historybounding Aesthetic

This is part three of a series on historybounding aesthetics. To read the series introduction for context, click here. This series was inspired by the Style Avatars series by Blue Collar Red Lipstick (article).

Well met, everyone, and welcome back to the blog!

For some reason, I was a bit hesitant to post this final-ish chapter in our Historybounding series (I say final-ish because I still don’t know whether I’m going to include a bonus round). This brings up a topic that I’ve never really discussed on this blog. That said, I’ve made no secret of it on my Instagram and Twitter already, so I see no reason not to talk about it now. Without any further delay, here is part three of my historybounding aesthetic series:

My Faer Lord

If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you may know I use fae/faer pronouns as well as they/them. That was one of the inspirations for this aesthetic, the name of which being a play on My Fair Lady. If “Gibson Grimm” is where all my Edwardian and steampunk influences go, and “Geralt of Rivendell” is where all my inspirations from Lord of the Rings, The Witcher, Skyrim, and the Elven Alliance series go, then “My Faer Lord” is where all my inspirations from Phantom of the Opera, Fair Folk stories like the A Court of Mists and Fury series, vampire stories like Carmilla and Dracula, and games like Bloodborne, Vampyr, and Dark Tales go. It has a darker color scheme, it’s more Goth-leaning, and it’s more openly androgynous than my other aesthetics.

Teeny-tiny confession: I’m often not comfortable with a lot of feminine things. I hardly ever wear jewelry, I often only use concealer, foundation, contour, and brow product for makeup (even mascara is too much sometimes), and if there’s anything resembling a ruffle (barring petticoats and the like) or a pastel color in a clothing item, I’m automatically inching away from it. Don’t even get me started on pockets (or lack thereof). So, this is where “My Faer Lord” comes in, for when I’m tired of making feminine things “work” for me.

Aesthetic concepts:

• “Be careful what you wish for” takes on a whole new meaning
• What song is that music box playing? And why do I keep hearing it, even in my dreams?
• That red drink in their glass? That isn’t wine. Hey, you’re the one that invited them in.
• Did that mirror just… talk?
• Wild parties. Wild, unforgettable parties. Parties that you never want to leave, even if you could. Jay Gatsby wishes he threw parties like this.
• People don’t really know why they never see you enter or leave, but at least you’re always immaculately dressed.
• No institution of higher learning offers a degree in brooding. Such a pity.
• Is that highlighter or the shimmer of a glamour? :raises eyebrow, shrugs:

Style inspirations:

• Everything in FromSoftware’s Bloodborne
• Erik and Christine Daaé, Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera (particularly Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess’ portrayal in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical)
• Anything by Washington Irving
• Zack Pinsent on Instagram (BBC interview)
• This 1902 riding ensemble in the collection at The Met
• Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark in BBC’s Poldark
• Suranne Jones as Anne Lister in BBC and HBO’s Gentleman Jack
• The setting of the Studio Deen anime Vampire Knight (originally a manga written by Matsuri Hino)
• D in Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D series
• Eva Green as Vanessa Ives in Showtime’s Penny Dreadful (this is where we start to have some overlap with “Gibson Grimm”)
• C. Auguste Dupin in Big Fish Games’ Dark Tales PC game series

If you follow me on Pinterest, I have a subsection in my aesthetics board for “My Faer Lord”:

Tentative Sewing List:

• Chemise à la Reine in a sheer black cotton muslin
• Regency/18th-century style waistcoats (embroidered or simple) to wear over 18th-century shirts and trousers or skirts
  • Silver Yule formalwear (inspired by this Snow King costume designed by Robert Perdziola for the Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker)
  • Black with Phantom of the Opera motifs (red roses and gold scrollwork, maybe some crystals for the chandelier)
• The most extravagant jabot I can handle (à la Lady Maria from Bloodborne)
• “Pirate shirts” as constructed in this video by Bernadette Banner
• Lady Maria’s hat in Bloodborne
• An 18th-/19th-century-inspired ulster coat for winter (very Ross Poldark or the player character in Bloodborne)

What do you think of this aesthetic? Let me know in the comments section down below!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Until next time, stay magical, everyone!

Edits: The inspiration list used to include the works of Sarah J. Maas. I can no longer, in good conscience, support this artist, and have thus removed her from this list. I regret this error. This article has also been edited to update my pronouns.