Parasol Protectorate fans, I have a special treat for you today. I have the face of Alexia Tarabotti herself, Donna Ricci, here to give some critiques and comments on the Parasol Protectorate cover finalists. We’ve talked about Donna’s role in the covers before, but I love talking about what a great team-up these covers have been. Donna is the proprietress of Clockwork Couture, which, in my opinion, has the best selection of Steampunk clothing and accessories on the web. She’s also a professional model, a writer on Steampunk fashion, and a champion of beasts great and small. I can’t think of a more fitting person to be our Alexia. And as an extra treat, I’m going to post the images below that became our Parasol Protectorate covers, before and after I did all the photoshop magic to them. You’ll see Donna needs very little retouching!

Before I hand it over, however, I just want to update you guys. We’re going to leave voting open over the whole weekend, and I’ll be tallying votes sometime Monday (after my first coffee, at least) and announcing the winner. N0w remember guys, one vote per email address please…that means you, mom-of-Doubtless! haha.

Ok, here’s the original images of Donna, next to the cover images of without the text, as a bit of a cover “evolution” shot:

Ok, now back to the finalist covers:

CARELESS: The first thing that comes to mind when I see this is “Ivy”. The drama, the colorway, and the HAT. I can tell the assemblage of this outfit took a lot of thought and so I must applaud the brave young lady who wore this “tacky in the best way possible” ode to Miss Hisselpenny.

DOUBTLESS: I expect to find this young scamp souring the streets of London, begging for food, picking locks to liquor cabinets and otherwise up to no good. Believable? Yes. Trustworthy? Not with a nickel, er, farthing. This Dickensian citizen brings his character to life with gear covered eye patch and travel papers in his pocket letting me know he’s not wholly from HERE.

PRICELESS: Truly a fitting title. The statuesque stance and layered skirts tell me this is a lady of upbringing. Her tweed coat and hat are signs that she’s unconventional at best, and bored with society balls. The red hair and fair skin tell me she’s no doubt of Connall’s brood, perhaps the last of his human relations. Or perhaps that bustle simply covers up where a tail might be.

BREATHLESS: Confusing a bit. A fine topper tells me this is a lady of some means, but no lass worth her weight would be caught carrying her own drink. Instead of going for the kill and ripping this apart, I realize I should look into this character for the fun present. She’s nutters. Perhaps inspired by the Mrs. Haversham. It’s not that she can’t AFFORD staff, is that’s she’s too absent minded to hire them. Spending time with her father in his study tinkering with inventions rather than learning embroidery with her mother and sisters, she simply doesn’t see the practicality in a lady being waited on when she is perfectly capable.

DREAMLESS: It’s cute, quirky, fun and eye-catching. If this were the flyer to a CURE concert, I’m all about it. Nothing about it tells me it belongs in Alexia’s world. I do love the feminine and neutral aspects. A nod perhaps to Madame Lefoux?

BOUNTILESS: For enthusiasm alone, I love this. Truly. While I can’t see Gail writing in Boba Fett, I can see where the Parasol Universe would have need for bounty hunters for rogue supernaturals. The pin striping behind the breast plate brings another level of color and contrast to this layered ensemble and puts it over the top.

Thank you Alexia, ehrm, I mean Donna!  Now, let’s talk about corset sizing, I think I need to start fancying up for the Orbit office! And next Halloween, maybe I’ll dress up as Alexia!