Oh, the Grimness of it all

Maybe it was an unawareness of the tenderness of a developing psyche. Or the world was simply less child-oriented in the 1960s and so we children were less sheltered from life's harshness. After all, it was a time when spanking (or threat thereof) was a parent's main disciplinary tool.

Whatever the reason, little RL Cyn was exposed to all sorts of excitingly disturbing stories. Bookcases offered Robert Louis Stevenson, Sherlock Holmes and classic "fairy tales" in all their non-Disney glory. I was fascinated by the brutality (and sadness) of Hans Christian Anderson's Snow Queen, and the matter-of-fact dismembering in his Red Shoes.

Can you imagine Big Bird telling toddlers about a girl having her feet chopped off and watching them dance away? (Sesame Street Tarantino style...)

A couple of summers ago, my daughter and I checked out a huge book of Grimm Brothers stories from our local library. Original versions, that interested me far more than my 7-year-old. Luckily. Because in Cinderella, one of her stepsisters chopped off a toe while the other stepsister lopped off a chunk of heel, in their attempts to squeeze their feet into the golden slipper.

Times were tough when the only way you could attempt to land your prince was to leave a few stray pieces of flesh behind.

Oh, there was more than to the stories than things getting chopped off...there was eye-pecking-out too. And then the Hungry, Hungry, Caterpillar came and gobbled up all the errant body parts. The End. (Sorry, writer's embellishment.)

The Grimm book included a lot of historical background as well...and (from what I remember, so don't quote me) a lot of what the Grimms wrote was based on German folk tales - stories not specifically intended for children in the first place - and meant to be morality tales of sorts.

But I digress...when my true intent is to tell a tale of a glorious gifting gorilla at the Grim Bros store. Yes, we're back to Second Life now (where foot sliders would have solved all those stepsisters' problems.)

This morning, Grim Bros' gifting gorilla (Midnight Mania set-up) delivered the fantastic "voodouette" outfit above - which included shoes and hat.


The shoe's detail floors me. A label on a sole makes my heart flutter.

I've lightened the hat a bit here to try and show the skulls and bone along the brim. And I was happy to see that both the voodouette hat and shoes work with my ancient, but still beloved, silentsparrow bonegarden suite. As much as I adore the voodouette dress, a proper lady couldn't be seen in public showing that much leg, now could she?

Grim Bros has a huge store, full of imaginative well-executed items, many of which are geared (pun intended) to the Steampunk crowd. The scrolled and cogged shoes are truly a sight to behold. The Vapour Vault Steampunk boots (bottom photo) even have moving parts!

And that, my friends, is today's happy ending.

In my attempt to keep this posts from taking me forever - especially after Blogger ate my first draft - I've left out many shopping details...but will happily provide more info upon request (just comment below.)