Sluttishly Vintage: Happy Halloween

Victorian frock coat, Cabinet49, £135.48; Mourning pin, Misty Albion, £90; Vulcanite brooch, Old Jewelry Store, £58.90; Cauldron vase, Whisper Mystery, £12. 

It's nearly Halloween and therefore an excellent excuse for the Sluttishly Vintage column to leave behind its usual pretty floral frocks (just for this month mind) and take a walk on the ghostly side. And despite the fact I've used a few stock Halloween effects on the collage above, I'm going classy in my Halloween efforts. There's going to be no sexy cheerleaders here - I want you ladies covered up. It is October after all.

This Victorian nightgown will do the job perfectly for either a ghostly apparition or a Miss Havisham outfit. It's £24.99 from Oshun Creations, Though if you want to splatter with fake blood or similar, you might want to look for something from a little later and less precious, like this 1970s number perhaps? (though it's actually more expensive at £28.)

If you can find the stuff, the Victorian's were pretty brilliant at dramatic mourning, making for great gothic outfits. Just take a look at the detailing on this Victorian frock coat from Brighton-based Cabinet 49 on Etsy. It's a pricey investment at £135.48 but a stunning piece.

There's mourning jewellery to look out for too - like the mourning brooch in the image at the top of this post, or the vulcanite brooch. Thanks to this post on the Art of Mourning, I've learnt that vulcanite was mass-produced as lower cost alternative to the then-fashionable jet. It's still striking today.

For the ultimate in gothic glamour, you surely need this 1930s opera cape in your life. Again, it's a very special piece, available for £161.29 from Pepper Lane Exclusives on Etsy. For your more everyday Halloween, there's a cute mini cape up for grabs on ASOS Marketplace for £22. Of course you'll need a cauldron and a traditional broomstick for witchy effect too.

And a dramatic dress to wear under your dress too. I'm rather taken with this 1970s Laura Ashley velvet dress, £48 from Peppercorn Circus on ASOS marketplace, but you could take a look at this 1970s gothic number or this 80s black lace (no, not that Black Lace) as alternatives. 

One of the queens of Halloween has to be the wonderful Wednesday Addams. Pop Boutique's Wednesday Dress is a new design but I couldn't miss its 60s-meet-Victoriana glory out. It's only £30 from ASOS. I know what my Halloween costume is going to be.

Black cat trinket box, Chixycoco, £28; JJ halloween cat brooch, JoJoJJs, £15; 1950s cat corkscrew, Retonthenet, £35

'Tis the season also when black cats are at their creepiest. You can find them look petrified on all sorts of homewares, from trinket boxes to corkscrews, and even as jewellery. The Etsy shop JoJoJJs is well worth checking out for its novelty brooches. As well as the cat pictured, they've got these fearsome graveyard ghosts to marvel out.  

Of course you could have a go at making your own Halloween props. I love the sound of this 1960s Making Clowns, Witches and Dragons book (damn right clowns are scary), priced at £16.77 from Rummage Romy. Wonky Zebra, meanwhile, is selling this Halloween glove puppets pattern for less than a couple of quid.

A warning though: don't get too carried away, or you might end up with this jumper on your hands. And then who are you going to call?

Oh yeah, these guys. Finish up your Halloween with a nice cup of warm Ribena in this Ghostbusters mug. It's £8 from Pineapple Retro.