Gothic fashion

Gothic fashion is a style of dress of young people who identify themselves as goths. It is allied to Goth music, but not all those who dress in this fashion produce Goth music.

Typical goth dress consists of black clothing accessorized with silver. The sterotypical gothic outfit, referred to jokingly as the "mopey" or "romantic" look, is limited only by what the wearer thinks he or she can pull off, and can (and frequently does) include elaborate gowns and corsets, veils, teased hair, lots of eyeliner, and styles borrowed from the Elizabethans and Victorians. Also popular are tight-fitting trousers, flouncy shirts in the manner of Lord Byron, and basically anything with buckles on it. The nature of the event will to some degree dictate the dress code, but personal style generally is more important, and it's not unusual for several club-goers on a given night to appear dressed to the nines for no apparent reason.

The simplicity of the style lends itself to variation, and it is often seen combined with elements of other styles (typically punk or BDSM fashion). Various piercings are not uncommon, and both males and females often wear dark makeup. Hair is most often dyed a flat, matte black. There are similarities between goth fashion and black metal fashion, which can make it difficult to discern the subculture of the individual. This may present a problem, since goths tend to not like black metal, and metalheads tend to not associate with goths.

Elitism is prevalent in the goth scene. Those who dress goth, but are not goth, are considered posers, and are often heckled. In America especially, the growing mainstream appeal of artists such as Marilyn Manson have spawned a new set of so-called Mall Goths: young teenagers who are labelled as goth by their peers and parents, but usually have little or nothing to do with the established goth scene.

External links